Sammy in Holland (Single Wide Female Travels #3)

by Lillianna Blake

  There was some traffic up ahead—traffic that had no clue a tandem bicycle was about to collide with it. I had promised Max that nothing bad would happen. Now we were both going to end up in the hospital—if we were lucky enough to make it through.

  As the bicycle hit a bump I gulped back a cry of fear. I clung to the handlebars and wondered just why I’d insisted on riding a bike.

  The bicycle lurched to the left. I tried to correct it and only ended up tilting to the right.

  “Sammy! What are you doing?”

  I didn’t have time to think about how upset Max was. All I could see was the traffic we were about to crash into. With nowhere left to go I turned the bicycle hard to the left. At least we would be out of the traffic pattern, even if we were bumped and scraped up. However, what I didn’t account for was the canal right beside the road—the beautiful canal that I’d made a wish into just hours before. Now it betrayed me.

  “Samantha!” Max shrieked and then gurgled.

  I sealed my mouth shut and my eyes closed as we plunged into the canal with the bicycle wheels still spinning. The water wasn’t as cold as I expected. That was a good thing. In a state of shock, I sank down through the water. It didn’t occur to me to swim up. It didn’t dawn on me that soon I would need to take another breath. Instead, I could only process that I was under the water, and Max was going to be furious.

  I felt a hand wrap around my wrist and tug. Only then did I realize that I needed to swim. Max and I swam up together to the surface of the canal.

  As I gulped for air people at the edge of the canal shouted.

  “Are you okay? Someone help them!”

  Max took deep breaths and clung to my wrist.

  We swam to the edge of the canal.

  “I’m sorry.” I looked over at him.

  He only shook his head. “I’ll give you a boost. We need to get out of this water.”

  I tried to climb up out of the canal but it was slippery, I was slippery, and it seemed that everyone in Amsterdam was staring at us. Max shoved hard at my waist in an attempt to be polite, but when I slid down for the third time, he groaned. His palms dug into my rear end and he gave another fierce shove. I pulled up as hard as I could and flopped onto the side of the canal.

  Max was still in the water.

  I turned back and reached for him with both hands. He didn’t take as much tugging.

  Once he was out of the water he helped me to my feet.

  “Are you hurt?” He met my eyes.

  “No. I don’t think so. Are you?”

  “No.” He wrung out the bottom of his shirt. “Can we give up on biking now?”

  I frowned. “I’m so sorry, Max.”

  The crowd around us dispersed as people realized that help was no longer needed.

  Max didn’t even look at me. My stomach ached with how badly I felt. I’d insisted on him participating in something that he was frightened of, and in the end I’d probably traumatized him even further. How did I ask forgiveness for that?

  “I really am sorry, Max.”

  “I know.” He sighed. “It’s not a big deal.”

  “It is. It really is.” I took his hand in mine.

  “Let’s just go back to the rental place. We’ll have to tell them about the bicycle.”

  “I’ll just pay for it.”

  “I know.” He sighed. His jaw tensed.

  I knew he had something to say.

  “It’s okay if you’re upset with me, Max. You have a right to be.”

  He slicked his wet hair back over his head and lifted his eyes back to mine. “Alright, I am upset.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I know that—which is why I don’t want to be upset. I know that you didn’t do it on purpose.”

  “I really didn’t.” I lowered my eyes.

  “But I told you that I didn’t want to bike at all.”

  “I should have listened to you.”

  “Why did you go so fast?” He stared at me. “Were you trying to make me scream? Or did you want to tease me?”

  “No, Max, that wasn’t it at all.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “The hill. The hill came up and I didn’t expect it. Then we started going so fast and no matter what I did I couldn’t slow us down. We were about to head into traffic. I didn’t think about the canal being there. I’m so sorry, Max.”

  “Hey.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “I can’t say I’m happy about it, but like I said, I know you didn’t do it on purpose. Let’s just head back and get changed. Maybe find some less risky activities to engage in. Okay?”

