Previously in the Summer Secrets universe … In the first story, the girls plot to get the boys into romantic situations, while the boys plot to avoid them. Meanwhile, each group sets up a clubhouse and Trixie tries to solve a mystery of Jim’s behaviour. In the second story, the boys are employed by Mr. Wheeler on a project of his, building The Pavilion, on the far side of the lake, Brian keeps his plan to go to Africa a secret and Di and Mart break up. Before the third story starts, Brian breaks up with Honey, Di gets together with Dan and Honey starts dating Mart.

In the third story, a mystery package arrives for Trixie directly after her high school graduation. The mystery that ensues leads the Bob-Whites to Kentucky where Jim and Trixie lose their heads in the face of the curse and elope. They later disprove the curse and decide to keep their marriage a secret. The fourth story deals with Honey’s attempts to find out a romantic secret that Mart is keeping from her and Jim’s efforts to deal with a blackmailer. During the fifth story, Trixie inherits a house, Mart and Honey get married and Dan and Di break up. Between the fifth and sixth stories, Honey and Mart discovered that getting pregnant was not so hard after all and Di begins a relationship with Eric Johnson, whom she originally met at Mead’s Mountain.

In the sixth story, Brian suffers a set-back when he is in a car accident shortly after having surgery, Lucius Englefield’s legacy provides a mystery that Trixie cannot solve, the blackmailer’s actions help push Jim and Trixie’s relationship to breaking point and Honey and Mart’s baby son is born. The seventh story sees Diana and Eric move to Montreal, the summerhouse at Ten Acres destroyed by a falling tree, Brian’s decision to abandon his studies, rebuilding beginning at Ten Acres, Dan and Di enlisting Indira’s help with getting Brian back on track and a scheme to put a stop to the blackmailer.

In the eighth story, Trixie quit her job and moved to Kentucky to work in her charitable foundation, Indira convinced Brian to father her child, Jim convinced Indira to make arrangements in case something happened to her and Brian reached a point where he is able to recommence his studies. In the ninth story Trixie and her new friend Liv take a road trip to Sleepyside, Di and Eric call it quits and Di decides to move back home, Honey gives up on her dream of a second child while Indira puts plans in place to have another and Trixie concludes that her time in Kentucky is almost over. Which brings us to the present … Another year has passed and Trixie is now twenty-five years old.

Part One

She Said

Trixie dumped the last box into a corner and nodded in satisfaction. After months of planning and transition, she was finally ready to re-establish herself in her own home town. The foundation that she had established in Corbin, Kentucky, was once more running without her direct input. She had a place to live in Sleepyside and a job that she could call her own. Her parents seemed pleased and Honey overjoyed. The continuing tension between her and a certain redhead remained, but they avoided each other, by mutual and unspoken consent.

“Is that it?” Honey asked, poking her head in and looking around.

Trixie nodded. “I am not going to unpack all this right now. Let’s go get something to eat.”

“Are you sure? I could help.” Honey’s brow creased. “I did come to help you, and Mart is looking after Joshie especially.”

“Feeling guilty?” Trixie grinned. “I won’t tell him, if you won’t.”

“Trixie! At least we should do a few boxes. I’ve done a bit in the kitchen, but you’ll need somewhere to sleep tonight. And we could set up the TV and everything.”

“No, Brian’s coming tomorrow to do that.” She glanced through a doorway. “You may have a point about the bedding. Let’s see if we can find the box with the sheets.”

Honey smiled and they set to work once more. At her insistence, they got rather more than the sheets unpacked before taking that break. She even called for delivery of Chinese so that they could still work while they waited, rather than going out to eat. When it arrived, they sat at the table to chat while they ate.

Halfway through their meal, Trixie’s phone rang.

“Sorry. I’d better get this.”

She swallowed her mouthful and answered the call. Honey nodded her acceptance and took a bit more lemon chicken.

“What’s up, Liv?” Trixie greeted.

From the other end of the line came a sound halfway between a snort and a hiccup. “That’s a really inappropriate way of starting this conversation.”

“What? Why?”

At this point, Trixie realised, with something like panic, that Liv was crying.

“Let’s just say that the foundation isn’t such a good place for me, now that you’re gone.”

Trixie glanced over at her best friend, who was so much better at this kind of thing, but also would have no idea what Liv was talking about.

“That situation that we talked about, has it gotten worse?”

“Worse?” Another hiccup. “That’s one way of putting it. I’ve quit. And I can’t go home – you know why.”

Without hesitating, Trixie made a decision. “Come up here. I’ll find you something else. And you can stay here, with me. I have a spare room.”

