Dreams Can Come True (Continued...)
Chapter 48: Dream House
Luis parked his car in front of the address his mother had given him. He got out and grabbed the welcome basket. As he walked up to the door he looked kind of sad. This had always been Luis’ favorite house every since he was a child. When he had seen it in the houses the realtor had shown Sheridan he hoped that she would want to live there. It was a beautiful two-story brown brick house with four bedrooms and a two-car garage. Luis walked though the impeccably landscaped yard and stepped onto the arch covered porch. He had secretly hoped that he and Sheridan could spend their lives together and raise a family in this house. That was his dream, but he never said anything to Sheridan. And now someone else was going to be living in this house, his dream house. Luis sighed and knocked on the door.
When Sheridan opened the door Luis had his back turned and he was looking out at the front yard. “Hi I’m Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald and my mother asked me to…” Luis said as he turned around and saw Sheridan. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here,” Sheridan grinned and Luis’ mouth dropped open.
“You bought this house?”
“Yes, now come inside,” Sheridan said and she pulled Luis in the door. “What do you think?”
“I love it Sheridan,” Luis said, “this is my favorite house in Harmony.”
“I know, that’s why I bought it.”
“Sheridan, you didn’t have to buy this house because I like it, you should live somewhere you like.”
“I do like this house Luis, it is perfect, and knowing how much you love this house makes it the only house I wanted. I know we haven’t been together very long Luis, but I love you and I want to spend lots of time with you and I want you to feel comfortable here. And maybe one day you’ll want to spend all your time here in this house with me."
“There’s no maybe about it Sheridan,” Luis said and they engaged in a long and passionate kiss in the entryway of the house. “I can’t believe you managed to buy a house and get moved in without me knowing.” Sheridan took Luis’ jacket and hung it up while Luis surveyed the living room. It was a large open room with vaulted ceilings and the upstairs hallway overlooked the room. There was a large stone fireplace and a set of two leather chairs and a matching couch. There was a big screen TV and a sound system with rear speakers that hung from the ceiling behind the couch. The stairs leading to the second floor were right across from the front door. There was a hallway leading to a guestroom and a library/office and at the far side of the living room there were two doors, one leading to the kitchen and the other into the dining room.
“I had a few accomplices,” Sheridan teased, “Theresa helped me decorate.”
“Theresa knew about this and didn’t tell me,” Luis said, “Mama was in on this too wasn’t she, sending me over here to deliver that basket.”
“I just wanted to surprise you Luis.”
“I’m definitely surprised Baby. We should do something to celebrate.”
“That’s exactly what I had in mind,” Sheridan said and she led Luis into the dining room. The dining room table was set for a romantic dinner for two with flowers and candles and there was a silver cover over each of the plates, hiding the main course underneath.
Luis lifted one of the covers to see what they were having. It was lobster. “I had the Lobster Shack deliver the same meal we had on our first date,” Sheridan said, “Even the wine and dessert. I hope you like it.”
“It’s perfect Sheridan.” Luis pulled out Sheridan’s chair for her and they sat down and shared a romantic dinner in Sheridan’s new house. After dinner Luis carried some of the dishes into the kitchen and Sheridan disappeared upstairs.
After a few minutes Sheridan called down to Luis. “Hey baby, would you mind bringing the box on the couch in the living room up here.”
“Sure,” Luis answered. He grabbed the box and headed upstairs, past the two other bedrooms and into the master bedroom. It was just about as big as the living room. There was a king size pine sleigh bed with scrolled black iron accents and a matching dresser, armoire, and two nightstands. The bed was covered by a sapphire blue satin comforter and antique ivory accent pillows that matched the drapes covering the windows and the French doors leading out onto a small balcony that overlooked the backyard. There was a double-sided fireplace with one side opening into the bedroom and the other side opened into the master bathroom. In the bathroom there was a double size Jacuzzi bathtub.
Sheridan stepped out of the bathroom wearing a black lace teddy and Luis dropped the box he was carrying. “It’s a good thing there’s just clothes in that box,” Sheridan laughed.
“Sorry, this just isn’t what I expected.”
“Don’t you like it?” Sheridan asked and she walked seductively up to Luis.
“Of course I like it,” Luis said and pulled Sheridan against his body, “you never cease to amaze me. I’m so glad we can finally be alone.”
“Me too and I thought it was time we got started,” Sheridan said.
“Started with what?”
“Well, this is a big house with lots of rooms,” Sheridan said and she began nibbling on Luis’ neck and unbuttoning his shirt, “and I think it’s time we started to christen them.”
“Oh baby, I love the way you think.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 49: A Picture of Betrayal
Luis woke up cold and alone. Sheridan wasn’t beside him, only an empty space between the sheets. Luis buried his face into the pillow and inhaled the scent of her that remained in his bed. This was the first night that Luis had spent at home since Sheridan moved into her new house and he missed waking up with her lying next to him. They’d spent so much time together ever since he went to find her in Paris, partly because of circumstances, and partly because of conscious choice, and Luis hadn’t realized how much he loved having her around all the time until she wasn’t with him. He grabbed the phone off his bedside table and dialed Sheridan’s number.
“Why are you calling me this early in the morning?” Sheridan grumbled groggily into the phone.
“Good morning to you too sunshine.”
“Luis, is something wrong?”
“Nothings wrong, I just missed you that’s all.”
“Next time could you miss me a little later,” Sheridan said.
“I’m sorry I woke you up baby. Do you want to get off the phone so you can go back to sleep?”
“No, that’s ok, my alarm is set to go off in ten minutes anyway,” Sheridan said, “How’d you sleep?”
“Not good, I really missed having you next to me. I kept reaching over for you and you weren’t there.”
“I missed you too, but you’re the one who said you had to go home. You could have been here with me last night.”
“I know, but I can’t spend every night with you,” Luis said, “I need to spend some time at home with my family.”
“I know you do, and I didn’t mean to make it sound like you’re required to spend every available minute with me. Your family is important to you and I love the way you are so devoted to them. I just want you to know that any night you want to spend with me I want you to be here.”
“I plan to spend many, many, many nights with you baby,” Luis said, “and many mornings too. So do you want to meet me for breakfast before we have to be at work.”
“Sure I’d love to. Where?”
“How about the Book Café?” Luis suggested.
“Uh, I don’t think so,” Sheridan said, thinking about her confrontation with Beth at the Youth Center, “um I feel like pancakes. Let’s go to that pancake place.”
“Ok, I have to take a shower and get dressed and then I’ll come pick you up. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Sheridan said and she hung up the phone.
After breakfast Luis dropped Sheridan off at the Youth Center before heading to the police station. Late in the afternoon Sheridan was sitting at her desk filling out some paperwork when a deliveryman came in.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for Miss Sheridan Crane,” the deliveryman said.
“That’s me Sheridan answered.
“I have a delivery for you. Could you please sign here.” Sheridan signed the paper and he handed her an envelope and left.
Sheridan sat back down in her chair and ripped the envelope open. She pulled out the contents and when she looked at them she gasped and dropped them onto the desk. The envelope contained photographs of Luis having sex with another woman. Sheridan felt like someone had stabbed her in the heart. Tears gushed form her eyes and dripped from her cheek onto the pictures as she looked down at them. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, trying to block out the horrible images that were causing searing pain to shoot through her heart. Her mind flashed back to finding Jean-Luc in bed with another woman. She never thought Luis could be like that, she never thought he would break her heart. He just wasn’t the kind of guy who would do something like that. He was too honest, too honorable. Her eyes suddenly flashed open and she stared intently at the photographs.
Sheridan grabbed the pictures and raced out of the youth center. She headed straight for the police station. She practically ran the whole way there. Luis was sitting at his desk entering an arrest report into the computer. He looked up and saw Sheridan walk in and his heart sank. Her eyes were red from crying and her cheeks were still wet with tears. Luis sprang from his chair and went to her.
“Sheridan honey, what’s the matter? What happened?”
Sheridan opened her mouth to speak but she was a little out of breath from running over there and she was still upset, so she couldn’t manage to get any words out. Luis grabbed her hand and led her into Sam’s empty office. He could feel her hand shaking in his and he shut the door behind them. “Sheridan please tell me what happened,” Luis begged, “why are you crying? Did someone hurt you?”
Sheridan dropped the photos on to Sam’s desk. She sank down into a chair and Luis picked the pictures up off the desk.
“What the hell,” Luis said, “what is this? Where did these come from?” Luis turned to Sheridan. “This isn’t me Sheridan. I swear it isn’t me. I’ve never even seen this woman before. I would never cheat on you. I would never betray you like that.” Luis dropped down on his knees in front of Sheridan and a tear escaped from his eye. “Please Sheridan, I love you. Please believe me.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 50: Belief
“Please believe me Sheridan,” Luis begged.
“I do believe you,” Sheridan said and she wiped the tear from Luis’ face. “I know it isn’t you in those pictures. When I first saw them it killed me. I thought I was going to be sick. But I know you wouldn’t do that to me so I started looking at the pictures and it isn’t you. That may be your face, but I know every inch of your body and that’s not you.”
“The imposter,” Luis swore under his breath.
“The pictures were delivered to me in an envelope. Julian and my father are trying to break us up again.”
“I’m so sorry Sheridan,” Luis said and he took her hands in his.
“I just wish they’d stop doing this. I gave up their money and everything else and I cut off all ties with them. Why won’t they just leave me alone.”
“This is my fault,” Luis lamented, “they don’t want you to be with me. That’s why they keep doing this to you.”
“This is not your fault Luis. They have been trying to control me in one way or another my whole life. You’re what gave me the strength to leave and get away from their manipulations.” Sheridan put her hand on Luis’ cheek. “You give me more love in one day than they gave me my entire life. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me,” Sheridan said and she leaned down and gave him a kiss.
“It’s kind of slow around here today,” Luis said, “if you’ll just give me two minutes to finish up that report I was working on we can leave and go somewhere else.”
“Sounds good,” Sheridan said, “I’ll just go freshen up.”
Luis drove Sheridan to the beach. They got out and walked along the shore until they got to a nice spot to sit in the sand and watch the waves crash in. Sheridan leaned back into Luis’ embrace.
“What if they keep doing things like this. What if they never stop trying to cause problems for us.”
“Then we’ll just find a way to deal with them. We just need to make sure we always have faith in each other and when anything happens we have to talk to each other.”
“But what if they do something to you next time. What if they try to get you fired, or worse,” Sheridan said, a tear brimming against her eyelids.
Luis hugged her tighter. “Please don’t worry about me baby. I can handle whatever they throw at me. Nothing is going to keep me from being with you.” Luis planted a light kiss on the back of Sheridan’s shoulder. “Please don’t cry. I hate it that they make you cry. I’m going to spend the whole night making sure that you forget all about what happened today.”
Sheridan turned in Luis’ arms to face him. “But I thought you were going to spend tonight at home with your family.”
“I changed my mind. After what happened today we need to be together. Mama will understand. There will be plenty of nights to spend with my family, but tonight the only place I want to be is with you.”
“Oh Luis, you’re so good to me. I love you so much.” Sheridan kissed Luis gently and turned around settling back against Luis’ chest and she continued to gaze out at the ocean wrapped in his loving embrace. After a little while they left the beach and headed for Sheridan’s house. When they got there Sheridan flopped down into a chair in the living room to read her mail and Luis disappeared upstairs in the bedroom.
About ten minutes later Luis came out of the bedroom wearing nothing but boxers and looked over the railing in the second floor hallway down at Sheridan. “Hey baby.”
Sheridan practically jumped out of her chair. “Oh god Luis, you scared me. When you went upstairs I figured you were taking a shower.”
“Nope,” Luis grinned slyly, “I have a surprise for you. Come upstairs.”
Sheridan threw the rest of the mail on the coffee table and went upstairs where Luis was waiting in the hallway. “Ooo, a surprise for me and your only wearing your underwear. Sounds like fun to me.”
“Is your mind always in the gutter,” Luis teased.
Sheridan stepped up close to Luis and raked her nails across his chest. “How am I supposed to think about anything else when you’re standing in front of me almost naked. You’re just too damn sexy.”
Luis laughed and grabbed her hand. “Come on,” he said and he led her into the bedroom. There was soft romantic music playing on the stereo, but Luis didn’t stop at the bed. He led her all the way through the bedroom and into the bathroom. In the bathroom the big tub was filled and bubbles lingered on the top. There were even candles lit all around the bathroom. “Would you like to join me for a nice warm relaxing bath?”
“Oh Luis, I’d love to.” Luis grabbed the edge of Sheridan’s sweater at tugged it over her head. She kicked her shoes off and Luis slid his hands across her stomach and around her back and he slowly lowered the zipper on her pants pushing them down to the floor. Sheridan rid herself of the remaining articles of clothing she had on and she stepped into the tub. Luis shed his boxers and flipped on the bathtub jets before slipping into the tub full of bubbling water behind Sheridan.
Luis lathered some soap into his hands and began washing Sheridan, massaging soap into every into of her body. Sheridan moaned at the touch of his hands on her skin. Her body was on fire and she couldn’t take it any more, he was driving her crazy. Sheridan turned around against his body to face him and the feeling of her bare wet chest against his own sent Luis into overdrive. They began kissing ferociously and Luis suddenly flipped them around so that he was on top, sending water sloshing over the sides of the tub. Luis kissed his way around Sheridan’s chest eliciting several moans from her.
“Mmm, the first time I saw this big tub I knew it would come in handy,” Sheridan mumbled contently.
Luis’ lips momentarily left Sheridan’s body. “Oh really, what exactly were you planning on doing in this bathtub for two?”
“Just you and me and a little underwater adventure,” Sheridan purred with a wink, “a very erotic adventure.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 51: Intermission:
After a long day at work Luis turned his key in the lock of Sheridan’s front door. He entered the house and was surprised by what he saw in the living room. Theresa and Ethan were asleep on the couch. They were sitting up, but they were leaned against each other. Theresa’s head was resting on Ethan’s shoulder and her hand latched onto his forearm. Ethan’s head lay lightly against Theresa’s, each one holding the other up a little, and there was a blanket haphazardly laid across them.
Luis started to walk over to them and wake them up, but he changed his mind. Instead he walked into the kitchen looking for Sheridan. The laundry room door was open and Luis peeked inside. There was Sheridan sitting on top of the washing machine folding clothes as she took them out of the dryer.
“Hey baby.”
Sheridan looked up and smiled brightly. “You’re home.” Luis stepped in front of Sheridan and she took him into her arms and greeted him with a kiss.
“What’s going on out in the living room?” Luis questioned, “why are Ethan and my sister sleeping on the couch?”
“They fell asleep watching TV. You didn’t bother them did you?”
“No, but I don’t like this. I mean I’ve given up on the thought of killing Ethan for being around my sister…”
“Well that’s good to hear,” Sheridan laughed sarcastically.
“But I still don’t like the idea of them being so close,” Luis continued, “I mean the more time they spend together the worse it will be for Theresa when he marries Gwen. It’s going to break her heart.”
“Theresa’s stronger than you think Luis. She can handle whatever happens. And you never know what will happen. Love works in mysterious ways. I mean look at us. No one ever thought that we could find happiness with each other. You hated my whole family and my heart was broken and I thought no man would ever love me until you crashed into my life.”
“I crashed into your life,” Luis laughed, “I think you’ve got that backwards.”
“Nope, you swooped in and consumed my thoughts and dreams and you stole my heart. It was grand theft, that’s definitely worse than speeding,” Sheridan said, wrapping her legs around Luis’ waist and pulling him against her body and she ran her fingers playfully though his hair.
“Oh really,” Luis mumbled, distracted by the closeness of her body. He began kissing the bare flesh of her chest exposed by the low cut shirt she was wearing. His lips advanced their way across her collarbone and up her neck until they found their way to her soft supple lips. Her lips returned his passion and she moaned as she felt his hand slipping up her thigh, underneath her short skirt.
“Ahem,” Theresa cleared her throat in the doorway and Sheridan’s legs dropped from Luis’ waist and he pulled back.
“Uh Theresa, you’re awake,” Luis stammered, “how was your nap?”
Theresa blushed realizing Luis had seen her and Ethan together on the couch. “Um it was fine, but I’m late. I’m supposed to be at Whitney’s working on our class project. Do you want me to wake Ethan up?”
“No let him sleep,” Sheridan said.
“Do you want a ride to Whitney’s?” Luis added.
“No, I’ll walk. It’s only like a block away,” Theresa said and Sheridan and Luis walked her to the front door.
After Theresa left Sheridan turned and watched Ethan sleep. “I’m worried about him Luis. I think something’s bothering him, but he hasn’t said anything to me and usually he talks to me about everything. All day he was acting strange. He pretended to be all happy and smiling when Theresa was looking, but when she wasn’t watching he would frown and he look sad and confused.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing baby. He’s probably just getting nervous about the wedding or something,” Luis said, “I think I’ll make us some dinner. I’ll grill up some steaks.”
“That sounds great honey, thanks,” Sheridan said. Luis went into the kitchen and Sheridan sat down in a chair in the living room.
Ethan stretched as he woke up and he looked around the room. “Where’s Theresa?”
“She had to go to Whitney’s,” Sheridan said, “you two looked pretty cute snuggled up on the couch together. Is there anything you want to tell me?”
“No, not really.”
“Ethan, I know something’s going on with you. You were acting strange all day,” Sheridan said.
“I really don’t want to talk about it.”
“I just want to help you, that’s all. You can tell me anything.”
“I know Sheridan, but this is just something I need to figure out for myself,” Ethan said, “I should probably get going.”
“Why don’t you stay for dinner?” Sheridan asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Luis is cooking some steaks.”
“Well if Luis is cooking then I’ll stay,” Ethan said, finally cracking a smile.
“Hey,” Sheridan laughed and threw a throw pillow at him.
After dinner Ethan left and Sheridan and Luis cuddled up on the couch while a fire roared in the fireplace and they watched a movie. Sheridan was pretty into the romantic love story playing out on the TV screen, but Luis wasn’t paying much attention, at least not to the TV.
Luis slipped his hand under Sheridan’s shirt and softly caressed her stomach. His breath tickled the back of her neck, followed by the touch of his lips. His hand traveled up past her stomach and fondled her breast through the thin lace of her bra and he gently sucked on her neck.
“Luis, what are you doing?”
“What do you think I’m doing?” Luis said between kisses.
“But Luis, we’re in the middle of the movie.”
Luis pulled Sheridan down across the couch so she was looking up at him and he grabbed the remote. “The great thing about this DVD player baby, is the pause button,” Luis said as he covered her body with his own and Sheridan could feel his desire for her, “just think of this as intermission.” A smile spread across Sheridan lips as she gave into Luis’ amorous advances.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 52: The Sequel
Sheridan awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside her bedroom window. She brushed her fingertips across Luis’ hair. His head rested on her bare chest and she could feel his breath flow rhythmically across her skin as he silently slept. Feeling content Sheridan closed her eyes again. The first indication she got that Luis was awake was the feeling of his warm lips on her body.
“Mmm, good morning baby,” Sheridan moaned, “thanks for that intermission last night, it’s just too bad we never got to finish the movie.”
“Well I was thinking we’d have a little matinee this morning,” Luis said.
“You want to go watch the movie?”
‘No, actually I was thinking about having a repeat performance of last night,” Luis grinned mischievously as his hand stroked her thigh.
“I don’t think so,” Sheridan said. She pushed Luis over onto his back and she straddled his body. She leaned down so close to him that their lips brushed as she spoke in a whisper, “let’s just call this the sequel, only this time I’m the director.”
After they finally made it out of bed Sheridan and Luis spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon together. Luis didn’t have to be at work until late afternoon because he was working the evening shift, so they had lunch together and walked through the park before they went to the youth center. Luis left Sheridan there to do some work and he headed over to the Book Café. He still had half an hour before his shift started and he wanted to grab a cup of coffee before he went to the station. He walked in and chatted with Beth for a few minutes until he spotted Miguel sitting on a couch. He gave Beth his order and sat down next to his brother.
“I can’t believe your being so nice to Beth after the way she treated Sheridan,” Miguel said.
“What do you mean?” Luis asked confused, “what did Beth do to Sheridan?”
“Didn’t Sheridan tell you?”
“No, but I want to know what happened,” Luis demanded.
“Well Theresa told me she walked in on the end of it so I don’t know all the details, but apparently Beth went to the Youth Center and she thought is was you in the office but it was really Sheridan. She started saying mean stuff about Sheridan and that you wouldn’t be happy with Sheridan and that you and Beth were meant to be together.”
“Thanks for letting me know bro,” Luis said and he stormed up to the counter.
“Here’s your order Luis, on the house,” Beth said sweetly but Luis just glared at her.
“I don’t care about the damn coffee. I want to talk about what happened with you and Sheridan at the youth center.”
“What did she tell you? She’s just trying to make you hate me,” Beth complained.
“She didn’t tell me anything, Miguel did.”
“See, she’s keeping secrets from you already.”
“Shut up Beth,” Luis yelled, drawing a few looks from other customers. “I want to know why you were being mean to Sheridan.”
