rated *
Chain Reaction
by Holly
Chapter 1
Monday had dawned bright and clear after a night of gentle rain. The afternoon breeze from the east was pleasant, with just a touch of crisp fall air. Trixie Belden sat in the glider on the veranda of Manor House, diligently copying her best friend’s Chemistry notes.
Trixie looked up at Honey, a puzzled expression in her blue eyes. “Honey,” Trixie began, smoothing her blonde curls away from her face, “What happened to problem number fourteen?”
Honey glanced sideways at Trixie, her face a mask of innocence. “What about it?” she asked, pretending to examine her nails.
“Well, you didn’t finish it.” Trixie waved her hands impatiently. “What happened? What’s the answer?”
“Oh, that.” Honey cleared her throat, then asked with a smile, “Did you get to talk to Jim last night? I know that phone call must have been really important, what with missing our study group and all.”
“Yeah. He called around 7:00 last night,” Trixie mumbled, flushing guiltily. She decided to drop the subject of the unsolved Chemistry problem. “I’ll get Brian to help me with it this week-end,” she decided silently.
“Guess what?” Trixie brightened, changing subject. “Jim said he was coming home this week-end, and Brian’s coming with him.” She waited for Honey to respond, but Honey just sat staring at the horizon.
“Hello. Honey.” Trixie waved her hand at her friend. “Did you hear me? Jim and Brian are coming home. Isn’t that great? We could double date. Maybe see a movie at The Cameo.”
Lifting her eyes to meet Trixie’s hopeful gaze, Honey shrugged and muttered, “I don’t think so, Trix. Not this time.”
Sympathy filled Trixie’s eyes as she touched Honey’s hand and said softly, “Listen, Honey, I know Brian hurt your feelings. You know how he is. He is always so sensible about everything. You know he really likes you.”
Trixie paused, gauging her friend for a reaction. She began again hopefully, “I know he misses you, and you two could talk this thing out.” Her voice trailed off uncertainly as Honey shook her head again.
“Trixie, you just don’t understand, and I’m not sure I can explain right now.” Honey dropped her gaze, hoping that Trixie would not press the issue.
Trixie, however, gave reign to her tenacious nature, and bulldog-like pursued the subject. “Honey Wheeler!” Trixie exploded, “We have always told each other everything.” She softened only when Honey met her gaze again, unshed tears in her large, hazel eyes. “Please, tell me what’s going on.”
Drawing a shaky breath, Honey began, “Trixie, you are my best friend. You are one of the most important people in the world to me. So, I need you to try to understand what I’m going to say.”
She held up a hand to ward of interruptions, “You have Jim, Di has Mart. I guess I just wanted somebody to want me. Brian was that convenient somebody. I realize now that maybe he wasn’t the right somebody.” She paused gathering her courage again. “I don’t want a relationship of convenience. I want a relationship that matters. I know what I want, and it’s not your brother, Trixie.”
Biting back hot tears, she finished in a whisper, “Trixie, please don’t hate me. I need to know that you will always be my friend, no matter what.”
Trixie wrapped her friend in a tight hug. “I will always be your friend. No matter what, I promise.”
Honey smiled precariously. “No matter? No matter who?”
“No matter what,” Trixie repeated firmly.
Later, as Trixie made her way down the path toward Crabapple Farm, she replayed the conversation. Something Honey said was puzzling, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
“Honey has certainly been acting mysteriously,” Trixie thought. “And I mean to find out why.” If there was anything Trixie Belden loved, it was a mystery.
She trudged on pondering Honey’s words, then suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. One phrase stood out in her mind like a beacon. “No matter who,” Trixie gasped. “What an odd thing to say.”
Chapter 2
Honey waited anxiously in the clubhouse conference room, thinking how wonderful this past week had been for her. “Dan is so sweet and caring,” she thought. “He’s awfully handsome too. And his eyes. Gosh, I could just get lost in those eyes.”
She sighed wistfully and checked the window again, hoping for some sign of her new boyfriend. She started as the door opened behind her.
“You’re always sneaking up on me, Dan Mangan,” she scolded playfully.
