Christmas Knight

by Kimberly Llewellyn

  "Great. I rescue you and that mutt gets all your sweet talk. You'd think you'd gush over me to make sure I got you home," Zach groused.

  But Tori and Spike ignored Zach's remark while they mutually adored each other. Zach checked out all window views after he wiped away the foggy buildup. Now that the falling snow had lessened and the heat had finally kicked in fully, the windows and mirrors should hold up well against any more frost.

  He set the truck in gear and pulled onto the highway. With the headlights burning forth and the large windshield wipers rhythmically clearing the snowy glass, he drove the rig into the quiet blackness of the night.

  Spike had finally calmed down after licking all the coldness from Tori's reddened cheeks and hands. The animal stepped a few times on her lap as though to check out just how comfortable she'd be. He finally curled into a ball before settling in and lowering his head on her lap. Tori continued to pet the little dog while he whimpered one last time before dozing.

  "Okay, here are the rules," Zach began, "I know what's best, so just listen to me and we'll get along just fine."

  Tori nodded, "I promise. I won't be a problem to you."

  "I have a schedule to follow and I intend to keep to it. I have one pick-up stop to make and then we can really open up and get to St. Louis. So that means no delays or hassles, got that?"

  "Got it. I assure you, you won't even know I'm here. Remember, I have my own deadline to keep, so you won't get any hassle from me."

  "Did you bring your boots? Gloves?"

  "No time."

  "But you brought gifts?"

  "I have my priorities. Besides, I wanted to make sure I caught you before you took off without me."

  "At least no boots or gloves will mean you can't roam far from the truck for too long during a pit stop."

  "Just keep me barefoot and pregnant, and while you're at it, why don't you put me on Spike's leash?" Tori teased.

  "I just might... put you on a leash that is, but I don't have one. And for more rules, no unnecessary trips to the bathroom. That means no primping, no long showers, and no dragged-out eating breaks. We grab our food and we go, right?"

  "Whatever you say."

  He drove on toward their destination, and they sat in silence for a change. Tori began to nod off, her head rhythmically bobbing up and down between wakefulness and slumber.

  "Why don't you try to get some sleep? Your caffeine rush must have finally subsided. I was waiting for that to happen."

  "Why? What were you waiting for?" Tori asked. She looked over at him with half-opened eyelids.

  "I wanted to know what you were like in a normal state of mind. You know, without being so wired."

  "Then you'll have to wait a little longer. I'm now in my sleepy state of mind. And what about you? How do you stay awake and drive all night?"

  "I have a cooler in the back with a little food. I eat every few hours, light stuff. That doesn't mean I don't have a routine cup of Java, but I pace myself."

  "Sounds reasonable." Tori's words blended with a sleepy yawn.

  Zach continued to watch the road while he drove. When he noted the sudden quiet, he glanced over to see his passenger. Fast asleep, Tori had curled in a way that hugged around Spike's furry little body, now nestled into her.

  Zach glared at his dog. "Traitor."

  * * *

  Tori blinked her eyes to adjust to the brightness of the winter sun in her face. She shook her head slightly to gather her wits and recall the events that led to her sleeping on a seat inside some truck. But when she came face to face with a black, moist nose, followed by a slurp of gooey wetness on her cheek from the licking dog, her memory quickly returned. Spike whimpered and nudged her with his nose again, demanding attention. She scratched the furry animal's ears and sat up.

  "Good morning," Zach said as he drove. He pulled Spike away from her to give her some breathing room. She brushed a few strands of hair from her face. Conscious of the cream-colored, lacy bra strap that peeked out from her shirt, Tori pulled her sleeve back onto her shoulder. Zach would have to be disappointed that the free show of her undergarments had to end.

  "Morning? Already?" she asked. "I must have dozed off." She searched out the window for any familiar landmarks.

  "Dozed off? That's putting it mildly. You've been out for hours," Zach said.

  "What? What time is it?"

  "Seven."

