Page 74 of Blitzing Emily

“I’ll bet she’s scared, too, because she doesn’t know where you are. We’ll take you home, and I’ll find your frog. I’ll make sure he gets back to you.”

“But he doesn’t know you.”

“That’s true. He might come to me, though, because he’ll know I want to bring him back. I think it’ll work.”

Simon let out a long sigh. “Maybe.” He glanced up into Brandon’s face. “Do you know how to take care of frogs?”

Emily heard Brandon’s low chuckle. “My brother and I spent a lot of time catching frogs when I was your age.” Emily saw him looking under the plants in the garden as he spoke. He appeared to be searching for the frog. “We used to bring snakes in the house and put them in the clean laundry basket. My mama screamed.”

“You caught a snake! Did they bite?”

“Aww, not these ones. We weren’t supposed to be in the swamp, but we went there anyway. You probably do some stuff you’re not supposed to do, too.”

“I snuck out of the house,” Simon informed him proudly.

“Let’s make a deal.” Brandon patted him on the back, and waited till Simon looked into his eyes again. “It’s really fun to do stuff you’re not supposed to, but sometimes it’s not a great idea. I know you came over because you wanted to talk to Damian. You need to tell an adult where you’re going. It’s not safe for you to be out here in the dark by yourself.” Brandon was still looking around the plants in the garden, but he turned back to ruffle Simon’s hair. “If you’ll agree to do this, we can look for some frogs. Or, we can play catch.”

Simon thought for a moment. He shifted his weight onto one foot, then the other.

“Can you play football with me?”

Emily heard Brandon’s laugh. “Sure. I’ll play football with you. Maybe Damian will want to play, too.”

“Yeah!” Simon punched the air with a small fist. “That’ll be fun.”

“Let’s get you back home, then. My fiancée’s probably wondering where I am.”

“What’s a fiancée?”

Brandon got to his feet and took Simon’s hand. “That means we’re getting married.”

“Oh.” Simon thought about this for a moment. “Is she pretty?”

“She is. She’s nice, too. I bet you’d like her.”

“I like girls who like frogs.”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to ask her.” Brandon and Simon moved off toward the sidewalk in front of Damian’s house. Maybe it was best if Brandon showed up at the neighbor’s house with her, too. It was time for Emily to make an appearance.

“Hey, guys,” Emily said, as casually as possible.

“There she is.” Brandon held out his other hand. “Sugar, this is Simon. We’re looking for his lost frog. Simon, this is Miss Emily.”

Emily shook Simon’s hand. He gave her a gap-toothed grin and her heart melted. The three of them walked down the sidewalk. “Sugar, do you like frogs?” Simon said.

There was laughter in Brandon’s voice. “You’re flirting with my girl.”

Simon looked up at her expectantly.

“Well, I haven’t seen that many frogs in my life. Maybe you could show me one,” Emily told him.

“If Brandon finds my frog, you can play with him.”

“I’ll do my best, buddy.” Brandon was leading them up the walk to another impressive home a few houses down from Damian’s. “Let me do the talking,” he told Simon.

BRANDON SHOOK HIShead and glanced back at Simon’s house with a fond smile.

“I looked all over Drake’s backyard. He’ll be disappointed if I don’t find another one.” Brandon unlocked the front door of his house, tugging Emily inside. “Let’s get a jar or something, and we’re set.” He pulled open the refrigerator door in his kitchen, dumped the contents of a jar of pickles into the sink, rinsed it, and jabbed several holes in the lid with a fork. “C’mon,” he said as he stuck his keys into his pocket. “I’ll bet you’ve never had a guy take you to a swamp before.”

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