by R. R. Banks
I unlocked the door and stepped inside.
"Hi, Holly."
I screamed and tossed myself to the floor before it processed that it had been Graham's voice.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked as I climbed to my feet.
"Is that how you would respond to an intruder? Because if it is, I suggest that you attend a seminar of some kind."
I straightened my clothes and tried to restore my dignity for the second time that night and glared at Graham where he reclined on the bed, his ankles crossed, and his hands rested on his stomach. There was a smirk on his face and an arrogant twinkle in his eyes.
"What are you doing?" I demanded.
He looked around.
"Well, it seems to me like I'm relaxing. It's been kind of a long night and I was going to go ahead and turn in."
"You're in my room."
"The door was open. I figured that the precedent had been set. You needed a bathroom earlier, so you walked into my sleeper car and used it. I need a bed, the door was open, so I'm using the bed. Oh, and you know what's funny -- you know how you pulled down my bed for me in the train? Well, I had to pull this one down out of the wall. Now we're even."
"We are not even," I said through gritted teeth. "Get out of my room."
Graham drew a breath in through his teeth and shook his head.
"I'd really like to, but, you see, that would mean that I wouldn't have a room, and I'm just really not liking that scenario."
"I don't care what you like or don't like. This is my room. I got to the desk first. I filled out the card first. I got the key. This is my room. Get out of it."
"You paid for it?" Graham asked with a scoff. "You really think that matters? Fine. Here."
He sat up and reached into his pocket. I saw his face drop and he reached into his other pocket. Graham adjusted on the bed, so he could reach into his back pockets.
"What is it?"
"Oh, shit. No, no, no."
He climbed off of the bed and grabbed his coat off of the back of the chair. He reached into the pockets and then threw it back down.
"I don't have my fucking wallet. I must have left it on the train somehow."
"Oh, really?" I asked, "My, how quickly things can shift."
"OK, you can wipe the smirk off your face."
"But why? If I did that, I wouldn't be able to express my sheer delight and I'm just really not liking that scenario."
Graham snatched his coat up again, picked up his bags, and stalked to the door.
"I'm just going to go to the lobby. It's one night. The train will be going again in the morning."
"Sleep well," I called.
The door closed, and I flipped the deadbolt before heading for the bathroom for a shower. I stepped under the water and tilted my head back, letting the stream wash over me and draw the tension of the trip so far out of my shoulders. My eyes closed, and I suddenly got the image of Graham's face in my mind. With thick dark blond hair and a full beard, he was nothing like Ben, and he was ruggedly gorgeous.
Wait. What? What did I just think? Did I seriously just muse on the arrogant jackass being gorgeous?
I shook the thought out of my mind and finished showering, stuffing myself into the one pair of flannel pajamas that I had brought with me and diving into the bed before I could have any other disturbing flights of fancy.
My mind knew that I was supposed to be on vacation, but it had apparently not shared this information with my body, because I woke the next morning before the sun just as I always did when it was time for work. Considering it had only been a couple of hours since I fell asleep, I groaned and rolled over, burying my head under the comforter and willing my brain to stop thinking about commutes and office Christmas parties until I mercifully fell asleep again. The next time that I woke up it was still far earlier than I would have wanted it to be, but I knew that I couldn't just lay around anymore. I needed to be dressed and ready for when the train was ready to go again.
Since I had unpacked only the bare essentials the night before it didn't take long before I was standing in the bathroom finishing my makeup, my bags on the bed, and my brain already on the cruise ship. I heard my phone ring from the nightstand and I dove onto my belly across the mattress to get it before the call dropped.
"Hello?"
"Miss Abbott?"
"Yes."
"Good morning. I'm calling about the train delay last night."
Joy to the world, the work is done.
"Yes. Do you happen to know what this will do to the arrival schedule in terms of when I will be getting to my destination? I need to know if I should call and cancel my hotel reservation for tonight."
"Unfortunately, yes, we would recommend that you cancel that reservation."
I felt a hint of disappointment, but brushed it off.
"Oh. OK. Well, then do you know what time tomorrow I'll be arriving?"
"Miss Abbott, we actually don't know when you will be arriving because as of now the route has been canceled and the train will not be traveling as planned."
"Excuse me? What do you mean that the route has been canceled? I thought that there was nothing seriously mechanically wrong with the train."
"It's not just the train, ma'am. It's the snow."
"Snow?" I asked, bewildered by the comment. "What do you mean snow?"
"Have you looked outside yet this morning?"
I walked over to the door and was immediately greeted by at least two feet of snow falling in on my feet through the open doorway. I drew in a slightly shuddering breath, trying to calm myself.
"I'm going to have to call you back."
I ended the call and wrapped my fingers around the phone tightly, gritting my teeth against the scream that was building up in my chest. I stepped back in the room and slammed the door, sending up a little puff of snowflakes from the miniature drift that had ended up in the room. Outside I heard voices and I opened the door just enough to peer out. Several people were walking to the main building, pulling coats close and ducking their heads down against the still-falling snow. These must be the people who had taken up all but my room at the motel.
