The Truth, And Nothing But The Truth - Part 5

Note: Several chapters are Rated R.

Chapter 15

Pilar’s hands were shaking badly as she looked at the letter she was holding. She would recognize Martin’s handwriting anywhere because she had read his love letters to her at least a thousand times. Was it possible that this could actually be from Martin or was someone playing a cruel joke on her? She must have been in shock because she said the first inane thing that came to her mind. “This looks like a little mouse chewed on the corners,” she said, smiling.

“Mama, forget about the corners........ Are you serious about what you just said?” Luis asked, impatiently. “I didn’t even see a return address on the envelope.”

“Yes mijo I was serious, but I’m afraid to open it for fear that it will not be real,” Pilar said, nervously.

“Pilar,” Sheridan said, kindly. “I don’t mean to be insensitive but it’s been a long time since Martin disappeared. Are you sure that’s his handwriting?”

“I know it is,” Pilar said with conviction. “He always had this funny way of making his P’s. Wait a minute.............,” Pilar said, getting her purse. “Let me show you.” She retrieved an old photograph of Martin and the children and showed them the back of it. “Look at the way Martin made the P in my name.”

Luis studied the back of the picture against the front of the envelope. “You’re right mama; the writing does look identical. You have to open this to see if it’s for real,” Luis urged her.

“I don’t know if I can,” Pilar said, softly. “Would you do it Luis? Would you see what’s inside because I’m so shaky right now that I do not think that I can do it.”

“Mama, are you sure about this?” Luis asked. “This could be a private letter from papa meant only for your eyes........”

“Yes, I’m sure mijo. Please open it,” Pilar said, pleadingly.

Luis walked over to the desk and slit the top of the envelope open with a letter opener. He pulled out a letter and began to read.

My Dearest Pilar:

It is me, Martin....... I can imagine how shocked you are at this moment to be receiving this letter from me after all these years, but I can promise you this is the first opportunity I’ve had to write. Please know that I never left you and our children willingly. I found out some very damaging information on the Cranes and when I confronted them they knocked me out cold and sent me to this clinic in Switzerland. I don’t know the exact location, but I do know that it’s called the Baylor Clinic and it’s somewhere on the French border. Up until about six months ago I was given a drug that left me in a state of confusion, but I fought hard to break the addiction and now most of my memories are back. There is no means of escape and I am not even allowed access to the outside world. The only way it was even possible for me to get this letter to you was because of a good friend that I met here in the clinic named Georges Cezanne. He managed to smuggle this letter out with his sister, so I will be forever grateful to him for that.

Pilar, I miss you every second of the day and long to reunite with you and our children again. I can’t bear the thought that I’ve missed so many years without you or without seeing our children grow up. When I think of the hardships you must have endured, it tears my heart in two. I saw a newspaper that one of the orderlies dropped the other day, and I was shocked to see Julian Crane’s picture on the front page. When I also saw a smaller picture of our son, Luis standing there smiling with Sheridan Crane tears came to my eyes. Even though he is a man now, I knew him instantly and I cannot tell you how proud I was, and surprised to see him with Sheridan. The article surrounding the photos was written in French so Georges read it to me and I cannot tell you how shattered I was to learn that they are accusing our son of shooting Julian Crane. I know in my heart that Luis could never shoot anyone in cold blood because I remember him to be a sensitive boy with a kind soul. God Pilar, I just can’t tell you how angry I feel that I can’t be there now to help Luis. You have to send Antonio over here to get me out so that I can come home to you and our family. Together, we can help to get Luis out of this mess so he can be reunited again with his wife and babies. Speaking of babies, I can’t believe that we have grandchildren Pilar, and twins too. That is just one more precious moment that the Cranes have robbed me of, but no more. I am coming home again, if it’s the last thing I do.

I must go now Pilar, before somebody catches me, but please know that I love you with all of my heart, and I count the minutes until I am with you again. Just picture me standing on the doorstep with a rose in my hand and love in my eyes. I pray that you haven’t moved on with someone else, but I would understand if you did since you had no idea if I were dead or alive. Please be careful about whom you share this information with because even though Julian Crane is in a coma he still has very long arms, and you must trust no one in this clinic. Please tell our children that I love them, and God willing I will be home with all of you soon.

Your loving husband always,
Martin

When Luis was finished, all three of them were crying openly. Pilar took the letter from Luis and just stared at the words on the page. “Oh God mijo, you were right all along. I had my suspicions too, but I was never as confident as you were about the Cranes being responsible for Martin’s disappearance. When I think of him being locked in that place for all these years...............”

“I know mama,” Luis said, hugging his mother. “I’m mad as hell too, but papa’s alive!” he said, swinging her around.

“I’m almost afraid to believe it........... I know it’s his handwriting, and his way of speaking, but you remember the man that fell through the skylight at the Seascape? We thought that was your father too, but he wasn’t. I feel sure that the Cranes had something to do with that.”

Sheridan watched mother and son feeling a whole range of emotions. She was ecstatic for Luis and Pilar that Martin was alive, and she was happy that she hadn’t killed him, but she also felt guilty because she was a Crane. She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw her babies standing there looking at them with confusion. She wiped her tears from her cheeks and walked over and squatted down beside them. “Abuela and daddy are happy because they heard from your grandfather. Maybe we’ll find a way to bring him home again so he can meet you.”

Lily rubbed her eyes with her little fist. “Mama,” she whined, holding her arms out to Sheridan.

“Oh sweetie,” Sheridan said, picking her up. “I think there is a little girl that needs to go to bed. It’s been a big day for you.”

“What’s wrong?” Luis asked, approaching them.

“We have two little birthday babies that are wiped out from their celebration. Would you carry Luke upstairs? I’ll put the children to bed while you spend some time with your mother.”

“I want to help put them to bed,” Luis told her. “Mama, we’re going to put the babies to bed, but I don’t want you to go anywhere. We all have a lot to talk about.”

“Okay mijo,” Pilar said with a small smile. She came up and kissed both of the children. “Sleep tight my little ones. I hope you had a very happy birthday.”

Luis and Sheridan didn’t even discuss his father until they got the children to bed. As it turned out a story wasn’t even required because Luke and Lily fell asleep the minute their heads hit the pillow. After they kissed their children and got outside of the nursery, Sheridan have Luis a hug. “I’m am so happy for you and your family Luis. This is like a miracle, but I also feel terrible that my family did this horrific thing.”

“Don’t even align yourself with them Sheridan. You are a Lopez-Fitzgerald and we’re your family now.......... Look, I didn’t want to bring this up in front of mama, but you do know that this means that you didn’t kill my father,” he told her with a big grin.

“I know, and I am so happy about that, but that’s not what’s important now. Luis, do you realize that after all these years you will finally have your father back? We have to do everything possible to make that happen.”

“This whole thing is almost surreal to me. I’m not sure that I’ve had a chance to fully absorb everything. A part of me is so happy about papa being alive, but when I think of everything that Alistair and Julian have done to him......... To us............, and then to make you believe that you were responsible for their treachery.......... God I just want to go over to the mansion right now and beat your brother to a pulp,” Luis spat out.

“Believe me Luis, I want to be right there with you, but that wouldn’t bring your father home. We have to set our anger aside so that we can concentrate on a plan to get Martin out of that clinic, and once we get him home and safe............”

“Julian will pay for this,” he finished for her. “If the court system won’t do it, then I will.”

“I think we should get back downstairs to your mother. She’s been delivered a big shock and she needs her loved ones around her right now,” Sheridan told him with a sweet smile.

“You’re right,” he said, giving her a quick kiss. “I think we all need each other right now.”

When they arrived back downstairs, Pilar was sitting on the sofa reading Martin’s letter again. She looked up with tears in her eyes when she noticed their presence. “Your father said to send Antonio over to get him out. What’s he going to say when he finds out that your brother is missing too, and that Paloma has lived with Maria all these years? I should have found a way to keep our family together,” she sobbed.

“Mama stop,” Luis said. He sat down next to her and took her hands in his. “You are not responsible for Antonio leaving and we didn’t have the money to keep Paloma at the time. She’s been doing well at Aunt Maria’s but it’s time to bring her home where she belongs, and we’ll do that as soon as we get papa back. Who knows, maybe Antonio will find out about papa and he’ll come home too, but if he doesn’t, we’ll search for him and we’ll all be together again.”

“Oh mijo, that would be a miracle. I have dreamed about that for so long, and I tried to keep the faith, but I was starting to lose hope. Maybe now it could actually become possible.............”

“Yeah, maybe it will mama, but first we have to get papa home. This is going to take some careful planning, but first I think we should get the proof that this is really from papa. I am ninety-nine percent sure that this is from papa, because if this was some ruse on Julian’s part he would never implicate himself, but we need to be sure. Do you have any old envelopes from letters or cards that papa sent to you?”

“Yes mijo, I saved everything your papa ever gave to me, but why are you asking?”

“Because we can get a DNA sample from the saliva on the envelope and compare it with this envelope. I feel sure that it’s going to match, but I want to know to be positive.”

“Yes Luis, that’s a wonderful idea,” Sheridan said. “I’m sure that Eve would even rush the test for us.”

