I always thought Dan had a crush on Trixie - he's unfailingly supportive and seems to get her better than the others. So I wanted to explore their relationships a few years on, when everyone's growing up a little.

As Trixie Belden sat listlessly toying with her pancakes, the horn she'd been dreading was heard honking outside.

"That's Jim," her brother Brian said, pushing back his chair. "Thanks for breakfast, Moms."

"It's no trouble, Brian, you know that. I only wish you could have spent more time at home," his mother said wistfully. She and the rest of the Belden family followed Brian out onto the porch. He had been home from college for two weeks, and was now getting ready to leave for a month as a camp counselor.

"I'll be back in a month, and then I'll be home for the whole summer, I promise." He kissed his mother, exchanged a hearty hug with his father, shook the hand of Mart Belden, who had just graduated from Sleepyside Junior/Senior High, and leaned down to give a big kiss to Bobby Belden, who squirmed away.

"Big boys don't kiss!"

"Sorry." Brian grinned at his baby brother, ruffling his hair, before turning to Trixie. "You going to come with us to the bus stop? I'm sure Honey would like your support as she drives Jim's jeep back home."

Trixie nodded, trying to push away the unhappiness she felt. "She asked me about it last night on the phone."

Honey came to a sudden stop in the driveway, and Trixie could see Jim Frayne wince in the passenger seat of his jeep. "Come on, Brian, before all my hair turns gray!" he shouted out the window. He didn't look at Trixie, though, and she didn't look at him. Instead, she crossed in front of the jeep, sliding into the back seat behind Honey Wheeler. Brian settled onto the seat next to her, waving a final good-bye to the rest of the family as Honey shifted gears with a horrible grinding sound and put the jeep into reverse.

"Watch it, Honey. I think Jim would like his car to be in one piece when he gets back." Brian grinned, leaning easily back against the seat.

Honey giggled. "I'll keep that in mind." She glanced quickly back over her shoulder, about to speak, when Jim grabbed her arm, pulling the wheel enough that they missed Bobby's bike, which was lying just off the driveway. "Sorry." Honey turned back toward the road, but Trixie could see her friend's ears reddening in embarrassment.

The drive to the bus station was a quiet one. At last they pulled up; Brian and Jim got their duffels out of the bag, and gave their sisters a hug. Jim was Honey's adopted brother, but they had come to love each other as much as if they had grown up together. Then Brian and Honey stepped away a bit for a more private good-bye. They didn't say very much, but the look on her best friend's face as she looked up at Brian made Trixie uncomfortable, as though she was intruding. She cleared her throat. "Well, have fun at camp."

"I will, thanks. You have fun here."

"Uh-huh." They nodded at each other, and Trixie couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the friendship, and the promise of something more one day, they used to share. Jim had gone away to college and come home someone she barely knew. She had changed, as well ... she had hoped he would notice the new curves of her figure and the slenderness of her face, but he didn't seem to. He treated her the way he treated Honey—as a kid sister who was no longer part of his daily life.

Brian, on the other hand, had come home from college clearly more appreciative of Honey's fine qualities than ever. Trixie was happy for her friend; Honey deserved a good guy like Brian. But she couldn't help looking at Jim and wondering what was wrong with her, all of a sudden.

The bus horn beeped. Brian kissed Honey's cheek, gave Trixie a last squeeze, and got on the bus. Jim followed him after a brief hug for Honey and a clasp of his hand on Trixie's shoulder.

Honey's eyes stayed glued to the bus until it was out of sight. Then she glanced mischievously at Trixie. "Did we give you and Jim enough time?"

"Time? For—" But Trixie stopped herself. If her best friend couldn't see that all was not right between Trixie and Jim, then Trixie didn't want to have to explain it to her here at the bus stop. "Of course. Plenty of time. How about you?"

"There's never enough time," Honey said. She smiled to herself, a secret kind of smile that Trixie didn't understand ... but she wanted to. She hated herself for being jealous of her best friend and her big brother for finding a happiness that had so far eluded Trixie.

"We should go. I think Moms had a whole list of chores she wanted me to get done today."

"I promised to help Miss Trask, too." Honey glanced worriedly at the jeep. "What if I wreck the jeep on the way home? Jim will never forgive me."

Trixie put an arm around Honey's shoulders. "You won't. But if you do, we'll just tell him you let me drive and he can never forgive me instead."

"Oh, Trixie, Jim could never not forgive you."

There was really no response Trixie could make to that which wouldn't shout her unhappiness, and she let it go.

As they were driving home down Glen Road, Trixie tried to focus on the road and on encouraging Honey's driving, but she couldn't stop her mind from wandering. She was leaning against the window when she saw something in the woods that startled her.

"Honey, stop the car!"

Obediently, Honey stamped hard on the brakes, bringing the jeep to a squealing halt. Jim would have been so upset to hear that sound, Trixie thought distractedly as she opened the passenger door and jumped out of the car.

"Bobby!" She called out. "Bobby Belden! You come back here right now. You know better than to go this far from home by yourself! Bobby!"

She came to a halt in the middle of the woods, panting. Bobby hadn't answered her call or come to her, which was unusual. Even when he knew he was in trouble, he usually had the sense to come when he was called.

"Trixie, what is it? Did you see Bobby?"

"I was looking out the window and I saw a little boy climbing up a tree. It had to be Bobby—he had the same red sneakers, and his jeans were ripped at the knee. Besides, there aren't any other little boys in this part of Sleepyside. Bobby complains all the time that he doesn't have anyone to play with."

"I don't see any tracks, do you?" Honey looked around in the underbrush, throwing up her hands in defeat when she saw nothing.

"No, I don't, either. We can't follow him through the woods on foot, and we can't leave Jim's jeep just sitting there by the side of the road. Let's go back home so I can find out from Moms where Bobby might have gone, then we'll get the horses and come search for him."

"Sounds good to me. Regan's been wanting us to ride more and keep the horses properly exercised, anyway."

"I miss the days when we were all home and could ride together. Now Jim and Brian are gone for a whole month, Diana's in Europe with her family, and it's just you and me and Mart and Dan left in Sleepyside."

"I know." Honey put the keys back in the ignition, starting the car, and pulled smoothly back onto Glen Road. "At least we'll have plenty to keep us busy while the others are gone. She sighed, the corners of her mouth turning down.

"Look on the bright side, chum." Trixie grinned. "At least the camp Brian's teaching at is all boys."

Honey laughed, as Trixie had intended she would. She hoped her best friend hadn't noticed that she'd left Jim's name out of the comment.