Prologue

Undercover angel, answer to my prayer
You made me know that there's a love for me out there
(Somewhere) Yeah, somewhere ~ Alan O'Day

 

“Are you sure about this, Trixie?”  Jim asked a frown on his face.  He pulled into the empty space in front of the old Bob-White clubhouse.  The club still used it from time to time; in fact, it would be used often this summer with the guys back from college and the girls yet to leave. The idea of stopping there, alone with Trixie, bothered him.  The clubhouse was always considered to be neutral territory.  “It feels strange to be here with you, like this.”

“It’s okay with me, but we can go somewhere else if you’d like,” she offered freely.  “The clubhouse has privacy; I just want to talk without being interrupted for once.”

“What if someone we know drives by and sees my car here?  Aren’t you worried about what they might think?”  Jim was ever protective of his special girl. 

“No – we know we aren’t doing anything we’re ashamed of.  We just want to talk.  Whatever you think is best, Jim.  I’m fine if you want to go somewhere else.”

“I’d really like to talk outside,” he said, backing the car out and deciding to take his date somewhere else.  “I have an idea.”

Trixie was silent, then surprised when Jim turned into the steep Manor House driveway.  He confidently turned the key off and smoothly exited to help Trixie out of the borrowed Cadillac.  Jim had enthusiastically accepted his dad’s offer of the use of his Cadillac that night instead of a chauffeured limousine.

Under other circumstances, Trixie would have jumped out without assistance and raced to join him.  Tonight she was hampered by a long straight skirt and high-heeled shoes.

Jim helped her out of the car and casually pulled her close against his solid frame until her curls tickled his chin.  Grinning down at her, he dropped a chaste kiss on her lips. “I really like your dress, Belden,” he said appreciatively.  The white dress was flattering to her sturdy athletic frame.  “Thanks for asking me to your prom.”

“Thanks for accepting, Frayne,” she smiled back and wondered briefly what he’d think if he knew she’d picked the dress because it had pockets.  “You look like a red-headed James Bond in that tux.”

“From you, that’s the ultimate compliment!”  He escorted her to the terrace.  Within moments, he had lit several of the hammered copper insect-repelling torches the gardener had placed around the patio at Mrs. Wheeler’s request.  When finished, he pulled Trixie over to the double chaise lounge, cuddling her until she was resting in the crook of his arm.

Trixie immediately kicked off her shoes and settled comfortably in the protective warmth of Jim’s body.  She looked up at the sky and blinked twice.  I had forgotten the moon was full, and I can’t believe how many stars are out tonight.

“Are you warm enough?” he asked, his concern showing through for her once again.

“Hmmm, Jim you always have the best ideas.  This is perfectly perfect.”

Jim picked up the weather-proof remote and pushed a couple of buttons.  He paused until he heard the soft strain of music from the hidden speakers and nodded in satisfaction. Sometimes the trappings of wealth can be very useful!

“This is better than the clubhouse, don’t you think?” he asked.

“Absolutely!”

“So,this was it, the last high school dance.  Was it everything you hoped for?” he asked.

She snuggled up closer against him.  There was always a certain contentment in being held in Jim’s arms.  “It was.  I thank you again for coming with me, Jim,” Trixie told him seriously.  “There isn’t anyone else I’d want to take to my prom.”

“Graduation is next week, right?” 

“Yes,and then I have a summer job and I leave for college in August.”

“Trixie, are you sure this government scholarship is what you want?” Jim asked carefully.  He was still disappointed she had decided on a college in Virginia instead of New York.  This was a subject that he had avoided, until now.

“Jim! What do you mean?  A full-scholarship to college, a job every summer, even insurance!  All I have to do is give them four or five years after graduation.  You know all the money I’ve been saving for college?  I can use it to buy a car instead, a used car of course, but still it’s a car!  The program even includes a stipend, so I won’t even have to get a job during the school year.  What could be a better deal for me than that?”