Dan smiled and pulled her into his arms. “I missed you, Honey. I’m tired of sneaking around like this,” he said softly. “Let’s just tell everybody and get it over with. I don’t like this feeling of lying to my friends.”
Staring down into Honey’s soft hazel eyes, he gathered the courage to speak his greatest fear. “You’re not ashamed of me, are you, Honey?”
She gasped and pushed back from him. “Dan, I don’t how you could even think such a thing,” she fixed him with a steady gaze. “I just want to wait until tomorrow, when everyone is here. I want everyone to know at the same time, so that we can just move on.”
“Okay?” She moved back into Dan’s embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck, her eyes pleading with him to understand. “We can have a cookout at the boathouse, all of us together.”
“Fine,” Dan agreed, thinking that he would give her the moon if she asked for it. “That’s the most wonderful thing about her,” he reflected. “She wouldn’t ask for it.”
Dan had been with a lot of girls since coming to Sleepyside. A steady stream of girlfriends passed before him due, to his good looks and magnetic personality. They all wanted to feel special, dating a bad-boy turned good. Dan wasn’t stupid; he knew what they were after. He saw right through their selfish, shallow facades. Honey Wheeler was the first girl to make him feel special. To make him feel like he was more than just an image. When he looked into her eyes, he saw all the things that he could be, because she believed in him.
“Listen. All these people around this week-end,” Dan whispered kissing her. “When am I going to get you to myself for some alone time.”
Honey smiled shyly and lightly traced a finger along Dan’s well-muscled arm. “Well, we’re alone right now.”
* * *
Jim Frayne hurried down the hill towards Crabapple Farm, his mind filled with images of blonde curls and bright blue eye.
“Man, I have missed Trixie these past two weeks,” he thought as he rushed on in the gathering twilight.
Jim grinned as he spotted an all too familiar figure in the distance. “Hey, Brian,” he hailed. “Long time no see, buddy.” His green eyes twinkled as he guessed Brian’s destination. “Where’s the fire?”
Dark-haired Brian Belden waved to his friend and hurried on, calling over his shoulder, “I’m going to find your sister. I need to talk to her.
“Well, Miss Trask said she went for a walk. Check the clubhouse.”
“Thanks,” Brian nodded and hurried on.
* * *
Before Jim could ring the doorbell of Crabapple Farm, Trixie had snatched open the door and jumped into his arms.
“Jim!” she squealed. “I can’t believe you’re home early. We didn’t expect you and Brian until tomorrow, mid-morning at the latest.”
“Ah, ‘tis the prodigal scholar returned home from yon noble institute of higher learning.” Trixie’s brother, Mart Belden, stepped onto the porch munching an apple.
“How you doing, Mart?” Jim shook Mart’s hand grinning. “Are you taking care of this crazy sister of yours?”
Mart shook his head in mock despair. “Alas, my fair sibling pines for lack of supervised activity.” He grinned up at Jim. “In other words, buddy, you made it home just in time. She’s off on another wild goose-chase.”
Tossing her head, Trixie sniffed at her brother. “Run along, little twin. I’m busy.” She drug Jim over to the swing as Mart slammed the front door behind him.
“Jim, you just won’t believe it,” Trixie bubbled. “Honey is acting so strange, and she won’t tell me a word. Wait until I tell you what she said.”
Silencing her with another kiss, Jim laughed and reached out to tug his favorite, blonde curl. “Has it been that boring with me gone, Shamus? You’ve had to resort to concocting a mystery out of my own sister?” He shook his head, green eyes twinkling down at her.
“No, wait a minute, Jim.” Trixie began again. “Just listen…..”
“Trixie, let’s not talk about Honey.”
Trixie folded her arms and slouched down in the swing, clearly frustrated. “Fine,” she muttered grudgingly. “What do you want to talk about?”
Leaning toward her again, Jim whispered, “Who said I want to talk?”
* * *
Brian strolled on, hurrying again only when he saw the light in the clubhouse windows. Mentally he rehearsed the words meant for Honey, thinking hopefully of the smile he would receive. “Honey, I know we left a lot of things unsaid…,” he shook his dark head and tried again. “Honey, we both have feelings for each other, and I’m sorry I didn’t say this sooner…” He sighed in frustration. “Never mind. I’ll figure it out when I see her.”
