Daniel Beaumont hated cold coffee.

The other thing that irritated him was not being informed of staff changes ahead of time.

And right now, he had to deal with both of those issues.

Tossing the cold coffee out the window, he walked down the train car aisle, across the platform, and into the refreshment car.

“Good morning, Mr. Daniel,” Amy said cheerily.

Ok, maybe there were three things - Southern girls who invariably added mister to his first name. Why did they do that? And why were they always so damn cheery at six in the morning?

“Good morning,” he said, with what he figured was only a hint of a grumble in his voice. “Amy, was that yesterday’s coffee?”

“It must be, Mr. Daniel.”

He winced.

“I just got here, “Amy continued, “and the new pot is almost ready. Did you pour some of what had been left? Sorry. The automatic timer needs to be reset.”

“Apparently so. The afternoon shift really shouldn’t leave the old coffee here for you to clean up the next morning.” And for him to pour into his coffee cup.

“It’s ok. I don’t mind. I know Laura is exhausted by the end of the day.”

He shook his head. At least Southern girls were easy to get along with. He handed her his empty cup. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said. “When that gets ready, will you hook me up with some of that hot coffee?”

“Sure will, Mr. Daniel. And I’ll add two packs of coffee creamer.”

“You’re a doll,” he said, rolling his eyes as he walked away from her. As conductor of the historic narrow-gauge railroad train, sometimes things came out of his mouth that he just wouldn’t say in real life.

Stepping off the train, he surveyed the depot. It was early and everything was quiet. Once the first wave of tourists showed up, things would be chaotic. It was his job to make the chaos ran smoothly - and that was one thing he was good at.

Mattie took care of the staff, and she wouldn’t be here until he’d already left for the trip up the hill. He thought about calling her at home. But what was the point. Maybe it was a typo.

Shelly had been his right-hand man. She’d met a guy on the train, of all things, who turned out to be a rich guy from back east, eloped with him, and left them high and dry. She hadn’t even left a forwarding address. Some right-hand man she’d turned out to be.

He had recommended that they pull one of the brakemen from the afternoon train, since they had two, but apparently Mattie had other ideas.

He looked back at the print-out on his clipboard. Who was Madison? He had no idea and since he took part in the training every spring, he knew everyone - down to the refreshment girls, who came through. He not only knew them, but he trained them his way.

Then once a week, he traveled on one of the other trains to monitor their progress. There was no room for error in this business. With hundreds of lives at stake each trip, everything had to run like clockwork.

“Here’s your coffee, Mr. Daniel,” Amy said, leaning over the railing with a fresh hot cup of coffee.

He moved over and took the cup from her, anticipating the aroma even before he actually smelled it. “You are an angel,” he said, and this time he actually meant it.

She smiled and bounced away to carry on with her day. Daniel looked back across the depot area and before the cup even touched his lips, with the brain enveloping scent of fresh coffee wafting its way into his sense, he actually forgot to breathe.

Rushing across the depot area was a tourist, early, yet rushing as though she were late for a hot date. And hot was truly the best word his overwhelmed brain could come up with to describe her. Her hair was straight - a mixture of blonde and brown streaks, skimming her shoulders. Her skin was pale, her full lips puckered in concentration as she surveyed the train area. Her features reminded him of an elfin princess, delicate and elegant. She wasn’t dressed like someone about to spend the day on a circa 1880's train, soon to be covered with soot and ashes from the steam engines. In fact, he imagined, she was dressed more like she was on her way to a business meeting - perhaps in New York City, certainly not Durango, Colorado. She was wearing heals and carrying a leather shoulder briefcase.

She spotted him and started almost sprinting toward him. He remembered to breathe in one big gulp and almost felt faint from too much oxygen. He took a quick gulp of coffee and burned his tongue. Wincing, he made a valiant effort not to yelp.

She stopped two feet in front of him and he forgot everything he ever knew as he stared into sky blue eyes framed by lush black lashes. Diamond studs sparkled from her fragile ears and a diamond solitaire necklace winked from her neck. Suddenly it occurred to him that she wasn’t here to ride the train.

“You’re lost,” he said, feeling an acute sense of disappointment washing over him.