  “I guess.” I wrung out my own shirt as we walked.

  We were the only people on the street that were soaked from head to toe.

  Chapter 21

  Max and I were almost back to the rental when I heard a familiar voice.

  “If you were going swimming you should have invited me! I would have joined in.” Erik laughed as he walked up to us.

  I cringed. “It’s really not funny. I almost drowned Max.”

  “I didn’t almost drown.”

  “Well, you know—every couple fights.” Erik smiled and looked between us. “I’m sure that by tomorrow all will be forgotten.”

  “We weren’t fighting. We were biking.” I sighed. “I guess I went down a hill far too fast.”

  “What about the brakes?” Erik raised an eyebrow. “That should have stopped you.”

  “I tried them, but I guess I was going too fast.”

  “Wait a minute. Who did you rent from?” He crossed his arms.

  “Bike Now. We rented a tandem bicycle.”

  “Oh, no. Not the tandem.” He shook his head. “I thought it might be. I’m coming with you to the rental office.”

  “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” I shook my head. “It’s my fault. We’re just going to offer to pay for the bicycle and whatever service is needed to get the bicycle out of the canal.”

  “You’ll do no such thing.” For once Erik’s voice sounded stern. It was so out of character for him that it surprised me.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You just let me handle this.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, but thought better of it. I was curious about why Erik’s attitude had changed so much. Maybe this was a side of him that I wanted to see.

  He walked with us back to the rental office. When we arrived, I spotted the owner outside. He was speaking to someone and from the tension in his face, I guessed that he might have heard about the accident.

  “I feel awful. I hope this doesn’t cause him too much trouble.”

  “Oh, it’s going to cause him trouble alright.” Erik narrowed his eyes and stormed up to the man. “What is the meaning of this, Gerard?”

  “What?” Gerard looked at Erik, then past him at me and Max.

  “Should we stop him?” I glanced over at Max.

  “No, I don’t think so. He seems to know what he’s doing.”

  “Maybe, but he seems so angry. That’s not exactly a good way to apologize.”

  “Erik, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.” The owner hung his head.

  “But it did—just like I warned you it would. These are my guests, Gerard, and now they’ve had an awful time because of you.”

  I raised an eyebrow and studied Gerard’s expression. Instead of being angry that his bicycle was deep in a canal, he looked nervous.

  “I didn’t think they would go far with it. I figured they’d keep to the bicycle paths.”

  “That bicycle was not safe to be on the road and you know it. I warned you that the brakes were no good—that they needed to be repaired. I told you not to put the bicycle up for rent until you fixed it.”

  “I’m sorry. I know. But it’s what she wanted, and I didn’t want to disappoint her—and I didn’t think it would be a problem.” He grumbled his words and kept his eyes to the ground.

  “The brakes were bad?” I stared at Gerard
. “You let me take my husband out on a broken bicycle?”

  “It wasn’t broken. It just needed to be tweaked a bit. I’m so sorry. I wish it hadn’t happened.”

  “That’s not good enough. We could have been hurt or worse.” Max scowled at him. “How could you do that?”

  “Be prepared, Gerard, they can ensure that your shop is closed.” Erik shook his head. “I’ll make sure that it is.”

  “Please, don’t do that. It’s all I have. I didn’t repair the bicycle because I didn’t have the funds to do it. I was going to have it repaired as soon as I could.”

  I closed my eyes and recalled the way that Gerard had tried to talk me into a different bicycle. Of course he could have just told me that the bicycle was broken, and I would have gladly chosen a different one, but he had at least made an effort to redirect my attention.

  “That’s not necessary. It’s really not.” I frowned and looked at Max. “No one got hurt, right?”

  “You can’t be serious.” Max looked into my eyes. “This man was beyond reckless.”

  “And I’m sure that this incident will be lesson enough for him to change his ways. Is that right, Gerard?” I looked back at him.