“She’s not good for you Luis, not like I am. She’s just a rich bitch who’s toying with you,” Beth whined, “She stole you away from me. You and I belong together and I’ll be here waiting for you when you get tired of her.”
“I’ve always tried to be nice because I felt bad, but now I’m just going to be blunt. I don’t want you and I never will, not even if Sheridan wasn’t around,” Luis said harshly, “I love Sheridan and that’s never going to change. You don’t have to like Sheridan, but if you can’t treat her with respect then don’t expect to be my friend anymore.”
Luis stormed out of the Book Café leaving his coffee behind and he headed back to the youth center.
Sheridan was surprised to see Luis walk in. “What are you doing back here?”
“Why didn’t you tell me about all that stuff Beth said to you?”
“It’s really not that big of a deal.”
“I think it is. She had no right to treat you that way.”
“Not everyone is going to like me Luis, you didn’t even like me at first. I can’t run to you every time someone hurts my feelings.”
“She was still out of line and I told her that if she can’t be nice to you then we can’t be friends anymore.”
“You don’t have to do that Luis.”
“It’s what I want. Besides for some reason she hasn’t been able to let go of the idea that she and I are going to get back together, so I told her that I would never stop loving you and I would never want to be with her. So she may not want to have anything to do with me anyway.” Luis looked down at his watch. “I’ve got to go or I’m gonna be late.” He gave Sheridan another goodbye kiss. “I love you baby. I’ll be home when my shift gets over.”
“I love you too,” Sheridan responded, “I’ll wait up for you.”
About an hour later Sheridan heard the front door open and close. She waited a minute or two, but she didn’t hear anything else so she got up to check it out. “Hello, is anyone there?” Sheridan called out but she received no answer. She gasped when she saw what was at the front door.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 53: Jonny
Sheridan called out again to see if anyone else was in the youth center, but again there was no reply. She walked over to the door, looking outside to see if anyone was there but no one was. She shut the door and turned her attention back to what had shocked her when she came out of the office. She knelt down to the floor and brushed a finger across the soft cheek of the sleeping baby strapped in a car seat.
Sheridan sighed, “where are your parents?” Then she noticed a folded piece of paper lying on top of the large diaper bag that was sitting next to the car seat. Sheridan picked up the paper and read.
Dear Officer Lopez Fitzgerald,
I can’t take care of my son anymore. I want to, but it is better for him this way. I’ve seen you around town and at the youth center. You’re so good to all the kids and since you’re a police officer I know I can trust you with my baby. I’m sure you’ll know what to do for him. His name is Jonathan and he’s three months old. I call him Jonny. Please make sure he is taken care of. I love him more than anything.
Sadness gripped Sheridan’s heart as she read the letter and looked at the child who was now alone in the world. The little baby woke up, stretching his little arms out. His eyes darted around searching for his mother and when he didn’t find her he began to cry. Sheridan unbuckled his from the car seat and picked him up, rocking him gently in her arms.
“Shhh, it’s okay. I know I’m not your mommy, but I’ll take care of you.” Sheridan grabbed his bag and carried him into the office. She opened the bag and was thankful to find a couple of bottles already made inside. She offered the bottle to the baby and he took it eagerly. She sat down at the desk with the baby happily sucking away at his bottle.
“Oh Jonny, what should we do?” Sheridan said and then she picked up the phone. “Detective Lopez-Fitzgerald please.”
“I’m sorry, but he’s out at a crime scene and he won’t be back for an hour, maybe two,” the officer at the other end said, “can I take a message?”
“Actually is Chief Bennett in? This is Sheridan Crane and it’s kind of important.”
“Sure Miss Crane, hold on a moment.” Sheridan listened to silence for a few moments and then Sam picked up.”
“Chief Bennett here.”
“Sam it’s Sheridan.”
“Hi Sheridan, is there a problem?”
“Sort of. Some one left their baby at the youth center Sam. The mother left a note saying she couldn’t take care of him any more. I called for Luis but he’s out at a crime scene.”
“Well I’ll come over as there myself as soon as I can, but I’m in a meeting with the district attorney. Do you need me to send someone over now or can you wait, it’ll be about half an hour.”
“We’re fine here, we can wait, no need to rush,” Sheridan said.
“Ok,” Sam said, “I’ll come over and we’ll file a report and call social services.”
“Ok, bye Sam,” Sheridan said and she hung up the phone.
Jonny finished his bottle but he didn’t start to cry, as she was afraid he would. He just looked up at her with his pale green eyes and reached his hand out to touch her face and gurgled. Sheridan smiled and ran her hand over his barely there reddish blond hair. She felt so right holding this baby in her arms. She knew what she had to do. She picked up the phone and made another call.
Almost forty-five minutes later Sam walked into the youth center. Sheridan was sitting in the chair with Jonny propped up in her lap playing with a rattle she found in the diaper bag. “Sorry I took so long, the DA is really long winded. How is the little guy?”
“He’s doing fine. We were just playing.” Jonny yawned and Sheridan laid him against her chest walking around the room and rubbing his back while she talked to Sam. Sam questioned her about finding the baby and what she had seen or heard, taking notes the whole time. He read the note and looked through the baby bag hoping to find some indication of who the mother was or their address, but there was nothing.
Then Luis rushed in the youth center. “Sheridan where are you?”
“Shhh Luis, you’ll wake up the baby,” Sheridan called from the office.
“What baby?” Luis said as he walked in the office, “Lou said you called the station while I was gone and Sam came over here. What’s going on?”
“Someone left their baby here,” Sam told Luis, “actually they left him for you. The notes got your name on it.”
“Me,” Luis said, his eyes widening, “that’s impossible.”
Sheridan smacked Luis’ arm. “Because you’re a police officer,” she laughed.
“Oh.” Luis looked at the baby sleeping happily against Sheridan’s shoulder and an image flashed in Luis’ mind of Sheridan holding their baby. “Do you want me to take him?”
“No, I’m fine,” Sheridan said and she sat back down behind the desk.
“So did you find anything about the mother?” Luis asked.
“Nothing, all we have is the baby’s first name and approximate age.”
“Did you call social services yet?”
“I was about to give them a call,” Sam said, “I’ll have them send someone over to get the baby and take him to one of the kid’s homes.”
“No, no one is taking him,” Sheridan said and she placed a hand protectively on Jonny’s back, “He’s staying with me.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 54: Temporary Custody
“Sheridan, he can’t stay with you,” Luis said, “we have to call social services and they’ll find a place for him. He’ll be ok there.”
“Luis is right Sheridan, we have no choice but to call social services,” Sam agreed, “and if you applied to be a foster parent they rarely take single parents. Even if they did accept you it would still take weeks for all the checks and paperwork to go through.”
“You’re wrong, both of you. He’s staying with me,” Sheridan said and she got up out of her chair, shifting Jonny to her other shoulder.
“I’m sorry Sheridan, but I have to make the call.” Sam picked up the phone, but before he could dial the front slammed.
“Hello, Miss Crane.” A short pudgy woman stepped in the doorway of the office.
“Come in Mrs. Davis, and please, call me Sheridan.”
“Sally, how’d you know we needed you here, I was just about to call you,” Sam said.
“Well as soon as Mr. Crane called and filled me in on the situation and I rushed right over with all the necessary paperwork,” Sally said.
“What paperwork?” Luis asked.
“The paperwork to make Miss Crane little Jonathon’s temporary guardian of course,” Sally said and she turned her attention to Sheridan and the sleeping baby. “It looks like you two are already getting along nicely. I’m sure you’ll do a great job with him.
“But Sally, Sheridan hasn’t been approved to be a foster parent. She hasn’t gone through the checks and the psychological tests,” Sam said.
“Mr. Crane asked us to make an exception for Sheridan,” Sally said, “besides we’re very familiar with her. After all she is a Crane, most of her life has been shown in the newspaper. And she made the generous donation that allowed us to expand the children’s home. She’s even come to visit the children a couple times; bringing them new clothes and toys. We’re sure she’ll take good care of the child.
“Sheridan could I speak to you for a minute,” Luis said and they stepped outside the office.
“Look Luis, I’m sorry if your mad because I used Ethan and the Crane influence to do this but it’s important to me,” Sheridan rambled, “I have to do this. I can’t let them take him off to some strange place with lots of people he doesn’t know. He’s too young to understand what’s going on. When I lost my mother I had someone, Pilar, at least for a little while, to take care of me and give me love when no one else did, and that’s what I want to do for Jonny.”
“I’m not mad Sheridan, I understand why you want to do this. I’m just not sure it’s a good idea.”
“Why, because you don’t think I’m capable of taking care of a baby.”
“Sheridan please don’t get defensive with me. I know you can do anything you set your mind to, including taking care of a baby. I’m sure he couldn’t be in better hands. I’m not worried about the baby Sheridan; I’m worried about you. There’s a chance that the mother could change her mind and come back for him. Or the father or one of the other relatives could come forward and claim him. Even if no one comes forward, just because they made you temporary guardian doesn’t automatically mean that he’ll get to stay with you forever.
I can already see you getting attached to him and I’m afraid of how hurt you’ll be if he’s taken away from you.” Luis put his hand on her back and he felt her sink back into his touch and he slipped his arms around her waist.
Sheridan leaned back against Luis and sighed. “I know there’s a good chance that he won’t stay with me forever, and your probably right. I’ll get too attached to him and it will be hard. But I need to do this. I always wanted to do something important, something to make a difference in someone’s life.
Maybe this is it, what I was meant to do. I keep thinking about your mother. If it hadn’t been for her I might not be the person you love. I could have been a cold calculating Crane that you would hate.”
“You could never be like that.”
“I could have if Pilar hadn’t been there. She taught me everything that makes me who I am, about love and family, and what’s really important in life. And that’s what I want to do for Jonny, to make an impact in his life, to make it better if I can. Any pain I have to endure would be worth it.”
“Then that’s what you should do sweetheart.”
Sheridan turned in Luis’ arms and kissed him. “I love you so much.” While they were kissing Jonny woke up and started to squirm between them.
“Why don’t you let me take him while you go take care if all that paperwork,” Luis offered and he skillfully took the baby from her arms. Sheridan signed all the necessary papers and then Sam and Sally left.
“I’m kind of nervous,” Sheridan admitted.
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine,” Luis said and then his pager beeped and he took a quick look at it. “Ugh,” he said in irritation, “the victim on the case I am working on just regained consciousness and I have to go talk to him and find out who attacked him. I wanted to stay and help you with the baby. I’ll just get someone else to take care of it.”
“No, it’s ok,” Sheridan said, “I knew you would be on duty tonight, so after I called Ethan I called Eve and she said she’d take a quick look at Jonny and make sure he’s ok. And Pilar said she’d go shopping with me to get everything we need. We’ll be fine.
“Ok, I’ll walk you out to they car.” Luis showed Sheridan how to strap Jonny into the car seat. He kissed her goodbye and said he’d see her later and they both left. Eve pronounced Jonny in excellent health and gave Sheridan a few tips on his feeding schedule and what to do if he got sick. Then Sheridan, Pilar, and Jonathon went to a baby store. Sheridan practically bought out the store, buying clothes and books, diapers and formula, a crib, a bassinet, a stroller, a playpen, toys, and more. She even paid two of the stores stock boys to deliver and setup everything that night. While they were putting together the crib in the bedroom next to Sheridan’s, Pilar was showing Sheridan how to give the baby a bath.
After everyone was gone Sheridan put Jonny to sleep in the bassinet next to her bed and went to sleep knowing that she would have to rest up before Jonny woke up hungry in the middle of the night. Later Sheridan woke up to the sound of Jonny’s cries, but he wasn’t hungry. Sheridan rocked him back to sleep in her newly acquired rocking chair. She looked over at the clock, it was one-thirty, Luis’ shift had ended two hours ago, but he wasn’t there yet. Her first thought was that he had been hurt, but she quickly pushed that thought aside, knowing that someone would have called her if anything happened.
‘What if he was lying about being okay with me taking care of Jonny,’ Sheridan thought sadly and she laid Jonny back down and climbed into bed. ‘What if I pushed him away by bringing a baby into our lives. Maybe I should have asked him first. He’s helped raise his own family for so long, maybe he doesn’t want to have a family with me.’ A tear slipped from Sheridan’s eye as she drifted back off to sleep in the half empty bed.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 55: Babysitter
Luis stretched as he woke up and squinted his eyes to shield them from the bright sunlight. He blinked and looked over at the clock it was already two in the afternoon. He hadn’t even gotten to bed until after five in the morning. He had to go on a last minute stakeout last night, but he’d caught the attacker from the wharf yesterday and closed the case. Luis picked up the phone and called the youth center but there was no answer. Then he called Sheridan’s house but no one answered there as well.
‘She’s probably out running errands,’ Luis thought and he climbed out of bed and got in the shower.
Sheridan was at home, but she was busy changing little Jonny’s diaper and wasn’t able to answer the phone.
After a long, hot, relaxing shower Luis toweled off and got dressed. He went in the living a read through the newspaper then he decided to fix himself something to eat. He was sitting at the table eating a big sandwich when Pilar walked in the back door.
“Hi Mama, you’re home early,” Luis said and took a bite of the sandwich.
“I got off work early,” Pilar said, “Luis, I want to talk to you about something.”
“Ok Mama, what is it?”
“It’s about Sheridan, do you have a problem with her taking care of this baby?”
“No Mama, I think it’s great that she wants to do this,” Luis said, I’m just worried about how attached she’ll get to the baby and how upset she’ll be if she can’t keep him.”
“I think she’s worried that you’re upset with her,” Pilar said.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because this morning I stopped by Sheridan’s to see how she and the baby were doing and she asked me if I had seen you. She seemed worried. When I told her you were at home still asleep she started to cry. She tried to say it was nothing but I made her tell me,” Pilar sighed, “she said you made plans to stay with her last night but she thinks you’re upset that she decided to take in the baby. She thinks that’s why you came home instead of staying at her house.”
“That’s not true at all Mama. I was planning to stay at Sheridan’s last night, but I had to go on a stakeout. It was a last minute thing and I didn’t call her because it was so late and I didn’t want the phone to wake up the baby. That’s the same reason I didn’t go over there when I got done. It was five in the morning by the time I got home. I just thought it would be better for them if I didn’t come in and wake them up. I didn’t think Sheridan would be upset. I should try to call her again.”
“You can’t,” Pilar said, “she’s not home. She had a meeting with the city council about the youth center scheduled for late afternoon. She was going to cancel it but I told her to go and have Theresa baby-sit. I’m going to go over there now and take over for Theresa until Sheridan gets home.”
“No mama, I want to go,” Luis said, “you stay here and relax. Take a bath or read a book or something.” Luis grabbed his jacket and left for Sheridan’s, leaving his half eaten sandwich behind.
When Luis walked into Sheridan’s house Theresa was sitting on the couch holding Jonny who was tugging on fistfuls of Theresa’s hair.
“Oh Luis, my big brother the hero,” Theresa laughed, “come save me before he pulls out all my hair.” Luis untangled Jonny’s hands from her long hair and took him from her. “Every time I got one hand to let go he grabbed more hair with the other hand.”
Luis chuckled, “Miguel used to do the same thing to Mama.”
“Luis did you and Sheridan have a fight or something cause she seemed kind of sad when I mentioned your name earlier.”
“No, just a misunderstanding,” Luis said, “but I intend to straighten everything out and make it up to her when she gets home.”
“You know Luis, Jonny is a pretty cute baby and Sheridan’s got this nice house here, you should just marry her and then you’d be one big happy family.”
“I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself Theresa.”
“If you say so,” Theresa teased.
“I’m gonna stay here so your babysitting duties are over.”
“Great, I’ll have to call Ethan and put my plan in motion.”
“What plan and what does it have to do with Ethan?”
“Chad and Whitney are crazy about each other but they won’t admit it, so I’m going to get Whitney to go to the movies with me and get Ethan to talk Chad into going,” Theresa said excitedly, “so can I borrow your car?”
“Yeah I guess, poor Whitney.” Luis gave Theresa his keys and pulled a ten-dollar bill out of his wallet. “Here, thanks for babysitting.”
Theresa stuffed the money in her pocket and headed for the door. Before she walked out she turned back to Luis. “You know your kind of cheap Luis, Sheridan already gave me thirty bucks,” Theresa said and she quickly ducked out the door.
Luis just shook his head and laughed.
He looked around the living room. It looked like the baby had been there his whole life. There was a playpen and a baby swing and lots of toys. There were a couple of baby care books on the coffee table and from the looks of them Sheridan had already read most of them. Luis put Johnny in the playpen and hung up his jacket. He picked up the toys Theresa had gotten out to play with Jonny and then picked the baby back up.
“So little man, were you a good boy today? Do you want to come in the kitchen and help me make dinner for Sheridan?” Luis said and he and Jonny headed into the kitchen.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 56: Pasta a la Luis
Sheridan walked into her house with a frown on her face. She just finished a very unproductive meeting with the city council and she was hoping to see Luis’ car in the driveway when she got home, but it wasn’t there. Her frown turned into a smile when she saw all the baby things in the living room. Sheridan went looking for Theresa and Jonny and was surprised by what she saw in the kitchen. Luis was standing by the stove where there were a couple of pots cooking away with Jonny tucked securely in the crook of one arm.
Luis turned around when he heard Sheridan come in. “Welcome home baby,” Luis said and then he looked down at the baby in his arms, “no I didn’t mean you silly, I meant her.”
Sheridan just smiled. “I wasn’t expecting to find you here.”
“Well I hope you’re happy to see me.”
“Of course I am Its just that I didn’t see your car.”
“Theresa took it. Sheridan I want to talk about why I didn’t come last night.”
“It’s ok Luis you’re not required to…”
“Sheridan, just listen, the only reason I didn’t come is because I had to go on a stakeout last night and I didn’t get done until 5 in the morning. I know I should have called you and told you I had to work late but I didn’t want to wake you and the baby up.
And I didn’t want to disturb you up by coming in so late because I figured Jonny would have gotten you up a couple times during the night and I knew you would need your sleep. Please don’t think that I’m upset with you about the baby, because I’m not. I think it’s a wonderful thing to do.”
“But I should have talked to you about it first,” Sheridan said.
“You don’t have to consult me when you want to do something,” Luis said, “I’m just sorry you thought I was upset with you.”
“It’s ok, but I was worried too. I thought maybe something happened to you.”
“I’m sorry you were worried. Next time I’ll make sure I call you.”
“You better, but I also want you to still come here. I don’t care what time it is or if you wake me up I want you here with me.”
“Well Jonny here told me I should make you a special dinner to make it up to you,” Luis said.
Sheridan took Jonny from Luis. “So it was your idea huh,” she said and the baby just gurgled. “What are you making?”
“Pasta a la Luis,” Luis said wiggling his eyebrows.
“Ooo, sounds delectable,” Sheridan laughed and gave Luis a long kiss. “I really missed you last night.”
“I missed you too.”
“I think I’ll give Jonny his bottle while you finish dinner,” Sheridan said.
Luis set the small table by the window in the kitchen and lit a couple candles. While Jonny sat in his swing by the table, Sheridan and Luis shared a romantic dinner of salads and Pasta a la Luis, consisting of crabmeat, garlic, and mushrooms in a white wine sauce over pasta topped with fresh tomatoes and grated Parmesan. Sheridan was right, it was delectable and she ate every bite. After dinner they gave Jonny a bath together and Sheridan was putting a clean diaper on him.
“It looks like you’ve really gotten the hang of this baby thing,” Luis commented.
“Well, this isn’t the first diaper I’ve changed Luis. In fact the fist one happens to have been a Lopez-Fitzgerald.” Luis raised his eyebrow in question and Sheridan continued. “Pilar use to bring Miguel to the house when was a baby and she let me help her with him.”
“I remember that,” Luis said harshly, “Miguel was barely a week old when they made her go back to work at the mansion, but I couldn’t figure out why she took Miguel with her instead of leaving him at Grandma’s house with Theresa.”
Sheridan looked down at her feet. “It was my fault she came back to work.”
“Of course it wasn’t your fault, you were only a child.”
“Yes it was, she came back because of me,” Sheridan said sadly, “she tried to explain that she was having a baby and she even let me put my hand on her stomach until he kicked sometimes. I was so excited about the baby, but I didn’t really understand that it meant she would be leaving. One day she just didn’t come and then when she didn’t come the next day or the day after that I thought she was never coming back, just like my mother never came back. Pilar was the only one in that house who loved me and I thought she left me.
I wouldn’t eat and I refused to go outside or play with Ethan. I just stayed in my room and slept all day and it was starting to make me sick. Finally Ivy called the doctor because my father was supposed to come home from his business trip and she was afraid of how mad he would be when he found out I was sick. I overheard the doctor tell Ivy that the best thing they could do for me was to get Pilar to come back and spend time with me.” Sheridan stopped and exhaled a shaky breath. “The next afternoon Pilar came to the house and brought Miguel with her.”
“That wasn’t your fault Sheridan. You were just a child, you didn’t understand. You needed someone to be a mother to you and I’m glad she was there for you.”