Coming to school with me, marrying me, and letting me pay your way through school would be a better deal.  Well a better deal for me, anyway.  We wouldn’t have to wait eight or more years to be together.  What if you meet someone else? Jim couldn’t put his fears into words; he cared about her too much for that.  But deep down he knew the truth -- this was her time to fly.  Getting married now would clip her wings. “I can’t see you in the military, Trixie.  It’s a tough stretch for all of us.  When you start, will they make you get one of those buzz cuts?” Jim shuddered as he imagined Trixie with an Army buzz haircut -- she would look like Mart!

Frowning, Trixie replied, “I never said I’d be in the military.  Where on earth did you get that?”

“You said a government program, so I assumed it was the military.  You were kind of sketchy about the details and I had figured it would be the Army.  Is it the Air Force or the Navy?”  When she didn’t answer immediately he continued.  “Don’t tell me you’re going to be a Marine?”  His special girl as a Marine was tough to imagine.  Of course she can do it; she can do anything she wants.

“No,” Trixie replied, shaking her head.  Dan got it right away; I can’t believe Jim hasn’t put it together yet.  “That’s not it exactly,” she admitted with a frown.

Jim shifted in the double chaise lounge so he could see her face. “Trixie, exactly what kind of government job will you have?”

“They won’t promise me a specific job until graduation,” she hedged.

That was enough; he sat straight up then.  “Trixie, are you going to school under a military scholarship?”

“No.”

“Are you going to tell me exactly what kind of program this is?”

“It’s a scholarship program for students who are interested in careers in government service.”  Trixie said, impatience creeping into her voice.  Gleeps! I showed him and Brian the brochure before I applied for the program.

Government service! Jim couldn’t help his mouth from dropping open.  “You’re going to work as a spy after college?”

“Maybe,” she answered slowly, “it’s too early to tell.  My preference is some kind of investigative or intelligence work.  They’ll take that into account.”  Her eyes were shining brightly at the thought of working as a spy, in an undercover operation.  She shook her head, returning to the terrace.  “There are a lot of career options and no promises or guarantees.  I’ll probably have to spend my summers working in Washington D.C., and, depending on my college major, I’ll have some choices when I interview.”

“Is this one of those FBI programs?” he asked, wondering if he was the only Bob-White that didn’t get it wasn’t military.  That stupid brochure had Army, Navy, Marines, even Department of Defense all over it!  I told Brian we should have listened to her more carefully.  She wanted our advice!

“No. Since the government formed the Department of Homeland Security and combined the work of the intelligence agencies, the program belongs to them.”  Trixie grabbed his arms and looked at him.  Her tone was almost pleading for him to understand.  “It’s only nine years; it’s going to take Honey seven to finish law school.  We think, Honey and me, that we’ll want to base our business in New York.  She’s going to study for the New York bar and it’s a tough one.  I’m hoping to get some real experience in investigations.  There’s always police work, of course, but it would be years before I could make detective going that way and truthfully, I didn’t want that.  The federal government agencies are much more receptive to women, even though you’ll never get the local police departments to admit it.”

She watched him, wondering what he was thinking.  His quiet reaction made it appear to her that he was absorbing what she had told him. 

“Jim, say something.  Do you think I’m doing the wrong thing?  I haven’t told anyone else this, but I’m scared of losing what we all have here.”

“Explain yourself, Trixie,” he said, finally coming out of his reverie.  “Scared of losing what?”

“Our friendships – the Bob-Whites and then Honey, Diana and me.  We never thought we would end up at three different schools.  What if Honey gets to Chicago and makes a new best friend and decides she doesn’t want to be a part of the Belden-Wheeler Detective Agency?”

“Have you wondered if maybe Honey is worried about the same thing?”  Jim asked quietly, deliberately avoiding for a few more moments his own personal fear about their friendship.