“No, not Eve!” Luis said in an adamant tone. “I don’t trust her.”

“Mijo, what are you talking about?” Pilar asked confused and shocked. “Eve would never betray us.”

“Look mama, I don’t think that she would do it willingly, but for reasons I am not at liberty to share she is too vulnerable to the Cranes. We just can’t take a chance of any of this getting back to Julian. In fact, I don’t think that we should tell anybody about this letter until we can get papa safely home again. I‘ll take the DNA samples to a friend of mine at the state crime lab. He‘ll do it for me without asking any questions.”

“Luis, surely you’re not talking about Miguel and Theresa?” Sheridan asked. “They deserve to know that their father is alive.”

“I agree with Sheridan, your brother and sister need to know this,” Pilar said.

“I don’t mean to be harsh and leave them out, and they do need to know, but not yet. Look, Miguel might let it slip to Charity, and even if he didn’t, knowing her she would read his mind. And as much as I love Theresa, you both know how she has this habit of doing and saying things before she thinks. She could tell Whitney, and Whitney could tell someone else.............. It’s just not worth the risk, if it would mean that Julian is on to us. If he finds out that we know where papa is, he could have him moved to some place where we would never be able to find him.”

“Oh mijo, I know what you’re saying makes sense, but it is going to be so difficult for me to keep something this important from them,” Pilar told him.

Luis contemplated what she said, and the whole situation in general, until finally he got an idea, and smiled. “Maybe that won’t be a problem if you’re not here mama.”

“What do you mean, not here?” Pilar asked curiously.

“I’d like to know the answer to that too,” Sheridan said. “I can see those wheels spinning in your head. What are you planning Luis?”

“Well, as soon as we get the DNA results back, I feel sure that they will prove that this letter is really from papa, and we’ll all go over there. Look, papa said in the letter that this clinic is by the border of France, so I’m sure they speak some French and Sheridan knows the language. She’ll be able to translate for us, and mama you deserve to be there when we get papa out of that clinic.”

“Actually Luis, that is a great idea. I know that area pretty well, because we used to go skiing in Switzerland all the time. I also know how to speak some German, which will come in handy, but what about the children?”

“We’ll take them with us............ I mean, if mama wouldn’t mind watching them while you and I did our investigating?”

“Of course I wouldn’t mind, but this is all happening so fast,” Pilar said, feeling overwhelmed. “What would I tell Ivy? I don’t know if she would let me have the time off of work.”

“Mama, the hell with Ivy. If I remember it’s in your contract that you get a couple of weeks-paid vacation a year, and you never take it. We’ll tell her that we’re taking a family vacation and you are coming along with us. Personally, I don‘t know why you would ever want to go back to that damn place knowing what they did to papa.”

“Luis is right Pillar. This is your husband we’re talking about here, and that’s more important than any job working for Ivy. She has plenty of staff that can fill in for you,” Sheridan reminded her.

“You’re both right,” Pilar said, smiling. “My husband must come first, and if Ivy doesn’t like it, so be it. I have given her a lot of loyal years, and now my first loyalty must be to Martin and my family.”

“Good, I’m glad you’re starting to see things clearly now,” Luis told her. “Look mama, it’s getting late. Why don’t you just spend the night here with us?”

“To be honest with you mijo, I don’t think I would get a wink of sleep tonight. My mind is just racing right now.”

“So is mine mama, so why don’t we start to make plans for our trip?” Luis suggested.

“I’ll make some coffee,” Sheridan volunteered.

Sheridan didn’t think that she would be able to sleep either, but as it turned out the emotional day had taken its toll on her and she fell asleep on the sofa while they were planning their trip. Luis covered her with a blanket and kissed her gently, and he and Pilar moved their conversation to the kitchen. Eventually, Pilar decided to turn in as well, and went up to the guest bedroom, but Luis spent the entire night wavering between his feelings of wanting to go kill Julian, and ecstatic happiness that his father was alive.

********************

Sheridan awakened the next morning when she felt a little finger touching her face. Her blue eyes flew open to see Luke and Lily, still in their pajamas standing in front of her. “Good morning sweet peas. What are you doing up so early?” she asked them with a sleepy smile. It finally dawned on her where she was, and she sat up looking around, and spotted Luis sitting in the chair across from her drinking a cup of coffee. “What’s going on? Why was I sleeping here on the sofa?”

“You fell asleep last night, and I didn’t have the heart to wake you,” he told her, with a big smile.

“Oh no Luis, you should have gotten me up. Where’s Pilar?” she asked, looking around.

“Mama went home a few minutes ago. I finally convinced her to get some sleep last night,” he said, getting up from the chair. “Can I get you some coffee?”

“That would be wonderful,” she told him, gratefully. “Hey you two, why don’t you crawl up here with mommy so I can give you a proper good morning kiss.” She lifted Luke and Lily up and onto the sofa with her.

“Mama,” Luke said, giving her a hug.

“You are so sweet,” she said, kissing him. “Now, where’s my little girl?” Sheridan pretended to look around like she couldn‘t find her, and then gave Lily a surprise tickle attack.

Lily giggled loudly. “Mama,” she squealed, and than planted a big wet kiss on Sheridan’s cheek. Not wanting to leave Luke out of the fun she tickled his tummy too sending him into peels of laughter.

“Hey, hey, what’s all this roughhousing going on in here?” Luis said in a teasing voice, setting a cup of coffee on the table beside Sheridan.

“Oh, we were just having a tickle time,” Sheridan told him, laughing.

Luis plopped down beside them and scooped Lily up and flipped her over so that she that she was hanging upside down and her blonde curls were almost touching the floor. Lily loved it and let out a little squeak of pleasure, but apparently Luke wanted his dad to do that to him too, because he pulled on Luis’ arm. “Me dada.”

“Okay Peanut, it’s your brother’s turn,” Luis said, twirling her around and setting her on her feet.

As Sheridan sipped her coffee and watched them play, she couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under Luis’ eyes. “Honey, did you get any sleep last night?”

“No, I was too keyed up. I couldn’t sleep a wink,” he told her while dangling Luke upside down.

“Why don’t you let me grab a quick shower so that you can go upstairs and get some rest,” she suggested. I’ll watch the children today.”

“Maybe I’ll take a nap later, but I need to go to mama’s to get that other envelope from her. I’ve already called my friend and he said that he would do the DNA test for me tomorrow. I’m going to drive up to the capital first thing in the morning.”

“That’s all the more reason for you to get some rest. I’ll take Luke and Lily with me and go to your mother’s and get the envelope, and I’m not taking no for an answer,” she insisted.

“Okay, I’m not even going to argue with you, Luis said yawning. “Run upstairs and get a shower. I think it’s time for the Teletubbies anyway.”

When Sheridan came downstairs forty-five minutes later carrying clothes for the children, Luis was already starting to nod off. As usual, Luke was on his car and Lily was holding her new kitty as they watched their television show. Luis gave her a heavy lidded look as he watched her move toward him. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she said, flashing him a smile. “I’m sorry I took so long, but I needed to shampoo my hair, and then I had to blow it dry............”

“It doesn’t matter, it was worth the wait,” he said, looking her up and down appreciatively.

She came over and sat down next to him. “Have I told you lately that you’re the best husband a woman could ever want,” she said, leaning in to give him a sweet kiss.

“No, as a matter of fact you haven’t,” he said, pulling her head back down toward his. “I feel like a lucky man myself right now. I have a beautiful wife and two little Teletubbies lovers and I found out my father is alive after all this time.”

“I just can’t tell you how happy I am for you Luis, but I still feel terrible...........”

“Shhhh,” he said, putting his finger to her lips. “You are just as much a victim of your family as the rest of us, but Julian is going to pay for what he put my father through. I figure Alistair already is because if he isn’t burning in hell, I don’t know who would be, but he did do one good thing in his life..........”

“Really? I don’t know what that could possibly be,” she said, disgusted just thinking about her father.

“He made you didn’t he?” Luis said, lifting her chin to gaze into her blue eyes.

“Okay, I think that I better see about getting our kids dressed before I go and get all mushy on you. Now, if I can only tear them away from their show long enough to do it.”

********************

Julian slammed down the phone and poured himself a drink. His men still hadn’t located Martin Fitzgerald and he was starting to lose patience. It was as if the man had disappeared off the face of the earth. If he was lucky, Martin had wandered off somewhere after the accident and died in some ditch in the middle of nowhere. There was another thing bothering him, and that was why there had been no repercussions after giving Luis the tape. He had half expected to see headlines in the paper the next day of Sam arresting Sheridan for the murder of Martin Fitzgerald, but nothing had happened. Damn, he had underestimated Luis’ loyalty to his sister. The man had been so hell bent on finding out about what happened to his father, but now that Julian had given him the answer, he had refused to do anything about it. His back was killing him, so he took out one of his painkillers and chased it down with the brandy he was drinking.

“That’s a good way to turn into a vegetable,” Ivy said snidely as she walked into the room. “But don’t let me stop you from your path of self-destruction. We could always hire one of your little tramps to clean the drool off of your face.”

“Oh how nice,” Julian said, raising his glass to her. “I can see that you’re in viper mode this morning, but then again when are you not? What do you want Ivy, I‘m very busy right now.”

