Jim slowly walked into the Manor House. He was still in awe of the fact that the Wheelers had decided to adopt him pretty much sight unseen. Sure, Honey had gushed about him to the point that he had turned red in embarrassment and had to leave the Autoville Cafeteria to regain his composure, but still. They really didn’t know him from Adam. He could be involved in a gang or something and they wouldn’t know.

He supposed that Mr. Wheeler having known Dad helped. He was going to have to get used to calling Mr. Wheeler “Dad”. That was going to be weird. Not because he didn’t want him to be his father but how was he going to think of his dad, Win Frayne then? A look of worry came over his face.

“What’s wrong?” asked Honey. She had rushed ahead of him into the house, chattering away about anything and everything to do with the household. What days the maid changed the sheets, how not to offend the cook, who had which bedroom. The list went on and on. Jim had unconsciously kind of tuned her out. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate her help, he was just overwhelmed.

He reached into his front pants pocket and began searching. Where was it? He started to panic. After all this time he couldn’t have lost it. Finally, he sighed with relief. There it was--the rock. It wasn’t an ordinary rock. It was one Jim had found when his dad was sick. They had taken a walk along the river. His dad had to stop every few feet to catch his breath.

“Dad, are you sure you want to keep going?” Jimmy had asked. “We can do this another time.” He looked at his dad with concern. Jimmy knew that his dad was sick and that he probably wouldn’t recover. No one had told him so. He had overheard his parents talking about a month ago, right after they had returned from the doctor. They talked about not giving up and living each day to the fullest. They weren’t going to worry about the next day or how long before the illness ran its course. The one thing he remembered about that day was his mom breaking down and asking his dad how she was going to live without him.

From that day on, Jimmy never complained about the extra work he had to do or the school activities he missed because his dad was too sick. He helped his mom around the house, mowing the lawn, helping in the garden. He even tried to fix the washing machine, but at ten years old he was just not ready for that task.

“No, son,” his dad had replied. “I want to show you this place. It’s the place where I proposed to your mother twelve years ago. We’re almost there.”

They walked a little farther along the path. They came around a bend in the river and his dad’s eyes lit up. Jim looked in the direction that his father was looking. As they walked around the bend, Jim could see the cliffs along the opposite side of the river. The fall colors were at their peak and the entire cliff was bathed in the golds, reds and oranges of a spectacular fall. A bench had been placed facing the river. Whoever had decided to put it there must have known what the view would look like this time of year.

“Come on, Jimmy, sit down next to me as we watch the river come to life,” his dad said as he slowly made his way to the bench. When he got there, Jimmy could see that his dad was struggling to breathe and he wondered how they would make it back.

They sat in silence for several minutes. Jimmy tried to enjoy the view but every few seconds he would steal a glance at his father to make sure he was okay. The scenery was incredible. On the other side of the river he spotted two deer drinking from the stream. Squirrels and chipmunks raced up and down the trees, their cheeks filled with food that they would hide someplace for use later in the winter, if they could remember where they hid it. He gasped and pointed when he saw an eagle hover over the water then quickly grab for a fish and carry it to the nest that Jim noticed in a tree not too far away.

“Remember, Jimmy,” his dad started to say, “We must protect our environment and not abuse it. We must think of how this land was when the pilgrims came over and when the Native Americans roamed the land. It is our duty not to destroy the land but treat it with respect.”

Jimmy listened intently to his father. He had always taught him to respect the land but today his dad seemed to be desperate. He became restless so he got up and started to make his way down to the river’s edge.

“Be careful,” his dad admonished. “If you fall in, I won’t be able to rescue you.”

“I will, Dad,” he replied. As he got closer to the water, he noticed the river bottom was gravely and not sandy like other rivers they had explored. The shoreline was covered with interesting rocks. He stooped down to pick up several different ones and took them up to his dad to show him.

His dad took each stone in his hand and identified them. He talked about how some of them were good for building things and others were too fragile and would crush under their own weight.

