I didn’t know why Grandpa would’ve wanted it. “It was just about the history of the place.”
After a while the rain stopped, and as we sat watching a pair of hawks circle overhead, a girl about our age came marching up the driveway.
She caught my attention for a couple reasons.
First, she was really attractive. She was a little shorter than me and lightly freckled. Her dark hair had been pulled back in a ponytail.
Second, she was carrying a recurve hunting bow in one hand and a game bag over her shoulder. She clomped up the steps in her hiking boots and dropped the bag onto the porch.
“Y’all like rabbit?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow.
“Tastes like chicken,” Emma replied, although not from any personal experience that I knew of.
“Good,” the girl answered, “then you can help me dress ’em.”
“What about us?” Kyle asked. He put on his most winning smile, so I could tell he thought she was cute too.
She gave him a long look and me a shorter one. “Y’all can catch your own.”
At Emma’s laugh, the girl picked up the game bag and led my sister around the wraparound porch to the back.
Turning the corner, she looked over her shoulder. “My name’s Petra. My mother works here. Pleased to meet you.”
She didn’t wait for us to introduce ourselves.
When I figured the two were out of earshot, I told Kyle, “I don’t think you’re her type.”
He grinned. “Maybe it won’t be so bad here, after all.”
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About the Author
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GREG LEITICH SMITH is the author of Chronal Engine, as well as three other middle grade novels. Originally from Chicago, Greg became fascinated by dinosaurs and time travel through childhood visits to the Field Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Science and Industry. He now lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, author Cynthia Leitich Smith.
Visit Greg at www.gregleitichsmith.com.
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