Smiling, he approached the side window, planning to tap on the glass and surprise her. Glancing through the window, he froze, hand midway to the pane. He stood there motionless feeling as if someone had just knocked the wind out of him. The smile slowly slid from his face, being replaced by shock that migrated into a mask of cold fury.
Chapter 3
Standing in the gathering shadows, Brian Belden wrestled with feelings of loss, betrayal, and rage. Seeing Honey nestled so contently in Dan’s arms was more than poor Brian’s heart and mind could endure. Looking through the clubhouse window again, Brian saw Dan tilt Honey’s face up for another gentle kiss. Rage won over, and one thought rang through his tortured mind as clearly as a tolling bell. Make them hurt. Make them pay.
Brian stepped out of the shadows as Honey and Dan left the clubhouse. “Well, well, well. Isn’t this a nice Welcome Home?”
Dan turned, startled at the murderous gleam in his friend’s eyes. “Brian, let’s go back inside where we can talk.”
“Oh, I don’t think there’s anything left to say, buddy.” Brian looked past Dan, fixing Honey with an icy glare. She shrank back as if he had slapped her.
“Just listen for a minute, Brian.” Dan was trying to hold to reason, but his temper quickly began to edge toward the surface. Seeing the fear in Honey’s eyes only kicked it up another notch. “If you’ll just come inside…,” Dan began firmly, taking another step forward.
Ignoring Dan’s attempt at compromise, Brian focused his full fury on Honey. “You know, Honey, I thought you were different. I thought you were special, but I was wrong.” Brian’s voice was cold and deliberate. “You’re common. Just a common tramp.”
The words rolled over Honey, tearing at her heart, making her feel hot and cold with shame. She shook her head and swallowed hard, knowing that she had done nothing wrong. Being sure of her innocence did nothing to control the violent trembling brought on by Brian’s words.
Sure that she would not be able to hold back her tears much longer, and not wanting to cause further embarrassment for any of them, Honey brushed past Brian. “I need to go home.”
“I’m not finished with you yet,” Brian snapped, grabbing her arm. He spun her around violently, causing her to loose her footing. She fell painfully to her knees.
The temper that Dan was struggling to keep just below the surface, boiled over. Lightning fast, Dan struck, bringing his fist into Brian’s jaw with a fury that sent him sprawling in the dust.
Dan stood over him menacingly. “Touch her again, Belden, and I’ll snap your neck!”
Gingerly feeling his jaw and mouth, Brian half sat up and examined the blood on his fingertips. He spoke sarcastically without looking up. “Looks like you inherited a temper from that idiot uncle of yours.”
Bill Regan had come to Dan during a time in his life when he desperately needed someone to care, and had offered him a home and a second chance. His uncle had been the one person that Dan could always depend on. The one person that was always there anytime the Bob Whites needed him.
It never even occurred to Dan, that Brian didn’t mean a word he was saying. That he was just lashing out in the only way he knew how. Now, hearing his uncle being insulted, Dan’s temper reached a fever pitch, and he lunged forward again shouting, “Get up, you…”
“No, Dan! Please,” Honey pleaded grabbing Dan’s arm just in time. “Please,” she repeated. “You’ll get into trouble. It’s not worth it.”
Her heart broke as Dan dropped his arm and turned to face her. The young man standing before her was no longer the Dan that she knew and cared for. His eyes held that sullen, angry look of the boy in a black, leather jacket. She had thought that person to be long dead, and hated Brian for bringing him back.
“Just go home, Dan,” Honey pleaded again.
Regret washed over Dan instantly, as he realized how much he had hurt her. He didn’t care about the repercussions. They could send him back to the courts tomorrow for all that mattered. He did, however, care about the pain that showed so plainly in Honey’s eyes.
Shaking his head, he spoke softly, “I’m sorry, Honey. I’m so sorry. If I could take it back, I would. I swear it.”
“Just go home, Dan. Trust me,” she whispered.
He turned away, ignoring Brian’s bellow of, “This isn’t over, Mangan!”
Honey turned on Brian, fist doubled at her sides. “How could you? You have some nerve coming back here…”
“Yeah, and look what I find when I come back. I leave you for two weeks….” Brian shouted over her.