"I'm starving," one woman said as the small cluster of people she was walking with passed close enough to my room for me to hear what they were saying. "I hope they have waffles.'
My stomach grumbled at the word and I tried to think back to the last thing that I ate. I realized that it must have been the bagel and that was long before the train even stopped. I was ravenous, and the thought of waffles was enough to make me throw all consideration for bathing suits and luggage parity out the window. Remembering that Day had mentioned the motel's breakfast buffet to me the night before when I checked in, I ducked back into my room, changed as quickly as I could, and started out toward the lobby, making sure that the door was locked, and my key was tucked in my pocket before I went. I would have to talk to Day about extending my stay for at least another night. Hopefully the snow would clear up by the morning and the train would be back.
Trudging through the snow was more challenging than I had anticipated it being and by the time that I had gone a few yards my legs were already burning.
I think that we just found my New Year's resolution.
The closer I got to the lobby building, the more people I saw. Many of them looked like they had been sleeping in as well and I remembered the quiet of the motel the night before. Either they were all sound asleep when I checked in, or they were all out doing something together. Boom Boom had mentioned that there was some sort of event happening that weekend and that was why all the people were at the motel. I wondered what it could be that would draw this many people and send them to the same activities.
I stepped into the lobby and was immediately greeted by the smell of bacon, eggs, potatoes, and, yes, there they were...waffles. I felt like I was drifting on the heady fragrance as it guided me toward a room off of the main lobby whe
re tables had been set up and a long buffet table took up much of a wall. I went to the end of the buffet and joined the line, tempted to utilize some of my train-boarding aggressiveness to get me to the bacon faster. Finally, it was my turn and I filled my plate to towering, briefly contemplating whether it would be appropriate to grab a second plate to balance me out as I sought out a table where I could eat.
A feat easier contemplated than achieved.
All the tables around seemed to be taken and I found myself spinning around in the middle of the room like I was using sonar to locate a table. Suddenly I saw two people get up from a table and I made a run for it, throwing myself sideways into a chair with such velocity it threatened the structural integrity of my breakfast pile just as another woman was approaching. I expected her to be mad, but instead she looked at me with admiration in her eyes.
"That was a nice move," she said.
"Thank you," I replied, setting my breakfast down in front of me.
I eyed the juice back near the buffet, but I didn't dare get up and leave my hard-earned table vulnerable to the other guests.
"Can we join you?" the woman asked. I looked up and saw that she had a baby tucked on her hip. She leaned in conspiratorially. "I can hold down the fort while you go get some juice."
"Deal."
She smiled and settled into the chair across from mine and I rushed for the juice. I carried two glasses back and set them on the table between our plates. She smiled at me and reached across the table to shake my hand.
"I'm Rue," she said. She bounced the baby gently, turning to look at it adoringly. "And this is my daughter, Clementine."
"I'm Holly," I said
I braced myself for the inevitable, but it didn't come, and I felt myself relax.
"It's nice to meet you," she said. "Are you here with the bride or the groom?"
I looked at her strangely, not understanding why she would ask me that then realized that the event Boom Boom mentioned must be a wedding. That would explain a sudden influx of people, though Whiskey Hollow struck me as a place that most people stayed in their whole lives, so I didn't really understand why there would be such a surge of guests from other places.
"Neither, actually," I said, taking a bite of bacon. "I was on a train that got canceled and there were no more cabs to anywhere, so I ended up here."
Rue looked at me for a few seconds as though she thought that there might be more to the story, or that I was going to laugh and give her the real explanation, then she nodded.
"Well, that's one of the more interesting stories of how people ended up here that I've heard. Not quite as interesting as mine, but that's probably a good thing."
"How did you end up here?" I asked.
She looked at Clementine with a little knowing smile as though she and the baby shared a secret.
"Oh, if you stay in the hollow long enough, I'm sure you'll hear it."
"Then hopefully I won't be hearing it. I don't intend on being here very long."
She shrugged.
"You never know. You might end up being here longer than you think."
Great. That just upped the creepiness factor of this whole situation by about a thousand percent.
"Um…" was all I could manage to say.
"Oh, no, I just mean that with the snow falling this heavily it might be a bit until there are any trains or anything coming this way. When it comes to road clearing efforts, let's just say that Whiskey Hollow doesn't exactly rank high on the priority list."
I let out a breath I hadn't realized that I was holding. Something about what she said had struck me and I watched as she ate a few bites of her breakfast before continuing.
"So, you live here?"
She nodded.
"Born and raised, then left, but found my way back. I'm a Hollow boomerang."
"So…" I eyed her breakfast and Rue laughed.
"My fiancé and I are in the bridal party. He's up here helping to wrangle the groom's family, so I came along, but he wandered off and I haven't been able to find him." She indicated the baby again. "This one saps so much of my energy that I'm constantly hungry, so Day told me to come grab a plate while I wait for Richard."
