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Chapter 18
Sheridan closed her eyes as she allowed the tension of
the day leave her body. The hot spray of the shower water was just what she needed after another encounter with
Officer Luis Lopez Fitzgerald. She shook her head as she tried to make the images of her latest fight with Harmony’s
caveman cop disappear, but for some reason she couldn’t get the visions out of her head and it bothered her. It
bothered her because she was allowing this man to get to her. It bothered her because she hated the idea she was
being punished for something he thinks someone in her family might have done to his father years in the past. It
bothered her that he acted this way only around her, to everyone else he was just as Jay and Pilar described, an
honest hard working loving family man with a sense of honor unlike any other man in Harmony. What bothered her
most, was that it bothered her at all.
"What is it about Luis Lopez Fitzgerald?" She asked herself. "Why can’t I get him out of my head?"
Sheridan recalled him chasing after her when she stormed out of the Youth Center.
**FLASHBACK**
"Sheridan! Sheridan, wait, please!" Luis yelled
as he caught up with her gently grabbing her arm.
Sheridan whirled around to face Luis, her eyes shooting daggers at him, yet she couldn’t help but feel her arm
tingle from his touch. "What’s the matter Officer? Did you forget something? Oh I know what it is! You found
out I bought the pop corn with my own money! I am so sorry Officer. I’ll make sure I return the unused portion
of it first thing in the morning. That is ok with you isn’t it? If you’d rather I’ll go get it right now and return
it? After all, we wouldn’t want anything bought with Crane money staying overnight in your precious Youth Center."
Sheridan turned to go back inside the Youth Center but Luis stepped in her path blocking her.
Luis fought every instinct he had to return her sarcastic remark with one of his own. "Look, Sheridan, I came
after you to apologize for what I said in there. I jumped to conclusions and I was wrong."
"Do my ears deceive me? Is the mighty Luis Lopez Fitzgerald actually admitting he was wrong?" Sheridan
asked in surprise.
Luis did his best to ignore her comments. Admitting he was wrong was bad enough, but to admit it to her, a Crane
was even worse. "Yes, I’m admitting I was wrong this time, but it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again,
just a warning."
Sheridan smiled. "Of course not Officer" she said scornfully. "I’d expect nothing less."
Luis shot her a mock grin, his face then became serious again. "Mr. Kralik wanted me to thank you for everything
you’ve done for his granddaughter."
"His granddaughter?" Sheridan asked in confusion.
"Yeah, Alfred Kralik is Tammy’s grandfather. He and his son Robert have seen amazing changes in her since
you started working with her at the Youth Center. Last night Robert actually heard Tammy talking to her rag doll
and it was the first time he’d heard her voice since her mother died."
Sheridan’s face lit up. "That’s wonderful!" Sheridan said excitedly. "I bet she’ll be talking a
blue streak before anyone knows it."
"Well lets hope so" Luis said. "So apology accepted?"
The smile was replaced by a frown. Sheridan thought for a moment and decided to let bygones be bygones. "Apology
accepted Officer" Sheridan said quietly.
"Good, thanks" Luis said nodding his head and turned to walk away. He stopped and turned back for a moment.
"Just remember one thing Miss Crane, I’m still going to be watching you."
Sheridan felt the heat in her cheeks. "You couldn’t resist could you?" She fumed. "You just had
to get one last dig in didn’t you? I don’t know why I even bother! You have to be the most pigheaded, ill tempered,
egotistical, inflexible, infuriating man I’ve ever had the displeasure to meet!" With that Sheridan hopped
into her car and took off before Luis had a chance to insult her again.
**END FLASHBACK**
Sheridan climbed out of her shower, dried off and put on
a pair of sweats. She forced herself to stop thinking about Officer Lopez Fitzgerald. Instead she reminded herself
how disappointed she was she wasn’t going to get the chance to talk to Pezz tonight, but she could at least email
him. Not to mention, she’d written to Godis and BabyShuis earlier in the day asking them if they wanted to chat
tonight and both of them jumped at the chance. She hadn’t chatted with either of them since before she left Paris
and was dying to catch up with their news.