“So, whose destruction are you planning this morning?” Ivy asked, while pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“Why my darling wife you better be careful or it just might be your destruction that I’m planning. Like I asked you before, what do you want?”

“I want to talk to you about Ethan. I still don’t understand why you won’t let him run Crane Industries while you’re recovering. This would be the perfect opportunity for him to show that he is up to the task.”

“I’m not going to discuss this with you again Ivy. I’ve already told you that Ethan is too green yet to run Crane Industries all on his own.”

“I don’t believe that for a minute,” Ivy said, rolling her eyes. “It has nothing to do with Ethan being green. You don’t want my son in control because you know that he won’t carry out all your diabolical schemes.”

“As usual, you’re talking out of your pretty behind. Why don’t you take a trip to the spa or better yet, I think you could use a little eye tuck. Those lines around your eyes are very unbecoming,” Julian said, turning his wheelchair away from her in a form of dismissal. “There is nothing diabolical going on.”

“Oh really Julian? Then what do you call playing that tape for Luis?” When Julian turned back to her in surprise, she explained herself. “Yes, I heard you that night, and I also heard Sheridan admit to killing Martin Fitzgerald on that tape. What I find amazing is how you and Alistair were able to manipulate that poor child into thinking she actually murdered Luis’ father. I don’t know much about that night, but I have my suspicions about who really did away with Pilar’s husband.”

“As usual, you don’t know what you’re talking about...........”

“What I really find amusing is that your plan didn’t work. I was at the twins’ birthday party yesterday and Luis and Sheridan seemed perfectly happy to me. In fact, they are even planning a trip together. Pilar called me a little bit ago to ask for some vacation time so that she could go along with them.”

“A trip?” Julian asked with a hint of panic in his voice. “Where are they going?”

“She mentioned Spain, and something about visiting her relatives,” Ivy said, eyeing him accusingly. “You seem a little nervous about this news Julian. I wonder why?”

“So, they are going to Spain,” Julian said with a sigh of relief. “For your information Ivy, I’m not nervous in the least. I’m ecstatic over the idea of the Lopez-Fitzgerald clan going to Spain.”

“Oh really? Ivy asked, with a raised brow. “Why would you be so excited about that?”

“Because, if I’m lucky a raging bull will gore Luis,” Julian laughed, as he took another long drink of his brandy.

********************

After Sheridan and the children left to go to Pilar’s, Luis took a hot shower and fell into bed to try to grab some sleep. He was wiped out with fatigue from his sleepless night and all the different emotions swimming around in his head. He tried to relax, but he just couldn’t seem to lose the rage that was filling him whenever he thought about what the Cranes had done to his father and to Sheridan too. The fact that he had been right about everything all along gave him little consolation when he compared it to the way his loved ones had suffered. Also, now that he knew his father was alive his happiness was overshadowed by a fear that he wouldn’t succeed in bringing him home again. Why all of a sudden did he feel like the weight of the world was on his shoulders when for years his determination to find out about his father was such a driving force in his nature? Maybe he was just scared to death that he would let everybody down when he knew that they were all counting on him. He said a prayer that he would gain back some of his old determination, and finally fell into an exhausted sleep filled with confusing dreams.

Luis walked into Julian’s study and saw him sitting there in his wheelchair with a mocking look on his face. He felt his hate for the man permeate his body and he lunged toward him with murder on his mind. It felt so good to wrap his hands around Julian’s neck, squeezing the very life out of him. As he watched the bastard’s face turn blue from lack of air, an old familiar voice shouted for him to stop. As much as he wanted to see Julian die, he had to see if that voice belonged to the man that he called his father. As he turned the anger was suddenly replaced by joy when he recognized his beloved papa. There he was looking exactly the same way he remembered, motioning for him to come and welcome him home. He took his hands off of Julian’s neck and ran to embrace his father, but he remembered his purpose and stepped back so that he could finish Julian off for good, but his papa pulled him back. He told Luis that it was time to let go of the hate and learn to appreciate the good things in his life. Luis tried to hear his father’s words, but he was torn by his demons. Finally, Martin pulled him outside to the garden and pointed at something he wanted Luis to see. There sitting under a tree was his beautiful Sheridan, looking like a ray of sunshine and she was smiling at him. His precious babies were there as well frolicking on the lawn and suddenly he knew what papa was trying to tell him. He had to be with his family, but they looked so far away, and he ran toward them feeling his lungs ready to burst from his effort. He turned back once, and his father was smiling and motioning for him to go on. He really tried to go on, but all of a sudden Julian was there going back and forth in his wheelchair like a sentry blocking his way...............

“Get out of my way you bastard............ Get out of my way...........”

“Luis, wake up...............”

He opened his eyes slowly, trying to focus when Sheridan suddenly materialized. He was so happy to see her, but he remembered being scared about something, and sat up looking around. “Where are Luke and Lily?” he asked, fearfully.

“I just put them down for their nap........... Luis what’s wrong? You sounded like you were having a nightmare,” she said with a concerned look.

“Yes, it must have been a nightmare,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “God Sheridan, it seemed so real.”

“Do you want to tell me about it?” she asked, gently. “It might make you feel better.”

“I think so, but first I need for you to lay down here beside me. I just need to feel you close to me right now,” he said, patting the bed beside him.

“That is definitely something I can do,” she said, crawling into bed beside him.

He gathered her close, resting his chin on her head. “I love you so much,” he told her with a ragged voice.

“I love you too Luis, but I’m really concerned for you right now. Tell me what’s wrong so that I can help you through it.”

He kissed the top of her head and pulled her even closer. “I can’t believe that I’m actually admitting this but I’m really scared Sheridan. I’m afraid that I’m going to let everyone down.”

“Oh Luis,” she said, her eyes glistening with tears over his pain. “There is nothing wrong with being scared. It’s a normal human reaction and as much as you would like to believe it you’re not Superman. I don’t think that I’ve ever fully realized until now just how much responsibility you’ve shouldered all these years, and I feel my heart breaking for you. Sometimes I get so caught up in my own pathetic childhood that I forget about a little boy who took on the weight of the world when his father and brother disappeared. That’s an extremely tall order for somebody that was so young to fill, but you did it and now it’s time to let it go.”

“How can I do that Sheridan now that I know that papa is alive? For all these years I’ve been so determined to find out the truth about my father and now that I have the answers, I feel overwhelmed. I just have to bring him home again..............”

“You are not in this alone Luis, because I’m going to be right there by your side, and we are going to bring your father home again.” She rose up to look at his face. “Haven’t you figured out yet that we’re a team now?” she said, tracing his face with her finger.

He grabbed her hand and kissed the top of it. “You’re right, we are a team. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You will never have to worry about that, because I’m in this for the long haul. Now, what do you say we plan our strategy for getting your father back?”

“We will, but first I think that I need you. Why don’t you take your clothes off and climb under these covers with me?”

“It doesn’t take you much time to bounce back,” Sheridan chuckled.

“Actually, it does, but sometimes I need to escape in the pleasure that only you can give me,” he said, pulling her into a passionate kiss.

She returned his kiss with equal fervor and moved her hand down his chest and under the covers and found him naked as the day he was born. Her hand grazed him there, and he rose up hot and hard. “Oh God, you really do bounce back,” she mumbled against his lips.

“I’m only human. What man wouldn’t react to that?”

She sat up and peeled her shirt away and started to unhook the button on her slacks rolling them down her hips. “See, I told you that you were only human........... Will you help me with my bra in the back?”

He reached up and with one hand divested her of the lacy undergarment exposing her voluminous breasts to his view. Next came her matching panties, but he wasn’t as dexterous this time and ended up tearing them off of her. “Sorry.............”

“I’ll just add it to your list,” she giggled. “By the time you get through replacing all my panties you’ve ruined you’ll own stock in Victoria’s Secret.”

“Sheridan, sometimes you talk way too much,” he said, pulling her down and rolling her over on her back. He ran his hand up her thigh as he dropped down to kiss her belly. “You smell like lavender,” he whispered against her flesh.

“Luis, come up here and kiss me,” she said, running her hands through his hair.

He did as she asked and leaned down to consume her with a heart-stopping kiss that curled her toes just as he slipped inside her supple flesh. “You always make me forget all the bad things sweetheart. When I’m inside you like this everything is good..........”

Chapter 16

Luis made love to Sheridan with wild abandonment. His life was filled with so many confusing, and powerful emotions right now, but loving Sheridan was the one thing that he was completely clear about. She was his lifeline when the rest of the world was in chaos, and he needed her like the air he breathed. She always gave everything to him, not just physically, but emotionally too and he felt it so strongly. He gazed into her big blue eyes and saw a mix of sultry passion and tender love. “Promise me that you will never leave me,” he asked her almost pleadingly.

“Never............. I couldn’t leave you if I tried,” she whispered, lifting her body so that she could be even closer to him.

The movement of her body, her words, made him crazy and he increased his rhythm with hard even strokes that made her cry out and cling to him. “Luis I.............., I can’t take much more..............” The pressure was too much, too intense, and when he touched that secret place deep within her, she exploded with complete rapture.