“This is a special one,” his dad pointed out. It was a flat black rock, oval in shape, about the size of a half dollar. “It will fit perfectly in your pocket and make a great worry stone.”

“What’s a worry stone?” Jimmy asked as he took the rock from him and turned it around to examine it closer.

“It’s a stone you carry in your pocket. When something bothers you, you rub it to take your mind off of your worries,” he explained. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a stone the size of a dime. “My dad found this when he had to go to Duluth for work when I was about ten. He brought it back to me and I’ve carried it ever since. He picked it up walking along the shores of Lake Superior. It’s an agate. It’s a large size for agates. See how polished it is? That’s from me rubbing it all these years. People will tumble agates to polish them, but I did it with my hands.”

Jimmy examined both rocks and then handed the agate back to his father and put the other one in his pocket.

Jim had been carrying his rock ever since that day. He didn’t show it to many people. He figured they would think it was dumb. If Jonesy knew about it, Jim knew that it would be taken away and thrown out into the field never to be seen again.

As Honey showed him to his new room, he was deep in thought. He barely noticed when she opened the door and directed him into the room. She excitedly began telling him more about his room and more stuff about the household. Suddenly, she stopped.

“I’ll just let you get settled,” she said, as if sensing that he needed some time alone. “I’ll be in my room. It’s the one right next to you. There should be fresh towels, soap and shampoo in the bathroom in your room if you need it.” Slowly, she left the room, clearly trying to hide her disappointment.

Jim hesitated. He didn’t want to offend Honey but he really needed some time alone. He glanced at his watch, surprised to see it was only two o’clock. “Do you think we could go for a ride before dinner?” he called to her. “I’m dying to ride Jupiter again.”

Honey’s shoulders perked up. “That would be great. We don’t usually eat until six thirty. We could go in an hour and still have plenty of time to groom the horses and clean the tack before dinner.”

Jim started to suggest asking Trixie to join them and then realized that it was important for just the two of them to spend some time together as siblings.

As Honey left the room, Jim reached into his pocket out of habit and found his stone.

As he thought back on the past few years, he realized his dad had been right. His rock had been polished until it almost gleamed. Well, it made sense. He started worrying about his dad’s health. Then his mom got sick and died. It got the most use when as he planned his escape from Jonesy. While the decision to actually leave was quick after Jonesy had laughed about him getting a college scholarship, Jim had been planning an escape for months.

Then when he was at Ten Acres, he thought he had lost it twice, once while he was rinsing off in his makeshift outdoor shower and then on the night that the fire had destroyed the place.

Now he was back on Glen Road and starting a new chapter in his life. He would now be the older brother to the sister he had always wished for in a house that was bigger than anyone could imagine. He wondered if he would need that worry stone now that he had a safe place to live.

He started to place the rock on his dresser, thinking he would find a place to put it for safe keeping, but changed his mind. He thought of all things he would have to deal with in the next few months. While Trixie and Honey thought that he would just fit in to the Wheeler family like he’d always been a member, Jim knew that he would have a lot of adjustments to make. Even though Jonesy had been controlling, Jim had become very independent, working things out without having to ask for anything from his mean stepfather.

It would take some time to remember to let others help him and to keep them informed of decisions he made. He wouldn’t have to worry about where the next meal was coming from or what kind of mood he’d find his stepfather in when he came home. He worried about letting his new family down. He wondered how he would get along with Trixie’s brothers, Brian and Mart. Would they resent him because of the time he had spent with Bobby?

Jim sighed and started to rub the stone vigorously. When he realized what he was doing, he scolded himself. “Quit asking for trouble where it isn’t. You can do this.”

A few minutes later, one of the maids brought up his suitcase. It was filled with new clothes they had stopped and bought on their way home. Trixie had ridden back with Miss Trask while he and Honey had ridden back with his new parents and George Rainsford.

Jim started to think about Trixie. He was amazed that she and Honey had tracked him down in such a short time, all the while solving the mystery of the missing trailers.

He again started to take the stone out of his pocket. He paused and thought, “I’d better keep this handy. Living next to Trixie, I’m sure it will be put to good use.”

 

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