Page 16 of Master of My Heart

Kelvin’s eyes twinkled. “God said, ‘Come forth, John, and receive eternal life.’ But John came fifth and won a toaster.”

Sabrina had just caught her breath, but when he said that, she started giggling again.

“There are two muffins in an oven. The left muffin looks at the right muffin and says, ‘Wow, it’s getting really hot in here, isn’t it?’ The right muffin looks back and replies, ‘Oh, my God! It’s a talking muffin.’

“What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef.

“Where would you find a tortoise with no legs? Where you left him.”

Sabrina laughed until her sides ached. “I haven’t laughed so hard in... I dunno,” she said, wiping the tears from her face, still giggling. She felt relaxed with this man, this stranger. None of the men she’d known over the last five years had bothered to tell silly jokes to cheer her up.

“Do you drink?” he asked as she sobered. “I can’t think of any more jokes and you’re getting sad again.”

Sabrina glanced out the window. “Not really.” She supposed she was old enough now. Ramon didn’t approve of women getting drunk. Men, yes, but not women. Being drunk dulled the pain too much.

Kelvin tilted his head. “It might help you cheer up. I’ve got some decent stuff in my room. I’d bring it here, but...” He shrugged. “Not allowed to drink in the public cars on the train.”

Sabrina studied his face. He appeared quite sincere.

“If it makes you feel better, we won’t be alone. I’m sharing a room with a couple buddies.”

That didn’t exactly make Sabrina feel better. She pursed her lips.

Kelvin laughed. “They’re gay and quite amusing to be around.” Kelvin tilted his head. “I promise. It’ll be more fun than sitting here all night.”

Sabrina tapped her fingertips on the table, then gave a small smile. It might be nice to have something to distract her from the ache in her heart. “Okay,” she agreed slowly.

Chapter Seven

Hey, miss? Wake up.”

Sabrina groaned and pried open her gritty eyes. She lay face down on a bed, her skin chilled and hair wet.

“Are you awake?” a young man’s anxious voice intruded on her confusion.

With effort, Sabrina pushed herself up and turned onto her side, squinting at the blurry figure across the room. “Where am I?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

“You’re in your room on the train. We arrived in Chicago an hour ago.”

Sabrina sat up and groaned as her head pounded. Slowly, her vision cleared. A young man, about her age, stood in the doorway wearing the uniform of a train worker. He glanced down at her body and his cheeks turned pink. She looked down and saw she was undressed. She grasped the sheet to cover herself.

“An hour ago?” she asked, pushing her hair out of her face.

The young man nodded, focusing hard on her face. “Y-Yes, miss.”

“Okay,” she said slowly and studied the young man. He’d been the attendant on duty when she’d gotten on the train yesterday. She thought his name was Zane. An unusual name for such an ordinary-looking guy. “Do you know what happened?”

He shook his head. “I know you weren’t in your room all day, but that’s not unusual. Most people aren’t.” He chewed his lip. “I’m sorry, but you really must disembark.”

Sabrina nodded. “Of course. Give me...” She looked around, still trying to get oriented. “Give me a sec and I’ll get off.”

“Thank you.”

The attendant nodded and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. Sabrina scooted to the end of the bed and reached into her bag for some clothes, wracking her brain for any sort of memory of what happened.

The last thing she remembered was being upset and going for a walk around the train to clear her head. Then... Then she met someone... What was his name? Calvin? Kevin? Kelvin. He’d seemed harmless enough. Kind. Funny. Not interested in anything other than being friendly.

She dressed as quickly as her stiff limbs allowed, trying to remember what happened after that, but nothing came to mind. After she was dressed, she searched her room to see if she’d forgotten anything before shoving her jacket into her bag. She groaned and held her head as she opened the door and stumbled down the narrow hallway to the back of the train. Zane waited near the stairway.

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