Liv made another muffled sound, which might have been laughter mixed with crying. “How am I supposed to get there?”

“I’ll figure something out.” She gave her best friend a hopeful look. “Honey’s with me. She’ll think of something.”

“I’ll do whatever I can to help you,” Honey added, leaning closer in the hope that Liv could hear her.

“I’ve got to go,” Liv told her, abruptly. “Tell Honey thanks, but I’m sure something will turn up.”

“We’ll help you,” Trixie promised, but the line went dead.

“What’s wrong?” Honey asked.

Trixie shrugged. “I’m not really sure. She was having trouble with a guy that the new director hired. I don’t know all the details.” She went on to repeat the things Liv had told her. “And this is all my fault. I hired that new director. And I let him choose that guy, even though I had reservations.”

“What are you going to do about it, Trixie?”

Once more, she shrugged. “Wait and see what the director does about it, mostly. But I’m going to help Liv. You have no idea how much she helped me when I moved there.”

Honey smiled. “I think I do.”

“Okay, so maybe you do.” Trixie reached over and grabbed Honey’s hand. “I’m glad to be back. And I’m sorry that I had to go, but we both know that I needed it.”

“You did,” Honey admitted. “And I’m glad you’re back and that you’re better. But what can we do for Liv? Did she agree to come here?”

“Not as such.”

“I’ll talk to my father,” Honey promised. “Maybe his plane will be down that way sometime soon. He does have business interests in Corbin, after all.”

“That would be great, Hon. And if it’s not, I’ll just have to drive down there and get her myself.”

“You just got here,” Honey objected, in dismay. “And you’re not even settled in.”

“You have any better ideas?”

“Yes. Talking to my father.”

“And if he can’t help?”

“I’ll think of something else,” Honey declared. “I don’t want you leaving again when you only just got here! I’ll pay her air fares myself, if I have to. I’m sure we can scrape the money together from somewhere.”

Trixie stared at her. “If you’re that desperate to keep me here, I guess I’d better stay!”

Honey smiled. “I wouldn’t call it desperate, but I really am glad to have you back.”

He Said

“Ah! Esteemed brother, mine. How good of you to join us.” Mart patted the sofa next to himself. “Pray, take a seat.”

Brian shook his head, but sat down anyway. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Across the way, Dan lifted one shoulder half an inch. “We just thought it would be good to meet here, for old times’ sake.”

They were in the loft of the old barn at Ten Acres, a place the male Bob-Whites had met many times before.

“It’s a nice day and we’re all free, for once,” Jim added. “There’s beer and sodas in the cooler, by the way. Help yourself.”

Brian leaned forward and grabbed a lemonade. Dan sniggered at his choice, but Brian only shook his head, cracked the seal and took a swig.

“So, what’s up?” Mart asked. “Last I spoke to you, you were studying twenty-three hours a day.”

His brother snorted. “Not quite.”

“You’re taking a break now?” Jim asked.

Brian nodded. “For a few weeks. Doctor’s orders. The first few days, I don’t think I did much other than sleep.”

“Have you been to see Indira lately?” Jim asked.

Brian shot Jim a look of such annoyance that Mart paid more attention to the answer than he otherwise would have done.

“Only once since the baby arrived,” Brian admitted. “But I talked to her on the phone an hour or so back.”

“And how is she?” Mart asked, still watching closely.

Brian’s expression altered. “I’m not sure. She talked about the children, mostly. I don’t know why, but I thought there was something she wasn’t telling me.”

“What’s she called the second one again?” Mart asked. “Serena? Valeda?”

“Verena,” Brian corrected, frowning.

“And what does it mean?” Mart persisted. He had a feeling about the names that Indira chose.

Brian shrugged. “I forget. Something to do with truth, I think.”

“Verity – truth.” Mart nodded. “That makes sense.”

“And are you getting at the truth?” Dan asked, addressing Mart.

He laughed. “I might be getting closer.”

Mart watched the annoyance surge across Brian’s face again. Interesting, he thought to himself. I’ll need to keep an eye on this.

She Said

A broad smile broke upon Honey’s face as she saw Liv approaching. One of the advantages of flying in a private jet was the lack of crowds arriving at the same time, which allowed them to see each other as soon as Liv entered the waiting area.

“Oh! It’s so good to see you again,” Honey greeted, giving her a hug. “Let me carry those for you.”

Liv shook her head, even as Honey tried to take one of her bags from her. “I’m fine. Okay, I guess you can help, but you can only take one.”

Honey accepted the compromise and allowed Liv to keep the other bag. They walked together to the place where Honey had parked, chatting about the journey.

