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Chapter 15
Sheridan walked into the book cafe to find Jay already
there sipping on a cup of steaming coffee while reading the morning newspaper. "Good morning Jay" Sheridan
said cheerily.
"Hi Sheridan" Jay greeted with a smile as she
folded her paper. "I see you’re in a better mood today."
"Nothing will get me down today Jay" Sheridan
said happily. "Not even that ego maniac you call a friend."
"It’s too bad you and Luis got off on the wrong foot
Sheridan" Jay said. "Once you get to know him, you’ll see he really is a good guy. The best in fact.
I couldn’t ask for a better friend."
"Well, he certainly has a strange way of showing it"
Sheridan said trying to keep her anger in check. "I guess as long as your name isn’t Crane he’s wonderful,
is that it?"
"Something like that" Jay admitted ruefully.
"Sheridan I know there is no excuse for Luis’ behavior yesterday, but you’ve been gone from Harmony for a
long time and I’m sure there are a lot of things you don’t know."
"Which is exactly why he had no right to attack me
the way he did. Whatever grudge Officer Lopez Fitzgerald is holding against my father and brother has nothing to
do with me."
"I agree with you, but in Luis’ mind if your last
name is Crane, you’re guilty until proven innocent. And according to Luis, he has yet to meet a Crane that is innocent."
"What exactly are you saying Jay?" Sheridan asked.
"Luis’ father disappeared when he was still a kid.
Not too long afterwards, his older brother Antonio also disappeared... Antonio either went in search of his father
or else skipped town because he couldn’t handle the responsibilities as the oldest son. Those responsibilities
soon became Luis‘ responsibilities."
"Let me guess" Sheridan said dryly, "Mr.
Macho sacrificed everything for his family."
"That’s exactly what I’m telling you Sheridan"
Jay said. "Luis gave up college scholarships and his personal dreams for the future to became a cop. Working
as a housekeeper for the Cranes wasn’t exactly enough to pay a mortgage and feed five children, not to mention
the lack of medical insurance for all the kids."
"Well, I’m sorry he had to sacrifice so much, but
why blame my family? What does his father’s disappearance have to do with Julian or Alistair?"
"The last night Luis saw his father he overheard Martin
Fitzgerald on the phone with Alistair Crane. Luis had no idea what was being said except that his father was upset.
He made plans to meet Alistair in the morning at Crane Industries. The next morning he left for work at Crane Industries
and was never seen or heard from again."
"I see" Sheridan said thoughtfully. She was beginning
to understand Luis’ hatred of her family... a little. "Ok Jay, I think I understand now. It doesn’t mean he
has to take it out on me though. All right, we’ve discussed Officer Lopez Fitzgerald enough for one day. I was
in a good mood when I walked in here and I want it to stay that way."
"Are you ready to head over to the Youth Center and
start your first day?" Jay asked with a big grin. She could tell by Sheridan’s reaction that she was softening
ever so slightly towards Luis. It was a start.
Jay showed Sheridan the ropes for most of the morning while
Buzzy introduced both of them to the kids. He was grateful to have two extra pair of hands around for the next
few weeks, as things had been crazy since Beth left. Sheridan was pleased to see Tammy again and the little girl
smiled when she saw Sheridan was there that morning. She greeted her with a hug which left Buzzy speechless.
"She’s not once done that in all the time I’ve known
her" Buzzy remarked. "Usually she just stays to herself clutching her rag doll for dear life."
"Sheridan and Tammy met yesterday afternoon"
Jay explained to Buzzy.
"Well Sheridan" Buzzy grinned happily, "It
looks as if you’ve already made quite an impression on one of our toughest customers."
Sheridan blushed slightly. "I didn’t do anything really.
I showed her how to play jacks yesterday is all I really did. I’m guessing we connected somehow because we have
something in common."
"Really?" Buzzy said wondering what a Crane could
possibly have in common with someone like Tammy.
"I was just about Tammy’s age when my own mother passed
away" Sheridan said wistfully. "I didn’t know it at the time, but I probably recognized the sadness in
her eyes and knew how to relate."
"Well, whatever it is, just keep on doing it"
Buzzy encouraged. "That little girl is showing more signs of life than she has in ages."
