Thanks for reading, all of you! I appreciate it.


Bobby had shimmied down from his tree and was looking at a piece of cloth he had found. "Look, Trixie," he said as she approached. "This is one of Moms's dish towels."

"So the boy must have come to our house. Maybe he came in at night and got a snack," Trixie said, remembering the night she had gotten up to find the mess in the kitchen.

"I wish he'd stayed until we woke up," Bobby said wistfully. He clutched the dish towel tighter.

Trixie looked at him with sympathy. He spent a lot of time alone, it was true—too young to really be part of his older siblings' daily lives, but too old to need them as his babysitters any longer. And all of his friends lived too far away to see very often unless he talked Moms into driving him. "Maybe when we find him the two of you can play together," she said, ruffling her brother's hair.

"Maybe." Bobby didn't sound convinced.

"Did … Did Dan leave?"

"Yeah, he said he had work to do. Where's Jim? I wanted to see him."

"Sorry, buddy. Jim … um, had to go, too. I'm sure he'll be around. Maybe he'll let you play with Patches. If you ask Moms, she might let you go up to the Manor House after dinner."

"You'll come too, right, Trixie?"

"Maybe." Trixie wasn't sure what she was going to do. She knew she didn't want to see Jim again anytime soon, and maybe not Dan, either. Things were so much easier when they had all just been friends, with none of this romance getting in their way. The trouble was, she couldn't forget the sensations that had coursed through her body when Dan and Jim kissed her, the first sweetness and the second heat. Those feelings were an all-new mystery, but they were a mystery she was almost afraid to solve—she didn't see any way out of the current predicament without someone getting hurt.

She and Bobby walked slowly back to Crabapple Farm. To Trixie's mingled delight and dismay, Brian had come home a day early as well, so he was there in the kitchen helping set the table, and Honey was there as well, tossing the salad. She looked up expectantly as Trixie came in, and she looked puzzled as she saw that no one came in after Bobby.

"Jim didn't find you, little sister?" Brian asked, after hugs had been exchanged. He put his hand on her shoulder, looking down at her seriously. Trixie wondered what Jim had told Brian. Something, clearly, because both Brian and Honey seemed to expect her to … what? They were looking at her as though they expected some kind of wonderful news.

Trixie ducked her head to avoid those eager gazes. "Moms, Bobby and I will go wash up, and then I can help with whatever's necessary."

"Don't worry, dear, my big helpers here have it all under control," Helen Belden said with a fond glance at Brian. "Did you find the little boy?"

"No, I'm afraid we didn't."

"We found this, though," Bobby offered, holding out the dish towel. "Trixie thinks the boy came and ate here in the kitchen."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Brian said. "Moms, you really should start locking the doors at night."

"To save us all from hungry little boys who come in at night to get something to eat? I don't think so."

"Is this the boy you saw a month ago, Trixie? Has he really been out there all this time?" Honey's eyes were soft with concern. Trixie tried to remember if she'd mentioned her ongoing search to her friend in the meantime. They'd seen so little of one another, she might not have.

"I'm afraid he must have been."

"Dan's been helping you, hasn't he?" Honey asked.

"Dan?" Brian frowned. "Was he with you today?"

Trixie willed herself not to blush. "Yes." She saw the exchange of glances between her brother and her best friend, and wondered what they were saying to each other that no one else could translate. "Is Mart coming to dinner?"

"He's on the phone, with Hallie." Brian's frown faded and a smile took its place. "It's always nice when Mart can't get a word in edgewise."

"Hallie does have that effect. Is she coming to visit?" Trixie and her cousin hadn't always gotten along, but in recent years a warmth and understanding had developed between them.

"We hope so," Moms said, pushing a basket of rolls into Trixie's hands. "Put these on the table."

Bobby, hands freshly washed and face shining clean, took his seat. "Trixie, I think I know where we can look tomorrow. There's a fort not far from where we were today. I haven't played in it in years."

Honey and Trixie looked at each other, smothering a smile at Bobby's seriousness.

"We'll take a look at it tomorrow, then, Bobby, thanks." Trixie took her place, too, as Mart came in, having finished his phone call.

As she took the chair next to Trixie, Honey leaned over and whispered, "Talk to you after dinner?"

Trixie nodded, but for possibly the first time ever, she didn't look forward to talking things over with her best friend.