Sunday, June 27, 2010

Big Huge Reader Contest - Day 27!


Green Grass by Gemini Judson
Buy eBook from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid July 1!
Contemporary Erotic Romance

Chapter One
Angel

“Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress, devil with the blue dress on.” Kevin flailed imaginary drumsticks in the air and paused to regain his balance. He forgot his iPod again and had to rely on his own singing to entertain his hike down Jackdog Mountain.

As much as he loved his research, the weekly trek to his air quality monitoring station grew tiresome. Especially when the weather sucked like it did on this day. His raincoat smelled musty and it was his own fault. The last time he wore it, he’d balled it up and stuffed it in his backpack, soaking wet. Today the rain dribbled down his neck and shlogged in his boots. All he wanted was a hot shower. He’d felt lousy when he left his apartment, and this weather didn’t help.

The October colors flooded his senses, despite the muting effect of the rain. He passed through a stand of maples and paused to fill his lungs. The oaks and aspens harmonized to produce a color palette he could almost taste. He drew another deep breath to capture some of their energy.

The New England colors peaked early this year and with this lingering rain and wind, they wouldn’t last long. Hurricane warnings were posted far south of the Maine coastline, but any East Coast storm would dump a load his way too. He’d spent an extra amount of time at his data collection tower to reinforce the cables and check the battery pack. There might be some interesting blips if he could keep the sniffers operating during the storm.

He headed down the trail and looked for the short cut that would take about twenty minutes off his hike. Sometimes he took it, sometimes he didn’t. The steep descent had fewer switchbacks—not a straight shot down, but damn near it. Today he figured he’d slide most of the way down in the mud. He just wanted to get out of the miserable rain. A shiver of icy wind assaulted him and he felt a cold trickle between his shoulder blades. Ah, the life of a graduate student.

When Kevin came to the stream crossing, the usual easy flow roared with vigor and gave it a new face. Normally he would skip across on the rocks. Today he would need an alternate route or risk washing away in a torrent. He stooped to look at the beautiful sight and daydreamed of another place and time, another beautiful rushing river. Jessy Tanner—now Jessy Manzey, was never far from his thoughts these days. The last time he spoke to her, he’d laid it on the line. He didn’t expect anything from her, but she needed to know how he felt. Maybe she could help him move on.

“I know you’re Conrad’s girl and I know you two are meant to be together. I just can’t get you out of my head. I love you, Jessy. I really do. What do I do with that?”

“Kevin, what you and I shared together, no one but the two of us could ever understand. It’s special. And Conrad knows that and has come to accept it. But he’s the light of my life. He’s the very reason I take my next breath.”


This wasn’t a news flash. The depth of Con and Jessy’s love was inspiring to Kevin. But it still needled him.

“I love you too, Kevin. But we have to love each other deeply, as friends. You know a part of me that only two other men on the planet know. I like to think it’s an exclusive club, and you’re a life-long member.”

“Some club. I can’t even get in the door anymore. Did you change the secret hand shake?”

“I think Con resents that you were ever a member. I have to always keep that in mind.”

“Can you say you don’t think about me? About how good we felt together? God, you were so amazing in my arms.”

“It would be dangerous for me to think about that. You know how important loyalty is to Con.”

“I know. I shouldn’t have asked. You’re too good a woman to be sniffing around me.”

“Wait until you meet that girl, Kev—she’ll light up your life. Out of nowhere, she’ll hit you like a ton of bricks. Wait and see.”


Kevin stood and felt dizzy from the rush. “She hasn’t come yet, Jess. I’m losing hope.”

It’s not like he hadn’t been with a lot of women since Jessy. It had been four years, after all. They just left him empty and longing for—something. The first year of graduate school had been grueling and now he was up to his neck in thesis research. He felt grateful he currently had little time for women anyway.

He walked along the banks to search for a place to cross the rushing water. The muscles in his legs felt like tissue paper and his backpack weighed more than the contents would suggest. He felt a tug of apprehension when he looked upstream and saw a wall of rocks. I don’t remember that.

When he stepped out farther to see around the bend, his boot slipped on the slick surface. He landed with back-jolting thud on a boulder, then plunged into an icy pool. Frigid water clutched his limbs and a searing pain shot through his ankle. The wet rocks provided little traction as he struggled to get a purchase and climb out of the water. Finally he sat on the bank, wet to his waist and eased his hiking boot off his already swollen foot.

