Dreams Can Come True
E-mail Jennifer at:
gate_princesse@yahoo.com
Summary: Its a wonderful saga by Jen and its breathtaking. You'll love reading chapter after chapter of this amazing fanfic!
Chapter 1: The Seascape
She shivered as the cool breeze blew across her. She was supposed to be downstairs having a farewell dinner with her nephew Ethan before she left for Paris. She hadn’t been able to concentrate on dinner though. All she could think about were the horrible things that had happened on New Years Eve and how much had happened ever since.
When Ethan started talking with some friends who were also having dinner there, she quietly snuck away from the table. And, now she was standing on the roof of The Seascape restaurant. As soon as she had stepped out onto the roof, all of the memories rushed over her. How afraid she had been when that man was holding a gun on her, and when Luis had grabbed her hand and saved her from falling through the skylight to her death. She felt so safe as he had held her in his arms while the looked down through the broken skylight at the dead man lying on the floor of the restaurant. At the time, Luis thought that man was the father who had abandoned Luis and his family, and he had chosen to save her life instead of the life of his father. But the man turned out to be an imposter, just someone pretending to be Luis’ father.
So many things had changed after that night. Luis was all that she could think of. When they had gone out on a date, her family had tried to offer him a bribe to stay away from her, but he had turned them down. She thought she had finally found the man of her dreams, a man who didn’t care about her money or her family, who only cared about her and wouldn’t try to use her or hurt her. But now she didn’t know what to think of him. It was as if he in an instant he had become a completely different person.
First he had been kissing her passionately and later hinting that they could have a future together. But then, only a few hours later, she had overheard him talking on his cell phone, telling someone that he was only using her to get revenge on her family. He had called her a spoiled princess and said that she would believe anything that he told her because she was so starved for love. And then he had laughed a cold evil sounding laugh. When she had heard all of this she felt like her heart had been ripped out of her body. She thought that he cared about her, that maybe he could even love her.
She was so confused. She wanted to hate him for what he had done to her, but it was so hard to hate him. Her heart still longed for him. She hadn’t even told him why she was angry with him. She didn’t want him to see how much he had hurt her. So, she had decided to move back to Paris so she would never have to see him again. This would be her last night in Harmony.
It was beginning to get colder outside and she had left her coat inside the restaurant.
There were no back or sleeves on the dress she was wearing, and her arms and back were covered with goosebumps. Another cold wind was blowing and she rubbed her arms to try and stay warm. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t hear the footsteps coming up behind her. All of the sudden she felt something warm draped over her shoulders.
She thought at first that it was Ethan coming to check on her, but she looked down at the jacket that had been placed on her shoulders. It was a Harmony Police Department jacket. As she quickly turned around, she found herself staring into Luis’ eyes. She didn’t even notice that a tear was slowly falling down her cheek.
“What are you doing out here, you’re freezing,” Luis asked softly as he reached up and wiped the tear off her cheek. She shivered again, but not because she was cold. “I was just thinking about everything that has happened,” she answered, her voice shaking slightly.
“Sheridan, I know you said you don’t ever want to speak to me again, but I need to know why you are so mad at me. Please tell me what I did wrong,” he asked.
“Please Luis, I don’t even want to think about it anymore, much less discuss it. I am leaving for Paris in the morning and we will never see each other again,” she said as she turned away from him and looked down at the skylight. Once again she remembered him reaching for her hand to save her on New Years Eve. She took a deep breath and began to walk away from him. But after a few steps she stopped and turned back to him.
“You know Luis, now that I know the kind of person you really are, I don’t understand why you chose to save me instead of the man you thought was your father.”
“No matter how much you hate me Sheridan, you have to know that I would never let anything happen to you,” he said sadly. He reached his hand out to touch her arm, but she backed away from him.
“You should have just let go of me, it would have been less painful,” she said barely above a whisper and she turned and walked away. “You can’t mean that Sheridan. I would never let you die,” Luis called after her. But she didn’t stop, she just kept walking away and then she was gone. Luis just stood there on the roof looking up at the stars and wondering, ‘what could I have possible done that would hurt her so much that she wishes I had let her die. I wish she would just tell me what happened.’
To Be Continued...
Chapter 2: Sweet Dreams
Sheridan was so upset about seeing Luis that after she left the roof, she left the restaurant without even saying goodbye to Ethan. She called Ethan on his cell phone from the car to let him know what had happened and that she was going home. By the time Sheridan got to her cottage she was crying again. When she went inside she realized that she was still wearing Luis’ police jacket. She could smell the cologne he always wore on the jacket and she inhaled deeply.
Her thoughts were once again filled with memories of him, memories of dancing the tango with him at the youth center and memories of the kiss they shared at the wharf such a short time ago. She opened her eyes and tried to wash away the memories of Luis. She took off his jacket and threw it on the couch. She was determined to forget about and how much he had hurt her. She wanted to move on with her life. That’s why she was leaving Harmony and moving back to Paris. Sheridan decided to take a shower and get ready for bed. She had a long flight ahead of her in the morning.
Luis had stayed on top of the roof of the Seascape for a long time after Sheridan left. He couldn’t stop thinking about her and about what she had said. He tried to be angry with her, after all she had slapped him at the youth center and told him she hated him. But all he really wanted to do was find a way to get her to forgive him for whatever it was she thought he had done. When Luis finally left the Seascape he didn’t feel like going home yet, so he started driving around. He was so confused about Sheridan. All he could do was think of her and how she would be leaving in the morning to go back to Paris and he would never see her again. Luis decided he had to see her again, to try and work things out with her. He drove to her house, even though it was late, hoping she would still be awake.
It was almost eleven o’clock and Sheridan still couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she thought about Luis. She had been having terrible dreams about all of the bad things that she had overheard Luis say about her ever since that night. She finally decided to get out of bed and get a glass of water. As she walked through the living room she felt a chill. She was wearing a silk spaghetti strap nightgown and her arms were a bit cold. It reminded her of earlier in the evening when put his jacket on her. She looked over at the couch and saw the jacket sitting there. She picked it up and slipped it on.
The warmth of the jacket and the smell of his cologne made her feel like his arms were wrapped around her. She lay down on the couch snuggled in Luis’ jacket and fell asleep instantly. She was dreaming about him, but they weren’t nightmares, they were wonderful dreams. She dreamt that everything that happened was just one big misunderstanding and he came to her and held her in his arms. He told her he loved her and that he never wanted her to leave him. As she slept a smile spread across her face.
As Luis drove up to Sheridan’s cottage, he noticed that most of the lights were off, but there was some light coming from the living room. As he walked up to the front door he peeked in the window and saw her curled up on the couch sleeping. He started to leave, but then he stopped and looked in the window again. She was wearing his jacket.
‘If she hates me so much why is she sleeping in my jacket?’ She looked so beautiful and so peaceful. He wished he was that jacket with his arms wrapped around her, keeping her warm. He really wanted to go inside and see her, talk to her, hold her in his arms. But she was sleeping so peacefully that he didn’t want to wake her up. He decided to leave and go home, but he was going to come back first thing in the morning, before Sheridan left for the airport. Now that he had seen her sleeping in his jacket he was more determined than ever to find out what happened and get her to forgive him.
When Luis arrived at home everyone in his family was already in bed. He went into his bedroom and stopped in front of his dresser. He picked up a photograph that was lying on top of the dresser. It was a picture someone had taken of him and Sheridan dancing the tango at his mother’s birthday party.
Even though they hadn’t gotten along back then he had still been drawn to her. She had such fire in her eyes; you could even see it in the picture. But now that fire seemed to have disappeared. Her eyes always seemed sad now. Even when she was telling him that she hated him, her eyes didn’t look angry, they still looked sad. Luis remembered the time they had dinner at the Lobster Shack when she had told him that she had learned to hide her pain, to make herself look strong even when she wasn’t. He hoped that was what she was doing, just saying that she hated him because she was trying to hide her pain from him.
He hated to see her in pain, especially knowing that he was the cause of it. He wanted to take away all her pain and see the fire and passion return to her beautiful blue eyes. Then he remembered how she had looked at her cottage, sleeping on the couch with his jacket on over her nightgown. She was so beautiful when she was sleeping; she had even been smiling in her sleep.
He was glad that she wasn’t having nightmares anymore. He hoped that she was smiling because she was dreaming about him. He put the picture back down on his dresser and climbed into bed. He was imagining himself laying on that couch with his arms around her instead of the jacket as he drifted off to sleep and began dreaming of her.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 3: Tearful Goodbyes
When she woke up she felt so calm and happy. But then she reached behind her back and didn’t feel him next to her. The smile left her face as she sighed heavily. It had only been a dream. He hadn’t come to her last night. It hadn’t all been a misunderstanding; he had been using her. She was just going to have to accept it and stop hoping they could be together. If she didn’t, the pain she felt over his betrayal would never subside. She took off his jacket and tossed it onto the couch. Then she decided she better get dressed because it was almost time to leave for the airport.
Just as Sheridan had finished putting on her makeup she heard a knock at the door. In the back of her mind she was hoping it was Luis coming to stop her from moving back to Paris. She quickly ran to the door and opened it.
“You can’t move back to Paris, you have to change your mind.” It was Ethan, not Luis.
“My mind is already made up, I can’t say here. It’s just too painful,” Sheridan said as the smile on her face quickly turned into a frown.
“Sheridan please don’t go, at least stay until after the wedding,” Ethan pleaded.
“Ethan, please don’t keep doing this to me, you know I’m going to miss you a lot.”
“Ok, I give up. I’ll stop badgering you,” he said, “but you have to call me a lot and tell me how you are doing.”
“Ok, I promise, and you will have to keep me up to date on all of the wedding plans,” she said. “We have to say goodbye now though, because my taxi will be here soon to take me to the airport.”
“I wish you would just let me drive you to the airport,” Ethan said.
“You know how I hate airport goodbyes. I always start crying and there are all those people around,” she continued, “Plus, you remember that time we said goodbye at the airport in England and the tabloids got ahold of that horrible picture of me crying.”
“Yeah, I remember,” Ethan laughed.
“It’s not funny,” she said as she lightly punched him in the arm, “everywhere I went I saw that horrible picture. It was awful.”
“Alright fine, we’ll just say goodbye here,” Ethan said as he gave Sheridan a hug.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” she said as she pulled away and walked over to the couch. She picked up Luis’ jacket and held it against her chest, forgetting all about Ethan standing right behind her.
“What is it Sheridan,” Ethan asked, awakening her from her momentary daydream.
“Um, could you give this to Pilar and ask her to give it to Luis,” she asked as she reluctantly handed the jacket to Ethan.
“Why do you have Luis’ police jacket?” Ethan inquired.
“It was cold last night on the roof of the Seascape and he put it on me. I just forgot to give it back to him,” Sheridan said, leaving out the part about having slept in the jacket all night.
“Ok, I’ll take it up to the main house after I leave,” he said.
BEEP, BEEP.
“There’s my cab, I had better go,” Sheridan said as she and Ethan walked out of her cottage. Ethan helped the driver load Sheridan’s bags into the car and then opened the door for her.
“Alright, give me one last hug, and then I have to go before I start to cry,” she said softly.
“I’ll miss you Sheridan.”
“I’ll miss you too Ethan.” He shut the door and the car began to drive away. As the car passed through town on the way to the airport, Sheridan remembered all the wonderful times she had in Harmony and the tears began to roll down her cheeks. No matter what Luis had done, she couldn’t help herself, she was still going to miss him and wish they could have been together.
“Hmmm,” he moaned softly as he rolled over in his sleep. His eyes began to open slowly, and he realized she wasn’t lying next to him. It had only been a dream. He sat up quickly and looked at the clock. ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe I overslept. I must have forgotten to set my alarm last night.’ He jumped out of bed and reached for the phone.
“Hello, Crane residence,” Pilar answered.
“Mama, it’s Luis. Is Sheridan still there, I really need to see her before she leaves.”
"I’m sorry son,” Pilar replied, “Ethan said that Sheridan left for the airport a little while ago, but you might be able to catch her at the airport if you hurry.”
“Thanks Mama, I’ll see you later,” Luis said and then hung up the phone. He got dressed and ran out of the house. ‘This is my last chance,’ he said to himself as he drove to the airport, ‘if I don’t do something now I’ll lose her forever.’
When Luis got to the airport he found out which gate her plane was at and raced through the airport to get there before the plane took off. While he was waiting to pass through security, a woman up ahead was creating a disturbance. Luis flashed his police badge and went up to help the security officers get the woman under control. The x-ray machine had shown something suspicious in the woman’s bag and she freaked out when they started to search it. Luis tried to help the security people arrest her, but she kept struggling to get away.
“It’ll be just a few more minutes and then you’ll be able to board the plane Miss Crane,” the flight attendant said.
“Oh, thank you,” Sheridan said. She decided to walk around the terminal for a few minutes before she boarded, since it was going to be a long flight. When she got near the security station, she saw Luis standing there. Her first thought was that he was coming to stop her from going to Paris. She started to walk towards him, but then she saw him put his arms around some blond woman. She couldn’t believe it. She turned around and walked back to her gate. ‘I can’t believe it, he wasn’t just using me to get revenge on my family, he was seeing someone else too. I thought he couldn’t possible hurt me anymore than he already had, but I was wrong.’
“Miss Crane, your plane is ready, you can go on board now,” said the flight attendant.
“Thank you,” Sheridan said quietly, as she tried to keep herself from crying.
Luis grabbed the woman to prevent her from running off and the security officers came over to handcuff her and they took her away. Luis continued to look through the airport for Sheridan. He got to her gate just as she was boarding the plane.
“Sheridan,” he called. She turned around and saw him coming toward the gate. Tears started to flow from her eyes. She stared at him for a second and then turned around and continued to walk onto the plane. She didn’t want him to see how upset she was because of him.
“Sheridan, please stop, I need to talk to you,” Luis called after her, “Sheridan!” But she didn’t stop; she just kept going until she got onto the plane. Luis tried to go after her, but the flight attendant stopped him.
“I’m sorry sir, but you can’t go in there,” said the flight attendant as she locked the gate door.
Sheridan sat down on the airplane and looked out the window. She saw Luis walk up to the airport window and look out at her plane. As the plane pulled away from the gate, her vision began to blur as her tears flowed freely.
Luis stood at the window and watched her plane move slowly toward the runway.
“I’ll miss you Sheridan, more than you’ll ever know,” he whispered quietly as a tear rolled slowly down his cheek.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 4:
She paced back and forth across the kitchen, checking her watch and looking out the window. It was starting to get dark outside and Pilar was worried. Luis still wasn’t home yet. The last time she heard from him was when he called the Crane Mansion looking for Sheridan. She called the police station and the youth center, but no one had seen him today. She even called the airport and they said that Sheridan’s plane left for Paris on time. She wondered where he could be. Then she heard a noise outside in the driveway and she looked out the window.
It was Luis’ patrol car. He didn’t get out of his car though; he just sat there with his head on the steering wheel. Pilar was about to go outside and make sure he was ok when Luis opened the car door and got out. As he walked from the car to the house, he stopped and looked up at the sky. He couldn’t believe she was really gone and he would never see her again. He sighed heavily and continued on into the house. Pilar could tell that he had been crying.
“Luis, are you ok,” Pilar asked, “did you get to the airport in time to see Sheridan?” "I saw her Mama, but she wouldn’t talk to me,” he replied sadly, “she heard me calling her but she wouldn’t stop and talk to me, she just kept walking onto the plane. Now she’s gone forever.” His voice was getting a little shaky and he tried to keep himself from crying. "I’m so sorry son,” Pilar sad as she gave him a comforting hug, “but maybe this is for the best.”
“How can you say that Mama, Sheridan is very upset, every time I saw her she was either angry or crying, and I…I’m miserable,” he said with a sigh. “I know you’re upset Luis, but things never could have worked out for you and Sheridan. Julian and Alistair would never have allowed you and Sheridan to be together.”
“They could never have kept us apart if we both wanted to be together, I wouldn’t have let him,” Luis protested.
“They have ways of getting what they want Luis and it would have been very hard for Sheridan to go against her family. You are better off having ended things now before you got too involved.” “I was already too involved,” he whispered quietly under his breath.
“What did you say son,” Pilar asked. “Oh nothing mama,” Luis said as he started to leave the kitchen.
“Luis wait a minute, Sheridan wanted me to give this back to you,” Pilar said as she handed Luis his jacket.
“Thanks Mama.” Luis took the jacket and went into his bedroom and closed the door. He just stood there in the dark for a moment, staring at the jacket. He kind of wished that Sheridan hadn’t returned it, that she had taken his jacket to Paris with her. Maybe she would have worn it again and been reminded of him, he thought. But she didn’t keep it; she had returned it to his mother. She didn’t even give it back to him in person. Luis sat down on the bed, still holding on to the jacket. He wished he knew what happened between them, and then maybe he would have had a chance to convince her to stay in Harmony.
He pulled the jacket up to his face. The scent of his cologne was gone from the jacket, now it smelled like Sheridan. Luis lay down on the bed, still clutching the jacket to his chest, and inhaled deeply to fill his senses with her. Memories of her swirled through his mind. He remembered comforting her when she had been having nightmares and when she kissed him in New Mexico while she was delirious with hypothermia. He thought of the way her lips felt when they had kissed on the wharf. He took another deep breath. Her scent was intoxicating. He felt almost as if she was lying right next to him. He could smell her but he couldn’t touch her. All he could do was dream of her and wish she was really there with him.
“Good morning Mrs. Crane.” “Good morning Pilar,” Ivy replied, “is something wrong, you look upset about something.” “It’s nothing for you to worry about Mrs. Crane,” Pilar answered. “Pilar, please tell me what’s troubling you, maybe I can help you with it.” “It’s just my son Luis,” Pilar said, “he’s very upset about Sheridan moving back to Paris. Apparently they had some kind of misunderstanding and she wouldn’t tell him why she is angry with him. He tried to talk to her before she got on the plane, but she wouldn’t speak with him. He stayed in his room all evening and didn’t even eat dinner.”
