A Season in Gemini, Intro by Victoria Danann Read Free Book Online

It’s a basic survival skill, Garland. A way to keep from ending up in a box under a bridge.”
    She stopped laughing. “You may be right. It’s just not a skill I’ve needed to survive before now.” She leaned up on an elbow. “So you know how to cook?”
    He grinned. “Well, I’m not a gourmet. The only French thing I can cook is French fries . But I can throw some stuff in a skillet and have it come out edible.”
    “ Good enough for me. You got some dry clothes I can put on?”
    He gave her a pair of c otton boxers and a Harley tee shirt. Both swallowed her, but he found a safety pin to help hold the boxers in place. Half an hour later they sat down to a Hamburger Helper pasta mix with a few green peppers and carrots thrown in.
    “ This looks like a mess, but it’s yummy.”
    “ Yeah?” His eyes twinkled at the compliment. “Well, it’s not special or anything.”
    “ It is special.” She smiled. “It’s my birthday dinner.”
    His jaw went slack. “This is your birthday?”
    “ Yep. I’m a Gemini baby. Sign of the twins.”
    “ Why didn’t you say somethin’ earlier? I would have planned… I don’t know. Somethin’ else.”
    “ Why? This was the best birthday ever. I did things I’ve never done before. I rode on a motorcycle. And not just any motorcycle, a big bad black work of art.” He grinned. “I swam in something that’s not a pool or an ocean. I got river mud between my toes. Okay. That part was kind of, ew, but it was still a new experience.”
    He laughed at t he way she scrunched up her nose.
    “ That’s all good, babe, but what about cake? And a wish candle? More important, why didn’t your dad have a plan?”
    She shrugged and looked away for a second. “He forgets more often than not. Since my mom died, and since I didn’t have birthdays during the school year, there was nobody around to make a big deal out of it. So, you know, it’s not a big deal.” She paused. “Plus…” She made circles in the air with a finger pointed at Brant. “I got beefcake.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
    Ignoring her attempt at humor, he said, “It is a big deal.” After a few seconds he got up and started looking through drawers and cabinets. He found a candle in a holder fashioned from recycled iron, and a lighter. He pulled a piece of paper out of a little spiral notebook, scribbled something quickly, and folded it up.
    Moving her plate aside, h e set the candle in front of her and said, “I don’t have a good singin’ voice, but happy birthday. Make a wish for what you want more than anything.”
    Her eyes searched his for a few moments until they grew bright with unshed tears. When her eyelids closed slowly, it forced a single tear down her cheek. She opened her eyes, blew out the candle, and then swiped at the stray tear, trying to make light of the incident and cover with quiet self-deprecating laughter.
    “ Hey,” he said. She felt the timbre of that one word, as he pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her. He reveled in the feel of her relaxed warmth and braless body. “Your wish makes you sad?”
    “ No. Well, yes. It’s just… y ou know I can’t tell or it won’t come true.” She dropped her head back so she could look up into his face. “When’s your birthday?”
    “ October. The first.”
    “ Fall. My favorite time of year. At least it is in New England. There’s always this one day when you get up and look outside and, somehow, the shadows look different and you go, ‘It’s here!’.”
    Brant ran his thumb over her cheek. “You a poet, Garland?”
    She smiled. “We’re all poets in our own way.”
    “ Maybe. ”
    He handed her the piece of folded paper.
    “ What’s this?” She looked as excited as if it was a diamond necklace.
    She quickly unfolded the paper and read…
     
    Happy Birthday, Beautiful. This coupon is good for one night on the town. On me. - B.F.
     
    She gave him a sweet kiss that went on forever. “Thank you. And I