The Secret of the Stone House by Judith Silverthorne

She wrote until her hand cramped up, then lay back on her bed and thought about Geordie. He’d grown so much. She mustn’t wait too long to go back – the time sped quickly by in the past. Everything was always a jumble with different seasons and different days in the two worlds. Was there some formula to it? If only she could figure out a method for calculating it, so she’d know in advance the time she’d be visiting. As she contemplated this dilemma, she felt herself drifting into sleep.
    Sometime later, muted talking brought her back to consciousness. She couldn’t make out the words, but they sounded important, judging by the tone of voice. Shaking off sleepiness, Emily looked over at her clock. 5:10 p.m. She swung her feet off the bed hitting the floor with a thud. Placing her journal in its hiding spot, and the key back in the drawer, she headed downstairs.
    When she reached the second level, she heard her mom in her bedroom. Emily poked her head around the partially open door. Kate stared out the window with the phone receiver in her hand, her expression blank.
    “Okay, David,” she said with an exaggerated patience in her voice, as if placating an upset child. “Then I guess there’s nothing more to say.” She listened again. “Fine.” She hung up with a slam.
    “Mom?” Emily hesitated in the doorway.
    Kate whirled around, startled.
    “What did Dad say?” Emily tried to keep the anxiety out of her voice.
    “Nothing good!” Kate scowled. She turned and looked out the window again.
    A few moments later, she went over to Emily, her emotions in check. She gave her a hug. “Except that he misses you,” she whispered into Emily’s ear.
    “Could I call him back?” Emily asked. Her mother hesitated before answering.
    “Yes, but give him a few minutes to calm down. He’s on one of his rants.”
    Great, thought Emily, he probably wouldn’t even answer the phone, if he thought it was her mom calling him back. Obviously, the negotiations between her parents were not going well. That also meant her mom wasn’t in any mood to consent to her going out again today, especially since it was so close to suppertime. She could already hear her aunt rattling around in the kitchen. She might as well go help.
    Her stomach growled as she descended the stairs. The smell of roasting chicken wafted up to her. Aunt Liz was a good cook.

CHAPTER SIX

    By the time Emily left for the sentinel rock the next morning, the sun was just breaking over the horizon. Unable to sleep, she’d tiptoed out of the house before anyone else was up. Dew glistened on blades of grass and birds twittered their greetings to the day as she strolled across the meadow, spotted with patches of yellow buffalo bean and tiny blue harebells. Emily felt content and full of excitement. She hoped she would find Geordie alone so she could talk to him. But that might not be so easy with his large family around and all the work they had to do.
    Once she’d transported herself into the past, Emily decided to go to the old homestead and follow the trail from there to the stone house. She dodged around the aspen stand, avoiding unnecessary steps. She wondered again if there was a way to come and go right at the new home place.
    As she approached the sod home, Emily heard voices and the clang of an axe chopping wood. By the time she reached the yard, she found the place full of activity. She watched from behind a sturdy caragana bush, trying to place each of the Elliott family members.
    George Senior, her great-grandfather, looked about the same, with his grey whiskers and hair, and his smiling eyes. He seemed to be mending some kind of frame with a screen in it. Geordie was hauling firewood to the house, while one of his older brothers split the wood and another stacked it. She was pretty sure they were Duncan and Jack. Another young man she thought was Sandy, the oldest, seemed to be removing hinges from the barn door.
    Beth and Kate must be the two