Page 10 of Railed

There was something about the way she said it, despite how worried she'd seemed just a moment ago, which made me believe her. There was a determination in her eyes that made me believe the world would bow at her feet if she asked it to.

"You know something?" I asked. She tilted her head in question, so I continued. "There's something about you that makes me believe you could do anything you set your mind to. I'm just glad, for the island's sake, that you find the trains a worthy cause."

The red of her flushed cheeks was quickly becoming my new favorite color. "I'm glad someone else cares. It's been really hard to find people who care enough to pledge to help."

Even if I hadn't cared about the trains, which of course I did, I knew this was the opportunity I'd been looking for. Helping her—and myself, Jamie, and Rosie in the process—would give me a reason to have to spend more time with her.

Even if I hadn't been personally invested in Emma’s goals, this would've been perfect. As it was, though, she had lucked into meeting perhaps the one person—besides Jamie and Rosie, of course—who was as invested as she was in making sure nothing changed with the trains.

"I'll help however I can," I said quickly. "Why don't you take my number? You can let me know how the meeting goes and how I can help."

"That would be great. I would ask if you're sure, but I'm desperate enough for help that I won't give you a chance to change your mind," Emma replied, laughing as she pulled out her phone and handed it to me.

Jamie had insisted we learn to use the human technology, and I’d never been more grateful than in this moment. When Jamie had insisted on phones, I'd scoffed, thinking there was no chance in hell I'd ever need to know how to use one. After all, I lived with Rosie and Jamie, and couldn't care less about communicating with humans.

As I typed in my number and shot myself a quick text so I'd have hers, I hoped Jamie wasn't listening. If they knew how right they were, I would never hear the end of it.

Chapter Nine

Gauge

I should have gotten off at the next stop instead of listening to Jamie's whistles and heading to the control room.

They still would've given me a hard time at home, but at least I would've had a breather before they tried to squeeze more information out of me.

"Come on, dude, you have to give me more than that," Jamie whined.

"You probably heard everything. There's nothing else to tell."

"I barely heard anything. Come on, tell me about her. She doesn't usually ride my rails."

I felt a little smug about that. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who noticed Emma usually just rode mine. Even though it probably had more to do with convenience and her schedule than anything, it made me feel special.

"Not my fault she has good taste."

"Can't fault her. You do taste good."

I laughed. "You would know."

"You think she'd drive you crazy like I do?"

I paused, not sure what to say or whether to admit to the fantasies and dreams I'd been having about her.

"I'm not jealous, if that's what you're worried about," they said with a whistling laugh.

They were right. I was being ridiculous, and they sounded sincere in their curiosity.

"With all the times she's gotten herself off on my seats, I can't stop thinking about her."

Jamie laughed again. "You think she knows you're watching her?"

"Of course not," I answered quickly, even if I wished she did. "She's driving me crazy, though."

"You think she'd ride you like she does your seats?"

Rails, I hoped so. "We'll see now, won't we?"

"You think Rosie'll be jealous?"