Disclaimer: I don't own Trixie or the Bob-Whites but if I did...

Chapter Two

The next morning Trixie felt extremely grateful that her mother had given her the weekend off from her chores. The extra hour of sleep refreshed her after a long night of tossing and turning. When she opened her eyes, Honey was grinning at her.

"The rest of the Bob-Whites will be here soon," Honey reminded her, "for our morning ride."

"Right," Trixie yawned, stretching her arms into the air. "It'll be the last ride with Brian and Jim for awhile."

"Don't start getting moody on me first thing in the morning," Honey warned, tossing a pillow at her. "Save that for when they leave."

"You're right," Trixie conceded, determined to shake off her despair and to enjoy the day. She smiled at Honey and said, "Somehow you're always right."

"Does that mean you'll talk to Jim?" Honey asked with an encouraging smile upon her face.

"It means I won't run away." Trixie conceded.

"Good," Honey said as the girls hurriedly began to dress for their ride.

Despite the circumstances, the teenagers were in a good mood as they gathered in the stables. Trixie led Susie out of her stall and stood close to Dan. While she prepared her favorite mount for the ride, she studied Dan closely.

"I'm glad you could make it," she remarked. "You haven't been around much this summer."

"Mr. Maypenny has been keeping me busy," Dan shrugged as he ducked his head down to study the leather saddle closely while running his fingers across the grain.

Trixie noticed how he avoided her eyes as he spoke. She glanced at her brother, Mart, and saw that he was now staring at them. Grinning to herself, she pretended not to notice. In his haste to intercept her, Mart awkwardly tripped over one of the feed buckets and landed face down in the dirt. As he lay there, Trixie exchanged a grin with Dan while the other Bob-Whites hooted.

"It looks like my brother was trying to tell you something," Trixie chuckled but kept her focus on Dan's reaction. He stared at Mart and started to speak only to be stopped by the sound of Mart's grunt. Smiling innocently, he led Spartan away, leaving Trixie to stare curiously after him. She knew it. There was definitely something going on with those two and she was going to find out the truth sooner or later.

As the group left, Jim rode up beside Trixie. "No luck, I gather."

Trixie grinned sheepishly back at him. "Was I that obvious?"

"Only to Honey and me," he laughed, "but we knew what you were thinking beforehand."

"Give me two weeks, Jim," she declared determinedly, "and I'll find out or my name's not Trixie Belden."

"I don't doubt you, Trix," he grinned, "not a bit."

Later that day as they were swimming at the lake, Honey caught Trixie alone. "Did you find out anything from Dan?"

"Yes, he's definitely hiding something," Trixie nodded. "Now it's time to corner Mart."

"How are we going to do that?"

"Let's just talk to him and get his reaction," Trixie suggested, glancing at Mart. "At least we can be sure he's involved."

"Di's with him right now," Honey noted.

"Even better, it'll be easier to tell if he's lying with her there."

The girls exchanged a mischievous grin. Whatever the two boys were hiding, they would never be able to keep it from the girls, especially when all three of them were involved.

Mart didn't budge no matter how much they tried to persuade him. Trixie even encouraged Di to use her feminine wiles to no avail. When Dan called for them to eat, they admitted defeat for the day. Nothing would keep Mart from eating.

It's not over yet, Trixie thought as she looked suspiciously at Dan and Mart.

She was still staring at them when Jim sat beside her. Grabbing her hand, he asked, "Are you going to stew over those two all day?"

With a reluctant grin, she answered, "I did promise not to do that, didn't I?"

"Come on, Shamus." Jim stood and pulled her to her feet. "Let's go for a walk. It'll get your mind off of them."

With a nervous giggle, Trixie allowed herself to be led away. Realizing that Jim kept her hand held tightly in his, she cast him an inquisitive glance. Surprisingly, she saw him return her look with a questioning stare of his own as they walked further into the preserve.

Stumbling upon an old log, Jim sat down and motioned for Trixie to join him. "We haven't had much time to talk, have we?"

She knew what he meant. They haven't talked about the two of them. Shyly, she peered up at him and licked her lips nervously as he sandwiched one of her hands between his to caress it gently.

"I guess not," she whispered.

"I kind of wish I weren't going away to college," he told her, a hint of regret in his voice.

"And I wish I were older," Trixie admitted wistfully.

"That, too," Jim said softly.

Wrapping his arms around Trixie, he hugged her to his chest. They sat in silence, both trying to summon the courage to say what needed to be said.

Finally, Jim broke the stalemate. "You know, Trix, I am going to miss you…a lot."