Sheridan was pleased that her presence seemed to be having
such a positive effect on the girl. She spent much time this day with her, encouraging her to join the other children
her age in activities as well as showing her how to participate with them. By the end of the day, Tammy was joining
in with the other children without being prompted. She still hadn’t spoken, but she was definitely coming out of
her cocoon.
One of the projects Buzzy was more than happy to completely
hand over to Jay and Sheridan was the end of summer party which was coming up in only a few weeks. School would
be the first week in September and the Youth Center would be changing back to after school activities only. The
last week of August was usually set aside for fund raising and a clothes drive so all the less privileged kids
would have everything they needed for a new school year. This gave Jay and Sheridan only two weeks to get this
party underway.
"Is there a theme set for the party yet?" Sheridan
asked wondering where to start.
"Not yet, I‘m afraid" Buzzy shook his head frowning.
"Last year it was a Hawaiian theme. The kids all made grass skirts and we carved up what seemed like hundreds
of coconuts to use as drink holders. We held it at the Harmony beach and had a pig roast. It really was a lot of
fun."
"I remember Luis telling me about that one" Jay
laughed. "He told me a bunch of the teen age girls decided to make bathing suit tops out of some of the left
over coconut shells and their tops kept falling off."
"Oh you’re kidding!" Sheridan giggled as she
imagined the sight."
Buzzy laughed. "I don’t know if you would exactly
say their tops were falling off. It was more like a few of the boys were going around cutting their strings. They
wanted to know if the coconuts would hold up on their own."
"I take it from your reaction they didn’t?" Sheridan
asked highly amused.
"By the end of the night there was only one person
at the luau who still had their coconuts intact" Buzzy grinned. His grin soon turned into a fit of laughter
he could barely control.
"Out with it Buzzy" Jay asked. "Tell Sheridan
exactly what happened."
"You know Hank Bennett, don’t you Jay?" Buzzy
asked.
"Do I ever" Jay remarked while watching Sheridan
for her reaction to what she was going to hear next.
"Hank is Luis’ closest friend here in Harmony, well
when he’s here that is" Buzzy told Sheridan. "Anyway, Hank’s always been a bit of a prankster. Well,
it seems that there was a scene from a movie Hank always wanted to act out."
Sheridan’s eyes widened. "Don’t tell me South Pacific?"
Buzzy couldn’t control his laughter. "Give that lady
a cigar!" Buzzy chuckled. "He always found Ray Walston hysterical in anything he did, so he decided to
dress in a grass skirt and top just like the girls. He had everyone trying to grab him when he did his dance number.
It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen."
"I remember Luis describing it to me!" Jay said.
"I can just see Hank now. I bet big brother Sam was mortified."
"Mortified isn’t the half of it. Luis was none too
pleased either when all the guys at the station began teasing him about his new "girlfriend."
Now Sheridan began to roar. "I can just see the look
on Mr. Macho’s face now! It must have been priceless."
"Oh, believe me it was. It definitely was."
"It looks like we’re going to have our work cut out
for us competing with that party Sheridan" Jay said, still quite amused by the tales from last years party.
"I don’t know about that" Sheridan smiled. "I
bet we can come up with another memorable party."
"I hope you’re right" Jay remarked. "Any
ideas?"
Sheridan thought for a moment. "Actually I do have
an idea. What about a Spanish theme? I’ve been to Spain a few times and I can tell you they really know how to
throw a party. We won’t need to go anywhere else for it, we can use the gym right here and decorate it. It’ll be
easy and I bet the kids would love it. There seems to be a large Hispanic population here and maybe if the kids
each want to share a custom with us we could incorporate it into the party."
"That’s not a bad idea!" Buzzy said with enthusiasm.
"I bet Luis will love it! He’s always wanted to go
to Spain and maybe we could bring a little Spain to him."
"Well, actually I already discussed the idea with
Luis and Pilar and Luis loved it" Sheridan said "But that was before he found out I was a Crane."
"Don’t you worry about Luis" Buzzy told Sheridan.
"He’ll love the idea and before you know it, you two will be getting along fine. Just give him time."
"Well, I’ll believe that when I see it" Sheridan
remarked.
"So it is settled? We go with a Spanish theme?"
Jay asked excitedly. "We do need to start planning this party you know."