“I don’t think she was really doing any work when she first came back. She would just come in the afternoon with Miguel and she let me hold him and feed him and sometimes we even took him for walks in the garden. She same to take care of me. She was with me when she should have been at home with her own children,” Sheridan said sadly.
“Don’t be sad about needing someone to love you. All children need to be loved and my mother loves all her children, including you. She has always said that she loves you just like you were one of her own.”
“Sheridan smiled, “really?”
“Absolutely,” Luis said.
Sheridan put Jonny in his pajamas and gave him to Luis while she took a shower. When Sheridan came out of the bathroom her hair was still damp and she was dressed in one of her silk nightgowns. Luis was lying on the bed holding a Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal that Sheridan bought for Jonny just above him while he reached his pudgy little fingers up to try and grab it. Sheridan sat down on the bed and let out a big yawn.
“Are you sleepy sweetie,” Luis asked.
“Yeah, Jonny woke up a few times last night,” Sheridan said and she yawned again, “and I don’t’ sleep as well when you’re not here.”
“Then we should get to bed early because I’m sure this little guy has plans to keep us up again tonight.” Luis propped the baby up against the pillows and he stripped down to his boxers and climbed under the covers.
“I better fix his bottle,” Sheridan said.
“Do you want me to do it,” Luis offered.
“No I can get it.” Sheridan went down to the kitchen and fixed the bottle. When she was walking back to the stairs there was a knock on the door. Sheridan stopped at the front door and looked through the peephole.
“Ugh,” she said before she opened the door. “Hi Hank. It’s late, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here to see you of course,” Hank said with a wink and he eyed her lustily while she stood there in her nightgown.
“It’s kind of late for a visit isn’t it?” Sheridan said annoyed.
“Well I heard that Luis wasn’t exactly happy about you taking in this baby but I think it’s great. I thought I’d come over here and help you take care of the baby.”
“I’ve really got all the help I need Hank.”
Luis stepped into the hallway that overlooked the living room carrying Jonny. “Hey baby, were getting lonely up here waiting for you to come back to bed,” Luis called down to her and then he saw Hank in standing in the doorway. “Oh hey buddy, what are you doing here?”
“Oh Hank heard about Jonny and he wanted to see how we were doing but I told him we were about to go to bed so he is leaving,” Sheridan said quickly.
“Oh ok, See you later Hank,” Luis said and he went back in the bedroom.
“Look Hank I’ve already made it clear to you that I love Luis and I’m not interested in you,” Sheridan said angrily, “how do you think Luis would feel if he knew the real reason you were her is because you wanted to make a move on his girlfriend.
Please don’t come over again without calling first.” Sheridan pushed Hank out of the doorway and shut the door in his face. She was tired of having to put up with him.
She went back to the bedroom and slid under the covers with Luis and Jonny. Once Jonny had finished his bottle he quickly fell asleep and Sheridan put him in the bassinet. She climbed back into the bed and snuggled into Luis’ waiting arms.
“I could spend every night like this,” Sheridan sighed contently.
“Ok, we will,” Luis said and they drifted off to sleep together.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 57: Idiot!
Luis stepped out of the shower and dried himself off with a towel. He stopped when he heard a little noise coming from the bedroom. He wrapped the towel around his waist and walked into the bedroom, straight past a sleeping Sheridan and plucked Jonny from the bassinet.
“Good Morning little man,” Luis whispered and he grabbed a diaper and carried Jonny into the bathroom. “Why don’t you come in here with me so we don’t wake Sheridan up, ok?” Luis put a clean towel on the floor and laid Jonny down and changed his diaper. “I bet that feels better huh.” Luis left Jonny lying on the floor trying to pull his toes into his mouth and kept talking to him while he shaved and brushed his teeth.
Sheridan woke up and stretched. It didn’t surprise her to find the bed half empty because she was getting used to Luis getting up before her when he had an early shift, but she felt a sudden sense of panic when she looked over and saw Jonny wasn’t in the bassinet. Then she heard Luis’ voice from the bathroom and realized he was talking to Jonny. She settled back down onto the pillow and waited for them to come out.
“So what do you think little man?” Luis said as he picked Jonny up and held him up in front of his face. Jonny reached his pudgy hands up and grabbed Luis’ cheeks while happily gurgling and grinning.
“Good huh? That’s just the way Sheridan likes it, nice and smooth. Let’s go wake her up.” When Luis walked out of the bathroom he saw that Sheridan was already awake and he looked down at Jonny. “Well little man, looks like she’s already up.”
“So what are my two boys up to so early?” Sheridan asked playfully.
“Just a little chat between men that’s all.” Luis laid Jonny down on the bed next to Sheridan. “Well that and I taught him the finer points of shaving.”
“I’m sure that’ll come in handy,” Sheridan laughed and she watched Luis as he discarded his towel and dressed in his uniform.
“Do you want me to fix you some breakfast?”
“No, I’ll just grab a donut at the station. What are your plans for the day?”
“We’re just gonna hang around the house this morning and later this afternoon we’ll go to the youth center for a couple hours to make sure everything’s under control, nothing exciting. We’ll be here when you get home from work.”
“Ok, I’ll see you later then. Love you.” Luis kissed Sheridan goodbye.
“I love you too.”
When Sheridan got back from the youth center Ethan’s car was parked in front of the house and he was sitting in it waiting for her. Sheridan got out of the car and was removing a sleeping Jonny from his car seat when Ethan walked over.
“So this is Jonny huh,” Ethan said. He’d been busy with something for the last few days so this was the first time he’d seen the baby.
“Yep, this is him,” Sheridan said, “would you grab his bag for me.” Sheridan unlocked the door so they could go inside. “Is something wrong Ethan? Why were you sitting outside waiting for me?”
“I just wanted to see you that’s all,” Ethan lied, “I haven’t seen you in a few of days.”
“So what have you been up to lately?” Sheridan asked while she took the coat off the now awake Jonny.
“Just stuff. So can I hold him?”
“Sure,” Sheridan put the baby in Ethan’s arms. “I’ll go fix his bottle and you can feed him.” When Sheridan came back from the kitchen she handed a warmed bottle of formula to Ethan.
“Are you sure you don’t want to do this yourself?” Ethan asked, “I don’t know how to feed a baby.”
“You’ll be fine. All you have to do is hold the bottle up to his mouth like this and he’ll do the rest. See, you’re doing just fine.”
“I can see why you were so insistent about taking care of him. He’s adorable. What does Luis think about all this?”
“At first I didn’t think he was very happy about it, but he was just worried that I’d get too attached to the baby and I won’t be able to keep him.”
“Luis is right Sheridan, there’s a possibility that you might not be able to keep him.”
“I know, and I’ve accepted it. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to love him any less just because he might not be with me forever,” Sheridan said, “And now Luis seems to be getting just as attached to him as I am. You should see them together Ethan. Luis is so great with him and Jonny just adores Luis. Whenever Luis picks him up and starts talking to him Johnny’s little face just lights up.”
“I’m glad to see that your so happy,” Ethan said, but his face looked anything but happy. Jonny was finished with his bottle so Sheridan took the baby from Ethan and gently patted his back to burp him.
“So are you ready to tell me why you’re really here?” Sheridan asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Ethan you didn’t drive all the way over here and sit in your car waiting for me to get here just to sit around and chit chat. I can tell that something’s been bothering you. It’s been obvious that something has been troubling you for a while now. Do you want to tell me about it?”
“I just don’t want you to hear it from someone else and before long everyone’s going to know.”
“Know what Ethan? What’s happened?”
“I called off the wedding?”
“You what?” Sheridan said shocked. “Why? What happened? You never told me you and Gwen were having problems. Why didn’t you talk to me about this?”
“I just really needed to figure things out on my own. I guess this has been coming for a long time, I just wasn’t ready to face it. Gwen just isn’t the person I thought she was. The way she’s been acting, the things she’s said. Whenever the phone rings I hope it’s not her and I’m actually happy that she’s out of town all the time. That’s not the way you’re supposed to feel about the woman you’re going to marry. I couldn’t marry her. I was dreading the thought of spending the rest of my life with her.”
“Oh Ethan, I’m sorry.”
While Ethan and Sheridan were inside talking Luis pulled up in the driveway. He grabbed the empty trashcan from the curb and put them in the garage and he came in through the garage door into the kitchen.
“Father and Grandfather are furious with me and mother is upset, but I know she just wants me to be happy. Gwen threw a fit. She didn’t even seem to care that I don’t love her. She was just angry about how it would look to everyone.”
“Ethan, don’t worry about what everyone else thinks. You need to do what is right for you. You can’t plan your future based on what other people want you to do or you’ll never be happy. What would make you happy?”
“Theresa,” Ethan said quietly.
“What?”
“I’m in love with Theresa.”
A smile spread across Sheridan’s face. “Oh yeah, since when?”
“I guess for a while now,” Ethan sighed, “but I just didn’t realize it. At first I thought it was just because I was nervous about getting married, but that wasn’t it. She is the most amazing person I have ever met.”
“Well it’s about time.”
“You knew?”
“Of course I knew, I just didn’t think you would ever do anything about it. Have you said anything to Theresa yet?”
“No. I mean what if she’s not interested in me. What if I tell her I’m in love with her and she laughs in my face?”
“God you are such an idiot!” Luis grumbled from the doorway to the kitchen.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 58: I’m In Love With You
“Luis!” Sheridan said annoyed.
“I’m sorry Sheridan but you heard what he said and he’s an idiot. He’s apparently blind.”
“Luis, I’m sorry,” Ethan said in a somewhat shaky voice, “I know you don’t want me involved with your sister.” Ethan stood up and turned to face Luis, but his eyes gave away his nervousness. “Are you going to kill me?”
Luis just erupted with laughter. He laughed so hard his body was shaking.
“Why is he laughing Sheridan? God he’s gonna kill me,” Ethan said nervously.
Luis just kept laughing, shaking his head at Ethan until Sheridan threw a couch pillow at him. “Stop it Luis, you’re scaring him.”
Luis topped laughing and circled around the couch. He took the baby from Sheridan and sat down in a chair across from the couch. “Sit back down Ethan,” Luis commanded.
Satisfied that Luis wasn’t that much of a threat with a baby in his arms, Ethan sat back down on the couch. Ethan looked to Sheridan for help. “Maybe I would have been better off marrying Gwen,” Ethan lamented, “I would have had a miserable life, but at least I’d be alive.”
“I’m not gonna kill you,” Luis said, a wicked grin spreading across his face, “at least not yet.”
“Luis!”
“I’m sorry baby, I’m just having a little fun with him. I mean the boy apparently can’t see what’s right in front of his face,” Luis laughed again.
“What are you talking about?” Ethan said. He was getting annoyed that he didn’t understand what they were saying about him.
“You worrying that Theresa doesn’t like you is one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard.”
“Why because you’re never going to let me see her again?”
“No, because my sister has been in love with you since she was four years old.”
Ethan’s jaw dropped. “She what? But…but she told Gwen that she wasn’t interested in me.”
“What did you expect the daughter of the maid to say to the rich snobby woman you were engaged to marry.”
Ethan opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He stopped and thought for a moment. “Does this mean you’re not going to stop me and Theresa from getting together?”
“I suppose it does,” Luis said and a smile began to form on Ethan’s lips. “But I will be watching you very carefully. And if you hurt my sister, if you make her cry, then I will kill you.”
“I won’t, I swear,” Ethan said vehemently. “Wait a minute, is that a trick or something? You know Theresa cries all the time, even when she’s happy.”
Luis laughed at him again. “Would you just get out of here and go find my sister before I change my mind.” Ethan grabbed his coat and left.
“You never cease to amaze me,” Sheridan said to Luis and she walked over and sat on the arm of the chair he was sitting in.
“I try my best.” Luis put his arm around her waist, while still holding the baby in the other arm and pulled her down into the chair with him.
“I thought for sure you would be at least a little upset.”
“Well you and my mother have been telling me every chance you get about how wonderful he is, so I guess he must not be that bad.”
“See I told you everything would work out for Theresa.”
“Yes you did baby. Now what do you say we put this little guy down for a nap and then I can show you just how amazing I really am.
Ethan paced nervously on the sidewalk leading to Theresa’s front door for a moment before he decided on what he was going to say and he knocked on the door. Theresa answered and he stared deeply into her sparkling eyes.
He still couldn’t believe what Luis had told him, that Theresa had been in love with him all this time. It was those eyes that had drawn him in, captured him. He’d been trying to figure out for so long what was so special about those eyes, but know he knew. It wasn’t her eyes themselves, but the way she had always looked at him, with love.
“Hi, can I come in?” Ethan asked.
“Sure. I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”
“Well, I wanted to see you. Are you busy?”
“No.”
“Good,” Ethan said and he tried to calm his nerves but his stomach was doing flip-flops. “Would you like to go for a walk?”
“Sure, that sounds like fun. Let’s walk over to the park.” Ethan helped Theresa with her jacket and opened the door. He took her hand and they started walking.
‘Oh my god,’ Theresa screamed inside her head as the walked along, ‘I can’t believe Ethan is holding my hand. This is so amazing.’
When they got to the park Ethan stopped in front of the swings and let go of her hand. “Come and sit down, there’s something I want to talk about.”
“Is something wrong Ethan?” Theresa asked and she sat down in one of the swings.
“No, everything’s fine, almost perfect in fact.” Ethan sat down in the swing next to hers and twisted it around so they were facing each other.
“Ok then what is it?”
“I called off my wedding to Gwen.”
Theresa’s eyes widened. “You what? Why?” she asked, too afraid to hope.
“Because I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life with her. I don’t love her.” Ethan lifted his hand and stroked Theresa’s long silky hair. “I’m in love with you Theresa.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 59: Love Revealed
Theresa’s breath caught in her throat. “You what?” She managed to squeeze out.
“I love you Theresa,” Ethan said and he leaned in and kissed Theresa tenderly. It took her a second to realize that this wasn’t a dream, that it was really happening, and she returned the kiss.
“Oh Ethan, I love you too,” Theresa gushed. “I’ve waited so long to hear you say that, to hear you say those words. I’m afraid it’s all a dream and I’ll wake up and you’ll be gone.”
“It’s not a dream and I’m not going anywhere.” A few tears slipped from Theresa’s eyes. “Hey now, no crying. Luis said he’d kill me if I made you cry.”
“I’m crying because I’m happy. Luis, oh no, Luis. What are we going to tell Luis? What if he tries to keep us apart?”
“He won’t. I’ve already talked to him and he won’t stand in our way.”
“I can’t believe it,” Theresa said excitedly, “you actually love me and Luis is going to let us be together. This is like a dream come true. I love you so much.”
“I love you too Theresa and I’m not going to let anyone or anything stand in our way.” Ethan stood up and pulled Theresa up with him wrapping his arms around her waist. His lips took hers in a kiss full of sweet passion.
When the kiss ended Theresa pulled back and looked into Ethan’s eyes. “If we’re ever going to have any kind of future together we have to be honest with each other, so there’s something I have to tell you.”
“Is it that you lied when you told me and Gwen that you weren’t interested in me and you’ve really been in love with me since you were four?”
“Oh my god, how did you know that?”
“I was at Sheridan’s and I told her that I was worried that maybe you weren’t interested in me and Luis said I was an idiot for not being able to tell that you had always been in love with me.”
“Do you hate me for lying to you?”
“Of course not. I do understand why you felt you had to lie. I mean if you had told me from the beginning I don’t know what I would have done. And I’d been lying too. Gwen, Chad, Sheridan, even my mother asked me if I had feeling for you and I said no. I wasn’t being honest with myself so I couldn’t be honest with anyone else. You’ve had my heart for a long time; it just took my head a little while to catch up. But I have a question. How could you have been in love with me when you were only four years old? We hadn’t even met then.”
“When Mama would come home from work I would ask her what she did that day. She told me all about the things she had done with you and Sheridan. You sounded like the most wonderful person I had ever heard of, and you got to spend all that time with Mama when she wasn’t home. One day Mama brought home a picture of you and I fell instantly in love. I never thought or dreamed of anyone else, only you my whole life. You were like my prince charming, and not because of your money, none of that matters to me. I’d love you even if you lived down the street at the Bennett’s.
“I fell in love with the little boy who baked cookies with my mother and got sick cause he ate too many chocolate chips when she wasn’t looking and who picked the prize roses from the garden to give his mother when she wasn’t feeling well. You have always been the only man for me.”
“And you are the only woman for me.” Ethan pulled her into another kiss. “Come, let me take you to dinner.”
“Ok, but I should change first.”
“Why? You look perfect just the way you are. Come on.”
The next morning Luis tromped down the stairs to answer the door and found Theresa standing on the porch with the biggest grin on her face he had ever seen.
“Let me guess. You’ve seen Ethan.”
“Oh Luis, you are the best brother ever.” Theresa gushed and she threw her arms around Luis and hugged him tightly. “Can you believe it? All my dreams have come true. I told you it was fate. You and Sheridan, me and Ethan, it’s amazing.”
“Yes, it’s definitely amazing,” Sheridan said and she walked down the stairs into the entryway carrying Johnny. “I’ve never seen you so happy Theresa, you’re positively glowing.”
“Sheridan, I know you and Gwen are friends so I’m sure you’re not exactly thrilled that he decided not to marry her.”
“Gwen and I were friends but I’ve hardly heard from her since I moved off the estate. What I want is for Ethan to be happy and I can see that you make him happy. I’m glad that you and Ethan have found your way to each other.”
“It’s all because of you Sheridan. I know that if it weren’t for you Luis would never have accepted me and Ethan being together. So, I want to do something for both of you. Luis, tonight I want you to take Sheridan out to dinner and Ethan and I will baby-sit Jonny.”
“We couldn’t ask you to do that,” Sheridan said, “you and Ethan just got together. I’m sure you tow want to go out and have fun.”
“Ethan took me out for a romantic dinner last night. You guys haven’t gone out anywhere for a while because you’ve been taking care of Jonny. You deserve a night out.”
“Theresa’s right baby. Tonight I am taking you to the Seascape for dinner and dancing, no arguments.”
“Ok, that sounds great,” Sheridan replied. “Do you have any plans this afternoon Theresa?”
“No.”
“Good, then please come shopping for a new dress with me.”
“Sheridan you have tons of dresses why do you need a new one?”
“Luis, a woman can never have too many dresses,” Theresa chastised. “I’d love to go with you Sheridan.”
“Ok, ok,” Luis relented, “you two go shopping. I’ll take Jonny with me. I have some errands to run and I want to go by the house and see Mama. There’s no reason Jonny should have to suffer the torture of shopping with two women.”
“Ok, why don’t we meet at the Book Café for coffee at four then. Theresa and I should definitely be done by then.”
Later that afternoon Luis walked into the Book Café with Jonny securely tucked in his arm. Ethan was sitting at the counter talking to Chad.
“Hey Chad. Ethan, I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
“Theresa called me and said to meet you guys here. I just got here early and was catching up with Chad.”
“Yeah man, I was just telling Ethan about Beth,” Chad said, “you must be bummed about her and Hank.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 60: Gone
“What about Beth and Hank?” Luis asked.
But Chad got distracted before he could answer. “Mm hmm, you two have to be some of the luckiest guys in the world. Here come your lovely ladies now, looking as fine as ever.”
Sheridan and Theresa were walking towards them. They were wearing different clothes than they had on when they left and their hair was even different too.
“I thought you were just going shopping?”
“Well we found some dresses and quite a few other things really quickly. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go shopping without Theresa again. Everything she picked out for me I loved,” Sheridan said. “So then we grabbed some lunch and decided to get our hair and nails done.”
“Yeah, it was a lot of fun,” Theresa added.
“Well, you both look beautiful,” Ethan complimented and he kissed them both on the cheek.
“Breathtaking,” Luis added and he gave Sheridan a quick kiss.
“Do you all want your usual?” Chad asked and they all agreed. “Ok, go grab a table and I’ll bring it right over.”
Sheridan took the baby from Luis when they got to the table. “Were you a good boy today?”
“I was great,” Luis teased and Sheridan rolled her eyes. “He was perfect. We went and visited Mama for a while and we stopped by Sam’s house but he wasn’t home. But we did see his weird neighbor Tabitha. She had that doll with her that she carries around all the time and Jonny kept staring at it like he thought it was going to start talking or something.”
“Ok, here you go,” Chad said and he placed their drinks on the table.
“Hey Chad, what were you going to tell us about Beth and Hank earlier?” Luis asked.
“Oh yeah.” Chad pulled up a chair and started to explain. “Last night, a couple of hours before closing Beth came downstairs with some suitcases. She told me I was the manager now and I could live upstairs if I wanted and she gave me all the keys. Then Hank showed up and she left with him. Kay, Miguel, and Charity came in this morning and said that Hank packed up all his stuff and disappeared last night. He left a note that said he hated Harmony and he and Beth were taking off.”
“Wow. Did you know Luis?” Theresa asked.
“No I had no idea. I’ve only seen Beth a couple of times in the last few weeks and we haven’t really talked much. And Hank has pretty much been avoiding me, so I haven’t really seen him except that night he stopped by Sheridan’s.”
“Do you think that’s why they left?” Sheridan asked, “first you got mad at Beth and then when Hank came over I was kind of mean to him.”
