CHAPTER NINETEEN
Sheridan watched Luis' pickup once again disappear out of sight and she
couldn't help the tears that fell from her eyes. He had been so angry
with
her and she knew he had every right to be. She had never intended to
say
those things to her parents. She had just been so angry with them and
the
words had just tumbled out before she could stop them. She had no
doubt that
her parents were livid right now and she was not looking forward to
going
back inside that house.
She heard the door creak open behind her but she refused to turn
around. She
didn't want to talk to anyone. She closed her eyes as someone laid a
firm
hand on her shoulder. Ethan, she thought with a sigh, Ethan had come
out to
talk to her. Actually, yell at her was probably a better description.
She
knew he was angry too. She had seen the look on his face when she'd
come out
of Luis' bedroom earlier and then again when she'd walked into the
living
room a few minutes ago. She knew he was going to let her have it and
she
didn't particularly need his lecture on top of the two she'd already
received
today.
"Are you okay?" Ethan asked turning her around to face him. "Luis
looked
pretty pissed."
Pissed? Luis had been beyond pissed, she thought opening her eyes. He
had
been downright furious. and she deserved every bit of that fury too.
She had
caused him to lose his job and as he not so gently pointed out… she
had also
caused him to lose Julian and Ivy's respect. She knew from the hurt
look on
his face when Julian had told him how disappointed in him he was that
those
words crushed him far more than losing his job ever could. And as he
said
nothing she could say was going to change that. The damage was done
and
there was no way she could reverse it now, no matter how much she
wanted to.
"I'm fine." She lied. There was no need to tell him what had just
happened
between her and Luis. Besides, she had a feeling he pretty much
already
knew. "Luis said he doesn't want to see me again."
Ethan nodded. "Maybe that's for the best."
For the best? No, she thought shaking her head, it wasn't for the
best. She
couldn't leave things like that between them. She had to explain to
him.
She had to explain that she hadn't meant to say what she said. She had
just
been so angry and she was so tired of the way her parents treated
her… but
Luis wouldn't understand that. At least, he wouldn't right now. She
would
have to wait to explain it all to him. Right now, he needed space to
cool
off and she needed to give it to him. It was the very least she could
do
after the damage she'd just caused.
"Sher," Ethan started in his -I'm-about-to-say-something-you-won't-like
tone.
"I -"
"Don't Ethan. If you are going to lecture me on what happened in there
a few
minutes ago don't bother. Luis already gave me an ear full and I don't
think
I can take much more okay?"
If truth be told she knew she couldn't take much more today. Just
remembering the cold fury in Luis' eyes and the anger in his voice was
enough
to make her want to go upstairs and not come back down for a week. She
knew
his anger stemmed from his hurt and the fact that she had caused that
hurt
was almost more than she could bare. He was a proud man, she knew that
and
for him to show her that much today was more than she would have
expected him
to do. She could see him being angry and just walking off not saying
anything to her, but for him to actually tell her how that made him
feel said
something about him. He wasn't the bad boy he pretended to be.
Underneath
that cool exterior was the heart of gold, Theresa had talked so much
about.
She had seen it today. He had really been hurt by what Julian had
said, she
had seen it in his eyes. She had heard it in his voice and knowing she
had
caused that hurt... She shook her head wondering if she would ever be
able
to make it up to him. Something told her she wouldn't. Something told
her
she would never be able to undo the trouble she had caused him today.
Luis walked into his apartment and slammed the door. He was still
seething
with anger and he knew it was partly directed at himself. If he had
stuck to
his guns and stayed the hell away from Sheridan Crane, he wouldn't be
in the
position he was in now. How in the hell was he going to tell his dad
that he
had gotten thrown off the job because he'd slept with Julian's niece?
Julian
and his father were friends, good friends, and he knew that his and
Sheridan's actions today would cause problems for them. His father as
going
to hit the roof and he was definitely not looking forward to seeing his
father's Irish temper.
He shook his head then made his way into the kitchen and grabbed a beer
out
of the fridge. After twisting off the cap and downing about half of
it, he
walked back into the living room and sank down onto the couch. He
closed his
eyes then leaned his head back against the cushions and cursed his own
stupidity. If he had just stayed away from her… but he hadn't. He
hadn't
and now he was paying the price. One night with her and his whole
world was
turned upside down.
Julian's disappointed gaze flashed in his mind again and he opened his
eyes
hoping to rid it of the memory. It didn't work. He raised his beer to
his
lips and took another long swig. He turned his head to the side and
eyed the
phone sitting on the table beside him. He knew he had to call his dad
and
tell him to send Marty to the Crane's to finish up the pool house, but
he
couldn't bring himself to pick up the phone just yet. He wasn't sure
he
would ever be able to make that call. He'd been working for his dad's
construction company for years and he had never gotten thrown off a job
before. He always took his job very seriously and always made sure he
satisfied the customers. His dad had never questioned his work ethic,
but he
knew he was bound to now.