"It’s a go by me" Buzzy readily agreed. "I’ll
tell you what. There’s a new kid in town that’s quite talented in the musical sort of way and I think he’ll be
perfect to DJ the party. His name is Chad Harris."
"Great! Let’s get him!" Jay said. "Come
on Sheridan. Let’s go make a list of things we’ll need for the party."
Sheridan and Jay went back to the Book Cafe for lunch where
they discussed what they would need for the party. So far Sheridan had had a great day. She was all geared up now
to plan the end of summer fiesta at the Youth Center. This is what small town life was all about.
Luis couldn’t remember a slower summer day in Harmony since
he joined the police force. Summertime was usually a smorgasbord of petty crimes, broken ordinances and general
nuisances, but today all was quiet.
Luis’ shift patrolling the wharf had just ended and he
found himself hurrying back to the station. He cursed himself when he realized how much of a hurry he actually
was in. After all, the sooner he finished at the station the sooner he’d have to go to the Youth Center and face
the high and mighty Ms. Sheridan Crane.
Though he would rather eat nails than spend two minutes
in the company of the spoiled princess Sheridan, he was willing to do it in order to get to the end of the day.
Once he’s checked out things at the center, making sure Jay had Ms. Crane under a tight reign, he was free to go
home.
Home... all day long Luis’ thoughts were of KC and her
mysterious clue. Though he still hadn’t had the time to look up the word "unison" he knew what it meant,
but something told him if he looked the word up in the dictionary he’d find out more than just the meaning of the
word.
Luis walked through the station house barely aware anyone
else was there. He acknowledged his friends with a smile and a nod, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Sensing Luis’
distraction, Marty and Cal decided to follow him into the locker room.
Luis absentmindedly changed into his street clothes and
never heard Marty and Cal approach.
"So Luis" Cal said with a sly grin, "What’s
this I hear about you beating up on a woman?"
"Yeah Luis" Marty chimed in, "I heard you
really let her have it."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Luis asked
with a scowl.
"Yesterday at the Youth Center" Marty answered.
"Your fight with Sheridan Crane is all over town. We heard you really let her have it."
"For your information" Luis retorted angrily,
"I never laid a hand on her. Despite what you may think of me I would never lay a hand on a woman. We had
a few words, that‘s all."
"A few words?" Cal said in surprise. "Is
that what you call it?"
"She’s a damned Crane Cal" Luis seethed, "How
was I supposed to react?"
"Is it true that she’s working at the Youth Center
now?" Marty asked in surprise.
Luis groaned loudly as he gathered up his belongings. "Did
you have to remind me of that Marty?"
"Oh God, it is true" Marty exclaimed. "I
never would have believed it. A Crane working at the Youth Center."
Luis found his anger building. He knew his friends were
trying to get a rise out of him and he was doing everything he could not to let them know they were getting to
him. "Look guys" Luis said in a slow deliberate tone, "You know very well I am extremely short handed
at the Youth Center right now. My mother has assured me that Ms. Crane is nothing like the rest of her family.
She hasn’t even lived in Harmony since she was a kid. Besides, this way I get to be the boss of a Crane instead
of the other way around. A little poetic justice wouldn’t you say?"
Cal and Marty looked at each other and then at Luis. Now
they weren’t sure what to believe. Luis had made a very good argument but they still didn’t know if they should
believe him or not.
"Sure thing buddy" Cal answered, not knowing
what to say next.
Luis smiled and walked out of the locker room leaving a
very confused Marty and Cal in his wake.
"Jay, can you believe our luck this afternoon?"
Sheridan asked with enthusiasm as she pulled up in front of the Youth Center. It had started raining again a few
minutes ago and was now coming down hard.
"Yeah! We really hit pay dirt with all this stuff"
Jay remarked quite pleased with their haul. "Luis will definitely be impressed. "Sheridan, why don’t
you pull around to the back of the building and park in the loading zone. I’ll go get Buzzy to help unload the
car. It doesn’t look like the rain is about to quit anytime soon and we don’t need to have everything get soaked
now do we?"
"No, that would ruin everything!" Sheridan laughed.
She pulled up to the loading zone at the back door of the Youth Center. Sheridan put her car in park and shut off
the engine. She bent down and pulled an umbrella out from underneath the seat of the car. "Use this Jay"
she offered.
