CHAPTER TWENTY - SEVEN
Luis searched around the park, but once again he saw no sign of
Sheridan.
He'd been searching for her for hours and had seen absolutely no sign
of her
anywhere. He'd called the mansion several times and they told him the
same
thing, she hadn't come home yet. Where the hell was she? Surely, she
didn't
leave town? As well as he knew her, he knew that possibility wasn't
entirely
out of the question. He could never even begin to guess what she would
do
next. He loved that about her. He loved her being so unpredictable.
She
kept him on his toes. And right now, he'd settle for a little of that
unpredictability like her maybe doing the total opposite of what he
expected.
He shook his head then made a beeline for his truck. He wouldn't stop
looking until he found her. He didn't care if it took him all night or
all
week. He was eventually going to find her.
Four hours later, still no sign of Sheridan, Luis pulled back into his
apartment complex and shut of the engine. Antonio had been practically
no
help at all. He'd said he'd keep an eye out and have the other officers
do
the same, but he couldn't file a missing person's report because she
hadn't
been gone that long and there was no reason to suspect foul play. Luis
hadn't been very happy with his brother after that, but he knew he was
right.
Everything pointed to one thing and one thing only, she had left town
of her
own free will.
Damn, he thought jerking his keys out of the ignition and throwing open
the
truck door, what the hell was he going to do? He had to find her and
talk to
her, but he had searched everywhere. He checked his watch and when he
saw
how long it had been since he last called the mansion, he slammed his
truck
door closed and bounded up the stairs to his apartment.
He slipped his keys into the lock then froze when the music blaring
from
inside the apartment floated into his distracted brain. He unlocked
the door
then turned the knob and as the door swung open and he saw the
beautiful
figure sitting on his couch, his heart did double time in his chest.
"Sheridan?"
She looked up as the door swung open then broke out into relieved smile
and
jumped up off the couch to launch herself into his open arms. "I've
been so
worried about you! I've been sitting here for hours! I didn't know
where you
were or when you were coming back, but I refused to leave until I
talked to
you."
"Wha..What?" He asked shaking his head.
"What do you mean what? Where were you Luis? Why did you stay gone so
long?"
"ME?" He asked finally getting his bearings back. "I've been searching
all
over town for you! I woke up and found you gone… I went after you.
I went
to the Julian and Ivy's to talk to you, but you weren't there and no
one knew
where you were. The whole time I was out searching for you, you've
been here
waiting for me?"
When she nodded, he tightened his grip around her. "God, I was so
afraid I
wouldn't find you."
She pulled back with a slight chuckle. "You were afraid? You aren't
afraid
of anything, remember?"
Luis gave her a small smile then ran his hand down her arm and linked
their
hands together. "You'd be surprised at how scared I was today. When I
woke
up and found you were gone this morning I…" He broke off and shook
his head.
"Where did you go? And how did you get back in here without a key?"
She laughed then tugged on his hand and led them to the couch. "I got
back
in by begging the super to let me in. I told him I was your girlfriend
and I
wanted to surprise you with dinner, but I had forgotten my key at home.
He
seemed skeptical at first, but when Tabitha backed me up, he caved and
let me
in."
"Tabitha? Who the hell is Tabitha?"
Sheridan shook her head. "Don't you know your own neighbors? Really
Luis,
you should pay more attention to people."
"Tabitha. Wait, isn't she that old lady that lives in 2C?"
"Yes." She said with a smile.
"Okay, I know who she is now, but what the hell does she have to do
with your
leaving? And why did you leave in the first place? I thought after
last
night -" Sheridan's fingers across his lips silenced what he'd been
about to
say.
"Let me talk and I'll explain it all to you." When he nodded, she
removed
her fingers from his lips then closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Once
she opened them again, they held nothing but seriousness, a seriousness
he
had never seen in them before. "I had a nightmare last night. A
horrible
nightmare. I dreamed I was forced to leave you and that my father made
me
marry Mike. I could hear you outside the church yelling how much you
loved
me and when I went to go to you, my father wouldn't let me. The priest
pronounced Mike and I husband and wife and when we walked out of the
church
you were gone. That's when I woke up and realized that nightmare could
actually come true. You looked so peaceful in your sleep and I was so
scared. I didn't know what to do and I thought having some time alone
to
think would help so I got dressed and…" she broke off and lowered her
voice
to almost a whisper. "And I left."
"But I only got as far as the stairwell. I couldn't bring myself to
walk down
the stairs and since I had locked your apartment door on my way out, I
couldn't go back inside. I didn't want to wake you by knocking or
ringing
the door bell because I...I knew I needed to figure things out before
I talked
to you. But I didn't know where to go so I just lowered myself to the
floor
and cried. Tabitha must have heard me because she came out and she was
so
sweet. She told me everything was going to be all right and then she
led me
into her apartment. I spent the night there and this morning she
helped me
to see what I needed to do."
"And what's that?" He asked searching her eyes for some kind of clue
as to
what she was thinking. "What is it that you need to do?"
"Tell my father that I'm in love you and that I won't go back to New
York and
leave you."
When he laughed, Sheridan's face took on a frown. "What's so funny
about
that?"
"I'm sorry baby. It's just that this morning when I found you
gone… the
first place I went was Julian and Ivy's. Your father answered the
door."
"Oh god, " She said covering her mouth with her hand. "What happened?"
"I basically forced my way inside the house and said I wasn't leaving
until I
talked to you. We argued, but once he found out I was in love with you
his
whole demeanor changed."
"What do you mean? What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that you're leaving to go back to New York is entirely up
to you
and so is our being together. You're father isn't going to stand in
our way."
"He said that?" She asked hope lighting her voice.
"Yes, sweetheart, he did. I think all he wanted was to make sure I
loved you
and once he found out that I did, he no longer objected to us being
together.
Julian even offered to give me my job working on the pool house back,
but I
told him that would be up to you."
"Up to me? How is your working there up to me?"
He smiled and raised her hand to his lips. "Well, if you were still
planning
on going to New York, I was planning on going after you. But since you
said
you're not."
"You were going to come after me?" She said wrapping her arms around
his neck
and smiling into his eyes.
"Damn straight." He said raising a hand to the back of her head and
pulling
her forward until his lips brushed hers. "There was no way in hell I
was
going to let you leave me. I love you too much."
"I love you to Luis and I'm not leaving you. Not ever."
"Thank god!" He said pulling back and laughing. "I was not looking
forward to
living in New York."
She broke out in a fit of laughter and Luis couldn't stop himself from
joining her. He had never been happier than he was right now and as he
looked
into her sparkling blue eyes, he knew without a doubt that they would
be
together forever. Just as they were meant to be.
THE END