Chapter 10: Murder In Harmony
Chapter 10:
Sam sat quietly observing his family as Grace set dinner on the table. Everyone was there, Grace, Jessica, Charity and her boyfriend Miguel, and even Hank, everyone except Kay that is. It was disturbing Sam to not know why Kay left home. He remembered the strong negative reaction Kay had when he mentioned her mother.
“Grace I talked to Kay at the Book Café today,” Sam said while he served some food on his plate.
“Oh, that’s nice dear,” Grace said nonchalantly and she turned her attention back to Charity. “So, what movie are you and Miguel going to see tonight?”
Sam stared at her in frustration and clenched his teeth together. ‘I tell her I finally talked to our daughter and all she cares about is what movie Charity is going to. What the hell is wrong with her,’ Sam thought. He started to say something to Grace but there was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it,” Sam grumbled and he headed for the front door. “Hi Luis, what brings you by,” Sam said when he opened the door.
“I’m looking for Hank, is he here?” Luis asked. His eyes had a deadly calm to them.
“Yeah, he’s in the kitchen having dinner, come on in. Hank, you have a visitor,” Sam called out as they walked through the kitchen door.
Hank stood up from the table and turned around, but he never even really saw Luis before his fist hit Hank squarely in the jaw sending him tumbling to the floor. Luis was about to lunge at Hank but Sam grabbed him from behind and stopped him.
“What the hell is the matter with you Luis?” Sam asked.
“Yeah Luis, why did you attack Hank?” Miguel asked.
“He tried to rape Sheridan.”
“No, Uncle Hank wouldn’t do that,” Jessica cried.
“What Sheridan and I do when we’re alone together is none of your business Luis,” Hank sneered and Sam was barely able to restrain Luis from attacking Hank again.
“You attacked her,” Luis yelled, “and when she fought you off you threw a vase at her and cut her. She was bleeding.”
“Hank I want you to go to your room at the bed and breakfast,” Sam commanded, “and don’t go near Sheridan again. We’ll talk about this later.” Hank started to protest but decided against it and stormed out the back door.
“Luis, I know you’re upset, but you can’t just attack Hank like that. If Sheridan wants to press charges then we’ll arrest him, just like anyone else, but you can’t go after him again.”
“I’m sorry Sam, I just can’t stand the thought of him attacking her like that. I don’t want him to go near her again or I can’t be responsible for what I do to him.”
“I’ll make sure he knows to stay away from her,” Sam said, “so how is Sheridan.”
“She’s ok, just a couple of scratches,” Luis said, “Miguel, I want you to come and have dinner at home. Sheridan is there with Mama and Theresa and I want us all to have dinner together.”
“But Luis, I have plans with Charity tonight,” Miguel protested.
“Charity can come to dinner too and you can go out afterwards. Now get your stuff and head over to the house.” Miguel and Charity grabbed their coats and left on Miguel’s motorcycle.
“I’m sorry for ruining your dinner,” Luis apologized to Sam, Grace, and Jessica.
“It’s ok Luis,”” Sam assured him and walked him to the door.
When Miguel and Charity arrived at the Lopez-Fitzgerald house Theresa and Sheridan were sitting on the couch looking at baby pictures of Luis.
As soon as Charity saw Sheridan she rushed over and sat down next to her. “Oh Sheridan, are you alright? Uncle Hank didn’t hurt you too badly did he?”
Sheridan laid a hand gently on her arm. “I’m ok Charity. He didn’t really hurt me.”
“What happened with Hank? What did he do to you?” Theresa asked confused.
“Luis said Hank attacked her and tried to rape her,” Miguel answered.
“Oh my god,” Theresa gasped, “when did this happen?”
“A few hours ago, but how did you and Charity find out,” Sheridan asked Miguel, “when did you see Luis?”
“At my house,” Charity said, “Luis came in the kitchen and hit Hank. Uncle Sam had to grab Luis to keep him from hitting him again and then Hank left.”