“Yes, Sheridan was very upset about Luis too,” Ivy said feeling a bit sad and guilty, “Ethan told me he tried to convince her to talk to Luis and work things out, but she wouldn’t.” “I’m just glad they ended things before it got too serious,” Pilar said, “Alistair and Julian would never have allowed them to be together. Who knows what lengths they would have gone to in order to keep them apart.” “Believe me, I know all too well exactly what my husband and my father-in-law are capable of ,” Ivy replied as she thought of the phone conversation she overheard between Julian and Alistair.
“Well I had better get back to work Mrs. Crane,” Pilar said with a sigh, “I just wish I could think of a way to make Luis happy again.” After Pilar left the room, Ivy said quietly to herself, “I know exactly how to make Luis happy again, and Sheridan too.” A sly smile spread across Ivy’s face as she picked up the telephone.
RING, RING
Luis groaned as he rolled over in his bed. He felt like he had been asleep for days.
RING, RING
He climbed out of bed and grabbed the telephone. “Hello,” he said groggily. “Hello, Luis it’s Ivy Crane.” “Hello Mrs. Crane, I’m sorry, my mother isn’t here right now, I think she left for work already,” Luis said. “I know, I just spoke with her, I was calling to speak with you Luis.” “You wanted to talk to me,” Luis asked surprised, “What about?” “It’s about Sheridan and it’s very important, but I can’t talk over the phone. Can we meet somewhere private,” Ivy asked. "I am working at the youth center this morning and no one else will be there until this afternoon, we can meet there if you want,” Luis suggested.
“That sounds fine,” Ivy replied, “but you can’t tell anyone about our meeting, it’s very important that no one knows I am talking to you.” “Ivy is something wrong with Sheridan, is she ok,” Luis asked, starting to worry. “I can’t talk about it right now, I have to go, but I will explain everything later.” Ivy hung up the phone and looked around the room to make sure no one had overheard her. Then she grabbed her coat and quickly left the mansion to meet Luis before she lost her nerve.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 5: Revelations
Luis paced around his office waiting for Ivy to arrive. His mind was racing, wondering what she needed to tell him about Sheridan. He was worried that something might have happened to her. He checked his watch again. He thought Ivy would have been there by now. He needed to be working, there were papers piled up on his desk that needed his attention, but he couldn’t concentrate on work. All he could think about was Sheridan and what Ivy would tell him. Then Luis heard the main door to the youth center open and he looked up and saw Ivy coming in the door.
“Sorry I took so long,” Ivy said, “I parked my car at the Book Café and walked over here so no one would see my car parked outside here.” “What going on with Sheridan,” Luis asked anxiously, “and why are you so worried about someone finding out you are talking to me?” “Can we please talk about this in your office,” Ivy said nervously, “I don’t want anyone to walk in while we’re talking.”
“Ok, fine,” Luis said as he led her into his office and closed the door. “Before I tell you anything,” Ivy began, “you have to promise me that you wont tell anyone what I have told you or where you heard it from except for Sheridan. If Julian or Alistair ever find out that I told you… well, they can never find out.”
“I promise I won’t say anything, just please tell me what is going on, did something happen to Sheridan?”
“Sheridan is fine, at least physically,” Ivy said, “I want to talk to you about why she is upset with you.”
“I don’t know why she is mad at me,” Luis interrupted, “she wouldn’t tell me.” "I know why she is mad at you, I know everything, and I think its about time you both found out the truth.” “What are you talking about Ivy, what truth, did something happen to Sheridan,” Luis interrupted again.
“Luis please,” Ivy said, “It would probably be better if you didn’t keep interrupting. I overheard a telephone conversation between Julian and Alistair last week. They were talking about Sheridan and Julian was congratulating his father on how successful his plan had been. It turns out that Alistair hired a man to impersonate you. Then they made sure that Sheridan would overhear this man who was pretending to be you say that you were only using Sheridan to get revenge on the Cranes. Alistair made sure that the imposter knew exactly what to say so that Sheridan would be so hurt that she wouldn’t even talk to you. Then Julian convinced Sheridan that she would end up looking like a fool for letting you use her if she stayed in Harmony.”
Luis just stood there in shock. He remembered her saying that he had been using her. “How could she think that I was saying those things about her. I told her I would never use her or anyone else.”
“Luis, Julian was holding a mask that looked exactly like your face, the imposter must have used it,” Ivy began, “Sheridan was very confused. She even said it was like you were two different people and she wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t heard it for herself. She didn’t want to believe it, but since she saw you herself, she had no real reason to doubt that it was you. And since she wouldn’t tell you why she was mad at you, you really had no way to defend yourself.”
“I can’t believe that they would do this to her,” Luis yelled, “they are her family, don’t they care about her at all?” “They care about themselves more,” Ivy stated coldly, “and when they want something, they usually get it, no matter what they have to do or who they hurt.” “Ivy, why didn’t you tell me sooner. Why didn’t you tell Sheridan before she left for Paris?”
“I wanted to, I tried to,” Ivy stammered, “but Julian knew I heard him on the phone and he wouldn’t let me. He kept watching me, and he made sure that I was never alone with Sheridan. The worst thing you can do in this family is to betray their secrets, and I have to think about my children.” Ivy remembered the threats Julian had made against Ethan if she told anyone. “Once Sheridan left for Paris, Julian stopped watching me all the time.”
“If you are so worried about what Julian and Alistair will do, why did you tell me now?” “When your mother told me how upset you were about Sheridan leaving, I knew that I had to make sure you found out the truth. I won’t let them make Sheridan live a life without love and happiness just to suit their purposes, like they did to m…to other people in the family.”
“Thank you Ivy,” Luis said, “I appreciate you taking this risk, but I don’t know how much good it will do. Sheridan is gone.” “That’s easy,” Ivy smiled, “you just have to go to Paris and convince her to come back home with you.” “Go to Pairs? I can’t possibly go to Paris.” "Sure you can,” Ivy said as she handed Luis an envelope. “What is it,” Luis asked as he began to open the envelope. “It’s a plane ticket to Paris,” Ivy replied, “you leave tonight.” “I can’t possibly accept this Ivy, besides I have to work and who would run the youth center,” but even as he spoke the words, Luis was already thinking of going to Paris to find Sheridan.
“After what Julian and Alistair have done to you and Sheridan the plane ticket is the least I can do. You could get your friend Hank to watch the youth center while your gone. As for work, I’m sure Sam can arrange something. I trust Sam, so if you think you need to tell him what I told you, it’s ok.” “I don’t know how I can ever repay you for what you have done,” Luis said, “thank you so much Ivy.”
“There is no need to repay me Luis, seeing Sheridan happy will be all the thanks I need, but there is something else I want to tell you. When Sheridan finds out that her father was responsible for all the pain she’s felt because of the imposter he hired, she is going to be very upset. Sheridan was always very sad and lonely as a child and the thing she wanted most was her fathers love. Alistair Crane was never a loving father, but he knew his love was Sheridans weakness, so he uses her need for his love to manipulate her. Whenever he interferes in her life, he says its because he loves her, so she will just accept it and not get upset with him. And, when he wants her to do something she doesn’t want to do, he makes her feel like she doesn’t love him enough, until she gives in to him.
“How could he do that to her,” Luis said, in shock, “he is her father?” “He doesn’t care if she gets hurt, as long as she does what he wants,” Ivy continued, “the only time she has ever stood up to him is when he told her not to go out with you. In the past Alistair would just bribe people to keep them away from Sheridan and then tell her that if they really cared about her they wouldn’t have accepted the bribe. He made her think he was just looking out for her. But that didn’t work with you, he couldn’t buy you, that’s probably why he hired the imposter. It will really hurt Sheridan to know that her father set out to intentionally hurt her and cause her so much pain. I know you hate the Cranes, and with good reason, but…”
“Don’t worry,” Luis interrupted, “I’ll take good care of her, I’ll make sure she’s ok. I’m not going to let her get hurt again by anyone, including me.” “I’d better go before someone gets suspicious,” Ivy said, “Be careful Luis, the Cranes don’t like to lose.” Ivy got up and walked out of the youth center.
Luis couldn’t believe all the things that he had just heard. Everything was starting to make sense to him now. Why Sheridan was so mad at him and why she wouldn’t talk to him. She probably didn’t just believe the things she heard the imposter say, she must have also thought that everything that happened between them had been a lie. He just hoped that she would listen to him long enough so he could explain what really happened. Luis looked at his watch and decided he better find Hank and Sam to make the arrangements so he could go to Paris. As Luis walked out the door of the youth center he thought about seeing Sheridan at the airport, he couldn’t believe that less than 24 hours ago he thought she was gone from his life forever and now he was preparing to fly to Paris to get her back.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 6: Preparations
“Hey Hank, there you are,” Luis said as he walked into the Book Café, “I’ve been looking for you. I need you to do me a favor.”
“Sure,” Hank said, “anything for you buddy, what’s up?”
“I have to go out of town for a few days and I need you to keep an eye on the youth center for me,” Luis said, hoping Hank wouldn’t ask too many questions. Luis had decided to that he didn’t want anyone to know he would be going to Paris except for Sam, Ivy, and his mother, to make sure that Julian and Alistair wouldn’t find out. Besides, if Hank knew that he was going to Paris to see Sheridan then he would want to go with him and start talking about how Sheridan was ‘his girl’ and Luis really didn’t want to have to deal with that.
“Of course I’ll take care of the youth center,” Hank replied, “So you’re working on a big case huh.”
“Um yeah,” Luis said, grateful that Hank had assumed the trip was for work and not asked too many questions. “Well I have to go see Sam, so I’ll see you when I get back. If you have any problems with the youth center, just leave a message with mama.”
“Ok Luis, have a good trip, and don’t work too hard.”
“I won’t,” Luis answered with a smile and he left the Book Café and walked over to the police station.
“Luis, what are you doing here,” Sam said as Luis walked into the station, “I didn’t think you were supposed to work until tonight?”
“I’m not,” Luis replied, “but I need to talk to you about something important. Can we talk in your office?”
“Sure Luis, come on.” They went into Sam’s office and sat down.
“Sam I need to take a few days off to handle a personal matter.”
“Nothings wrong with your family is there,” Sam interrupted.
“No, everyone in my family is fine, actually this is about Sheridan. I am flying to Paris tonight to see her.”
“Sheridan,” Sam said surprised, “what happened, I thought she was mad at you. Last I heard she wouldn’t even talk to you and now you’re going to Paris. What changed?”
“ I found out why she is mad at me and I am going to try to work things out with her and get her to come back to Harmony.”
“How did you find out? Did Sheridan tell you before she left for Paris,” Sam inquired.
“No, actually Ivy Crane told me this morning. You’ll never believe what she told me. She found out that Alistair and Julian hired someone to impersonate me and made sure that Sheridan overheard this imposter saying that I was just using Sheridan to get revenge on the Cranes.”
“Wow, poor Sheridan, its no wonder she slapped you. I probably would have slapped you myself,” Sam laughed.
“Very funny Sam,” Luis said, “so can I have a few days off, I have plenty of vacation time saved up.’
“Of course you can,” Sam replied, “I’m just glad that Ivy told you what she knew.”
“Yeah me too, but I’m a little worried about her. She was very nervous about Julian and Alistair finding out that she had told anyone what she knew. So you can’t tell anyone what I just told you, or that I am going to Paris. Ivy made me promise not to tell anyone except Sheridan, but she said she trusted you and that I could tell you. I am telling everyone I am going out of town on police business.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” Sam said, “but you should be careful. Who knows what else Julian and Alistair will try to do to keep you and Sheridan apart.”
“I’ll keep my eye on them, you can count on that,” Luis said, “but I’m not going to let them keep me away from Sheridan. I will never let them hurt her again. Well I better get home and start packing.”
When Luis got home, no one else was there. He went up to his room and started putting some clothes into a bag. Once he was done packing his clothes, Luis walked over to his dresser. There was a small wooden box sitting on top of it. He opened the box and took out his passport. It had never even been used. ‘I sure am glad Sam had me get my passport when we were working on that South American drug smuggling case,’ Luis said to himself. Just then, Luis heard the front door shut, someone was home. He sat his passport down on top of his bag and went to see who was home.
“Hello son,” Pilar said with surprise as Luis walked into the kitchen, “I thought you were working at the youth center this afternoon and then going straight to the station, why are you home?”
“Well mama, I’ve had a slight change of plans,” Luis said with a sly smile, “I’m not going to work tonight, I’m going to Paris.”
“You’re what, you’re going to Paris,” Pilar stammered, “I don’t understand, why are you going to Paris? Did something happen that I don’t know about?”
“Yes it did Mama, I found out why Sheridan is mad at me and it is all a big misunderstanding. So I am going to fly to Paris tonight and get Sheridan to forgive me and ask her to come back to Harmony.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea Luis, you know Julian and Alistair don’t want you and Sheridan to get involved.”
“I don’t care what they want, all I care about is Sheridan and what she wants. And hopefully that will be me once I explain what happened.”
“I just worry about you Luis and what will happen if you and Sheridan get too involved and…”
“Don’t you see Mama,” Luis interrupted, “I’m already too involved. When Sheridan got on that plane yesterday I felt like my heart got ripped out of my chest. I feel like a part of me is missing, and I don’t think I’ll feel complete again until I get her to forgive me and come home. I don’t want to disobey you Mama, but I have to go to Paris.”
“Please don’t misunderstand me Luis. I’m not saying I don’t want you and Sheridan to be together, I’m just worried and I want you to be careful. I love Sheridan as if she was one of my own children, and I want you both to be happy. If being together is what you and Sheridan want, then its what I want too. But it will be difficult and I just want to make sure that you know that.” “Thank you mama.”
“Why don’t you go try and rest before its time to go to the airport, its going to be a long flight. I’ll wake you up in plenty of time to leave for the airport.”
“That’s a good idea Mama,” Luis said. He gave Pilar a kiss on the cheek and went to his room. He lay down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. He was starting to feel a little nervous. Sheridan had been so upset with him, he was afraid she wouldn’t believe him. He almost didn’t believe it himself, that someone had impersonated him to get her to hate him. Luis remembered when he saw Sheridan on the roof of the Seascape the night before she left for Paris. She was crying. Every time he saw her cry, his heart melted. Even so long ago when they were always fighting it killed him to saw her cry. All he wanted to do was make her happy again so she wouldn’t cry anymore. This time he was the cause of her pain, sure it wasn’t really him who said those horrible things about her, but he still felt like he had caused her pain. She had even said she wished he hadn’t saved her, that he would have let her die because it would have been less painful. He hated knowing that she felt that way about him. Even when he told her the truth, that he never said those things, that he would never use her or hurt her, she would still be hurt. Finding out that her father was responsible for the imposter would bring Sheridan a whole other kind of pain that he couldn’t even imagine. Luis just hoped that she would let him be there for her the way she had been there for him in the past. Luis tried to close his eyes but he couldn’t sleep. There were so many thoughts racing through his mind. He didn’t want to wait any longer. He was anxious to get to Paris and find Sheridan. Just then there was a knock on the door.
“Luis are you awake,” Pilar asked as she popped her head in the door.
“Yes Mama, I’m up,” Luis responded.
“It’s time to go to the airport, get you’re stuff together and I’ll drive you.”
“Ok,” Luis said as he got up out of bed. He put his coat on and put his passport and plane ticket in his pocket. He picked up his bag and went out to the car.
“Mama,” Luis said to Pilar while they were driving to the airport, “please don’t tell anyone that I went to Paris, I want everyone to think that I am out of town on police business. I don’t want Julian or Alistair to find out that I went to see Sheridan, that way I won’t have to worry about them trying to interfere.”
“Ok, if that’s what you want,” Pilar said with a frown. Then she handed Luis a small white box. “I want you to give this to Sheridan for me.”
“What is it?” Luis asked.”
“It’s just a little something that always makes Sheridan feel better she’s upset.”
“Thanks Mama, I’ll make sure he gets it,” Luis said and he but the box in his pocket, “well we’re here. I love you Mama. I’ll call you and let you know what happens with Sheridan.” Luis gave Pilar a kiss on the cheek and grabbed his bag from the back seat. “Bye Mama.” "Bye son.”
Luis got out of the car and went into the airport to catch his plane to Paris.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 7: Arrivals
Sheridan stretched as she got out of bed. She felt a little weird being back in her old house in Paris. It was already afternoon. She had been so tired from her trip and the time change that she slept in. She also had trouble falling asleep. On the drive from the airport to her house, she kept seeing couples walking through the streets holding hands and kissing. While she tried to go to sleep her mind kept wandering off to memories of Luis and she couldn’t stop herself from wishing he was there with her. Then she would get mad at herself for thinking about him after the way he had used her. But she couldn’t help herself. She had finally given in to the desires of her heart and fallen asleep dreaming of him once again. ‘Why can’t I just forget about him,’ she said to herself as she walked over to her closet. It wasn’t this hard for her to get over the other men who had only been using her. She was always very angry and upset for a while, but she never wished that she was back with any of them. Sheridan wondered what was so different about Luis. He had used her just like the rest of them, but she couldn’t get him out of her heart.
After Sheridan had showered and changed she went downstairs. The house was so empty. She had sent Jacques and Lily, the couple who took care of the house and her when she lived there, on a romantic getaway for a few days. They had made sure that everything in the house was perfect when Sheridan arrived. She was glad to see them, they had always been very nice to her, but she felt like being alone, so she told them to take a few days off. But now she wished they were there. She was getting kind of lonely being all by herself. She needed something to take her mind off Luis. As Sheridan walked through the living room she spotted something on the table. She picked it up; it was Jean Luc’s watch. She sighed and said to herself, ‘time to take care of unfinished business.’ She picked up the telephone and dialed Jean Luc’s number. He didn’t answer, so she left a message on the machine.
“Jean Luc, it’s Sheridan, I have something of yours I want to return to you, but you’re never home when I call. I am going to come by your place tonight and if you’re not there I’ll just leave it. Bye.”