“Fuck.”

He tried to stand and winced in pain. “Double fuck.”

The wind ripped through his soaked clothes and the rain couldn’t decide if it would rather be snow. “I’m gonna be in deep shit if I don’t get going.”

He hobbled along on his excruciating ankle with the muddy boot under his arm. There was no way it would slide back on. Stupid stupid stupid. Pretty basic Boy Scout know-how. You don’t take the boot off. The trail weaved in and out of focus beneath his feet while the trees swirled and laughed above his head. Between his throbbing ankle and his dizzy head, he made slow progress.

In the distance the canopy of trees lightened and he bushwhacked with an erratic path toward the openness. The woods were gnarled and angry, deliberately impeding his efforts as twigs grabbed his jacket and jabbed his skin. Finally he looked down and saw a road far below. How the hell am I gonna get down there?

The answer came to him suddenly as the ground beneath him softened and gave way. He fell onto his butt and slid and tumbled and rolled, branches scratching him all the way down. At the bottom he lay in a heap in a puddle of water. He rolled over and looked up at a mean, gray sky. A quick survey of limbs—nothing broken. Just that damn ankle. He stood, wobbled and fell back into the puddle with a splash.

A weak light illuminated the mist around him. Kevin swiped at his eyes. A vehicle was coming. He stood and fell and stood and fell again, vaguely noticing the forest tipping sideways around him. When he arrived in the middle of the road he stood tall and waved his hands in the air. The lights approached slowly—no, just one headlight. At the last second he prayed they would see him in the gray fog. And the world went dark.


Kevin blinked the clouds from his head. What was that smell? It smelled like freshly mown grass. He blinked again. His skin tingled and felt warm.

Then he saw her.

Sitting at his side was a vision unlike anything he’d every seen.

“Are you an angel?”

The angel giggled.

“God, you must be.”

“I’ve been called a lot of things, but never an angel.”

“You’re beautiful.”

“You are too.”

But Kevin meant it. He looked closely for the flutter of wings behind her. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean and her skin creamy white. She looked as if a puff of wind would send her entire image scattering to the wind. The pearly blonde waves dashed and played at the nape of her neck. He reached out and touched her hair, certain it would feel like eider down. It was soft to the touch. “Wow. You’re real.”

The angel giggled again.

“Where am I?” Memories floated in and out of his head as he tried to piece together a history. “How did I get here?”

“You stepped into my headlights. And then fell to the ground. I brought you home. You've been asleep for a few hours. You had a fever and I think you have a nasty sprain.

Kevin had forgotten. He tried to move his ankle and winced. “Oh, shit.”

“I’ll try to get you to a doctor tomorrow.”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Adrian. Who are you?”

“Kevin Shepherd. I’m a graduate student at UMaine. I’m doing research up on Jackdog Mountain. Not a good day for a hike I guess.”

“It’s always a good day for a hike on Jackdog.”

“It smells like a garden in here.” He looked around him and above his head. Where exactly was here?

“You shivered so terribly when you came in. I rubbed you down with oil.”
Kevin lifted the sheets and realized he wasn’t wearing a lick of clothes. He looked again at the sweet blue eyes that looked like an angel. Maybe not.

“Let me get some more ice for your ankle.”

Kevin raised his arm to his nose and inhaled the oil while he took in the details of his surroundings. It looked like some old shed. Two raggedy floral blankets hung from beams to make a corner room that separated his sleeping quarters from wherever she went.

“Adrian?”

“Yeah?” She reappeared with a bag of frozen peas. “I don’t actually have ice.” Her smile sent a spark straight to Kevin’s heart. She lifted the blanket off his foot and gently touched his ankle. “The swelling has gone down. Maybe it’s not such a bad sprain after all.”

“You never told me. Where am I?”

“Well, I’m Adrian Culpepper and this is my house. I own it.”

Kevin noticed she emphasized this as if the statement might be debated. He glanced around the small space visible to him. Dark wooden walls with no insulation? No window? Was this a chicken coop? He laughed, still not clear on his whereabouts. “What part of the planet am I on?”

“We’re on the outskirts of Hatfield.”

“Hatfield? That’s on the ocean side of Jackdog. How the heck did I get here?”

“Beats me. I think you were delirious when I picked you up. Kept asking for Jessy. Did I know where Jessy was.”