I nodded. I was starting to like Rue. If I was going to be stuck here for the next day or two, at least it was nice knowing that there was someone to talk to other than Boom Boom. At least I could bring myself to say Rue's name without mental preparation.
"Who's getting married?"
"You couldn't have the common decency to wake me up before you came in here?"
Rue hadn't even been able to answer when I heard Graham's angry voice behind me. I closed my eyes briefly and shook my head. He was the holiday nightmare that just wouldn't go away.
"I wasn't aware that I needed to be your personal alarm clock. Besides, I didn't even see you when I was walking through the lobby. How was I supposed to wake you up?"
"I was over in the corner because apparently the furniture in that place was built out of molded plastic and cement, and the cushions have covers that made me feel like I was trying to sleep on a Slip N Slide."
"Yeah, well, hit the floor twice and then we'll talk."
"Day let you sleep in the lobby?"
I had almost forgotten that Rue was sitting there, and I turned to look at her. She seemed unfazed by the confrontation, something that didn't give me a tremendous amount of confidence, but was staring at Graham with a surprised expression.
"Yes," he said.
"She must like you." Rue looked down at her plate for a second, but then her eyes snapped back up to Graham, pointing at him with her fork. "Be careful with that."
She went back to eating without any further explanation, and I figured that was another of the mysteries of the hollow that I would only learn with time.
Time that I really had no interest in giving.
Graham glared at me and huffed as he walked away towards the breakfast buffet. Rue gave a quiet laugh under her breath.
"How long have the two of you been together?" she asked.
"No," I said, shaking my head adamantly. "We are not together. I am just a victim of circumstances."
"Yes, the poor victimized woman who slept in a fucking bed last night," Graham muttered as he stalked by carrying a plate of eggs and a couple of pieces of whole fruit.
"I got the room first," I growled back through gritted teeth.
Rue got the hint of a smile on her lips, but turned her attention back down to her plate before saying anything.
"Holly?"
I looked up and saw Day approaching.
"Good morning," I said.
"Morning. Did you sleep well? Was the room comfortable?"
Her tone had changed from somewhat concerned to personable and I seemed to have segued her into a totally different conversation than was her original intention. I nodded, wanting to steer her back on track.
"It was great, thanks."
"Oh, good. Well, unfortunately, it looks like I have some bad news for you."
"Bad news?"
Graham walked up beside Day and I let out a sigh.
"She said that she had bad news for me."
"Actually, this has to do with you, too," Day said. There was suddenly a flirty note to her voice and I felt like I was catching on to Rue's warning. "Turns out the weather is just going to be getting worse throughout the day. The roads are already iced over, and no transportation is going to be coming anywhere near here for at least a couple of days."
"So, we're stuck here?" I asked.
It came out sounding more disgusted than I should have let it and Day's face hardened slightly.
"Unless you've got yourself a pair of snowshoes or a couple of tennis rackets and you intend on hiking your way out of here, it looks like you're going to be visiting Whiskey Hollow until further notice." She seemed to notice the stress that I was feeling and softened slightly. "Now, don't worry. Things aren't ever
so bad as the weather people say. Things'll probably warm up and we'll get you out of here tomorrow."
I nodded.
"Thank you. I guess I'll need my room for a while longer."
"Well, I already closed out that reservation, but if you want to come on out to the counter and fill out another card, I can secure it for you for as many nights as you'd like to claim."
Graham and I locked eyes. We both had the same thought and in a shot, I was out of the chair and running through the breakfast room. Graham was a step ahead, weaving through the crowd that seemed too surprised to move out of his way fast enough. I hopped over a chair and twirled around behind a woman who clung to a refill of scrambled eggs like they were her firstborn, but then found myself stuck behind an elderly man who seemed to just be standing in the middle of the floor without any real intention on doing anything. I tried to get to either side of him, but there wasn't enough space to fit my body through. I looked up and saw Graham nearing the door. He only had a few people and a bus cart circa 1940 to get past and he would be out in the lobby and stealing my room. I dropped down to my hands and knees and scrambled under the table, apologizing to feet as I went. When I got through to the other side, I hopped up and saw Graham move the cart out of the way. My stomach sank, but then I saw something fly at him from one side.
It happened so quickly I didn't even realize that it was a person. Graham grunted as the blurred figure hit him from behind, tackling him to the ground. I rushed the few feet towards them and realized that the person sprawled on top of him was a towering woman. She looked up at me with a triumphant expression and gestured towards the door. I ran out into the lobby and to the counter, meeting Day standing there holding another registration card. She was grinning at me and I wondered if she had anticipated The Chase. I just finished putting my name on the card when out of the corner of my eye I saw Graham approaching. The woman who flattened him followed behind. At least two inches taller than me and with shoulders that dwarfed even my own, she had wide brown eyes and tumbling thick hair that also made her stunningly beautiful.
"I'm sorry," Day said as Graham reached the counter, glaring at me. "Holly here has already filled out her card."