As she showered him with her sweetness, he felt his muscles constrict to tight bulging masses and he began to shake uncontrollably right before he went over the point of no return. “Oh God.................,” he groaned, lowering his mouth to give her a hot desperate kiss.

Afterward, they lay there for a while, trying to breathe normally again, when Sheridan finally spoke. “I don’t think I’ll be able to move for days,” she sighed.

“Good, then that means I did my job,” Luis chuckled. “Seriously though, I needed to have that intimate connection with you. You and the babies are the only things that make any sense right now.”

“Oh Luis,” she said, pushing back a lock of hair from his forehead. “We’ve been up against some insurmountable odds before and we always come out on top. I have every reason to believe that we will this time too.”

“I hope so Sheridan, because I just have to bring papa home..............”

“You will,” she said, kissing him.

“Maaamaaa,” a little voice called from the nursery.

“It sounds like our little munchkins are awake,” Luis said, slipping out of bed and into his jeans.

“Mommy’s coming,” Sheridan called out as she dressed quickly.

When they arrived in the nursery, both babies were standing in their cribs hanging onto the side railings. When Luke saw his parents, he started to bounce up and down on his bed, excitedly. “Whoa buddy,” Luis said, scooping him up. “You’re going to break the springs in the bed,” he teased.

“Dada,” Luke giggled, and grabbed Luis’ nose.

“Somebody had a good nap to be in such a good mood,” Sheridan laughed, as she picked up Lily. “Now, you’re awfully quiet little curly top. How about if mommy changes your diaper and I’ll get you and your brother a snack?”

After a quick diaper change Sheridan and Luis carried their children downstairs and put them in their highchairs. While the twins were snacking, Sheridan remembered the envelope she had picked up at Pilar’s earlier. “I got that letter from your mother so you could take it to your friend at the state crime lab tomorrow.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate you doing that for me. How is mama doing with all of this now that the news has had a chance to sink in?”

“I think she is still pretty overwhelmed. A lot like you as a matter of fact. Pilar called Ivy to ask for the time off and she actually told her that we were going to Spain to visit her relatives. Poor thing felt so guilty for lying, but I told her to think of it as working undercover, and that God would understand this time.”

“That was smart of her to tell Ivy that we were going to Spain. I’m sure that Julian will get wind of our plans and if he found out where we were really going it would be disastrous.”

“Maybe once we get your father home, we can really take that trip to Spain,” she said, smiling.

“I promise that we will,” he said, taking her hand. “Now, if we can only figure out how we are going to get papa out of the clinic first.”

“I was thinking earlier on the way home from Pilar’s that the name Georges Cezanne sounded familiar for some reason. I think I’m going to get on the Internet to see if I can dig up some information on him.”

“You’re not only beautiful, you’re smart too. Why don’t you go ahead, and I’ll sit here with the twins while they finish their snacks,” Luis suggested.

Sheridan’s search brought to light some very interesting information. She found out that Georges Cezanne was a highly regarded physicist who had made great strides in his field of science. Now, that she thought about it she had heard his name when she lived in Paris, which explained why it had sounded so familiar. He had won the Nobel Peace Prize for the Development of Methods to Cool and Trap Atoms with Laser Light, but the most amazing piece of information she discovered was that Georges had suffered from a mental breakdown earlier that year. He had to be the same Georges Cezanne that Martin had mentioned in his letter. Even though she was glad for that last bit of information, she felt sorry for the man having his private business spread all over the Internet.

“If you stare at the screen any harder you’re going to go blind,“ Luis said, walking into the room with the twins toddling behind him. Luke went immediately to his car, but Lily tugged on her mother’s leg wanting to be picked up.

“Hey baby, do you want to sit on mommy’s lap,” Sheridan said picking up her daughter. “As a matter of fact, I found out some very helpful information on Georges Cezanne.”

“That’s the name papa mentioned in his letter,” Luis said, sitting down beside her. “What did you find out about him?”

“No Lily, don’t press on the keys sweetie............ I was right about Georges Cezanne’s name sounding familiar. He is a renowned physicist, and he won the Nobel Peace Prize, but that’s not the most important fact I found out. He suffered from some kind of a mental breakdown, but I was unable to find out if he was placed in the same clinic that your father is in. I really think that they are one and the same man.”

“You know Sheridan; this Georges Cezanne is going to be our key to getting into that clinic. The problem is we can’t just walk in there demanding that they hand papa over to us, so we really need to get to Georges. He obviously can be trusted because he arranged to have the letter sent.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Your father said in the letter that he wasn’t allowed any outside contact, but apparently Georges is, because he was able to see his sister............”

“Sheridan, look up the Baylor Clinic and see if we can get an exact location on the place,” Luis suggested.

“Well, I’ll try, but your little girl keeps hitting the keys,” Sheridan chuckled.

“Poe,” Lily said, pointing to the screen.

“Peanut, you’re supposed to watch Poe on the television, and I don’t think that the Teletubbies are on right now. Why don’t you come here and sit in daddy’s lap, so that mommy can type?” he said, lifting Lily into his lap. He turned around to check on Luke and saw that he was busy loading up the trunk of his little car with Lily’s stuffed kitty.

“Okay Luis, I think I have something here. The Baylor Clinic is located in Lausanne, Switzerland right by Lake Geneva,” she said, excitedly. “I know that place well. There is a wonderful resort that we can stay in right on the water.”

“Sheridan, that sounds nice and everything, but this isn’t exactly a vacation,” Luis reminded her.

“I know that Luis, but there really aren’t many places to stay around there that are not set up like resorts. Besides, we have to have comfortable surroundings for the babies and your mother,” she reasoned. “I just got a nice residual check from my book that we can use to pay for rooms.”

“No Sheridan, that’s your money,” Luis said, emphatically.

“Excuse me Luis, but I thought that when two people got married they shared everything, including income,” she said, keeping her voice calm since the children were present. “We live off of the money we make from our business, so anything I earn from the sale of my book should be used for situations like this. Besides, our business is doing very well right now, and.............”

“All right, I can see that you’re not going to let this go, so I guess we can use the money from your book,” he conceded.

“Now see............., it’s not so bad giving in to me once in a while,” she teased, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

“What are you talking about? I protest, then you flash me that smile of yours and I end up giving in to you every time..............” Lily noticed her brother go past in his car, and started to squiggle around on Luis lap so that he would let her down. “Okay Peanut, go play with your brother.”

Sheridan and Luis watched their little girl go over to where her brother was sitting in his car and grab her kitty from the trunk. They both thought to themselves that Lily was quite adorable until she made a little fist and punched Luke with it. Chances were that she hadn’t done any real damage, but it must have scared Luke because he began to cry. “Lily Katherine Lopez-Fitzgerald, it is not nice to hit your brother,” Sheridan told her in a shocked voice.

“Kiki,” Lily said, looking at her mother with big confused eyes.

Sheridan got up and moved over to her daughter and squatted down in front of her. “I know that you love your kitty cat, but Luke was just playing with it and you need to learn to share,” she corrected her gently. She then gathered her son in her arms to comfort him. “It’s okay Luke, Lily didn’t mean to hit you.”

Luis joined them and turned Lily toward him. “Look Peanut, mommy and daddy love you very much, but it is not acceptable for you to hit your brother or anyone else.”

“Dada,” Lily whined with her bottom lip puckered out.

“Oh great, now she’s upset,” Luis said with a mixture of frustration and guilt. “Sheridan help me out here.”

Luke had stopped crying and was amusing himself, playing with Sheridan’s watch. “Lily, mommy and daddy are not trying to make you feel bad, but you need to understand that it’s not nice to hit. Why don’t you give Luke a hug so that he knows you’re sorry?”

Sheridan and Luis got up and left the twins alone to see what would happen. “I still can’t believe she did that,” Sheridan whispered to Luis.

“Well, she gets it honestly. You used to be pretty good at delivering some classic smacks across the face,” Luis reminded her with a smile.

Sheridan totally ignored his statement. “Luis, they are so little that I don’t know if we’re getting through to them. I feel so ill equipped in dealing with disciplining a one-year-old child.”

“Maybe they understand more than we think they do,” Luis said pointing to the children. Lily was giving her brother a hug, and it was so adorable.

“Oh, that’s a good girl Lily,” Sheridan called out to her, trying to reinforce good behavior.

“Well, now that the little Terminator is playing nice with her brother again, I think we need to continue our conversation. We have to come up with some ideas on how to get into the Baylor Clinic to see Georges Cezanne. He is the only connection we have to my father.”

“You know Luis, I just thought of something. You worked undercover, so how hard is it to get some false credentials made up?” she asked with flashing blue eyes.

“It should be easy enough,” he said, looking at her curiously. “What do you have going on in that beautiful head of yours?”

“Okay, you know that movie that’s out right now about John Nash, the mathematician that suffered from schizophrenia.............?”

“Yeah, the one with Russell Crowe that’s winning all the awards........... Wait a minute, I get the similarities between John Nash and Georges Cezanne, but I’m afraid that I’m losing you after that,” Luis said, baffled.

“Well, you know how when there is a hit movie and everybody wants to jump on the bandwagon, and then you see a whole slew of the same kind of films hitting the box office?”

“Okay, but I’m still not following you........”

