Chapter Six

“ R eese. Reese!” Derrick woke up in a panic. The bed was empty beside him. Was last night’s mind-blowing bliss a figment of his lonely imagination?

“I’m right here.”

Derrick sat up, eyes trying to navigate the pitch-black room to find Reese. When his eyes adjusted, he saw her sitting up in the dark, eating a sandwich and a salad as she sat naked at the end of the bed.

“I needed a midnight snack. My stomach was making so much noise I was afraid it would wake you up,” she confessed.

“That’s great—except it was after midnight when we got here. We wanted to be on the road pretty early—and the car needs to be returned by noon or that nice couple is going to find out what happened and there could be fraud charges or—”

“Do you always wake up in a blind panic?” Reese asked.

“No. Never.”

“Me, either. Besides, it’s not that late, it’s only—oh my God! It’s nine o’clock!”

“We can’t drive from Virginia to Pine Ridge in three hours! I don’t even have pants on!”

“I need a shower!” Reese bolted as he turned on the light, sliding into the bathroom with a shriek.

“Our parents are probably freaking out! I’m calling my mother!”

“I’ll call mine next. Figure out where we’ll be in three hours!”

“Not three hours! We can’t physically leave this second.”

“Then two hours and forty-five minutes! It’s Christmas morning!”

“Merry Christmas!” he cried. Not how I pictured it...

A naked woman hurtled from the bathroom, kissed him hard enough that he could tell she’d been eating a ham and cheese on rye with mustard, and dashed away again. “Merry Christmas, baby!”

But I like it.

“I SAY WE CAN DO IT in five.”

“Well, I say that we can’t, because we’re going to need to be in a town with a train station or bus station and a place to drop the rental within two, and we have to return the tank full.” Derrick tapped his phone as Reese zoomed down I-95 North. “There are still cops looking for speed demons on Christmas day.”

“Heartless.”

“They are not! They don’t want anyone’s kids splattered on the road because we’re late to honey ham and mashed potatoes.”

“Does your family do ham? We do turkey. Or goose, if my grandmother comes in from Rotterdam. She doesn’t actually live in Rotterdam; she lives in one of the little cities outside of it. We’ll probably have to go there if we want to see her because she’s getting a little old for international airports. We know what a hassle that can be, right?”

“Reese! You’re doing ninety-five!”

“Sheesh. What’s the speed limit in this area?”

“Not that!”

“Ooh, my mom’s calling. She said she’d try to do a video call so I could be there when we open presents.”

“We’re going to die. Do not take a video call while driving!”

“You answer it.”

“Me!?” Derrick gulped and juggled the phone she thrust at him.

“Yeah, they know we’re traveling together. They just don’t know that I’ve decided you’re what I want for Christmas, Santa Baby,” she giggled.

“Um. Good morning? Is that Derrick?”

Reese turned and gave him an absolutely stricken look. “Mom! Hi!”

“Oops.” he mouthed, holding the phone as if it were a live grenade. “I didn’t mean to answer it just then,” he hissed.

“That much is obvious,” she snapped.

“Sweetie, you’re driving! You can’t be on a video call while you’re driving!” her mother’s voice chided.

“I know, Mom, sorry. I just wanted to say hi and tell you we’re looking for a train or bus to Pine Ridge or the nearby areas right now. We have to return the rental car at noon.”

“Can’t you extend how long you have it for?”

“Well... We probably could, but we didn’t exactly pay for it. We just borrowed it, and we don’t want the company to charge the other couple’s credit card for an extra day,” Reese explained, turning her head every few seconds to make eye contact with the lovely silver-haired woman on the screen.

“Hold on! Did you say ‘other couple’?” Another voice burst in.

“That’s my sister, Evie,” Reese explained. “Derrick, Mom. Mom, Derrick. Derrick, Evie. Where’s Julie?”

“Not here yet. Back up. Did you say other couple? Because that indicates that you’re part of a couple. I thought Jeff the Jerk dumped you.”

“He’s an idiot,” Derrick said, voice blunt and not caring if he appeared to be ill-mannered. “He didn’t deserve her.”

“Oooh, but you do? Turn the phone around. I want to see the rebound guy.”

“He’s not a rebound! He’s my... he’s my current significant other.”