“He said he was going to get wine,” Sheridan said quietly, “where is he now? I thought he’d be back already.”
“He told me to come home for dinner and we left before he did, but we stopped at the movie theater to buy our tickets so we don’t have to stand in line later. Maybe he stopped somewhere else on his way home,” Miguel offered. “Come on Charity, let’s go say hi to mama.” Miguel and Charity went into the kitchen leaving Theresa and Sheridan alone.
“Are you sure you’re ok Sheridan,” Theresa asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine, I just got a couple of cuts from the glass vase Hank threw at me,” Sheridan said, “but my cottage is a mess. There’s glass everywhere from the vase and a broken lamp. Luis and I didn’t even bother to clean it up, we just left it there.”
“Does Ethan know about what happened?”
“No, I haven’t talked to him yet.”
“You should call him. If he goes to your cottage and sees that mess he’s going to freak out and start looking for you.”
“You’re right, I should call him,” Sheridan said but then the phone rang.
“Hello,” Theresa answered the phone, “oh hi Ethan, were your ears burning, we were just talking about you.”
Sheridan made a mental note of the way Theresa’s face and her mood brightened as she talked to Ethan.
“Me and Sheridan that’s who,” Theresa continued into the phone, “She and Luis are having dinner here. So if you didn’t know Sheridan was here, why did you call? Oh, sure I can meet you tomorrow. Why don’t you pick me up after my class gets out tomorrow afternoon.” Theresa and Whitney had both started taking classes at the University of Harmony this semester. “Meet me at two in front of the student center. Well, Sheridan wants to talk to you, so I’ll see you tomorrow,” Theresa said and she handed the phone to Sheridan and went into her bedroom to give Sheridan some privacy while she talked to Ethan.
Luis came in while Sheridan was still on the phone with Ethan and her back was to the door so she didn’t hear him come in. He sat the bottle of wine down and snuck up behind her as she hung up the phone. He pulled a single long stemmed red rose out from behind his back and swiped it gently across the back of her neck. Startled she whipped around and when she saw Luis she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely.
“I’m so glad you’re back.”
“Did my family torture you that badly,” Luis laughed and he pulled back to look down at her face.
“No of course not, but Miguel and Charity told me what happened over at the Bennett’s and I was worried that you hadn’t come back yet.”
“Well I had to go get the wine,” Luis said, “I’m sorry I worried you.”
“I wish you hadn’t gone over there Luis.”
“I had to make sure he doesn’t come near you again,” Luis sighed and he ran his hand aimlessly through his hair, “god I wanted to kill him for touching you.”
“Please Luis, he’s you’re best friend. Besides he’s not the only one to blame for this situation. It was my fault too.”
“Don’t say that Sheridan. What he did to you was not your fault.”
“I don’t mean that,” Sheridan tried to explain, “It’s just that I didn’t really handle Hank very well. I tried to tell him from the very beginning that I didn’t want to have a relationship with him, but it was obvious that he was still interested in me and I didn’t do anything about it.
Then we just showed up at the Policeman’s ball all over each other like lovesick teenagers. His feelings were probably hurt. I should have said something to him myself before he saw us together. I feel bad for leading him on.”
“None of that excuses what he did to you. Lord knows what he would have done to you if you hadn’t been able to fight him off. You can press charges and we’ll arrest him tomorrow.”
“No Luis, I don’t want to do that, I just want him to stay away from me. Can’t we just have Sam talk to Hank and tell him to stay away from me and you can tell Crane Security not to allow him on the property. I promise if anything else happens you can arrest him.”
“I don’t like it,” Luis sighed and he pulled Sheridan back into his embrace, “but if that’s what you want then that’s what we’ll do. But if he ever comes near you again, I can’t be responsible for my actions. I may not be assigned as you bodyguard any more, but this body belongs to me now,” Luis hugged Sheridan tightly, kissed the top of her head, and stroked her back, “and I intend to fully guard every inch of it.”
“Promises, promises,” Sheridan whispered and she turned her head up slightly and repeatedly pressed her lips lightly against his neck.