"Thanks Sheridan" Jay smiled. "Don’t go
away, I’ll be right back." Jay quickly got out of the car and ran as fast as she could to the doors of the
Youth Center. The rain seemed to be coming down harder with each passing second.
Sheridan leaned back in her seat and turned the radio on.
She heard a song that reminded her of Pezz and couldn’t help but smile. The card she’d received from him this morning
was probably the sweetest gesture anyone had ever made for her. She closed her eyes and imagined hearing his voice
call her angel. She could see the word in her head, but desperately wanted to hear him call her his "angel"
in person. Every time he referred to her that way, she felt her heart do a flip and the feeling was unlike anything
she’d ever experienced before in her life.
"Damn this rain" Luis cursed as he fought to
see the road in front of him. Not an hour ago the sun had been out and shining brightly and now it was as if the
heavens opened up and completely let loose. "It’s a good thing I know the way to the Youth Center like the
back of my hand" he said as he pulled into the center’s driveway. Thunder began rolling loudly soon followed
by a huge flash of lightening. "I sure hope this lets up soon" Luis sighed in frustration. All he could
think about was losing power again and not being able to talk to KC tonight. Just the thought of it caused him
to feel a sense of loss he couldn't begin to describe.
"I had Sheridan park in the loading zone so we could
unload everything without it getting soaked" Jay said as she led Buzzy to the rear doors of the Youth Center.
"You had her park in the loading zone?" Buzzy
asked, concern in his voice.
"Yeah, I did, is there a problem with that?"
"Well, it’s just that no one ever parks there and
anyone coming around the corner might not see Sheridan’s car sitting there, you know with this weather and all."
Without thinking, Luis took his usual path behind the Youth
Center, wanting to get this chore over with so he could get home. "I’ll just pull up behind the Center and
run in quickly to make sure Ms. Crane hasn’t destroyed the place" he said to himself. As he swung his car
around the last corner into the loading zone, he didn’t see the car that was parked there...
"I wouldn’t worry about it Buzzy" Jay laughed.
"Who would be coming around the back way anyhow? The kids parents all pick them up in front."
Just as Jay said that they both heard a loud crash and
the sound of crunching metal and breaking glass.
Buzzy’s face contorted. "Luis would, that’s who."
Before he knew what happened he heard the sound of crunching
metal and realized he’d hit a parked car.
"What the hell?" He asked in confusion. "Since
when do we get deliveries at this time of day?" Luis couldn’t believe it. Never in his life had he expected
to hit something in the Youth Center parking lot.
Peering through his windshield he made out the outline
of a dark colored car, but that was all he could see. "Who in their right mind would park a car in a loading
zone? Don’t they know they can’t do that?" Luis was extremely agitated as he opened his car door to inspect
the damage to his car.
"That guy must be crazy!" Sheridan said out loud
as she gathered herself together. "Why didn’t he look where he was going? Couldn’t he see I was parked here?"
She continued mumbling to herself as she reached for her license and registration. She groaned when she looked
outside and saw that not only had the rain not let up, but it was coming down harder still. The rain was pouring
from her windshield in sheets. "And Jay has my umbrella" she said rolling her eyes. Whoever hit her car
was becoming a major thorn in her side. Grabbing a notebook on the seat next to her, she placed it over her head
and opened the door, stepping out into the pouring rain.
Jay and Buzzy ran to the door and quickly stepped outside
just in time to see Luis and Sheridan face off. "Oh no!" They said in unison.
"YOU!" They both yelled at the same time when
they saw who the other party involved was.
"I should have known it was you parked illegally in
a loading zone. What the hell were you parked there for? Can’t you read that sign!" Luis yelled pointing to
a sign that read,
Loading Zone
No parking Cars towed at owners expense.
"Well, excuse me officer, but I was unloading something
from my car" Sheridan shot back heatedly. "How was I to know you’d come barreling around that corner
like a bat out of hell in the middle of a rain storm?"
"I was not barreling around the corner!" Luis
yelled a notch louder than the last time. "No one EVER parks here. They know how dangerous it is to park illegally."
"Yeah, dangerous because you don’t care what you plow
into! I bet you hit a dozen people parked here before word got out you were a menace. You’re the big bad director
of this Youth Center, therefore you have the right to hit anything you want."
"Buzzy, we better get out there and see if we can
put a stop to this before it gets totally out of control!" Jay said completely frustrated.