“I’m her current significant other who is working hard to get a permanent position. Tenure,” Derrick joked when he found himself confronted by a blonde version of Reese with a rounder face and cat-eye glasses. “I’m Derrick Walters. Chrissy Walters’ cousin? Well, I mean, now she’s Chrissy Walters-Parish.”

“Oh, my gosh! We’re on the PTA together! You’re a local guy?”

“Yes. Born and raised in Pine Ridge.”

Evie’s pursed-lip grin expanded into a real smile free of skepticism. “I told her California boys were no match for Pine Ridge guys.”

“Evie! Stop messing with Derrick and my pitiful love life.”

Derrick tossed her a wounded look. “Pitiful?”

She shook her head and hurriedly continued, “We’ll be home for dinner—especially if Daddy can pick us up if we get close?”

“Of course, sweetie. We’ll be happy to give you and Derrick a lift. Derrick, nice to meet you. I know your parents. Your mother was the receptionist at my dentist’s years ago! And I remember when she used to have you and your sisters in the Gingerbread Building Extravaganza! I used to be a volunteer judge, along with dear Mr. Minegold!”

“Oh, my gosh! Mr. Minegold used to give my sisters and me violin lessons—until we all dropped out in favor of sports in high school.”

“You played a sport?” Evie snorted.

“Evelyn!” Mrs. Brittijn admonished. “That’s no way to speak to Derrick. He’s practically family now. Please excuse my eldest’s questionable sense of humor.”

Reese added, “Yeah, Derrick. Evie is the rude one. I’m the crazy one. Julie is the nice one.”

“Ah.”

“We’ll call you back, Mom. Love you! Bye, Evie. Hug my munchkins for me.”

“I’ll tell them you’re bringing them an uncle this year.”

Derrick gave Reese a panicked look as she retrieved the phone and tucked it in her pocket. “Last night was soooo far from pitiful, babe. I didn’t mean you were pitiful,” Reese soothed.

“She said the word uncle!”

“Well... that’s what happens when your new boyfriend says he wants to be ‘tenured.’” Reese chuckled and started fiddling with the radio. “Tell me where to stop?”

“Baltimore—if you floor it, the traffic is nonexistent, and we don’t stop for lunch, gas, or to pee.”

“On it! What’s in Baltimore?”

“A train that actually goes to Pine Ridge with about a dozen stops in between. But we’d be there by four.” Derrick held up his own phone to show her the Amtrak timetable. “There’s even an Our Car Is Your Car rental office right in the station. We can park the car in their secure garage facility and put the key in the lockbox, it says.”

“Get us tickets! You can use my credit card.” Reese began to reach into the backseat.

Partially out of chivalry and partially out of fear, Derrick caught her hand and replaced it on the wheel.

“No, I got this. You got us the room last night.”

“They didn’t even charge me once I mentioned I was the CFO’s daughter.”

Derrick tapped on the screen to purchase the tickets, and his heart sank. “They’re sold out.”

“Well... All the trains won’t be sold out,” she said cheerfully. “I’ll think of something.”

Derrick shook his head. “I know you will.” I should probably be worried about that.

Reese’s hand made its way into his lap, heading directly between his legs. “You spoiled me.”

“I can do better.”

“Mmm, but after we get all of our family obligations taken care of, I’d be happy to come by your place and show you that I give as good as I get. You know, with shaved legs and nice lingerie.”

“Honey... I don’t care about that stuff. I mean, I’d love it, but I don’t love a woman for the hair she has on her body—or lack thereof. I don’t think a person is worth dating because they own some silk nighties.” Derrick shook his head. “Part of what makes me the guy girls pass over is because I just want... I want real things. Things that don’t change. The way you are—kind of chaotic but adorable—I don’t think that’s going to change, even if you were standing still.”

She sighed. “You’re right. My parents used to say that if there was a simple way to do anything, I’d add ten extra steps just so it could be ‘fun.’”

“That’s not going to change. It might make me a little crazy sometimes, but I think... I think I want that kind of crazy. You can be my one exciting spot in my otherwise boring as boiled eggs life.”

There was silence for a minute. “I think you’re too hard on yourself. You think steady is boring, but I think steady is sexy. Every storm needs a safe harbor—and if there were no storms in life, safe harbors wouldn’t be much good, would they?”

Derrick’s eyes rolled back as her fingers slid his zipper down and retrieved his rapidly stiffening cock from its confines. “You are something else.”

