Free A Season in Gemini, Intro by Victoria Danann

places like this? Well, it might amaze you at how easy it would be for your father to be pulled over for a simple traffic violation, like say, a broken tail light. If he, a convicted felon, happened to be found in possession of a firearm, I understand that the sentence in Texas could be, what? Two to ten?”
    Brant’s blood was boiling like the juices in his stomach, but his eyes were ice cold and steady. “I haven’t asked Garland to stay here with me. But I will. And I hope like hell she understands that it’d be a shame for a girl as special as she is to have to live in the gutter with you and your kind.”
    He stood, took off the jacket, dropped it on the chair, and walked out.
     
     
    The next night, Brant picked Garland up at eight o’clock. She’d been listening for the distinctive rumble of the Harley and came running out the door like he was back from a war. Her exuberance was just one of the things he loved about her.
    At that time of year the sun wouldn’t set for another hour. So Brant got the full visual experience of Garland in her rose-colored halter top with a hem that floated around her hips like magic. The thing left her shoulders bare and shiny from the healthy tan she kept by swimming every day. He loved running kisses over the smooth skin of those shoulders, but was regretting telling her to wear that, as he imagined fighting guys off of her. His eyes touched on the slight hint of cleavage and ran over her hair, which was pulled into a braid that highlighted the white-blonde highlights she’d gotten from the combination of sun and pool. But what made him instantly hard was the extra flush in her cheeks that said she was sincerely glad to see him.
    “ I look okay?”
    Brant snorted. “Fishin’ for compliments?”
    “ How else am I going to get any?”
    He turned over his shoulder. “No. You don’t look okay. You look like a dream.”
    “ A good one.”
    He laughed about the fact that she was pushing for clarification. “Listen. About tonight. Sometimes the parties get a little wild.”
    “ No arrests. No photos.”
    “ I think we can manage that. But stay with me. Don’t go wandering off.”
    “ Why?”
    “ Well, ah, sometimes local girls come to the parties because they want to find out what it’s like to be with, you know, somebody rough around the edges. If you’re not with me, you could be mistaken for one of them. I’m not sayin’ you’d be in danger, but assumptions might be made.”
    “ I get the picture. Glued to your side. Will you hold my hand if I need to go to the little girls’ room?”
    “ No. But I will stand outside the door.”
    “ You’re serious.”
    “ Yes ma’am.”
     
     
    When they pulled past the gates and parked the bike, Garland took off her jean jacket.
    “ You can leave that here. It’ll be safe,” Brant said.
    She nodded then pulled the elastic that was holding her braid away and finger combed her hair out. It had been wet when she braided it and the air had dried it on the way over. The result was a fall resplendent with shiny waves that made her look like a goddess.
    “ You’re staring,” she said.
    “ We’re leaving. No one can see you looking like this.”
    “ No sir. I’m not leaving until I see what you do when you’re not with me.”
    She started walking toward the music coming from the other side of the building, which made Brant have to jog to catch up.
    He grabbed her and brought her to a stop. “Garland. I’m seriously not kiddin’ around when I say I need you to stay with me.”
    “ I wasn’t going far.”
    He pulled her into his side and they walked around the corner of the building. A group of the guys were standing around an open fire pit, with a pig on a spit that was rigged to constantly turn like a huge rotisserie.
    They were talking quietly, holding beers. Every one of them wore a sleeveless leather vest with the same artwork on the back. In the center was a depiction of a Corinthian temple with Hydra’s