Getting thrown off a job from his best friend's dad stung. It stung
more
than he would ever admit to anyone. And he had no one to blame but
himself.
He had really laid into Sher and he knew she had deserved part of it,
but
part of it had been directed at himself too. He had known getting
involved
with her wasn't smart, but he hadn't been able to stop himself. There
was
just something about her that he couldn't walk away from. She had this
energy… this vitality that drew him to her. She was unlike any girl
he had
ever met and he knew his attraction to her wasn't just physical. He'd
figured that much out last night. He knew he cared about her, but he
also
knew that he shouldn't. Because caring about someone left you
vulnerable to
pain and heartache and he'd already had more than his share of those
thanks
to Beth and Josh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Flashback ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh, Luis that sounds so romantic. Who knew my brother was so
romantic?"
He laughed. "I have good motivation. I have Beth. I swear I never
thought I
could love anyone so much but I do. I can't wait until tonight. I
just hope
she says yes!"
"She will, Luis. She loves you. You know that."
"Yeah, I do. I got lucky when they were handing out girlfriends. I got
one of
the best."
"Spoken like a man in love." Theresa said laughing. "Now what do you
say you
pay for this ring so we can get out of here."
"Absolutely. I want to go back to the apartment and talk to Josh about
making
sure he isn't home tonight. I have a feeling Beth and I will want our
privacy
tonight."
He couldn't wait to see the look on Beth's face as he popped the
question.
They hadn't been together long but they had been together long enough
for him
to figure out he loved her and wanted to marry her. He never thought
he
would say those words to anyone but he had and she had said them back.
That
had been the happiest night of his life, but he had a feeling tonight
would
top that - unless of course she said no. If that happened then it
would be
the worst night of his life.
Luis paid for the ring then slipped the little black box in the pocket
of his
coat. He and Theresa made their way back to his truck and headed
toward
their folk's house. After dropping Theresa off, Luis made his way
toward the
apartment he and Josh shared on Harmony Drive. He hoped Josh was home.
He
really needed to talk to him about tonight. He wanted everything to go
well
and if it did then he wanted him and Beth to be alone so they could
celebrate.
Smiling, he shut off then engine, grabbed the keys out of the ignition,
then
jumped out of the truck and headed toward the apartment. He took the
stairs
two at a time, the smile never leaving his face. He couldn't wait to
see
Josh's face when he told him he was going to propose to Beth. He could
just
picture the shock. Josh was a confirmed bachelor and the m word scared
the
hell out of him. Luis was going to have fun making him realize just
how
wonderful having a woman like Beth in his life was.
Luis unlocked the door and walked in. The soft music on the stereo
caught
him off guard because normally Josh listened to heavy metal. The only
time
he listened to this was when he was trying to get a girl into the sack.
He
cocked his head to the side and listened. He didn't hear any voices so
he
wasn't sure if Josh had a chick with him or not. He started to call
out but
just as he opened his mouth the bedroom door opened and out walked half
dressed Josh.
A second later, his whole world came tumbling down like a ton of bricks
because that's when he saw the reason behind the soft music blaring on
the
stereo. Standing right behind Josh was Beth and she was wearing Josh's
blue
button up shirt. The moment they saw him both their eyes widened to
the size
of saucers and he knew he knew he'd been played for a fool.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of Flashback ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He knew his temper had gotten the better of him and it hadn't been just
because of what she'd told her parents and Ethan's parents. He had
been
angry with himself because he'd placed her in that position. If he
hadn't
been so content with her lying in his arms last night, he would have
woken
her up and taken her home. But when he awoke at three am and felt her
in his
arms, he hadn't wanted to let her go. He had been to content holding
her.
It had been a long time since he'd wanted a woman to stay the night
with him.
Since Beth, he thought with a frown. That was definitely not a good
sign.
Beth had broken his heart and he never wanted to feel that kind of pain
again. Something told him it might just be too late for that.
Sighing, he pushed himself away from the cabinet and walked back into
the
living room to call his father. He needed to tell him about what
happened
and he figured he'd better do it before he got too loaded to think, let
alone
talk, coherently.
Sheridan walked back inside the house with Ethan only to hear her
father
yelling at her Uncle Julian for hiring Luis in the first place. Uncle
Julian
fired something back, but she didn't stick around to hear what was
being
said. She just turned and made her way up the stairs to her guestroom.