“Luis, that is going to be our cover. You are going to be the hungry young filmmaker, and I’m going to be the producer, and we’re just dying to make a film about the life of Georges Cezanne.”

“This is scary Sheridan, but I think that it might just actually work,” Luis said, giving her a big old juicy kiss.

********************

Martin looked at Charles sitting across the table from him, and felt a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Finally, after all of these weeks of hiding out here like a hunted animal he was ready to embark on the last part of his plan of escape. It was not going to be easy though, because Julian’s vultures were still circling the area waiting to dive in for the kill at a moment’s notice. “Charles, I still do not feel right about you being involved in this. Are you sure there is not another way to get me to Paris?” Martin asked with concern in his eyes.

“Martin, I thought that we had settled this a long time ago,” Charles reminded him. “Besides, we’ve been through too much together, and I’ll be damned if I miss out on the satisfaction of watching you walk through those gates of the American Embassy and out of the way of Julian Cranes’ henchmen.”

“I just don’t know how I am ever going to be able to thank you and your wife for all of your kindness,” Martin told him gratefully. “I don’t know what would have become of me if it weren’t for you.”

“Just knowing that the evil parasite is finally going to get what he deserves is thanks enough for me. I’ve done my research on Julian Crane and discovered that he treats the people in his European operations like slave labor. The workers’ wages are low, with little or no benefits and they have no choice but to continue to work there because of the declining economy. He breaks environmental laws and gets away with it by lining the palms of the crooked politicians. Some of the workers tried to start labor unions, and they all met with mysterious deaths. You must be protected at all costs Martin, because you are the one person that can put this man away,” Charles said, pounding his fist on the table.

“Charles, I had no idea that you felt so passionately about this,” Martin said, surprised by his friend’s knowledge of the Cranes’ methods.

His friend broke out in a smile. “I apologize for my earlier outburst, but after what I saw during the Second World War I know how the poison of one man could destroy so many lives. Besides, I’ve grown quite fond of you Martin and I look at you as I would a son.”

Charles’ words struck a deep emotional chord with Martin, and never being a man of a lot of words, his response was one of humor. “That’s quite remarkable Charles, considering that you’re a Brit, and I’m one of those pesky Irishmen.”

The old war veteran laughed hard at his friend’s words. “Well, that just goes to show you how people facing adversity have a way of bonding.”

“You do have a good point there,” Martin agreed, smiling. “But, seriously Charles, I can’t tell you how touched I am and I will always be honored for having known a great man like you.”

“Well, now that we have all that emotional drivel out of the way, why don’t I tell you about my plan for your escape? I’ve discovered that the back seat of my car pulls out easily and there is a space in the trunk between the backrest and the spare tire where you fit into without much difficulty. I’ve also tested the ventilation, so you will not have to suffer from lack of oxygen, but I’m afraid that you will not be very comfortable,” Charles warned.

“At this stage in the game a little discomfort is the least of my concerns,” Martin assured him.

“I’m glad you feel that way, because we don’t have a lot of options at this point. I do think however, that once we put enough distance from here that you will be able to get out of your hiding place.”

“I’ll do whatever you think best Charles. When do you think we can leave?” Martin asked.

“In two weeks time.” Charles told him. “Do you think you can be ready?”

“Oh don’t worry Charles, I’ll be ready,” Martin assured him. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time.”

********************

The DNA test results had come back with confirmation that the letter was indeed from Martin Fitzgerald. Even though the news was what everyone had suspected all along there was still an air of relief that this wasn’t some devious hoax after all. The next few days were a flurry of activity to get ready for their trip because Luis had one of his gut feelings that they needed to leave as soon as possible. Since they were so pressed for time Sheridan had assigned tasks to everyone and Luis was in charge of securing the false credentials and to find a way to keep their business going while they were gone. As luck would have it Chad had decided to resign from the DEA because he was growing weary of the seedy world he was constantly exposed to in the battle against drugs. There were even times when he had to do some questionable things for the greater good, and he was starting to lose a sense of himself. Luis and Sheridan were thrilled at this news and offered Chad a full partnership in their investigative firm. There was more than enough business to go around, and this would also give Chad the opportunity to work on his music career too. Evan had agreed to stay at the house to keep an eye on things and make sure that Ace was fed, so everything was coming together nicely.

Sheridan was in charge of packing and making sure that all the travel arrangements were made. Even though it was out of their way, they were flying on a commercial airline into Barcelona, Spain first where they would catch a private chartered flight into Lausanne, Switzerland. Just to be on the safe side the private jet was arranged for under a fictitious name in case Julian decided to check into their itinerary. Sheridan had become pretty adept at figuring out how her brother’s devious mind worked and she was leaving nothing to chance this time.

It was the night before their departure and Luis and Sheridan were laying cuddled together in bed too keyed up to sleep. They had just had a vigorous lovemaking session that should have worn them out, but they were both still wide-awake. “Luis,” Sheridan said, running her hand over his chest. “Thank you for agreeing to wait another day to leave so that I could have my session with Barbara. I just thought it was important for her to know that I had to leave town for a while and that I had no intentions of abandoning my therapy.”

“Sheridan, you don’t have to thank me. Your therapy is important to you and I promised you that I was going to support you every step of the way. I don’t intend on breaking that promise,“ he said, kissing her forehead. “How did your session go?”

“It went well. Of course even thought I trust Barbara implicity, I didn’t tell her that we found your father alive. I did tell her that something came up, but I was not at liberty to talk about right then, but I would tell her later. She was really good about it, and said that she wanted to concentrate on some of my issues from my childhood.”

“I know honey, but that night my father disappeared played a big part in the demons that are still haunting you. Maybe it would have been a good idea to tell her the truth.”

“But that’s just it Luis. We know that your father is alive and that I didn’t kill him, but I still don’t know the whole truth about that night. The issues that Barbara wants to focus on right now are the time before that night. There are these voids in my life that I just can’t remember, and I have to know what happened. Remember when my mother wrote in her journal that she had a huge fight with my father when he locked me in a closet?”

“Yes, I remember............. That bastard!”

“I know Luis,” she said, holding her finger to his lips. “I don’t remember that and I need to.”

“Oh God Sheridan,” he said, pulling her closer. “I can’t believe what they did to all of us.”

“It’s going to be all right Luis. I think that finding your father is going to be the first step in our healing process. Just think Luis, maybe next week at this time you’ll be sitting there talking to your father and making plans to bring him home.”

“I’m just hoping that we can get him home once we find him. He’s going to need a passport to get out of the country..............”

“Try not to worry Luis. Michael gave us the name of an attorney in Paris that specializes in immigration matters and I’m sure that he can work with the American Embassy to get your father the necessary paperwork.”

“I guess you’re right,” he sighed. “It’s just that I’m having a hard time believing that this thing is going to be simple.

“You need to learn to relax, so that we can do our job. Don’t forget, your going to be the next Ron Howard,” she teased.

Luis laughed at her comment. “I wonder how the twins are going to do on the plane tomorrow. That’s going to be a long flight, and I’m afraid they are going to go crazy being cooped up in that plane for so long”

“Actually, that same thought crossed my mind and I packed plenty of little toys for them. My biggest fear is that we will have to have another airplane just to bring all the stuff we have,” Sheridan joked.

“Yeah, well my biggest fear is that we will be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean and Luke will ask for his car,” Luis chuckled.

“Oh no, I forgot about his car,” Sheridan giggled. “He’s going to go crazy.”

“I guess I’m going to have to come up with one of those dad talks to take his mind off of it.”

“And I’m sure that you’ll think of the perfect thing to say,” she assured him, smiling. “Do you see what’s happening here?”

“What do you mean?” Luis asked, confused.

“Well, here we were earlier both upset about all my family’s sins and then we start to talk about our children and we are smiling again.”

“They certainly do keep us grounded,” Luis agreed. “Why don’t we go check on them? For some reason I just want to look at their cute little faces.”

“I was going to suggest the same thing.........”

********************

The resort in Lausanne was beautiful and allowed a postcard view of Lake Geneva and the snow covered peaks of the Swiss Alps. Sheridan found Pilar standing on the terrace staring out at the scenery and she approached her and put her arm around her mother-in-law. “How are you doing Pilar? Is your room okay?”

“Everything is lovely,” Pilar said, smiling. “Where are Luis and the children?”

“Oh daddy is in there trying to entertain them. It was a good thing that they slept a lot on the plane, but now we’re paying the price because they are bouncing off the walls in there.”

“They’ll calm down after they get settled in,” Pilar assured her.

“You’ve been really quiet ever since we arrived. Are you thinking about Martin?” Sheridan inquired softly.

“Yes, I have not been able to think of anything else. He is out there so close Sheridan, and I do not know what I am going to do if we can’t bring him home again,” Pilar said, with tears streaming down her face.

Sheridan pulled Pilar into a hug. “Luis and I are not going to let that happen. We’re not leaving here without Martin.......... I promise you.”

“Why don’t we go in there and see if we can give Luis a hand with the children,” Pilar suggested, wiping away her tears.