“Well I don’t care why they left. I know they were supposed to be your friends Luis, but I never liked Beth and she had no right to treat Sheridan the way she did.”
“I agree with Theresa. I mean Sheridan you remember when we had lunch at that little bistro downtown and Hank was across the street staring at you,” Ethan said. “It really gave me the creeps the way he was looking at you, like he was picturing you naked or something.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me about that?”
“I’m sorry Luis. I just didn’t want to cause more problems between you and Hank. And he never really did anything, I just saw him watching me a few times. He never even said anything to me. But then when he sowed up at the house he started talking about how he heard you were upset about the baby so he’d come over to help.
He kept staring at my chest and he winked at me. I was really annoyed that he’d just been waiting around looking for some problem between us so he could jump in and make his move and I practically slammed the door in his face.”
“It’s not your fault,” Luis said. “Hank made his own decisions and so did Beth. They’re gone now and nothing will change that, so I don’t think we should dwell on it.”
“Luis is right, so let’s not worry about it anymore. Why don’t you and Luis go and get ready for you date tonight. Theresa and I are going to pick up some takeout and rent a movie and then we’ll be over to report for babysitting duty.
“Ok, we’ll see you later,” Luis said and he and Sheridan left.
Luis sat on the couch playing with Jonny waiting for Sheridan to finish getting ready. He had been upstairs getting dressed in the bedroom with her but she kicked him out of the room before she put on her dress because she didn’t want him to see her in it until she was completely ready.
Jonny tugged at Luis’ bow tie with a chubby fist. Luis thought it was silly that he had to wear a tux to go to dinner at the Seascape when he’d only had to wear a suit when he and Sheridan ate at the top of the Eiffel Tower and it had been a much fancier and more exclusive restaurant.
Sheridan still hadn’t come down when Ethan and Theresa arrived. “Come in and join us while we wait. Sheridan still isn’t really yet. I think she’s planning on making an entrance.”
“That dress deserves an entrance. She’s gonna look fabulous,” Theresa announced, and she took the baby from Luis and started playing with him while Ethan sat the boxes of food and the movies on the coffee table.
“So what movies did you rent?”
“A couple of romantic chick clicks,” Ethan said.
“Both of them? Don’t let Theresa push you around too much or she’ll never let you have anything your way,” Luis teased.
“Hey!” Theresa protested.
“It’s ok,” Ethan shrugged, “we didn’t think it was a good idea to watch anything that was too violent or loud with the baby in here with us. Besides Sheridan used to make me watch all those girly movies with her and I’m sure she does the same thing to you.” “Ok, I admit it,” Luis laughed.
Theresa tugged on Luis’ arm and when he turned around he saw Sheridan coming down the stairs. He opened his mouth but no words came out. All he could do was stare.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 61: Untied
When Luis finally managed to speak all he could get out was, “oh my god!”
Sheridan came down the last step wearing a black two piece matte satin dress. She made a slow turn in front of Luis showing off her dress. The top had a plunging v-neckline that was accentuated with tiny black beads. Her back was completely bare except for the thin crisscrossing spaghetti straps tied into a delicate bow. The skirt hung low on her hips leaving her belly button exposed and the waist and hem were also beaded.
A high off-center slit that came up to mid thigh allowed one of Sheridan’s long legs to peek out topped off by a black strappy heel. “So, what do you think?”
“I think I’m in love.” Luis walked up to Sheridan and with one hand resting on her exposed stomach he leaned in close and whispered so that no one else could hear. “Are you sure you want to go out because I have an urge to take you right back up those stairs.”
Sheridan wrapped her hands around Luis’ neck and pulled his ear down to her lips. “What kind of girl do you think I am? You should at least buy me dinner before you proposition me,” Sheridan teased, “besides your little sister and my nephew are standing right behind us.
I think it would be just a tad obvious if we turned around and went up to our bedroom don’t you think.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Luis sighed.
“Hey you two quit with the whispering over there,” Ethan said, “we can just imagine what you are talking about and in our minds it’s probably much worse than what you’re really saying.”
Sheridan’s cheeks pinked slightly as they pulled apart. “We better get going,” Luis said and he shrugged into his tuxedo jacket. “Sheridan do you want your jacket?”
“No, I’m fine. The weather’s been pretty warm lately,” Sheridan said and she grabbed her small matching black beaded purse.
“Ok Theresa, Jonny will be ready for his next bottle in two hours and if anything happens call my cell phone.”
“Don’t worry Sheridan, Jonny will be fine. I’ve got everything under control here. Luis, don’t let her worry. Make her go out and have a good time. Stay out as long as you want.”
“Thanks Theresa,” Luis said and they left.
“So are you having a good time?” Luis asked after they finished dinner.
“I’m having a great time. Thank you for bringing me here Luis. I know how much you hate having to wear a tux.”
“It’s worth it to see you smile at me like that. How about a dance while we wait for our dessert.”
“I’d love to.” Sheridan and Luis swayed together, holding each other tightly as the slow romantic music played.
Luis had his hands tangled in the strings of Sheridan’s top while his fingers caressed her bare back as they danced. “Be careful back there Luis. You tug on those strings wrong and you’ll expose me to the world.”
“Oh sorry,” Luis said sheepishly and he pulled back his hands.
Sheridan giggled. “I was just teasing. There’s a little knot in the bow so it won’t come untied unless I want it too.”
“But what if I want it too,” Luis said mischievously and he put his hands back where they were.
“Behave yourself Luis.”
After their dance they shared a delectable tiramisu for dessert. Sheridan put the last bite on her fork and fed it to Luis. “Do you think when we leave here we could go for a walk on the beach?”
“Sure if you want, but how are you going to walk on the beach with those shoes on?”
“I’ll just take them off.”
“Ok, but I want another dance before we go.”
“I’ll let you have two.”
The moonlight made Sheridan’s hair look golden as she sank her toes into the cool sand and she shivered slightly.
“I told you to bring your jacket,” Luis said as he put his tuxedo jacket on her shoulders.
“Why would I want to do that. I prefer to wear yours.”
“You little sneak,” Luis laughed as they walked hand in hand.
“I can’t help it. I like to have your warmth and your scent wrapped around me.”
“Why settle for my jacket when you can have the real thing.” Luis wrapped her in his arms and kissed the smile off her lips.
“Luis,” Sheridan moaned between kisses, “take me home and untie my strings.”
“With pleasure.”
When they got home Theresa and Ethan were lying down on the couch snuggled up together asleep while their second movie still played on the TV and Jonny was asleep in the playpen set up next to the couch.
Luis flipped off the TV and was about to wake them up when Sheridan stopped him.
“No Luis, let them sleep. They look so cute together.”
“Yeah I guess so,” Luis said half-heartedly while Sheridan covered them with a blanket.
“Why don’t you call your mother and let her know that Theresa is staying here so she won’t worry and I’ll take Jonny upstairs to his room. Then we can meet in the bedroom and take care of those urges you were having earlier.”
“Don’t take too long.” Luis said and went upstairs to use the phone in the bedroom.
Sheridan gathered up the baby and took him up to the crib in his room. On her way down the hall she reached her arms behind her back and undid the knot on her top to make it easier for Luis to untie it. When she stepped in the bedroom Luis was undoing the buttons of his shirt and Sheridan shut the door and flipped on the baby monitor.
She stepped out of her shoes and walked over to Luis and helped him undo the last of the buttons on his shirt and slid it off him.
“I’ve been waiting for this all night.”
“Me too. I’ve been dying to untie those strings.”
Sheridan took a step back pulled her skirt over her hips and left it in a pool on the floor and looked up at Luis. “All you have to do is pull,” Sheridan purred. Luis reached around to her back and tugged on the strings until they loosened and the top slid down her body.
Luis looked at her adoringly, “How did I get to be so unbelievably lucky?”
“I was thinking the exact same thing,” Sheridan whispered and she kissed Luis hungrily.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 62: Good Mornings
Luis woke up tangled in the sheets and Sheridan. He was still naked but she was now wearing one of her silk nightgowns and he figured she had gotten up sometime in the night with the baby. Sheridan shifted in her sleep and snuggled up closer to Luis, her hand slipping from his waist to a very arousing position. Luis groaned quietly and dipped his head down to kiss probingly around her neck and down her chest.
“Mmm,” Sheridan moaned as her eyes fluttered open, “good morning to you too.” She pushed Luis down into the pillow and slid on top of him nibbling at his lips with a sensual good morning kiss. She could feel all of his body pressed firmly underneath her. “And I can tell you’re happy to see me.”
“It’s all your doing, you and your wandering hands. What were you dreaming about while you were groping me anyway?”
“Naughty things,” Sheridan winked.
“Speaking of naughty things, come and join me in the shower before Jonny wakes up.”
“Are you planning on working me up into a lather?”
“Oh I definitely plan on getting you all worked up,” Luis said and he picked Sheridan up and carried her into the bathroom.
Luckily Jonny decided not to wake up until Sheridan and Luis were out of the shower and almost dressed. They got Jonny changed and dressed together and when they went downstairs the couch was empty.
“I guess Ethan and Theresa woke up and left early,” Sheridan said and she fixed a bottle for Jonny.
“So what would you like for breakfast?” Luis asked, “Eggs? Toast?”
“Waffles,” Sheridan grinned, “with pecans in them.”
“You expect me to make you waffles. Do I look like a chef?” Sheridan nodded her head. “Well, I suppose I do owe you after what you did in the shower. So waffles it is.”
Luis started to get the ingredients out when Ethan came in the kitchen. “Good morning Ethan called out and Luis dropped one of the eggs he was carrying. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you like that.”
“That’s ok Ethan, we just thought you left already because you weren’t on the couch,” Sheridan said.
“Well that couch is only comfortable for so long, especially with two people on it. I woke up about two in the morning with a crick in my neck so I carried Theresa into the guest room and we slept in there.”
Luis’ fists were clenched at his side. “I don’t think I’m too happy about the idea of you in bed with my sister.”
“Oh lighten up Luis,” Theresa said as she walked into the kitchen and kissed him on the cheek, “we were just sleeping.
Besides that’s kind of hypocritical considering you and your girlfriend were sleeping upstairs, or at least I’m sure you slept at some point.”
“Could we please end this conversation,” Sheridan muttered.
“Ok,” Theresa said switching gears, “what’s for breakfast?”
“Waffles.”
“Is he in trouble or something?” Theresa asked Sheridan, “Cause I ask him to make waffles for me all the time and he always says no, that he only makes them for special occasions.” Theresa turned to Luis. “What did you do?”
Luis grinned, “It’s not what I did it’s what Sheridan did for me.”
“What did you do?” Ethan asked Sheridan.
Her cheeks turned bright pink and she looked down at Jonny, refusing to make eye contact with anyone else. “Nothing, I didn’t do anything. We are just having waffles, okay.”
“Okay, but Theresa and I have to leave after breakfast. You have a meeting this morning with the hospital fundraising board about planning that Charity auction that Crane Industries is sponsoring.”
“Are you sure Mrs. Crane still wants me to do that? I mean she must be mad at me because you called off the wedding to Gwen and everything.”
“Don’t be silly, my mother adores you and she wants me to be happy. She has complete faith in your work, nothing has changed.”
“Ok, but I need to go home and shower and change before the meeting.”
“You left the clothes you got yesterday in my car and I put them upstairs. Why don’t you wear something new and you can shower and get dressed up in my room while Luis makes breakfast,” Sheridan suggested.
“And after breakfast I’ll drop you off at the hospital and I’ll go home and change before I head to the office.”
“Ok, be right back.” Theresa headed upstairs.
“So Luis, do you need any help with breakfast?” Ethan asked.
Luis looked at Ethan funny. “You can cook?”
“Yeah I can cook. Pilar taught me.”
“If mama taught you to cook then why didn’t she teach Sheridan?”
“Because I wasn’t allowed to come home on school breaks and Ethan was.”
Luis was going to say something comforting to Sheridan but when he looked at her she wasn’t sad at all. She was smiling and playing with Jonny. “Sure you can help. Crack the eggs in that bowl.”
When Theresa came back down to the kitchen after her shower Luis and Ethan were cooking away and chatting, bringing a smile to Theresa’s face. This is so great. I never thought this would happen. All of us here together and Luis not killing Ethan. I think you’ve mellowed him Sheridan.”
“Luis is anything but mellow,” Sheridan laughed, “I think he just wants you to be as happy as he is.”
“I am, I definitely am. Happier than I’ve ever been.”
The next afternoon Sheridan was working at the youth center. Theresa had come by and taken Jonny out for a walk in the park since it was such a nice day out and Sheridan was hoping to finish up her work by the time they got back so they could leave early. She set up some chairs for the after school tutoring and then she got out the basketballs for the kids to use when school got out.
When she walked out of the gym a woman about the same age as Sheridan was coming in the door. She had long red hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, she wore faded jeans and a T-shirt and her pale green eyes were searching frantically around the room.
“Can I help you with something?” Sheridan called out.
When the woman turned towards Sheridan she saw that there were some fading bruises on the side of her face. “I’m looking for officer, Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald.”
“He’s not here. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Will he be here later?”
“Not today,” Sheridan answered, “Luis doesn’t run the youth center anymore, I do.”
“Oh no,” the woman cried, “what am I going to do. I have to find him. I have to find my baby!”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 63: The Return
The color drained from Sheridan’s face.
“Please help me,” the woman begged, “I have to find out where they took my baby?”
“Are you Jonny’s mother?” Sheridan asked, her voice shaking.
“You’ve seen Jonny? You know where my baby is?”
“Yes, I know where he is. What is your name?”
“Melanie, Melanie Wilson.”
“Melanie, my name is Sheridan Crane. Why don’t you come in the office with me so we can sit down and talk.”
“Is Jonny ok?”
“Yes he’s fine,” Sheridan said, “I’m the one who found Jonny when you left him here. He’s been living with me.”
“You’ve been taking care of my baby? Where is he now?”
As if on cue, Theresa came in the youth center with Jonny. “Hey Sheridan, we’re back. Jonny loved the ducks in the pond,” Theresa said as she pushed the stroller into Sheridan’s office.
Melanie jumped up from her chair and picked Jonny up from the stroller. “Oh baby, Momma missed you so much.”
“Who is she?” Theresa asked concerned.
“She’s Jonny’s mother.”
“She’s what?”
“It’s ok Theresa,” Sheridan said, having to try very hard to keep herself calm. “Why don’t you go and find your brother at work and ask him to come home as soon as possible for me.”
“Sure, but,” Theresa hesitated, “are you gonna be ok?”
“I’m fine.” Theresa left and Sheridan spoke to Melanie who was still hugging and kissing Jonny and he was happily giggling and grabbing at her face. “Why don’t we go to my house so we can talk some more. You can follow me in your car.”
“I don’t have a car,” Melanie answered sheepishly.
“Ok, we’ll just take my car then.” Melanie reluctantly let Sheridan take Jonny when she reached for him. “Come on Jonny, let’s get your jacket on and go home.”
The moment he saw Theresa’s face when she walked into his office Luis knew that something was wrong. “What happened?”
“Jonny’s mother is back,” Theresa said, tears brimming in her eyes.”
“When?”
“Just a little while ago at the youth center.”
“Did she try to take the baby?”
“No she was just holding him, but she didn’t try to leave with him. Sheridan asked me to tell you to come home as soon as you can. I think they all went to Sheridan’s house.”
Without hesitation Luis grabbed his jacket and left the station. When he got to Sheridan’s, she and Melanie were sitting on the couch talking and Jonny was lying on a blanket on the floor swatting his hands at the toys that were dangling over his head.
Luis picked Jonny up and tucked him protectively into the crook of his arm. “Hey there little man.”
Melanie felt a sudden sense of panic when she saw a uniformed police officer come in. “Is he here to arrest me for leaving Jonny?”
“I could arrest you, you abandoned your baby,” Luis said coldly.
“Luis, no,” Sheridan said, “she needs our help.”
“Jonny is the one who needs our help. You abandoned your baby and now you just show up to take him back?”
“I’m not going to take him back, I just needed to make sure that he was ok.”
“What?” Sheridan said stunned, “I thought you were here to get him.”
“I want to keep him with me but I can’t. You’re right, Jonny is the one who needs protection and I can’t protect him. I can’t even protect myself,” Melanie sobbed.
“Please tell Luis what you were starting to tell me before he got here,” Sheridan asked. Luis sat down in a chair and listened.
“Jonny’s father, Jake, he was really nice when we first met, but a few months after we started living together he started doing drugs. Things got really bad after that and he started hitting me. I tried to leave a couple of times but he always found me and made me come back. Then he and one of his junkie buddies tried to rob a gas station and got arrested.
After he was in jail I found out I was pregnant. I moved to a new apartment and got a new job as a secretary and didn’t tell anyone where I was going. Jake doesn’t now anything about Jonny, and I was hoping I’d never hear from him again. But somehow he found out where I lived and my new phone number and he called one day and said he was up for early parole and his lawyer said it was a sure thing that he’d be released in a couple days. He was mad that I’d moved and didn’t tell him but he said he couldn’t wait to see me again.
I was scared. I thought about trying to move again, but I barely make enough money to pay all the bills and daycare and there wasn’t enough to get a new place. And he’d probably just find me again. He never even knew I was pregnant and he hates kids. I was afraid of what he’d do to Jonny, so I left him at the youth center because I thought it would be better for him. And I was right; Jake wasn’t out of jail for a week when he started doing drugs again. When I told him I didn’t think we should be together anymore he started hitting me again.
I came to make sure Jonny’s being taken care of while I have the chance. Jake got arrested again yesterday, but his lawyer called me and told me that there wasn’t any evidence and they will let him go soon. I just wanted to make sure he was ok, to see him one last time. I love my son, but I can’t give him what he needs. He needs a safe home where he won’t have to be afraid or get hurt and you can give him that. He belongs with you now.”
“No,” Sheridan replied tearfully, “he doesn’t, he belongs with his mother.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 64: A New Life
“If you didn’t have to worry about Jake, would you want to be with Jonny?” Sheridan asked.
“Of course, but Jake’s gonna get out of jail and he’ll be back.”
“What’s his last name?” Luis asked.
“Longstreet.”
“You’re right, they’re gonna drop the charges,” Luis said, “a couple of rookies made the bust but they went in too early, before the deal went down. There’s no physical evidence so they’ll probably drop the charges tomorrow.”
“And he’ll come back again,” Melanie said sadly.
“Do you have any family?” Sheridan asked.
“No. My father died when I was a baby and a year and a half ago my mother died of cancer. I have an uncle and some cousins somewhere but I don’t really know them.”
“Yes of course, but I don’t have the money.”
“Forget about the money,” Sheridan said, “would you be willing to leave Harmony, leave the state even. Could you leave everything behind, your home, your job, your friends?”
“There isn’t much left to leave behind. All my friends stopped coming around because of Jake. He kept calling me at work and coming to the office to check up on me and my boss got irritated and fired me.” Melanie started to cry again. “Then a few days ago he took my car and sold it to get money for drugs. I don’t know how my life ended up this way. I don’t want to be some helpless woman who stays with an abusive man. I want to leave. I want to be a good mother to my son.”
“Then that’s what you’ll do,” Sheridan said, “you don’t have to spend another minute with him. You can have a new life.”
“But how? He’ll just look for me again.”
“He won’t find you. Please let me help you.”
“Ok, what should we do?”
“Sheridan, what are you thinking?” Luis asked, “what are you planning to do?”
“Please just trust me Luis.” Sheridan turned to Melanie. “I want Luis to take you back to your apartment. There are some empty boxes in the garage you can use to pack up whatever you need.
You’ll stay here tonight. I’ll stay here and put Jonny down for his nap and when you get back we’ll sit down and talk about what to do next.”
After they left Sheridan picked up the phone and called Ethan.
“Are you ok?” Ethan asked.
“You heard already?”
“Theresa called me. Is she taking him?”
“Yeah, but it’s ok. He belongs with his mother. I called because I need your help.”
After she got off the phone, Sheridan took Jonny upstairs but instead of putting him in his crib she took him into her bedroom and cuddled up with him on the bed, rubbing his back while he drifted off to sleep.
“It looks like our time together is almost up little one,” Sheridan whispered to the sleeping baby, “I’ll remember every minute we had together. I’ll never forget you.”
When Luis got back he found Sheridan in bed napping right alongside Jonny. He lay down next to her and kissed her softly until she opened her eyes. “How are you doing baby?”
“I’ll be fine, I’m just a little sad,” Sheridan answered sleepily. “That didn’t take very long.”
“There wasn’t really that much stuff she was interested in keeping. Mostly just clothes and stuff. She got rid of all the baby stuff after she left Jonny at the youth center so Jake wouldn’t find it. Sheridan, how exactly are you planning on helping her?”
“I called Ethan and asked him to take care of everything. He should be coming over in a little while to explain the plans he’s made.”
“Ok, I guess I’ll go make dinner then.”
“Thank you Luis. I am kind of hungry.”
“Are you going to lay up here and nap some more?”
“No. Would you mind asking Melanie to come up to Jonny’s room and bring a couple of empty boxes.”
“Sure.”