What Sheridan didn’t know was that Roger and Pierre were listening to the message. “Perfect,” Roger said to Pierre, “when Sheridan leaves her house tonight we’ll be waiting for her and then we can get rid of her once and for all.”
Sheridan hung up the phone and sat down on the couch. She sat the watch back on the table and frowned. ‘Maybe he won’t be home,’ she thought, ‘then I won’t have to see him.’ Then her stomach started to growl. She remembered that she slept through breakfast and hadn’t eaten anything since dinner yesterday. She went into the kitchen to make herself something to eat.
By the time Luis’ plane landed in Paris and he made his way through customs and baggage claim it was almost time for the sun to set. He found someone at the airport to give him to directions to Sheridan’s house. He took the Metro part of the way and then he decided to walk the rest of the way. He was going to take a cab, but he found it difficult since he didn’t know any French. Luis had been walking for about ten minutes and he thought he was almost to her house but he wasn’t exactly sure where he was. He saw an older man standing on the sidewalk cleaning off the tables outside of a French bakery and he decided to see if the man spoke any English.
“Excuse me sir, do you speak any English?”
“Oui, a little, can I help you with something,” the man said.
“Yes, I am looking for this address, can you give me some directions,” Luis asked. He showed the man a piece of paper that Ivy had written Sheridan’s address on.
“You are looking for Madamoiselle Crane’s house?” the man asked.
“Yes,” Luis said, “do you know where it is?”
“Oui, but why should I tell you,” the man replied, “are you a reporter?”
“No I’m not a reporter, I am a friend of hers from the United States.”
“Why should I believe you,” the man said, “terrible reporters are always following her, taking her picture, they almost killed her last year. Why can’t you just leave her alone!”
“Please sir, I’m not a reporter, I’m a police officer, see,” Luis said as he pulled out his badge and I.D.
“You’re not going to arrest her are you,” the man said in a shocked tone.
“No,” Luis laughed, thinking of the time when he had arrested her after she crashed into his police car, “I just want to talk to her.”
“About what?” the man asked. He seemed very concerned about Sheridan, like he knew her.
Luis sighed, he was starting to get irritated with the old man’s questions, but he knew he’d have to answer them if he wanted to get directions to Sheridan’s house.
“If you must know, we had a misunderstanding before she left for Paris and I want to straighten things out with her,”
“Ok, I’ll tell you,” the man said, “you’re almost there. Just go two streets up there and go left and her house is about three blocks down on a corner. You can’t miss it, it’s the biggest house on the street.”
“Thank you very much sir,” Luis said. He picked up his bag and continued walking towards Sheridan’s house. The sun had set and it was getting pretty dark.
Sheridan sat her book down on the table and looked up at the clock. It was starting to get late and Sheridan decided she had better go to Jean Luc’s. She put her jacket on and put Jean Luc’s watch in her jacket pocket. She grabbed her purse and walked out the front door. It was such a nice night that Sheridan decided to walk since it wasn’t that far to Jean Luc’s apartment. She hadn’t even gotten more than a block when two men came out from an alley and grabbed her. She started to scream, but one of the men hit her with something and she slumped to the ground.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 8: The Rescue
Luis had just come around the corner when he looked down the street and saw Sheridan. She was walking towards him but she didn’t see him. She was looking up at the sky. He stopped walking and looked up to see what had her so intrigued. When he looked up at the sky he saw a shooting star. He remembered how Theresa was always talking about wishing on a star, so he closed his eyes and made a wish. All of the sudden he heard a scream. He looked up and saw two men grabbing Sheridan. She looked like she was unconscious.
Luis’ first thought was to run after them and stop them from carrying her off, but luckily his police instincts kicked in. He knew that if he made any sudden moves they might hurt her, so he quickly moved into the shadows so they couldn’t see him. He dropped his bag on the ground and quietly began to follow them as they carried her down an alley. They went a few blocks down the alley and carried Sheridan through the back door of an abandoned building. Luis snuck up to the building and looked through one of the windows. The two men were tying Sheridan’s hands behind her back, but she was still unconscious. Luis reached over to his side, but then he remembered that he didn’t have his gun with him. He looked around the alley for something he could use for a weapon. He saw a large glass bottle lying on the ground by the corner of the building in a pile of trash. He walked over and picked up the bottle. It was a fairly heavy wine bottle. ‘This will have to do,’ he thought. As he turned to walk back to the door of the building something caught his eye along the other side of the building. It was a telephone booth. Luis decided that he better call for help before he went in to rescue Sheridan. There were two men and he wasn’t sure if they were armed. He ran up to the payphone and called the police.
“Bonjour, commissariat de police (hello, police department),” a woman answered.
“Please, do you speak any English,” Luis asked, speaking quietly so he wouldn’t be heard.
“Yes sir, do you have an emergency?”
“Yes, my name is Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, I am a police officer from the United States. Sheridan Crane was kidnapped by two men and is being held in a empty building,” Luis said quickly, wanting to hurry and get to Sheridan before they hurt her.
“Can you tell me the location of the building, sir?”
“No, I don’t know Paris well, I just followed them here after I saw them grab her. She might need an ambulance, they knocked her unconscious.”
“Ok sir, are you calling from a payphone?”
“Yes”
“Look on the top right corner of the phone, there is an I.D. number that will tell us your location.”
“It’s 49537,” Luis answered.
“Ok, we’ll send someone out there right now, please stay on the line and wait for them to arrive.”
“I can’t wait, I have to make sure they don’t hurt Sheridan,” Luis said. He dropped the phone and ran off toward the back entrance of the building.
“Luis where are you?” Sheridan screamed, “I need you, please help me, Luis!” She looked all around her, but she couldn’t see anything but darkness. She was scared and alone. She closed her eyes and opened them again but she was still surrounded by blackness. Tears began to stream down her face. “Luis, please come,” she cried, “please help me. I love you.” Then she heard a voice.
“Its ok, I’m coming.” It was Luis’ voice. Sheridan looked around but she couldn’t see him.
“Luis where are you?” Sheridan yelled.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you. I’m coming for you.” His voice began to fade away as the darkness subsided.
Sheridan’s eyes began to open slowly. She tried to move, but she felt pain in the back of her head. She tried to get her hands loose from the ropes, but it was no use, they were too tight. She looked around her and saw two men standing across the room talking. She thought they looked a little familiar, but she wasn’t sure where she had seen them before. Sheridan tried to sit up as quietly as possible so they wouldn’t notice that she was awake.
“We should just kill her now,” Roger said.
“No,” insisted Pierre, “we must find out if she told anyone about us first.” They heard a noise behind them and turned around to see Sheridan sitting up against the wall.
“So, you’re awake,” Pierre said menacingly, “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.” He walked over to her and touched her cheek. Sheridan tried to scoot away from him. “Who did you tell about us?”
“What are you talking about,” Sheridan asked, her voice shaking,” I don’t even know who you are.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Pierre yelled and then he slapped her. “Who’d you tell about our business with Jean Luc?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sheridan cried as tears began streaming down her cheeks. “What does this have to do with Jean Luc, where is he?”
“Jean Luc’s dead,” Roger said as he walked up to Sheridan, “but don’t worry, you and Jean Luc will be reunited very soon.” Roger pulled out his gun and aimed it at Sheridan’s head.
Luis snuck up to the window of the abandoned building and looked inside. He saw one of the men slap Sheridan. He decided he couldn’t wait for the police any longer. He took off his jacket and dropped it on the ground. He quietly opened the door and snuck into the building. He hid behind some boxes close to where the two men were talking to Sheridan. He heard one of the men saying something about Jean Luc being dead and saw the man pull out a gun. Luis tightened his grip on the bottle he had found in the alley. Luis ran up behind Roger and hit him in the back of the head. The glass bottle shattered and Roger fell to the floor unconscious. Roger's gun slid across the floor and Luis and Pierre both went after it.
Sheridan pushed herself up against the wall and stood up. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Luis really had come to rescue her. Luis and Roger were fighting for the gun. They both had their hands on the gun and were both struggling to get control of it. Then the gun went off!
To Be Continued...
Chapter 9: The Lucky One
BANG
“LUIS,” Sheridan screamed as she ran toward Luis and Pierre. She wanted to grab him but her hands were still tied. Sheridan kicked Pierre in the side, causing him to lose his grip on the gun. Luis quickly gained control of the gun and shot Pierre in the chest. Pierre fell to the ground. “Oh god,” Sheridan cried as she dropped to her knees on the ground next to Luis. His right shoulder was covered in blood.
“It’s ok Sheridan,” Luis said trying to calm her down, “I’m fine.” “He shot you,” she said, her voice was shaking and tears were streaming down her cheeks.
“I’m ok, it’s just a scratch,” Luis said as he sat up. He reached around behind her back and untied the ropes from her wrists. She brought her hand up and touched his bloodstained shirt. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably.
“I’m so sorry,” Sheridan said quietly, her bottom lip quivering, “It’s all my fault.”
“Hey it’s not your fault,” Luis said as he took her hand, “I’m fine, everything’s gonna be ok.” He pulled her into his arms and she laid he head against his chest and closed her eyes.
He could feel that her whole body was shaking and he began to rub her back. “Shh, it’s alright, no one’s going to hurt you now, I promise. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.” Luis stood up and pulled Sheridan up with him. She still had her eyes closed and was leaning against his chest, shaking gently all over. He picked her up and she put her arms around his neck.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Luis said as her carried Sheridan outside into the alley. He saw his jacket lying on the ground and tried to put Sheridan down so he could pick it up, but she wouldn’t let go of him. He grabbed the jacket and laid it around her shoulders and picked her back up. He carried her around to the front of the building just as two police cars and an ambulance arrived. The police officers jumped out of the cars with their weapons drawn.
“L'arrêt, s'il vous plaît vous identifier (stop, please identify yourself),” the French officers yelled.
Luis had no idea what they said. “I’m Officer Luis Lopez Fitzgerald and I don’t speak French. I’m the one who called you. My identification is in the pocket of my jacket,” Luis said as he motioned to the jacket on Sheridan. One of the officers went over to them and pulled Luis’ ID from his jacket.
“What happened to the men who kidnapped Madamoiselle Crane?” the officer asked.
“Oui, you should take Madamoiselle Crane to the ambulance so they can make sure you are both ok.” Luis carried Sheridan into the ambulance and sat her down. She finally let go of his neck but as soon as he sat down next to her she held onto his arm and laid her head down on his good shoulder. Luis looked down at Sheridan and noticed that her eyes were still closed.
The paramedic came up to Luis, “Arrivé à votre monsieur de bras, qu'est-ce que vous étiez tire? (What happened to your arm sir, were you shot?)”
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Luis replied.
“I asked if you had been shot in the arm,” the paramedic said now speaking in English.
“The bullet just grazed my shoulder, I’m fine. You should look at Sheridan first. They knocked her unconscious earlier.” Luis turned to look at Sheridan. “Sheridan,” Luis said softly. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. “The paramedic needs to check you out and make sure you’re ok.” Sheridan nodded in agreement and looked over at the paramedic. The paramedic began to thoroughly check over Sheridan and all the time she was being examined, Sheridan never let go of Luis and she didn’t speak. When the paramedic asked her questions she nodded her response. Once the paramedic was done he told Sheridan that she was fine, but she would have a bump on her head for a few days. He handed Sheridan an instant ice pack and told her it would help with the swelling. She took it from him but she just held it in her lap. Then the paramedic moved to check out Luis’ gunshot wound.
“Sheridan,” Luis said, “you’re going to have to let go of my arm so I can take my shirt off.” Sheridan let go and sat up a little bit, but as soon as Luis had taken his shirt off she wrapped her arms around his arm again, but this time she kept her head up and watched Luis intently as the paramedic checked out his shoulder. “You were very lucky monsieur,” the paramedic said, “the wound is not serious.”
“No, I’m the lucky one,” Sheridan said quietly. Luis turned to look at Sheridan and their eyes met. He was glad to hear her speak again. She hadn’t said anything since they had been inside the building. He noticed that she had stopped shaking and the color was coming back to her face. He smiled at her and she smiled back. She looked so much better now. The fear was gone from her eyes, but the anger and sadness he had seen in the last few days hadn’t replaced it. She was looking at him the way she used to, the way she had when they had kissed at the wharf.
The paramedic cleaned and bandaged Luis’s shoulder and instructed him to clean it twice a day for the next day or two. Luis put his blood stained shirt back on and stepped out of the ambulance.
As Sheridan got up to leave, the paramedic said, “J'espère que vous me sentiez mieux Madamoiselle Crane. Nous tout souhait vous trouveriez le bonheur dans votre vie. J'espère qu'il l'apporte à vous. (I hope you feel better Miss Crane. We all wish you would find happiness in your life. I hope he will bring it to you.)”
“Vous remercier le monsieur, j'espère de même (Thank you sir, I hope so too),” Sheridan replied. She turned to Luis and he took her hand and helped her out of the ambulance. When she was down she didn’t let go of his hand. As they walked away from the ambulance hand in hand one of the French police officers came up to them.
“Excuse me, Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald, Madamoiselle Crane, but we need to take you down to the station now and take your statement,” the officer said.
“Can’t this wait till tomorrow,” Luis said, “Sheridan’s been through a lot tonight and she needs to rest.”
“It’s ok Luis,” Sheridan interrupted, “I’d rather do it now. The sooner we get it over with the better.”
The officer led them to a police car and they got in the back seat. Another officer got in the front and began driving them to the police station. Sheridan and Luis were still holding hands and Sheridan laid her head back on Luis’ shoulder. He took the ice pack the paramedic had given her and held it against the back of her head. They sat like that for a while, neither one of them moving or talking until Sheridan looked up at Luis with a confused look on her face.
“How did you find me Luis?” Sheridan asked.
“I was standing down the street and I saw them grab you,” Luis answered, “I followed them.”
“No that’s not what I meant,” Sheridan said looking even more confused, “why are you in Paris? I told you I never wanted to see you again so why did you come here?”
“I found out why you are mad at me,” Luis began, “but there are things I need to tell you. Things you don’t know. It’s time you found out the truth about what really happened at the wharf.”
“Nous sommes ici (We are here),” the officer said as they pulled up to the police station.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 10: The Truth
The officer led Sheridan and Luis into the police station and introduced them to the detective who would be in charge of the case.
“If you’ll follow me we’re ready to take your statement now,” the detective said.
Luis stepped up and pulled the detective aside. “Could Miss Crane and I have a few minutes to speak privately,” Luis asked, wanting to tell Sheridan the truth before she had a chance to remember why she was mad at him.
“Of course,” the detective said, remembering that one of the officers said he thought the two might be a couple because Sheridan had not let go of him since he had rescued her. “You can talk in my office.” He led Sheridan and Luis into his office and shut the door leaving them alone.
Sheridan stood on one side of the room looking at the wall. She knew she needed to know the truth about what happened between them, but she was afraid. When Luis rescued her it brought back all of her old feelings for him. She wanted him to tell her it was all a mistake and that he didn’t say those things. She didn’t want to go back to hating him. All she wanted was for him to hold her and never let her go.
“Sheridan,” Luis began, “I know you think I said those terrible things about you at the wharf, but it’s not true. I would never use you.”
“Don’t lie to me Luis,” Sheridan interrupted. Still looking away from Luis, “I heard you, I saw you.” She clinched her fists, trying to keep herself from crying.
“Please Sheridan, just listen to what I have to say,” Luis said as he put his hand on Sheridan’s shoulder. She pulled away from his touch. “Ivy came to see me this morning at the youth center. She told me why you are mad at me, about what you overheard at the wharf. But it wasn’t me.” Sheridan started to protest again but she decided to wait and hear the rest of what Luis had to say.
“Ivy told me that the morning after we kissed at the wharf she overheard Julian and Alistair on the telephone discussing how well your father’s plan to keep us apart had worked. Ivy said that Alistair hired someone to impersonate me. She even saw Julian with a mask that looked just like my face. Alistair to the imposter to say all those things because he knew you would be so upset that you wouldn’t even want to speak to me.” Luis turned Sheridan around so she was facing him. There were tears streaming down her cheeks and her lips were quivering. “Sheridan, I would never use you, I promise you, you have to believe me.” Luis put his hand on her cheek and tried to wipe away her tears, but it did no good because new ones immediately replaced them.
“If Ivy knew all this time, why didn’t she just tell me herself before I left for Paris,” Sheridan asked.
“Julian knew she overheard him and made sure she was never alone with you. I think he also must have threatened her, because she seemed really afraid that Julian and Alistair would find out she told me.”
Sheridan looked down at the floor. “I should have known they were up to something, they were being too nice to me. They were acting all caring and concerned about me when they normally would be rubbing my nose in it. I’m such an idiot.”
“That’s not true. You had no way of knowing that they were behind this. They went to a lot of trouble to make sure that you thought it was me,” Luis said.
“But I should have known it wasn’t you. You said you would never use me or anyone else,” Sheridan said quietly as her tears continued to flow. “I was just so confused. First you were kissing me and then I heard you saying those terrible things. I couldn’t believe it. I even told Ethan it was like you were two different people, but I never suspected that it was an imposter. He looked and sounded just like you. I was just so hurt when I thought you had only been using me that… Oh god Luis,” Sheridan gasped and she put her hand on Luis’ cheek, “I’m so sorry I hit you.”
“It’s ok,” Luis said placing his hand on top of Sheridan’s and holding her hand against his face, “you had a good reason for being so upset. I just wish you would have told me why you were so mad at me so I could have defended myself.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just that I didn’t want you to know how much you had hurt me. That’s why I said that I was just using you too. I hope you know I didn’t mean any of the things I said,” Sheridan said staring into Luis’ eyes.
“I know you didn’t mean it,” Luis answered, returning Sheridan’s gaze, “as soon as Ivy told me what happened I knew why you said it. I don’t blame you for believing it was me. None of this is your fault Sheridan.”
“Then you forgive me,” Sheridan asked.