When they got inside, the twins were running around squealing and giggling like wild banshees. Luis was trying to curtail them so that he could get them to sit in front of the television, but Luke and Lily were not cooperating. Sheridan had the foresight to tape some Teletubbies so that the children could get their fix while they were away, and they were hoping that they could be persuaded to sit down and watch. She decided that Luis needed some help, so she walked over and scooped Lily up in her arms and carried her over to where Luis was trying to corner Luke.

“Mama,” Lily whined, kicking her legs in an effort to get down.

“Settle down, mommy will put you down in a minute. How would you like to watch Teletubbies?”

“LaLa,” Lily said, pointing to the television screen.

“Okay sport,” Luis said to a giggling Luke as he lifted him on his shoulders. “Time for Teletubbies.”

Sheridan quickly popped the tape in and pressed PLAY, and within a matter of minutes both twins were staring at the screen like little zombies. “You know, I swore to myself that I would never be one of those mothers that let the television baby sit her children, but I’m afraid that I’m bending a little on that decision.”

“Well at least it is educational,” Pilar said, smiling.

“So Sheridan,” Luis said. “Now that we have the munchkins contained why don’t we practice our aliases for our visit to the clinic tomorrow?”

“That would probably be a good idea so that we have all our ducks in a row. We need to make sure that are stories are straight.”

“Mama, would you mind keeping an eye on the kids while we go in the bedroom to rehearse?”

“You two go ahead, I’ll call you if they get out of control again,” Pilar said, waving them on.

As soon as they were in the bedroom, Luis shut the door and pulled her into a hear-stopping kiss. It totally surprised Sheridan, and she stepped back shakily to look at Luis. “Hey, you better know that off,” she said, chuckling softly. “Your mother and children are right outside that door and....”

“I know.................” he grumbled. “I just needed a little inspiration before we began our exercise.”

Sheridan laughed. “Yeah, and I bet you have some swamp land in Florida to sell me too.”

Chapter 17

The suite they were renting at the resort was huge with two bedrooms and a common area. Pilar had insisted that the children sleep with her, and Sheridan agreed because she felt that it gave her mother-in-law a sense of comfort right now. She was already dressed for the day in a classic black pantsuit, with a crisp white blouse, and the finishing touch to her ensemble was a pair of black rimmed glasses for that professional look. Luke and Lily were on the bed with her learning to play patty cake, and they were holding their little hands up as she showed them the motions. She could hear Luis in the bathroom fumbling around, and wondered what was taking him so long to get ready. “Luis, what are you doing in there?” she called out to him.

“I’m getting ready to shave,” he said, walking to the opening in the door clad in a towel.

“No, don’t shave,” she protested. “It will ruin the whole look I’m going for.”

“And what look would that be? Classic grub,” he said, snickering at his own joke.

Sheridan just rolled her eyes at him. “Luis, you’re worse than a woman is. What is taking you so long to get ready?”

“Well, you hogged the bathroom all morning............”

“I did not,” she argued. “I was only in there for an hour. Now, will you please finish getting dressed?”

“Okay, okay,” he said, walking over to the closet where he had hung his clothes. He chose a pair of black slacks and a linen shirt, and was heading back to the bathroom when Sheridan stopped him.

“Oh no Luis, that is all wrong. Put on a pair of jeans,” she instruction. “The more worn out the better.”

Luis looked at her completely baffled. “I thought I was supposed to be this big time director, so what’s the deal here? I’m going to look like I just rolled out of bed and picked my clothes up from a pile on the floor.”

“And that’s exactly what I want you to look like. I want you to come off like you’re intense, focused and you don’t care about impressing people. It’s all about making your film.”

“Okay, you’re the boss,” he said, bending over to kiss the children. “What are you two munchkins up to?”

“I was teaching them paddy cake............ Show daddy how you can hold your hands up,” Sheridan told them, while demonstrating. Luis sat down and joined them, and decided to get in on the fun. There was something special about seeing the babies’ little hands pressed up against Luis’ large ones that warmed her heart. “Luis, it’s sweet of you to play paddy cake with the children, but you still need to get dressed.”

“All right, I’m getting dressed right now,” Luis said, rising from the bed.

“Oh by the way, for what it’s worth,” Sheridan said, grabbing his arm. “You look pretty hot with that stubble on your face.”

“Interesting,” Luis said. “I’ll have to file that information away to use as a tool for seduction.”

“Don’t worry Luis,” Sheridan assured him with a smile. “You don’t need any tools to seduce me.”

Luis laughed at her comment. “I’m getting dressed,” he said, grabbing his clothes and heading for the bathroom.

When he walked out ten minutes later, Sheridan inspected his appearance and nodded her approval. She did ruffle his hair a little to make it look a bit unkempt. “You look perfect. Shall we go?”

“I guess so, but I hope that I can pull this off. I can act like a person buying drugs, but I never did a Hollywood director before,” he worried.

“It will be easy honey,” she told him. “Just act all edgy like you did when we first met.”

Luis opened his mouth to say something, but a knock on the door stopped him. “Come in mama.”

Pilar peeked her head in smiling. “I just wondered if the children were ready to go?”

“Yes, they’re are all dressed, but Pilar are you sure you want to take them out for the day? They‘re pretty mobile now and it can be a bit tiring keeping up with them,” Sheridan warned.

“That should not be a problem Sheridan since we brought the stroller along. I thought that we would go for a walk down some of these charming streets and then over by the lake. I was just out on the balcony and I just can not get over how beautiful this place it.”

“It really is a beautiful place,” Sheridan said, smiling. “It’s going to be even more beautiful when you finally reunite with Martin.”

“Oh Sheridan, I pray that you are right,” Pilar said with a worried look. “I have so much nervous energy that I am finding it impossible to concentrate on anything.”

“I’m sure you do mama,” Luis said, kissing her cheek. “I’m feeling that way too, but I’m also very determined to bring papa home.”

“Well, we are going to be late for our appointment with this Dr. Heinzman, if we don’t leave right now Luis,” Sheridan told him.

Luis and Sheridan kissed the children and gave Pilar a hug. Luis told the twins to be good for their abuela, and the babies were so adorable when they waved bye to their parents as they walked out the door. The gentleman that delivered their rental car gave them directions to the clinic, and they found it easily just outside of town. To say they were impressed by the place would have been an understatement. The Baylor Clinic could have been a resort with it’s stately presence and old world charm, and they could imagine how much if would cost to keep a patient here.

“At least papa is in a nice place,” Luis commented when he saw the clinic. “That doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s been locked up here for all these years though.”

“I know that Luis,” she said, putting her hand over his. “A gilded cage is still a cage. Well, I guess it’s time to add the finishing touch to my alter ego.” Sheridan got a pair of black rimmed glasses out of her purse and slipped them on. “So, how do I look?”

“Professional and sexy,” he said, glancing at her as he pulled up to the iron gate. He stopped and waited for the guard to approach the car. “Do you speak English?”

“Yes sir, what can I do for you?” the guard responded with a clipped German accent.

“Mario Estes and Veronica James to see Dr. Günter Heinzman,” Luis said, flashing his false identification to the guard.

The guard checked a clipboard, and looked back to them, finally breaking a smile. “Yes, go right in. Dr. Heinzman has put you on the visitor list. Just park over there at the side of the clinic and you can go in through the main entrance,” he said, pointing the way.

“Thank you,” Luis told him and pulled the car through the open gate.

After they parked the car, and walked into the main lobby of the clinic, they were both astounded by the shear luxury of the place. The antique furniture was covered in rich fabrics and the walls were graced with large oil paintings in gilded frames. “This place must cost a fortune to run,” Luis whispered in Sheridan’s ear.

“Yeah, and we just may be able to use that to our advantage,” Sheridan whispered back just as a mousy looking woman approached them. They were soon to find out that her outward appearance was deceiving.

“Oh, hello, hello,” she said in a boisterous voice. “I’m Gertrude, Dr. Heintzman’s assistant, and we are so excited about your visit. It’s not every day that we get famous Hollywood film people here in the clinic. The doctor is most anxious to meet with you.”

Before they could even get any words out, Gertrude was leading them down a hall and into a suite of offices. They were barely through the door when a middle-aged gentleman with graying temples greeted them with an outstretched hand. “You must be Mr. Estes, and Miss James?”

“Yes, we are,” Sheridan said, flashing him a brilliant smile. “Please call us Mario and Veronica. We don’t stand on formalities much in Hollywood.” Luis’ greeting was more low keyed to keep in line with the image he was trying to portray.

“Come sit down,” Dr. Heintzman motioned to them. “Can Gertrude get you some tea or coffee? We even have Coca-Cola,” he said, proudly.

“No thank you Doctor,” Luis said. “I’ve already had a pot of coffee this morning.”

“I don’t care for anything either,” Sheridan said. “Now, I’m sure that you’re wondering why we made this appointment with you Dr. Heintzman, so I’ll just get to the point of our visit. We understand that Georges Cezanne is a patient here and we want to make a film about his life.”

Dr. Heintzman looked surprised. “I will admit that Georges Cezanne has accomplished much in his life, but the study of atoms and such does not make for a very interesting subject.”

“That’s where you’re wrong Doctor,” Luis disagreed. “A brilliant man suffering from mental illness makes for the best drama.”

