by Ruthie Knox
In the basement, he shows me an eight-foot-tall climbing wall that he built himself, for bouldering. It wraps around three walls. I don’t know what bouldering is, but when I test my grip against one of the holds, I understand why he has rough hands and corded forearms. I imagine him working off his stress down here at night, moving along the walls, elegant as a spider. Loosening up all the places that tightened from the heavy physical work of helping his father through his days.
I’ve always liked to climb things, he’d said as he helped me up the ladder to the top of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe train. Ever since I was a boy, my ma called me a monkey.
I can imagine his whole life. He’s told me most of it, just as I’ve told him mine.
He leads me outside, and we sit on the front steps in the cold, looking out over the quiet street. His yard is well groomed, tidied up for winter. He must have done that. He must be always doing things, always feeling hopelessly behind, feeling needed.
That night on the Big Boy, when he’d lost control with me, I’d tried to be what he needed, but I hadn’t understood.
I understand now.
“You didn’t think there was room for me.”
He looks out at his yard, pushes his hands down his thighs and over the tops of his knees. “No, I didn’t.”
“I didn’t think there was room for you, either.”
Tyler turns toward me, meeting my eyes. He puts a hand on my shoulder. “I’m still not sure how to make it work.”
“Neither am I. But I think we could start with a date.”
“An ordinary date.”
I nod. I think we’ve found the correct path forward, but I have to ask him one more thing. “Do you hate children?”
“No. I don’t really know any. I was an only child.”
“They grow on you,” I tell him. “Or, mine does, anyway.”
He brushes his hand over my cheek, catches a lock of hair and secures it behind my ear. “My father doesn’t grow on you.”
“I’m not worried about that. He’s your dad. He belongs to you.”
“I want you to belong to me.”
I scoot closer until we’re hip to hip, knee to knee, and then I tip sideways, resting my head on his shoulder. “Yeah. I want that too.”
The train car is crowded, but the man in the fedora only has eyes for me. I smile at him over my shoulder and put a little extra sway in my step, just because I can.
When I slide into an empty seat, he sits beside me and leans in to whisper in my ear. “Lady, you’re going to get yourself in trouble, walkin’ like that out where people can see you.”
His folksy drawl makes me smile. “What kind of trouble?”
“The best kind.”
Josh sticks out his hands and launches himself from Tyler’s arms into mine. “Goin’, Mama?”
“We’re going to ride the train.”
“Goin’?” he insists, flattening his palms on the window and looking out at the grounds of the National Railroad Museum.
“Just twice around the museum in a loop, buddy,” Tyler says. “But we can pretend we’re going to Topeka if you like that better.”
“What’s in Topeka?” I ask.
“Nothing special, sweetheart. But it’s a long way to Topeka. I figure a guy like me could use the time to his advantage.”
I stiffen my spine, feigning offense. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He leans down and whispers something in my ear that makes me blush.
“What a scandalous man you are. I should have you thrown off the train.”
He just smiles and puts his arm over my shoulders. “You should keep me around. Scandalous men are more fun.”
I lean in, and he catches my face in his hand when I kiss him.
“How long would it take to get to Topeka?” I ask under my breath.
“Days.” After a moment’s pause, he adds, “Nights too.”
The whistle blows. The train starts to move.
I think I will keep him around, all the way to Topeka and beyond. I think I will.
About the Author
Ruthie Knox graduated from Grinnell College as an English and history double major and went on to earn a Ph.D. in modern British history that she’s put to remarkably little use. These days, she writes contemporary romance in which witty, down-to-earth characters find each other irresistible in their pajamas, though she freely admits this has yet to happen to her. Perhaps she needs more exciting pajamas. Ruthie moonlights as a mother, Tweets incessantly, and bakes a mean focaccia. Visit her website at www.ruthieknox.com to keep in the loop or just wave hello.
What’s a little lie between strangers?
Back on Track
© 2013 Donna Cummings
A Strangers on a Train Story
Allie Whittaker is in a dating slump, too busy getting her fledgling marketing company off the ground to have a personal life. All that could change, though, if she can get baseball superstar Matt Kearns on the cover of a charity calendar. Except Matt won’t even talk to her.
Matt is in a slump, worried his career might be over. A Napa Valley wine tour isn’t enough to take his mind off his troubles—until sexy, funny Allie plops into the adjacent seat and tells him three things about herself. One of them, she says, is a lie.