“There is nothing to forgive,” Luis replied. He pulled Sheridan’s hand away from his face and kissed it lightly. Then he pulled her into a hug and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Sheridan slowly began to stop crying. She was so happy to be in Luis’ arms again and to know that he wasn’t using her. He had come all the way to Paris to see her as soon as he found out what happened. She hoped this meant that Luis wanted to have a future with her. They just stood there holding each other in silence until the detective walked in.
“Sorry to interrupt,” the detective said as he started to leave.
“No, that’s ok,” Luis said as he and Sheridan reluctantly pulled apart.
“If you’re ready we can take your statements now,” the detective said as he sat down behind his desk. Sheridan and Luis both told the detective and another officer the events that had taken place that night. “You were very lucky that you were not killed Madamoiselle Crane. We pulled our file on your former fiancé, Jean Luc.
It seems that he was involved in an international drug smuggling operation and owed them some money. He was killed in a car bombing along with a woman outside of Paris on the same night you left him at his country house. We believe they thought you knew about their operation and intended for you to be in the car with Jean Luc when the bomb went off. That’s why they came after you when you returned to Paris.”
As Sheridan absorbed all this information she squeezed Luis’ hand tightly. “I thought they looked familiar. I met them at Jean Luc’s apartment once. They kept asking me who I told about them. I’m just glad I have my own personal hero who always comes to my rescue,” Sheridan said smiling over at Luis.
“Well you don’t have to worry anymore Madamoiselle, one of the men, Pierre is dead and the other, Roger will be turned over to Interpol as soon as all the glass is removed from the back of his head,” the detective said to Sheridan and then he turned to Luis. “Congratulations Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald, the Harmony police department is lucky to have you. Interpol has been trying to bring down these two for almost a year. Well, the two of you are finished here, Interpol will contact you if they have any other questions. I’ll have one of our officers drive you home.”
To Be Continued...
Chapter 11:
As they neared Sheridan’s house she instructed the driver to stop. “Luis, do you mind if we walk the rest of the way, I could use some fresh air.”
“Sure,” Luis responded, “we can do anything you want.”
“Vous remercier pour conduire nous l'officier, nous allons à sort et marche le repos de la façon (Thank you for driving us officer, we are going to get out and walk the rest of the way),” Sheridan said to the officer who was driving.
“Comme vous souhaitez Madamoiselle Crane (As you wish Madamoiselle Crane),”the officer said.
Sheridan and Luis got out of the police car and headed down the sidewalk. Luis extended his arm to Sheridan and she linked her arm through his. As they were walking along towards Sheridan’s house, Luis noticed that they were coming up to the place where he dropped his bag when he saw Roger and Pierre grab Sheridan. He looked around as they walked by but he didn’t see the bag anywhere. When they had walked a little further they reached the spot where Roger and Pierre had attacked Sheridan. Sheridan stopped walking and looked around. Luis could feel her tensing up.
“Hey,” Luis said as he lifted Sheridan’s chin up with his finger so she was looking at him, “it’s ok, they can’t hurt you now. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.” He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” Sheridan sighed, “let’s go.” When they reached Sheridan’s house she took her keys out of her pocket and opened the door. She pulled Luis inside and said, “Accueillir à ma maison, that means welcome to my house,” She smiled.
“Thanks for the French lesson,” Luis laughed. They both took off their jackets and went into the living room.
“Would you like something to drink,” Sheridan asked Luis.
“No I’m fine,” Luis said, “but why don’t you let me find you something to eat maybe it will help you feel better.”
“I can never eat when I’m upset about something.” Sheridan looked down at Luis’ blood stained shirt, “we should have gone to your hotel so you could change out of that shirt.”
“I never checked into a hotel, I came looking for you as soon as I got here,” Luis said.
“Where’s your stuff,” Sheridan asked, “didn’t you bring anything with you?”
“Yes, but when I saw those guys grab you I dropped my bag and followed them. We walked back by the spot where I dropped it on the way back here, but it was gone,” Luis answered, “someone must have taken it.”
“I’m sorry,” Sheridan said quietly as she shuddered. She was remembering when the two men grabbed her. She reached behind her head and touched the sore bump that was there.
“Hey, it’s ok,” Luis said as she took her other hand in his, “it was only clothes, I still have everything that’s important to me, my wallet, my keys, my passport,” he paused and smiled, “and you.”
Sheridan looked up and saw him smiling at her and she smiled back.
“That’s better,” Luis said, “how are you feeling?”
“I’m ok,” Sheridan replied, “it’s just that whenever I think about what happened…. I…. I guess I’m just a little bit jumpy still.”
“I think I know what will make you feel better,” Luis said, “you sit right there and wait till I come back.” Luis got up and walked out of the living room.
“Where are you going Luis,” Sheridan called.
“Just be patient Sheridan. I’ll be back in a minute,” Luis said. Then he went up the staircase to the second floor of Sheridan’s house. He saw that one of the doors in the long hallway was halfway open. He walked into the room and turned on the light. He could immediately tell that this was Sheridan’s room. It even reminded him of her cottage, it had the same homey feel to it. It was definitely different from the rest of the house, which was more like the Crane mansion.
It was a very large room. There was a big wooden framed bed with a quilt lying on the end that reminded Luis of the one on his bed at home that Pilar had made. Across the room there was a fireplace with a couch in front of it. One wall of the room was all windows covered by flowing white curtains and there were French doors that opened up onto a balcony. Along the walls there were bookshelves filled with books and an antique wooden dresser with pictures on it. Luis walked over to the dresser and looked at the pictures. There were about half a dozen different pictures, but there were only three people in all of them, either Sheridan, Ethan, or Luis’ mother Pilar. There were no pictures of her brother or father. Then he noticed a photograph lying on the floor and bent down to pick it up.
It was a picture of Luis and Sheridan at the youth center. One of the kids had taken their picture a couple of times when they let the kids make a bulletin board with pictures of what goes on at the youth center. Luis remembered seeing a picture of them they had posed for up on the board but this wasn’t the same picture. In this picture Luis was looking down at some papers and Sheridan was standing a few feet behind him looking at him. He recognized the look on her face. It was the same look she had when they were on their first date at the lobster shack, happy but nervous at the same time and longing for something. His smile got a little bigger when he realized when the picture was taken, it was shortly after they got back from New Mexico, more than a month before he had asked her out. During that time he hadn’t been able to keep her out of his mind, and he could tell from the way she was looking at him in the picture that he hadn’t been the only one with that problem. It made him happy to know that she had thought about him that way for such a long time, but then he frowned. He noticed a tear at the top of the picture and realized that Sheridan had thought about tearing up the picture when she was so upset with him. He was just glad that they had straightened out the misunderstanding and she wasn’t mad at him anymore.
Luis put the picture down and walked over to the other side of the room by Sheridan’s bed. There were two doors along the wall. Luis opened one one of them, it was the bathroom. Luis turned on the light and was surprised. It was as big as his bedroom. He looked around the bathroom and saw a door. It led into a huge walk in closet with another door at the other end, which he figured was the other door he saw in the bedroom. Luis shut the closet door and looked around some more. There were several cabinets along the wall. Luis opened them and looked around until he found what he was looking for.
Sheridan was starting to get a bit curious. Luis had gone upstairs about five minutes ago and he hadn’t come back yet. She wondered what he was up to. She got up off the couch and started pacing around the living room. She knew that one of the men who attacked her was dead and the other was in police custody, but she still felt uneasy being alone. Sheridan was lost in her thoughts and didn’t hear Luis come back downstairs. He touched her shoulder and she jumped. She whipped around and when she saw that it was Luis she hugged him tightly.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Luis apologized.
“It’s ok, I just didn’t hear you come back, what were you doing ?”
“Come on, I’ll show you,” Luis said as he took Sheridan hand and led her upstairs.
“What’s going on Luis, ” Sheridan asked as they walked into her bedroom.
“Come here,” he said and walked into the bathroom. He had made her a bubble bath. “Mama always says that the best cure for a bad day is a hot bubble bath.”
“That is so sweet of you Luis, a nice hot bath is just what I need,” Sheridan smiled.
“Good,” Luis said, “while you relax in your bath, do you mind if I use one of the other rooms to take a shower ?”
“Pick any room, they all have bathrooms in them,” Sheridan said.
“Ok,” Luis said, “and when I’m done I’ll build a fire in your fireplace. How does that sound ?”
“That sound great,”Sheridan replied.
“I’ll see you in a little bit then,” Luis said as he walked out of the bathroom and shut the door.
Sheridan took off her clothes and stepped into the warm water. She lay there surrounded by bubbles with her eyes closed. She couldn’t believe that Luis was really here. She had been wishing that Luis would come to her and tell her it was all a big mistake, that he had never used her. And now it had really happened. Luis had come all the way to Paris just to see her. She was almost afraid this was just another dream, but she knew it was true.
Before all of this had happened she had been confused about her feelings. She knew she was attracted to Luis, but she wasn’t sure things could work out for them. When she thought Luis had used her she was devastated. When the other men in her life had used and hurt her she was upset and angry. But it was different with Luis. No matter how many times she told herself to forget him, she couldn’t. He had stolen her heart. And after having almost been killed, and thinking that Luis had been shot, Sheridan realized just how deep her feelings for Luis really were. Now she was determined that no matter what obstacles there were to overcome, she was going to have a future with Luis.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 12: Pain and Sadness
Luis opened the door to the room next to Sheridan’s and went into the bathroom. He took off his bloodstained shirt and threw it into the trashcan. He showered quickly. Sheridan seemed to get a little upset when he left her alone earlier and he didn’t want to be too far away from her just in case she needed him. He went back into her bedroom but she was still in the bathroom. He walked over to the fireplace and began to build a fire. When he was done with the fire he turned off all the lights except a lamp in the corner by the windows. Sheridan still hadn’t come out yet, so Luis went downstairs to the kitchen and made two mugs of hot chocolate and took them upstairs. He sat them down on the end table next to the couch. Luis kneeled down in front of the fireplace and put another piece of wood on the fire. He wanted to make sure it was nice and warm so Sheridan wouldn’t get cold. After everything that had happened to her he was trying to do whatever he could to help her feel better. He couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been for her to have been kidnapped and almost killed and on top of that, finding out what her father and brother had done to her. He hated seeing her afraid and in pain and he would give anything to take it all away. All that was important to Luis was protecting Sheridan and making her happy
.
Sheridan stepped into the closet from the bathroom to find something to wear. She yawned, it was just after midnight and she was getting tired. She got dressed and walked out of the bathroom. Luis was kneeling down in front of the fireplace staring into the fire and didn’t hear her come out of the bathroom. She couldn’t decide whether this day had been a dream or a nightmare. She was so happy that Luis was there with her, but so many horrible things had happened too. She started to walk over to Luis.
Luis was staring into the fire thinking about Sheridan when he heard a noise. He turned around and saw Sheridan walking towards him. It reminded him of a dream. She was wearing a long dark blue silk nightgown with a matching silk robe. The robe wasn’t tied and it flowed around her as she walked. The light from the fire made her wet hair shine and her eyes sparkle. She was smiling sweetly at Luis and he thought she looked like an angel.
“Hey, are you feeling better?” Luis asked.
“Much better,” she said, noticing that that there was no bandage on his shoulder, “how about you? Aren’t you supposed to keep your shoulder bandaged?”
“Oh, yeah,” He said, “I threw away my bloody shirt and the bandage when I took a shower, but I didn’t know where you keep your first aid supplies. And it’s sort of difficult to bandage it with one hand.”
“Well then, allow me,” Sheridan said as she walked back into the bathroom. She opened up one of the cabinets and took out some hydrogen peroxide, cotton balls, and bandages and took them back into the bedroom. “Come and sit down Luis,” Sheridan sat down on the couch and Luis sat down next to her. She began to clean his wound and he pulled away slightly.
“Hey, that stings,” Luis grinned, remembering the time when she had accidentally hit him in the head with a bottle. When she was cleaning the cut she blew on it to stop it from stinging.
“Uh huh, sure it does,” Sheridan replied, noticing Luis’ grin and remembering how he had given her a hard time when she blew on his ear to keep it from stinging a while back.
“No, I’m serious Sheridan, it really hurts,” Luis said trying to turn his grin into a sad face, “can’t you do that little thing you do to keep it from stinging.”
“Poor baby,” she said trying not to laugh. She blew slightly across his shoulder and smiled up at him. “How’s that?”
“Much better,” he said, “you have the magic touch.”
Sheridan laughed and began to bandage Luis’ shoulder. “There, all finished,” Sheridan said as she finished taping the bandage on his shoulder. “Do you want me to try and find you a shirt or something to wear?”
“No, I’ll be fine like this until tomorrow and then I’ll find something,” Luis answered. He turned around and reached over to the end table by the couch. He picked up the two mugs of hot chocolate and handed one to Sheridan. “Here I made this for you earlier but it was too hot. It should be perfect now.”
“Thanks,” Sheridan said as she took a sip. “Mmm, Pilar’s secret recipe, my favorite.”
“I’m glad you like it, it’s what Theresa always wants whenever she is upset about something.”
“Thanks for taking such good care of me,” she said and took another sip of her hot chocolate.
“It’s my pleasure,” Luis responded, “I just want to make sure that you are alright after everything that happened today.”
“I’m fine Luis, it was just a little bump on the head, besides I’m not the one who got shot.”
“That was nothing, just a little scratch. All in the line of duty Madamoiselle,” Luis said with a wink.
“My hero, always coming to my rescue. It’s starting to seem like a full time job huh.”
“A job that I will gladly accept, although I would prefer that all these things would stop happening to you. I would much rather see you smile than see you sad and in pain.”
“Unfortunately pain and sadness are the only things that seem to be constant in my life. Whenever I’ve found some little bit of happiness something always happens to take it away,” Sheridan said, her voice trailing off as she turned her face away from Luis.
“Well, that’s not going to happen again,” Luis said, “you’re going to be happy Sheridan, I promise. I’m going to make sure no one ever hurts you again.”
Sheridan was staring intently into the fire and a tear rolled down her cheek.
“Hey, what’s wrong,” Luis asked as he reached up and touched her cheek.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 13: Wishes
Sheridan continued to stare into the fire as more tears began to flow from her eyes. Luis took her hand in his and turned her to face him.
“Please don’t cry Sheridan,” Luis begged, “tell me what’s wrong.”
“I keep thinking about my father,” Sheridan sobbed, “I don’t understand why he would do that to me. How could he deliberately hurt me like that? I always hoped that somewhere inside he really did love me, but if he loved me he wouldn’t have hurt me like
that. What’s so wrong with me that my own father doesn’t even love me?”
“There’s nothing wrong with you Sheridan,” Luis said staring into Sheridan’s tear filled eyes and caressing her cheek. “You are perfect and Alistair is a fool for not seeing that.” Luis pulled Sheridan into a hug. “He doesn’t deserve your love Sheridan, not after all of the pain he has caused you.”
“Whenever he went behind my back and interfered in my life before, he said he did it for my own good and I always just accepted it. I guess I figured those men would have ended up hurting me anyway because all they really wanted was my money. At least when he was bribing people to stay away from me he was paying some attention to me. I always thought it meant he must care about me and was trying to protect me.”
“He may have ended up protecting you sometimes because those men didn’t care about you and you’re right, they would have ended up hurting you. But Ivy told me that that your father has been using your love for him to manipulate you into doing what he wants for a long time.”
“But he has never done anything like this before Luis,” Sheridan said, wiping away some of her tears, “we didn’t do what he wanted and now he is angry.”
“What do you mean Sheridan?” Luis asked as he pulled away from her slightly.
“I hadn’t talked to my father in almost a year. He never called after I was in the car accident here in Paris and he didn’t call me at Christmas or after the Martin imposter kidnapped me and you saved me from falling through the skylight. He finally called me after the funeral but only to tell me to stay away from you. He didn’t even ask me if I was ok,” Sheridan said looking back into the fire. “Then before our first date my father and Julian tried to get me to cancel our date. He said all the usual things, how he was only looking out for me, he promised my mother he would protect me, and didn’t I trust him. I almost gave in, but then he started saying things about you and it made me mad. So, I told him that I didn’t care what he wanted and that I was going to go out with you anyway.”
“That’s why he tried to bribe me during dinner,” Luis said with a frown, “because he couldn’t get you to do what he wanted.”
Sheridan nodded her head in agreement. “It must have made him mad when both of us refused him. He isn’t used to not getting what he wants.”
“Well then he is going to be really mad now,” Luis said giving Sheridan a sly smile.
“Why is that?” Sheridan asked.
“Because no matter what he does he won’t be able to keep me away from you,” Luis said with a wink.
This made Sheridan smile, but then she looked down shyly. “I’m sorry for dumping all of this stuff about my father on you. I know how much you’ve always hated him.”
“It doesn’t matter how I feel about your father. You have every right to be upset. He’s your father and he hurt you. I’m just glad you’re letting me be here with you and help you, just like you were there for me before.”
“You’re always so sweet and caring Luis, just like your mother,” Sheridan smiled, “when I was a little Pilar was the only person who ever really loved me.”
“Speaking of Mama, I just remembered that she asked me to bring you something,” Luis said.
“What is it?” Sheridan asked curiously.
“I don’t know, but Mama said it was something that would make you feel better if you were upset,” Luis said as he stood up, “It’s downstairs in my jacket. I’ll go get it.”
After Luis left the room Sheridan got up and walked over to the windows. She pulled the curtains open and stared up at the night sky.
Luis walked back into the room and saw Sheridan standing by the window. He sat the box down and walked up behind her. “Hey,” he called softly as he placed his hands on her shoulders, “I hope I didn’t scare you this time.”
“Nope, I heard you coming,” Sheridan replied, “besides I’m feeling a little less jumpy now.”
“That’s good. What are you looking at?”
“Just looking at the stars.”
“Is that what you were looking at earlier?” Luis asked.
“When?”
“When the two men grabbed you. I was walking towards you and I saw you looking up at the sky.”
“Oh yeah, I was. I saw a shooting star,” Sheridan said still looking out the window.