“He’s right doctor,” Sheridan concurred. “I see Golden Globes and Oscars all over this film, and Mario here is going to be the next Steven Spielberg. It’s going to be an international box office sensation. Do you have any idea what that kind of publicity could do for the Baylor Clinic?”

“I’m not sure I’m following you Veronica,” Dr. Heintzman said, puzzled.

“Think about it Doctor. When this film comes out the Baylor Clinic will be known all over the world. Now, I happen to know that this clinic is funded from private sources and when your patrons see your notoriety the money will be pouring in.”

“Yes,” Dr. Heintzman said, staring off into space with a silly smile on his face. “I never thought about it like that.” He finally looked at Luis and noticed that the director was staring at him intently. “Is there something wrong Mario?”

“Anthony Hopkins,” Luis said, thoughtfully.

“Excuse me?” Dr. Heintzman said, confused.

“I can see Anthony Hopkins playing you doctor............”

“Oh no Mario,” Sheridan chimed in. “I was thinking that Sean Connery would better capture Dr. Heintzman’s distinguished manner.”

“My wife loves him,” the doctor said, happily.

Sheridan couldn’t believe how well everything was going. She hadn’t planned on Dr. Heintzman being so star struck, and he was falling right into their plans. “So Doctor, do you think that you can convince Georges Cezanne to speak with us?”

“I will certainly do everything possible, however I do have to look out for the privacy of the patient, so I cannot force him to see you. He is doing very well with his treatment and I wouldn’t want to cause any setbacks.”

“Of course not Doctor,” Sheridan agreed. “We want to make sure that Georges Cezanne is perfectly comfortable with this meeting, and I promise that we won’t put any undue pressure on him.”

“I will talk to Georges today and let you know,” Dr. Heintzman assured them. “Is there a number where I can reach you?”

“Yes, we are staying at the resort,” Sheridan said, pulling a card out of her purse. “Let me just write the number down for you.”

“Good, and hopefully I will be able to deliver some good news to you soon. I’ll just have Gertrude show you out,” the Doctor told them.

As soon as they got into the car, Sheridan screamed out her excitement. “Oh Luis, we have him right were we want him.......... What’s the matter honey?” she asked when she noticed the sad look on his face.

“He’s here somewhere Sheridan, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Damn it, I just want to go back through that door and demand that they hand papa over to me.”

“We’re going to get him out of here Luis,” she said, putting her hand on his. “We just have to be patient a little while longer.”

“I know,” he said, frustrated. “It’s just so hard to wait knowing that he’s here.”

“You know, I think that we should go back to our suite so that I can give you a massage. It will help you to relax a little while we wait for Dr. Heintzman‘s call,” she suggested.

“Okay,” he said, smiling. “Maybe mama’s back with the twins by now.”

*********************

Pilar was thankful for her outing with the children because it helped to take her mind off the fact that her husband was so close to her and yet she couldn’t be with him. It was still a bit chilly here, so Pilar had made sure the children were dressed warmly, but the sun was bright and they were quite comfortable as they walked through the streets of the charming city. They had come upon a street vendor selling colorful balloons and Pilar had purchased one for both of the twins. She had tried to tie them on their stroller so that they wouldn’t lose them, but the babies had fussed, so she compromised and tied them around their wrist. All the people passing had to stop and admire the twins, and the babies just loved the attention. Pilar discovered a park by the lake and she decided to stop and let the children out of the stroller to stretch their little legs. Some swans had come into the park from the lake, and Luke and Lily were so excited they could barely wait to get out of their stroller to see the beautiful birds. Pilar watched the children play with their balloons floating behind them, and she couldn’t help but think about Martin’s reaction when he saw his grandchildren for the first time. She had a strong feeling that he would fall in love with them on sight, just as she had the first time she gazed at them. It was too bad that she didn’t have a camera right now to capture the precious picture before her. It was like one of those paintings by Monet with the blue glistening lake filled with swans and the mountains as a backdrop. Luke and Lily were right in the middle of the frame like little whirlwinds of energy as they ran around on their short legs giggling out loud. She had no idea that someone else had been as captivated by the scene as she was and at this very moment was putting it on canvas. Pilar glanced at her watch and noticed how late it was getting to be, so she rounded up the children and put them back in the stroller. As she came out of the park and neared the sidewalk an artist motioned her over, and curious to see what he wanted she wheeled the twins toward him. At first the man spoke French, but Pilar held her hand out to stop him.

“I’m sorry, but I do not speak French,” she said, hoping he would understand.

“No problem,” he smiled. “I will speak English. I was so inspired by the adorable children that I couldn’t help but paint them.”

Pilar stepped around the easel so that she could see what he had painted and gasped out loud. The portrait was the very scene that she had wanted to take a photograph of earlier, and the artist had captured the twins’ spirit perfectly.

“It is so beautiful,” Pilar said, mesmerized. “You must sell this to me.”

“I cannot do that, but I will give it to you,” the artist offered kindly.

“Oh no, I could never accept this without offering you some payment for your hard work,” she protested. Pilar got some Swiss Francs out of her purse and tried to hand them to the man but he refused to take the money.

“It is payment enough to be able to paint these beautiful children. Here, take the painting with my pleasure.”

When the man turned to get the painting, Pilar slipped the francs under his pallet. “Thank you so much for the lovely gift. My son and daughter-in-law are going to love this.”

“Welcome to Switzerland. I hope you have a memorable trip,” the artist said, smiling.

“I am sure that it will be more memorable than you can even imagine,” she said, returning his smile as she turned to walk away.

***********************

Luis was laying on the bed feeling completely relaxed as Sheridan rubbed the kinks out of his muscles. She had insisted that he remove his shirt so that she could use some massage oil, and he was glad that he did because it felt so good to feel her hands roaming the smooth skin of his back. “Oh Sheridan, this feels so good.”

“I told you that my magic hands would be just the things to take away all that tension.”

“The problem is that there is one muscle that’s not exactly relaxed right now,” he groaned.

Sheridan giggled. “No matter what the situation, your little soldier always seems to rise to the occasion.”

“I can’t help it,” he said, defensively. “I have no control over myself when it comes to you. Would you prefer indifference?” he baited.

“You better not ever be indifferent to me buster.........”

“Good, I was hoping you would say that,” he said, tackling her so that she ended up lying flat on her back beneath him. Before she had a chance to protest, he was lowering his head to smother her words with a kiss that robbed her of all reason.

“Luis, I..........”

“Shhhhh,” he whispered, and began to unbutton her blouse to expose the lace-covered curves of her breasts. The sight of her soft skin against the white lace of her bra was just too hard to resist and he moved his lips down to taste her.

Sheridan almost lost it when Luis pulled the tip of her breast into his mouth, soaking the delicate fabric with his hungry kiss. Surely she was in heaven, but why was the phone ringing, ruining the mood of his seduction? It finally dawned on her that the offensive noise was real, and that it could very well be the phone call that they were waiting for. “Luis, I have to get that,” she said, reaching for the phone by the side of the bed. “Hello............” The greeting came out like a breathless whisper, and it embarrassed her. She couldn’t help it though because Luis was still assaulting her with his hot kisses.

“Is this Veronica?” a man’s voice asked hesitantly.

“Yes, this is she,” Sheridan answered, recognizing Dr. Heintzman’s voice. “Dr. Heintzman, it’s so good of you to call back so soon.” Luis’ head shot up when he heard who was on the other end of the call.

“I thought perhaps I had dialed the wrong number. Your voice sounded different.”

“Oh, I apologize about that. I’m afraid that I took a little catnap and I’m still trying to wake up.”

“Well, hopefully you will forgive me for interrupting your sleep when you hear my good news. Georges has agreed to meet with you and Mario tomorrow morning.”

“Oh Dr. Heintzman, that is good news,” she said, flashing Luis the thumbs up sign. “We will be there tomorrow morning and thank you so much.”

“Good, I shall look forward to seeing you again,” the doctor said, ending the call.

Sheridan put the receiver back down on its cradle and cried out with excitement. “We did it Luis. Georges has agreed to meet with us tomorrow morning.”

“That is wonderful news,” he said, pulling her into a hug. “I can’t believe it Sheridan. I think our plan is actually coming together.”

“Didn’t I tell you that everything would work out?”

“You certainly did, and I think this calls for a celebration,” he mumbled, pulling her in for a passionate kiss.

Sheridan was quickly falling back into Luis’ sensual attack when she heard an outside door close. “I think we’re going to have to put our celebration on hold. It sounds like your mother is back with the children.”

“Okay, but don’t forget,” Luis said, reaching for his shirt.

Once they were decently attired again they went out to greet their children and to tell Pilar the good news. When Luke and Lily saw their parents they ran toward them as fast as their little legs could carry them. Luis and Sheridan scooped their children up and smothered them with hugs and kisses, while Pilar stood by watching them all affectionately. “Did you have a good time with abuela today?” Sheridan asked.

“Boon,” Luke told her, pointing to the balloons that were now tied to the stroller.

“I see that,” Luis said. “That was nice of abuela to buy you those balloons.”

“Bir,” Lily said in her tiny voice.

“Bir?” Sheridan said, puzzled. “I wonder what she is talking about.”

