Thank you so much for the kind and constructive reviews! I was so nervous about posting this and you all have made me feel so much better. Thank you again to my partner on this account Drumboy100 for being my beta and for always encouraging me!


She watched his blond head of hair disappear behind the closing door and found herself wondering what cruel twist of fate had led her here of all places. When Makenzie had decided to take a chance and visit the town she had left behind for the first time in four years, she had been relieved to find that Frank and Nancy wanted to book a trip on Jake Hurley's Mystery Train. There would be no chance of running into Joe Hardy, meaning she could avoid a potentially awkward and guaranteed painful reunion. Now the trip was beginning to feel like a trap set by Nancy and her prince charming boyfriend.

No, it wasn't the sort of thing Frank and Nancy would do. In fact, the two had probably planned the trip with the sole intention of keeping her and Joe away from each other. So why was he on the train?

With determination, Kenzie wove her way through the crowd towards the bar where Frank no longer sat alone. Nancy had joined him a few minutes prior. She was the first to spot Kenzie and like a true detective, her face betrayed no emotions. She nudged Frank, his head turning immediately.

"Did you…?" Nancy began cautiously.

"Yup," Kenzie replied, knowing exactly what her friend was referring to.

Frank let out a deep breath, his eyes cast down.

"We're sorry, Kenzie," his voice was sincere, his eyes suddenly glued to the drink sitting in front of him.

"In our defense, Joe wasn't supposed to be snooping around on your computer."

"For the hundredth time, Nance, he wasn't snooping."

The tension hung in the air like smoke from a fire and it was obvious the two had argued about this several times already. Feeling suddenly like it was her job to ease it, Kenzie slapped on a light hearted smile and waved her hand in the air dismissively.

"Whatever the reason, he's here and I can be an adult about it. It's been three years and looking back on it now, we were both practically still kids."

Nancy seemed surprised, her eyebrows rising subtly, calling into question her every word. Always the detective, that one.

Frank on the other hand jumped at the opportunity to let it go, no doubt tired of the never ending argument. He ordered drinks for the three of them and proceeded to jump into a story about his latest case. Kenzie found herself zoning out for most of it, her mind still reeling from seeing Joe, wondering what it all meant and if she could truly keep her word and remain an adult for the rest of the weekend. Her mind drifted, wandered back to all those years ago, when things had seemed simpler and life had been less daunting…


"How did you know who I was when we met?" his voice was edged with curiosity, it was a question he had often asked during the year they had spent getting to know each other.

"We're in a closet during a game of seven minutes in heaven and that's what you want to talk about?" just as often as he had asked, she had avoided answering, reveling in the way it teased his curiosity.

Kenzie felt him shrug then, obviously irritated that she was yet again refusing to answer.

"What else are we supposed to do?"

She rolled her eyes. For a detective, Joe was unbelievably clueless at times.

"You could stop being such a scaredy cat and just kiss me already."

Silence followed her words and she could almost imagine the way his blue eyes widened in the darkness, the same way they did every time she said something that caught him off guard. She wasn't usually this bold, but something about the night and being in a pitch black closet made her feel less like herself and more like someone she wished she could be.

The seconds ticked by, slowly, painfully, her heart hammering in her chest, her lungs refusing to take another breath until she knew how her words had been received.

Suddenly, a warm hand touched the side of her face. Before she could fully process the turn of events, his breath tickled her face, sending shivers down her spine. Her stomach was in an uproar, the butterflies staging a small rebellion. Seconds suddenly felt like minutes, as the anticipation kept building like sweet torture.

Joe's lips brushed against hers, only slightly hesitant, and the breath caught in her throat. For the first time in a long time, her mind was completely blank, rather than its usual, overactive self.

The kiss was tender, yet filled with more emotion than she had words to explain. And when Joe finally pulled away, he lingered close, his hand still on her cheek.

"I like you," his voice was no more than a whisper in the darkness, but it set her heart aflame.

She could feel the smile tugging at her lips, the blush creeping up her cheeks.

"I like you, too."


In a flash, the train went dark and Kenzie was pulled out of her reverie. Gasps and murmurs traveled through the dining car, as the moments passed painfully slowly in the darkness. Then, a blood curdling scream pierced the darkness. Fear hung thick in the air and all they could do was wait.

Just as suddenly as they had disappeared, the lights came back on, almost blindingly bright. Frank and Nancy were already surveying the room, their eyes intense, no doubt taking in every detail.

"She's gone!" a woman cried through the silence, "Lori's gone!"

"Lori?" Nancy mused, "as in Lori Girard, the socialite who organized this trip?"

Frank nodded. "Must be, what are the odds something would have happened to another Lori."

Kenzie couldn't help the groan that escaped her lips. She was no stranger to the exciting, crime solving world of the Hardy boys and Nancy Drew, but she had been sure she was done being their sidekick the moment high school ended. She was no detective, more like a reluctant Watson to their Sherlock, yet they had always insisted on dragging her along.

"I can't convince you to turn off the detective mode and just let the authorities handle this one, can I?"

A mischievous smile spread across Nancy's face, her eyes practically twinkling with excitement.

"It'll be like old times!"

Even Frank's eyes gave a little twinkle, as the two made their way through the crowd towards the older woman who had just moments before announced the disappearance. Kenzie knew exactly where this was going; they would question her, find out everything she knew about Lori Girard and her disappearance, and then there would be no stopping it, they would get swept away in yet another mystery.

She waited, nursing her drink and wondering what had convinced her that a weekend on a Mystery Train with Frank and Nancy would be a good idea. Deep down she knew; there was a part of her that missed the being along for the ride, missed the rush of helping the trio solve a good mystery. It was the same part of her that missed Joe Hardy something terrible.

But then the echoes of that last night they'd spent together returned, reminding her of the broken heart she had spent the past three years trying to put back together. Her stomach turned, her knuckles turning white from how tight she gripped her glass.

Moving on wasn't always as easy as it should have been. No matter how many times she had told herself she was over it, the mere thought of him still provoked her.

As she watched her friends question the old lady, their excitement growing with each answer, she realized this was going to be the longest weekend of her life.