When
she opened the door and saw her mother sitting on her bed crying, she
felt
more grief and more regret than she had ever felt in her life. She
hadn't
meant to hurt her mother. She hadn't meant to hurt anybody. She just
wanted
everyone to realize that she wasn't the porcelain doll they all treated
her
like. She didn't like being on that pedestal everyone placed her on
and she
was glad she was finally able to make them see that. But she did regret
how
she had gone about telling them. They hadn't deserved that disrespect.
No
one did.
"Mother," She said walking inside the room and closing the door. "I'm
sorry.
I didn't mean to make you cry. I didn't mean for any of that to happen
downstairs. I really didn't. I was just so angry_"
"I know Sheridan." Her mother said standing up and wiping away her
tears.
"I know you didn't mean for that scene to happen. No one did. Your
father
reacted out of worry for you. He didn't mean to treat you like a
child. We
both know you are a grown woman, but Sheridan it still didn't give you
the
right to talk to us that way. We are your parents and we deserved a
lot more
respect than you gave us downstairs."
Sheridan lowered her head toward the ground. "I know you did and I'm
sorry I
didn't give it to you."
Her mother nodded then walked toward her and wrapped her arms around
her.
"So how well do you know this Luis? Did he treat you right? I mean I
know
he's Ethan's friend and that Julian and Ivy think the world of him, but
what
do you think of him?"
Sheridan knew what her mother was asking and she wasn't at all sure she
knew
how to answer her questions. She had slept with Luis, but they didn't
know
each other well. She couldn't tell her mother that, but then she had
to
already know that. After all, she hadn't even been in Harmony a week
yet.
She decided to sidestep that question and concentrate on the other two
instead. "Luis treats me well, mom. He's a really great guy. I have a
lot of
fun with him."
She wasn't about to tell her the kind of fun she and Luis had together.
Instead, she told her about the party and how Luis had sung her
favorite song
from Top Gun after she had dared him to. Her mother laughed at how he
tricked her into thinking he couldn't sing and then at how he had
surprised
her by having a really great voice. She left out the stuff about Ethan
and
Luis getting into an argument and about Josh. There was no need to go
into
those details. No need at all.
"Luis sounds like a good guy, Sheridan. I can see why you like him so
much.
I knew when I saw you walk in something was different and now I know
that
Luis is the reason. He is the reason you have that glow about you.
The glow
of a woman in love."
Sheridan froze at that. There was no way she was in love with Luis.
That
was absolutely the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. She
couldn't
deny it though because then her mother would ask why she had slept with
a man
she didn't love and that was definitely not a conversation a daughter
should
have with her mother. In love with Luis, she thought shaking her head,
her
mother couldn't be more wrong. She and Luis had an understanding
nothing
more. At least they used to have an understanding. After what
happened
today, she wasn't sure he'd ever want to see her again let alone sleep
with
her. She supposed that was something she would have to talk with him
about.
She'd give him a few days to cool off and then she would go talk to
him. She
just hoped he would listen to her.
"Luis, are you sure this is the ring you want?" Theresa asked for the
second
time. "It's awfully expensive. Are you sure you can afford this?"
He glanced at the ring then smiled. It was perfect. The ring had a
small
diamond in the center and was offset by two rubies on both sides of it.
The
rubies represented two hearts and the diamond in the center represented
the
love those two hearts shared. It was the perfect ring. "Yes, I'm sure.
Beth,
will like it won't she?"
"Of course she will.' His sister beamed linking her arm through his.
"She's
going to love it. When are you going to give it to her?"
He laughed as his sister's face lit up with excitement. "Tonight. We
have
plans to go out to dinner and I thought I'd take her to the Seascape
then
maybe we could walk through the park and I'll propose there. It's
where we
first met after all."
Luis shook his head to clear it of the painful memories. That night
was the
last thing he wanted to remember, especially right now. He was upset
enough
he didn't need to remember how big of an idiot he was on top of
everything
else. He downed the rest of his beer then got up and walked back into
the
kitchen to get another. He knew the booze wasn't going to help ease
the ache
in his chest, but he hoped it could dull it somewhat.
He twisted the cap off the bottle and tossed it onto the cabinet beside
the
other then chunked the empty bottle into the trash can to his left. He
gripped the edge of the cabinet as more memories flashed in his head.
This
time it was memories of Sher and of last night. The look in her eyes
as he'd
entered her. The ecstasy on her face as she climaxed. Then he
remembered
the tears in her eyes as he'd told her he never wanted to see her
again.
He'd said it in the heat of anger and he knew he didn't mean a word of
it.
He was still angry and he still needed time to cool off, but he didn't
mean
what he told her. He didn't mean it when he told her to stay the hell
away
from him. He hoped she knew that. He couldn't be sure that she did
though.
To Be Continued...