“Two weeks?” Honey’s voice trembled, “No, Brian. You left me long before that.”
She turned away as Brian said slowly, “You need to think this through carefully. Think about what you are doing. Think about your future.”
Choking back hot tears, she stammered, “Don’t you worry about my future, Brian Belden. You’re not in it.” She wheeled toward Manor House and broke into a run.
As the last rays of twilight faded into darkness, Brian stood alone.
* * *
Bill Regan was just starting up the steps to his apartment when he recognized Dan stalking by, muttering under his breath. Even from a distance he could see the anger etched on Dan’s features.
He called out to his nephew, concern clouding his face. “Dan…”
“WHAT?”
Regan’s quick temper spiked, “Don’t you ‘WHAT’ me, Daniel. Get over here. Now!”
Chapter 4
The walls of the little white farmhouse shook as the front door slammed with a crash. Trixie Belden, peeked through the kitchen door, and gasped, “Brian, what happened to you?”
Fire still smoldered in Brian’s dark eyes as he hissed, “Shut up, Trixie. What are you trying to do, wake up Moms and Dad?”
“You did a fine job of that yourself when you tried to tear door off the hinges,” Peter Belden spoke quietly from the stairway. He walked over to Brian, noticing the bruise darkening on his jaw. “What happened, son?”
Helen Belden, frantically moved forward to embrace her son, “Were you driving the car? Did you have a wreck? Is Honey okay?”
Dropping his eyes from his mother’s worried gaze, Brian brushed past his parents as headed up the stairs. “I’m fine, Moms,” he mumbled. “Just go back to bed.”
“Peter?” Helen Belden gave her husband an imploring look.
Mr. Belden simply gave his wife a look of warning and shook his head. “Go back to bed, Helen. I’ll talk to him.”
Trixie was already edging by her father when he stopped her with a sharp tone. “Trixie,” he warned, “go to bed.”
“But, dad, I was just going to…”
“Beatrix, don’t make me tell you again,” her father spoke quietly as he headed toward his son’s room.
* * *
Bill Regan pulled a chair away from the kitchen table, and motioned for his nephew to have a seat. “Sit,” Regan spoke firmly. “Now talk.” He leaned against the kitchen counter, and folded his arms across his broad chest.
Regan could clearly see the rebellion in Dan’s eyes. “I hoped I’d never see that look again,” Regan thought grimly. “Now what?”
Under his gruff exterior, he was a little less than confident of how to handle this unknown situation. Passing a large, freckled hand over his eyes, he prayed silently, “Lord, please don’t let me screw this up.”
* * *
Sobbing quietly, Honey sank onto the edge of her bed and buried her face in her hands. “This is all my fault,” she cried. Waves of guilt broke over her like the tide rolling onto a sandy beach.
“All my fault,” she repeated. “Now Brian despises me, Dan will never speak to me again, and Trixie will probably hate me too. No, not Trixie,” she reflected. “She promised. She won’t break her promise.”
Wiping away her tears, Honey stared into the darkness. “Maybe Brian is right about me,” she thought as his accusations rang in her ears relentlessly. “No,” she whispered, “I’m crazy about Dan, and I have been for a long, long time.” Honey smiled, a warm feeling flooding through her as she remembered their first kiss.
She had been so nervous when Dan sat down beside her to study. His nearness started butterflies fluttering madly in her stomach. Honey had always considered Dan very good looking, but a few months ago she had began to notice other things. His sense of humor, his gentle nature and the way she always felt so comfortable around him. She slowly became aware that the mere thought of him made her glow with happiness.
Not daring to hope that Dan would give her a second glance, she had struggled to concentrate on the Chemistry assignment that evening. “Why would he want someone like me,” she thought at the time. “He’s got plenty of girls. Pretty girls. Girls that know how to do stuff, and are willing to prove it.”
She remembered the feeling of her hair cascading down her back. The feel of Dan’s strong hands on her face, and his warm, gentle lips. When he kissed her the world flew away and nothing else mattered.
“I guess it’s all over now.” She curled herself around a pillow, sobbing brokenly.
