Read Online Hammer It Home: Powertools, Book 6 by Jayne Rylon - Free Book Online Page A

from the resort for a few hours. Everything, including that mid-morning message, had convinced her aliens had abducted the real Morgan and left this look-alike in her place. Heavy circles marred the golden skin beneath her eyes. Crankiness didn’t suit her generally lighthearted nature.
    The only other time Kayla had seen Morgan so sullen… 
    She swallowed hard, afraid to ask. It’d been almost three weeks since the night in the honeymoon suite. Shouldn’t she know by now? Maybe it hadn’t worked. What else could sap Morgan’s infinite energy and perky spirit?
    “Using me as an excuse to avoid your dream dress?” Morgan raised one eyebrow at a jaunty angle, distracting Kay from her mental investigations.
    “Hell yes.” Kayla scowled. She’d successfully resisted the seductive design, hand-painted in gold and plum on lapis silk, during the prior two trips she’d made to the shops with various assortments of the crew ladies.
    “Just try it on already. Please.” Her friend rolled her eyes. 
    “We both know if I do, it’s going home with me.” Kay glanced over her shoulder at the temptation in the window, then to Morgan, then back at the dress.
    “Maybe you’ll be extra picky, as usual, and delude yourself into believing it’s unflattering or some crap. Though I bet you the Boston cream pie in my case right now it would look fabulous. Worthy of the annual award ceremony for the Independent Business Alliance. You know, ’cause I’ve heard rumors you’re about to be nominated for owner of the Best New Venture of the Year.”
    “What?” Kayla’s jaw hung open. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
    Morgan would know. She’d chaired the committee in her ridiculously sparse free time after scoring the honor the prior year. Her sincere smile wiped some of the fatigue from her eyes. “I can’t tell you anything officially, but…congratulations. You’d be better off snagging that now than hunting for something in a few weeks. It’ll be gorgeous with your tattoos.”
    Kayla took two steps toward the shop door before hesitating.
    “Go on.” Morgan shooed her. “Maybe it’s not as expensive as it looks.”
    They both laughed at that one.
    “Okay, okay.” Morgan sighed. “How about this… I’m sure it’s worth every penny.” 
    It would be a splurge and a half considering the reputation of the boutique, which featured the latest summer fashions in the ornate window display. Still, she couldn’t help herself. “I’m telling Dave this is all your fault.”
    “He’s going to thank me when he sees you wearing that masterpiece.” Morgan lagged behind as Kayla dashed up the handful of stairs leading into the store.
    Miracles did happen. They had her very un-Devon-petite size right there on the front of the rack. Kayla slipped her head through the trapezoid formed by a wooden hanger as well as the straps and bodice of the stunning handkerchief dress she’d drooled over from afar. Up close, it stole her breath.
     She giggled as she spun around in search of a changing room, loving the flare of the airy material. Brilliant colors flashed in several mirrors, which hung on the backs of open doors nearby, causing a kaleidoscope effect.
    In one of the frames, Kayla glimpsed Morgan sinking to her knees.
    “Mo!” She rushed to her friend’s side. “Are you all right? What’s going on?”
    From a foot away, she detected the shaking of Morgan’s hands and the unnatural sheen of sweat on her greenish-gray skin. Clamminess greeted her fingers when she laid them on her friend’s brow.
    Eyelids scrunched shut, Morgan leaned on the shoulder Kayla lent her. “Sorry. Crap. I thought my dizziness was fading away.”
    “You’re not well.” Kayla conducted a mental inventory of the homeopathic remedies lining the shelves in the apothecary at her resort. “How long have you felt like trash? Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “I’m scared,” she whimpered.
    The plaintive wisp of audible agony broke Kayla’s