“That’s good,” Reese purred, her voice breathy and apparently calculated to the exact pitch that would turn him from semi-hard to raging in seconds. “If I were the same old thing, you wouldn’t like me. Whether you knew it or not, you’ve been looking for something else—and now you found me.”

He closed his eyes and let Reese have her way—with the car, with the speed limit, with his body... everything. She was in control and sometimes out of it. For the first time in his life, he was glad to just relax and go on a wild ride.

“I LOVE THIS COMPANY . They’re so thoughtful.” Reese wiped off the steering wheel, seats, and dashboard with the disinfecting leather wipes they’d found in the glove compartment. The little card hanging from the rearview mirror instructed renters to return cars in good condition with a full tank of gas, to wipe down seats and interior surfaces with the wipes found in the glove compartment, and to place the keys and paperwork in the little envelope also found in the glove compartment. Reese slid a candy cane into the envelope as well.

“I know I shouldn’t ask, but why?” Derrick shut the trunk and shivered as they navigated the underground lot next to the Baltimore Penn Station.

“To say thank you—and because we only have three-quarters of a tank of gas.”

“I don’t want to turn in this envelope with the keys until we have seats on that train. And that train is leaving in thirty minutes.”

“We have to drop the keys anyway, or we're going to get in legal trouble.” Reese sealed the envelope with a flick of her tongue. She loved the way Derrick blushed watching her.

She bit her bottom lip and trotted to the rental agency’s door to slip the envelope with the keys into the secured lockbox. Thanks to a short traffic delay where the on-ramp to their Baltimore exit was down to one lane, she had proven just how “adventurous” she could be while the car was parked and the tinted windows offered a semblance of privacy.

“We’ve got everything. We just have to get a ticket—or a later train and another hotel room,” Derrick urged, his breath billowing out like a cloud of fog as he shivered in the underground lot.

They hurried up the stairs and into the surprisingly beautiful station with its grey columns and ornate

ceiling with circles within circles of intricate windows. “This would be a nice place to come sometime when we’re not rushing like escaped convicts with the police hot on our trail,” Derrick panted, following her and dragging her suitcase behind him.

“I know, right?”

“We could make it a weekend away? See the aquarium?” Derrick suggested.

“Yes. When it’s warmer. Too many years in California have turned me into a thin-blooded bundle of hypothermia. Especially since I have to take this off.” Reese paused at the entrance to the station to pull off her Santa Gator sweatshirt. “My jacket is God knows where. Probably circling the baggage carousel in Gainesville,” she sighed, rolling the shirt into a compact bundle.

“What are you doing?” Derrick watched her with wide eyes, jaw hanging open.

Reese knew he’d figured it out already, but she kind of enjoyed the gobsmacked look on his face when she tucked the sweatshirt down the front of her leggings and pulled her t-shirt over it. “Hmm. Kinda see-through. I need your jacket.”

Without a word, Derrick handed it to her.

She zipped it up, smoothed it down, and smiled serenely. “What do you think?” She cradled the watermelon-sized lump on her middle lovingly.

“You look like you’re going to pop any minute.”

“Good. Now get me a water bottle. I’m going to go get us tickets.”

“God... Okay. If you get us arrested for impersonating parents-to-be, I’m not taking you out to the movies. I’ll take you to a boring lecture on how to be a better bookkeeper or something.”

“I don’t think impersonating a pregnant lady is a crime,” Reese shrugged, but when Derrick raced to the nearby vending machine to retrieve a bottle of water, she let out a shaky breath. “At least, I hope it isn’t,” she muttered under her breath.

DERRICK STOOD BEHIND Reese, licking his lips. Not just because he was staring at her bottom and thinking about how he’d gripped her petite cheeks as she was riding his face, grinding her sweet, hungry tunnel against his tongue.

No, his mouth was suddenly as dry as his Aunt Ethel's fruitcake as he watched Reese loosen the cap on the water bottle and slide it down deep into the pocket of his jacket.

“Hi, we need two tickets on the A-29, Baltimore to Manhattan,” Reese said, panting and waddling the last few steps to the ticket window, her belly pushed forward.

The man at the window looked puzzled and tapped his keyboard, then his headset. Derrick supposed most people got their tickets online, or even at the automated machines scattered on the wall of the train station.

What if you can’t even buy tickets in person anymore, he thought, swallowing another mouthful of Sahara.