* * *
Jaw clenched, Dan stared silently at his uncle, waiting for him to speak. “Well, this is just great,” he thought bitterly. “Something happens around here, and everybody thinks it’s all my fault. I didn’t do anything wrong this time. I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. He wouldn’t give me a chance to explain. Typical.”
Struggling to keep his voice calm, Regan spoke again. “Okay, Dan, what happened?”
“I got in a fight,” came the mumbled reply.
“You what? With who?” Regan’s voice went up several decibels as he leaned forward and placed his large, freckled hand flat on the kitchen table. “Why would you do something so stupid…?”
“Brian!” Dan yelled back. “I hit Brian. He wouldn’t listen…”
“That’s no excuse.”
“He insulted you…”
“I don’t care!”
“He threw Honey down…”
“He what?” Regan’s voice was low and hard as he straightened again to his full height.
Dan gestured with his hand, an angry look crossing his face again. “He threw her down on the ground, Uncle Bill. I thought he was going to hit her.”
His green eyes flashed as Regan spoke, “Did you put him on the ground?”
“Yes, sir, I did.” Dan answered evenly.
Regan fought down a wave of pride, as he struggled to stay on track. “Danny, it was still wrong to hit him. You can’t go around losing your temper all the time. You’ve got to learn to control it. Yeah, yeah I know, I’m somebody to talk,” he sighed seeing the look Dan shot him.
He tried a different approach, “Why, Danny? Why did he throw Honey on the ground? Talk to me. I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me.”
For the first time Dan dropped his gaze, refusing to look Regan directly in the eye. “Honey and I were in the clubhouse, and Brian must have seen us through the window. I don’t know,” his voice trailed off.
Bill Regan ran his hand through his thick, red hair, not wanting to ask the next question. He took a deep breath and plunged ahead, “What were you doing alone in the clubhouse with Honey Wheeler?”
A golden-yellow, harvest moon peeked over the tree line above the Hudson River. Brian Belden stood at his window watching the translucent beams stretch down, casting shadows at will. He watched, amazed that the rhythms of life and nature could continue around him, as though nothing had happened. His life had been ripped to shambles in a matter of minutes, and yet the universe took no notice, but plodded along at a steady pace.
He chose to ignore the first soft tap that sounded at his door, and continued to stare at the landscape, bathed in moonlight below. The second knock was louder and demanded his attention. His father’s voice followed, “Brian, can I come in, son?”
Peter Belden entered the room and saw the silhouette of his eldest child against the window. “Brian,” he said again softly. “Sit down, and talk to me. What happened tonight?”
Moving slowly to the bed, Brian sank down, and clutched his dark hair in both hands. “Dad,” he began in a low voice, “I’ve always tried to be so careful. Careful with my words, with my actions. I’ve always tried to take care of everyone around me and watch over them. Make sure they didn’t get into any trouble or cause problems.”
“Yes, you have,” Peter nodded. “I’ve always been so proud of you.”
“Not tonight, Dad.” Brian looked up at his father, his dark eyes full of sorrow. “You would not have been proud of me tonight. I messed up. I lost two of my very best friends.”
Not sure where the conversation was headed, Peter only nodded again and asked, “Do you want to tell me about it?”
“No,” Brian spoke after a long moment, “I don’t. I just want everything back to the way it was. Guess it’s too late.”
“The thing to do now,” Brian continued more to himself than to his father, “is to move on. Just move on, and try to forget her. I can’t ever forgive them for this, but maybe I can forget.”
Sensing that this was not the right time, Peter got up and moved toward the bedroom door again. “Son, when you are ready to talk, I’m here. You know that, but there are some other things I want you to remember. First, I will always be proud of you. Second, whatever this is, it’s going to be okay. Do you understand that? Everything is going to be okay.”
Brian watched as the door closed behind is father. “I wish I could believe that,” he whispered.
* * *
Regan waited for Dan’s reply, not at all sure that he wanted to hear it. “You and Honey were alone in the clubhouse,” he repeated. “What happened?”
“I kissed her,” Dan mumbled. “It wasn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last,” Dan added, giving his uncle another rebellious glare.
“You kissed her,” Regan was incredulous. “This may be the dumbest thing you’ve done yet.”
“What’s the matter?” Dan muttered. “Scared you’re going to lose your job if I get caught with the boss’s daughter?”