“I saw it too. Did you make a wish?” Luis asked.
“As a matter of fact I did,” She answered.
“Did it come true?”
“Yep Sheridan smiled, “pretty much. What about you Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald, do you make wishes on stars?”
“Well, not usually,” Luis replied, “but Theresa is always talking about fate and wishing on a star and stuff like that, so I figured it couldn’t hurt.”
“So?” Sheridan said.
“So, what?”
“Did your wish come true?”
“Sort of,” Luis answered.
“What does that mean?” Sheridan asked.
“Almost all of it came true,” Luis said, “except for this one little thing.”
“Oh yeah,” Sheridan said as she turned around to face Luis, “what little thing is that?”
“This,” Luis said and he leaned down and kissed her softly.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 14: Cookies
Sheridan pulled away slightly and smiled. “Really, because I was wishing for something a little more like this,” she said and kissed him passionately.
“Ok,” Luis grinned as he caught his breath, “I like yours better.”
Sheridan laughed, “so where is it?”
“Where’s what?”
“The thing Pilar sent me. Did you find it? It wasn’t in your bag was it?” Her smile began to fade.
“No it was in my jacket. I put it over by the couch.”
“Well, come on,” Sheridan said excitedly as she grabbed Luis’ hand and pulled him toward the couch. She jumped onto the couch and tucked her feet up under her legs. Luis sat down facing Sheridan grinning at her.
“It’s nice to see you looking so happy. If I had known you like presents so much I would have gotten you one when you were so mad at me.”
“Very funny,” Sheridan said, slapping him playfully on the arm, “I’m not excited because it’s a present, although I’m not crazy, I love presents, it’s because it’s from Pilar. She knows me so well that every time she gives me something it’s always the perfect thing, exactly what I needed or wanted. So stop making me wait, where is it?”
“It’s right here,” Luis said, pulling the small white box out form behind his back and put it in her hand.
Sheridan lifted the lid slightly and peeked inside the box. “Oh wow,” Sheridan said with a laugh and she closed the lid.
“Well, aren’t you going to tell me what it is?” Luis asked.
“Nun uh.”
“Why not?”
“Because then you’ll want me to share,” Sheridan said with a smile.
“Sheridan Crane, are you being stingy?” Luis asked scooting a little closer to her.
“You would be too if you had what’s in this box,” Sheridan laughed. “Show me what’s in the box Sheridan,” Luis said inching closer. “Nope.” “You asked for it.” Luis grabbed Sheridan and started tickling her, “are you going to tell me?”
“N..no,” Sheridan squeezed out between laughs.
“I’m going to keep tickling you until you tell me.” “Ok, ok, I give up,” Sheridan giggled, “stop tickling me and I’ll show you.” Luis stopped tickling her and helped her sit back up. Sheridan pulled the lid off the box and showed it to Luis. “It’s chocolate chip cookies,” Luis said surprised, “I thought I smelled chocolate chip cookies when I was on the plane but I thought it was just my imagination. Why did Mama send you three chocolate chip cookies?”
“Whenever I got upset when I was a little girl I would run up to my room and lay on the bed with my head buried in my pillow. Then not too long after, Pilar would come up to my room and hug me and tell me everything would be all right. Then she would give me a plate with three chocolate chip cookies on it and sit with me while I ate them. Once I was done with the last cookie I had usually forgotten what I was so upset about. And then my first night back in Harmony, well after the incident where you arrested me that is,” Sheridan said with a wink, “when I went to bed there was a little plate with three chocolate chip cookies sitting on my pillow. I never thought she would have remembered that, but she did. I guess she knew how upset I was about Jean Luc and about being thrown in jail,” she laughed.
“Being thrown in jail wasn’t so bad was it,” Luis grinned, “it brought us together,” and he gave her a kiss.
“Well, I suppose you are worth doing a little time for,” Sheridan laughed, “but I’d definitely rather not go to jail again.”
“Well then, I guess you’d better behave yourself and share your cookies with me,” Luis said, “or I might have to arrest you.”
“Since when is it against the law not to share officer?” Sheridan asked playfully.
“It’s a recent addition to the law,” Luis replied.
“Hmm, then I guess it’s too bad we’re in Paris and you have no jurisdiction here Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald,” Sheridan said putting the box of cookies behind her back.
“Ok, fine,” Luis said putting a pouty look on his face, “if you don’t want to share with the guy who flew all the way to Paris to see you and saved your life again, then you just go ahead and eat them all yourself.”
Well, I do suppose you deserve a little reward for your heroics,” Sheridan said and she took one of the cookies out of the box and gave it to Luis.
Luis grinned as he took the cookie from Sheridan. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist my charm.”
“Well, you are irresistible,” Sheridan smiled as she took a bite of the second cookie. “Mmm, this is perfect. I don’t know what Pilar puts into these cookies, but no one in the world makes a chocolate chip cookie as good as Pilar does.” Sheridan popped the rest of the cookie in to her mouth and looked at Luis who had already finished his.
“I’ve never seen someone enjoy a cookie so much before,” Luis said.
“It’s not just about the cookie, it’s a reminder that someone out there cares about me,” Sheridan said as she took the last cookie out of the box and bit off half of it.
“Someone right here cares about you too,” Luis said softly, looking into Sheridan’s eyes. She leaned toward Luis and fed him the last half of the cookie. The whole time he was eating the cookie they continued to stare into each other’s eyes and when he was done he reached out and pulled her into a long passionate chocolatey kiss.
After the kiss was over Sheridan pulled away slightly and looked back into Luis’ eyes. “I think I might have to amend my cure for forgetting about my troubles.”
“Oh yeah, to what?” Luis asked.
“Three chocolate chip cookies and a kiss from you,” Sheridan smiled, “that will definitely make me forget about everything that’s going on in the world.”
“Then we’d better make it two, just to make sure it works,” Luis said giving Sheridan another kiss. “How was that?”
“Perfect, a definite cure for all that ails me,” Sheridan said, “even without the cookies. I just wish we could stay here like this forever. Just you and me in front of the fireplace with no troubles to worry about.”
“I love being here with you Sheridan, but I have to go back to Harmony tomorrow. Please say you’ll come home with me.”
“Of course I’ll come home with you Luis, but do we have to leave tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I kind of took off in a hurry from work and I had to leave Hank in charge of the youth center,” Luis said, “who knows what kind of mess he will create if I’m gone too long.”
“Ok,” Sheridan said with a sigh, “I’ll call the airport in the morning and make the arrangements.” Then Sheridan let out a big yawn. Luis laid back slightly into the corner of the couch. “Come here,” he said as he pulled Sheridan into him. She laid her head against his chest and he put his arms around her.
“Luis, promise me you won’t leave, I still don’t want to be alone.”
“I promise,” Luis whispered, “I’ll never leave you.” Within minutes Sheridan was fast asleep and Luis picked her up and carried her over to the bed. She woke slightly as he laid her down.
“You’re not leaving are you,” she mumbled wearily, “you promised.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Luis replied. He turned the lamp by the bed off and climbed under the covers. Sheridan immediately slid up next to him and laid her head on his chest and went back to sleep. Luis wrapped his arms tightly around her and watched her sleep until he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 15: Sleepy
The sun’s rays shined through the windows and the white curtains created a warm glow in Sheridan’s bedroom. As Sheridan slowly awoke, she thought she was still dreaming. Just as in the dreams she had many times before, she was lying in bed with Luis’ arms wrapped around her, but instead of being in her cottage, this time they were in Sheridan’s house in Paris. Sheridan looked up at Luis’ face. He was sleeping peacefully with a tiny smile on his lips. But then Sheridan noticed the bandage on his shoulder and she knew it wasn’t a dream. She really was snuggled in bed with Luis and he had gotten shot at while saving her life once again. Her dreams were finally real and she and Luis are together and he really cares about her and hadn’t been using her. She just lay in Luis’ arms for a while thinking about everything that happened last night. She reached her hand up and ran her fingers her fingers through Luis’ hair. She couldn’t believe she found a man who not only didn’t care about her money, but was even willing to risk his life for her. Sheridan decided she wanted to do something nice for Luis, but she didn’t really want to get out of bed yet. She had never woken up feeling as safe and happy as she felt waking up in Luis’ arms and she wasn’t ready for that feeling to end. She finally decided to get up because with the time change and everything that happened last night Luis would probably sleep for an hour or two longer. She slowly slipped out of Luis’ arms and started to get out of the bed when Luis grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.
“Where do you think you’re going,” Luis asked groggily, his eyes still half shut.
“I thought you were still sleeping,” Sheridan said quietly as she lay back down next to him.
“I am,” Luis said, letting out a little yawn, “so where were you going?”
“I was just going to take care of a few things while you were sleeping,” Sheridan replied.
“I can get up too.”
“No, you go back to sleep,” Sheridan said, “you’re still tired and you’re not used to the time change. I’ll come back up in a couple hours and wake you up.”
“Ok,” Luis said and leaned over to Sheridan to give her a quick kiss, “but don’t let me sleep too long.” Then he rolled over onto his stomach.
“Sweet dreams,” Sheridan whispered into his ear and she slid out of the bed and walked into the bathroom. She quickly got dressed and fixed her hair and makeup. Then she quietly crept out of the bedroom and went downstairs. She called the airport to make the arrangements for Luis and her to fly back to Harmony, but she discovered that her father had called the plane away and the Crane jet had left Paris last night. Sheridan decided to call her travel agent in Paris and book a commercial flight home. The travel agent informed her that all the flights to day are booked and the earliest flight she could get would have to be the next day. Sheridan knew that Luis would need to get home to Harmony, but she was glad that they would have a whole day to spend together in Paris. She thought of all the things she wanted to do with Luis and she made a phone call to make reservations for dinner. Once she was done on the phone Sheridan scribbled a note for Luis just in case he woke up and grabbed her jacket and purse and ran out the door. She wanted to hurry and take care of all the things she needed to do and get back before Luis woke up.
About an hour and a half later, Sheridan walked back into the house. Her arms were loaded down with shopping bags and two garment bags. She put her purse and a small bag from a bakery on the table in the entryway and carried the rest of the things upstairs. Sheridan slipped her shoes off before she walked into the bedroom. Luis was still sound asleep so Sheridan quietly walked over to the closet and sat the shopping bags down on the floor. She hung the two garment bags on a hook on the closet door. Then she quietly crept out of the bedroom and went back downstairs. She picked up the bag from the bakery and took it into the kitchen. She sat the bag on the kitchen counter and started making some coffee. While the coffee was brewing, Sheridan picked up the phone to make one last arrangement for her day with Luis. Once the coffee was done Sheridan poured a cup and put it on the tray along with the food from the bakery and carried it up to the bedroom. She put the tray down on the nightstand and climbed onto the bed. Luis was still sleeping on his stomach and Sheridan kissed him softly on the back of his neck.
“Wake up sleepy head,” she whispered into Luis’ ear and kissed him on the cheek. Luis’ eyes opened slowly and he grinned when he saw Sheridan. He rolled over slightly and put his arm around Sheridan and pulled her down onto the bed.
“Good morning,” Luis said and he kissed Sheridan pulling her closer to him.
When they finally pulled apart Sheridan said, “good morning to you too, but morning is just about over you know.”
“Why did you let me sleep so long?” Luis asked gazing into Sheridan’s eyes.
“You were exhausted, besides I had a few things to take care of.”
“Does one of those things happen to be breakfast, because I smell something wonderful.”
“As a matter of fact it is,” Sheridan sat up and reached over to the table and picked up the tray and sat it on the bed.
“What is it?” Luis asked as he sat up.
“First we have your coffee, with just the right amount of sugar,” Sheridan said as she gave Luis a wink and handed him the cup. “And I got you one of my favorite things to eat, strawberries and cream crepes.”
“I’ve never had crepes before, are they good?”
“You are going to love them Luis,” Sheridan said as she cut of a bite with a fork and fed it to Luis.
“Mmm, that is good,” Luis said as Sheridan fed him another bite, “I think this is one of the best things I have ever eaten.”
“I knew you’d like them,” Sheridan said, “how’s your coffee?”
“Perfect,” Luis answered, “aren’t you going to have anything to eat?”
“These are just for you,” Sheridan replied as she gave Luis another bite, “I ate mine at the bakery, I was starving.” She fed Luis the last bite. “Well, I know that wasn’t much, but it’s getting close to lunch time and I don’t want to spoil your appetite. We have plans for lunch.”
“I would love to have lunch with you Sheridan, but I told you I need to get back to Harmony and back to work.”
“I know you need to get home but I called the airport and the Crane jet left yesterday to pick up my father from who knows where, and all the flights were booked today. So I got us a flight leaving tomorrow. I’m sorry, I hope you’re not upset.”
“Of course I’m not upset, but I am surprised. The Sheridan Crane couldn’t get a flight,” Luis teased, “what’s the world coming too.”
“Very funny,” Sheridan said shaking her head, “you know I could have rented a private jet to fly us back to Harmony anytime we want, but I figured you’d get mad at me for spending too much of the ‘Crane’ money on you.”
“You’re right,” Luis said, “you definitely shouldn’t have rented us an airplane, we can just go home tomorrow.” Luis looked past Sheridan and noticed the shopping bags sitting on the floor in front of the closet. “Where did those come from. I don’t remember seeing them there yesterday.”
“Well I’m glad to see your sleepiness hasn’t dulled your keen sense of observation officer. I just put them there before you woke up,” Sheridan said trying to keep herself form grinning.
Luis noticed Sheridan trying to hide her smile. “What’s in the bags Sheridan?”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 16: Interrogation Techniques
“While you were sleeping I went out and did a little shopping,” Sheridan said, still holding back her smile. “And exactly what did you buy?” Luis asked, sensing that Sheridan was holding something back. “Well,” Sheridan began, speaking a bit fast because she was a little nervous, “I figured that since we couldn’t fly out until tomorrow I should take you out and show you around Paris. You can’t go on a tour of Paris with no shirt, and since your bag got stolen while you were saving me I thought I would go out and get you something to wear, that’s all.”
“There’s more than just a shirt over there Sheridan.”
“I may have bought a couple other things besides a shirt while I was out,” Sheridan said nervously, “you know, shopping is like potato chips, one is never enough.”
Luis started laughing, “Theresa would definitely agree with you on that, but you don’t need to buy me things.”
“It definitely cost less than renting a jet,” Sheridan grinned. “Look, you needed something to wear home tomorrow and after everything that happened yesterday I want to go out and have some fun with you, not sit around doing your laundry. Please say you’re not mad at me.” Sheridan gave Luis a pouty smile.
“I don’t think I could ever be mad at you,” Luis said, his voice trailing off as he began kissing her. “So show me what you bought, I hope you didn’t get me anything weird.”
“Why do you think I would buy you something weird?”
“I’ve seen some of Theresa’s fashion magazines with stuff from Paris in it and there’s some pretty strange stuff,” Luis replied. “Don’t worry, I didn’t get you any pink leather pants or anything,” Sheridan laughed as she got up off the bed and went over to the closet, “I tried to get stuff I thought you would like.” She picked up the some of the bags leaving the two garment bags hanging on the door, one small bag and one medium sized bag. Sheridan sat back down next to Luis and sat the bags down in front of him. He started looking through the bags. There was a pair of black jeans and a pair of tan pants in one bag and another bag had a gray sweater and a navy blue shirt in it. The last bag had socks, boxers, and a pair of burgundy silk pajama pants in it.
“Well, you certainly thought of everything didn’t you,” Luis smiled, trying not to blush as he thought of Sheridan buying him underwear, “you even got all of the sizes right.” “I tried but if there’s anything I forgot or anything you don’t like we can go back to..”
“Everything’s fine Sheridan,” Luis interrupted, “I like everything you got me. Besides, it looks like you already took all the price tags off anyway.”
“I just didn’t want you to give me a hard time about how much anything cost,” Sheridan said. “I just wanted to do something nice for my hero.”
“Well thank you very much,” Luis said as he gave Sheridan a kiss. “Um, Sheridan, what is in the other bags?” Luis asked pointing to the two garment bags and the two bags on the floor.”
“What bags?” Sheridan said pretending she didn’t know what he was talking about.
“Sheridan Crane, don’t play dumb with me. You know exactly which bags I’m talking about.”
“Ok, ok,” Sheridan laughed, “that bag on the floor and the black bag hanging on the closet door are for you to wear tonight when we go out to dinner at my favorite restaurant in Paris. The white bag hanging next to it is a little something for me to wear to dinner. I couldn’t go shopping and not buy myself something too you know,” Sheridan said giving Luis an impish grin.
“Of course not,” Luis laughed, “but what about the little bag?”
“That one is a surprise, and you can’t have it until a little later.”
“Are you going to give me a hint?” Luis asked.
“No.” “Are you sure you don’t want to give me a hint,” Luis said raising his eyebrows and grinning at Sheridan.
“No way,” Sheridan said as she tried to scoot away from Luis. But Luis started to tickle her before she could get away. “Don’t tickle me again Luis,” Sheridan said between giggles as she fell back on to the bed, “I’m not telling you. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”
“Ok, no more tickling,” Luis whispered in Sheridan’s ear. He was practically laying on top of her now. “I’ll just have to try another technique to get you to tell me.” Luis stared deeply into Sheridan’s eyes and started kissing her passionately. Sheridan began running her fingers through Luis’ hair as they continued to kiss. Sheridan inhaled deeply as Luis’ kisses left her mouth and her began kissing her neck.
“Please…tell…me…what’s…in…the …bag,” Luis said in between planting kisses on Sheridan’s neck.
RING, RING
“Saved by the bell,” Sheridan giggled as she reached over and picked up the phone. Luis continued kissing her neck. “Bonjour,” Sheridan said, “Oh, hi Ethan.”
“Tell him to wait a minute,” Luis whispered.
“Ethan could you hold on a second,” Sheridan asked and she held the phone away and looked up at Luis, “what is it?”