  "In the morning? And you've been driving all this time?"

  "That's nothing. And you never budged. You must have needed to sleep pretty bad."

  Tori moaned in agreement. She tried to recall the precise moment her caffeine-induced high took a crash, but she still felt too groggy to make the effort.

  "Say, Spike somehow lost his bandanna on the floor. Could you find it and put it back on him? I think he feels lost wearing just a collar and tag."

  Tori searched the floor and spotted the red paisley material beside her duffel bag. After she picked up the bandanna, she coaxed Spike over away from Zach's grasp. Spike more than obliged. She hung the red bandanna around the animal's neck.

  "I still can't believe how much that dog likes you," Zach told her.

  "I can," Tori answered. "I think he's hungry. Come to think of it, so am I."

  "We'll pull over soon. There's a great diner coming up." Zach watched her a moment as she petted Spike while taking in the sights outside her window.

  How did she do it? How could she just wake up and look so perfect? No puffy eyes. No frown. She didn't even complain about mussing up her hair. In the daylight, he could see the actual color of her hair.

  It was a deep reddish color, probably what women called auburn. He only knew that he liked it. He especially liked when she swung it around and let it tumble onto her shoulders. She had that type of long thick hair he'd like to see cascading above him and brushing down onto his own shoulders, when he made love to a woman. He also liked her copper-colored eyes, which matched her hair.

  He shook the thoughts from his head and reminded himself that she was just a kid in college. What would he want with her? Besides, he had too much going on with work and future plans to get caught up with a young woman he'd just met. He just didn't have the time. He looked over at her once more: no socks, no boots, and a poor excuse for a jacket. Boy, did this woman need some major looking after.

  As he looked down to her little white canvas tennis shoes, he noticed her duffel bag. It sat partially unzipped and revealed a can that looked like the mace he had encountered a few hours earlier. She left her gloves but brought her mace? What's with this woman?

  "What do you need that for? You don't trust me? You feel you have to have your mace so close by?" Zach spoke in a tone louder than he had intended.

  His recent, sensual images of her faded and gave way to the real Tori Adams. One minute, she was talking about how he couldn't be a bad guy after all and another minute she kept her mace within reach. She hadn't trusted him one bit, despite his doing everything he could to help her. "That's it," he said. "I can't have someone in my truck accepting my help if they don't trust me. I'm dropping you off the next time we stop."

  Chapter 3

  "What mace?" Tori asked. Zach pointed down to the can in the duffel bag.

  "Oh, that!" Tori laughed and pulled out the can. She held it up high. "Hair spray. See? Travel size. What about it?"

  "You mean you threatened me with a can of hair spray? You lied about it being mace?"

  Tori stuffed the can back in her duffel bag. "Hair spray can be a pretty effective weapon. It probably would have done as much damage as mace." A sly smile sneaked across her face.

  Zach wanted to yell at her that someone else may not have allowed her to pull off a stunt like that... someone else, if angry enough, would have merely walked up to her and taken the can away, and whatever else he found desirable on her. Didn't she know any better?

  "You're mad, aren't you?" Tori asked. "Let me guess why. You look like the type who'd get mad when outsmart
ed by a woman. Am I right?"

  "I don't like to be outsmarted by anyone—"

  "But especially by a woman, right?"

  Zach could feel Tori's eyes upon him. She smiled her sweet innocent smile, but never lost that mischievous sparkle in her eye. "No one wants to be made a fool of, including me, that's all."

  "I had no choice, Zach. Surely you can understand that," Tori said. "But you did look awfully funny landing in the snow!" She let out a chuckle.

  "Yeah, yeah, I know, I was there, too, remember?" Zach couldn't help but let out a small laugh himself. He tried to imagine how dumb he must have looked falling to the ground from fear of a can of hair spray.

  Tori's light laughter subsided and a solemn look overshadowed her just-cheery face. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along. I mean, what if some stranger had—"

  "But I did come along and you're safe now." Zach didn't want to think of the possibility.