“Uhhh. Miss, that train leaves in ten minutes, and it’s full. Now, there’s a train leaving at four for Philly, and you can make a stop at the 30th Street Station—”

“Ugh!” Reese gave a sudden loud groan and clutched her belly. “Honey, I think the baby—really wants to meet Grandma and Grandpa tonight,” she laughed nervously.

Behind the counter, the clerk’s eyes began to dart. “Uhhh. There’s a car rental place just next door, connected to the station, actually.”

“They’re closed on Christmas day. We don’t have a car. We urgently need to get on that train. Our obstetrician is at a hospital that’s just a few stops up the line,” Reese smiled, still panting and grimacing.

Derrick took her hand and put a protective hand on the bundle of sweatshirt that was supposed to be a baby.

My baby. My baby with Reese.

Suddenly, it didn’t even feel like acting. “Sweetheart, let me get the tickets. You’re due any day, and you need to sit down. Get off your feet.”

“No, honey, I’ll be fine until we can—ooo!—get on the train,” she said with another brave grimace.

“Like I said, there’s a certain number of tickets we’re allowed to sell to ensure that we don’t go over maximum occupancy—”

Derrick cut him off. “But not everyone who buys a ticket necessarily gets on. Or they might get on at a different stop further up the line if their plans changed, right?”

“If your wife needs medical attention, sir—”

“She has to get home. Our house is near the hospital where our doctor’s team is located. You see,” he leaned forward dramatically, “my wife has Hibernia Syndrome. She absolutely must have her baby with a specialist on hand, and Dr. Heifitz is the only Hibernia Syndrome specialist on the East Coast!”

“Ah. I see, and I’m really sorry to tell you that—”

“Argh!!” Reese’s anguished scream was so real that Derrick actually shouted in surprise, turning to her with genuine panic in his voice.

“What? What is it?”

“My water just broke!” she shouted. “We only have a few hours until the baby is here, honey! We need to get on that train!”

“Get her on that train!” A voice from behind startled them both.

“Get on that train!” Another person took up the chant.

Derrick watched as people across the train station joined in. “On that train! On that train! On that train!”

“What’s the matter? Do they need money?” a well-dressed older woman shuffled forward. “I’ll pay for their fares!”

“I’m a nurse! What’s happening?” A stocky man in scrubs carrying an armload of frozen pies hurried towards them.

Shit. We might have oversold this.

He hoped no one would notice that Reese’s pocket was soaking wet and the path of the water went down the outside and middle of one leg, not from the crotch, as would be logical.

Derrick hurriedly plopped several twenties on the counter. “If she doesn’t get there in time—”

“Tickets, here! Platform B, go!” The frantic clerk yanked in the money, shoved out two tickets, and hastily closed the dark screen over his window.

“We need to run!” Reese cried, snagging the tickets with reflexes that would have done a panther proud.

“You can’t run in your condition, ma’am.” The burly nurse said, advancing on them.

“We have to make that train.”

“He’s right, honey. I’ve got you.” Derrick stepped forward, grabbed his “pregnant wife” around the small of the back, and thrust one arm under her knees, scooping her up.

“Someone get their bags!” cried the older woman who had offered to pay their way.

“I’ll walk with you and do a quick assessment,” the nurse juggled his pies into one arm and grabbed Reese’s laptop case with his free hand.

“You don’t need to do this. We’re fine, really,” Reese whispered, cheeks bright pink.

“Nonsense, my dear! It’s Christmas!” the older lady said, grunting as she began dragging her own suitcase as well as Reese’s.

Derrick watched in a kind of awe and embarrassment as half the train station seemed to follow them onto the platform. “I thought stuff like this only happened in Pine Ridge,” he whispered, thinking of his town’s unique community spirit.

“Ditto. Maybe we carry a little Pine Ridge magic with us,” she whispered back.

“Ma’am, are you having any cramping? Is there any pain?” the nurse interjected.

“It’s irregular. Don’t worry, I’ll be getting off in a few stops,” Reese gave her most charming smile and emptied the rest of the candy canes from her purse into the nurse’s hand. “Hand these out for me? Keep them for yourself, your patients, your family—whatever. I can’t thank you enough, but here’s a little something sweet to remember us by!” she winked as Derrick whisked her past the confused-looking conductor and onto the train.

Once they were aboard, Reese snagged her suitcase and hurried to the restroom at the end of one of the train cars.