“This,” Luis said as he gave Sheridan one more passionate kiss. Sheridan got so involved with kissing Luis that she dropped the phone. Luis slowly pulled away. “I’m going to go take a shower while you’re on the phone,” Luis whispered in Sheridan’s ear and he got up off the bed and grabbed some of the clothes. He went into the next room to take his shower so Sheridan could have some privacy on the phone.
After she watched Luis walk out of the room Sheridan finally remembered Ethan and she picked up the phone. “Ethan are you still there?” Sheridan asked.
“Yeah I’m here,’ Ethan replied, “what’s going on? It sounded like you dropped the phone.” “You are never going to believe what happened Ethan.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 17: Telephone Conversations
Sheridan told Ethan about the two men grabbing her and Luis coming to her rescue. She told him that Luis hadn’t been using her and that it had all been a misunderstanding, but she didn’t give him any details about the imposter or Julian and Alistair because of Luis’ promise to Ivy.
“So are you and Luis a couple now?” Ethan asked.
“Well, yeah maybe,” Sheridan said, “we didn’t really talk about that, but there’s definitely something going on.”
“Does this mean you are coming back to Harmony?”
“Yeah, Luis and I are flying back tomorrow and today I am going to show him around Paris.”
“Sounds great,” Ethan said, “I’m glad you’re coming back Sheridan, I miss you already.”
“Well I miss you too Ethan. Is Pilar around?” Sheridan asked.
“I think she’s downstairs somewhere. Do you want me to find her?”
“If you don’t mind. I need to talk to her about something,” Sheridan said.
“Ok, hang on,” Ethan said and he went downstairs to look for Pilar. He found her in the living room dusting. “Pilar, Sheridan is on the phone and she wants to talk to you.” Ethan handed her the phone.
“Hello.”
“Hi Pilar, its Sheridan.”
“Is everything alright?” Pilar asked.
“Everything’s fine now, I’m just glad your son came to Paris.”
“Then you and Luis worked everything out,” Pilar said.
“Yes, and it’s a good thing he showed up when he did or I would be dead. Two guys grabbed me and tried to kill me, but Luis saved me.”
“Oh my,” Pilar gasped, “did they hurt you?”
“Just a little bump on the head,” Sheridan answered, “but I’m fine and Luis is ok too. I’m sure he’ll want to tell you about it himself. I’m coming back to Harmony with Luis tomorrow and I know you were planning to ship the rest of my stuff to Paris.”
“They are supposed to come pick everything up in the morning but I can cancel it if you want.”
“That would be great, thank you,” Sheridan said. She was standing by the windows with her back to the door and she didn’t see Luis come back into the room. Luis tossed the sweater onto the bed and crept up behind Sheridan and kissed the back of her neck. She gasped out loud as she felt Luis’ lips on the back of her neck.
“Are you ok Sheridan?” Pilar asked.
“I’m fine Pilar,” Sheridan said as she turned around and smacked Luis playfully on the arm, “I think Luis is out of the shower now and I’m sure he wants to talk to you. Hang on while I go get him.” Sheridan covered up the phone with her hand. “I can’t believe you did that while I was talking to your mother,” Sheridan laughed.
“Sorry, I didn’t know you were talking to Mama, I thought you were still on the phone with Ethan and I just couldn’t resist,” Luis said grinning, “besides, you didn’t seem to mind when I did it while you were talking to Ethan.”
“There is a big difference between Ethan and Pilar, now talk to your mother,” Sheridan said holding the phone toward Luis. “I told her what happened except for you getting shot.”
Luis took the phone from Sheridan. “Hi Mama, how are you?”
“I’m fine Luis,” Pilar said, “I’m just glad to hear that you and Sheridan are alright. Thank God you got there in time to save her.”
“Yeah, a few minutes later and I wouldn’t have seen them grab her,” Luis said, “but were both alright. Sheridan and I are flying home tomorrow. Would you mind calling Sam and letting him know.”
“Sure, that’s no problem son, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye Mama,” Luis said and he hung up the phone.
After she gave the phone to Luis, Sheridan went over to the bed and lay down on her stomach with her head propped up in her hands. She watched Luis while he was talking on the phone. He was wearing the jeans she bought for him and his hair was still a little wet from the shower, but for some reason he still wasn’t wearing a shirt. Sheridan didn’t mind though. She was still staring at Luis when he got off the phone and looked at her.
“Sheridan why are you staring at me?”
“Well,” Sheridan began with a huge grin on her face, “as much as I love seeing you without your shirt on, I am just wondering why you aren’t wearing one. After all that was the whole reason I went shopping this morning,” she giggled.
“I can’t put my shirt on until you help me with my shoulder.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot,” Sheridan said as she jumped up off the bed. She went into the bathroom and brought out the bandages. “Come over here.” Sheridan sat back on the bed. Luis sat down facing her. As Sheridan was cleaning wound, Luis caught a whiff of her perfume. He remembered smelling the same scent on his jacket. He thought of seeing her lying on her couch sleeping in his jacket. “All done,” Sheridan said as she looked up and found herself staring into Luis’ eyes.
“I love your perfume,” Luis said, “I could smell it on my jacket when Mama gave it back to me.”
“Oh,” Sheridan blushed, remembering how she had slept in Luis’ jacket to feel closer to him.
“I saw you sleeping in my jacket,” Luis said taking her hand in his.
“You did? How?”
“I wanted to see you again, to try and get you to talk to me, but when I got to your cottage you were asleep on the couch. I could see you through the window. You looked so beautiful and you had a smile on your face. What were you dreaming about?”
Sheridan blushed again and then smiled brightly, “I was dreaming about you, wishing you would come to me and tell me that it was all a big misunderstanding. And it really happened. This morning when I woke up and you were lying there next to me I was afraid that it was just another dream and you weren’t really here.”
“This is no dream Sheridan,” Luis whispered and he kissed her deeply. “I’m real and I’m not going anywhere. I don’t ever want there to be another misunderstanding between us, so if anything like this ever happens again I want you to come to me and talk to me about it first.”
“I promise,” Sheridan said. She picked up Luis’ sweater and threw it at him. “Now get dressed. I have a big day planned for us.” Luis pulled his sweater on and followed Sheridan downstairs.
“So where are we going Sheridan?” Luis asked.
“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Sheridan replied, “but if you want to try that last interrogation technique on me again, go right ahead.” Sheridan gave Luis a sexy wink and grabbed his hand and pulled him out the front door.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 18: Sightseeing
Luis and Sheridan were walking hand in hand down the street. “Where are we going?” Luis asked. They turned the corner. They were going the same way Luis had come from when he was looking for Sheridan’s house.
“Just be patient Luis, we are almost at our first stop. “They walked a little further and got to the same café where Luis had stopped to ask for directions. They walked inside and sat down at a table.
“So are we having lunch?” Luis asked.
“Not exactly,” Sheridan replied. Just then the man Luis had spoken to the night before walked up to the table carrying a picnic basket.
“Bonjour madamoiselle, qu’il est si agréable à vous voit encore. Je tout ai préparé tout comme vous avez demandé (Hello madamoiselle it is so nice to see you again. I have prepared everything just as you requested),” the man said.
“Merci Claude (Thank you Claude),” Sheridan replied.
“Donc je vois que vous avez décidé à pardonne l'officier américain ici (So I see you have decided to forgive the American officer here),” Claude said.
“What? How do you know Luis?” Sheridan asked.
“We met last night,” Luis answered, “Claude gave me directions to your house. But only after I finally convinced him that I wasn’t a photographer.”
“He told me you were mad at him and he came to make up with you,” Claude said, “is he the one who saved you from the attackers?”
“How do you know about that?” Luis asked.
“It was on the radio this morning,” Claude replied, “they said that two men attacked Madamoiselle Crane last night and she was rescued by an American police officer.”
“Yes, Luis is my hero,” Sheridan gushed, “I’m just lucky he came to Paris to find me.”
“I’m glad they didn’t hurt you,” Claude said, “well, I must get back to my customers. You two enjoy your lunch.”
“Do you know him well?” Luis asked after Claude was gone.
“I’ve known Claude for years, I eat here all the time,” Sheridan replied.
“Well, he’s certainly very protective of you. He almost wouldn’t tell me how to get to your house.”
“He just doesn’t like it when reporters bother me,” Sheridan laughed, “whenever they come up to me while I’m eating here he chases them away with a broom.”
“I guess I’m not the only guy who likes to come to your rescue,” Luis chuckled.
“Yeah, but you’ll always be my favorite,” Sheridan replied as she leaned across the table and kissed Luis. “Come on, let’s go. Would you mind carrying that for me?”
“Not at all,” Luis said and he picked up the picnic basket and followed Sheridan outside taking her hand in his. “So we’re going on a picnic.”
“How did you guess,” Sheridan teased. “The most beautiful park in Paris is just a few blocks away. It’s called Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and it’s one of the oldest parks in Paris. I used to go there all the time when I lived here. It’s like a peaceful bit of the country in the middle of the city.”
“It sounds great,” Luis said. When they reached the entrance to the park they followed a trail. It led to a bridge that crossed over a stream. “What’s that?” Luis asked, pointing to a small building a short distance away.
“That is an antique temple. No one uses it anymore, but it’s very beautiful. This way,” Sheridan said as she left the trail and headed into an area filled with trees. They walked for a few minutes and then they stepped out of the trees. They were standing on a cliff that overlooked the rest of the park. A little way to the left was a waterfall cascading down into a small lake and to the right was the antique temple and a stairway the wound down the side of the rocks to get to the park below.
“Oh wow Sheridan,” Luis said in amazement, “this is so amazing.”
“I thought you might like it,” Sheridan smiled squeezing Luis’ hand, “and it’s got such a great view. You can see some of the monuments and things from here that we won’t have time to visit today. See over there is the Arc de Triomphe, and that of course is the Eiffel Tower, and way over there is Notre Dame. Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” Luis said as she sat the picnic basket down. Sheridan opened it and there was a small blanket folded up in the top. Luis spread it out on the ground while Sheridan unpacked the food. There was a bottle of wine, croissant sandwiches, cheese, fresh fruit, and chocolate eclairs for dessert. They sat down on the blanket and ate their lunch. Luis scooted behind Sheridan and put his arm around her waist and she leaned back against his chest.
“You know this reminds me a little of a place in Harmony. It’s not quite as spectacular as this, but it overlooks the beach and there is ocean as far as you can see.”
“Will you take me there sometime?” Sheridan asked, relaxing into Luis’ embrace.
“Absolutely,” Luis said, “you didn’t eat your dessert.” Luis picked up her éclair and held it in front of her mouth while she took a bite.
“Umm, chocolate, one of the two things I can’t resist,” Sheridan giggled as she took another bite.
“What’s the other thing?” Luis asked.
“You,” Sheridan said as she turned around and knocked Luis onto his back. She leaned on top of him and kissed him. “Come on, let’s go down to the lake and feed the ducks.” They stood up and Sheridan grabbed a bag of breadcrumbs out of the picnic basket and they headed for the stairs. When they got down to the lake they took turns throwing the bread crumbs to the ducks. When they ran out of bread they went back up the stairs and packed up the picnic and headed back down the trail. On the way Sheridan took out her cell phone and called for a cab to pick them up at the café. When they got to the café Sheridan waited outside for the cab and Luis went inside to return the picnic basket. They took the cab to The Louvre and Sheridan showed Luis her favorite artwork. After they had spent a few hours at the Louvre, they left and started walking down the street.
“There’s one more place I want to take you before we have to go back and get ready for dinner,” Sheridan said, “it’s not too far from here. Do you mind walking?”
“Lead the way,” Luis replied offering his hand to her.
“It’s called Place du Tertre. It’s a square surrounded by little cafés and all these artists come everyday and set up these big umbrellas and their easels and draw or paint.
“It sounds nice,” Luis said, “why do you like it so much?”
“I guess it’s the atmosphere. Everyone always seems so happy. All these people have found something that they love to do and they are devoting their lives to it. I wish I could find that. Well here we are,” Sheridan said as they entered the square, “we have to look for Francois.
“Who’s Francois?” Luis asked feeling a twinge of jealousy.
“He’s an artist I met a couple years ago. He’s very talented and he’s always around here somewhere. There he is over there.” She pulled Luis over to where a man was sitting behind an easel. “Bonjour Francois.”
The man looked out form behind the easel and a grin spread across his face. “Remercier les cieux que mon muse est retourné me (Thank the heavens my muse has returned to me),” Francois said, “Comment est-ce que vous êtes? (How are you?)”
“I’m fine,” Sheridan replied in English, “I’d like to introduce you to Luis.” Sheridan felt Luis’ hand tense up in hers, “is something wrong Luis?”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 19: The Painting
“Look at his pictures,’ Luis said stunned staring at the pictures that were displayed. Some were paintings and some were drawings but more than half of them were of Sheridan. “It’s you.”
“It’s ok Luis.”
“Sheridan is my favorite subject,” Francois said, “One day years ago I saw her sitting at a table drinking her coffee and crying. She inspired me and I began to draw her. She noticed me looking at her and she came over to see what I had drawn. I asked her if she would come back sometime and let me draw her when she was happy. I have been drawing her ever since. Every so often she would come back and sit for me, but since she has moved back to the states I have had to use my memories and imagination.”
“Well I was hoping you would draw Luis and I today,” Sheridan said, “as long as it’s ok with you Luis.”
“It’s fine with me if that’s what you want,” Luis replied.
“Ok then, “Francois said, “you two have a seat over there and I’ll get to work.”
There was only one chair, so Luis sat down and Sheridan sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Luis turned his head and they looked into each other’s eyes.
“Don’t move,” Francois said, “that is perfect,” and he began to draw. A while later Francois put down his pencil, “Il est fini. Me dire ce que vous pensez (It is finished. Tell me what you think).”
“It’s perfect Francois, I love it,” Sheridan said. As Sheridan and Francois argued over whether she should pay for the drawing, Luis looked at the pictures Francois had done of Sheridan. Luis spotted a small painting of Sheridan. She was holding a white rose and she had this look on her face that Luis recognized. It was the look she always got when she was deep in thought and she didn’t realize that anyone was watching her. Luis had seen her do it many times when she didn’t know he was looking. He had always wondered what it was she was thinking about. In the painting she was smiling so she must have been thinking of something happy.
“How much for this one?” Luis asked Francois picking up the painting.
“150 francs (about $20),” Francois responded.
“I don’t remember this one,” Sheridan said looking at the painting, “when did you paint this?”
“While you were in the states,” Francois answered, “I think it was around Valentines Day.”
“I’ll take it,” Luis said and he handed Francois enough money to cover the painting and the drawing, to end the argument, and he picked them both up.
“Il était bon de vous voir encore Francois et vous remercie pour le dessin (It was good to see you again Francois and thank you for the drawing),” Sheridan said giving Francois a quick hug.
“Je suis content à voit que vous êtes finalement si heureux, il m'a inspiré. Peut-être je commencerai une nouvelle collection, d'images de vous et Luis (I am glad to see that you are finally so happy, it has inspired me. Perhaps I will start a new collection, of pictures of you and Luis),” Francois said giving Sheridan a wink, “il est toujours un plaisir à dessine des sujets qui sont si beaucoup de dans l'amour (it is always a pleasure to draw subjects who are so much in love).”
“Au revoir Francois (Goodbye Francois).”
“Au revoir Sheridan (Goodbye Sheridan).”
While Sheridan and Francois said goodbye, Luis stepped over to a flower vendor set up next to Francois and bought Sheridan a dozen white roses, just like in the painting. He hid them behind his back and as Sheridan walked up he pulled them out and presented to her. “For you.”
“Thank you Luis, they’re beautiful. She gave Luis a kiss and then smelled the roses.
“You didn’t have to buy that painting you know,” Sheridan said as she and Luis walked through the square.
“I know, I wanted it,” Luis said.
“Why that one?” She asked.
“It’s the look on your face,” Luis answered, “I’ve seen it many times before when you didn’t know I saw you. You get this far away look on your face and you’re so deep in thought. I always wondered what you were thinking about.”
“Spying on me huh,” Sheridan laughed.
“Well, I couldn’t help myself, you are so beautiful I couldn’t keep my eyes off you.”
“Well, if I was frowning, I was probably thinking about all the problem in my life. But if I was smiling, she paused and looked at Luis, “I was probably thinking about you.”
“Really,” Luis said a big grin spreading across his face, “all those times I saw you looking like this at the youth center you were thinking about me.”
“I confess officer,” Sheridan teased.
“Um, Sheridan,” Luis said, “what exactly were you thinking about me?”
Sheridan stopped walking and whispered in Luis’ ear, “that’s a discussion for another time,” and she pulled Luis into a passionate kiss, “actually more like show and tell,” she winked. Luis stood there speechless as Sheridan turned away and stepped up to the curb to hail a cab. “We need to hurry up and get home and get ready for dinner.”
Luis opened the door of the cab and they got in. “You know Sheridan it’s only five o’clock, how early are our reservations?”
“It’s not that, there’s just something I want you to see before we eat so we have to get there early,” Sheridan said as she instructed the driver on where to take them.
“Would you mind putting the roses in some water for me?” Sheridan asked Luis as they walked in the door.
“Sure, where do you keep the vases?”
“They’re in the cabinet above the sink in the kitchen, and bring them upstairs with you. I want to put them in my room.” When Luis went into the kitchen Sheridan hurried up the stairs and put the rest of the clothes she bought for Luis, except for the little bag that was a surprise, into the room next to hers that Luis had been using.
Luis carried the vase full of roses into Sheridan’s room. “Where do you want them?” he asked.
“How about over by the bed,” Sheridan said. “I put your clothes in the next room so you can get dressed while I get ready. I’ll meet you downstairs in the living room.”
“Ok,” Luis said, giving Sheridan a kiss before he headed out of the room, “but don’t be too long, we don’t want to be late remember.”
