Free Always Friday by Jan Hudson Page A

old-fashioned carriage. His
arms were around her and her head rested on his shoulder as they looked up at
the stars and listened to the banter of the driver, an elderly gentleman in a
top hat. A crisp breeze ruffled Tess’s hair and a stray lock tickled Dan’s
nose.
    He smoothed the strand back. “Comfortable?”
    “Very.”
    “This isn’t what we get when we call a taxi in Pittsburgh.”
    “But isn’t this better? No exhaust fumes.” She burrowed
closer. “And much more romantic.”
    They were content with the quiet and one another as they
rode slowly through neighborhoods of old houses and tree-lined streets. Shadows
of the night kindly disguised the buildings with rotting boards and peeling
paint and revealed only the dramatic lines of their former elegance.
    Tess reveled in the comfort of Dan’s arms around her, the
warm pulsations of his strong body next to hers, the smell of him that
permeated the shoulder of the soft sweatshirt where she rested her cheek.
    The emotions he aroused in her were almost overwhelming, and
snatches of fantasies she dared not allow full birth made her wiggle with
anticipation. She thought of the things yet to come, things that would come
slowly, to be savored and treasured. Not for a moment did she question that
love would grow between them. She could sense it beginning to stir and send out
roots deep inside her. She imagined the feel of his bare skin next to hers and
she snuggled closer.
    “Cold?”
    She shook her head. “My frog keeps me warm.”
    He chuckled and gave her a little squeeze.
    The horse-drawn carriage pulled to a stop in the back
parking lot of a hotel that fronted the seawall. Daniel climbed down and helped
Tess descend.
    “I’ll get a cup of coffee across the street while you and
your young man take a walk,” the driver said to Tess.
    “We won’t be long, Amos. It’s a bit nippy tonight.”
    “Take your time, li’l lady. Me and Snooks don’t have nothing
better to do.”
    “Thanks, Amos.” Tess waved at the old man, and she and Dan
crossed the boulevard.
    “He’s a character,” Dan said as they walked down the steps
to a deserted strip of beach lit by the moon and street lights along the
seawall. “Do you own fifty-one percent of the horse?”
    Tess laughed. “No, Amos and I are just friends. I’ve known
him since I was a little girl and spent every summer here with my grandmother
and Aunt Olivia. I like to ride with him once or twice a week in the off-season
when he isn’t too busy.”
    “To make sure Snooks has enough oats?”
    She shrugged.
    He smiled. “That’s what I thought.” He took her hand and
they walked along the damp sand near the water’s edge. “Where did you spend
your winters?”
    “In Galveston until I was about four. My mother died shortly
after I was born, and I lived with my grandmother and Aunt Olivia until my
father remarried. Then I went to live with him and my stepmother in Dallas.”
    “Do you have brothers or sisters?”
    “Two younger half brothers. They both work in my father’s
bank and are very happy. They’re ‘chips off the old block.’ We’re not close. I
never fit in very well with that part of the family.”
    They paused to watch the waves lap the beach and Dan smiled.
“I’m not surprised. Somehow I can’t see you as the conservative banker type.”
    “Oh, but I was.” Tess turned to look up at Dan. “Or at least
I tried to be. I have an MBA in finance and was a money manager in the trust
department of Dad’s bank until I was recruited by an investment firm in New
York. I was sort of a whiz kid with investments.”
    Dan’s eyebrows raised “You?
    “Me.”
    “Somehow I can’t picture a woman who plays the bagpipe and
drives a car named Buttercup as a banker or an investment consultant.”
    She laughed. “Pin-striped suits, red power ties, and all. I
led the rat race for several years.”
    “What happened?”
    “Aunt Olivia broke her hip, and I came to Galveston to take
care of her.