  “Oh yes, of course. I will never rent that bicycle out again.”

  “Because it’s at the bottom of a canal.” Erik rolled his eyes. “Samantha, there’s no need to be nice. He did something terrible and he should be punished for it.”

  “I agree that it was terrible, but I’m sure there is some other solution that we can come to. I think if we worked together we could reach an acceptable plan. A man shouldn’t lose his business over one mistake. As long as Gerard agrees to have all of his bicycles inspected and to always do a safety check before renting out his bicycles, then I think we can let this go. Don’t you think, Max?”

  Max tightened his lips. He took a deep breath and looked into my eyes. “Is that what you think is best?”

  “I do.” I frowned. “I am still a bit at fault, after all. I did pedal much faster than I should have been with you on the bicycle.”

  He smiled at me. “Sometimes I am amazed by you, Sammy.”

  I winked at him and looked back at Gerard. “Is it a deal?”

  “Oh yes, absolutely.”

  “And Erik, you can hold him to it?”

  Erik stared at me with wide eyes. He nodded. “Yes. I can do that.”

  “Now, let’s go get changed, Max. We still have some free time left.”

  As I turned to walk away, Erik caught up with me.

  “Wait just a second, Samantha.”

  “Yes?” I met his eyes.

  “I just have to say that you surprised me.”

  “I have to say, ending our bike ride in a canal surprised me too.” I laughed a little.

  Max did not.

  “What I mean to say is, I didn’t think you’d be so relaxed about this whole incident. I was sure that you’d have Gerard’s business closed.”

  “Well, maybe you don’t know as much as you think you do about me, Erik.” I shrugged. “Sometimes I do stress over the small things, I’ll admit it. Sometimes I get worked up to the point of boiling over when things are not going as planned. But when it comes to a man’s business, that’s not something I take lightly. I didn’t intend to ride Max right into the canal, and I’m sure Gerard didn’t intend for us to end up there either. People make mistakes. We have to accept that, or we’ll all go mad.”

  “Interesting.” He smiled at me a little more. “Thanks for the insight.”

  “I’ll see you later for the book signing?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Chapter 22

  Max swung my hand back and forth as we walked toward the container. “You really are a good person, Sammy.”

  “Seriously?” I grinned at him. “Even after our unplanned bath?”

  “You took the time to try to help me with my fear. That was thoughtful. You took the time to understand why Gerard may have made the mistake he did. That was thoughtful.”

  “Maybe, but I didn’t exactly respect your wishes when it came to your not wanting to bike in the first place. If I had, then none of this would have happened.”

  “That’s true, but it doesn’t change the fact that you were right. I am going to have to get over my fear. Now, though, I might have to get over a fear of swimming too.”

  “Oh no, Max!” I groaned.

  “And probably a fear of Amsterdam.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Stop!”

  “Definitely a fear of people named Gerard!”

  I gave him a playful shove.

  He wrapped me up in his arms and swung me around to face him. “Never doubt for a second that you are the best influence in my life, Sammy.”

  Dazzled, as always, by the intensity of my gratitude for the opportunity to love and be loved by Max, I leaned in and kissed him. In the middle of Amsterdam, where anything could and did happen, all that mattered was his lips tangled with mine.

  He tugged me inside and started to peel off my wet clothing. I did the same for him. For the first time since we’d been pinned together inside the shipping container, I didn’t think about what my body might look like to him. I embraced him without question. Once we were free of our wet clothes we rummaged around for something dry to wear.

  Max pulled me back to him. “We have some time, don’t we?”

  “No, not enough.” I laughed.

  I didn’t think about whether that laughter made the rolls of my stomach shake, or whether it was too loud and unladylike. I didn’t think about anything but the smile on my husband’s face. In that instant, I realized that there were moments when I relaxed fully. Those moments were always with Max.

  I pulled on fresh clothes, then waited—or more accurately, watched—while Max finished dressing.