Biting hard on his lip, Regan fought back his temper again. Shouting would not help. “Dan that’s not true. You know it’s not.” Regan took a seat across from him, and continued, “Honey is one of your best friends. You can’t go around playing with something like that. I just hate to see you two lose that friendship.”
Dan looked up, a question in his eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Regan stared up at the ceiling, and took another deep breath. “Dan, I’ve seen you with girls. A new one parades through here every week. Now, how do you think Honey is going to feel when you drop her for the next flavor-of-the-week blonde that walks by? She’s different; she deserves better than that.”
“I know, Uncle Bill,” Dan said, meeting Regan’s eyes again with a solemn gaze. “I know, and it’s not going to happen. I would never do anything to hurt her.” He paused only a moment before continuing in a small whisper, “I’m crazy about her.”
Considering his nephew’s words for only a moment, Regan made a decision. Standing up and grabbing his jacket, he told Dan, “You stay here tonight. I’ll ride out and tell Maypenny not to expect you.
* * *
Jim Frayne made his way up the drive of Manor House, whistling softly. It had been so good to see his family and friends again. “Especially Trixie,” he thought to himself a slow smile spreading across his face. “I’m lucky to have a girl like her. She’s got everything. Looks, brains, personality, a sense of humor and her brother is my best friend. Who could ask for more?”
Becoming friends with Brian Belden had changed Jim’s life. After his father died, Jim had lost touch with what it felt like to laugh and talk to another guy about anything or nothing at all. He and Brian had spent innumerable hours together hunting, fishing, and riding horseback. “He’s just like a brother to me,” Jim reflected. “And I couldn’t trust a better guy to take care of my sister.”
Sticking his hand in his pocket to fish out his house key, Jim froze. He checked the other pocket and then began to frantically pat down his jacket. “My knife,” Jim gasped. “Where’s my pocket-knife?”
The knife had belonged to his late father, Win, and Jim could still recall the day his mother had given it to him. “This belonged to your daddy, Jimmy,” she had said choking back tears. “It belongs to you now. Take good care of it.”
Trying to sort his jumbled thoughts, Jim took a deep breath. “I’ll just retrace my steps. I went to the stables first. Maybe Regan’s seen it,” Jim said, heading that way.
The stables, however, were dark. Jim looked up at the lighted windows in the garage apartment. “I hate to bother him.” Jim headed up the steps thinking hopefully, “Maybe he already found it.”
* * *
Jupiter stood patiently in his stall as Regan entered the stables. The horse nickered softly, as though sensing something was wrong.
“There now, Jupe,” Regan spoke quietly. He ran his hand over the animal’s sleek flank, the tension in his own body beginning to seep away. Regan could feel his heart rate slowing down, and his breathing returning to a normal, steady pace.
Feeling the calm began to flow through him once more, Regan smiled and spoke softly again. “No rest for the weary, Jupe. How about a moonlight ride, fella?”
* * *
Answering the persistent knock on the door to his uncle’s apartment, Dan Mangan found a very surprised Jim standing outside. “Well, I guess I know what he’s here for,” Dan thought sullenly.
“I was looking for Regan,” Jim began. “I lost my knife, and I thought maybe he’d found it,” he said all in one breath, then paused. “What are you doing here?”
“You just missed him.” Dan averted his eyes from Jim’s clear, green gaze. “Look, Jim, we need to talk.”
“About what?” Jim asked, becoming more confused by the minute.
Taking a deep breath, Dan met his friend’s eyes with a level, steady gaze. “About Honey.”
“What about my sister?” Jim’s eyes narrowed, and he frowned slightly.
Motioning for Jim to come in and have a seat, Dan spoke carefully, “This could take awhile, Jim. Remember when you gave Trixie that silver bracelet?”
Bright morning sunlight slanted across the window as Jim Frayne rolled over and opened his eyes. Sitting up, he shook his head trying to clear away the cobwebs. He had gotten very little sleep, and Dan Mangan had been the reason.
Jim shook his head again, remembering the conversation from last night. Finding out that Honey and Dan were involved had come as a shock, but when Dan had told him about the altercation with Brian, Jim found himself speechless. His first impulse had been to give him a good punch in the nose.
