Blurb:
In June, 1966, ACLU attorney Eron Lassiter attends
his uncle’s wedding, and makes an unsettling discovery. Though he’d bowed to
family pressure and has a potential marriage planned, his long-ignored
attraction to other men roars to life when Garrett Emerson, the bride’s nephew,
captures his attention.
After serving in the Korean War and going to college
later than his peers, upwardly mobile Garrett is a loan officer at a local
bank. For his girlfriend, fiancé in her mind, he can’t climb fast enough. But
none of that matters to Eron, and maybe that’s why Garrett’s so drawn to him.
Can Eron and Garrett find happiness amidst the still
pervasive culture of propriety, honor, and expectation in the 1960s?
Get Need Your Love for just $0.99 Here (7/15/2016 Only)
Excerpt
By the time they made it to the beach,
the July heat and humidity had reached their peak. They grabbed some burgers
and fries from a boardwalk stand and snatched a table as a family got up.“You
want to stay and swim?” Eron asked as he gobbled down his burger.
“Not really, too crowded.”
“When I was a kid, we’d never let the
crowd stop us from swimming,” Eron quipped.
“Yeah, guess we have some sense now.”
They
finished eating. Eron nodded toward the car rather than the beach. Garrett
smirked and followed. As Garrett drove back to his apartment, Eron reached out
and touched his thigh.
“I’m sorry,” Eron blurted out, in line
with his own thoughts, but out of nowhere in the silence.
“For what?” Garrett answered, as if he
and Eron were thinking about the same thing.
“I guess the whole thing.”
Garrett looked at him and grimaced.
“What do you mean?”
“I feel like I start things and then put
them to rest.”
Garrett shrugged. “I suppose things can
be kind of sticky between us.”
“I don’t want them to be. I haven’t
regretted anything we’ve done.”
“Having sex in the bushes at the country
club?”
“Nope.”
“Dancing at the Valentine’s dance?”
“Not at all.”
“Maybe if we lived in a vacuum and
didn’t have to deal with the rest of the world, this would be easier?”
“Maybe.”
*
* * *
They finished the drive back to the
apartment in silence. Eron’s sincerity had shone through when he spoke of what
they had done and his lack of regret. Eron’s words eased the tension between
them. At the flea market, with other people around, they had no trouble
carrying on a conversation.
Garrett pulled into his parking spot. He
nodded toward his apartment as they got out of the car. Once inside, Eron
lowered himself to the davenport and Garrett plopped down next to him.
“I’ve been a jerk,” Eron said.
“We’re both confused. Don’t be so hard
on yourself.” Garrett wanted to agree with him, but when he played the scene in
his head, Eron came off less a jerk than he blamed himself. “It doesn’t help
that we both have girlfriends and family that only want what they think is the
best for us.”
“Do you and Johnette…you know…”
“Have sex? No. I used to tell myself it
was because she was a respectable girl and we should wait.”
“And now?”
“Come on, you know the answer to that.
What about you and Mary Ellen?”
“Same situation.”
“Eron, why did you come see me today?”
* * * *
Eron had struggled with the same
question. “As much as I don’t want to be gay, I want to be with you.”
“I understand that,” Garrett said after
a while. “I don’t identify with the queens that live in the city.”
“What about our jobs? Our family?”
“Could we make it work?”
“I have no idea. Honestly I don’t. I’ve
spent hours plotting and examining every angle and I’m more confused than I was
to start. I walled up any feelings I had about other men a long time ago, but
you brought them to the surface.”
Garrett fiddled with the worn seam on
one of the cushions. “I guess you made it safe for me to feel the same way, to
experiment.”
“You soothe me and you’re practical.”
Garrett soaked in Eron’s confession. “I
do?”
Eron swallowed the last of his fear.
“Yes.”
“You know, all I hear anymore is to
focus more on my career at the bank and to quit dicking around at the flea
market. Even Dad says I need to shit or get off the pot. But you do nothing but
encourage me.”
“Isn’t that what being in love is about?
Encouraging and helping?”
“Are you saying that you love me?”
Garrett squinted at him, then cupped his face in his hands. “Say it again.”
Garrett studied Eron’s face further.
“Yes, it’s true. I have no other
explanation for how I feel. I love you.”
Garrett gulped. “I’ve dreamed of hearing
those words since we met. I…I love you, too.”
About Dean Frech
With inspiration
from historical tourism sites, the love of reading, and a desire to write a
novel, Dean started crafting his debut novel, A Place to Call Their Own,
in 2008. After four years of writing and polishing the manuscript, it was
accepted and originally published 2013. His second novel, Disappear With Me, set in Edwardian England was published later
that same year. Both novels were re-released in May 2015.
Dean lives in
Kansas City, Missouri with his two cats. He’s involved in his church and enjoys
watching movies, outdoor activities in the warmer weather, and spending time with
friends and family. In addition to writing, Dean’s hobbies include reading and
patio gardening.
Dean is currently
working a standalone title, Sartin, a merman romance, and The Higher
Law, a continuation of the story of Frank and Gregory’s family set in the
1930s.
Connect
with Dean
Pinterest: Dean Frech
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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?
My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from JMS Books !
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