“I’m really glad you’re here,” Honey told her, as she stowed the bags. “I’m sorry that you went through what happened at the foundation, but I’m glad it’s brought you here to us.”

“I just hope it was the right thing,” Liv answered, suddenly downcast. “I feel more like I’m interrupting everyone.”

Honey shook her head. “If you are, then it will be that we need some interruption. It’s not good to stay in a rut.”

Liv glanced into the back seat as she got into the front passenger side. “Oh! I should have asked: where’s your little boy?”

“With Mrs. Belden – I mean, Helen – you know, Trixie’s mother. She loves taking care of him and I thought it would be easier this way. He runs around too much and he’s impatient about waiting.”

“I’m sorry to put you to so much trouble,” Liv replied.

“It’s no trouble at all.” Honey smiled as she began to back out of the parking space. “It was my idea to involve my father. The least I can do is pick you up from the airport, especially if Trixie is going to discover at the last minute that she’s working at the time you need picking up.”

“Thank you. And I can’t thank your father enough for agreeing to this. I hope I’ll get to say that in person.”

Honey nodded. “You will. I know that Trixie kind of bullied you into coming, but we really are glad that you’re here. You’re feeling okay about it, aren’t you?”

Liv nodded. “Mostly. I’m nervous, I guess.”

“It’s going to be okay,” Honey asserted. “I just know it.”

He Said

A frown marred Jim’s face as he crossed his own property to the old barn. Brian had called earlier, urging Jim to meet him there, but other commitments had caused a considerable delay. In the couple of hours since that call, Jim’s mind had refused to stay away from speculation on what his friend might want.

The sun was dipping below the tops of the trees as he entered the cool, dim interior. Taking the stairs slowly, he listened for any sign of another’s presence, but the barn was silent. For a few moments, Jim thought he was too late and that Brian had already left, but as he emerged onto the former hay loft, he saw the other man sitting motionless on the battered old sofa.

Brian’s face was grey. A bottle of whiskey stood in front of him, a small amount poured into his glass, but Jim felt sure that it had not been touched. At times like this, he knew, Brian took comfort in the smell of his father’s favourite whiskey, but did not always feel the need to drink it. It gave him the comfort of his father’s presence without having to admit to his father that there was a problem.

“What is it?” he asked, dropping down next to his friend.

“She lied to me.” He dropped the words like heavy weights. Somehow, Jim managed to correctly construe ‘she’ as meaning Indira, though he wasn’t certain he was right until Brian continued. “When she said she wanted my help having a baby, she told me she had a family history of early menopause. She didn’t tell me that she also had a potentially terminal illness. She’s dying, Jim. They’ve given her days or weeks to live, but there’s doubt whether she’ll even make it through the night.”

The world faded as Jim’s heart tightened in his chest. Faintly, he heard Brian say, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put you in this situation. If you want to back out, we can probably set the record straight with some DNA tests. Or maybe Indira could sign another agreement.”

“No, I’ll do what I said I’d do. I need to see her. Is she taking visitors?”

Brian nodded. From a pocket, he drew out a neatly folded sheet of notepaper and handed it over. “She’s in hospital. The kids are with a sitter. Someone needs to collect them tonight. I’m thinking that will have to be you.”

“But–” The reality of the situation hit Jim all at once. “I have to go to work tomorrow. What am I going to do with them?”

“I don’t know,” Brian replied, dully. Then his voice hardened. “One thing I do know is that you need to keep them away from Sleepyside, if at all possible. This is one lie that will not hold up to scrutiny from Trixie, or any of our family and friends, for that matter.”

“I live in Sleepyside,” Jim reminded him. “I work in Sleepyside. How can I avoid it? We’re going to have to face up to what we’ve done – and soon.”

Brian had the grace to look guilty. “There are people that I need to explain this to in my own way. At least give me the chance to do that before they guess for themselves, okay?”

“No promises,” Jim replied. “I’ll do what I can, but I can’t guarantee anything. I live next door to your parents, for crying out loud. You’ve probably got twenty-four hours at the outside and more likely a whole lot less.”

“All right already. I get the idea.” Brian frowned into his glass. “I just had no idea that I was going to have to do this – ever. I don’t know where to start.”

“A basic outline would probably suffice. And soon, please. Now would be a good time, if you don’t mind.”

Brian shook his head. “I can’t face this right now. You have to give me some time to come to terms with it.”

Jim bristled. “And I’m telling you that you have no time. Just tell them. They’re not going to disown you or anything. Tell them first and deal with your feelings of betrayal, or whatever, later.”