“A promise I absolutely intend to keep, over and over and over again,” Luis said in a deep lust filled tone and he slid one hand into her hair and pulled her head back capturing her lips with his. Their mouths mated with passion while her hands massaged the muscles of his well-defined chest.
“Ahem,” Pilar announced her presence, “dinner is ready.”
Luis and Sheridan pulled apart the instant they heard Pilar’s voice, and when she went back into the kitchen Sheridan buried her reddened cheeks into Luis’ shoulder. “Oh god,” she mumbled.
“Looks like we got caught,” Luis laughed.
Sheridan smacked Luis’ arm. “It’s not funny.”
“Sheridan, we didn’t do anything wrong. We’re not teenagers; we can kiss if we want too. It’s just my mother, and it won’t be the last time she sees us kissing, so lighten up,” Luis teased and he handed her the rose he had bought for her, “or when we go in the kitchen I’ll really do something that will embarrass you.”
“Don’t you dare Luis,” She muttered as he dragged her into the kitchen for her first dinner with his family.
Dinner had been over for a while now. Charity and Miguel left for the movies, Pilar had already gone to bed and Theresa was on the phone with Whitney, leaving Sheridan and Luis alone on the couch. Sheridan yawned and laid her head on Luis’ shoulder.
“Are you sleepy baby?”
“Yeah, are you ready to go home?”
“Actually we are home Sheridan. I was hoping you’d stay here with me tonight. I asked mama to have one of the maids clean up the mess in your cottage in the morning, so when we get back there it will look like nothing ever happened. Please say you’ll stay here with me.”
“I’d love to,” Sheridan answered and she followed Luis into his bedroom. Luis watched her as she climbed onto the corner of his bed, perched on her knees and surveyed the room.
“I like it, it fits you,” she said, “I’ve learned a lot about you today Luis.”
“Oh really.”
“Yeah, Theresa showed me all your baby pictures and regaled me with stories of all the funny things you did when you were growing up. You were such a cute kid.”
“What about now, am I still cute,” Luis grinned.
Sheridan just laughed at him. “You know you are.” She eyed the bed suspiciously. “Did Beth ever sleep in your bed?”
“No,” Luis answered, amused by her jealousy, “Beth was never in my bed, neither was any other woman.”
“Good, I want to be the only woman in your bed ” Sheridan said, “do you mind if I take a quick shower.”
“Sure, the bathroom is right across the hall, there are towels in the cabinet, and Theresa’s got plenty girly shampoo and stuff in the shower, so I’m sure you’ll find something you like.”
“Ok, I’ll be right back.” Sheridan pecked Luis on the cheek and ducked off into the bathroom.
After her shower Sheridan wrapped herself in a large towel, grabbed her clothes and peeked out in the hall before going back into Luis’ room.
Luis was lying on the bed in his boxers when Sheridan came back. He laid his book down on his stomach and drank in the sight of her still damp towel clad body. “Uh, I got you one of my T-shirts to wear, I hope that’s ok,” Luis said motioning to the shirt lying on the end of the bed.
“It’s great,” Sheridan said and she picked up the shirt and tossed it onto the floor.
“Aren’t you going to change?”
“Nope,” Sheridan responded and she dropped the towel to the floor. She climbed on the bed and crawled up the length of his body. When her breasts brushed up against his bare chest he felt his whole body tighten in response. “Oh god Sheridan what are you doing,” Luis moaned, “my mother is right across the hall.”
“You’re the one who told me to lighten up,” Sheridan said and she flicked her tongue across his chest.
“What if my family hears us.”
“I’ll be quiet like a little mouse.”
“You’re usually more like a lion baby,” Luis teased as he ran his hands over her damp, naked body.
Sheridan’s lips grazed from Luis’ mouth across his cheek, to his ear and she whispered, “I like it when you make me roar.”
“Oh god,” Luis groaned and he flipped Sheridan over so he was on top, “the things you do to me.”
“I’m just getting started baby.”
To Be Continued...