When Melanie came in the room five minutes later, Sheridan was sitting in the rocking chair with Jonny who was now awake. “Do you have other kids?” she asked Sheridan.
“No. Jonny is the first baby I’ve ever taken care of.”
“I’m surprised, you’re a natural. How come you have so much baby stuff then?”
“Well, I suppose I went a little overboard when I went shopping but I was nervous and I wanted to make sure I had everything we needed. I’m sure that you’ve missed Jonny terribly. Why don’t you come sit down and hold him and I’ll start packing this stuff up.”
“But we can’t take all this stuff. You should save it for when you and Luis have kids.”
“Luis and I aren’t even married and we’ve never even talked about kids. I know we both want to, but that is all down the road a ways. I bought all this stuff for Jonny and Luis told me that you had to get rid of all the baby stuff you had, so I want you to have it.”
After packing up most of Jonny’s stuff, wonderful smells from the kitchen began wafting up to the bedroom. “Mmm, what’s that smell?” Melanie asked.
“Luis is making dinner.”
“He cooks too! You’re a very lucky woman.”
“I know,” Sheridan smiled, “let’s go see what’s for dinner. While they were eating Ethan showed up and joined them for dinner.
“So Ethan, Sheridan said she asked you to make some arrangements,” Luis said.
“I’ve taken care of everything,” Ethan said and he turned to Melanie, “tomorrow you’ll start your new life.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 65: Starting Over
“What exactly does that mean?” Melanie asked nervously, “Where are we going to go?”
“You and Jonny will be moving to Denver. The secretary for the junior VP in advertising at one of Crane Industries subsidiaries in Denver is retiring so you’re going to be her replacement. There is a daycare center in the building and I’ve already let them know to expect Jonny. You have reservations on a 4:30 flight tomorrow and the real estate agent will meet you at the airport and take you to your new house.”
“A house? I’m going to live in a house?”
“Yes,” Ethan continued, “the realtor said it’s a three bedroom house with a good size yard and it’s only a few years old. All the utilities should be turned on before you get there and I went ahead and told the realtor to have the house furnished before you get there, but if you don’t like anything it can be replaced with stuff you do like.”
“Oh, I’m sure everything will be fine,” Melanie said excitedly.
“You car should be waiting in the driveway and the realtor will have the keys. The woman you’re going to be replacing will come by the day after tomorrow and show you around town and where everything is. Oh, and the most important thing is your new name.”
“I’m going to have a new name? What is it?”
“Well I figured it’s ok to keep Melanie since it’s a fairly common name, but I made arrangements with lawyers in Denver to have your middle and last name legally changed to Melanie Anne Roberts and Jonny’s last name will be changed too.
The lawyer will get in touch with you to sign the papers and get you a new social security number and identification. All of the arrangements were made using you new name, so there won’t be any way to trace you to Denver. All you need to do is make a list of any bills that are under your old name that need to be paid, the name of your landlord and any utilities that need to be turned off. We’ll have everything settled for you immediately so that no one will have a reason to look for you.”
“I can’t believe you’ve done all this for me. How can I ever thank you?”
“Just take good care of Jonny,” Sheridan answered, “all we want is for him to have a good happy life.”
“I’ll be back tomorrow to bring your plane tickets and everything else you’ll need,” Ethan said and he got up from the table. He kissed Sheridan on the cheek and whispered in her ear, “Theresa’s taking care of the rest and she’ll be by in the morning.”
“Thanks Ethan,” Sheridan called as he left.
After dinner Melanie was giving Jonny his bottle so Sheridan went upstairs to take a shower.
“Melanie, I know you’ve missed your son terribly, but would you mind if Sheridan put the baby to sleep tonight?” Luis asked, “This is his last night here and I know it would mean a lot to Sheridan to spend some time with him.”
“Of course. I’m sorry if this is hard for her, for both of you. I never meant for anyone to be hurt. I only tried to do what was best for my baby.”
Luis showed Melanie where everything was in the downstairs guestroom and then took Jonny upstairs. When he walked into the bedroom Sheridan was sitting on the edge of the bed in her robe drying her hair with a towel. She had a sad expression on her face, but brightened when she saw Luis and Jonny come in.
“There’s a little boy here who wanted to see you.”
“Where’s Melanie?”
“She’s downstairs in the guest room. She and I agreed that you should put Jonny to bed tonight.”
“Oh Luis, you always know just what I need,” Sheridan said, kissing Luis on the cheek as she took Jonny from him. “Come on little guy, let’s get you in your jammies.”
When Sheridan finally came back into the bedroom Luis was lying in bed reading a book. “Did you have trouble getting him to sleep?”
“No he was fine. I just wanted to finish reading him that book of fairy tales that we’ve been reading at bedtime. He fell asleep before I finished, but I read the rest to him anyway because we won’t have the chance to later.”
Sheridan slipped under the covers and Luis put his arm around her and pulled her close. “It’s a wonderful thing you’re doing for them.”
“I know it’s the right thing to do,” Sheridan said quietly, “but sometimes doing the right thing is the hardest thing to do.”
The next day Sheridan and Melanie were packing the last of Jonny’s clothes and toys into a bag to take on the plane when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Luis called from downstairs. “Sheridan, Theresa’s here.”
“Come on, she’s here to see you,” Sheridan said.
“Theresa’s the girl from the youth center isn’t she? Why is she here to see me?”
“Yes, that was Theresa. She is Luis’ sister. I asked her to take care of the final thing you’ll need for your new job.”
“What is it?”
“Just come down and see.” Sheridan carried Jonny and led Melanie downstairs. There were several shopping bags on the floor and over a dozen hangars covered by plastic garment bags draped across the back of a chair.
“What is all this?” Melanie asked.
“Sheridan thought you might need some new clothes for your new job.”
Melanie turned to Sheridan. “You’ve already done so much for me. You really didn’t need to do this too.”
“I wanted to. Everything’s going to change so fast for you and I knew you wouldn’t have too much time for shopping, especially in an unfamiliar city. I just want to make sure you have everything you need to start your job.”
“You know, when I’ve been at the Crane offices to see Ethan everyone’s always dressed up in business suits. But don’t worry, what I’ve picked out will make you look professional and businessey, but still very stylish. I’m positive that I picked the right size for you, but just in case I brought a couple in other sizes as well. I wasn’t as sure on the shoe size though, so I brought several sizes and we can return what doesn’t fit.”
“So, what are you waiting for,” Sheridan said, “pick something and try it on.”
Luis took Jonny from Sheridan. “I think us guys will skip the fashion show. I’m going to take Jonny over to see Mamma. We’ll be back in a couple hours.”
“How did you know what sizes I wear?” Melanie asked after she finished trying on the last outfit.
“Theresa is a fabulous fashion designer and she’ll be world famous one day,” Sheridan gushed, “she has a knack for sizes. She can look at anyone and tell just what size they wear.
You should pick two of the outfits and pack them in your suitcase to take on the plane and pack the rest into one of the boxes. But we better hurry because the delivery people will be here soon to pick up the boxes for overnight shipping.”
“Look who I found outside,” Luis said as he came through he front door carrying Jonny, followed by Ethan.
“I hope you’re just about ready because there is not much time before you need to leave for the airport.”
“Don’t worry, we just finished packing the last of it,” Sheridan answered.
They all sat down on the couch and Ethan took out a folder with some papers in it. “I got you some information on the company and the division you’ll be working in and the realtor e-mailed me some photos of the house so you can take a look at them on the plane. Here are your plane tickets. They’re in first class and I got Jonny his own seat by the window because they said it’s safer for him to be strapped in his car seat during the flight. And here’s some money for you to use until you start getting paid.” Ethan handed Melanie an envelope full of cash.
“This is way too much. Besides you’ve already given us everything we could possibly need. I can’t imagine what I’d need to buy.”
“Keep it anyway. You can always put it in a savings account for Jonny if you don’t need to use it,” Sheridan suggested.
“Okay.”
“Well I think it’s about time to get going,” Ethan said, “Theresa and I will give you a ride to the airport.”
“I’ll just change Jonny into a fresh diaper before you go,” Sheridan said and she took Jonny and the diaper bag upstairs and laid him on the changing table. It and the crib were the only things left in the room since there would be new ones waiting for them when they got to the new house in Denver.
Sheridan talked to Jonny as she changed his diaper. “I am going to miss you so much, but you are gonna have a wonderful new life with your mom and I know she’ll take really good care of you. But if you ever need anything I’ll always be there for you.” Sheridan carried Jonny downstairs, kissed him on the forehead and handed him over to his mother.
“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for us,” Melanie said and she hugged Sheridan and Luis. “I’ll make sure Jonny grows up knowing how kind and generous you both have been.”
After they were gone Sheridan leaned against Luis on the couch and he hugged her tightly. “It’s okay baby, you can let it out now. I’m going to miss him too.”
Sheridan let the tears roll down her cheeks and absorb into Luis’ shirt. “It’s just so empty and quiet here without him.
I always wanted to have a family, but somewhere in my mind I always thought that it would never happen or if it did that I might not be a good mother. But now I know that being a mother is something I can do, something I was meant to do.”
“You are going to be a wonderful mother Sheridan. One day we’re going to sit on this couch together and I’ll put my hand on your stomach and feel our baby kicking inside you. And when you give birth I’ll be right there beside you holding your hand.
Our children are going to grow up happy and loved and they’ll tell everyone that they have the best mother in the world. It might not happen right away, but it won’t be forever. I promise you, you’ll get the family you want.”
Sheridan lifted her head to Luis’ and kissed him softly. “Oh Luis, I love you so much. Being with you, having a family with you is the most important thing to me. Nothing else matters as long as I have you.”
For a long time they just lay there together, wrapped in each others arms, comforting each other silently and thinking of the future they would one day have. Sheridan looked deeply into Luis’ eyes. “I know you said it wouldn’t be right away, but maybe we should start practicing for that family now, so we’ll be ready when the time comes.”
“Yeah?” Luis raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah.” Luis gathered Sheridan up in his arms and carried her upstairs.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 66: Shirtless
Slowly the sadness in Sheridan’s heart over having to give up Jonny began to ease. A few weeks later a letter came in the mail from Melanie telling her all about their new life in Denver and she even sent pictures of her and Jonny in his new room and the backyard of their new house. Seeing Jonny’s happy little smile made the sadness fade completely and it filled with happiness from knowing that she’d done something that had changed his life for the better.
Sheridan bounded down the stairs into the living room dressed only in Luis’ Harmony PD shirt that hung down to mid-thigh and was buttoned up just high enough to cover her breasts. A grin was plastered across her face as her bare feet padded across the hardwood floor toward the kitchen but she stopped in her tracks when Luis’ voice boomed down from the bedroom.
“Come on Sheridan. I need my shirt. Sam will be here soon so we can leave for Boston.”
Sheridan decided to give in and started for the stairs but there was a knock on the door. Sheridan swung the door open to greet Sam and smiled when his eyes widened.
“Hi Sam. Come on in. Luis isn’t quite done getting dressed yet.” Sheridan stifled a giggle.
“Uh, I can see that. Maybe I should take you with me to testify in court in Boston. You definitely look better in that uniform than Luis.”
“Sheridan come on I need my shirt. Sam will be here any minute,” Luis called as he came down the stairs shirtless.”
“Too late,” Sheridan laughed.
“Oh hey Sam, I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Maybe I’m early. I could come back in a little bit when you’re ready.”
“That’s ok, I just need a minute. We don’t want to be late for court.”
While they were talking Sheridan took the opportunity to sneak up the stairs. When she got to the top of the stairs she stood around the corner in the hallway just far enough so that she couldn’t be seen. She unbuttoned the shirt, slipped it off, and hung it from the crook of her finger. She extended her arm out into the stairway.
“Oh, Luis, don’t you think you should come and get your shirt,” Sheridan purred.
Luis and Sam looked up at the stairs and all they could see was Luis’ shirt hanging from Sheridan’s finger.
“Uh, Sam, why don’t you go into the kitchen and have yourself a cup of coffee and I’ll be back in a minute.”
When Luis got to the top of the stairs and rounded the corner Sheridan was standing in front of him wearing absolutely nothing.
“Are you looking for this?” Sheridan waved the shirt in front of her and then put it behind her back. “Or, would you rather have this.”
Luis slipped his hands on to her body and devoured her with a kiss. “Oh god Baby, are you trying to torture me. We don’t have time to do what I want to do to you right now and Sam is in the kitchen. I’m supposed to be testifying today and all I’ll be able to think about is your amazing body.”
“That was my plan,” Sheridan teased, “just remember that I’ll be here waiting for you just like this, so hurry home.”
Luis slipped his shirt on then grabbed her and tugged her against his body. “I may have to use the lights and sirens so I can get home sooner.” He buttoned up his shirt and gave her one more kiss. “God I love you so much.”
“I love you too Luis.”
That afternoon Sheridan went to work at the youth center. After working at her desk for a few hours the telephone rang.
“Hello…..Hello.”
There was no answer.
“Hello, is anyone there?”
Still there was no answer and then a click. Sheridan hung up the phone and didn’t think about it much as she continued her work. An hour later the phone rang and once again there was no answer. Another hour passed and then the phone rang for a third time.
“Hello…..Hello. Ok, who in the hell is this?”
“Sheridan dear, is that anyway to talk to your father.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 67: Phone Calls
Sheridan froze at the sound of her father’s voice. But when he started to speak again she quickly hung up the phone. She hadn’t even spoken to her father since before she left for Paris and she really didn’t care to hear anything he had to say.
She decided to put the phone call out of her mind and she finished her work and headed home to wait for Luis to get back from Boston.
Luis couldn’t wait to get back home to Sheridan. He let Sam drive because he was afraid he’d be too tempted to speed the whole way back.
He stared out the widow through most of the drive but he didn’t see any of the scenery. He was too busy imagining how Sheridan would be waiting for him and what they would do to each other when he got there.
When Luis got to the house he went straight up to the bedroom but it was empty. Then he noticed that the bathroom door was open a little and there were candles lit on the counter. When he went in he found Sheridan lying back in a tub full of bubbles with her eyes closed.
Luis crouched down over her and whispered, “Oh baby, I can’t wait to see how you look under all those bubbles.”
Sheridan’s eyes slowly opened and a smile curved across her lips. “I have a better idea, let’s see what you look like in them.” Sheridan grabbed Luis and pulled him down into the tub on top of her.
Luis came up sputtering with bubbles clinging to his nose. “Sheridan, my clothes are soaked!”
She gave him a sexy pout. “Oh, poor baby. I guess we’ll just have to get you out of those wet clothes then won’t we.”
“You know, I would have gladly taken off my clothes and joined you.”
“I know, but it’s more fun this way,” Sheridan grinned as she peeled off his wet shirt.
The next morning Luis left early to go to the station for his shift and Sheridan was still in bed when the phone rang.
“Hello,” she answered groggily.
“Sheridan dear, do you honestly think he loves you?”
“Why are you calling me father?”
“You don’t belong with him Sheridan. It won’t last.”
Sheridan slammed the phone down furiously. She was so angry that her hands were shaking. She went into the shower hoping that the hot water would wash away some of the tension she felt.
The shower helped, but that didn’t last long. Later that afternoon the phone in her youth center office rang once again.
“Youth center.”
“Why do you waste your time at that awful place? You are a Crane and there’s no need for you to be slumming. I want you back home where you belong and away from all those commoners.”
“Father I’m never coming back. I like where I live and what I do. I really don’t care what you have to say Father and I don’t even want to talk to you after what you did to me. I’m happy and Luis loves me, and that is all I need.”
“Do you really think he loves you? Do you think he’ll still want you when he finds out the truth about what you did.”
Sheridan dropped the phone and her insides quivered as she was racked with memories of ‘that night.’ Tears streamed down her face and she buried her head in her hands. It took her a while before she pulled herself together enough to finish her work.
At home later that night Sheridan practically jumped out of her skin when the phone rang. She just stood there and stared at it without making a move to answer it. After several rings Luis came out from the kitchen and answered it.
“No one’s there,” Luis commented and he hung up the phone. “Why didn’t you answer it?”
“Uh, I was going to,” Sheridan lied, “you just got to it first.”
“Oh, ok.” Luis went back to finish cooking dinner. About fifteen minutes later the phone rang again. “Hey baby could you answer that,” Luis called from the kitchen.
“Um, sure,” Sheridan said hesitantly and she picked up the phone. “Hello.”
“I want you to come home Sheridan. It’s where you belong. Luis won’t want you anymore. Do what I tell you before you regret it.”
“No,” she replied weakly and hung up the phone.
“Who was that?”
Sheridan took a deep breath to pull herself together before turning to face Luis. “It was just a wrong number. I’ll come set the table. Dinner smells great.”
That night as she slept curled up next to the body of the man she loved, the nightmares that had haunted her for so many years returned.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 68: Phone Tap
Luis sat in a chair in his mother’s living room staring straight at the TV, but not even noticing what was on. He was too worried about Sheridan to think of anything else. He’d had dinner with Mama and Miguel because Sheridan had a meeting with the head of Harmony’s city council to discuss plans for adding a swimming pool on to the youth center and she was going to come over for dessert when she was done.
But that wasn’t the problem, Luis sighed. “Mama, I think something is wrong with Sheridan.”
“What, is she sick?”
“No Mama, nothing like that. She hasn’t been sleeping and she’s been upset, but she’s trying to hide it from me.”
“Maybe she’s just still upset about Jonny,” Pilar suggested.
“That’s what I thought at first, but I don’t think that’s it. She’s having nightmares again Mama and she’s really jumpy. I asked her about it, but she said it was nothing. She won’t tell me what’s going on and I don’t want to push her, but I’m worried.”
“You must be patient Luis. She’ll tell you about her dreams when she’s ready, it’s just hard for her to talk about them.”
They stopped talking when the front door opened and Sheridan came in. She hung up her jacket and sat on the arm of Luis’ chair.
He took her hand and kissed the back of it lightly. “How was your meeting?”
“Councilman Roberts was his usual charming self,” Sheridan said sarcastically and she rubbed her forehead.
“Do you have a headache?” Luis asked concerned.
“Yeah, but I’ll be fine.”
“You haven’t been getting enough sleep,” Pilar said, “the dreams, they are haunting you again.”
“I’m not…” Sheridan began to protest but Pilar stopped her.
“Shh, shh. Some here and sit next to me.” Sheridan went over to the couch next to Pilar. “Just lay back and put your head in my lap like you used to when you were little.” Pilar began rubbing her temples. “Just relax. Nothing can hurt you. They’re not real, they’re only dreams.”
“What if you’re wrong,” Sheridan whispered as she drifted into a much-needed sleep.
A couple days later Luis hesitantly went into Sam’s office. “Hey Sam, I wanna do a phone tap.”
“Ok, which case is it for?”
“It’s not for a case. I want to do it on the youth centers main line.”
Sam looked puzzled. “You want to put a tap on Sheridan’s office phone? Why?”
“Lately at home we’ve gotten a lot of hang-ups when I answer the phone and the same thing happened yesterday at the youth center when I was there helping coach the boys basketball team.”
“You don’t think Sheridan’s cheating on you do you?”
“Of course not. It’s almost like she’s actually afraid to even answer the phone. And if she does answer it she doesn’t say anything and then hangs up and tells me it was a wrong number.
Sheridan started having nightmares around the same time as these calls started and she practically jumps every time the phone rings.”
“Luis, anything we get off the phone tap won’t be admissible because we don’t have a warrant.”
“I don’t care about that right now Sam. I just need to find out what’s going on so I can help her. Please Sam. Besides I am still considered co-director of the youth center so I can legally authorize it.”
“We’re on thin ice here Luis,” Sam sighed, “but I’ll have Joe set up a recording on the line and if he hears anything strange he can bring it up to us.”
“Thanks Sam. I really appreciate it.”
A few hours later Joe grabbed Luis and headed into Sam’s office carrying a portable tape player. “I think I may have found what you are looking for. We couldn’t get a trace on the call though. The guy had some sort of high tech scrambling device on the line.” He hit play on the tape player.
“Hello Youth Center.”
“Sheridan dear, I’m getting really tired of you hanging up on me.”
“Please Father, just leave me alone,” Sheridan sobbed.
“That’s not going to happen Sheridan. You belong to me and I want you back home now,” Alistair commanded.
“No, I won’t. I love Luis and I have a new life now. Why won’t you just let me be happy.”
“How happy will you be when Luis leaves you. He won’t want you once he finds out the truth. If he knows what you did he won’t love you anymore, no one could ever love you Sheridan.”
“No, no. Stop it, stop saying that,” Sheridan choked out and hung up the phone.
“That bastard,” Luis spat and he stormed out of the station.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 69: The Box :
Luis was pacing back and forth in his mother’s living room when there was a knock on the front door. Luis swung open the door quickly. “Oh, what are you doing here Sam?”
“I was on my way home and I saw your car out front. What happened when you left the station? Did you talk to Sheridan?”
“When I got to the youth center she was gone and no one knew where she went. I went to the house but she wasn’t there either. I looked everywhere else I thought she might go if she was upset, but I didn’t find her, so I decided to look here.