  Tori gave Zach a warm smile and gazed back out the window. "I'll sure be glad to get home," she murmured.

  "So, how did you end up in Lenox, Massachusetts?"

  "I'm spending my last two semesters in the Berkshire Mountains, taking an exchange between the college there and my school back home. It was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up. Not if I wanted to ensure my future." Tori sighed. "One semester down. One to go."

  Zach downshifted and pulled into a roadside diner.

  "Is that where we're eating?" She managed to read the sign with most of its paint chipped off. "City Limits Diner? That's original."

  "It has the best food around. We'll get it to go." Zach looked out at the silver cocoon-shaped diner that had served as his temporary haven all these years.

  Tori rolled her eyes, feigning faintness from starvation. "Anything sounds good about now."

  Zach noted the urgency in Tori's voice. He didn't dare ask if she remembered the last time she had a decent meal. He didn't want to know. It couldn't have been recently, not by the look of hunger he saw in her eyes when he managed to steal a glimpse of her.

  He had, however, seen a similar sort of look before, usually before taking a woman to bed with him, a woman full of pent-up desires and emotions that waited to be released during a night of lovemaking with him. But it had been a long time, though, since he'd done anything like that.

  "I could go for a cheeseburger. I don't care if it is seven in the morning," Tori said.

  Zach noticed Tori's eyes widen at her thoughts of a burger. He searched for an available area to park the rig, and his stomach churned as he quelled his own hungry desires that had nothing to do with food. He had to focus on getting his fellow traveler some breakfast.

  After parking the rig alongside several other semis, he gestured for Tori to hop out. When she questioned why he always left the engine running, he explained that drivers kept older engines running constantly because of the difficulty of warming them up.

  "And what about Spike?"

  Spike's ears perked up upon hearing his own name.

  "He'll be fine. We'll walk and feed him when we get back. Lock your door. I carry a spare key with me."

  Tori pulled her small purse out of her duffel bag. She jumped down from her seat and trotted around the running vehicle toward him. As Zach waited, he watched Tori walk on her toes to avoid the slushy puddles left from the sun's melting rays. With the sun gleaming down, Zach could take in the entire sight of her. As she hopped over individual puddles, she grabbed onto Zach's extended arm to prevent her from losing her balance.

  Her small hand wrapped around his wrist as she completed her final leap toward him. He kept his hand out as though unsure if she'd like to continue to hold it. He certainly didn't mind helping her. And she didn't seem to mind, either. But once clear of any threat of puddles, she slid her small hand down the length of his arm, then let go.

  A sinking feeling settled through Zach. She didn't really need him or his help, but somehow he wished she did. He pushed this odd feeling aside and walked into the diner, with Tori trying to keep up with his stride.

  * * *

  Tori stood alongside Zach at the lunch counter and inspected the menu board featuring the daily specials. She sneaked a peek at Zach, who stood engrossed in the long list of food items. Silently, she traced his features. The sun's rays sloping in from the window blinds nearby enhanced his chiseled profile.

  The hazy stream of sunlight also splashed on Zach's hair, shiny straight black hair with a solitary lock that danced over his forehead. Occasionally, Zach brushed it aside, as though annoyed with it, but Tori found it pleasantly distracting.

  The filtered light continued to fall on his exposed neckline and to his shoulders as though nature—or fate—wanted to highlight his best features. Strong features that matched the strength in his hands. The hands that had held her earlier.

  For someone who'd been driving all night, Zach appeared rather fresh, with the exception of slight stubble along his sculpted jaw line. But his dark, mocha-colored eyes had a smoky look to them, not from fatigue, but from a casual confidence. His eyes captivated her. She wondered about the emotion walled up behind them.

  She also wondered if those same eyes ever focused and lingered on her, even for a moment. She thought he may have rested his gaze on her once, but they had a questioning look to them, and not one of desire. Or had they?

