A Season in Gemini, Intro Read Online Free

always keep the shutters closed?”
    “ Just during the eight months when I’m trying to keep the cool air in and the hot air out.”
    “ Oh.”
    Brant stood watching for her reaction to his casita. It was simple, but it was paid for and it had a coveted eastern view over the tops of trees that was valuable beyond price.
    Garland took it all in. The house had two rooms, a large combined living with kitchen at the end away from the front door and, what Garland supposed was, a bed and bath down a short hallway.
    The interior was a version of rustic chic. It had the requisite bachelor leather furniture, but the floors were distressed wide plank hardwood. His housekeeping was neater than she would have guessed. No clutter to speak of. No dishes in the sink. But the thing that made the biggest impression by far was the giant black shiny motorcycle sitting in the middle of the living room.
    She pointed to it. “Is this an expressive art piece or does it have a practical application?”
    He chuckled. “I guess both. I do ri de it if that was the subtext of that question.” The look she gave him caused him to say, “What?”
    She shook her head. “Nothing. Sometimes you just surprise me when you use words like ‘subtext’.”
    He stiffened. “Because you expect me to have a vocabulary of one hundred words or less.”
    “ No. I…”
    “ Forget it. I’ll make the call and be out in five minutes.”
    She listened to Brant tell his acquaintance where to find the car and where to drop it off. Then he made a second call to the guy who specialized in “Germans”.
    H e didn’t look back at her before making his way down the hallway. He hadn’t exactly stormed off, but he’d left little doubt she’d bruised his ego.
    In his absence , there wasn’t much to do but look around. She walked around the bike and the sofa to get to the far wall where she’d spied the second most interesting thing in Brant’s house. Two well-stocked bookcases.
    She expected to see titles about carburetors and lug nuts. Maybe sex how-to’s. She wasn’t prepared to find Heidegger, Kant, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, and Jean-Paul Sartre to name a few. He seemed to have a complete collection of the works of famous philosophers with some epic literature and even a few plays. The man was delightfully enigmatic.
    She was so intent on reading titles that she didn’t hear him come into the room.
    “ You ready?”
    His voice startled her, but not noticeably. She hoped. “Sure.” She waved her hand toward the books. “You’ve got eclectic taste.”
    His smile was guarded and didn’t completely reach his eyes. “I know how to read, Garland.” Standing there with his hair wet, he looked fresh in clean jeans and a tee that couldn’t disguise the rugged outline of the physique underneath.
    She canted her head to the side. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Brant.”
    He gaped at her. “Hurt my… You didn’t hurt anything. Look, maybe…”
    She knew that she needed to do some damage control if she wanted to have dinner with the sexiest man who’d ever crossed her path. So she cut him off before he could finish that sentence.
    “ I’m looking forward to the best Mexican food in Texas. And I’m holding you to the claim. How far is it?”
    Brant looked like he was thrown off his game for a minute. “Uh… it’s only five minutes away. Just down the hill and to the right.”
    She gave him her most dazzling smile. “Good. I’m starved.”
    It only took Brant a second to decide whether he wanted to be indignant or happy.
    “ After you.” He motioned to the door and that time the smile did reach his eyes.
     
     
    “ Oh my God,” she gushed. “ What do you call this again?”
    He chuckled. “Chimichanga.”
    She’d eaten an entire basket of chips and salsa before the real food ever arrived. And downed a large frozen Margarita. When Brant had learned that she’d never had Mexican food before, he’d ordered two different combination