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe Honey is afraid that her best friend, who is cheerful, vivacious, outgoing and makes friends at the drop of a hat, will go off to school and make a new best friend and decide she doesn’t want to be a part of the Belden-Wheeler Detective Agency.”  Jim said quietly.  He kept silent about his own fear.  That his best friend, who was beautiful, vivacious, outgoing and attractive to men in her own unique way, would go off to school and meet a guy that worked in the same field she did, not something boring like education and psychology.

“There’s no chance of that happening!” Trixie responded emphatically.

“Then give Honey the same credit.  You’ll both have email and Dad is sending Honey off with some kind of titanium satellite cell phone plan that has a trillion prepaid minutes on it and unlimited texting.  She’ll call you all the time.  The only time she won’t call is when she’s texting you instead.”

Trixie giggled as she pictured Honey’s father picking out a cell phone plan like Jim described.  “You’re right, and I’m sure Mr. Lynch will do the same for Diana.”

“Of course, and they’ll both know how to do three-way calling.  I can see it now: every Sunday morning the three of you will fix yourselves tea or coffee and settle down with bagels or doughnuts and talk about all the hearts you broke over the weekend in Chicago, Virginia and Boston.”

“Maybe in Chicago and Boston, but not in Virginia,” Trixie laughed.

“Yes, in Virginia too,” Jim insisted. 

“Jim, I just can’t see that happening.  I mean, I’m sure there will be lots of people to meet and some of them will be guys, but they won’t be interested in me.”

“They will,” he responded as he kissed her forehead gently.

This time Trixie turned towards him and lifted her face to respond to his kiss.   She strained to reach his mouth and as she kissed him, that wonderful feeling started in her toes.  It was ever so soft and sexy.  When Jim sensed her response, the pressure increased and her lips parted slightly.  Jim nibbled her bottom lip gently before skimming his tongue carefully across both her lips.  As she responded in kind, their mouths engaged in a ritual they both enjoyed.

As they slowly broke apart and stared into each other’s eyes, Trixie whispered, “I’m afraid of losing your friendship, too.”  She bit her bottom lip wondering if the time were wrong for her blatant honestly.

Jim kissed her again, before sighing deeply and pulling her close.  “I know, Trixie.  I feel the same way, but you have plans for your future that involve education and work necessary to build your career.  It’s not different for the rest of us, Brian, me, Mart and Dan.  We’ve all started down the path of building our lives as adults.  But we’ll always be friends, all seven of us, even when we’re hundreds of miles apart.”

“Jim, don’t you… will you miss me?  I mean miss being alone with me, like this, like tonight?” she asked softly, not looking at him, biting her lip nervously.

“Of course, I will.  There are times when I want to try and talk you into coming to school with me, but just like I picked the school that was best for me, I need to let you make the decision on what’s best for you, without any influence from me.”

“What kind of influence?” she asked, looking at her fingers.

“This kind.” Jim reached gently for her chin and pulled her face towards him so he could see her eyes.  As he suspected they were bright and he gently kissed her again.

Trixie sighed in satisfaction.  She suspected he had wanted more from her for almost a year now, but she had resisted.  Later, when she knew she was going to accept the scholarship, she resolved it would be unfair to both of them to start that kind of relationship with Jim.  It will only make things harder to leave for school if we try to move our relationship to the next level!   Deep down, in her heart, Trixie knew -- had known since she was thirteen -- there was only one man for her. 

Jim and Trixie were quiet, both thinking and listening to the soft music playing.  Both were absorbed in their thoughts.  When the song ended Jim spoke first.

“The best thing for us is to keep being the best of friends, before anything else.  Nothing is more important to me than your friendship.”  Jim paused, he took a deep breath before he continued.  “Trixie, if we --, if I --, messed things up with you and we couldn’t be friends, I’m not sure I could handle it.  College is a tough adjustment.  You’re going to be alone in Virginia with none of the Bob-Whites to count on.  Trying to make that adjustment is tough enough without trying to manage a long-distance boyfriend.  Make new friends, get involved in the social activities, and yes, go out with some of the guys that are going to ask you out.”

