Page 18 of Frog

“Ohmygod, thank you!”

I turned to look at Cy. His fingers, which had been combing through the hair at the nape of my neck, had stilled as he held his breath. “Would that be all right if I stayed two weeks? Would you be okay with me bein’ here that long?”

He glared at me. “You have known for the past three years what I would really like, so don’t ask stupid questions like that.”

“Come here,” I said, taking his hand and walking him through the great room to the huge glass doors. They looked like giant wooden frames, and the first time I had seen them, I had been confused. But you pushed on one side, and it angled open like a giant window, nothing to slide.

He was staring up at me when I turned around to face him.

“I don’t know what you had planned, but that would put me here through Christmas, and I don’t want to cause any—”

“Just stay.” He nodded, smiling at me. “Please.”

I grabbed him and hugged him, burying my face in the side of his neck, pressing a kiss there as his hands fisted in my T-shirt.

“Okay,” he said, sucking in his breath. “Now come eat already before you pass out.”

I followed him back to the kitchen and ate standing up, the boys chattering at me as their mother looked on. Afterward, I had them help me wash the dishes, and they all formed a little assembly line. Carolyn told me I was an angel straight from heaven, and when I explained that I was actually from somewhere else, she laughed really hard.

I went into Cy’s bedroom to call Aidan’s brother in Alaska, and when he found out I wasn’t coming, I had never heard such surprise. Apparently, Aidan had spoken out of turn, and his brother had made no plans to hire me. He thought there might be a job in another couple of weeks or so, but he couldn’t say for certain. So I had crossed the country on a maybe instead of a for sure and could have kicked myself for taking Aidan at his word. I knew better. The man had wanted to get into my pants, and that was all. I really was not that bright.

Putting the phone down, I saw a face peeking around the corner at me.

“I am so stupid, little man,” I told Phillip.

“No you’re not. Lizzie in my class, she’s stupid. She eats her boogers. You don’t do that. I’ve been watching.”

I grunted and gestured for him. He ran and leaped and scrambled up on the bed by me, and together we crawled to the end of the bed and looked at the TV.

“You wanna get the remote?” I asked him, pointing at it maybe four feet away.

“Nope. You wanna get it?”

“Nope.” I yawned.

“Call Micah.”

Such good ideas he had. I yelled for Micah, and he was there seconds later. We both pointed at the remote, and he grabbed it and then got on Cy’s enormous California King with us. Tristan joined us soon after, his Nintendo DS in hand, using the stylus as he lay beside Micah.

“What’re your Mom and Uncle Cy doin’?” I asked him.

“Drinking tea and talking,” he told me.

I made a noise of disgust, and Tristan nodded.

“I know, talking… bleh.”

When I smiled he smiled back, and then I turned on the TV. It was on ESPN, and before I could hear the complaints. I changed it. I flipped channels until I got to Animal Planet and River Monsters was on. Tristan said it was good, so we all gave it our attention.

First I was leaning my cheek on my closed fist, and then my head was on my folded arms. Once Phillip—Pip—climbed on my back and put his head down on my shoulder, I started to fade. Tristan moved so he was leaning on my right side, and Micah was on the left, tucked in tighter. They were all keeping me warm, and I was a goner.

I woke up what felt like minutes later and realized that the TV was off, as were all the lights but for one. The boys were gone, and instead there were lips kissing slowly up my spine. I made a noise of appreciation, feeling the T-shirt pushed up between my shoulder blades.

“Carolyn took the boys home—after much protesting, I might add. They all wanted to stay and sleep with you, but I explained that I had first dibs.”

I grunted. “How long was I asleep?”

“Couple of hours.”