Turning on his heel, Jim had slammed the door behind him. “Just go, Frayne,” Jim muttered to himself. “Just go before you do something stupid. There’s been enough of that already.”
He sighed again, trying to piece together his scattered thoughts. “Honey is my sister. Brian is my best friend. I can’t believe Dan hit him. I ought go back over there and punch him in the nose. If he ever hurts my sister, I’ll kill him.” The same series of thoughts circled through his mind again and again.
“The first thing that I need to remember,” Jim sighed, “is that Dan is a Bob White. We’re supposed to stick together, not turn on each other at the first sign of trouble. I know where Dan’s coming from, I’ve been there myself.”
Jim thought back to a certain conversation that had taken place in Mr. Maypenny’s cabin when Dan had accused him of being a ‘Rich Kid’. Jim grinned as he recalled, ironically, how Brian had tried to call a halt to the argument.
“Jim was worse off than you’ve ever been,” Brian said quietly, “not many months ago.”
He could still see the scowl on Dan’s face, and remembered how he had nodded and smiled at him, trying to reach through that tough exterior and find common ground.
“Broke, runaway, and scared. And I haven’t forgotten it.”
“This needs to stop,” Jim decided firmly, remembering the Bob White motto.
“…all brothers and sisters, and if one of us is ever in need, we’ll never fail him or her…”
* * *
Jim found Honey on the veranda. Taking one look at her red-rimmed eyes, he thought silently, “Nice going, guys. She cried herself to sleep.” Aloud he asked, “How are you feeling this morning?”
“I’m fine,” Honey answered in a stiff voice.
“No, you’re not,” Jim sighed, settling down beside her. “I talked to Dan last night. Honey, answer me one question. Does he make you happy?”
Honey looked at Jim, and for the first time that day, he could see a warm glow in her hazel eyes. “More than anything.”
“That’s all I need to know,” Jim said, getting to his feet.
“Where are you going?” Honey called after him.
“To find your boyfriend,” Jim shot back over his shoulder. “I’ll see if I can help him exercise the horses this morning. Oh, and Honey, you might want to comb your hair and…”
“Put on a little lipstick?” Honey finished for him with a wide smile.
Jim grinned and headed toward the stables.
* * *
Bobby Belden, sat in the sunny kitchen of Crabapple Farm, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich clutched in his chubby hands. He grinned as his brother Mart ruffled his blonde curls. “Hey! Trixie said I could holp you and Brian this morning.”
“Where is Brian?” Trixie asked.
“Our eldest sibling seeks solace in seclusion this blessed morn,” Mart informed Trixie with a lofty air.
Trixie wrinkled her nose at Mart and complained, “Why can’t you just say that he’s shut up in his bedroom sulking?”
Opening the refrigerator door, Mart grinned,. “And what, pray tell, is on your most auspicious agenda, Beatrix?”
“If you must know,” Trixie retorted, “I’m waiting on a call from Honey. She promised to call this morning with a time for us to meet at the lake.”
“Maybe she forgotted,” Bobby chimed in. “Like her and Dan told me to do.”
“What are you talking about?” Trixie asked, instantly curious.
“Honey and Dan told me to just don’t ‘member sumpin, so I forgotted it till just now,” Bobby explained, a cherubic smile spreading across his dimpled cheeks.
“I’m surprised you forgot if somebody told you it was a secret,” Mart muttered absently, rummaging for the milk carton.
“Not a see-crud,” Bobby said, shaking his blonde curls. “You only tell see-cruds ‘bout good junk. Kissin’ ain’t good junk.”
Trixie stared open-mouthed at Mart as Bobby’s words registered with both of them. Their blue eyes widened in astonishment. Mart was the first to move, with Trixie close at his heels. They stumbled over each other in their haste to be the first one to reach the door.
“Hey!” Bobby shouted, as Brian came down the stairs, “Trixie and Mart lefted me all by my lonesome.”
“Well, how about I stay here with you?” Brian asked, forcing a smile. “I don’t have any plans today.” He sank down wearily beside the little boy, and gathered him in a close hug.
“You look mad,” Bobby said, squirming out of Brian’s reach.