Kevin swallowed hard. “Hope I didn’t make a fool of myself.”

“Not at all. Who’s Jessy? Is she your dog?”

Kevin laughed again. “No, not a dog. She’s a friend of mine. And nowhere near Jackdog. I guess I was delirious.”

“Girlfriend?”

He noticed a look. She hoped Jessy wasn’t his girlfriend. This was good. “No, I used to work with Jessy and her husband. Just good a friend.”

The angel felt his forehead. “I think my oil worked. Your fever is gone. How do you feel?”

“Weak.”

“I’ll make you some tea in a bit. You rest a while. I’ll be just on the other side of the curtain if you need anything. She disappeared.

* * * * *
Now what do I do with him? A guy that good lookin’ ought to have a warning beacon on him.

Adrian flumped into her flea market chair and contemplated her houseguest. When she saw him wave his hands in her one functioning headlight and fall to the ground, she smelled trouble. When she knelt down and saw his soft brown eyes blink up at her with confusion, she felt a tingle.

True, she was lonely. But she kept busy with her oils. And keeping an eye on her little sister was her number one priority. She looked around her home with a wave of anxiety. A one-room garage was not a home by most standards, and probably a guy like this Kevin Shepherd came from a rich family. He was a graduate student, for Pete’s sake.

No college for her. She wanted to—so badly. She was a self-taught chemist, distilling her essential oils and learning as she went. She sold them at a local natural foods store and earned very little money. Her dad left her nothing but a garage on a tiny square of land on the edge of a run down town. She turned it into a home. Good enough for now.

Maybe this Kevin Shepherd would be fun for a weekend. It was mating season, after all. She giggled as she unbuttoned her oversized flannel shirt.

Buy eBook from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid July 1!

Gemini Judson WebsiteBlogTwitter


REMEMBER
Commenting and/or asking questions on an author’s blog for the day will enter you into the Big Huge Reader Contest for a Pink Sony eReader or one of three boxes packed full of RT Booklovers Convention goodies. Unfortunately, due to the grand prize being an electronic and weight of the other three boxes, this contest is for US residents only.

43 comments:

booklover0226 said...

Great, great excerpt. I look forward in reading this. My must have list is increasing every day!

Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com

Suzette said...

This sounds preety darn good. A girl could go broke with all the books we've been shown here.

Suzette F
latinlady6929@yahoo.com

practimom said...

Mating season? That was too funny. thanks for the great excerpt. it definitely got my attention!

Anonymous said...

The excerpt got my attention too. I've been enjoying all the glimpses into these great books this past month. My 'got to have' list has really grown!!!

Valerie
valb0302@yahoo.com
in Germany

Kristabel Reed said...

I love the use of music in this, especially the fact he's playing the air-drums. :)

Gemini said...

Hi everybody! Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Good luck with the contest -- wish I could win :) Green Grass has my favorite hero. Kevin Shepherd is the classic wisecracker. I'm crazy about him.
Gem

Judy said...

I really enjoyed the excerpt!! It really peaked my interest in your book!! You are a new author to me, so I will put this on my TBR list.

Tilly Greene said...

Great title! Great cover! Great excerpt! Gemini, congrats on the almost release of this one, and thank you for sharing it here :-)

Tilly

JeanMP said...

That was a great excerpt, so descriptive. So many books and not enough time!

Stephanie said...

Very descriptive indeed, and yet I didn't feel bogged down! Nice way to keep the story moving without losing the pacing. This is definitely going in my TBR pile!

DragonStar1974@aol.com

Gemini said...

I've popped in over the course of the month and read my co-blogger excerpts. I'm among the greats. It's an honor. Thanks for having me, TIlly.

Sherry said...

I loved the excerpt it was so good and I hated for it to end. I can't wait to read this book. I've found so many new authors this month and my to buy list is now out of control.

sstrode@scrtc.com

The Scarf Princess said...

Great sounding excerpt! Sounds super fun and sexy and yet another book to add to my wishlist.

joderjo402 AT gmail DOT com

Pamk said...

great excerpt. Just curious about the mating season. Is this a paranormal.

*yadkny* said...

LOVED the excerpt! It was funny and I love the cover on this one too:)

yadkny@hotmail.com

Jennifer Mathis said...

hubby says he's going yo ban me from the computer cause my shopping list is 2 long. That's too bad he made such a good first husband lol

BecK said...