"I agree Jay" Buzzy said frowning. "Those
two look like they’re about to kill each other." Jay and Buzzy walked over towards the sparring duo hoping
to stop them
"As the DIRECTOR of this Youth Center, it’s my responsibility
to keep this entire area safe. Part of that is making sure people like YOU do their part and park in designated
spots. This isn’t the Crane mansion sister. We follow rules here."
"RULES? You want to talk about rules? Well, that’s
just fine with me Officer" Sheridan shouted. She was now completely soaked as was Luis, but the rain did nothing
to put out the fire that was building in both of them. There was just something about this man that got on her
last nerve. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this angry. When she found out Jean Luc had was married
she’d been more hurt than angry and she couldn’t remember another person getting to her the way Luis Lopez Fitzgerald
did. She was glad he showed his true colors when he did, because she’d been quite taken with him on their first
meeting. Just thinking about how she’d been attracted to this man at one time made her that much angrier.
"How’s this for a rule Officer" Sheridan seethed. "Don’t hit other cars! Here’s another
one for you, look where you’re going!"
Luis was so mad right now he couldn’t see straight. Who
did this woman think she was anyway, trying to tell him the rules of the road? "Why you...."
"Luis!! Enough already!" Jay shouted. "It’s
not Sheridan’s fault."
"The hell it’s not her fault" Luis screamed.
rain dripping from his soaked head. "She had no right parking in the loading zone."
"Luis, if you’d shut up and listen for a minute I’ll
explain to you why it’s not her fault" Jay said.
Luis took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He did
manage to keep silent and wait to hear what Jay had to say.
It's not Sheridan's fault, it's my fault! I'm the one who
told her to park in the loading zone. We needed to unload some stuff we picked up for the Youth Center from Sheridan's
car," Jay said in a calm voice. "I told her to park here while I went inside to get Buzzy to help carry
everything. Luis, it's my fault Sheridan's car is parked here."
What stuff are you talking about anyway?" Luis asked,
still angry but beginning to feel like an idiot. He still didn’t want Sheridan to know he was wrong however. There
had to be a way to make this her fault.
"Sheridan and I were out doing a little shopping and
got a great donation for the Youth Center. If it gets wet it’ll be ruined and we wanted to get everything set up
tonight since it looks like it’s going to rain again tomorrow."
"Jay, please stop being so cryptic, what on earth
did you get?"
"Movies, Luis. Old movies, new movies, any kind of
video you want."
"Movies? How?"
"Can we go inside and discuss this please? I really
don’t want to spend the rest of my time in Harmony fighting a summer cold."
"That’s a good idea" Buzzy chimed in. "Sheridan,
would you like me to park your car for you?"
"Thank you Buzzy, that would be very nice" Sheridan
smiled. "It’s nice to see there is at least one gentleman here." She shot Luis a look that could shatter
a mirror.
"Come on Luis" Jay called distracting Luis from
glaring angrily at Sheridan as she walked away, Help me take these tapes in big guy."
"Sure thing Jay" Luis answered, still not taking
his eyes off the very beautiful Ms. Crane. "I’d be glad to help YOU." Even though he was talking to Jay,
he was still captivated by Sheridan’s beauty. Despite her rain soaked appearance and the anger in her stride she
was still the most beautiful young woman he’d ever laid eyes on and he couldn’t get over the attraction he felt
for her. He quickly snapped himself out of his trance reminding himself she was a Crane, nothing but a damned Crane.
These feelings he had just made him angrier at himself than he already was.
Jay watched Luis closely. She couldn’t help but notice
the change in his demeanor as he stared at Sheridan walking into the Youth Center. At first she was surprised seeing
Luis give Sheridan the once over, in a way she rarely saw him do. Jay was surprised because it was a look he reserved
only for women he was extremely attracted to. Jay then remembered what Pilar said about Luis and Sheridan initially
hitting it off, that is until he realized her last name was Crane. She knew now Luis was struggling with his feelings
for Sheridan, his hatred of her family causing him to act in a manner that was not the Luis Lopez Fitzgerald she
knew.
Luis picked up the large box of videotapes while Jay held
Sheridan’s umbrella over them, so they didn’t get wet. Together they walked into the Youth Center in silence while
Buzzy shook his head and parked both vehicles.
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