Always Friday Read Online Free PDF

learn very soon
that the folks in this house only do what they enjoy. It’s the secret to a long
and happy life. ‘Kick back, relax, and enjoy life’ is our motto. We’re going to
teach you how. Hook already has the hammock up in the backyard.”
    “Hook, the ex-con? I’d almost forgotten about him. He was
the last thing I remember seeing before I blacked out. Lord, he’s a big,
mean-looking customer. Are you sure he’s safe to have around?”
    Grinning as she watched Dan’s discomfort, Tess said, “Positive.
Hook is unique and extremely talented. Forget about his prison time. He’s as
gentle as a lamb. He was the first one to volunteer to donate blood for you,
and since you matched, you now have a pint of him in you. You’re blood
brothers, so to speak.”
    She almost giggled at the expression that flashed over Dan’s
face. “I’ll have to thank him,” he said. “And thank you for the clothes and
other things you brought to the hospital.”
    “No problem. We figured you’d need a few items until Kathy
could get your own clothes shipped down here.”
    When Tess had seen the knit pullover in the window of the
shop next to the Mermaid, she’d known it would be perfect for Dan. And it was.
Its soft blue-gray color was the exact shade of his eyes and showed off his
amazingly well-shaped shoulders and chest. She’d also bought several other
items; it had been fun outfitting Dan for a new, more relaxed lifestyle.
    Thinking he might be the pajama type, she even bought pajamas.
But they were not striped cotton with a collar and buttons down the front. The
ones she bought were loden green silk with a deep V-necked top and easy-moving
baggy pants pegged at the ankle.
    When she’d started to select underwear, Tess had passed up
the conservative styles and had chosen a half dozen pair of colorful briefs:
everything from electric blue silk briefs to Italian mesh to a jersey
camouflage. She’d tossed them all into the bag she’d packed to take to the
hospital. She couldn’t resist asking, “Did you like the underwear?”
    “Who picked it out? I can’t imagine Gram buying commando
briefs.”
    “She didn’t. I did.” Tess stole a glance at him in time to
see his lips slowly curl up in amusement.
    “I see.”
    She turned her attention back to her driving and nibbled at
her lip. For the first time, she was having second thoughts about all the stuff
she’d bought that was now hanging in the closet and neatly stacked in chest
drawers in the guest cottage. What if he didn’t like it? What if he resented
her selecting clothes for him?
    “I’m sorry if you don’t like the camouflage skivvies. I
bought them, and all the others, as kind of a joke to cheer you up. Aunt Olivia
says that drinking the water in Galveston always makes everybody crazy, and I
drink eight glasses every day. If you’d prefer boxer shorts or plain old Fruit
of the Loom cotton knit, I’ll be happy to run down to—”
    “Tess.” He interrupted her babbling with a hand on the
shoulder of her chartreuse jumpsuit. “The ones you bought are fine. Thanks.” He
squeezed her shoulder for emphasis. “Maybe I’ll even model them for you
sometime.”
    Was he only teasing or did he mean it? She’d never been the
type to fantasize about seductively clad men, but a sudden image of Dan in
nothing but a strip of pink Italian mesh with a bit of strategically placed
nylon did peculiar things to her heartbeat.
    Of course he was teasing.
    Wasn’t he?
    She swallowed and looked at him out of the corner of her
eye. He was frowning and staring out the window.
    Feigning a seductive tone and wiggling her eyebrows, Tess
said, “I’ll hold you to that, big guy.” She managed to make him laugh as she
pulled into the driveway of the redbrick mansion and tooted the horn.
    The next few minutes passed in happy chaos as everybody in
the house poured out to welcome Dan home from the hospital.
    Daniel thought the bunch of them looked like the cast of