“Maybe I am a little bit,” Brian said with a rueful chuckle.
“One time I gotted mad with Terry and Larry,” Bobby went on, as if he hadn’t heard Brian. “I gotted so mad I didn’t wanna be their friend no more. But mummy said that wasn’t nice. She said I had to forgived them and forgot.”
“Forgive and forget,” Brian corrected softly, becoming uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.
“That’s what I said,” Bobby insisted petulantly. “If I stayed mad with Terry, I couldn’t play with Larry no more, so I forgived them, but I didn’t forgotted it. I just don’t never play space-mans with them no more.” Bobby looked at his older brother with solemn blue eyes. “That fish bowl stunk sumpin awful, Brian, and mummy almost never gotted it off my head. ”
His brother’s words were ringing in Brian’s hears like a soft reprimand. “Guess I know what I need to do then,” Brian said quietly, getting to his feet.
“Hey! Where you going? I was ‘sposed to holp you,” Bobby wailed.
“You did,” Brian smiled back at him. “More than you know.”
* * *
“Honey Wheeler!” Trixie cried breathlessly, when Honey opened her bedroom door. “I cannot believe you didn’t tell me. I’m supposed to be your best friend.” She grabbed Honey in tight hug, and danced her around the room. “You and Dan! It’s just too perfectly perfect.”
Trixie flopped onto Honey’s big bed, as Honey asked, “Then you’re not mad at me? I wanted to tell you, but I just didn’t know how.”
“Mad at you?” Trixie gasped, “How could I be mad at you? This is all too glorious! Why couldn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know, Trixie,” Honey smiled shyly. “I’ve never been in love before.”
“You love him?” Trixie gasped, her blues eyes dancing. “Did you tell him? Does he know?”
“No,” Honey shook her head firmly, “and you can’t tell him that you know. Trixie, he would just die if he knew that you know before he knows. So, don’t say anything.”
“I’m not sure I could if I wanted to,” Trixie giggled.
* * *
Dan turned from his work, as he heard someone enter the stable. He squinted, wiping sweat from his brow, and found Mart Belden grinning at him like the Cheshire cat.
“One question, buddy,” Mart began. “How in the world did you keep Bobby from blabbing? Everyone around here knows that Bobby and a secret are soon parted.”
“I didn’t tell him it was a secret,” Dan winked. “I just told him to forget it.”
Mart slapped his forehead. “Ah, the sheer simplicity of it is strikingly brilliant! I bow to your illustrious cunning and genius, Esquire Mangan,” he chuckled, bowing low. “I would shake your hand, but you’re a mess.”
Dan leaned on his pitchfork, and grimaced. “Yeah. Uncle Bill didn’t think much of me socking somebody, so I’ve got to muck out stalls for the next month.”
“I would offer my assistance,” Mart laughed, taking a seat on an up-turned bucket, “however, I hesitate to interfere with the disciplinary measures set forth by our esteemed mentor.”
Shaking his head, Dan went back to work. “Well, never mind anyway. He could come back any minute, and if catches you helping me, he’ll just get all riled up again.”
“Maybe he won’t mind if I help,” Brian Belden’s voice sounded from the stable door.
Dan turned suddenly toward the doorway, a wide grin spreading across his face. “Yeah, maybe not,” he said, handing Brian a spare pitchfork.
* * *
Sleepyside lay quite and still under the gray skies of early morning. Brian Belden stood at the foot of the driveway waiting for his friend. They both wanted to get an early start back to the college campus.
“Take good care of her, Dan,” Brian thought silently, gazing up at Manor House, “but, be sure that I will always be watching and waiting. One day you will make a mistake, and when you do, I’ll be there. I’ll be the one to catch her and put the pieces back together again.”
He turned back toward the car as Jim slid his duffle bag onto the back seat and shut the door. “You ready?” Jim asked.
Brian nodded, glancing back up at the big house on the hill. “Always."
The End
Author’s Note: I hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. A big Thank You to April for being such a wonderful editor and friend. I would also like to Thank my husband for giving a man’s perspective on the situations set forth in this story.
I don’t own any of the Bob Whites, so Random House need not worry. I didn’t make a dime off of this story, and who knows if I’ll ever do something like this again.