Luis sat at an outside table at the Book cafe waiting for Jay to arrive. He checked his watch noting it was nearly
8:00 and normally he’d be chatting with KC right now. He’d emailed her this morning telling her of his guess, but
she hadn’t responded by the time he got home. He knew it was early considering she’d been working all day, yet
he still hoped maybe there would be a response confirming what he already knew in his heart, KC lived in Harmony.
Just the thought that she could be any number of women that he’d passed by that day caused a huge grin to appear
on his face. Every blonde haired blue eyed woman he didn’t know by name, he’d given a second glance at wondering
if maybe she was the woman he desperately wanted to meet. Luis knew most of the people in Harmony, but not all
and with this being tourist season it made it nearly impossible, yet it was fun looking. He didn’t even know for
sure that KC had blonde hair, it’s just how he’d imagined her and after all, she never corrected him.
Luis was so caught up in his own thoughts he never heard Jay as she approached, called his name three times and
sat down across from him. It was only on the fourth try and practically hitting him in the head did Luis actually
come out of the daze he was in.
"My God Luis, where were you?" Jay asked in surprise.
"Jay," I’m sorry" Luis said sheepishly. "I was just thinking about something."
"Something?" Jay asked "or someone?"
Luis smiled. "All right, you caught me. Someone."
"And does this someone have the initials SC?" Jay asked.
"SC?" Luis asked with a perplexed look.
"Sheridan Crane?" Jay asked spelling out the obvious.
"What? No way! Why would I be thinking about her?"
"Well, for starters, because you like her?"
"WHAT?!" Luis shouted. "Are you nuts?"
"Not according to my file I’m not, at least the Beverly Hills file, I don’t know what Sam had to say about
me" Jay remarked with a small grin.
"Ha Ha!" Luis said snidely.
"I think we should go inside" Jay suggested. "You’ll be less likely to shout at me with a lot of
people around."
Luis gave Jay a cold stare but stood up from the table and helped Jay with her chair. The two of them walked into
the Book Cafe and were surprised to see computers at about half the tables.
"Whoa! I was just in here yesterday" Luis said "and I didn’t see any computers in here. I wonder
what’s going on? Beth never said anything about this."
"You’re forgetting Luis, Beth no longer runs the Book Cafe. She left town" Jay said with a grin. "Which
reminds me, I still have to do my happy dance for you in person on that one!"
Luis threw his head back and fought the laughter that was about to ensue. "That’s one of the reasons I love
you Jay, always the comedian" Luis grinned. "Seriously though, I would have thought this would have been
planned months ago."
"Well, why not ask the new manager about it?" Jay suggested. "He’s right over there." Jay pointed
to Chad who was chatting with some customers at one of the computer tables. "I’ll go grab us a table. Do you
want one with or without a computer?"
"Definitely with!" Luis answered over his shoulder as he walked towards Chad.
"Now how did I know he was going to say that?" Jay laughed as she snatched the last available table with
a computer. She shook her head as she watched her friend talk Chad’s ear off.
"Hey Chad!" Luis greeted Chad Harris, manager of the Book Cafe and music expert extraordinaire.
"Luis, my man!" Chad smiled as he shook Luis’ hand. "What’s up bud?"
"What’s with the computers? I was here yesterday and it was the same old Book Cafe it’s been for years. I
walk in here today and every other table has a computer at it."
Chad grinned from ear to ear. "Yeah, it’s great man, check this out! All of the tables with computers at them
have internet access. It’s the latest rage my man! See, all of the book stores and small cafes like this are putting
them in."
"Chad, don’t things like this usually start out in California or New York, big cities and places?" Luis
asked.
