Chapter 8
It had been several weeks since that fateful kiss. Trixie hadn't seen Regan at all in that time. She was extremely grateful he was respectful of her wishes. She had barely heard from Jim at all, but surprisingly it wasn't bothering her as much as it used to. Probably had something to due with a red headed groom over at the Manor, but if you'd asked her that, she probably would have denied it vehemently. Summer break was coming up rather quickly and she knew she needed to talk to Jim. He had always been the one she ran to for comfort or a listening ear. Ever since she had rescued him 6 years before, they had always been close with a special bond. Even now, she still had the identification bracelet he had given her all those years ago. Not paying attention to where she was going, Trixie ran smack dab into a human wall. A/N: Again, I know folks, it's getting to be a habit for Trixie, but you all know she never was one for paying attention to what was in front of her. This time, she managed to keep herself from falling by grabbing the "wall's" arms. Looking up, she looked directly into the eyes of Jim Frayne. "Déjà vu," she thought, "a repeat of last year." She hugged Jim. "What are you doing home so soon? Don't you still have some school to finish?" Laughing, she pulled him over to the Gatehouse, where the Bob Whites had all their club meetings.
Jim had been avoiding Trixie all spring for a reason. It's true he was busy with term papers and studying, but lately that hadn't been the only reason. He was already having doubts before spring break, but while in Iowa, he had run across Barbara Schulz. She had grown into a beautiful woman. While he usually when for the blonde hair and blue eyes, her dark hair and chocolate eyes seemed to draw him in. By the end of spring break, when they were saying goodbye, it had taken all of his willpower not to kiss her. Since then, they had been corresponding regularly, even more so than he had with Trixie, he was ashamed to admit. Maybe he and Trixie had gotten together because that's what everyone had expected. They had been paired together when younger, just like Brian and Honey, and Di and Mart. Now Di and Brian were dating, and Honey and Mart were together. Dan was interested in the Belden's cousin Hallie from Idaho. Now, he realized that he couldn't do this anymore. "Trix," he said seriously, "we need to talk." Sitting down beside him, Trixie looked at him and nodded. "I know Jim, I've been meaning to talk to you as well." Both of them were silent for a few moments, the tension building. "Trixie…," "Jim…," They both started at the same time. Flushing, they both fell silent. "You first Jim," Trixie said.
"Trixie, I love you very much, but I'm not in love with you. We both felt sparks, at first, but if you think about it, we haven't felt any sort of connection. Beyond friendship I mean." Biting her lip, Trixie looked down. Mistaking this action as hurt, Jim rushed to reassure her, "Trixie, I'll always care for you and I've never meant to hurt you, it's just I don't think we're meant to be together." Her shoulders started shaking and she still wouldn't look at him. "Aww, come on Trixie, don't cry, please." Trixie stopped shaking enough to look up at Jim for him to see the twinkle in her eyes. He sat back, astounded. "What's so funny," he asked. "Oh Jim, I was going to tell you the same thing. I just didn't know how to go about talking to you about it. I've had suspicions about this very thing myself for months." Sobering up a little, she said, "I also need to talk to you about something. A confession of sorts I guess you could say. A few weeks ago, I went over to ride Susie. Well, you know me, I wasn't watching where I was going and I ran into Regan. He caught me and kept me from falling and before I knew it he kissed me. Not only that but a few seconds later he kissed me again and that time I returned the kiss. Oh Jim, I am so sorry. I never meant to do that. I didn't even know he was attracted to me. Please forgive me." Jim tugged on her curl and gave her a hug. "There's nothing to forgive Shamus. If I had been straightforward and honest with you, we wouldn't be having this conversation anyway. We're both to blame I guess. I'm sorry for being so distance Trix. I really hope that we can continue to be friends." Trixie sat back and stared at Jim, "Of course we can. You don't honestly think that just because we had no romantic feelings towards each other that we had to stop being friends. That will never happen. I will always be there for you just like you'll be for me." They hugged each other, both giving an inward sigh of relief that things hadn't been any harder than they needed to be. They spent the next hour or so catching up on each other before Jim said he needed to go see his parents and Honey before going back to school. He just couldn't stand not talking to Trixie about everything anymore. Before leaving he said, "Stay in touch Shamus and remember that if Regan hurts you let me know and I'll take care of him for you." Grinning, Trixie nodded and waved.
Unfortunately, Regan had seen the hug and assumed that a reconciliation had taken place. Trying to convince himself that he has glad for the two, he couldn't quite do it. "I love her," he thought, "and I want her to be happy no matter who she's with." So deep in his thoughts, he didn't pay attention to the fact Trixie had come into the stables and that he was now talking out loud. For the moment, Trixie was content to watch him. She felt sorry for the fact that he was so upset. She had an inkling what it was but couldn't be sure. "Um, Regan, is everything okay," she asked. Startled, Regan spun around, to see her standing there looking very uncertain. For a moment, he couldn't say anything, just drank in the site of her. In that deep blue shirt that brought her eyes, she looked so beautiful, but then to him, she always had been. "Regan," she tried again. As if coming out of a daze, he shook his head and tried to focus on her words. "Trixie," he breathed out in reply. He knew that he was wearing his heart on his sleeves at this point, but still he moved slowly to where she stood, afraid that if he moved too fast, she'd disappear in thin air. "Where's Jim," he asked. "Jim? Oh he went inside to see his folks, and then had to get back to school." "So what was he doing here," Regan asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. "We ended things between us. It wasn't working out." Trying to keep his heart in his chest, he did his best to sound sympathetic, "I'm so sorry Trixie." With a twinkle in her eye to let him know how sorry he was, she replied, "I'm not. I care for Jim, but I have no romantic feelings towards him at all nor him towards me. I have an interest in someone else." "And who would that happen to be? Anyone I know," Regan teased. "I'll never tell," she giggled. He started walking towards her, only to watch her dart away at the last second. Her eyes were full of laughter. Eyes narrowing slightly, he turned to follow her, his eyes watching her every move. "Oh no you don't, Trixie Belden; you're mine." "Only if you can catch me," she sang out. Regan followed, giving into the chase, knowing that this was the best day of his life. Trixie cared for him, Bill Regan, the groom. Never would he forget.
A/N: This sounds like the end, but it's really not. More to come.