Chapter 6
Trixie woke up the next morning feeling whole lot better. She just figured that her fears concerning Jim were just due to exhaustion. She made the decision that if Jim didn't call by 8 tonight, she would call him and make sure he was okay. He was probably preparing for finals at the end of the year. He had always been a good student. He had been given a scholarship to college when he was still 15. That was right before he ran from his abusive stepfather Jonesy.
She went up to the Manor where she met Honey and together they left to go pick up Di. The day went by like any other. True, she was a bit more distracted than normal, but then she could never stand to be inside on a beautiful day. And that was exactly what today was. The weather and sun were just perfect to go riding on the trails. On the ride home, she checked with Honey and Di to see if they could go with her but they were both busy with schoolwork. "Oh well," Trixie thought, "I can still go riding. I need the time to think anyways." When she got to the stables, Regan was there as usual, working with Jupiter, Jim's horse. It seemed he had thrown a shoe, so he was so preoccupied that he didn't see Trixie at first.
"Hey Regan," Trixie called out. He looked up from where he was sitting. When he saw Trixie, he grinned. "Well, well, well, what brings you out here?" "It's too beautiful to be inside, so I thought I'd go riding. Honey and Di had homework, so here I am," she shrugged. Silently, Regan thanked his lucky stars, she had come alone. Unfortunately, that also meant he couldn't watch her as freely. "Uh, Regan," Trixie's voice said, "Is there something in my teeth or what?" Regan snapped out of it. He hadn't realized he'd been staring. "Quick man, think of something to satisfy her," his brain said. "Sorry Trixie, didn't mean too. Started thinking about going hunting. Guess you got caught in the crossfire." Giggling, she replied, Crossfire? Sounds like you were thinking of more than hunting. Sounds like you having a shooting match with me in the middle." Regan laughed, relieved to have her thinking about that instead of him staring. Suddenly he noticed Trixie had gone silent.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Trixie sighed. "Regan, can I talk to you about something?" Walking into his office, Regan motioned for her to follow him. "This way, it'll be more private. What's on your mind? Is it Jim?" Startled at someone reading directly into her thoughts, Trixie looked up at Regan. "How did you know?" The groom smiled, "well generally, Jim is the only one that can get you down like this. Now why don't you tell me what's going on." Nodding, Trixie started telling him everything that had been going one with Jim for the past few months. She told him about the picnic, spring break, Dot Murray, everything. Through it all, Regan was mentally yelling at Jim for treating Trixie this way. Why, if he was with Trixie, he'd never take her for granted, would always be there for her, and always let her know how much he cared. "All he said was, "I'm sorry Trixie. Wish I knew what to tell you. Would it help if I tied him to Jupiter and let Jupe run free to teach him a lesson? Turn his hair white?" At the thought of Jim's hair turning white, Trixie started giggling. "No, but thanks Regan. That made me feel a little better." Regan stood and opened his arms, "come here." Willingly, Trixie went, and Regan just held her in his arms, wishing he could stay like this forever. Eventually Trixie pushed away. "Thanks for listening, and for the hug." It really made me feel better just to have someone to talk to." "Sure thing, anytime." With that, Regan went back to Jupiter and started whistling to keep himself from thinking.
After that, Trixie didn't actually feel like going riding anymore. So, she just walked on home, letting her mind wander. It had been really nice of Regan to take time out of his busy schedule to listen to and comfort her. Of course, he had always been there for her and the other Bob Whites. Thinking back, she remembered having his arms wrapped around her. "It felt really nice," she whispered to herself, "I felt safe and happy again." Puzzled, Trixie stopped, then shook her head, and continued walking. "It didn't mean anything. He was just being a good friend." Trying to convince herself of that, she hurried home to do the schoolwork she had put off to go riding. However, those thoughts stayed with her the entire time and she fell asleep wondering what it meant, that it felt good to be held by Regan. She even forgot that Jim hadn't called her, so distracted was she.
Over at the Wheeler's, Regan went to get himself a drink. His throat was suddenly dry, possibly a reaction to having a one Miss Trixie Belden in his arms, if only for a few minutes. He wondered if she had felt anything or if she had enjoyed it as much as she had. His green eyes blinked for a few seconds trying clear the images of Trixie walking towards him for that hug. "Forget it man," he all but growled, "don't go reading into things that aren't there. She thinks of you as a friend, nothing more, nothing less." At least that is what his head was saying. His heart was an entirely different matter. Finally, Regan gave up all pretenses of watching television and gave into the dream he had of Trixie turning those beautiful blue eyes towards him and watching them fill with love. He fell asleep with that image implanted in his head.
A few hours later Regan woke up just long enough to get himself to bed. However, as he was turning out the light, he heard a knock. "Who could that be," he wondered. He opened the door to find Honey on the other side looking concerned. "Regan, is everything alright with Trixie? I know she ended up not riding Susie tonight. That's not like her. Normally I can't keep her away from here." Regan hesitated, not sure if everything Trixie had said to him had been confidential or not. Finally, he opened the door wider for Honey to come in. "Honey, Trixie's just a little down because of Jim." Her eyes widened. "What has my brother been doing now?" Replying, Regan said, "Well it's more like what he's not been doing. Apparently he doesn't call Trixie much anymore and when she calls him, he always has an excuse of why he can't talk. She's starting to worry that he doesn't care anymore." Honey nodded; she could understand why that would upset her best friend. If it had been her and Mart, she'd be feeling the same way. Jim was going to lose her if he didn't get his act together soon. "Poor Trixie," she cried sympathetically. "Talk to her Honey. I did what I could but I'm not her best friend like you. And talk to that thickheaded brother of yours too. Knock some sense into his head. If he's not careful, he'll lose her to someone else." Startled that his words so closely mirrored her thoughts, she just looked at him and when she did, she saw something that had not been seen before. "He loves Trixie," Honey realized, "he really does." Not wanting to embarrass Regan by asking about his feelings, she simply promised that she would talk to Trixie tomorrow and said good-night. There'd be plenty of time to sort this out tomorrow. It was Saturday, for which she and Di were extremely grateful. It was time for a girl to girl session and she wouldn't take no for an answer.