George and Amelia had just finished dinner when their new guest at the Froggy Amish B&B arrived. There was a thunderous motor outside, roaring and popping.George and Amelia jumped up in alarm and Brigette started to cry.
Outside their house sat a shiny, chrome-covered motorcycle. Now, George had a weakness for motorcycles. He loved them very much, so when he saw that motorcycle, his insides quivered, and he felt immediately drawn to the machine. But it was the man sitting astride it that gave George pause.
They knew their guest was named Bryce Horner, but that name seemed rather mild-mannered. Their guest looked anything but! He was tall, broad, with a pot belly and a massive, unkempt beard. His eyes were small and sharp, and he wore leather from head to toe. And on the back of his leather jacket–which George spotted when he got off his bike–was a skull and cross bones.
“Oh my…” Amelia wheezed beside him, but when Brigette caught sight of their new guest, her tears immediately evaporated and she stared at him wide-eyed.
“Welcome to the Froggy Amish Bed and Breakfast!” George called, and he strode bravely out the door. “Are you our new guest?”
The man pulled off his helmet, and his hair was a little bit sweaty and long down to his shoulders. He looked at George first, then over at Amelia and the baby.
“Sure am!” he boomed. “I’m Bryce Horner, and I’m starving!”
“Do you have a bag?” George asked.
Bryce pulled a bag off the back of his bike and handed it to George. George stumbled under its weight.
“Come in,” George said uncertainly, and he truly hoped this wasn’t going to be a mistake!
Bryce Horner, the newest guest at the Froggy Amish B&B, left George and Amelia unsure what to think of him. Was he entirely safe? They weren’t sure! He seemed friendly enough, but he looked like a big bear of a man, and his voice boomed, and he feet thumped, and he belched after dinner so loudly that Amelia dropped her fork.
But Brigette loved him! She grabbed at his beard any chance she got, and she held on for dear life if she caught it. Bryce thought this was hilarious and he’d laugh so loudly that the china shook in the cabinets!
After dinner, George suggested that they go out for a walk so that Bryce could see the farm. George thought that perhaps Bryce wouldn’t seem to large and intimidating if they could stand him next to the bull or something. Amelia stayed inside to clean up, and George took the baby with him outside on their walk.
“Tell me about yourself,” George said.
“I’m a Pisces,” Bryce said meaningfully. “That should tell you everything you need to know.”
But it told George absolutely nothing that he needed to know! Brigette started to wiggle, and so George set her down in the grass. She immediately started crawling toward the fence where the big quarter horse was standing, waiting for a carrot.
“Oh, oh!” Bryce boomed. “Careful now, wee one!”
And Bryce picked Brigette up. George’s heart nearly stopped. Brigette stared up at Bryce in shock, too. And then Bryce said very quietly, “We don’t want you to get squished.”
And Brigette smiled then, a big, gummy, toothless smile that made Bryce blush with pleasure.
“Off to your daddy now,” Bryce said, and he handed her back to George. But George had seen a little glimpse of what a Pisces was, he thought. And a Pisces was a good man.
Amelia was still rather nervous around their new guest. Bryce Horner was such a large and alarming man. Brigette still snatched at his beard every chance she got, and Bryce never seemed to get annoyed. That was a relief.
When Amelia took Brigette up to get ready for bed that night, she could hear Bryce and George talking through the wall.
“What do you do for a living?” George asked Bryce.
“I’m a child protective services agent,” he said. “When small children have to go to court to testify about a crime they’ve witnessed, we have a whole troop of bikers who escort the little one into the courtroom. We look as big and scary as possible and we let that little one know that they can do the scary thing because we will protect them.”
Amelia felt tears prick her eyes. Why, Bryce did look big and scary, but it was for a good cause! And he helped little children in their scariest times. He wasn’t alarming at all. He was… he was nearly as heroic as George! And that was really saying something.
Amelia got Brigette into her cradle, and as the men chatted about Bryce’s job, and about his motorbike outside, Amelia thought to herself how easy it was to judge a book by its cover.
The bishop had judged them… and she had judged Bryce!
“Do you want to see my bike?” Bryce asked.
“Sure do!” George said enthusiastically.
“You can drive it if you want,” Bryce said, and the men went downstairs and outside, and the engine to the big, roaring bike started up.
Amelia shook her head and smiled. For men, revving an engine was a very bonding experience. Amelia might need to explain Bryce to the Amish neighbors later on, but she had a feeling they’d approve of him, too, once she explained.
I hope you enjoy these little froggy tales. They’re relaxing for me write, and I have fun with them. If you like the Amish setting, give my books a try! I have a brand new book on the shelves right now called Green Pastures, and it’s getting great reviews! I hope you’ll try it!
Happy reading!
Patricia Johns 
Your comments make me feel warm and fuzzy. Seriously!