“Deal with the betrayal?” Brian shouted, jumping up. “How am I supposed to do that when she’s dying? I can’t confront her. I can’t do anything to change the situation. I can’t deal with it at all.”

“I said deal with your feelings, Brian. I doubt that you’ll have an opportunity to thrash this out with Indira, not if she’s that sick.” He stood up. “I’d better go and see her right now. If you’re still here when I get back … well, I guess I’ll have the kids with me then. You’d better come up to the house if you want to see me.”

Brian sank back onto the sofa, picked up the glass and drained it. “No. I think I’ll be gone by then.”

Jim nodded. “Take care of yourself, Brian. And tell your family. It will be better coming from you.”

His friend did not answer, neither did he look up.

Jim’s heart beat faster as he walked the corridors of the hospital. The smell, the sounds, the sights of the place brought back unpleasant memories and he wanted nothing more than to turn around and leave. With a conscious effort, he kept moving and soon found the right place.

“Indira?” he asked, poking his head into the room.

She turned her head, but the effort seemed almost too much. She did not speak, but glanced towards the chair sitting by her bed. Jim took the hint and sat down.

“I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me, but I’d like to know why you did this.”

“Wanted a family,” she whispered. “Didn’t care what it cost.”

Jim nodded, understanding. “Was it worth it?”

Tears welled in her eyes. “I wish I could have had longer with them.”

“I wish you could have, too,” he answered. “But I’m going to take good care of them. You have my word.”

“I know.” Her voice was faint and her eyelids were drooping. “Thank you.”

“After I leave here, I’m going to pick them up. Do you want me to bring them to visit?”

“No,” she rasped, sleepily. “I don’t want them to see me like this. I don’t want to scare them.”

“You’re sure?” he asked.

“Yes.” Her eyes closed. “I’m sure.”

He sat there with her for some time, but neither spoke again until he said goodbye. She did not answer in words, but only the hint of a smile. As he walked away, Jim felt certain that he would not see her again. A mixture of emotions welled up within him, but he ruthlessly pushed them down. He did not have the time or energy for dealing with those echoes of his past right now. He had work to do and limited time to achieve it.

His next task, he knew, was to pick up the children. He considered for a moment what would happen if he just did that and took them home with him, but realised that he needed to make some telephone calls first. The chances of actually getting home unseen were almost nil and the last thing he needed was for his family to hear about this through the Sleepyside grapevine before they heard it from him. So it was that with a heavy heart, he placed two calls: one to Manor House, where he spoke to his mother, and the second to his sister. In both cases, he promised the full story later.

That done, he headed for the address that Brian had given him. He arrived to find that it was an ordinary, suburban house with a neat garden and white-painted picket fence. The door was opened by a harried-looking woman, a toddler on one hip and a baby in her arms. Both were crying at the top of their lungs.

“Yes?” she asked, with considerable impatience.

As Jim introduced himself and explained why he was there, the woman’s expression changed to one of relief. “It’s about time,” she answered, handing him the baby. “I expected you three or four hours ago. I was on the verge of calling social services.”

“I haven’t known for three hours,” Jim objected. “And I got here as quickly as I could.”

“That doesn’t help me,” she answered, even as she gathered the children’s belongings. “Here – take these car seats. And here are their things.”

Jim suppressed a frown. “I can’t hold all of those things at once. Would you mind waiting while I put some of them into the car?”

Without waiting for an answer, he handed back the baby and picked up as much of the other stuff as he could. He walked at a brisk pace out to the car, dumping the bags in the trunk and then staring at the car seat he had brought. He did not know the first thing about installing one, but was relieved to find a sticker on the side which gave instructions. When he returned to the house to pick up the other seat, he ignored the glare that was being directed at him and simply got on with the job. It was installed a little more quickly than the first one and he returned once more to collect the children.

“Thank you for your help,” he told the woman, as he took them from her. He hesitated, as she continued to scowl. “I’m not sure what arrangements were made with you …”

“Oh, I know where to send the bill,” she answered, “and it will be a hefty one.”

At that, she slammed the door. Jim squared his shoulders and slowly walked back to his car, mentally preparing himself to learn how to put the children into their car seats. That task took several more minutes and by the time he was finished, both were quite upset. Jim felt a little like crying along with them. He poked through the belongings that the woman had handed over, but found no food of any kind and only empty bottles for the baby.

Not knowing what else to do, he got into the car and drove off to the nearest store, where he struggled to get the children back out again. Other shoppers gave him dirty looks as he carried the pair along the aisles, with one wailing in each ear.