There’s a message on the machine that Theresa left for Mama. She said that she ran into Sheridan and she was really upset. Theresa thinks Sheridan and I had a fight so she convinced Sheridan to go shopping with her and she’s going to try and cheer her up. I thought I’d wait here because she’ll probably have to drop Theresa off when they’re done.”
“I’m sure she’ll be back soon and everything will be fine. I was worried that you might have gone after the old man or gone to the mansion.”
“I would go after him if I knew where the bastard was. It makes me sick the way he keeps hurting her.”
“What do you think he was talking about on the phone?” Sam asked, “what do you think he meant about you not loving her if you knew the truth?”
“I have no idea, but nothing could ever make me stop loving Sheridan, no matter what it is.”
There was another knock on the door, but it still wasn’t Sheridan, it was TC Russell.
“I can’t believe I found both of you together,” TC said exuberantly and he held up a rusty metal box with a few remnants of peeling red paint still clinging to it and it was held shut with a small lock. “Look what I found.”
“You found a rusty box. How cool,” Sam said sarcastically.
“The good part is where I found the box. I snuck on to the Crane estate out on the part that used to be Russell land.”
“TC you could have been arrested for trespassing.”
“Hey, the Cranes stole that land from my family. It should rightfully be mine. Anyway there are these two trees that are grown together and I found the box stuck in a hole in the trunck of one of the trees. Who knows what kind of Crane secrets this thing holds.”
“I can’t believe you stole this off the Crane estate. What would you have done if they’d caught you?”
“Well they didn’t. So are you guys gonna help me crack the lock off and see what’s inside or what.”
“Fine. Let’s go in the kitchen,” Luis sighed and he grabbed a pair of metal cutters out of the toolbox. “You know this lock is so little, it looks like a child’s lock. You probably could have yanked the thing right off.” Luis cut off the lock and they sat around the kitchen table and started to open the box.
“Whatcha looking at?” Miguel asked and he joined them at the table.
“It’s an old box TC found at the Crane estate.”
“Cool, what’s in it?”
“We’re just about to find out.” TC pulled out a bundle of tissue paper and unwrapped a tiny porcelain horse. Luis took a folded piece of paper out of the box. It was a child’s crayon drawing of a little girl with long blond hair, a small boy with sandy brown hair, and a woman with long dark hair standing in a rose garden.
Miguel took out a small pink book covered with little yellow flowers. He flipped through the pages of dainty little writing. He stopped, reading silently. “Hey, listen to this,” Miguel began.
‘He’s making me go away. I don’t want to go. I want to stay here. I’m so scared. He said that I’m bad, that I’m a wicked little girl that no one will ever love me. But I didn’t mean to, it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t mean for him to die. Father says it’s all my fault that I did it. But I didn’t mean to kill him, I didn’t, it wasn’t my fault. And now no one will ever love me. Father said I could never tell anyone but I had to write it in my book before I have to go. I’m sure I’ll be back soon though. Father said we were just going on a little trip, like a vacation, so I’m sure I won’t be gone long. I have to go now before father finds out I snuck out of the house. I can’t let him find my box of things or my book or he’ll be really mad at me again and he’ll take them away.’
“That’s the last entry,” Miguel said, “there’s nothing after that.”
“Oh god Luis, look at this.” Sam held up a photograph of a little girl and a little boy. He flipped it over and on the back was written, ‘me and Ethan.’ “It’s Sheridan, Luis. These are Sheridan’s things.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 70: Hysterical Confessions
Theresa had finally managed to cheer Sheridan up and even gotten her to buy a few things while they were shopping. When Sheridan drove Theresa home she noticed Luis’ car out front so she decided to go in. Sheridan parked her car in the driveway and she and Theresa went in through the back door into the kitchen.
“Hi Chief Bennett, Coach Russell. I guess it took both of you to finally drag my little brother here away from Charity and get him home,” Theresa teased cheerfully when she walked into the kitchen with Sheridan and saw Sam, TC, and Miguel sitting at the kitchen table with Luis. “What are you guys looking at?”
“Um, it’s some stuff that Coach Russell found today,” Miguel answered quietly glancing over at Sheridan.
Sheridan stepped up to the table to see what it was. “It looks like some kind of box. Where did you find it?” Sheridan’s hands began to shake as she recognized the things inside the box.
When she saw Miguel holding the little pink book she felt as though everything was spinning out of control. She snatched the book from Miguel and clutched it to her chest.
“You shouldn’t have opened it. I hid it so no one would find it. No one was supposed to find it. You shouldn’t have read it. I’m not supposed to tell.”
“It’s ok Sheridan,” Luis said, trying to sound calming, “Please just tell me what happened.” Luis tried to reach out for her but she backed away.
“No, I can’t tell you. You won’t love me anymore if you know what I did.”
“I’ll always love you Sheridan, no matter what.” Luis tried to reach out to her again but she wouldn’t let him touch her.
“You don’t know, you don’t know. It’s so horrible. There’s blood on my hands. It’s all my fault,” Sheridan rambled.
Pilar was just coming in from work when she heard Sheridan’s cries and she rushed into the kitchen. “Sheridan, what happened?”
“It’s all my fault,” Sheridan sobbed and she sank to the floor, “I didn’t mean to, I swear I didn’t mean to kill him?”
“Who did you kill Sheridan?”
“No Luis,” Pilar ordered and she held Sheridan on the floor as she cried. “They are just nightmares Sheridan. Everything’s all right. You didn’t kill anyone, it’s not real.”
“Yes it is, it is real. There’s blood on my hands. I didn’t meant to. I’m not wicked. I’m not. I didn’t mean to kill Martin.”
Luis’ eyes widened in shock at what he’d just heard and he opened his mouth, but no words came out.
“You didn’t kill Martin,” Pilar said, trying to sooth Sheridan, who was weeping in her lap. “You didn’t kill anyone. These are only nightmares Sheridan. You need to stop doing this to yourself. You didn’t kill my Martin or anyone else.”
“Yes I did, yes I did. Father says I’m a wicked girl, that I did it on purpose. He said if I don’t come back home that he’ll tell Luis what I did and he won’t love me anymore. Father said no one could ever love me once they knew what I’ve done.”
No matter what Pilar said to Sheridan nothing would calm her down. Eve came in through the back door quietly. TC had called her on his cell phone when Sheridan first started getting so upset. As soon as Eve saw the state that Sheridan was in she took a syringe out of her medical bag and filled it with a sedative. She came up behind Sheridan where she couldn’t see and injected it into her arm.
Sheridan jerked away when she felt the needle go into her arm. “No,” she screamed, “no, please don’t do this to me. I didn’t mean to. Please don’t send me away again. Don’t let them take me away again please.” Suddenly Sheridan felt lightheaded and everything started to get black until she slumped to the floor.
“What did you do to her?”
“It’s just a sedative Luis. She’ll just sleep for a while and be calmer when she wakes up,” Eve announced.
“I’ll take her up to my room.” Luis picked Sheridan up and carried her to his room and laid her in his bed. He sat beside her running his fingers through her hair as tears rolled down his cheeks. “Don’t worry baby, everything will be okay. I won’t let anything hurt you again.”
Luis wiped his face and went back into the kitchen. “I think I need to speak with my family alone if you don’t mind.”
“Sure Luis, let me know if you need anything,” Sam offered.
“I’ll come by in the morning to check on Sheridan,” Eve said and they left, leaving Luis, Pilar, Theresa, and Miguel alone.
“Mama is this what Sheridan has been having nightmares about all this time? She’s been dreaming about Papa’s murder?” Luis asked.
“This is the first time she’s ever said anything about your father. I don’t know what could have made her think she killed Martin. It’s true that she’s had nightmares about killing someone, but they’re just bad dreams. She’s been having them since she was a little girl. She was just a child. She never could have killed anyone, especially not your father.”
“Then why is she so scared Mama? If nothing happened then why is she so convinced that it’s real. And why has Alistair been using it to try to scare Sheridan into leaving me and moving back to the estate? Something had to have happened Mama. Maybe we’ll finally find out the truth about what happened to Papa.”
The doorbell rang. “That’s probably Ethan,” Theresa said, “I called him earlier and asked him to come over because I thought he could help calm Sheridan down. Maybe he knows something about this.” Theresa went to let him in and Luis followed into the living room.
“Why does Sheridan think she killed my father?” Luis demanded as soon as Ethan walked in the door.
Ethan stiffened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Where is Sheridan? I want to see her.”
“Sheridan is sleeping,” Theresa answered, “she got so upset that Dr. Russell had to give her a sedative. She kept saying that she didn’t mean to do it and it was all her fault and that no one would love her if they knew she killed Papa.”
“Please Ethan, tell us what made Sheridan think that she killed Martin,” Pilar asked, “did she see him in her dreams?”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 71: No Matter What
“No, she’s never seen who the man is in her dreams. One day mother mentioned to Sheridan that her nightmares started on the same night that Martin disappeared. She was working with you at the youth center at the time doing her community service,” Ethan told Luis, “and you’d told her all about how you hated the Cranes and thought wee were responsible for your father’s disappearance. She was scared that her nightmares and his disappearance were connected.
She thought it was too much of a coincidence. She was determined to find out the truth about what really happened but after everything with the Martin imposter I finally convinced her that they were only dreams and that there was no reason to think she killed anyone. She dropped it and the nightmares went away. Sheridan didn’t kill anyone Luis.”
“I think Sheridan was right,” Luis said, “It’s way too much of a coincidence that these nightmares started the same night Papa disappeared.”
“No Luis, Sheridan didn’t kill anyone, she was just a child. I was in the house that night and there was nothing that looked like anyone had been killed. I’m not going to let you do anything that’s going to hurt Sheridan.”
“I would never do anything to hurt Sheridan, but I am going to find out the truth once and for all.”
Late that night after everyone was asleep Luis was sitting alone in the living room with all the lights off thinking when he heard a noise coming from the back yard. When he went to investigate he discovered Sheridan sitting with her legs tucked up underneath her in the porch swing crying. Sheridan heard Luis coming but she couldn’t bear to look him in the eyes.
“I didn’t hear you get up,” Luis said as he sat down next to her and caused the swing to sway slowly.
Sheridan sniffled. “Did all that stuff really happen? The box and the book?”
“Yeah, you got really upset and Dr. Russell gave you a sedative.”
“I’m so sorry Luis. This isn’t the way I wanted you to find out about your father and about …about what I did.”
“Were you planning on telling me about it?”
“I wanted to tell you Luis, I was just scared.”
“You were scared of me? Why? I love you Sheridan and I would never hurt you in any way. I know about your father’s phone calls and the threats he’s been making.”
“How do you know about that?”
“I noticed all the strange phone calls we’ve been getting and how much it was upsetting you, so this morning I had the phone at the youth center tapped so I could find out who’s been bothering you and I heard what he said to you. Sheridan you have to believe that I love you and nothing could ever change that.”
“I was never scared of you Luis but I guess that somewhere inside I was afraid that it might really happen, that you wouldn’t love me if you knew the truth. Ever since I was a little girl my father has told me that no one would love me if they knew and I was afraid that it might be true. But mostly, I was scared that if I told you about my nightmares that you would find out whether they are real or not.
What if it is true Luis? What if I killed someone? What if I killed your father? I don’t think I could live with myself knowing that all the pain you and your family went through over the disappearance of your father was all my fault.”
“Sheridan that is ridiculous, this isn’t your fault.”
“But what if I killed him?”
“You were just a child Sheridan. I doubt that you were strong enough to kill a grown man. And if something did happen I’m sure it was just an accident.”
“I don’t understand how you can be so calm about this Luis. You just found out that I might have killed your father.”
“I love you Sheridan and I’m positive that whatever happened wasn’t your fault. I think you probably at least saw something that night so maybe I’ll finally find out the truth about what happened to my father. But whatever the truth turns out to be we’ll get through it together.”
“I love you so much Luis. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Well you’re never going to have to find out,” Luis said and they snuggled up against each other and continued to sway under the starry sky.
After a few minutes Luis broke the silence. “When Eve gave you that sedative you started screaming don’t do this to me and begging not to be taken away again. What did you mean?”
“The morning after ‘that night’ when all this first started Father told me he was taking me on a trip. I thought he meant we were going to go on a vacation but instead he took me to a mental hospital and left me there. He said he was going to come back but he never did. He just left and never even came to visit. A lot of people there didn’t even speak English.
That’s how I started learning different languages. They kept telling me that they were just nightmares and it wasn’t real, and if I didn’t agree with what they said they’d make me take all this medication and lock me in my room alone for days. Finally after two years Father came back and I thought he was going to take me home. But he took me to a boarding school in Paris and he hardly ever allowed me to come home.”
“I’m so sorry that happened to you baby. I’m not letting you go anywhere without me. No one is going to take you away again. But that makes me more convinced that you didn’t kill anyone and you saw something that night.”
“Why?”
“Because you were just a child Sheridan and if you had killed someone by accident you wouldn’t have been blamed. But your father went to such great lengths to make sure you would never tell anyone and kept you hidden away that he must have been trying to keep something that happened from being discovered.
Maybe that is why he has gone to such great lengths to try and keep us apart. Because you saw what happened to my father and he didn’t want us getting close because he was afraid you would start telling me about it.”
“But he could have just been trying to protect me.”
“I know he’s your father Sheridan, but he has never put you and your feelings first. He has always been willing to sacrifice you and your happiness to protect himself and get what he wants.
Let’s not worry about this anymore tonight. You need to get some sleep. Let’s go back inside and we’ll figure out what to do tomorrow.”
“Are you going to come to bed with me?”
“There’s no place else I would rather be,” Luis said as they went back into the house. “You go get in bed and I’ll be right there. I have a surprise for you.”
Sheridan want back to Luis’ room, slipped into one of his T-shirts and climbed into bed just as Luis came in carrying two glasses of milk and a plate with three chocolate chip cookies on it. “Are you ready for a midnight snack?”
“Mmm, perfect, just what I needed.” After they shared the cookies they snuggled under the covers together.
Luis turned off the lamp by the bed and whispered softly in Sheridan’s ear. “I want you to lay here with me and relax and go to sleep. There is no reason for you to have nightmares anymore because I’m right here and I’ll always come to rescue you, no matter what.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 72
:Hypnosis
When Sheridan woke up Luis was sitting in a chair
sipping a cup of coffee and watching her sleep.
"Good Morning sleepyhead. I was wondering when you
were going to wake up."
"I think that stuff Dr. Russell gave me must have
still been in my system."
"How’d you sleep? No nightmares?"
"Actually I had this dream and it started off just
like one of my nightmares but them a dark handsome
stranger came to rescue
me. Only it wasn’t a stranger, it was you Luis. I’ve
been dreaming of you coming to my rescue for years,
even before we ever
met I just could never see your face. Even in my
dreams you always come to save me."
"And I always will," Luis said as he sat on the bed
with her.
"My hero," Sheridan cooed and she gave him a kiss.
"Come on, we better go in the kitchen. Mama is in
there pacing around waiting for you to get up so she
can make you
breakfast."
"She must be really upset with me."
"She’s concerned about you Sheridan. She loves you
like you are one of her own children and she doesn’t
believe you killed
Papa any more than I do. Come on."
"Oh good, you’re up," Pilar said when they entered the
kitchen. "How are you feeling? Let me fix you
something to eat."
"I’m fine now, but I’m not really very hungry."
"You need to eat something, at least some toast and
juice," Pilar said and she began fixing it before
Sheridan could even answer.
"I’m really sorry that I didn’t talk to you about
Martin before Pilar. You must be really upset with
me."
"Don’t be ridiculous Sheridan, I’m not angry with you.
You were just a little girl, a tiny thing, and I don’t
believe for a minute that
you would kill anyone, especially not Martin. You
adored Martin and he loved you just as I do. He used
to call you his little
angel."
"He called me his little angel?" Sheridan asked
puzzled. "I don’t remember that."
"Yes, he said you must be an angel living on earth
because it wasn’t human for a little girl to be so
sweet and polite all the time."
"I don’t remember him at all. It was such a long time
ago that I must have forgotten that I met him."
"You didn’t just meet him Sheridan. You used to see
him all the time. Luis go get the picture of your
father from the mantle." Luis
got the picture and handed it to his mother. "Don’t
you recognize him?"
"No, I’m sorry, but he doesn’t seem familiar at
all."
"Martin used to come and pick me up from work everyday
and you would always wait in the kitchen for him to
come. He
usually had a piece of candy or something for you and
I used to get mad at him because I was worried Mr.
Crane would find
out. He even got you a purple teddy bear for your
birthday once and you slept with it every night until
your father took it away.
But I found it and saved it. It’s in a box in my
closet along with other mementos from all my children.
I can’t believe you don’t
remember Martin at all."
"Actually it makes sense Mama," Luis said. "If
Sheridan saw what happened to Papa that night and it
was so bad that is caused
her to have nightmares all this time then she probably
blocked out every memory of him.
A knock on the door interrupted them. "That’s probably
Eve. She said she was going to come by and check on
you. Maybe she
can help us find some answers."
They all went into the living room to sit and talk
with Eve. "How are you feeling today Sheridan?"
"I’m ok now. I’m sorry you had to come over."
"It was no trouble, it’s my job. TC told me what
happened before I got there last night and I’m very
concerned about the
reaction you had."
"Pilar said that I used to see Martin all the time,
but I don’t remember him at all and Luis thinks maybe
I’ve blocked all of my
memories of him out because of something I saw that
caused my nightmares."
"That is certainly a possibility. There are lots of
cases where someone blocks out certain things from
their memory because of
something traumatic they’ve experienced."
"Is there anything I can do that will help me remember
what happened? I need to find out the truth."
"We can try hypnotizing you. We’d start with the night
before this all started to ease your way slowly
towards what happened.
There’s no guarantee that you’ll remember everything,
but there’s a good possibility."
"Then I want to do it. I can’t live with not knowing
anymore."
"I don’t have to be at the hospital until this
afternoon so we can do it now. Can we go into one of
the bedrooms where we have
some privacy."
"No," Sheridan said, "I want Luis and Pilar to be
here. They need to know what happened just as much as
I do."
"Ok, if that’s what you want. Why don’t you lay down
on the couch and try to relax. Luis, Pilar, I’ll need
you to be very quiet
and not interrupt. Ok Sheridan, I want you to close
your eyes and clear your mind. I’m going to count
backward from ten and
when I get to zero you’ll be back at the night before
any of this started. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I’ll ever be," Sheridan sighed and closed
her eyes.
"10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…0. Okay Sheridan you’re back to
your childhood at the night before you thought you
killed someone. Nothing can hurt you and if you get
scared and you don’t want to go on we can stop any
time," Eve said in a
calming tone. "What do you see Sheridan?"
"I’m in my room and it’s dark. I’m in bed getting
ready to go to sleep. I’m scared though."
"Why are you scared Sheridan?"
"Father came home from London today and he’s angry
with me. I can hear him coming down the hall. He’s
coming to my
room."
To Be Continued...
Chapter 73: A Child’s Pain
“What happened when he came to your room Sheridan?”
“He’s mad at me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of bed. It hurts, his hand is squeezing my arm really tight.”
“Did he hit you Sheridan?”
“No, he’s just pulling me across the room and yelling at me. He says that I’m worthless and I don’t deserve to be a Crane. He pushed me in the closet and I fell on my arm. He shut the door and I hear the lock click.
“It’s not the big closet that you can walk inside; it’s the little one with blankets and towels in it. It’s so dark I can’t even see my own hand and it’s so small I can hardly move at all. I want to scream and call for someone to come and let me out but I know if I do then Father will come back and he will hurt me. So I curl up on the closer floor and cry until I fall asleep.”
Luis had both fists clenched tightly and he whispered roughly in his mother’s ear, “Did you know about this Mama?”
“I had no idea Sheridan was being treated like that or I would have done something to help her. I never worked in the house at night and she never said anything to me.”
“What happened next Sheridan? How do you get out of the closet?” Eve asked.
“I don’t know, I always just wake up in my bed in the morning and I don’t remember how I got there.”
“Sheridan did your father ever do this to you before?”
“He does it all the time when he’s home. He says I’m a bad girl and I have to learn how to act like a Crane and if I don’t do everything exactly right he gets mad and says I have to learn the consequences of my behavior. He says that I belong to him and he can do whatever he wants to me and that it’s my fault because if I behaved properly then he wouldn’t have to do it.”
“What happened during the day?”
“Nothing much. I had school with my tutors and I played with Ethan. Then I was out in the rose garden and I was crying because my arm hurt. When Father pushed me into the closet I fell and landed on my arm. Martin was coming to get Pilar and he saw me crying. He asked me what was wrong but I turned away and didn’t say anything. He grabbed my arm to turn me back around and I cried out because it hurt. He pulled up my sleeve and saw the bruise on my arm from where I landed on it.
He wanted to know how I got hurt but I wouldn’t tell him.
“He said that I could trust him and I could tell him anything no matter what. I started to cry and said that if I told him then Father would do something to make him go away forever just like he did with my old nanny when I said something to her. He hugged me and said not to cry. He said that father could never do anything to make him go away and that Father only said that to scare me so I wouldn’t tell anyone and that it was really okay to tell him. So I told him everything that Father had been doing to me.
