Desert Winter Read Online Free Page A

well documented, and there was no end in sight.
    I strolled to the kitchen, where Grant was working up a bountiful luncheon salad for us. I told him, “You’re a changed man.”
    â€œDon’t I know it, doll.” He continued whisking his vinaigrette without missing a beat. “I thought it would never happen, but it was love at first sight.”
    I could well recall the moment when they’d met. Grant and I had driven into Palm Springs for dinner at a trendy new restaurant, Fusión, and Kane was working there that night as a parking valet. At first glance, he was just another college kid in tennis shorts with a fetching smile, great tan, and a body in its prime. Now, in retrospect, what followed seemed inevitable. “You two didn’t waste any time.”
    â€œWhy should we?” Grant glanced over his shoulder at me. “Kane and I were right for each other—we are right for each other. It’s not just lust, Claire. It’s commitment. It’s real.”
    â€œI can tell.” I crossed to the refrigerator, opened it, and retrieved the wine Grant had offered. “You and Kane strike me as the most settled, ‘normal’ couple I know.”
    â€œDespite our age difference? And our same sex? I’ll take that as a compliment.”
    â€œIt was meant as a compliment. Mind if I help myself? Care for some?”
    â€œPlease.” Grant’s hands were busy with something in the big ceramic salad bowl, so he jerked his head toward the breakfast table, where he’d set out some wineglasses, three.
    Filling two of them, I asked, “Can I assume you’ve adjusted to couplehood? You’d been on your own quite a while, Grant.”
    â€œI’m amazed at how smoothly we’ve both adapted. I can’t imagine what I was thinking all those years.”
    â€œYou were waiting for the right man to come along, remember?”
    Grant laughed. “He came along, all right. Thank God.” Then, as though he’d overlooked some niggling detail, he added, “Oh. Did I tell you we’re getting married?”
    Dumbstruck, I set down the wine bottle.
    â€œWell,” Grant explained, “not in the official, legal sense, of course. What I mean is, Kane and I are planning, in effect, to contractually marry. I’m going to set up a meeting with my lawyer; then we can draw up reciprocal wills and exchange powers of attorney. We want to be fully responsible for each other. We’ll also register as domestic partners with the California secretary of state’s office. It’s as close to marriage as the law allows.”
    I had to ask, “Aren’t you moving awfully fast with this?”
    He allowed, “I know it’s been only three months. Maybe I ought to have my head examined—”
    â€œMaybe you ought to be kidnapped and deprogrammed.” I was kidding, sort of.
    â€œLiving together was my idea. Marriage was Kane’s.”
    â€œAha.”
    â€œBut I’m all for it. All in due time, that is. Kane is more than ready to make everything official—right now—but I think we need a few more months before we tie any knots.”
    â€œGood idea.”
    â€œNot that anything could change my mind.”
    â€œOf course not. Will there be a ceremony of some kind?”
    â€œMaybe. If there is, you’ll be the first to be invited.”
    I stepped to my neighbor and wrapped him in a hug. “Congratulations, Grant. I wish you and Kane every happiness together. What a pity that gay marriage is still such a sticky issue, that our society refuses to recognize what you’re doing.”
    â€œAll in due time. The day will come.”
    I stepped back, studying him. “Your patience and optimism are commendable, but if I were in your shoes, I’d be itching for some validation.”
    Wryly, he reminded me, “You’re not in my shoes. There’s nothing standing in your way. You can