  She'd caught herself occasionally watching him like this. He'd piqued her curiosity earlier, when she felt his hands about her waist. He had a good, strong, sure grip, and she did everything in her power not to let him notice how she gasped inside and how her heart jumped when he picked her up. She made the right decision to ride with him. After all, he had agreed to help her, a complete stranger, which meant Zach Endicott must have a good heart, despite being rough around the edges.

  "You sure you want a cheeseburger?" Zach looked over at Tori. Her checks grew hot once he caught her checking him out.

  "Oh, yeah. And a Diet Coke."

  "Glad to hear you eat because you don't look like you do," he said and gave the order to the waitress behind the counter. He focused his attention back onto Tori. "So what are you going to school for?"

  "Ultimately? To be a ballet instructor. At least, that's why I've been going to a special college near Lenox for a couple of semesters. For marketing and management classes so that I can do thing like employ dancers in the industry, but mostly, so I can open my own studio."

  "That explains your calves. I couldn't help notice them when you were standing in the car's light in front of your Ford. With calves like yours, I figured you for a tiny triathlete or hardcore runner, or something."

  Tori blinked. At first, she said nothing in response to Zach's noticing her calves of all things. She wondered if he noticed anything else about her. "Sorry to disappoint you. But ballet can be just as vigorous."

  "So how come you want to be an instructor? Don't you want to run off and be some star? Isn't that what most little ballerinas want?"

  "Not everyone has to have a dream of being a big star. I just want what's best for me and for—" Tori lowered her gaze suddenly. "I have to use the ladies' room."

  Zach pointed in the general direction of the rest rooms.

  As Tori left Zach's side, she considered his rather intrusive question. A big star, huh? Maybe as a little girl she had dreamed of such a thing. And what if, as a child, she fell asleep every night with that dream? A dream of dancing in the grandest theatres in the world. Perhaps receiving red roses at the end of a performance with the Paris Opera Ballet. Surrounded by other dancers envious because they couldn't dance quite as elegantly or command such a presence on stage.

  But those girlish dreams had given way to adult priorities and responsibilities. She had her son, Stephen, to look after and couldn't imagine toting him along backstage to auditions, rehearsals, and performances. It wouldn't be fair to him.

  She had made the right decision, the wise decision. She knew that. She might not become a star or even dan
ce with a professional company, but instead, she would create new stars someday soon in her own dance studio. She'd make them work hard, but they'd still never know hard work until they raised a child.

  True, her parents had always been there to help with Stephen, but no dance routine or workout could compare to motherhood. No, she hadn't given up her dream; she had merely ventured onto a different path.

  So why did it bother her when Zach asked that question? And what stopped her from telling him about Stephen? Did she fear that maybe she'd scare him away?

  Startled by her own notions, Tori ran the basin faucet and splashed cool water on her face. She had nothing to fear when it came to Zach Endicott. She could see, although he tried to be decent, he was too rough and tumble for her.

  Although he stopped to help her and allowed her to ride with him, he seemed annoyed at having to do so. But for now and for this trip, she would hold her own, the same way she'd done her entire, independent life. She didn't want some stranger knowing all of her business anyway. The less he knew about her, the better.

  Although she loved bragging about Stephen, a guy like Zach probably couldn't care less, she told herself. Not too many young women could say they had found a love once, had a child, and then accepted into a prestigious arts college in such a short amount of time. Someone like Zach probably wouldn't regard these things as monumental accomplishments.

  But they were Tori's whole life. Soon, it would be time to move onto her next set of goals. After all, her college days would be coming to an end.

  Her thoughts turned back to Stephen. He had to be awake by now. A phone call would be in order. She would have to explain her circumstances and tell her parents she'd be home later than expected. She'd considered asking Zach to use his cell phone, but then he'd have her home number and that seemed a little too, well, familiar. Having her number went against her decision about his knowing as little as possible about her private life. She just wasn't ready. Tori walked back out and toward the old pay phone she'd previously passed. She hoped the darn thing was still in service.