"Well, yeah man they do, but who says we can’t have them here in Harmony too?" Chad asked. "I know
I’ve only been the manager here for a few weeks, but I felt this place needed to keep up with the changing times.
People are gonna love it, you’ll see."
"Didn’t this cost you a lot?" Luis asked curiously.
"Heck no! That was the best part of it! The internet company made me a deal I couldn’t refuse on all of the
computers and threw in the access for the first six months. If this goes over well like I think it will, I’ll have
computers at all the tables in a few months."
"Well, good luck with it all man" Luis said. "By the way, how does it work? Can you access your
own mail from your home computer?"
"Sure thing man" Chad grinned. The internet is always on and to access your own mail account just type
in the main address. For example hotmail.com or aol.com and go from there. Any place you regularly visit that requires
a screen name and a password, just type it in as you normally would."
"Thanks a lot Chad and good luck again. Hey, we’re still on for the party at the Youth Center?" Luis
asked.
"Sure thing man. Just let me know all the details and I’ll be there."
Luis walked back over to find Jay while Chad busied himself with other customers.
"So what did you find out?" Jay asked as Luis sat down.
"It seems as if this is the latest rage. Chad says all the book stores and small cafes are doing it."
"Chad’s right, all the Fox Bookstores in California have computers in their coffee shop. I’m not sure about
the cafes though."
"That’ll be the day we get a Fox Bookstore in Harmony" Luis laughed.
"Now where were we" Jay said changing the subject. "Oh yes, I remember, We were talking about Sheridan
Crane. By the way, I ordered you a coffee."
"Do we have to talk about Sheridan Crane?" Luis asked frowning. "I don’t know if I’ll be able to
digest my food if I’m forced to think about her."
"Luis! Behave!" Jay scolded. "Why is it you can’t give Sheridan a break? She’s never done anything
to you and yet because of her last name you won’t give an inch."
"Hey, I apologized to her today, I’d say that’s giving an inch" Luis announced, proud of himself for
his good deed.
"You know what I think your problem is Luis?" Jay asked.
"What?" Luis asked.
"You like her" she answered simply. "You like Sheridan, but because she’s a Crane you’re mad at
yourself for liking her, so you’re taking out all of your frustrations out on her."
Luis scoffed. "Jay, that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Me? Like a Crane? Get real!"
"Luis, this is me you’re talking to, not Cal or Marty or even Sam. It’s me, Jay, your old partner. I know
you better than you may even know yourself. You can try to lie to yourself if you need to, but don’t even try to
lie to me on this one. I’ve seen the way you look at Sheridan and I can tell you’re attracted to her."
"All right, I’ll admit she’s not bad to look at but that doesn’t mean I’m attracted to her" Luis reiterated.
"She’s a Crane for crying out loud."
"Luis, tell me honestly, when you first met Sheridan, before you found out she was a Crane, weren’t you attracted
to her? And wasn't the attraction more than just because she's a beautiful woman. Weren't you attracted to her
personality, too?"
"All right, I’m telling you. I wasn’t attracted to her."
Jay shook her head in frustration. Sometimes Luis could be the most stubborn men she knew and this was one of those
times. "Well, according to Pilar, you two couldn’t stop staring at each other the entire time you were here,
before you took her to the Youth Center. And Pilar also told me that those looks continued through the whole tour
of the Youth Center and right up to the point that Theresa identified Sheridan as "Sheridan Crane."
"My mother told you this?" Luis asked, not knowing how to answer, so he answered with a question.
Jay knew exactly what he was doing. "Answer this one for me then. If you hated Sheridan BEFORE you found out
she was a Crane, then why did you offer her the job with the kids?"
Luis sat silent. He couldn’t even look Jay in the eyes at this point. He also refused to admit it to himself that
he was indeed attracted to the very beautiful Sheridan Crane.