I love the excerpt Gemini. It's funny. I also love the title and the cover of the book. Very nice!

Gemini said...

PamK - no, not paranormal, but Adrian is anything BUT normal. Ha! She'd just kookie and odd and likes to say things to make people scratch their heads. This story is contemporary and sizzling. I'd call it soft erotica....does that makes sense?

Gemini said...

Jennifer, keep that first husband! He has to sleep some time, so that's when you do all your shopping....

Me, I'm waiting for the next generation iPad. Has to be some bugs to work out of the first edition, then I'm all over it. That dang thing is sexy...

Gemini said...

Thanks for the cover comments! I really thought it grabbed the feeling of the story. And the smell (?). I'll never mow lawn again and not think of it!

Adrian's oils smell fresh and earthy and Kevin's favorite smells like green grass.....

Cathy M said...

Hi Gemini,

It's always fun to get to know a new author. Thanks for the excerpt, I can see why Kevin is your favorite hero.

caity_mack at yahoo dot com

Jane said...

Congrats on the upcoming release, Gemini. Can't wait to read "Green Grass."

janie1215 AT excite DOT com

katsrus said...

Another book I would love to read. Sounds really good.
Sue B
katsrus(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

Great excerpt, really enjoyed it! I am curious to find out how their weekend - and the story plays out.

Pam S
pams00@aol.com

mrsshukra said...

Haven;t read a good contemporary romance in a long time, this is tempting!

delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

Fedora said...

Wow--this sounds terrific! Another new-to-me-author to add to the TBB!

f dot chen at comcast dot net

Gemini said...

Tina, start to finish? This one I would estimate three months to pound out the first draft, but there were some rewrites for this one. At first Adrian lived with an older sister, but I couldn't figure out how to get her out of the house for the sex scenes with Kevin! Ha - kind of like high school...hard to get the place to yourself:)

Lovie said...

I see that this is book 3 of the Animals series. Do I need to read them in order, or are they stand alone.

Stacey Smith said...

Sound entresting.Mating Season is she a Were Of some type/

sasluvbooks(at)yahoo.com

Brandy B aka Brandlwyne said...

Wow do we leave the contest question awnsers here???

1. Kevin studies at an air quality monitoring station down Jackdog Mountain in New England.
2. It's both fall and mating seasons.
3. Adrian is a (C)
c. Petite blonde with eyes as blue as the ocean and creamy white skin

Thank you for the exerpt!!!

brandyzbooks brandyzbooks@yahoo.com

jeanette8042 said...

I loved reading chapter 1 and am looking into this series now!

Nicole Zoltack said...

Too many books to read!

~Nicole
Nicole.Zoltack AT gmail.com

orelukjp0 said...

I loved the excerpt. Thanks for another great one.

Andrea I said...

Great excerpt. Where you stopped made it exciting to see what's next.

ainfinger@comcast.net

Gemini said...

Lovie (that's cute :) sorry i did not get back to you last night. I fell asleep, laptop on, drool on my chin...

Yes, it's a return to some characters from Animals, but you do NOT have to read them in order. Kevin Shepherd is a return character (along with some others) from Animals. He was just so darn fun to hang out with, I had to give him his own chance to be the hero. Thanks for asking!

Gemini

Armenia said...

Love the excerpt. Definitely going in my TBR list.

armiefox at yahoo dot com

Unknown said...

Love the cover and the excerpt! It sounds like a fabulous read!

lead[at]hotsheet[dot]com

starryann2000 said...

I liked the excerpt and also liked your cover art,sounds like a good book. why is the character your favorite,one qualities does he have that you really liked?

peggy said...

wonderful excerpt.I enjoyed reading it.

Deb830 said...

I always seem to miss the weekend blog. I'm glad I came back to read this. I really enjoy the excerpt.

deb ;0)

Gemini said...

Hi starryann: Kevin is a goofball. He's tall and kinda slim -- not beefy at all, but more of a swimmer's body. Most of all I think he has a heart of gold, loves life and can't see what all the fuss is about. He's loves with his whole heart and still carries the swagger of a cocky twenty-something. Thanks for asking! That was fun to answer....

Gemini said...

Thanks to all the commenters (ors?) and thank you Tilly, for having me. I'll get my address to you ASAP so you can send me my Sony Reader...:)

Rosie said...

This book sounds great. Thanks for the excerpt!!!