As soon as Luis shut the door Sheridan walked over to the fireplace and checked her watch. She had just enough time to get dressed and get everything ready for later that night. She wanted everything to be perfect.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 20: Out on the Town
Sheridan put the finishing touches on her makeup and then stepped out of the bathroom and took a look around her bedroom. She had finished getting everything ready for tonight except for one last thing. She picked up the little bag and poked her head out into the hall to see where Luis was. She heard a noise coming from the living room so she snuck down the hall to the room where Luis had changed and put the bag on the bathroom counter. Then she went downstairs. Luis heard her coming down the stairs. When she walked into the room Luis’ jaw dropped. Sheridan saw the expression on Luis’ face and turned around slowly in a circle.
“You like it?” she asked.
“You look amazing Sheridan,” Luis said, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was wearing a long black dress with two straps that crossed her back made of a single line of fake diamonds.
“You look pretty good yourself,” Sheridan said looking Luis up and down. He was wearing the black double-breasted suit with a black shirt and a navy blue silk tie that she bought him this morning.
“You have good taste,” Luis laughed, “I can’t believe you got all the sizes right, even the shoes.”
“When I was in college I took a few fashion design classes so I know how to tell what size people are. As for the shoes, I cheated a little and checked your other ones before I went shopping. I hope you like it.”
“I love it Sheridan, but you didn’t need to buy me this,” Luis said.
“Actually I did,” Sheridan said as she straightened his tie, “the restaurant requires a jacket and tie.”
“Well, thank you anyway,” Luis said and he kissed her. Just then a car horn honked.
“That’s our ride, are you ready to go?” She laughed as they broke apart.
“Sure,” Luis sighed, “let me help you with that.” He put Sheridan’s black wrap around her shoulders. They got into the taxi and as they drove along Luis asked,” I was wondering why we keep taking taxi’s everywhere when there is a brand new car in the garage?”
“I know it’s silly, I’ve driven through Paris thousands of times, but it makes me nervous because of the accident. Especially after the attack was in the news, reporters might be looking for me,” She shuddered remembering the crash in the tunnel, “besides, you and I always seem to have bad luck when cars are involved.
“It’s not silly Sheridan. I know I always tease you about your driving, but I’m sure it was frightening to have people chasing you.”
“At least I don’t have to worry about that very often in Harmony, no one comes looking for me unless something important happens. In fact, I’m surprised that we haven’t seen the photographers out today.”
“Are you planning on telling me where we are going to dinner?” Luis asked.
“No, but you’ll figure out soon enough,” Sheridan said. “So did you enjoy our sightseeing today? I know we didn’t go to a lot of the touristy places, but since we only had one day I wanted to show you my favorite places in Paris. Is there anyplace we didn’t go that you wanted to see?”
“It would have been nice to go to the Eiffel Tower, but I loved all the places that we went,” Luis said. “I want to know everything about you, everything you like and don’t like. In fact, after dinner tonight I want you to show me what your favorite things to do in Paris at night are.”
“We are off to a good start then, because we are having dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in the entire world,” Sheridan said, trying to contain her grin, “and I know you are going to love where we are going.”
“M'excuser madamoiselle, nous sommes arrivés (Excuse me madamoiselle, we have arrived),” the driver interrupted.
Luis and Sheridan had been talking during the whole drive and he hadn’t been paying attention to where they are going. When he stepped out of the car he couldn’t believe where they were. They were at the base of the Eiffel Tower.
“What are we doing here Sheridan?” Luis asked.
“I thought you wanted to come here,” Sheridan said.
“I do, but I just told you, how did you know?”
“I guess I can just read your mind,” Sheridan laughed.
“Look Sheridan,” Luis said disappointed, “the sign says it closed at 5:30.”
“We aren’t going in the main entrance Luis.”
“Where are we going then?” Luis asked.
“This is where we are having dinner,”’ Sheridan replied, “at Le Jules Verne. It is on the second level and there is a private elevator over there.”
“But how can we have dinner here. I read in a tourist magazine on the plane that you have to call months in advance to get a reservation at Le Jules Verne and you just called this morning.”
“Every once in a while there is some advantage to being a Crane,” She replied. She led Luis over to the south pillar of the Eiffel Tower where the private elevator to the restaurant was located. As the elevator began to go up Sheridan let go of Luis’ hand. She clinched both of her hands into fists and inhaled deeply.
“What’s wrong?” Luis asked, gently touching her arm.
“I’m just not a big fan of elevators, that’s all,” Sheridan said, trying to make herself relax.
“Claustrophobia, like before with the magician?”
“Not really claustrophobia. I don’t feel like I can’t breathe or anything. It’s just that I don’t like small places. It makes me nervous, but I don’t really know why,” Sheridan answered. “Don’t worry,” Luis said taking both her hands in his and kissing her on the forehead, “everything is fine.” Then the elevator doors opened and they were at the restaurant.
“Bonjour Madamoiselle Crane, donc charmant à vous voir encore (Hello Madamoiselle Crane, so lovely to see you again),” the maître d’ said as they stepped out of the elevator.
“Bonjour Arnaud.”
“Vous êtes un petit premier pour votre Madamoiselle de réservation, votre table n'est pas tout à fait prêt pourtant (You are a little early for your reservation Madamoiselle, your table is not quite ready yet),” Arnaud said.
“En fait Monsieur Lopez-Fitzgerald et j'espérais à monte au sommet avant le dîner. Ceci le sien est la première fois dans Paris (Actually Mr. Lopez-Fitzgerald and I were hoping to go up to the top before dinner. This is his first time in Paris),” Sheridan replied. “Oui bien sûr Madamoiselle, vous faire sait la façon en haut (Yes of course Madamoiselle, do you know the way up)?” Arnaud asked. “Oui, merci (yes, thanks),” Sheridan answered and Arnaud stepped away to speak to one of the waiters.
“Come on, let’s go this way,” Sheridan said to Luis.
“Wait, where are we going?” Luis asked confused, “I thought you said we are having dinner here. You are supposed to be translating for the non-French speaking American, remember.” “Sorry, I forgot,” Sheridan laughed, “do you remember when I said I wanted to show you something before we have dinner and that we had to get here early?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Well, that is where we are going,” Sheridan said as they stepped up to a different elevator, “we are going up to the top level to watch the sunset. That’s why we couldn’t be late.” The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. “Here we go again.” Sheridan sighed as she pushed the button to take them to the top.
“I bet I can find a way to distract you,” Luis whispered in her ear.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 21: Sunset
Luis turned Sheridan around to face him. He leaned her against the wall of the elevator and started kissing her neck. She ran her fingers through his hair forgetting all about the small space of the elevator. He made his way from her neck to her cheek and finally his kisses stopped on her lips where they gained intensity. He tightened his hold on her and his hands roamed across her almost bare back. The elevator slowed to a stop and Luis and Sheridan pulled apart, catching their breath as the elevator doors opened. Luis grabbed Sheridan’s hand and walked out onto the top level of the Eiffel Tower but Sheridan pulled back on Luis’ hand.
“Turn around Luis,” Sheridan said and she reached her finger up and brushed it across his lips, “you have lipstick on you,” she laughed. “Come over here, this side has the best view.”
“I can’t believe how far you can see,” Luis said, “it’s so beautiful.”
“Just wait, it gets even better,” Sheridan said, “in about five minutes the sun will hit the horizon and everything gets this orange glow to it.”” Luis put his arm around Sheridan’s waist and she leaned her head against his shoulder and they just stood there watching as the sun set over Paris.
“We’d better head back downstairs,” Sheridan said breaking the silence, “it’s time for dinner.” Sheridan pulled Luis toward the elevator.
“You’re already over your fear of elevators, huh,” Luis teased.
“Actually,” Sheridan said with a grin as she pushed the button, “I’m even more afraid than I was before. I think I will need a lot more distraction this time.” The elevator doors opened and she pulled Luis inside, but this time she was the one doing the distracting.
Somewhere in a small office tucked away in a corner of the Eiffel Tower a man in a security uniform was watching a set of video surveillance monitors. “Venir regarder ceci (Come look at this),” the security guard sitting down said to another guard who was across the room getting a cup of coffee.
“Le quel est (What is it)?”
“Il y a un couple embrasser dans un des ascenseurs (There's a couple kissing in one of the elevators),” The first guard said. “Vous faire sait que qui cette femme est (Do you know who that woman is),” the second guard exclaimed, “cela est Sheridan Crane, la princesse américaine (that is Sheridan Crane, the American princess).”
Back at the restaurant Sheridan stepped out of the elevator with a mischievous smile on her face and Luis was following close behind. They walked over to the maitre d’.
“Is our table ready Arnaud?” Sheridan asked.
“Right this way Madamoiselle Crane,” Arnaud replied. He led Sheridan and Luis to a private room. There was a single table set for two and decorated with candles and flowers. The table was right next to the windows and had a spectacular view of the Seine River below. Luis pulled Sheridan’s chair out for her and then sat across the table from her.
“Gustave will be right over with your drinks,” Arnaud said and then he left the room.
Sheridan noticed a puzzled look on Luis’ face. “Is something wrong Luis?”
“He didn’t give us menus,” Luis said, “how are we supposed to order?”
“We don’t have to order,” Sheridan smiled, “I ordered for us when I made the reservation. Besides the menu is all in French. It would take me forever to translate it for you.” Sheridan laughed, but Luis still looked worried.
“You didn’t order me anything weird did you?” Luis asked.
“Well, first I thought we’d start with frog legs of course, and the chef’s specialty is seafood, so I thought we’d have grilled octopus with cream sauce on a bed of bow-tie pasta.” Sheridan tried to keep a straight face but she couldn’t contain herself any longer when she saw the horrified expression on Luis’ face and she started to giggle. “I’m only kidding. I promise you are going to love everything I ordered for us.”
“How can you be so sure that I’ll like everything?” Luis asked relaxing again.
“Because I know what you like.”
“Oh really, we only went to dinner once. How can you possibly know enough about the food I like to make a promise like that?”
“First of all, technically we have eaten dinner together at a restaurant three times. First at the Lobster Shack with Beth and Hank, then we went out for dinner when we were in New Mexico, and then on our date at the Lobster Shack. Not to mention the many times I had to get your lunch for you at the Youth Center. Plus, I have eaten your mothers cooking and I know how much you love that, so I think I know enough about what you like.”
“You certainly sound confident that you made good selections,” Luis said.
“I am so confident that if you don’t like everything we have tonight, when we get back to Harmony I will cook you all your favorites for dinner myself,” Sheridan said.
“Ok, you’re on.”
“But, if you do like everything then you will have to cook me all of my favorites,” Sheridan smiled.
“It’s a deal,” Luis said as the waiter walked up to the table carrying a silver bucket of champagne on ice and two champagne glasses. He poured them each a glass of champagne and then left. “Champagne, huh,” Luis said, “you’re off to a good start.”
“Then I’d like to propose a toast,” Sheridan said, lifting her glass and Luis did the same, “To us, in Paris, alive and well, and together.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 22: Dinner
Luis and Sheridan were sipping their champagne as their waiter came over to serve their first course. He sat a plate of appetizers in front of each of them.
“Here we go,” Luis said hesitantly, “what are these?”
“These are pains soufflés au torteau et crème de crevettes grises,” Sheridan said.
“Well that explains everything,” Luis said, “could we try it in English now, please.” Sheridan laughed, “They are puff pastries with crab and shrimp cream and they are very good.” She picked one of the small pastries up and took a bite. Luis studied his for a moment and then took a bite as well. “So, do you like them?” She asked trying to judge the expression on his face as he chewed.
A smile quickly spread across Luis’ face, “they are good.”
“I told you that you would like them,” Sheridan said happily, “that’s one down.” She closed her eyes and a sly grin appeared on her face.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I’m just picturing you in an apron cooking my dinner,” she opened her eyes and gave Luis a quick wink.
“Hey now, don’t go getting too cocky over there Crane,” Luis said, “you haven’t won yet.”
“Don’t worry I will!”
They finished their appetizers and their waiter came and went many times, clearing the dishes from one course and then bringing the next, including the main course: entrecôte de veau aux champignons et mille-feuille de pommes de terres (sirloin veal steak with mushrooms and thousand leaf potatoes). After two hours they had finished everything but the last course.
“I hope you left some room Luis, because dessert is next, the last hurdle until my victory,” Sheridan said flashing Luis a cocky smile.”
“You’re that confident? You’re not even worried that I won’t like it?”
“Nope, I am absolutely positive that you are going to love dessert.” The waiter came over and brought out their dessert.
Luis looked up at Sheridan, “ice cream, huh, what flavor is it?”
“Glace au pain d’épices,” Sheridan replied, “gingerbread ice cream.”
“I’m sorry Sheridan,” Luis frowned, “but I hate gingerbread. I gue..”
“You liar,” Sheridan interrupted, “I can’t believe you are actually trying to lie to me just so you won’t have to cook me dinner.”
“Sheridan, why would you think I am lying to you?” Luis asked with a semi-serious expression on his face.
“I know you’re lying,” Sheridan laughed, “after Christmas Tommy White’s mother brought gingerbread men to the youth center and I saw you eat three of them.”
“Maybe it was the imposter,” Luis said, loosing his serious composure and cracking up laughing. Sheridan reached across the table and smacked his arm.
“Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, that is not funny!”
“I’m sorry Sheridan,” Luis said, stopping his laughter, “You’re right it wasn’t funny.” He leaned across the table and kissed her on the cheek. “You win I loved everything you ordered for dinner.”
“I told you I know what you like,” Sheridan said.
“I never realized you were paying that much attention to me,” Luis said taking Sheridan’s hand.
She blushed, “I think some of it was subconscious. I didn’t even realize I knew all that stuff until I started thinking about what you would like.”
“Well now it’s my turn. I want to know all about the things you like, starting with tonight,” Luis said, “we just had dinner at one of your favorite restaurants. And now, since it’s our last night in Paris, I want you to show me what your favorite things to do at night in Paris were when you lived here.”
“I can think of two things I always used to do when I lived here,” Sheridan replied, “but they aren’t very exciting, just things that always made me happy.”
“That sounds perfect,” Luis said, “and anything is exciting as long as I’m with you Sheridan.” They sat at the table and finished their ice cream and then got up to leave the restaurant. “Sheridan, don’t we need to pay for dinner?”
“No, I already took care of it, I didn’t want to have to argue about who was going to pay.”
“You have to stop paying for things and buying me stuff. You don’t need to spend your money on me.”
“Luis I know that it bothers you that I have a lot of money, and I promise, when we get back to Harmony you can pay for whatever you want,” She said, “but you just traveled all this way and saved my life and even got shot because of me, so if I want to take you out to dinner then I will. No arguments.”
“Ok, fine,” Luis answered, “I won’t argue with you this time. I guess I’m just an old-fashioned kind of guy. I want to take you out and show you a good time and take care of you, not the other way around.”
“That’s one of the things I like most about you Luis. You don’t care about my money and you’d probably prefer it if I wasn’t a Crane. I promise, when we get home you can take me wherever you want and pay for whatever you want. I don’t care where we go or what we do, as long as I can be with you.” They stepped up to the curb to the cab that was awaiting them.
“So where are we off to now?” Luis asked.”
“Back home,” Sheridan answered.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 23: Hot Water
“You are just full of surprises today aren’t you,” Luis said as they walked through the front door of Sheridan’s house, “can’t you give me one hint about what we are going to do.”
“I would love to tell you about it, but it’s somewhat indescribable,” Sheridan responded, you really just have to see for yourself.”
“I’m getting very curious Sheridan. So now what do we have to do?”
“We have to change,” Sheridan answered.
“This isn’t suitable attire for…whatever we are doing?”
“Definitely not,” Sheridan laughed, “do you remember that little bag from this morning that I said was a surprise?”
“Yeah I remember,” Luis said, “do I get to see what’s inside now?”
“Yes you do. I put it in the bathroom for you. I want you to change into that and meet me in that room down at the end of the hall.”
“What’s down there?” Luis asked.
“Would you please stop asking questions,” Sheridan laughed, “just meet me in there after you change, okay.”
“Okay, fine,” Luis said and he headed to the room where his clothes were and Sheridan ducked into her room and quickly changed her clothes.
Luis walked into the bathroom and saw the little bag sitting there. He picked it up and looked inside. He pulled out the contents of the bag and got a puzzled look on his face. It was a pair of black swim trunks. ‘That’s weird,’ Luis thought, ‘I don’t remember seeing a pool when I was looking around earlier.’ He changed out of his suit and into the swim trunks, and then he headed down the hall to find Sheridan. The door to the room Sheridan told him to come to was halfway open. Luis opened the door all the way but there wasn’t a room behind it, there was a staircase.
Luis walked up the stairs and at the top of the stairs there were two doors and one was slightly ajar. He pushed the door open and saw what Sheridan had planned. There was a hot tub set into the floor in the middle of the room and half the room was floor to ceiling windows, but you couldn’t see outside, all you could see was the reflection of the room. And then he saw her reflection and turned to look at her. She was standing on one side of the room lighting some candles that were sitting on a shelf on the wall. She had already lit some candles on the other side of the room.
Luis just stood there in the doorway staring at her. He opened his mouth to say something to her, to announce his presence, but no sound came out. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was wearing a turquoise bikini and Luis was mesmerized by her beauty. Sheridan lit the last candle and turned around and saw Luis standing in the doorway.
“Hey,” she said as she walked over to him.
“Hey,” Luis said forcing himself to look away from her and look down at the hot tub, “so a hot tub is one of your favorite things to do in Paris. You know we do have hot tubs in Harmony.”
“The hot tub is only part of it Luis. Now get in the water and face the windows.” After Luis had gotten into the hot tub Sheridan flipped the switch to turn the jets on and bubbles flowed up through the hot water. “Now close your eyes and no peeking.” Luis closed his eyes and Sheridan flipped the lights off and the candles shed little rays of light along the walls of the room. She slid into the bubbling water and sat next to Luis. “You can open your eyes now.”
Luis opened his eyes and was amazed at the sight in front of him. Once the lights were off the reflection in the windows was gone. You could see out and the view was amazing. You could see all the lights across Paris and right in the center was the Eiffel Tower all lit up. “No wonder this is one of your favorite places, it’s beautiful,” Luis said taking in the view, “it’s like looking at the real life version of a Paris at night postcard.”