"I just wish you’d cut her a little slack Luis. You don't have to act like you love her but could you stop
picking a fight with her every time you see her. Maybe you could try just being civil to her for a change. You
read that letter Mr. Kralik wrote. Look what she’s done for his granddaughter? The kids at the Youth Center adore
her and personally I think she's a fantastic woman with a good head on her shoulders, who is kind hearted and a
lot of fun to be around. Why can’t you just look past her last name and see her for the good person she is?"
"Jay, it’s not that easy, you know?" Luis answered defensively.
"It could be that easy Luis" Jay answered. "I think you’re passing up an opportunity to get to know
a woman who is perfect for you."
"What makes you think Sheridan Crane is perfect for me? What makes you think that I haven’t already found
the perfect woman?"
"Have you?" Jay asked, stunned by Luis revelation.
"Maybe" Luis answered. His mind filled with thoughts of KC and a smile now tugged at the corner of his
mouth.
"Don’t keep me in suspense here big guy, out with it! Who is she?"
"Don’t you know?" Luis asked.
Jay studied Luis carefully. "Don’t tell me? Have you fallen in love with your cyber pal KC?"
"I don’t know Jay" Luis replied honestly. "All I can tell you is this. I think about her all the
time and we email or IM each other any and every chance we get. She is truly the most amazing person I’ve ever
met."
"Luis, isn’t she in Paris?" Jay asked.
"Not any more" Luis grinned. "She moved back to the States."
"Do you know where in the States?" Jay asked
Luis took a deep breath. "I guess it’s been awhile since we’ve really talked, hasn’t it?" Luis asked.
"I’ll say" Jay answered. She knew Luis liked KC, but this was much more serious than she knew.
Sheridan clicked on the mailbox icon and grinned happily
when she saw Pezz had sent her mail. There was just something about hearing those three little words, You’ve Got
Mail, that gave her that warm and fuzzy feeling all over. Emails from Pezz had been the highlight of each and every
day from the day she received her first. No matter what else was happening in her life, she could always count
on smiling for a few minutes anyway, as she read the words he wrote to her.
My Dear KC,
I’m not sure what brought it on last night, maybe it was our confessions to each other but I dreamed about you
again. It was a strange dream to be sure, but one that caused me to wake in the middle of the night and go running
for my thesaurus.
KC, tell me this is real, please? Are you from Harmony? Harmony, Maine? Was that the reason you told me not to
look at the obvious? Concord hit me in the face in the dictionary, where Harmony was only spelled in a different
form of the word. At the time I paid no attention to it, but looking back that really was a wonderful clue.
I know you have to work all day, so do I for that matter, as I would have preferred to wait until we were on IM
to talk to you about this, but when I opened that thesaurus and read those words.... My God KC, can we really be
that close to one another?
I should probably shut up now as you haven’t figured out where I live yet and I certainly am not spilling the beans
until I hear confirmation from you first. How I wish I didn’t have plans for tonight, but I can’t break this date.
An old friend is visiting from out of town and we haven’t seen much of each other yet.
Trust me, if there is a way for me to get online later tonight I will! We need to talk... soon! If I have my way
we’ll be talking in person this weekend. I have to work every other weekend, so your news came at the right time,
that is if you still want to meet me?
Oh Angel, I still can’t believe this is happening! Harmony!! Of all places!
Enough for now, please write as soon as you can and tell me if I’m right? I’m dying over here! LOL
Take care my angel. I’ll miss you tonight.
Pezz
Sheridan couldn’t keep the smile off her face. "He
figured it out and he knows where Harmony is!" She squealed with delight. Sheridan’s heart began to pound
as the reality of the situation sank in. She reread one line over and over again. ‘If
I have my way we’ll be talking in person this weekend. I have to work every other weekend, so your news came at
the right time, that is if you still want to meet me?’
"Of course I want to meet you Pezz" She laughed to herself as she attempted to catch her breath. Never
in her life could she remember herself reacting in this manner for any reason, never mind just reading a few words
on a computer screen, yet right now, she felt as if she’d never breathe normally again.