“Yes,” she answered and her voice gave him a little chill. It was rich and confident and not elfin at all, but oh so sexy. “I need to find Mattie.”

“She isn’t here yet.”

“Oh,” she said, and all the enthusiasm seemed to just seep away. Her eyes teared up and he thought she might be about to cry.

“Maybe I can help you,” he said. Just please, don’t cry.

She lowered her head and shook it. “No,” she said, softly. “I promised Mattie I would be here at six o’clock. And I am soooo late.”

“Well, she isn’t here, so you can’t exactly be late.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe I can help you,” he repeated.

She looked up at him, her eyes full of hope. “Yes,” she said. “I’m supposed to be on the seven o’clock train.”

An intense wave of relief washed over him. She would be on his train after all. He smiled at her, suddenly feeling like he could help her. And, oh, how he wanted to help her. “That’s easy,” he said, pleased when she smiled back at him, revealing perfect white teeth. His heart gave a little tug. This woman was ever so dangerous. Suddenly, he thought about Shelly, his brakeman who ran off with a tourist. He had never quite understood the whole concept, but now....

He swept his arm back, indicating the steps up to the train car. She moved toward them.

“Let me help you,” he said, holding his hand out, just as he had done for thousands of women boarding his train.

She put her hand in his and when his hand pressed against hers, he felt something magical pass between them. She gasped and looked up at him, her gaze questioning, her lips parted.

The moment lasted long enough for him to believe that it was more than his imagination. She started up the steps, and then her hand was free, and she went through the door, leaving only the echo of her heels clicking against the metal of the platform.

He stood there, his hand still tingling from her touch. He had never had such an overwhelming response to another human being.

“Daniel?”

Daniel thought he heard someone call his name, but dismissed it.

“Daniel? Are you alright?”

Daniel turned to see Mike Franks standing in front him, his expression one of concern.

“Sure, Mike, what’s up?”

“Are you sure you’re ok? You looked like you weren’t here for a minute there.”

“I’m good. What’s up?” He asked as he crashed back to Earth.

“I was hoping you could come up to the engine and help me out with something before we get started on today’s trip.”

“Sure,” Daniel said, glancing once more toward the train car. “Show me what I can do.”

Thirty minutes later, Daniel climbed down from the engine and marveled at the change in the depot. It was literally crawling with people. Tourists of all ages moved about going to and from the train cars.

This was probably his favorite part of the day. He loved sharing his train with people. He loved it that they showed up, excited about riding.

But today was different.

Today there was someone unexpected on his train. Someone he couldn’t get out of his mind. His elfin princess.

Nonetheless, his work beckoned. He had tickets to collect. People to greet. Safety to ensure.

And he wouldn’t find out where she went just standing here.

Starting with the first car, he made his way through the aisles, checking the status of the passengers, making sure there were no problems. It was too soon to collect tickets, but he could get a feel for the clientele early on. He pretty much could predict where there would be problems just by making a cursory run-through. Sometimes there were unanticipated problems, but that was more often than not a rarity. Most of the rides went smoothly, with people more interested in the scenery than in wreaking havoc.

He heard her, before he saw her - his elfin princess.

“The train goes no faster than thirty miles an hour at any point. You’ll be perfectly safe,” she said.

“Do we have to ride the same train back that we rode up? Can we just stay and take a later train?”

“Yes and no. You have to ride your assigned train. Otherwise, someone else with a ticket might not get to come back. You wouldn’t want that on your hands, would you?”

“No, not at all. I just don’t know if we have time to find a place to eat, eat lunch, and get back in time.”

“You’ll have time. All the townspeople know you’re on a schedule.”

Daniel admired her smooth, calm, and confident tone. He stopped in the doorway and, leaning against it, watched her. She was standing up, behind the older couple’s bench, her arms loaded with brochures. It was then that he noticed she was wearing a name tag, though he couldn’t read it from where he was standing.

That was a little perplexing. She had said she was supposed to meet Mattie on the train. She must be helping out the girl who normally sold coloring books, DVDs, books, etc. to the customers.

She seemed to have a knack for dealing with the tourists. Maybe Mattie should be encouraged to use her more often - maybe even hire her permanently.

“Mr. Daniel?” Amy called. “There you are.”