Slipping her arms around his waist, she tugged him closer to her before speaking. "It's going to be terrible without you here."

"Terrible," Jim chuckled, "I think you exaggerate."

"Yes, it will, Jim," she insisted, "just terrible."

"Well, I'm glad you think so," he said as leaned back to gaze into her eyes. "You'll probably get so used to it that you won't even miss me."

"That will never happen," she confessed, embarrassed to reveal so much. "It's more likely that you won't even want to visit except for holidays."

"That will never happen," he mimicked her words. "It's more likely you'll have some guy hanging around you."

Trixie grew still in Jim's arms. The only guy she wanted hanging around was Jim, but he was going away and she was too young. Too young to capture the attentions of a college guy.

"You'll be too busy with all those college girls to notice," she replied, trying to sound casual about the entire situation. Especially the glamorous ones, she thought. She could still remember how insecure she felt in the presence of Dot Murray and Laura Ramsey. Now Jim was going to be surrounded by attractive coeds. They were sure to notice him.

Jim laid his cheek on top of her head while he stroked her blonde curls. "You're not going to get too serious about any of those other guys, are you?" he asked in a low, husky voice.

"No," she answered in a whisper, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. "What about those college girls? You have serious plans there?"

"No," he choked out, emotion welling up in him. "I could never…"

"Jim?" Trixie interrupted him. She stared down at her hands as she fidgeted with the frayed hem of her shorts. Sighing, she kept her head down, unable to get the words out.

Lifting her chin with his index finger, he looked encouragingly into her eyes. "What is it, Shamus?"

"If you do meet some gorgeous college girl, we'll still be friends, right?" she blurted out.

"Oh, Trixie," he sighed, "I hope someday we'll be more than friends."

"Really?" she said hopefully.

"Yeah, when the time is right." Jim pulled her closer and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"Yeah, when the time is right," Trixie blinked back the tears at the unfairness of the situation. Finally able to date her sophomore year and she had realized Jim was perfect, the perfect guy who was going away to college.

"You know, Trixie, maybe we could go to the movies or something when I come home to visit. Just me and you," he whispered.

"I'd like that," she mumbled with her face buried in Jim's chest to hide her red cheeks, her heart skipping happily.

Through the trees, Dan spied the duo looking pretty cozy. Volunteering to go search for them when Trixie's brothers became concerned, he hesitated to interrupt their conversation. He was sure the Belden brothers would have been far more eager to intrude. Now he had to invent a way for them to see him first.

Here goes nothing, he grinned to himself. With a loud thump, he let his body fall to the ground in a tumble. Ouch, I didn't mean to be that realistic.

"Dan?" Trixie's voice called through the underbrush. "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay," he answered with a moan. "I just stabbed myself with a stick."

"What in the heck are you doing here?" Jim asked as helped Dan to his feet.

"Keeping the Belden brothers happy." Dan winked at Jim, and whispered, "And you healthy."

"Thanks," Jim mouthed to him. Turning to Trixie, he added, "Coming, Trix?"

"Sure," she grinned and immediately slipped in the same spot that had claimed Dan. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Jim asked as he bent down to help her.

"Fine," she grumbled as embarrassment flooded her cheeks. Noticing Dan trying to stifle his laughter, she glared at him causing him to turn away. Placing her hand on the ground she felt a piece of paper beneath her palm. Curling her fingers around the paper, she stuffed it quickly in her pocket. Just in case, she thought.

"Trixie," Jim smiled at her with a twinkle in his eyes, "there isn't anything broken, is there?"

"No, I just bent my pride a little," she said, her cheeks still flushed.

"Good." He grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet, keeping an arm around her waist as they climbed up the small embankment.

"So what are you two doing out here?" Dan teased as they walked to the lake.

Trixie looked wordlessly at Jim, who tightened his grip on her waist.

"Just enjoying the scenery," Jim grinned at Trixie, "and picking my friends up off the ground."

"For which, I am extremely grateful," Dan replied, eyeing the hand on Trixie's waist. He laughed inwardly at the way she blushed, delighted at the turn of events that would give him cause to tease her more. Just you wait, Freckles.

As they made their way back to the lake, Trixie thought about the paper in her pocket. It only seemed logical that Dan had dropped it when he fell. At least, it was logical to her. She remained lost in thought while Jim and Dan discussed Mr. Maypenny's new wood chipper.

"I plan on bagging the mulch and selling it," Dan announced. "Mr. Maypenny wants to get rid of the old scraggly pines anyway."