"This weekend" she said out loud as she calmed herself. "Today is Thursday, which means tomorrow
night is the beginning of the weekend!
Chad arrived carrying the coffee Jay had ordered for both of them and took their sandwich order at the same time.
Jay waited patiently for Luis to explain himself.
"Do you remember the game I told you KC and I were playing? The one where I give her clues and she tries to
figure out where I live from the clues?"
"Yeah, I remember. Last I heard she had it narrowed down to someplace in New England" Jay remarked watching
Luis intently as she dumped more cream and equal into her coffee. She took a quick sip and smiled happily. It wasn’t
every place that would add chocolate to your coffee.
"Well, when KC decided to move back to the States, we made it a two way game" Luis explained then took
a sip of his coffee.
"So now she's been giving you clues and you're trying to figure out where she's from?"
Jay asked.
"That’s right" Luis said. "We both started out knowing we were both from New England."
"It’s a small world Luis" Jay chuckled. "It’s a small world Luis" Jay chuckled. "You start
off with an ocean between you and KC and you end up living within a few hundred miles of each other."
"Jay" Luis said in a very serious quiet tone, "It’s a lot smaller than you may think."
"How so Luis?"
"I think KC is from Harmony."
Jay almost choked on the coffee she was sipping at the time of Luis’ announcement. "Luis, you can’t be serious?
What makes you think KC is from Harmony?"
"Unison."
"I don't understand."
"Her clue Jay, it was Unison."
"There's got to be more to it than that. You can't be basing your conclusion that KC is living in Harmony
on that clue alone. That's not enough evidence. Besides, I've got a pretty fair vocabulary and I suspect that there
are at least a half dozen words that unison could be a synonym for, so what makes you think her clue meant Harmony?"
"Jay, trust me, I looked it up in both the dictionary and thesaurus. As a matter of fact my first guess was
Concord. KC told me nice try but it was wrong. She then advised me to try a thesaurus. I have those words committed
to memory. Unison-- concord, accord, HARMONY, symphony; homologue; agreement."
"She also let it slip that we were from the same state after she read my clue to her that night."
"What was your clue to her?" Jay asked, still reeling.
"Presidential retreat" Luis answered.
"Kennebunkport" Jay answered without thinking. At first Jay wasn’t so sure KC was from their Harmony,
after all there was probably a Harmony of some sort in every state, but add that to the clue about the presidential
retreat and there was little doubt. "Have you asked her if she lives in Harmony?"
"Yeah, I emailed her this morning, but she hadn’t returned my mail when I last checked."
"Luis, you're going to be careful about this thing with KC, aren't you? I know you know all about the really
strange people lurking in Cyberspace."
"I know all about the psychos out there Jay and I refuse to believe KC is one of them. After all, I’m the
one that emailed her first. I was just responding to one of her posts. It’s not like we met in some kinky singles
chat room. You know as well as I do that most of the weirdoes hang out in chat rooms" Luis said. "I believe
KC is exactly who she says she is, which by the way is a 26 year old gorgeous blonde with the most incredible blue
eyes."
"You’re probably right Luis" Jay agreed. "She seemed very nice and genuine the night I talked to
her in the chat room. "How do you know what she looks like? Did she send you her picture?" With Luis‘
description of KC, Jay was really curious now what she looked like. The only person "in Harmony" she
could think of was Sheridan Crane.
"Not exactly" Luis answered. "We’ve talked about what how we look and that’s how I picture her.
I’ve also told her it doesn’t matter what she looks like on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that counts."
"Sounds like you two have been doing quite a bit of chatting" Jay remarked. "Luis, just how much
time have you spent emailing and chatting with KC since we last talked?"
Luis looked long and hard at his friend. "With the exception of tonight and the night she moved from Paris,
every evening since she got back from Spain."