Trixie snorted.  “Right, Jim!  Didn’t you see all the guys I had to beat off with a stick in high school?  Every weekend it was the same old thing, which one of them should I go out with?”  The heavy sarcasm was apparent.

“Trixie, there were guys that asked you out!” Jim protested.  “I know for a fact, Tad Webster asked you to go out with him at least three times.”

“How do you know that?” she asked suspiciously.

“Well, he wanted to know if it was okay with me,” Jim mumbled, knowing that was likely the wrong thing to say.

“I see,” she said with a chill she couldn’t manage to keep out of her voice.  “And I take it you told him to go for it, we were just friends?”

“No, I didn’t!” Jim insisted.  “I told him I wasn’t your social coordinator, and that if he wanted to go out with you he should ask you, not me!”

“Well, fine!  It just so happens that I didn’t want to go out with Tad Webster,” Trixie sniffed indignantly.  “Every girl in Sleepyside knows he can’t keep his hands to himself.”

“Oh?” Jim sat up straight, wondering if he should go and pummel Tad right then or wait until the next day.

“Why didn’t you tell him I was your special girl?” Trixie blurted.  Her hand automatically went to the silver bracelet she wore, the one she had worn since he had given it to her.

“Because I couldn’t be here every weekend,” Jim attempted to explain his thinking.  He cared for her too much to have her sitting at home on weekends he couldn’t come home.  “It was your senior year of high school.  Time for you to have fun, go out with the crowd.  Didn’t you date anyone this past year?”

“I went to different things with some guys, mostly group things,” she replied honestly.  “But, Jim.  This meant something to me.”  Her hand moved automatically to touch the silver that graced her sturdy wrist.  “I thought it meant something to you as well.”  She bit her lip to keep it from trembling.

“It does, Trixie.  But we agreed to go out with other people.  Whether you want to admit it or not, our lives here in Sleepyside have been fairly sheltered.  Our parents have always been careful to make sure we were well-protected from any number of things.  You need to know that there are a lot of men in this world who are going to find you very attractive, not to mention incredibly sexy.  Especially if they could see you like this!”  Jim’s fingers trailed down the edge of Trixie’s dress, sensually caressing the line of cleavage created by the halter top.  If she only knew how much she means to me.  I want her more than I’ve wanted anything in my life! Jim thought to himself. You know she’s not ready for that.  Keep it cool, Frayne, she’s not ready.

“Look,Jim.  I don’t know what the future holds,” she answered with her usual complete honestly.  “But I know you’re special to me and I don’t want to lose what we have together.”

“I don’t either,” he answered softly.  “When I commit to a girl, it’s going to be important to me that it means forever to both of us.  I want what my birth parents had with each other, and what my parents now have with each other as well.”

Trixie looked at him and nodded. “I know what you mean.  My parents -- even though I don’t like to think of them like that -- they love each other and they’re perfect for each other.  Moms doesn’t think we notice how Dad always kisses her when he comes home from work, or those looks he gives her, but we do.  For Beldens, marriage means forever.”

Jim pondered this tidbit for a moment, before he asked curiously.  “Where did your Mom and Dad meet each other?”

“They knew each other in high school, but they didn’t start dating each other until college.  Where did your parents meet each other?”

“At college,” he laughed in response. “And before you ask, Matthew and Madeleine met while they were attending college too.”

“So you think we’re going to meet our life partners in college?” Trixie wondered aloud.

No, I think I’ve already met mine, Jim thought instantly as he pushed his hand through his hair.  Good grief, if this woman didn’t frustrate him to the ends of the earth.  Couldn’t she understand he needed her to be sure!  “Don’t you think it’ll be better for our friendship, and our future, if we we’re both free to see other people, and enjoy the full college experience?”

Trixie nodded, “I see your point Jim, I promise I do, but you didn’t do that.  You came home to take to me to dances here at Sleepyside and even at school with you and Brian.  Did you have the full college experience?”