“He said that he would find a way to take me away and make sure father didn’t hurt me anymore. I asked him where I would live and he said that maybe I’d be able to come and live with him and Pilar. He told me that it wouldn’t be the same as what I’m used to. That the house was small and I wouldn’t have as many toys or fancy clothes but there would be kids I could play with and I would be loved and no one would ever hurt me again.
“I was actually going to be part of a real family and I was so happy. It was all I ever wanted. Martin said that he was going to talk to some people to find out what he’d have to do to get me away from my father. He told me that until he could come back for me that if I got scared or needed help that I should call him or Pilar anytime and he’d come right away.
“That night Ethan and I were supposed to be going up to our rooms to go to bed but we were messing around and Ethan started to tickle me and I backed up into a table in the hallway and accidentally knocked a vase over and it broke. Father was furious. He said that the vase was worth more than me. He was screaming at me and he told me to go up to my room and he’d be up later to teach me a lesson. I was so scared. I’d never seen Father so angry before.
“Instead of going to my room I snuck back downstairs. Father was in the library with Julian and the door was closed so I went into the living room and called Martin. I told him what happened and how terrified I was about what Father was going to do to me. He said he was coming over as soon as he could. When I heard Father come out of the library I grabbed the letter opener off the desk and hid behind the curtains and he went upstairs to my room.
“I could hear someone calling my name. Someone was coming into the living room and he was getting close to where I was hiding. My hands started shaking and I tightened my grip on the letter opener. I could hear the footsteps getting closer and closer. Oh, god, oh god,” Sheridan cried, “no, no no, please, no don’t do it.”
She was becoming extremely agitated and nothing Eve said could calm her.
“Okay Sheridan, we’re going to stop now. I’m going to snap my fingers and when I do you’ll wake up and you’ll be safe and you’ll remember everything.”
Eve snapped her fingers and Sheridan’s eyes jerked wide open and she quickly pulled herself into a sitting position and hugged her knees to her chest. “Oh god, I remember. I remember everything,” Sheridan sobbed. “It’s all my fault.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 74: Learning the Truth
Luis was so absorbed in listening to Sheridan that he
didn’t even realize that he had clinched his
fists so tight that his fingernails were cutting into
his hands. It had taken all the strength he could
muster
to keep from getting up and going to Sheridan. When
Sheridan woke up from the hypnosis and he
finally released his fists, little lines of blood
formed in the center of his palms.
As soon as
she sat up
Luis immediately rushed to her side and put his arms
around her. Sheridan hugged on to Luis and shut
her eyes tightly trying to close out the memories.
“It’s ok now baby. Your safe.” Luis tried to comfort
her. All his thoughts were of concern for
her, not of learning the truth about his father. He
rubbed his hands across her back in a soothing effort
but he could still feel her body shaking against
his.
She pulled away and looked at him with tear filled
eyes. “I remember everything Luis. I know
what happened to your father and it was my fault.”
“Shh, it’s okay Sheridan. It doesn’t matter right
now.”
“Yes it does Luis. I need to tell you. You’ve waited
for so long to find the truth. You deserve to
know what happened.”
“But we can do that later. You’re upset. Have a drink
of water.”
“I’m going to be upset whether I tell you now or later
and I need to do it now.” Sheridan took a
deep breath and began. “I was so scared and my heart
was beating so fast that it was pounding in my
ears. Then Martin called out my name again and I
recognized his voice. I let out a breath that I didn’t
even know I was holding and I came out of my hiding
place. I was so relieved to see Martin and not
my father that I dropped the letter opener on the
floor and threw my arms around him.
“I told him I was scared and I asked if he would take
me with him. He said yes, that I didn’t
have to stay any longer, but Father came in the living
room and said that I belonged to him and I
wasn’t going anywhere. Father tried to grab me and I
hid behind Martin while they argued about me.
When Martin turned around to talk to me I guess Father
must have picked up the letter opener off the
floor because when Martin turned back around Father
stabbed him in the chest with it and Martin fell
to the floor.
“Father just stared down at him and said that no one
takes anything away from the Cranes. I
wanted to help Martin, but I didn’t know what to do.
He squeezed my hand and told me not to be
frightened, that someone else would help me,” Sheridan
paused and looked over at Pilar, “and he
wanted me to tell you how much he loved you and the
children. Then he didn’t say anything else. I
tried to wake him up but he wouldn’t. There was blood
all over my hands and Father kept saying that I
was a wicked girl and that he warned me that something
bad would happen if I talked to anyone. And
he was right; it was all my fault. He did it because
of me,” Sheridan sobbed.
Sheridan tried to turn away from Luis but he pulled
her back to him. “None of it was your fault.
He was trying to help you. You were just a child, you
had no control over what your father did.”
Pilar came over and sat on the other side of Sheridan
and put her hand on Sheridan’s should.
“Luis is right, none of this is your fault. You were
just a little girl and you needed someone to help you.
If I had known I would have done the same
thing.”
“Do you know what they did with Papa’s body?” Luis
asked.
“I don’t know. Father sent me up to my room. I saw a
coffin and Father was talking to someone
else, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.”
“Was he talking to Julian?”
“He could have been, I know it was a man’s voice, but
I’m not sure if it was Julian or someone
else. I’m sorry.”
“Luis, I think Sheridan needs to rest. Remembering
something so traumatic like this can be very
taxing on the body,” Eve said.
“Eve’s right,” Pilar added, “Luis, I want you to take
Sheridan home so she can take a nap. I’ll
find Miguel and Theresa and explain everything to
them.”
“Okay Mama.”
“I’m so sorry Pilar.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Pilar hugged
Sheridan. “Go and get some rest and put this
our of your mind.”
When they got home Luis held Sheridan while she tried
to rest but she couldn’t seem to fall
asleep, so she took a bubble bath to try and relax.
When she got out of the tub Luis was just hanging
up the phone.
“Are you feeling any better?”
“Much,” Sheridan answered and she dropped her towel
and slipped into a silk robe as Luis
watched her intently. “Who was on the phone?”
“It was Sam. I told him what happened so we can try to
start looking for where they buried
Papa’s body. Are you going to be okay with all of
this? If we find Papa’s body and some kind of
proof that Alistair killed Papa then you might have to
testify against your father. Do you think you could
do that?”
“I want Father to pay for what he did to your father
and your family, and for what he did to me,”
Sheridan said meekly. “I was always afraid of Father
but I thought it was just because I’d seen how
ruthless he could be in business and he never really
showed much affection, but I didn’t realize it was
more than that.”
The phone rang and Sheridan answered it. “I’m losing
my patience Sheridan,” Alistair’s voice
boomed through the phone. “I’m warning you, do what
you’re told before you force me to make you
regret it.”
Sheridan felt the fear creeping up through her body
but when she looked up and saw Luis her
strength was rejuvenated. “You can’t threaten me any
more Father. I remember the truth now and you
have no power over me. I want nothing to do with you
ever again.”
Luis grabbed the phone. “I know the truth about
everything Crane. I know what you did to my
father and to Sheridan and I’m gonna make you pay.”
The line went dead and Luis hung up the phone
and embraced Sheridan. “You’re never going to have to
worry about that again. I’m going to find
proof that Alistair killed Papa and put him in jail. I
promise you I’ll never let Alistair or anyone else
hurt
you again.”
To Be Continued...
Chapter 75: Once and For All
Sheridan walked into the youth center and closed her umbrella as Luis was coming out of the office. She couldn’t believe how understanding Luis and his whole family had been about what happened to Martin, but she had finally accepted that Luis wasn’t going to hold her responsible for it in any way.
“Hey baby, how was lunch with Ethan?”
“It was great,” Sheridan answered, rubbing her stomach, “I’m stuffed. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“My shift just got over and I ran into a couple of guys and they want to play basketball. Since it’s raining I figured we’d have a game in the gym.” Luis wiggled his eyebrows. “Wanna come be my cheerleader?”
“As much as I’d like to come and watch you run around without your shirt on and get all sweaty I really have to get some paperwork finished. I’ll come watch as soon as I’m done though.”
“Okay. I’d better go change out of my uniform.” Luis looped his arm around Sheridan’s waist and pulled her tight against his body, joining their lips in a passionate kiss. “Maybe once I’m done getting all hot and sweaty you’ll help me get washed up.”
“It would be my pleasure detective,” Sheridan said and she nipped playfully at Luis’ bottom lip while her hands squeezed against his muscled chest. “I think I’m starting to feel a little hot and sweaty myself.” Sheridan moaned as Luis began to devour her mouth with his own once again.
“Ahem, Luis are you going to play basketball or make out with your girlfriend all day,” one of the guys yelled, poking his head out the gym door, “we’re about to start without you.”
Luis reluctantly parted their lips and suppressed the urge to groan out loud when he saw the sensual look in Sheridan’s eyes. “I’ll be right there, I just have to change out of my uniform,” Luis yelled back and then turned his attention to Sheridan. “I guess we’ll have to continue this later.”
Sheridan gave Luis’ lips a feathery kiss. “Make it a very short game,” Sheridan winked and sauntered into her office.
Luis finally let out the groan he’d been holding back as he went into the locker room.
Sheridan was trying very hard to concentrate on the grant proposal she was working on but she was finding it difficult because her thoughts kept wandering to what she and Luis would be doing to each other once the game was over. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t hear someone come in the door.
“Sheridan dear, this place is certainly not suitable for a Crane.”
Sheridan’s eyes widened in shock when she saw Alistair Crane standing in front of her. “What are you doing here Father?”
“I’ve come to get you of course,”
“I’m not going to anywhere with you Father.”
“Why do you insist on behaving this way Sheridan. I’m only doing what’s best for you.”
“You’ve never done what’s best for me Father,” Sheridan said in a trembling voice. “I remember everything Father. I remember how you hurt me and I remember what you did to Martin Fitzgerald.”
“Martin Fitzgerald deserved what he got. You are mine Sheridan and no one takes what belongs to me, not Martin Fitzgerald, and not his cop son. You will come with me now Sheridan,” Alistair commanded and pulled out a gun.
“Hey baby, Bill has to go pick up his kids. Why don’t you come join my team and show off your basketball moves,” Luis called out as he walked into the office but he froze in his tracks when he saw Alistair. “Well, well, Crane, I’ve been looking for you. The Harmony PD’s got quite a few questions for you.”
Alistair turned around pointing the gun at Luis. “I have no intention of answering any of your questions. I just came to get what’s mine.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you Father. Nothing you do could ever make me leave Luis.”
Anger swelled up in Alistair. “YOU WILL DO AS YOU ARE TOLD,” he boomed and swung around backhanding Sheridan with the gun in his hand. She fell to the floor behind the desk and didn’t move.
When Alistair struck out at Sheridan, Luis lunged toward him, but Alistair quickly turned back around, aiming the gun at Luis before he could get to him.
“I’m very tired of you interfering in Crane matters boy. It’s time you were taken care of once and for all.”
Sheridan’s eyes fluttered open slowly. The force of Alistair’s blow hadn’t rendered her completely unconscious; it had merely stunned her for a moment. She could hear her father’s voice booming cold threats about killing Luis. Then Sheridan’s eyes focused on the safe underneath the desk and she had a sudden realization. When she came into the youth center Luis was coming out of the office still wearing his uniform and his holster, but he didn’t have his gun.
Whenever Luis came to the youth center after being on duty, he always locked his gun in the safe. Only Luis and Sheridan knew the combination and he’s made her memorize it, demanding that it never be written down or told to anyone else, to ensure that none of the kids could ever get into the safe and get to his gun.
Sheridan was thankful she had fallen behind the desk and was mostly hidden from view. She quietly pulled herself closer to the safe and began entering the combination.
With the gun aimed directly at Luis’ heart Alistair walked towards Luis, backing him out into the hallway. ‘Look Crane, just put the gun down. Everyone already knows you murdered Papa and what you did to Sheridan when she was a little girl. You’ve already got big trouble and if you shoot me it will just get worse for you. Killing a cop gets you an injection in this state.”
Alistair cackled. “You fool. No law can touch me; I’m Alistair Crane. I control the law. There will be no arrest for your father’s murder and I could blow up the police station and I’d never spend a night in custody. You’ve gotten in my way for the last time Lopez-Fitzgerald.”
Alistair squeezed his finger on the trigger and a shot rang out.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 76: Gunshot
The gunshot rang through the air and Alistair fell to the floor in a heap and blood oozed from the gunshot wound in his back. Sheridan stood behind him, holding Luis’ gun. She looked down at her father’s bloody body and her hands began to shake so badly that she dropped the gun. Luis stepped over Alistair’s body and held Sheridan against him, afraid that she would faint.
The guys that Luis was playing basketball with came running out of the gym when they heard the gunshot. “What happened Luis?”
“I need someone to call the station and get Sam over here now. And somebody call an ambulance,” Luis ordered, never lessening his hold on Sheridan.
“Don’t bother,” one of the guys said, who was crouched over Alistair’s body. “He’s gone.”
Sheridan began to sob into Luis’ chest. “Will you guys wait out here for Sam. I’m gonna take Sheridan into the locker room. Just make sure you don’t touch anything.”
Luis led Sheridan into the locker room and she sank down onto a bench. “I was so scared. I thought that he was going to shoot you.”
Luis sat down next to her and held her shaking body tightly. “So did I,” he whispered, “so did I.”
“I killed him,” Sheridan whimpered, “I killed my own father. I didn’t want to kill him. I just wanted him to leave me alone. But I couldn’t let him hurt you. I couldn’t let him take you from me. I don’t know what I’d so without you.”
“You’re never going to have to find out sweetheart.” Sheridan’s sobs began to subside. “I know you never wanted anything like this to happen, and it wasn’t your fault. He forced you to do it, and if you hadn’t he would have killed me and maybe even killed you too.”
“For so long I’ve been afraid that I was a murderer and now it’s really true.”
“You are not a murderer Sheridan. You were protecting yourself and me. No one is going to blame you for shooting him. He hurt you before Sheridan and he probably would have again and he killed my father, but now he can never hurt you or anyone else ever again.”
“I know in my head that you’re right Luis, but it’s just hard. I’m sorry, but even after everything he’s done he’s still my father and he’s dead. I killed him.”
“It’s okay for you to be upset Sheridan. You have nothing to apologize for. I’ll be here with you and I’ll do whatever you need to make this easier for you.”
“You don’t have to be so nice about this. I know you hated him. You had every right to, he killed your father.”
“It doesn’t matter how I felt about Alistair. I love you Sheridan and that’s all that really matters. I want you to always feel like you can share your feelings with me, no matter what they are or whether or not I feel the same way. I’ll never judge you. The most important thing to me is being here for you and taking care of you.”
Luis raised his hands to Sheridan’s tear stained cheeks and wiped away the moisture with slow caresses and placed feather soft kisses on each of her eyelids, fluttering down her cheeks and ending gently on her lips. Now, let’s go give Sam our statements and then I want to take you home. You’ve been through a lot today.”
The next morning there was a knock on the door as Sheridan and Luis were eating some delicious blueberry muffins that Pilar had brought by on her way to work. Ethan came into the kitchen and joined them.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he hugged Sheridan.
“I’m doing much better today,” Sheridan answered. “Luis has been taking good care of me. I’m sorry I was asleep when you called yesterday.”
“It’s ok. I’m sure you needed your rest after what happened yesterday. Mother has taken it upon herself to make all the arrangements, well I should say calling people and having them take care of it. There’s going to be a big funeral on Friday. But I think you might want to skip it.”
“Why.”
“Because it’s going to be a big fiasco with hundreds of business men and politicians who are only going to be there for appearances and the press will be there too. We’ll have a private ceremony at the Crane family mausoleum afterward.”
“You’re right. I’d definitely rather not have to face the press,” Sheridan lamented. “So how are you dealing with all this Ethan?”
“I’m fine. Actually I thought I’d be more upset, but I just can’t bring myself to be sad that he’s dead. He was always very cold to us when we were growing up. He never showed any emotion toward us except anger or annoyance. And now, knowing what he did to you and what he did to Martin Fitzgerald… Well, I’m sorry, but I’m glad he’s gone.”
“It’s okay Ethan, part of me feels the same way too.”
“Well you should have seen father this morning walking around mumbling to himself.”
“Really,” Sheridan said in surprise. “I know Julian was certainly closer to Father than we ever were, buy I honestly didn’t expect him to be that upset about Father’s death.”
“He wasn’t in the beginning. I was there when we got the call the grandfather was dead and at first he couldn’t believe it, but then he got all happy and started dancing around the room.”
“If he was so happy then what happened to change his mood?”
“Mother reminded him of something.”
“What?” Luis asked curiously as he bit into another deliciously moist muffin.
“She started laughing at Father and when he asked what was so funny she reminded him that grandfather had removed him as heir. You should have seen Father’s face. His eyes got wide and all the color drained from his cheeks.
Then he started drinking a lot of brandy and swearing about grandfather. Finally he stormed off into the library and slammed the door.”
“Oh Ethan, I’d completely forgotten. You’re the Crane heir, you inherit everything.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“You’re not happy about this.” Luis wrinkled his eyebrows. “You’re now one of the richest men in the world!”
“Yeah, but it’s a lot of pressure and I never expected it to happen so soon. Frankly, I figured that Grandfather would end up changing his mind and reinstate father as his heir. There are millions of people employed by Crane Industries and there are the shareholders too.
They’re all counting on me to make all the right decisions for the company.”
“I’m sure you’ll do a wonderful job Ethan. You’ve been training for this your whole life.”
“I know, I guess I’m just nervous. But now maybe I’ll be able to do something good with Crane Industries. Make the Crane name stand for something good instead of a name that makes people cringe.”
Sheridan smiled. “I’m so proud of you Ethan. You’ve gotten past all of the bad stuff Julian and father tried to teach you and have become a wonderful man. I know you’ll do wonderful things for the family.”
“Well, I better go. I need to find Theresa and tell her about all of this.”
After Ethan left Sheridan and Luis settled in on the couch in the living room. “I’m worried about Theresa,” Luis sighed. “I see how close she and Ethan have gotten and I don’t want being Mrs. Crane to be the only thing she does with her life.
“Does that mean you’re not going to kill Ethan if he wants to marry your sister,” Sheridan grinned.
“Stop teasing me, I’m serious.”
“I know you are, but Theresa has lots of dreams she wants to fulfill and marrying Ethan is only one of those dreams. Don’t worry. Theresa and Ethan are going to have a wonderful life together.”
Luis snuggled Sheridan into his arms. “So are we baby, so are we.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 77: Birthday Presents
A month had passed since Alistair’s death and everyone was moving on with their lives. Ethan had Crane Industries running smoothly and he and Theresa were closer than ever. Sheridan managed to work through the pain she felt over her role in Alistair’s death and she’d even gone back to work at the youth center. Now she and Luis were getting dressed to go to Pilar’s house for Theresa’s birthday party.
“Honey, would you mind zipping me up?”
“Of course I wouldn’t mind,” Luis purred as he stepped up behind Sheridan and slipped his hands on to her bare back. “But, I think we should save the zipping for later and slip this dress back off for a while.”
“No way.” Sheridan wriggled out of Luis’ grasp.
“Why not? I’ll make it worth your while,” Luis teased.
“Because if we do then we’ll be late to Theresa’s party and I won’t be able to look your mother in the eye when we walk in the door after everyone else has already gotten there.”
“Sheridan, my mother knows we have sex.”
“I know that. It’s just that she has this way of looking at you like she knows everything you’re trying to hide and you’re about to get chastised. Let’s just go to the party and have some cake and ice cream and a little champagne and when we get home I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“Ok fine. Turn around.” Sheridan turned around and Luis grasped the zipper, but instead of pulling it up, he leaned down and left a trail of moist kisses up her back as he slowly inched the zipper up covering the path he left until the zipper reached the top of the dress and his lips were caressing the soft skin of the back of her neck.
“Oh Luis,” Sheridan moaned, “You’re torturing me.”
“That was the idea,” Luis grinned. “So when are you going to tell me what this present is that you got for Theresa?”
“You’re just gonna have to wait and find out when Theresa does.”
“I guess I just can’t win today. We’d better go. We wouldn’t want to be late.”
“Oh Ethan, it’s beautiful,” Theresa said as Ethan clasped the stunning sapphire and diamond necklace around her neck.
“Not as beautiful as you are,” Ethan whispered in her ear and kissed her on the cheek. “Happy Birthday sweetheart.”
“So are there any other presents or are we ready for the cake?” Pilar asked.
“Actually there’s one more,” Sheridan said and she handed Theresa a beautifully wrapped box.
After removing the paper Theresa lifted the lid off the box. “Oh Sheridan, a dress. Thank you so much.” She lifted the pink dress out of the box and gasped. “Oh my god Sheridan! How did you do this? I don’t believe it!”
“What?” Luis asked, “it’s just a dress.”
“No Luis it’s my dress!”
“Yeah, it’s your birthday Theresa.”
“No, I mean, it’s my dress. I designed it. How did you do this Sheridan? It’s wonderful!”
