Free The Secret of the Stone House by Judith Silverthorne Page B

had two kitchen walls completely framed. She watched as they worked on the dining room.
    A few minutes later, she realized they were constructing the framework for the fireplace. Fascinated, she observed them as they worked, running floor joists close together under the base to support the weight of the stones that would later be added. At one point, they cut one of the joists shorter, so that it didn’t come out all the way, which left a wider opening at the front, almost as if they were leaving a gap on purpose. They seemed to be assembling some kind of enclosure inside it. Perhaps it was for an air vent of some kind. She leaned in for a better view.
    All at once, she felt the plank sway beneath her. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked around and saw Geordie lifting the other end. He gave the board a little wiggle, then set it down again. Emily felt all her muscles tighten. But when he looked up at her, he smiled. She relaxed.
    “Trying to make me walk the gangplank?” she asked playfully.
    “Who’s there?” Duncan asked from inside.
    Geordie and Emily froze.
    “I am,” Geordie answered.
    “Well, quit fooling around and do some work,” Jack called to him.
    Geordie motioned for Emily to follow him. They dashed around the corner of the house and he led her behind the caragana bushes where they wouldn’t be overheard. They didn’t say a word until they were out of sight.
    “I’m glad you came back,” he said.
    “I couldn’t stay away,” she said, happy that he was speaking to her again. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
    “I do apologize for the way I treated you a few days ago,” Geordie said, “so let’s not talk about it again.”
    “Apology accepted. But you said a few days ago? It was just this morning in my time.” This worried her. “There don’t seem to be any rules about the way time changes here compared to my life,” she complained.
    “I’m happy to see you whenever you come,” said Geordie.
    Emily shook her head, “But I can never plan anything.”
    “We don’t usually do anything special,” he said. “Although, my brother Sandy is getting married at the end of the week. You might find that a wee bit of fun.”
    “Oh, yes, I’d love to be here,” said Emily. “But we’d have to figure out when I needed to come.”
    “The wedding takes place mid-afternoon, and we have to travel to the bride’s home, so you’d need to be here no later than noon four days from now.”
    They compared the various times she’d shown up in Geordie’s world to when she’d left hers. Time in Geordie’s life seemed to have slowed down since she’d begun interacting with him. The three-months-to-four-year ratio wasn’t the same anymore. The closest they could figure out was that half a day in Emily’s life was about four days in Geordie’s.
    “I’d have to come back tomorrow morning,” she gasped. “But I can’t. The farm auction is tomorrow. I have to help and I want to be there. This is terrible. I really want to be here, too.”
    Geordie looked disappointed. “It would be fun to have you here, lass, but if it’s not meant to be, there is nothing we can do about it.”
    “I’ll figure out how to get here somehow,” Emily declared. “If only I had some way of getting right to this spot.” She turned away. “I must go now.”
    “Wait,” Geordie said. “I’ve been thinking about what you said about us being related and all. I don’t know if it’s right or not, or how that could be possible, but I know Emma trusted you.”
    Emily turned back to him. “I’m so glad to hear you say that!”
    Geordie continued, “I was also thinking about the way you come and go, and, well, if a stone Emma gave you worked, maybe if I gave you something, you could come back easily right here to this house.”
    “What did you have in mind?” she asked, excitement dancing in her eyes.
    “I made you this,” Geordie pulled a whittled piece of wood from his pocket.
    “It’s