Derrick walked past jam-packed seats, lugging all their other bags with him.

“Excuse me, sir? There’s no room in this car. Can I see your tickets?” The conductor in her navy blue uniform held out her hand with a frown.

“Here you go.”

For several seconds, he wondered if he’d be thrown off the train at the next station. The train was already moving, jerkily at first, but soon it picked up speed and the bumps were even and minute.

“What in the world...? This is a sold-out train. Amtrak regional trains usually sell out on holidays and peak travel times, don’t you know that, sir?”

“I do, but—”

“This is a ticket without a designated seat, but this train, the Mid-Atlantic Star , requires you to select your seat when purchasing your ticket. If you buy from the ticketing agent, designated seats should still be selected.” She held the tickets up to the light, sighed, and shook her head. “I have no idea why he didn’t assign you a seat—this should have come up as an error in the computer...” She shook her head again. “Not your problem. When your wife comes out, follow me to business class. I’m pretty sure we can find you both a seat. Probably won’t be together, though. Another option is to get off at the next stop and have this fare transferred to the next train. I can help you with that.”

“I’ll stand if I have to,” he declared.

“For three hours?”

“Yep.”

“Hopefully it won’t come to that.” A ghost of a smile flickered across the conductor’s face, and she stared impatiently at the door to the restroom.

Reese emerged in a few minutes, her middle still protruding, but with different pants and her sweatshirt now covering whatever she had devised as her bulge. His wet jacket was draped over her arm. “Hi, sweetie. False alarm.”

“Thank goodness. Reese, follow this nice lady to business class. She’ll help us find seats. But they probably won’t be together.”

Reese nodded and fell into step behind him. They hung back a few steps behind the conductor, redistributing belongings so that Reese had her laptop case and carry-on bag back. Derrick still carried her suitcase and his own bags.

“What’s Hibernia Syndrome?” Reese whispered.

“Something I made up,” he whispered back. “Hibernia is a Latin translation for land of winter. The Romans called Ireland that. And we’re struggling to get home to our ‘land of winter,’ which is Pine Ridge.”

“Brilliant. I told you that you were a good actor.”

“One of you can sit here, on this aisle seat that’s unclaimed. The other one will need to follow me to a different car.” The conductor stopped and pointed to an aisle seat next to a young man with oversized headphones and a ton of hand tattoos.

“Hey, if you want to sit together, you guys can have my seat and I’ll take the one in a different car?” He asked, pushing his headphones down so that they hung around his neck like a collar.

“Oh, my gosh! That would be so amazing of you!” Reese gushed.

Derrick laughed when her hand immediately disappeared inside her bag and came out with a candy cane. “That’s my wife’s calling card.”

“It’s an awesome calling card,” the young guy said, head bobbing lightly to the pounding music they could faintly hear coming from his headphones.

“And thank you for all your help!” Reese handed another candy cane to the conductor before collapsing into a seat.

“EVERYTHING HAS TO GO smoothly now,” Reese murmured, cheek resting against the cool window of the train.

“Well, we’re already on the train, and it’s already heading north. I don’t think they could cancel it. At this point, if it breaks down anywhere in Pennsylvania or New York, I think our parents could just drive to get us.” Derrick put his phone and computer bag on the fold-down tray in front of him.

“True. But I meant that I’m finally out of candy canes. All the ones I grabbed at the airport are gone.”

“I was starting to wonder what in the Willy Wonka meets Marry Poppins magic you had going on in there,” Derrick laughed and removed his glasses, head tipping back onto the thick, padded headrest.

“It was more like a Hanukkah miracle. The candy canes lasted across five states and two days. They lasted across planes, trains, and highways with closed lanes.”

“Annnnd now we’re lapsing into Dr. Seuss.”

“I’m telling you, only someone with a wacky brain like Roald Dahl or Dr. Seuss could have come up with this holiday adventure,” Reese settled back in the wide, cushy seat and pulled down her tray as well, releasing it from the back of the seat in front of her.

“Hm. More like a love story.” Derrick’s voice was drifting as he blindly reached for her hand. “I might take a little nap.”

“Sounds good.” Reese leaned over and kissed his cheek, fingers lacing with his.

A love story? Is it really love? Or just the thrill of some madcap adventure? He is a good actor—and so am I. What if we fooled ourselves?