“I had an accomplice.” Sheridan winked at Ethan. “I got Ethan to get me one of your designs and I sent it to a dress maker I know.”
“This is so amazing. It’s the best present ever. I can’t believe I get to wear one of my own designs.”
“Actually, the dress isn’t the real present Theresa.”
“What? But it’s so wonderful really. You didn’t have to get me anything else.”
“Why don’t you just look in the bottom of the box,” Sheridan said with a sly grin on her face. Luis nudged Sheridan trying to get her to give him some clue as to what was going on but she wouldn’t say anything.
Theresa picked up the box and in the bottom was an envelope. She opened the envelope and pulled out a card. “I don’t understand Sheridan. What is this?”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 78: Amazing
“What does this mean Sheridan?” Theresa asked looking down quizzically at the card.
“It means exactly what it says,” Sheridan answered, “why don’t you read it out loud so everyone can hear.”
“The Harmony Youth Center proudly invites you to attend the Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald Charity Fashion Show,” Theresa read off the card. “If this for real? A fashion show with my designs? Why?”
“Well, I spoke to a designer I know and showed him the design for that dress and some of the dresses you designed for Ethan and Gwen’s wedding and Rudolpho is interested in seeing a showing of your designs as sort of an interview for an apprenticeship at his design house in Boston.”
“Oh my God, this is so amazing,” Theresa exclaimed, “but how can I have a fashion show? This dress is the only one of my designs that’s ever been made.”
“I’ve taken care of all the arrangements Theresa. All you have to do is select the designs that you want to have in the show. I thought we’d get some of the kids from the youth center and some of your friends to be the models for the show. So once you decide who you want to wear which design we’ll take their measurements and then send them off to be made and they’ll be done in plenty of time to get fittings for all the models.”
“I can’t believe it,” Theresa exclaimed, “I’m finally gonna be a real designer. Can you believe it Ethan, people will actually be wearing my designs!”
“Of course I believe it darling,” Ethan kissed Theresa’s cheek. “Your designs are wonderful.”
“There’s so much to do. I have to get my design book.” Theresa started to get up but Pilar stopped her.
“Theresita, I’m sure there’s plenty of time to get everything done. But, right now, it’s time for cake.”
“Oh yeah, it’s my birthday,” Theresa giggled, “I almost forgot. Now I don’t know what to wish for.” Theresa smiled at Ethan. “All my wishes are already coming true.”
As soon as they were done with the cake Theresa rushed off to her room to get her designs and then she pulled Whitney and Sheridan over to the couch with her to look through them and talk about plans for the fashion show. Just after midnight Luis finally convinced Theresa that he and Sheridan needed to get home.
When they got home they went straight up to the bedroom. Luis stripped down to his boxers and lay down on the bed with his head propped up on the pillows and watched Sheridan as she removed her jewelry.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Theresa so excited about anything before, well, except maybe over Ethan.”
“I know,” Sheridan said while she put her earrings into the jewelry box. “I kind of feel sorry for Whitney since she’s spending the night over there tonight. Theresa probably won’t ever let her get to sleep. I was very happy that you came to my rescue and insisted we had to leave.”
“Your hero is always at your service my love,” Luis winked. “So did you guys manage to get anything accomplished or did Theresa just ramble on the whole time.”
“Actually we decided which types of lines we want to feature and we decided on some of the people we want to ask to be the models. We’ll start with active wear, then swimwear. Next will be casual eveningwear and then the kid’s line. Last will be formal wedding attire with a wedding gown for the finale. In fact, I volunteered you to be a model for the swimwear line.”
“You what? You want me to prance around in a bathing suit!”
“Why not? Whitney told me you’ve done it before, only the judges thought your little brother was more of a hunk than you.”
“Yeah, well no offense to my little brother, but I think Kay rigged that contest or something.”
“Well, don’t worry. I still think you’re the hunkiest guy in Harmony,” Sheridan teased as she slipped off her shoes.
Luis slipped his hands behind his head and grinned. “Aren’t you afraid that some other woman is going to see me up there strutting my stuff on-stage in a swimsuit and try to steal me away from you?”
“Nope, cause I’ll be right next to you in a sexy little bikini and any woman who tries to get to you will have to go through me.”
“I’ve seen you in a bikini honey. I think I’m the one who’s gonna have to be fighting off all the men who’ll be drooling over you.”
“Don’t worry baby,” Sheridan smiled, “you’re the only man I want drooling over me.”
“So where’d you get the idea to have a fashion show for Theresa as an interview for this designer?”
“You actually?”
“Me?”
“Yep. I wanted to have some sort of fundraising event for the youth center and I was also trying to figure out something special to get Theresa for her birthday and then you mentioned that you were worried about your sister and it all kind of fell into place. This way Theresa will get a chance to realize her dream of being a fashion designer, we’ll raise some money for the youth center, and you won’t have to worry so much about becoming Mrs. Crane being the only thing your sister does with her life.”
“You are an amazing woman Sheridan.”
Luis’ eyes widened in appreciation as he watched Sheridan slip the straps off her shoulders and let her dress slide down her body to the floor. She crossed the room and crawled onto the bed. She straddled her legs across Luis’ waist and ran her hands across his chest. “Why don’t I show you just how amazing I really am.”
Later that night as they drifted off to sleep, their bodies entwined, an idea began to form in Luis’ subconscious.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 79: Future Surprise
Luis paced back and forth anxiously in front of the magazine rack at the Book Café. “Why does she always have to be late,” he muttered under his breath. Then the cover of a magazine caught his eye and he stared at it for a minute letting his mind wander into fantasy.
“Hey Luis,” Theresa said, breaking the spell on his subconscious.
“It’s about time you got here,” Luis snapped.
“Sorry,” Theresa rolled her eyes. “You know I was still asleep when you called and asked me to meet you here. I didn’t figure you wanted me to come to the Book Café in my nightgown so I took the time to get dressed. So what did you want to talk to me about that was so important?”
“The fashion show.”
“My show? That’s what is so important. There’s not a problem is there? Did Sheridan change her mind?”
“No Theresa, there’s no problem.” Luis sucked in a big breath before he began. “Sheridan told me that the finale of the show is going to be your wedding designs.”
“Yeah, it is going to be really cool. The whole stage will be decorated with flowers and candles and a flower girl will come out first and then bridesmaids and groomsmen and last a bride and groom. It’s going to look just like a real wedding.”
“What about a priest?”
“I didn’t design anything for a priest Luis.”
“Maybe you should.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want it to look like a real wedding.”
“Why not?”
“Because I want it to be a real wedding.”
“You what?”
“And I want Sheridan to be the bride.” Theresa’s mouth dropped open, but no sound came out. “And I want to be the groom.”
Theresa’s eyes got big but she still didn’t say anything. Luis waved his hands in front of her face. “Hello, little sister, aren’t you going to say anything?”
Suddenly Theresa threw her arms around Luis’ neck. “Oh Luis, this is wonderful. You and Sheridan are getting married! She must be so excited. When did you ask her?”
“I didn’t ask her.”
“What?” Theresa asked confused. “I thought you said you and Sheridan are getting married.”
“I don’t think I explained myself very well,” Luis sighed. “I want to marry Sheridan, but I’m not going to ask her to marry me.”
“Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, that makes absolutely no sense. How do you expect to marry her if you don’t ask her?”
“Because I want the wedding to be a surprise.” Theresa just looked at Luis with a goofy grin on her face. “What? Don’t you think she’ll like it? You don’t think Sheridan wants to marry me do you?”
“Calm down Luis. I know Sheridan would love to marry you. And I think that a surprise wedding is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard of.”
“So you won’t mind my wedding being a part of your first fashion show?”
“Of course I don’t mind, I’m thrilled,” Theresa gushed. “What could be better than having my first fashion show and my brother and the woman of his dreams getting married wearing my designs all in the same day. It’s going to be great. And having Sheridan Crane get married wearing one of my dresses could do great things for my fashion career. I guess it’s really a good thing that you want this wedding to be a surprise.”
“Why?”
“Because even though Sheridan has distanced herself from the Cranes the press, especially in Europe, is still really interested in her. This way all the reporters and photographers will be surprised too and they won’t be able to crash the wedding.”
“I hadn’t really thought about that, but I guess you’re right.”
“Don’t worry, everything will be perfect for your wedding. And since Sheridan and I are already supposed to be making all the plans for the fashion show together it should be easy for me to find out what all her favorites are for the wedding and that’s what we’ll use. I’ll just pretend not to be able to decide about stuff and she’ll have to give me her opinion.”
“What do you mean pretend Theresa,” Luis laughed. “You’re always indecisive.”
“Well then, she’ll never suspect anything.”
“Just make sure Sheridan doesn’t find out.”
“Don’t worry Luis. I won’t tell anyone. Oh look, there’s Ethan.”
“Anyone includes Ethan, Theresa.”
“But Luis, it might be a good idea to tell him. He knows who all of Sheridan’s friends are. He could make sure that all the people Sheridan would want at her wedding will be there, especially the ones who wouldn’t necessarily just come to my fashion show.”
“I guess you’ve got a point Theresa, but are you sure Ethan can keep a secret.”
“You two are keeping secrets, huh.” Ethan said from behind Luis.
“Yep and I was just trying to convince Luis that we should tell you,” Theresa beamed.
Ethan sat down next to Theresa. “So Luis, you don’t think I can keep a secret? I never told you that I knew Theresa or that she worked for my mother.”
“I’m not so sure that’s a very good character reference,” Luis frowned.
“Well, I also never told you that Sheridan was crazy about you for a long time before you guys ever got together. Although, that wasn’t really a secret from anyone but you and Sheridan,” Ethan teased.
“Well, I suppose we can tell you, but if you tell anyone, I’ll kill you.”
“Can I tell him,” Theresa asked excitedly.
“Yeah, go ahead before you burst.”
“Sheridan and Luis are getting married,” Theresa blurted out.
“Congratulations Luis. I can’t believe Sheridan didn’t tell me. I just talked to her on the phone.”
Oh, that’s the best part,” Theresa added with a grin. “Sheridan has no idea. Luis is going to give her a surprise wedding.”
“Wow. When?”
“At the fashion show. Instead of just showing off the designs, it will be a real wedding.”
“That certainly will be a surprise. Now don’t get me wrong Luis, I think Sheridan will love a surprise wedding. Just like Theresa, Sheridan goes nuts for all those grand romantic gestures, and I know she wants to marry you, but that will certainly be a shock to Sheridan. To walk out in front of a crowd of people and find out you’re getting married.”
“That’s not exactly how I plan to do it. I thought about an hour or so before the wedding I’d pop the question. I intend to make this the wedding of Sheridan’s dreams. Just make sure you don’t tell anyone, especially Julian.”
“I won’t tell anyone. And I don’t want my father to know about it either. Without Grandfather around pulling the strings I don’t think father would do anything malicious to try and stop the wedding, but has drinking has gotten worse since grandfather died and I inherited everything.
I’m afraid he would end up causing a scene. It’s better that he doesn’t know about it until you two are already married.”
“Come on Ethan, we have work to do.”
“Where are we going Theresa?”
“Not only do we have a fashion show to plan, but my brothers wedding too.” Theresa pulled Ethan up off the couch. “And, don’t worry about anything Luis, I’m going to make sure everything is perfect.”
To Be Continued…
Chapter 80: A Plan in Motion
Luis and Sheridan were already sitting in Pilar’s living room having a glass of iced tea and waiting when Theresa and Ethan came in.
“I found the perfect place to have the fashion show,” Theresa said excitedly as she dropped down on the couch next to Sheridan and she continued to ramble. “You know the old outdoor theater on the cliffs? Well it’s available. It would be perfect Sheridan. They set up all these rows of white chairs and they said there’s even a big tent that can be put up over the audience in case it might rain.
There are dressing rooms underneath the stage and they have all these backdrops that they use for plays and some of them would be perfect for different parts of the show. But, the best thing is that you can remove all of the backdrops and the whole back wall is a set of doors. You can open it all the way across and the whole back of the stage is just the most beautiful view of the ocean.
“That sounds wonderful,” Sheridan agreed.
“I think if we time the show just right, we can have the wedding finale at sunset with the ocean in the background. It would be really romantic.”
“It sounds perfect Theresa,” Luis added with a wink and Theresa smiled, happy that her brother approved.
“Are we going to decide which designs each of the models will wear?” Sheridan asked.
“Yep, I have all the sketches right here.”
“I’m excited to see which swimsuit you want me to wear.”
“Actually Sheridan I changed my mind. I don’t want you to model for the swimwear line.”
Sheridan’s smile fell. “Oh, okay. I understand if you don’t want me to be in the show.”
“No, I want you to be in the show, but I have something really special that I want you to do. I want you to be the bride.”
“You want me to wear the wedding dress? But that is the finale of the show. Maybe you should be the one to wear it.”
“No Sheridan, I want you to do it. You would look absolutely breathtaking wearing one of my designs and of course Luis would be your groom. You two make such a beautiful couple. I know it would be the perfect ending to the show. Please say you’ll do it.”
“Of course we will if you’re sure that’s what you want,” Sheridan answered.
“Great. Now, I was thinking for the bridesmaids and groomsmen we should have Miguel and Kay, and Chad and Whitney, and I thought we should have another couple, but someone who’s just a little older. Who do you think for a guy Luis?”
“What about Sam?” Luis suggested wanting his friend to be involved in his wedding.
“Do you think my mother could do it too,” Ethan said, knowing how much she cared for Sheridan and that she wanted to do something to help Theresa too. “She’d really like to do something for the show Theresa.”
Luis remembered how instrumental Ivy had been in getting him and Sheridan together and how supportive she had been of Sheridan when she left the Crane family and wholeheartedly agreed with Ethan’s suggestion.
“Okay, we’ll have Chief Bennett and Mrs. Crane as the third couple. Now who should be the maid of honor and the best man?”
“Theresa, I think you and Ethan should do it,” Luis interrupted and Sheridan nodded in agreement.
Theresa fought to hold back her emotions at the special meaning of her brothers suggestion. She blinked hard to hold back any tears that threatened and smiled at her brother. “That would be wonderful Luis. Come on Sheridan let’s look at the wedding designs.”
“Come on Ethan. Let’s go play some hoops before the ladies rope us into looking at dresses.
“Luis, I just want you to know how much it means to me that you want me to be your best man,” Ethan said once they were outside.
“I misjudged you for a long time Ethan, but you’re a good man and you’ve been good to my sister. I know it will mean as much to Sheridan to have you standing up there in her wedding as it does to me to have my sister there too.
We’re family now, and that’s the most important thing,” Luis said and he slapped Ethan on the back. “Now toss me that ball so I can start whipping your butt.”
A while later Ethan and Luis came back into the living room all hot and sweaty and without their shirts and plopped down in the living room chairs with cold beers.
“How are the plans coming?” Luis asked after a long swig of his beer.
“Great,” Theresa answered with a sly grin. “I had a little trouble deciding on some stuff, but Sheridan helped me pick.”
“You should see the wedding dress we picked Luis,” Sheridan added. “It’s the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen.”
Sheridan picked up the sheet with the design for the dress on it to show to Luis but Theresa quickly grabbed it from her. “You can’t Sheridan. It’s bad luck for the groom to see what the dress looks like before the wedding,” Theresa blurted out and Luis glared at her.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 81: The Ring
“Don’t be silly Theresa,” Sheridan said, “it won’t hurt anything for Luis to see what the dress looks like. It’s not like this is our real wedding or anything.”
“Of course it isn’t,” Theresa tried to cover, “but it’s tradition. Even though it’s not a real wedding, you’re supposed to be the bride and Luis is supposed to be the groom. You know how superstitious I am. I just don’t want anything to go wrong with the fashion show that’s all.”
“Ok.” Sheridan seemed to accept Theresa’s explanation and Luis breathed a sigh of relief.
As the days passed by, the plans for the fashion show continued with Sheridan none the wiser to what was in store for her. All the models were measured and the designs were chosen and sent to be made. The decorations and flowers were picked out and Ethan began to secretly plan a lavish wedding reception. Everything was going smoothly.
One day after work, Luis dropped by his mother’s house on his way home from work. She had left a message at the station for him saying that she needed to speak with him. When Luis entered the kitchen through the back door Pilar was pouring herself a glass of iced tea.
“Hi Mama.” Luis gave her a kiss on the cheek. “What did you need to talk to me about?”
“Have a seat Luis.” Pilar poured another glass for Luis and joined him at the kitchen table.
“I know that you’ve been planning something. You and your sister are always whispering about something,” Pilar began. “And a couple of days ago when I was going through the mail, I thought I was opening my bank statement but I opened yours by mistake. I didn’t even know you had opened a new savings about. You’ve been making deposits in it every week, obviously for a little while now.”
“Mama, I can explain.”
“I don’t need an explanation son,” Pilar interrupted. “You’re planning on asking Sheridan to marry you aren’t you?”
“How did you know that?”
“I can see how much you and Sheridan love each other and I’ve had my suspicions for a while now that you might be ready to take that step. Especially after I discovered your savings account. But I knew it for sure this morning when I came into town to run some errands for Mrs. Crane and I saw you go into a jewelry store. Did you buy her a ring already?”
“Not yet Mama. I haven’t found the right ring yet, and I want it to be really special.”
“Wait right here Luis.” Pilar scurried off into the other room and she came back holding a small box. “What do you think of this ring?” Pilar asked and she opened the box.
“Oh mama, it’s beautiful. Where did it come from? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before.”
“It belonged to Sheridan’s grandmother. She wanted to pass it down to Sheridan’s mother, but Alistair wouldn’t hear of it. He didn’t think it was good enough for his wife. She really wanted to wear this ring, but instead Alistair bought her a ring with a big gaudy diamond that she hated. Sheridan’s mother gave the ring to me before she died and she asked me to pass it along to Sheridan one day when she found true love. She also left a letter for Sheridan to read on her wedding day.”
“It’s the perfect ring mama. I know Sheridan will be thrilled to know it came from her mother.”
“I think she’d be thrilled anyway just to be marrying you. So have you decided when you’re going to ask her?”
“Actually, I’ve already decided when the wedding is going to be. That’s why Theresa and I are always whispering. We’re planning a surprise wedding for Sheridan. The fashion show wedding is going to be a real wedding Mama, my wedding to Sheridan.”
“Oh my Luis, I can’t believe it. My baby is getting married.” Tears escaped Pilar’s eyes.
“Please don’t cry Mama.”
“I can’t help it. I’m so happy. I know you and Sheridan will have a wonderful happy life together and make me lots of beautiful grandbabies.”
“Should I go home and get started on that right away or should we wait for the honeymoon,” Luis grinned.
“Don’t tease your mother. Give me a hug.”
“Now remember Mama, this wedding is supposed to be a surprise so you’ll have to keep it a secret. No crying in front of Sheridan.”
“Don’t worry son. Your mother knows how to keep a secret.”
After weeks of preparations were completed the day before the fashion show and wedding had arrived.
When Sheridan got home from a long day of work at the youth center Luis met her at the door with a glass of champagne and led her to the dining room table which was set for a candlelight dinner for two.
“Are we celebrating something Luis?”
Luis pulled Sheridan into his arms. “Just how much I love you.”
After a wonderful meal, Luis put some music on the stereo and pulled Sheridan into his arms for a dance in the living room. As they danced, Luis’ hands began to roam over Sheridan’s body leaving wakes of tingling skin everywhere he touched. When he lifted her into his arms, her own arms snaked around his neck and her mouth busily devoured his neck as he ascended the stairs to the bedroom.
Sheridan laughed breathlessly when Luis’ fingers tickled her hips as he pushed her dress down her body. Her senses soared with delight as they tumbled on to the bed and she cried out with pleasure as his lips moistly caressed her breasts. The last colors of the day faded outside the windows as they celebrated their love to its fullest extent.
As they lay tangled and sweaty, their bodies limp with sweet exhaustion, the phone on the nightstand rang. With a grunt of annoyance Luis lifted the receiver.
“Hello.”
“Hey Luis. What are you doing there?” Theresa asked.
“I was enjoying myself. What’s up?”
“Luis, you can’t stay there tonight. You’re getting married tomorrow.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s bad luck. You don’t want anything to go wrong do you?”
“I guess not,” he sighed.
“Good. Besides, Mama has been all weepy today and I think she’d like to spend some time with her baby before he gets married. Just tell Sheridan that Mama needed you to come here for something and you’re going to spend the night or that you had some kind of police emergency.”
“Okay, I’ll see you in a little bit.”
“Who was that?” Sheridan asked when he hung up.
Luis thought for a second before he answered. “That was Mama. Miguel got into a fight today.”
“Oh no, is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s fine. But Mama thinks he needs a little man to man chat. She wants me to spend the night over there tonight. I’m sorry.”
“I understand Luis. I’m just glad she didn’t call five minutes earlier.”
Luis grinned, “if she’d called earlier I wouldn’t have answered the phone. In fact,” he slipped his hand under the covers until his fingers found her warm supple flesh, “I think she won’t mind if I don’t leave for a few minutes.”
“Good,” Sheridan moaned against his lips, “I wasn’t quite done with you yet anyway.”
To Be Continued…
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