A woman in the baby section, whose own toddler’s face puckered at the sound, took pity on him and pointed out the kind of formula he needed. Jim grabbed the can, thanked her profusely, then strode off to pay for it.

His second attempt at strapping the little ones into their seats went just a little smoother than the first, but by the time he pulled up in his driveway, his nerves were shot. Once more, he struggled to unstrap the children and hold everything at the same time. He nearly dropped the can of formula as he locked the car, only just managing to hold onto it.

“Jim?” he heard Helen Belden call, as he carried his two new charges into the house for the first time. Madoc whimpered, while baby Verena squalled. “Do you need some help?”

“No, thank you, Mrs. Belden,” he replied, with a tight smile. “I think I have everything under control.”

She nodded, and picked up a well-worn teddy bear, which the boy had dropped. “Anything I can do for you, please let me know,” she offered. “Any time at all. Even in the middle of the night.”

Taking the soft toy, he thanked her and waited until she had disappeared down the path that led to Crabapple Farm. With one last backward glance, he took the two little ones inside. The sound of crying seemed louder inside. It echoed off the hard surfaces of walls, floors and wooden furniture. In all the time he had lived here, the house had never seemed so cold and unwelcoming. He wondered, for a few moments, how Helen Belden had known that he was coming, and whether Brian had told his parents, or if it could be put down to the Sleepyside rumour-mill.

Setting the little boy on the floor, he began preparing the baby’s bottle. Madoc peered around curiously, but at first did not seem ready to explore, instead sticking close by Jim and occasionally getting in the way.

Jim fumbled with the bottle and took a few goes to get it assembled correctly. The crying shredded his powers of concentration. At last it was ready and he sat down with the baby to feed her. He was pretty sure she was hungry, but Verena kept refusing the bottle.

“Please,” he murmured to her, trying again. “You need this.”

Again, she turned her head away. Jim used all his self-control not to cry along with her.

She Said

The Allen key slipped from Trixie’s fingers and clattered onto the surface below for the third time. What had seemed like such a simple job was proving a lot harder than she expected. The bookcase had come apart easily enough, but putting it back together was proving a major source of frustration. Picking it up again, she fitted it into its socket and began to turn.

Her phone began to ring. It was near enough to see, so she was torn between annoyance at the interruption and pleasure that the caller was her best friend. Answering it with one hand, while carefully holding the tool in place with the other, she began to ask Honey to hold on a minute, but didn’t get the words out.

“Oh, Trixie!” Honey cried through the phone. “The most terrible thing has happened!”

The Allen key dropped once more from her fingers. “What? Are you okay? Mart? Joshie?”

“It’s not us; it’s Indira.” There were tears in Honey’s voice. “She’s in hospital, and they say she’s not going to make it.”

“An accident?”

Honey stifled a sob. “No, she’s really sick. I don’t know all the details, but she’s had whatever it was since before she had her children.”

“Oh, no. I didn’t even think of them. What’s happened to them?”

A long silence ensued.

“Honey?” Trixie asked. “What is it?”

“Well, it’s kind of tricky.” Honey took a deep breath. “You see, it’s all kind of complicated, and I don’t know the fine details, but it seems that Indira didn’t just go out and meet some stranger and conceive children with someone anonymous, that she knew nothing about and who she’d never be able to contact again, but they were conceived by some other means, via a donor, whose identity she’s known all along, only she hasn’t told any of us, but now it’s come out that she’s always had some custody arrangements in place, just in case, since, you know, she doesn’t get along with her family and they couldn’t be trusted to raise them the right way, or even at all, if it came to that, and why should they, when they don’t get along with her?”

“Hon! You’re rambling.” Trixie pushed away the sinking sensation she was feeling. “Who’s this arrangement with?”

“Well, that’s the thing. Like I said, I don’t know the details–”

“Honey!”

Her friend took another deep breath, then blurted, “It’s Jim. Jim has taken the children, and it seems that he’s going to keep them. He hasn’t actually said so, but I think they might be his.”

All of the air seemed to rush out of Trixie’s lungs.

“Trixie? Are you still there?”

“Yes,” she managed to reply, in a voice unlike her own. “I just … .”

“Didn’t expect that? No, neither did I. I mean, I don’t suppose it matters all that much how it came about, but it was a shock to hear that this was happening, when I hadn’t heard the slightest hint of it before.” She paused a moment. “Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Trixie snapped back.

“I don’t know. Maybe I was thinking about the long and bitter dispute between you and Jim, that’s been going on for the last four years. And the fact that you react badly to any mention of him. And that neither of you will talk about what happened and why you’ve not moved on.”