  “Ready?” He reached for my hand.

  “I’m not so sure, to be honest.”

  “What’s wrong? You weren’t hurt in the canal, were you?”

  “No, I wasn’t. It’s Erik. Every time I’m around him, my nerves are on edge. There’s something about him that ruffles every one of my feathers.”

  “Oh, babe, you haven’t figured that out yet?”

  “What?”

  He smiled. “He’s too casual for you.”

  “Casual? You mean unpredictable and unorganized?”

  “Sure, if you want to call it that. He plucks your nerves because he’s the opposite of you. He’s going to keep plucking them until we leave Amsterdam.”

  “That really doesn’t make me feel any better.” I sighed.

  “Nothing I can say will make you feel better. But you could try a new tactic with him.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Just don’t argue. It’s his book signing. He is the host, right?”

  “Yes.” I frowned. “But it’s my reputation.”

  “I think it’s more his than yours in this case. He’s the one responsible for organizing the event. I’m sure most people would pin the success or failure of the event on him, not you.”

  “But I don’t feel comfortable with that.”

  Max took a step closer to me. “Why is that?” He looked into my eyes.

  “I think that’s more than clear. This is my career. I can’t just let it go to pieces because of one guy’s unique ideas.”

  “I don’t recall it going to pieces. When did that happen?”

  “Max, you know what I mean. It’s just better if I know what’s going to happen next.”

  “Or maybe, I’m not the only one with a fear that needs to be faced.” He brushed his fingertip across his nose. “You’re afraid to let go of control.”

  I clenched my jaw and stopped myself from spouting off an irrational reply. If anyone else said those words to me, I would have argued to the point of exhaustion. But Max’s opinion meant more to me than anyone else’s did. My urge to rush into a defensive state was calmed by the warmth in his eyes.

  “I guess I am afraid of losing
it all.”

  He stroked his fingers down along the curve of my cheek. “I know you are. You’ve gotten what you wanted, and now all you can see are ways that you might lose it all down the road.”

  “Yes.” I frowned. “One mistake could ruin everything.”

  “As long as you believe that, maybe it could. But I know you better than that, Sammy. Deep down, you know that it would take a lot more than one mistake to derail you now.”

  I glanced at my watch. “We really have to go.”

  “Just something to think about.” He kissed my cheek. “Let’s go see what Erik has in store for us.”

  Chapter 23

  It started out just fine. The park itself was quite large and open. I took a deep breath of the fresh air and was inspired by it. Yes, an outdoor reading could be just what I needed. It would give me a chance to reconnect with nature while also attempting to relinquish control.

  With Max’s hand in mine, I walked through the archway into a lush garden. The green grass against the endless backdrop of blue sky was enough to make me think I’d stepped right into a flawless painting. When I walked toward the center of the park, I noticed that there were more benches scattered around.

  In what appeared to be the most central place, the ground was dotted with cushions that disturbed the natural feel of things. The cushions were covered in a flower pattern but still didn’t quite reach the point of blending into the natural environment. I had to fight the urge to pick them up and stack them in a neat pile out of view. With a firm shake of my head, I pushed away the need to change the situation.

  After another deep breath, I turned to face Max. “Wow, Max, this is pretty great. Don’t you think?”

  “Absolutely.” Max nodded as he glanced around. “Maybe Erik has a few good ideas up his sleeve after all.”

  I noticed a small booth set up not far from the cushions. It proclaimed itself a coffee shop. My first instinct was to get myself a cup of coffee, then I recalled what coffee shops often were in Amsterdam. It didn’t take long for me to decipher that coffee was not always the main product being sold. Relax, Sammy, this is how it is here. It will only serve to open the minds of your fans anyway.

  I tried to be cool and accept that mindset, but it was not how I really felt. I pictured myself reading to people with their mouths hanging open and their eyes fixated on the sky. That wasn’t what I wanted to spend my time doing.