"You could probably sell some to Mr. Lytell," Jim commented.

"And Moms' garden club," Trixie chimed in, "especially if you gave them a better deal than Mr. Lytell."

"Okay, smarty," Dan teased, "wouldn't Mr. Lytell like that, having me undersell him?"

"Make them keep it a secret," she whispered conspiratorially.

"Mr. Lytell would buy all year round," Dan said, "but the garden club would only buy once or twice."

"True," she agreed. "Just why all the sudden interest in earning money, anyway? Isn't your job working on the preserve taking up most of your free time?"

Dan shrugged, "Oh, I have a little time to spare if you keep us out of any mysteries."

"Please, not while I'm gone," Jim moaned, but the smile on his face told Trixie he was joking.

"Maybe some mysteries just have to be solved," she replied, nodding at Dan as she glanced at Jim. Two more clues now, she thought. Dan needs money and there's that little paper I'm dying to read.

Trixie didn't get a chance to check out the paper in her pocket until later at Manor House. She had been having so much fun, and for once she didn't allow a mystery to interfere. Jim had stayed by her side for much of the afternoon, only straying when someone called for his attention. Usually, her brothers were the ones demanding his attention. During one of their untimely interruptions, she did have a moment to speak with Honey.

"I discovered something interesting about Dan," she whispered as Honey sat close by. "He's looking for some way to earn extra money."

"That's not so surprising," Honey said. "He doesn't like asking Regan or Mr. Maypenny for extra, and he's saving for college."

"Yeah," Trixie agreed, "but he was real evasive about it. Plus, I found another clue."

Honey's eyebrows shot up. "Really! What kind of clue?"

"I'm not sure yet," she admitted. "I haven't had time to look at it, but I found it near where Dan fell."

"Found what?"

"A paper."

Honey had to fight to keep the grin from her face. "I see."

"Okay, so maybe that is a weak clue," Trixie smiled sheepishly, "but we've started with worse."

After that, Trixie ignored the small piece of paper stuffed in the pocket of her denim shorts until she slipped them back over her bathing suit. Patting the front of her jeans for reassurance, she grinned weakly at Honey. The Bob-Whites were going to Manor House to change and then watch movies.

While Diana was taking a quick shower, Trixie pulled out the paper and showed it to Honey. Both girls bent closely over the paper to search for clues.

"Wednesday, four o'clock, Mrs. Denton."

As Trixie read the words out loud, she frowned in puzzlement. "Why would Dan and Mart have a meeting on Wednesday? That's the last day before Jim and Brian leave for college."

"We don't know that for sure," Honey reminded her impulsive friend. "It could be just Dan."

"Do you know a Mrs. Denton?" Trixie asked.

"Maybe there's a new teacher by that name," Honey suggested. "We can check tomorrow."

"I guess it will have to wait until then," Trixie agreed.

"What about Di?" Honey asked. "Don't you think we should tell her what's going on? The mystery started with her."

"Let's wait, at least, until we're certain we have a real clue." Trixie didn't add that she wasn't sure Di could keep a secret from Mart.

"Now that we've settled that matter," Honey said pointedly, "it's time to move to something just a bit more tantalizing."

"Tantalizing," Trixie gulped nervously, "what do you mean?"

"You and Jim," Honey grinned at Trixie's discomfort. "You know what I mean."

"I doubt if it was that tantalizing," she shrugged but the answering flush creeping up her neck gave her away.

"Out with it, Trixie, before Di gets out here," Honey whispered threateningly, "or do you want me to turn her loose on you?"

"Okay, okay," Trixie rolled her eyes as she spoke. She definitely didn't want Di to tell Mart about Jim. "We talked and we're going to go out when he comes home to visit. We'll just have to see where that leads to, okay?"

"He seems very attentive today," Honey teased, "and Brian and Mart have already noticed, even Dan."

Trixie blushed once more. "I hope they don't…I mean, Jim and I aren't officially dating. He could meet someone at school, and then Brian and Mart would be furious." She sighed with frustration. And what if some guy asks me on a date? Should I go? Will Jim be going on dates? I don't want to date anyone but Jim, but we didn't talk about that.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Diana came back into the room. Trying to clear her head, Trixie made a dash for the shower. She would just have to talk to Jim. Again.

Trixie was more confused than ever when Jim slipped his arm around her during the movie. If he was trying to show her just what she would miss while he was gone, he had succeeded in spades. Or it may be that he's going to miss me. Trixie bit her bottom lip at the unbidden thought.

Thanks again to Mylee. She has been very patient with me!