“It sounds like Jim has moved on.”

Honey made a frustrated sound. “No, he hasn’t. He wasn’t in a relationship with Indira, and you know it.”

For a moment, Trixie reflected that she knew nothing of the kind. She had never really troubled herself to know Indira, as she was too close to Jim. She had kept her distance and now, it appeared, it was too late. The anger flooded out of her, to be replaced with regret.

“I didn’t know her all that well,” she admitted, in a low voice. “I’m sorry about that now.”

“I’m sorry about a lot of things.” Honey sighed. “And I can’t quite decide what to do now. I should probably make sure Jim is okay – even though he told me he was and that he didn’t need any help right now – but I can’t help wondering if Indira needs me more. I don’t want to see her that way … she’s always been so full of life and it seems just wrong … but I don’t want her to be alone, either. She’s told Jim not to bring the children to her.”

All at once, Trixie felt horribly selfish. “Maybe I should go and see her, too.”

“I think she’d like that. Though you might need to brace yourself for uncomfortable observations. I don’t suppose she’s stopped that, unless she’s unconscious or something.”

“No, I suppose not.” Trixie sucked up her courage and picked up a pen and paper. “Okay. Tell me where she is and I’ll visit her when I can.”

Honey must have had the information in front of her, as she supplied it at once.

“Thanks for telling me, Hon.” She heard the scratchiness in her own voice and tried to suppress it. “I’m glad I didn’t hear about this just anywhere.”

“You’re welcome,” Honey answered. “I just want you to be okay. Okay?”

“Okay,” Trixie could not help but repeat.

Once the call had ended, she put her head down on her hands, but forced the tears to remain unshed. No matter how much this hurt, she would not cry over Jim. Not this time.

He Said

Bleary-eyed, Jim dragged himself out of bed in the morning at a little later than his usual time. He needed to call his principal, he knew, and it would not be long before she would arrive at her desk. Both children were still sleeping, though the baby seemed very restless and she would, perhaps, awaken soon. He had only given her a bottle a couple of hours ago, but he was not quite sure when she would need another.

Tired beyond all expectation, he fixed himself a rather basic breakfast of toast, black coffee and fruit. He was feeling a little more human by the time he judged it right to make that important call. Refilling his coffee mug, he took it along to the telephone table and made himself comfortable. Pausing a moment to gather his thoughts, he dialled the number and listened to it ring.

“Sleepyside Elementary. This is Melody Adams,” a forthright voice answered on the second ring.

“Melody, it’s Jim Frayne,” he responded, his throat constricting. “I have some – uh – news. I don't think I’ll be in today.”

“Are you ill?” she asked. He had not noticed before how precise she always sounded. She enunciated her words so clearly, and she seldom said anything at all ambiguous.

“No, I’m not.” He ran a hand over his face. “I’ve had a shock and an unexpected change in circumstances.” The words he had prepared in his mind escaped, as if he had not spent the entire time he was eating rehearsing this moment. “I entered into an arrangement some time ago where I would take custody of some children if something happened to their mother, not really expecting that it would ever be needed, but now she’s dying in hospital and I’ve got them and need to make arrangements for them and I haven’t even begun to think about how I’m going to handle this.” He paused to draw breath, cursing himself for sounding rather like his sister.

“How old are these children, Jim?”

He frowned, thinking. “Well, the older one is about fifteen months–”

“Excuse me, did you say the older one? Fifteen months?”

“Yes,” Jim confirmed. “He’s almost fifteen months, and his sister is about six weeks old. I’m sorry that I’m not more coherent; they didn’t sleep very well last night and I was up with them, of course.”

Melody’s voice sounded faint when she answered. “I’m not surprised.” Her tone then became business-like. “Stay at home today, by all means. I want you to try to come to some decision on what you’re going to do and I’d like to talk to you again later, when you’ve had a chance to think. I’ll be unavailable until two this afternoon, then in my office until five. Can I expect a call from you between those hours?”

“I don’t know what I’ll be doing then,” he admitted, “but I’ll do my very best to call. Thank you, Melody. I’ll talk to you later.”

With a few parting words, she ended the call, just as a thin wail rose through the house. Jim heaved himself out of the chair and plodded in the direction of the cries, which were rapidly gathering strength. It was going to be a long day.

She Said

“Hello, Indira. How are you feeling?”

Trixie felt awkward as she said the words and wished that she had thought through the beginning of the conversation more thoroughly.

“Trixie. Come and sit here.” The other woman avoided the question altogether. “I’m glad you came.”