Tearing his eyes away from the princess, he shifted his attention to Amy.

“Mattie asked me to sell today.” Selling was their lingo for going from car to car, advertising their goods for sale - those DVDs and books. She was carrying the duffle bag they used to cart the stuff around.

He glanced at the princess - and upon further scrutiny realized she didn’t have the duffle bag and was only carrying brochures. Odd. She had said Mattie sent her. This unusual. “Sure, Amy, go ahead and start in the first car,” he answered her distractedly. He had to find out what this girl was up to. Certainly, there was a logical explanation.

As Amy left him to go toward the front of the train, he turned his attention back to this new, unexplained girl. She had shifted her attention to a young couple with three rowdy boys.

“Ok,” she was saying. “We have two rules that pertain to boys only.”

Their eyes widened. Rules for boys? What was this about?

“First of all, feet must be on the floor at all times.” The youngest of the children immediately practically jumped off the bench seat and, with a satisfied thud, planted his feet on the floor. “The second rule is all hands must remain inside the train car at all times.”

“Why?” the oldest, most skeptical looking one demanded.

“Because we’ll be passing awfully close to some rock walls and you may be tempted to reach out to touch one. Don’t. We had a little boy do that just last month and his hand was torn completely off. His hand was never to be seen again.”

Daniel searched his memory. There had been no incident of anyone losing a hand. A few scratches sure, but no outright hand loss. Then he saw her wink at the mother of the children. She was not only a beautiful elfin princess, but she was a genius as well.

“Cool,” one of the boys exclaimed.

“Actually, it wasn’t cool,” the girl explained. “He can’t ever play video games again.”

Expressions of true horror followed. Daniel was certain now - the woman was truly the most brilliant person he had ever encountered.

A few minutes later, she was standing in front of him. He knew he was blocking her path, but he didn’t move. Actually, it didn’t occur to him to move. His mind was completely focused on how enchanting she was. His heart was beating a little faster than normal.

“Hello again,” she said.

“Hello,” he said, automatically.

“You must be Daniel Beaumont - the conductor.”

“I must be,” he said, though truly at that moment, he was thankful she hadn’t asked him his name. There was a slight likelihood that he might not have been able to remember it.

She smiled and he gave up on having any semblance of sanity. “I’m Madison McKivitz.”

“I’m happy to meet you Madis…” he halted, his mind colliding with itself. Madison McKivitz? Checking his clipboard, he confirmed what he had hoped against. “Madison? I see here that you are the new brakeman?”

“Yes, I am,” she said, with a lift of her chin.

He scowled. “You can’t be a brakeman,” he said.

“Why not?” she asked, her smile fading.

He didn’t like being responsible for that. He wanted to make her smile. “Because you’re too beautiful,” he blurted.

Her smile returned. “I didn’t realize there was physical criteria for the job.”

“Actually, there is,” he said. “Most of our brakemen are a little more... rugged.”

She seemed to consider that for a few seconds. “Mattie mentioned something about that, but I think I can handle whatever it is I need to do.”

He nodded. “I have a feeling you can do just about anything you set your mind to.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. Though somehow I think you’re a little reluctant about my being here.”

“I’m not sure why you would say that. I don’t mind that you’re here.” Actually, he liked having her here, but he didn’t like having her here as a brakeman. That was a job for someone more… husky. And Madison McKivitz was anything but husky. She was an elfin princess - delicate and beautiful. And intelligent.

“But you do mind that I’m here as a brakeman.”

And perceptive. The train whistle interrupted his thoughts. “I’m not sure how you convinced Mattie to hire you, but until I can investigate the matter further, we’ll have to go with it. The train is about to leave and I have things to attend to.” Truly he just didn’t have the time to deal with it right now.

He moved past her, going to the front of the train to begin collecting tickets. He sensed her watching him walk away. He felt miserable about the whole thing.

He may be enchanted with her, but that didn’t mean she was the right person to be a brakeman. In fact, it probably meant she should not be a brakeman. Being a brakeman was dangerous work. Work he didn’t want anyone he cared about doing. She, of course, didn’t fall into that category. Not exactly. But he had a very suspicious feeling that she just could.

Madison McKivitz was the girl of his dreams.