Jim knew he was taking a chance, the biggest gamble of his life, but he was going to let her go.  He was counting on it meaning he would have her forever and he would willingly trade the next few years for a lifetime with Trixie.  “It was different for me, Trixie.  Brian and I were so much younger than our classmates in years but so much older than some of them in maturity.  Most of the girls, well, they just weren’t genuine.”  He kissed her again.  “You’ll always be my special girl.”

She sighed as she snuggled even closer in his arms. His special girl is fine and dandy, but what if I want more?

He took a deep breath.  Oh cripes!  She doesn’t have a clue what she does to me!  He had been ready for more for several months, but realizing she wasn’t there, he’d held back.  This time when he kissed her, his hands slid seductively around her neck, gently caressing her skin and nibbling an ear.  Eventually, his hands drifted down so he could cup her breasts, sliding his thumb under her dress, seeking the sensitive nipple.  Smiling when she gave a shiver in response to his touch, the small sound of pleasure she uttered was music to his ears.

He aroused all those wonderful feelings Trixie wanted – tingles, and pulls and tugs that started deep inside her, and made her want more.  Unfortunately for Jim, more to Trixie meant more kisses, longer kisses and more intimate caresses.  She was still unaware of the real desire she unleashed in the supple redhead. 

“I want you.”  Jim murmured as his hands slid up and down her sides and around her back. “I want to be with you.”  Smoothly, his fingers returned to her neck as he moved to unfasten the halter top of her dress.  He was aching to get his mouth on her breasts.  Oh, god, I want to look at her!  It was something he had dreamed of numerous nights in his dorm room in the city.

“Jim, we have to stop.  I… I’m not ready for this.”  Trixie pushed away, albeit reluctantly.  She hadn’t realized that he wanted that.

Jim sighed and carefully refastened the top of her dress; he had known better.  It was the response he had expected, but still, he had to ask:  “Is it me?”  As he spoke, he twirled his favorite curl around his finger almost reverently.   

“No…” she said slowly.  “Jim, when I’m ready for more, I want it to be with you.  It’s just that right now, it’s not something that’s right for me.”  She bit her lip, the realization finally dawning that it was something Jim had wanted for a while. 

Jim nodded; it was nothing less than what he had expected.  “It’s okay, Trix; I understand.  I promise not to pressure you, okay?”

She nodded in response as well.  She understood perfectly.

They talked a while longer, kissing and cuddling but never returning to the same level of intensity they had earlier.  It was getting close to the curfew Peter and Helen had established for Prom Night.  Jim extinguished the torches and they walked hand in hand back to Jim’s vehicle, where he assisted her back into the luxury Cadillac. 

On the porch at Crabapple Farm, they lingered over their goodnights before Trixie opened the door with obvious reluctance and went inside.  Jim stared for a moment at the closed door before he slowly returned to his vehicle.  He sighed and rested his head on the steering wheel.  He watched as he saw the light in her room come on and he knew she was really home.  “I may be wrong, Trixie,” Jim vowed out loud in the privacy of his vehicle, “but I’d rather have forever than mess things up in the next eight years.  I swear to you, I’m betting on forever.” He cranked the car up as he headed back to Manor House.  He would be having a long, cold shower before falling into bed.

Inside the house, Trixie walked slowly and quietly up the stairs, wondering if she had pushed the limits of Jim’s honorableness.  When I’m with him like that, it’s like I wish time could stand still for us, it feels so good being with him like that!  I can talk to Jim for hours, about anything, when we’re alone together, and he never rushes me. He’s never impatient when we’re alone.   Her head was full of thoughts of Jim as she closed the door to her room.  Deciding she wasn’t quite ready to fall into bed, she turned the light out and slowly walked to the window to look out.  She watched the taillights head back to Manor House, mulling over the night and her conversation with the supple red-head.  It would’ve worked out, Jim.  We could’ve made the long-distance thing work.  People can have fun at college and still be committed to someone who’s not there.  She opened the window then and leaned out for a last look at the full moon.  “One day, we’re going to be together forever, Jim.  I promise you that.  We’re going to have forever.”