“Yeah, so am I.” She hesitated a moment. “I’ve been regretting not spending more time with you in the past.”

The thin shoulders shifted a little. “You had your own journey to take. It is what it is.”

Trixie nodded. “It’s been a bit of a bumpy journey.”

“Well, I’m sure one day you’ll understand why it happened and you’ll forgive him.” The woman in the bed turned and looked Trixie in the eyes. “When that happens, I want your word that you’ll take good care of my kids.”

“When – what?”

“You heard me.”

“I – yes, of course I would, but I don’t see that ever happening. But Honey will help him, I know, and they don’t live all that far apart. She’s really good with kids,” she ended, weakly.

“But I’m asking you to help.”

Trixie gulped. “Okay. Sure. If he and I ever sort this thing out, of course I will.”

Indira’s eyes closed. “Thank you.”

Trixie settled back in her seat and waited. She jolted when Indira spoke once more, this time without opening her eyes.

“You’re worthy, you know. You don’t need to be slimmer, or prettier, or more conventional. You are just right the way you are.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked, barely above a whisper.

Still, Indira did not open her eyes. “You need to believe that you’re worth it. That’s what the problem was. Not what he didn’t tell you. Not what he might have been doing. And definitely not any suggestion that there was someone else.”

“I don’t think there was someone else. Not really,” Trixie muttered.

“No?” At last she opened her eyes again. “When you really believe it, when you act like you believe it, then you’ll get back together.”

“There’s no hope of that!”

Indira sighed. “Sometimes, it’s easier for other people to see us than for us to see ourselves.”

“What does that mean?” Trixie demanded, louder than she intended.

“It’s all a matter of perspective,” she answered, softly. “I named my daughter Verena because it means ‘true picture’ – because I knew that you’d all see the truth about me soon. But you have a true picture you need to see, too. When you see what I see, it will all work out.”

What is it that you see? Trixie wanted to ask, but she held her tongue. She was afraid of the answer.

He Said

Nearly a week had passed since Indira’s hospitalisation when Mart decided to call in on Jim. Several hints had reached him that things were not going especially well in that quarter and he felt it his responsibility as a fellow Bob-White to see what he could do.

“How’s it going?” Mart asked, as soon as Jim answered the door.

His friend shrugged. “As well as can be expected, I guess. I feel like I’ve fallen in a deep hole and can’t get out.”

Mart glanced around the once-pristine entranceway. Brownish fingermarks marred the pale surface of the wall, a dust bunny rested against the skirting board under the side table and a film of dust covered its surface. Within sight were two toy cars, a teddy bear and a bunny rug. Jim himself was not much better. He looked like he hadn’t slept in a week, his shirt bore the mark of something spilled – or perhaps spat – on it and his socks, over which he wore no shoes, did not match. The little boy clung to Jim’s legs, giving Mart suspicious looks from behind them.

“Get some help,” Mart suggested, bluntly. “A cleaning lady would be a good start. And take up the offer of child-minding from people you trust – you know, like my mother and Honey. Both of them would love to help you.”

“It’s not that simple,” Jim answered, looking away.

“Isn’t it?” Mart gave him a searching look. “Why not?”

“I’m on leave from my job – unpaid leave – but I still have to keep up with certain responsibilities, even if I’m not getting paid for them. That’s part of the deal that Melody offered me and I wasn’t in any position to refuse, if I wanted to go back to that job when I’m established. And the bills still come in, whether I have a steady income or not.”

“That doesn’t answer why you’re not letting Honey and Moms help you,” Mart replied.

Jim shrugged. “Coffee?”

“Please. And Honey sent these.” He handed over a plastic container of mini muffins. “They’re carrot, but without nuts, and suitable for Madoc. She gave me a whole list of things that aren’t in them, but I don’t pretend to remember it.”

Jim smiled and accepted the gift. He swung Madoc onto his hip and gestured for Mart to follow.

“Is Verena sleeping?” Mart asked, as they walked through the house together.

Jim nodded. “You timed this well, actually. She’s just gone down.”

“Lucky I didn’t wake her,” he answered. “How many times is she waking in the night?”

“Just the once.” Jim sighed. “Once is more than enough.”

Mart nodded, remembering. “But it will get better when she’s bigger.”

Jim poured the coffee, concentrating hard on that task. He set the two cups on the kitchen table, installed Madoc into his high chair and took a seat. The little boy struggled and cried out until Jim handed him one of the muffins.

“Do they have the same father, do you think?” Mart asked, turning to Jim. He noted that the other man’s face tinted pink between the freckles.

“I couldn’t say.”