Jay was amazed. Never had she seen Luis this involved in another person’s life. Even when he and Beth were at their
best, Luis never saw her more than a few nights in a row.
"Jay, I don’t know how to explain this to you, I wish I did. There’s just something about her. We’ve connected
in a way I never dreamed possible. We both want the same things out of life, we both want to live in a small town
and now it appears we both live in the same small town."
"So what are you going to do now?" Jay asked. "What happens if when you check your email next, you
find a message from KC saying "Pezz, you’re right! I am from Harmony!"
Luis’s face lit up with his signature grin. "That’s easy Jay" Luis said. "I’ll meet her and if she
turns out to be everything I think she’ll be, I’ll grab on to her and never let her go."
Jay smiled at the excitement she saw in Luis’ eyes. He was like a kid in a candy store, everything he ever wanted
in life soon to be his just for the taking. "Go ahead Luis. We've got a computer at our table and we might
as well put it to good use." Jay prompted. "Check your mail. I’m as curious as you are now whether KC
is from Harmony or not."
"Thanks Jay" Luis smiled. He pulled the keyboard in front of him and began pounding on the keys until
he’d accessed his mailbox. When he opened it up, there was indeed a note from KC.
Dear Pezz,
I don’t know what to say Pezz, Harmony? You think I live in Harmony? Now where would you ever get an idea like
that? :)
I can’t do this, I was going to make you suffer a little longer, but it appears you’ve won our little contest Pezz.
You are right. Harmony is the town I lived in as a small child and recently came home to. I never realized how
small it truly was until I returned this time. As small as it is, it exemplifies everything I hold dear about the
mystique of living in a small town. It’s picture perfect, the people are wonderful, except of course for the town
bully. It’s almost exactly as you described your own home town.
May I assume you live nearby, since you seem familiar with Harmony? I’d also like to know if I am going to find
out where you are anytime soon? It doesn’t matter really, since I lost you’re coming to Harmony, am I right?
Did you really want to meet this weekend Pezz? I can’t think of anything I would rather do this weekend or anyone
I’d rather spend time with than you. I can’t tell you how excited I was, how excited I am that you figured out
the clue. I still can’t believe our good fortune to start off at such a great distance and wind up practically
on each others door steps.
I’ll be online tonight in the chat room with Godis and BabyShuis, so if you get on later you cam IM me. As much
as I love chatting with those guys, I don’t think they’d mind if I chatted with you as well :-)
I hope your dinner goes well with your friend, enjoy yourself. I hope to talk to you soon Pezz, very soon.
I miss you,
KC
"Whoa, Jay" Luis laughed, "She is from Harmony
and she wants to meet me this weekend."
Jay smiled. "I’m happy for you Luis. I hope she turns out to be everything you’re looking for."
"Thanks Jay" Luis grinned. "Now I have to decide where and when to meet her."
Luis’ cell phone rang and he answered it still happily thinking about his date this weekend. The smile soon faded
from his face as he listed to the person on the other end of the phone. Jay could tell by Luis’ expression whoever
it was was not the bearer of good news. She waited until he hung up to ask him about it.
"What’s going on Luis?" Jay asked. "You don’t look happy."
"You’ll never believe this Jay" Luis said in frustration. "That was Bud Anderson. He works for the
state building code enforcement. As of Monday morning, the Youth Center will be shut down for needed roof repairs.
There was an emergency meeting earlier today and it seems that because of all the rain we have been having lately
and the fact that this appears to be a very active hurricane season, all work slated for later this year has to
be completed ASAP. Starting Monday any and all buildings not up to code will be shut down until the needed repairs
are completed."
"Oh no, Luis!" Jay sighed. "What are you going to do?"
"I have no choice but to comply. I had the repairs slotted to be done after the kids went back to school,
but I’ll have to move things up a few weeks. It looks like the Youth Center will be closed until after September
1st."
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