“I discovered the view by accident,” Sheridan said, “this used to be part of the attic. One night I decided to come up to the attic to look for something and I noticed this little window behind some boxes. I looked out and couldn’t believe the beautiful view. This is the only place in the house you can see it from. So I designed this room and had it built. This is where I always come when I need to relax. The view from here is breathtaking.”
“It’s not the only view that is taking my breath away,” Luis said. Sheridan turned her head away from the view and found herself staring into Luis’ eyes. He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her though the water too him. She instantly wrapped her arms around his neck as her pulled her into a passionate kiss. As they floated in the hot bubbling water their embrace continued. Sheridan’s arms loosened from around Luis’ neck and she pulled away from his kiss and began kissing his neck and chest. Luis’ hands slid up Sheridan’s back and he began to run his fingers through her wet hair. Sheridan’s hands roamed across Luis’ chest and as her kisses finally returned to Luis’ waiting lips, she slipped her hands up onto his shoulders.
“Oww,” Luis moaned, as he flinched back from Sheridan’s touch.
“Oh Luis, I’m so sorry,” Sheridan said as her cheeks reddened, “did I hurt you.”
“I’m fine,” he smiled, “you just squeezed my shoulder that’s all. Although it didn’t really hurt much until now.” Sheridan looked at Luis’ shoulder where he had been shot. It was healing, but it looked really red and a little swollen.
“I’m not sure the hot tub was such a good idea,” Sheridan said with a frown, “I don’t think the hot water is good for your shoulder, it’s all red and puffy looking. We should probably get out.”
“You’re probably right,” Luis agreed reluctantly. He stood up and climbed out of the hot tub then extended his hand to Sheridan to help her out of the water. She grabbed two towels and handed one to Luis. While she was drying herself she watched Luis wipe the droplets of water off his well-toned chest. As she watched him she thought about when she had just been kissing his chest in the hot tub. Whenever they were that close she felt herself loosing control and she was glad to give it up. All she wanted was to give in to the desires she’d had for so long now.
“So what do you have planned for us next?” Luis asked as he dried off his hair.
“Huh,” Sheridan said as she snapped out of her private thoughts.
“I just wondered what we are doing now.” Luis asked again, “you said earlier that there were two things we were going to do tonight. So what is the second one?”
Sheridan wrapped the towel round her waist. “It’s not really something to do exactly,” she said as she walked over to one set of the candles and blew them out. Luis went over to the second set of candles and Sheridan opened the door letting the light from the hallway in before Luis blew them out. She turned off the hot tub jets and they headed down the stairs. “This is just something I like to do before I go to bed and I thought you might enjoy it. So get ready for bed and meet me in front of the fireplace,” She said, stopping in front of the door to the room Luis had been using.
“Ok, I’ll see you in a few minutes,” Luis said and he kissed her softly on the lips before going into the room.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 24: The Campfire
Sheridan walked into her bedroom and went over to the fireplace. Almost everything was already in place. Before they left for dinner she had taken out a blanket and a bunch of pillows and laid them between the fireplace and the couch with the pillows leaning up against the couch. She had even put the wood in the fireplace already. She lit the fire and now all she had to do was change her clothes.
Luis looked through the clothes on the bed until he found the silk pajama pants. He slipped off the swim trunks and put them on. He had never worn silk before but he liked it. “No wonder Sheridan always wears silk,” Luis said to himself, thinking about the blue nightgown that she had worn to bed last night. He walked into the bathroom and let out a big yawn as he opened the medicine cabinet. He took out a bottle of peroxide and cleaned his shoulder. When he was done he went back over to the bed and picked up his jacket that he had worn earlier when they went sightseeing. He reached into one of the pockets and took out a small white paper bag. Luis left the room and went into Sheridan’s room.
When Luis walked into her room Sheridan was sitting in front of the fireplace looking into the fire. Once again she was wearing a long silk spaghetti strap nightgown with a matching robe, but this one was a dull silvery gray color and the light from the fire reflected onto it bathing Sheridan in a warm glow. She looked toward the door and saw Luis coming into the room. He hid the small bag behind his back and walked toward her.
“Come sit down,” Sheridan said patting a spot on the blanket next to her. Luis sat down on the blanket and lay back against the pillows that were leaned against the couch. He slid the bag behind one of the pillows to hide it from Sheridan. “Welcome to my campfire,” She said as she leaned back against the couch as well.
“Campfire?” Luis said inquisitively.
“When Ethan and I were kids we really wanted to go camping but my father wouldn’t let us. ‘Cranes don’t sleep on the ground,’” Sheridan said lowering her voice in an imitation of her father, “we were really disappointed, so in the afternoons when my father wasn’t home we would go into my room because it had a fireplace in it. Pilar would build a fire and put a blanket and pillows on the floor. Then she would take another blanket and make a tent over the top.”
“That sounds like it was fun,” Luis said.
“It was great. We would roast marshmallows and play games and tell stories. Eventually Ethan would always fall asleep and Pilar would carry him to his room. Then she would come back and sit with me and brush my hair. I had really long hair when I was little. And we would talk about everything.”
“I know I’ve always said that I hate having my mother work for your family,” Luis said, “but I’m glad that she was there with you when you were a kid.”
“She was the most important person in my life. The times we spent together under that tent were some of the happiest times of my life. That’s why I started doing this. Whenever I got homesick or lonely I would build a fire and get out the blankets and pillows and sit here and read a book before I went to bed. It reminds me of the happy times we had together.”
“I wondered why there was no coffee table here,” Luis said.
“There used to be one but I kept moving it out of the way so I finally got rid of it.”
“You gave up the tent though.”
“Yeah, I think I’m a little to big for the tent now,” she laughed, “the only thing that we are missing are the marshmallows.”
“I’m trying to picture you sitting up here roasting marshmallows in your bedroom.”
“I happen to love marshmallows, but I checked the kitchen and we don’t have any.”
“I think I might have something better than marshmallows,” Luis said stifling a yawn.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Sheridan asked. Luis reached behind the pillow and pulled out the little bag and gave it to Sheridan. She looked inside and there were three small chocolate chip cookies. “When did you get these?” Sheridan asked.
“When I took the picnic basket back to the café. I saw them when we were there the first time so I had you wait outside for the cab so I could surprise you.”
“I am very surprised. Thank you Luis,” She said and she gave him a tender kiss. She took one of the cookies and handed it to Luis and then took one for herself.
“Wow,” Luis teased, “I didn’t even have to ask this time. I guess you’re getting used to this sharing thing.”
“But you’re the only one I’m willing to share my cookies with,” Sheridan said, giving Luis a wink. When Sheridan was done with her cookie she took the last cookie out of the bag. She bit off half the cookie and just like last night she fed Luis the rest of the cookie.
“Did you do this the first night you were in Paris?” Luis asked.
“Yeah,” Sheridan answered, “I had trouble sleeping because I couldn’t get my mind off you,” she smiled, “so I sat here and read for a couple hours.”
“What were you reading?” Luis asked.
“This,” Sheridan said pulling a book off the end table, “it’s an old French novel about a prince who falls in love with a farm girl but his father locks her in the castle dungeon to keep them apart and the prince rescues her. This probably wasn’t the best book to read,” she laughed, “it’s no wonder I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
“Read some of it to me,” Luis said.
“It’s in French Luis.”
“That’s ok, I like it when you speak French,” Luis grinned raising his eyebrows, “besides you can translate it for me too. I want to hear what made you think about me.”
“Okay,” Sheridan said. Luis slid down a little so his head was resting on the pillows and he put his arm around her waist and pulled her a little closer to him. She read the first page in French and then explained it in English. When she got to the end of the second page she stopped.
“Are you sure you want me to read this,” Sheridan said, “I can think of better things we could be doing right now.” She looked down at Luis. He was sound asleep. “This is not what I had in mind Luis,” she sighed. She ran he fingers through his hair and kissed him lightly on the forehead. She pulled one of the pillows out from behind his head so he was laying down more and then got up and got the blanket off the end of the bed to cover him up with. She put more wood on the fire and turned the lamp off. Sheridan took off her robe and laid it on the couch. Then she climbed underneath the blanket with Luis and snuggled up next to him and drifted off to sleep.
A couple hours later Sheridan woke up. The fire was almost completely out so she got up and put some more wood on it.
“Where are you Sheridan,” Luis asked sleepily, his eyes still shut, “I’m cold.”
“I just put more wood on the fire,” She replied, “do you want me to get another blanket?”
“No, all I need is you,” Luis said. Sheridan climbed back under the blanket and Luis immediately wrapped his arms around her and they both fell back asleep.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 25: Love in the Morning
Luis woke up on the floor in front of the fireplace but Sheridan wasn’t there. He sat up and stretched his arms. The fire was still going strong. ‘Sheridan must have put more wood on it when she woke up,’ Luis thought. He looked over at the bed but it was empty. He stood up and saw her robe lying on the couch. He walked over to the bathroom but the door was open and she wasn’t in there. Then Luis noticed that the white curtains were blowing slightly. The doors to the balcony were open behind the curtains. Luis stepped through the curtains and there was Sheridan standing on the balcony looking out across the horizon. He stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her lightly on the cheek, causing her to smile.
“Good morning gorgeous, you’re up awfully early,” Luis said, resting his chin on her shoulder.
“I was just watching the sunrise,” Sheridan said, her voice slightly shaky.
“What’s wrong Sheridan?” Luis asked tightening his hold around her waist.
“I’m just worried,” she said, looking down at her feet, “my father and Julian already tried to keep us apart and now that we are going back to Harmony I’m afraid that they’ll do something else to keep us apart again.”
“That’s never going to happen Sheridan,” Luis said kissing her shoulder softly, “I promise you, I’m not going to let anything come between us.”
“But how can you be so sure,” Sheridan whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. Luis put his hand under her chin and turned her head so she was facing him and he wiped the tear from her face.
“Because I love you Sheridan and I will never let anyone take you away from me.”
“You don’t have to say that just to make me feel better,” Sheridan said and she stepped through the curtains back into her bedroom. Luis came up behind her and turned her around towards him.
“Look at me Sheridan. You know me, you know I wouldn’t say this if I didn’t mean it,” Luis said and he put his hand on the back of her neck to keep her from turning away again. “I love you.” He kissed her sweetly on the lips.
Sheridan pulled away and looked into Luis’ eyes. She reached her hand up and ran her fingers along the side of his face. “I love you too Luis,” Sheridan said and she pulled Luis into a heated kiss. Those were the last words they spoke.
Sheridan wrapped her arms tightly around Luis’ neck as their kiss continued and her fingers played lightly in his hair. Luis’ hands slipped down Sheridan’s back across the smooth silk of her nightgown. The feel of Luis’ hands caressing the small of her back sent a shiver through her entire body. One of Luis’ hands roamed back up to her shoulder and pushed the strap of her nightgown off her shoulder and he began kissing her now bare shoulder.
Sheridan felt like she was in heaven. Every time they touched the emotions they had felt for each other for so long came out and the electricity flowed between them. There would be no more dreaming and longing for what they didn’t have. They had revealed their love for each other and they would finally be together. There was nothing in the world that could keep them apart.
Luis kissed his way across her shoulder, up her neck and back to her waiting lips. Sheridan ran her hands across Luis’ chest, over his shoulders and down his arms as the continued to kiss passionately. She slid her hands into each of his and laced their fingers together. She pulled back breathlessly from his kisses and looked into his eyes. She could see the love and desire he felt for her burning in eyes. Sheridan pulled Luis by his hands as she slowly walked backwards leading Luis to her bed…
*** A little while later ***
Luis lay on his back in Sheridan’s bed and she was lying on her stomach with her chin resting on Luis’ chest. Sheridan was smiling up at Luis while he ran his fingers through her soft blond hair.
“I love to see you smile,” Luis said brushing his fingertips across her lips.
“I’m smiling because I’m happy,” Sheridan said pulling herself up along Luis’ chest until her lips met with his in a tender kiss. “I’ve never felt this happy before. When your arms are wrapped around me I feel so safe, like the rest of the world just fades away.”
“I know that other men in your life have hurt you before, but I want you to know that I will never do anything to hurt you. I love you and I always will. I want you to promise me that if anything happens or if you have doubts that you will come to me and tell me and not just shut me out. I don’t want anything to come between us again.”
“I love you too, and I promise no matter what happens I will talk to you about it. But if you do or say something weird, don’t give me a hard time if I pinch your face to make sure you’re not wearing a mask,” Sheridan laughed.
“I can’t believe we’re going back to Harmony today,” Luis said, “all I want to do is stay in bed and make love to you all day,” and he started kissing her neck behind her ear. “We could have been making love by the fire all night long if you hadn’t fallen asleep,” Sheridan said. Luis stopped kissing her and looked up at her face. “Sheridan Crane, were you trying to seduce me last night?”
“Absolutely,” she giggled, “but very unsuccessfully since you fell asleep on me.”
“Well now that I’m nice and rested and completely wide awake, I will have to make it up to you.” Luis jumped up out of the bed and picked Sheridan up and carried her over to the blanket on the floor. He sat her down and then sat down next to her. “Ok, I’m ready,” Luis said with a devilish grin, “now you can seduce me.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard since I’ve had my way with you already this morning,” Sheridan laughed and she grabbed Luis’ shoulders and pushed him backward on to the floor.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 26: Going Home
Sheridan lay facing the fireplace watching the last of the glowing embers. Luis’ arms were wrapped securely around her, but he wasn’t looking at the fireplace he was watching Sheridan. He thought it was almost too good to be true, that he and Sheridan were finally together, making love all morning, in Paris of all places. He had thought for so long that being in a relationship wouldn’t work for him because of the obligation he felt to his family. But Sheridan had changed all that. She seemed to understand his devotion to his family and she cared about his mother almost as much as he did. When he thought he would never see her again it felt like a part of him had been ripped out. But now that they had admitted their love for each other Luis felt like all the pieces that had been missing from his life were finally coming together. He was still a little nervous about the differences they had in their lives but he was determined not to let that get in their way.
At this moment Luis felt completely at peace, lying there under a blanket on the floor his body intertwined with Sheridan’s. ‘I could stay this way forever,’ he thought.
Sheridan rolled over to face Luis. “Do you know what time it is?” she asked.
“I have no idea,” Luis said.
Sheridan propped herself up and looked at the antique clock on the mantle over the fireplace. “I can’t believe how late it is Luis,” she said sitting up, “we have to get up. I need a shower and we’re not even packed yet. The car will be here to take us to the airport in less than two hours.” She got up and grabbed her robe off the couch and put it on. “I’m getting in the shower,” she told Luis and she walked to the bathroom. Luis was disappointed that she wasn’t in his arms anymore, but he knew she was right. They didn’t want to miss their flight.
Sheridan stopped in the doorway to the bathroom and turned around to look at Luis, who was sitting up now. “Well…aren’t you coming,” she said seductively and she dropped her robe to the floor and walked into the bathroom. Luis didn’t hesitate for a second. He immediately jumped up off the floor and raced into the bathroom after her.
Sheridan hurriedly tossed her clothes into the open suitcases on her bed. She and Luis had taken way too long in the shower and now she was really hurrying to get ready to go. Luis walked into the bedroom carrying all the clothes Sheridan had bought for him.
“Where do you want me to put these?” Luis asked.
“Give me the suit and put the rest in there,” she said motioning to one of the suitcases as she took the suit and put it in a garment bag with her dresses.
“Well, I’m all packed,” Luis laughed. “Very funny officer,” Sheridan said throwing a shirt at him from her dresser, “go get the quilt off the floor and fold it up and put it in one of the suitcases.”
“Why are you packing the blanket?”
“I always take it with me wherever I live.”
“Did Mama make it for you?” Luis asked.
“Yeah,” she answered, “how did you know that?”
“I have one just like it on my bed except the edge is blue, not red.”
“That’s the last of it,” Sheridan said, putting the rest of the clothes in the suitcase and zipping it up. “Will you carry the bags down stairs while I get the rest of my stuff out of the bathroom?”
“Sure,” Luis said. When he got back from carrying the last of the bags down Sheridan was sitting on the bed smelling the white roses Luis had bought for her. “The car is here and we are ready to go.”
“They are so beautiful, I wish I could take them with me,” she said, but then she got an idea, “Luis, would you get me the book from over by the couch.” She picked out one of the roses and broke the stem in half. Luis handed her the book and she put the flower in the middle of the book and shut it, flattening the rose between the pages. Then she put the book into her carry-on bag. “Now I’m ready to go.”
Luis pulled her into one more kiss, “I love you Sheridan and I’m so glad you’re coming home with me.”
“I love you too Luis and there’s no where I’d rather be than wherever you are.” They got up and walked hand in hand down to the waiting car.
“That food was great,” Luis said as the flight attendant took away their empty plates, “much better than what I had on the way over.”
“One of the perks of flying first class,” Sheridan said.
“Well, I’m just glad they fed us,” Luis laughed, “I was starving. We didn’t have breakfast and we really worked up an appetite this morning,” Luis winked.
“We definitely did,” Sheridan said yawning, “I think you wore me out though. I need a nap.”
“I’m kind of tired myself,” Luis said, but then the plane began to jerk around a bit and Luis looked around nervously.
“It’s ok Luis, it’s just a little turbulence,” Sheridan said, taking Luis’ hand into hers. Don’t worry, if anything happens I’ll save you,” she giggled and gave Luis a tender kiss. While they were kissing the turbulence stopped. “See I told you.”
“My hero,” Luis said, giving her another kiss.
“We still have a few hours before we get to Harmony and I’m going to take a nap, care to join me?” Sheridan asked, “the flight attendant will wake us up when we land and I’ll even share my little airplane pillow with you.”
“In that case,” Luis laughed, “I would love to take a nap with you.” They both reclined their seats back and laid their heads together on the little pillow and drifted of to sleep still holding hands.
To Be Continued…
Click here to read Chapters 27 to 47