“It’s a bit too early to tell if there’s a resemblance,” Mart mused, in spite of his friend’s obvious discomfort. “But when they’re older, I guess it will be easier.”

Jim grunted and sipped his coffee.

“You know, Honey thought at first that since you were taking them, it meant they were yours, but I don’t think so.”

Jim’s face paled and he shook his head slightly. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Don’t you?” Mart sipped his coffee and watched for a moment. “It doesn’t matter. I think I know what’s going on here.”

From his expression, it seemed that Jim found no comfort in that fact.

She Said

The same day, Trixie put in a call to the new director of her foundation. Some of the things Liv had told her since she arrived had been niggling at her mind. As the days passed, her imaginings of what might be happened grew wilder and wilder until she felt she needed to just call and put her mind to rest. She dialled his direct number, was greeted by an unfamiliar receptionist, rudely told she couldn’t talk to the man and was forced to insist on pain of dismissal. When she finally got put through, he seemed pleased enough to speak to her.

“Who was that answering your phone?” she asked. “Is she new?”

“Oh? Mandy? Yes, I hired her yesterday. She’s working out pretty well, I think.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “You might like to give her more training on handling phone calls.”

“I’ll talk to her,” he promised. “What was it you wanted to speak to me about?”

“I’d like an update, please,” she answered. “What’s happening?”

“I’m glad you asked.” He launched into a detailed account of a project he had just started, which had neither been approved through the proper channels, nor was suited to the aims of the foundation.

“Wait a minute! That’s not what you’re supposed to be concentrating on!” she interrupted. “I thought we discussed this and agreed on our priorities for this quarter. I don’t want you continuing down this path!”

“Really? I thought you’d be pleased.”

“No, I’m not pleased!” Trixie all but shouted. “I’m seriously regretting that I left you in charge. You’d better start abiding by the rules that are set down for you, or you’ll find your contract terminated.”

He snickered. “You can’t do that.”

“Can’t I? You signed a code of conduct and there are clauses built into your contract that allow me to do that, if I so choose.”

“Try it and you’ll be hearing from my lawyer!”

Trixie stopped and caught her breath. “You know what? Consider this your first official warning. You’ll have that in writing in the next couple of days. And you’ll be hearing from my lawyers before long, too. In the meantime, please read over your contract and the code of conduct. You might like to get that lawyer of yours to confirm for you that it’s all legal and above-board – and that I can terminate your contract if I feel it necessary.”

He swore at her and hung up.

Trixie bumped her head against the nearest wall. “What did I do to deserve this?”

She frowned as a thought occurred to her. Turning, she strode into the corner of the living room that she used as a study and threw open the top drawer of the filing cabinet. Rifling through, she soon found the file on the appointment of the new director. Leafing through, she found the reference checks on the man she had appointed.

“Liv!” No answer. She knocked on the closed bedroom door and tried again. “Liv!”

The door opened. “What is it?”

“Take a look at this for me, will you? Do you see anything suspicious?”

The other woman took the file and began to skim through it. After a moment, she put her finger on something.

“What’s this line?”

“Just a fault in the copying, I guess,” Trixie answered. “I didn’t think anything of it.”

“It looks to me like someone’s tampered with it.”

Trixie’s face paled. “Maybe I should contact the referees again and check that what I got was really what they said.”

As none of them were local, the reference checks had been done in writing. She had only spoken to one referee personally.

“Why?” Liv asked. “What’s he done?”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “He’s just tried to tell me that the new project he’s started – at the expense of two of the ones we already had up and running, and which doesn’t fit within the charter of the foundation – is his main priority right now and that he doesn’t have time for the actual work that he’s supposed to be doing.”

“Sack him!” Liv urged, savagely.

“I want to,” Trixie answered, “but I’ve got to go through the process. Unless, of course, I can find out something else against him. Like forged references. That would get rid of him a lot quicker, I hope.”

“So, call these people.” She tapped the page. “What do you have to lose?”

“The element of surprise? If this guy’s a friend of his, the reference could be completely genuine; inaccurate, but genuine.”

“Then, what are you going to do? You can’t let him destroy everything you’ve worked for!”

Trixie frowned. “I’m going to think about it overnight. And I’m going to talk to Mr. Wheeler. And I think I’m going to exert my authority and shut his new project down.” She considered for a moment. “And if that girl is rude to me again, I’ll revoke his authority to hire people. I should be able to call any time I like.”

Liv nodded. “You should. And you should have confidence in the person who’s in charge.”

“I’m going to fix this,” Trixie determined. “I just need to decide how.”

Continue to part two.