Matt can’t resist playing along, and soon the afternoon getaway becomes an interlude with lies, truths, and desire flowing as fast as the wine. Then Ally lets slip one truth too many…and they both realize they’re playing for keeps.
Warning: A handsome hunk, a determined lady and a few glasses of wine. Throw in a little on-the-run action, and what more do you need to while away an afternoon?
Is that a cell phone in his pocket…or is he just happy to see her?
Ticket Home
© 2013 Serena Bell
A Strangers on a Train Story
When Amy Moreland left Seattle, she never expected to see her workaholic ex-boyfriend again. Encountering him on her Connecticut-to-New-York-City commute is the surprise of her life. He seems hell-bent on winning her back, but every time his cell phone rings, it’s a painful reminder of how he failed to put her first.
Jeff Havers can’t help that his phone keeps interrupting his carefully composed apology speech, but having Amy sic the Metro North security team on him is a bit much. Once he talks his way out of handcuffs, he focuses on coaxing Amy to talk about the fears that drove her away.
As the train ride takes them through the landscape of their lost life together, sparks fly and remembered heat reignites. But if they’re not brave enough to overcome the still-fresh pain of old wounds, it could be too late to pursue what really matters—their ticket home.
Warning: This book contains steamy train-car action, sex on the stairs, and a hero determined to give his velvet-and-heels-clad woman exactly what she’s looking for.
Two hearts converge…until fear runs love off the rails.
Tight Quarters
© 2013 Samantha Hunter
A Strangers on a Train Story
In the years since a horrific car accident left her with a long list of phobias, Brenna Burke has overcome them all except one. Crippling claustrophobia—not a good trait for an aspiring travel writer.
With an interview for her dream job looming, Brenna forces herself to board a train for a weekend tour through New York State…only to find her berth has been double booked.
Retired NYPD detective Reid Cooper isn’t happy about the mix-up, or his attraction to his petite, sexy roommate. But as their up-close-and-personal weekend progresses, something remarkable happens. Being with Reid makes Brenna feel normal, unafraid of anything.
After one passionate night, both are thinking beyond a mere weekend fling. But when Brenna’s last phobia pounces at the worst possible time, she could miss the last boarding call for happily ever after.
Warning: This book contains a hot-to-the-touch hero and sizzling sex at high speeds.
The last train of the night might j
ust be the start of something good.
Thank You for Riding
© 2013 Meg Maguire
A Strangers on a Train Story
Stung ego or not, Caitlin’s relieved her fizzling relationship is over, even if she’s just been unceremoniously dumped between the copier and a dead ficus tree. At least she has an excuse to ditch the lousy office Christmas party in time to catch the last subway home…to her cat, and early-onset spinsterhood.
Instead of a lonely, chilly ride, she gets an unexpected holiday treat in the form of a nearly familiar face—a handsome stranger she encountered last week at the blood drive.
At the end of the line, neither can seem to let their chance meeting end—until their extended flirtation finds them facing the prospect of spending a frigid winter night locked in an unheated subway station. And they wonder if keeping each other warm is merely a delightful form of rebound therapy…or a memorable first of many more dates to come.
Warning: Contains dorky, harmless flirtation that heats up into some spicy, third-base action.
Big Boy
Ruthie Knox
He’ll be any man she wants—except himself.
A Strangers on a Train Story
Meet me at the train museum after dark. Dress for 1957.
When Mandy joins an online dating service, she keeps her expectations low. All she wants is a distraction from the drudgery of single parenthood and full-time work. But the invitation she receives from a handsome man who won’t share his real name promises an adventure—and a chance to pretend she’s someone else for a few hours.
She doesn’t want romance to complicate her life, but Mandy’s monthly role-playing dates with her stranger on a train—each to a different time period—become the erotic escape she desperately needs. And a soul connection she never expected.
Yet when she tries to draw her lover out of the shadows, Mandy has a fight on her hands…to convince him there’s a place for their fantasy love in the light of day.
Warning: Contains sexy role-playing, theatrical application of coal dust, and a hero who can rock a pair of brown polyester pants.
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They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Big Boy
Copyright © 2013 by Ruthie Knox
ISBN: 978-1-61921-530-6
Edited by Anne Scott
Cover by Angela Waters
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: April 2013
www.samhainpublishing.com
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
About the Author
Also Available from Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
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