Blitzing Emily by Julie Brannagh

Author:Julie Brannagh [Brannagh, Julie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2014-01-06T13:00:00+00:00

BRANDON SHOOK HIS head 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.”

“You’re really doing this,” she said. He reached into a kitchen drawer for a flashlight.

“Are you sure you’re okay to drive?”

“I haven’t had a drink in two hours now. I also wouldn’t get behind the wheel if I wasn’t.” He reached out for her hand again. “Ready to go?”

Brandon parked his Land Rover a short distance from a swamp a couple of miles from his house. He handed her the flashlight.

“This is how it’s going to go. Tilt this up so I can see, but not so much that it scares them off.”

“Aren’t there frogs at the pet store?”

“Naww. This’ll be easy.” He kissed her forehead. “You stay up here, or you’re going to get really dirty.”

Emily watched him move away from her. The sky was brilliant with stars. The silence was broken by tall grass brushed by a soft breeze and what must have been a huge bullfrog looking for his girlfriend. Brandon was rustling around. She heard a plop, a muttered, “Shi— Shoot,” and Brandon spoke up. “Hey, sugar, tilt that flashlight in this direction.”

She turned the flashlight toward his voice and let out a gasp. “What happened to you?”

“It’s a little mud. Nothing to worry about.” He crouched down at the shoreline, looking intently into the water. “They’re here. Just gotta get one. You should see how many tadpoles there are.” He dipped his jar into the pond. “The frog’ll think he’s right at home.”

Emily inched her way down the bank. The tall grass brushed her calves as she moved along. It wasn’t muddy up here at all. As long as she stayed away from the swamp, everything was fine. Lost in thought, she walked along, eyes focused on him.

Brandon had left a party most fun-loving adult males would give an appendage to attend to help a little boy find his frog. He made it clear that he’d enjoy spending more time with that little boy. There were no cameras, no press, nobody that would see him and think he was a great guy. She now knew what it was about him she couldn’t resist, besides the way he looked.

This was who he was, instead of what he thought people wanted him to be. He wasn’t the shallow, stereotypical NFL star. Despite the show he put on for everyone else, she’d seen his gooey marshmallow center.

The things that meant the most to him were not found on a football field: his family, his friends.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.