“I think perhaps she is talking about the swans we saw at the park. The children loved them,” Pilar said, smiling. “You should have seen how adorable they were. In fact, I was not the only person that thought that way.” Pilar walked over to the stroller and removed the small painting from the back compartment. “Look at this painting one of those street artists did of the children playing.”

“Oh Pilar, this is so beautiful,” Sheridan said, her voice filled with emotion. “The strokes aren’t clearly defined, but I could tell in a minute that it was Luke and Lily. He just captured their essence so perfectly.”

“Wow mama, this is really amazing. The artist must have charged you a fortune for this.”

“Not at all,” Pilar told him. “In fact, he didn’t want any money, but I secretly slipped some francs to him when he wasn’t looking.”

“You have to let us pay you back Pilar,” Sheridan insisted.

“No, I do not want you to pay me. It is the least I can do for everything that you have done to get Martin back.”

“Thank you mama,” Luis said, giving Pilar a hug. “Speaking of papa, we just got a call from Dr. Heintzman and Georges Cezanne has agreed to meet with us tomorrow.”

“Oh, that is wonderful news mijo. Perhaps this kind man can help us to find a way to get your father out of that place.”

“I feel sure of it Pilar,” Sheridan said, kissing her mother-in-law’s cheek. “You know, we should celebrate tonight. There is a wonderful restaurant here and I think we should all get dressed up and have a nice family dinner.”

“That sounds like a great idea to me,” Luis agreed. “What do you say mama?”

“Oh, why not,” Pilar said, feeling her spirits lifted. “After all, we do have to eat don’t we?”

“Yes we do, but I think that these two little ones need a nap, or they will never make it through dinner.”

“Good point Sheridan. That’s all we need is for Luke to be fussy and start throwing food at all the people dressed up in their fancy clothes,” Luis said, laughing while Sheridan stood there and cringed at the very thought of it.

********************

Sheridan had gathered Lily’s curls up in a ponytail on top of her head and tied a pink bow about the base. Since her hair wasn’t quite long enough, there were whips of curls that fell loose, but it only made the little girl look more adorable. “Oh sweetie, you look so pretty in your fancy dress. Come stand in front of the mirror with mommy so we can see how we look.” Sheridan made a quick check of her appearance and was satisfied with the dark blue silk dress that brought out her eyes. Her only jewelry was the pair of sapphire and diamond earrings that Luis had given to her. She couldn’t help but laugh at Lily as she admired herself in the mirror, pulling up her dress and spinning around. “Oh sweetie, you might not want to do that when daddy is around. He can be kind of a fuddy duddy sometimes. Give me your hand so we can go see what our guys are doing.”

When they walked out into the living area of the suite Luis was bouncing Luke on his leg looking incredibly handsome in a dark blue shirt and tie. He looked up when they walked in the room and gave them an appreciative look. “Look at the girls Luke. Don’t they look pretty?” Lily ran to her daddy to show him her fancy dress. “Peanut you look just like Pebbles Flintstone with your hair like that, and you look so cute in your new dress............. No Peanut, don’t lift your dress over your head like that.”

“Dada,” she giggled.

“Oh, you think it’s funny don’t you?” Luis said lifting her up in the air.

“I guess we better go or we’ll miss our reservations,” Sheridan reminded him. “Is your mother ready?”

“I’m ready,” Pilar announced, as she walked in the room looking very lovely in a silvery grey pantsuit with satin lapels.

“Oh Pilar, you look beautiful,” Sheridan told her.

“You do look especially pretty tonight mama,” Luis agreed. “You know, I think I must have the best looking family around.” He grabbed his black suit jacket from where he had thrown it over a chair and slipped it on. “Okay, let’s go knock ‘em dead.

When they walked into the restaurant everyone in the room looked at them appreciatively. They even heard a few people chuckle when the twins started waving to all the people. Everyone there was thinking that they were the most attractive family, and the little babies were especially adorable. Sheridan had called ahead to make sure that they had accommodations for the children, and the waiter brought two highchairs over to their table. Luis was on pins and needles when he noticed the eloquence of the place just thinking about all the damage the twins could do. When the waiter left after taking their drink order, Luis leaned over and whispered in Sheridan’s ear. “I think we better order something for Luke that can’t be thrown at long distances.”

Sheridan smiled. “Oh, I’m sure he’ll be on his best behavior. Look how cute he looks in his little bow tie.”

“Let’s just hope that he can make it through dinner without taking it off,” Luis said, pulling at his collar nervously.

“Relax Luis,” Sheridan said, grabbing his hand. “We are not going to embarrass you.”

As it turned out the twins were perfectly behaved through the whole dinner, however as they were having dessert, Luke dropped his head on his highchair and fell fast asleep. Lily’s eyelids were starting to droop, and it didn’t seem that she would be long in this world either.

“I guess we better pay our tab and get these two home to bed,” Sheridan suggested.

“The band is starting to play. I think the children will be fine long enough for the two of you to share a dance,” Pilar suggested.

“I have a better idea,” Sheridan said. “Luis, why don’t you dance with your mother? She looks so lovely tonight and she needs to be seen in the arms of a handsome guy.”

“Oh no, no,” Pilar protested.

Luis stood up and offered his mother his hand. “Mama, would you care to dance?”

“Oh, I guess I could dance to just one song,” she said, standing to let Luis lead her out on the dance floor.

Sheridan watched them as they made their way around the dance floor and thought about how wonderful if was going to be when Pilar could once again dance with Martin. She had always thought that Pilar was a beautiful woman, but she could see something different in her since they had found out that Martin was alive. Her eyes held a sparkle that wasn’t there before, and she prayed that they would be able to keep it there. Luis smiled at something Pilar had said, and she thought about what a good son he was to his mother. That was one of the many reasons why she loved him so much. When the music stopped, Luis kissed his mother on the cheek and led her back to the table. “I guess we should get our little munchkins home to bed,” Luis said, getting Luke out of his highchair. The little boy didn’t move a muscle as he cuddled against his father’s shoulder.

Sheridan picked Lily up, and as they were walking out, she leaned over and whispered in Luis’ ear. “I love you.”

“I love you too, but where did that come from?” he asked, flashing her a grin.

“Oh, I don’t know. I just had the urge to tell you.”

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, lowering his voice to a seductive tone. “After we get the kids to bed I think we should continue what we started earlier.”

“That’s funny you said that Luis, because I was just thinking that very same thing.”

********************

When they arrived at the clinic the next morning, Gertrude had shown them to a private terrace where they were to have their meeting with Georges. Dr. Heintzman had gone all out and had a silver coffee urn and pastries brought to them while they were waiting. “I kind of feel bad for leading the doctor on like this Luis. If he found out what we were really up to he would throw us out on our ear.”

“Well just remember while you’re feeling sorry for this guy that he’s probably deeply in Julian’s pocket. He would have to be involved in order for your brother to have pulled this off for so many years.”

“I suppose you’re right,” she agreed. “Oh, there they are now.” Sheridan recognized Georges Cezanne on site from his picture that was posted on the Internet. She thought to herself that the man looked perfectly sane to her, and hoped that that proved to be true.

After Dr. Heintzman made a big show of introducing them, he left them alone to have their meeting. When the doctor was finally out of earshot, Luis broke the ice. “Look sir, before this goes any further, I think you should know that we are not who you think we are.”

“We truly are very sorry, but there is a good reason why we have misrepresented ourselves,” Sheridan added.

“I already knew that before we even met,” Georges said, with a secret smile.

“But how?” Luis asked, clearly surprised.

“Because, I’ve been waiting for Martin’s son to show up for months now.........”

Chapter 18

Luis and Sheridan had been all prepared for an angry reaction from Georges when he found out about their deception, and they had been ready to plead their case, but never had they expected this. They knew the man was brilliant, because after all he had won a Nobel Peace Prize, but they couldn’t help but wonder if he was serious, or having a delusional moment here. Neither one of them said a word, because they really weren't sure how to respond, so they just sat there looking very uncomfortable. Georges looked from one to the other and began to laugh. “Did anyone ever tell the two of you that you are very transparent?” Georges asked with a twinkle in his eye.

“Sir, we’re so sorry,” Sheridan stammered. “We meant no disrespect...........”

“Oh I know that,” Georges said, smiling. “I was just joking with you, but just so we can set the record straight, I can assure you that I am as sane as you are. You would not believe how well those little yellow pills work.”

“We really didn’t mean to imply that you were insane,” Luis explained. “How did you know that we were not really film makers?”

“I knew that once Martin’s family received his letter that one of you would be here to get him out, and let’s face it, my life is not exactly memorable enough to draw a movie audience. Besides, once I saw you sitting here I recognized both of you from the photograph in the newspaper.”

“I wanted to tell you how much my family appreciates everything you did for my father. If it wasn’t for you, we would have never known if he was even alive. Now that we’ve met, I can understand why papa would have you as a friend,” Luis said, his voice laced with emotion. “So tell me, how is papa? Did you tell him that we were coming for him?”

Suddenly Georges looked very sad, and a bit uncomfortable. “I’m afraid that you may want to save your praise for me, because I have let Martin down. I don’t know how to tell you this, but your father is no longer at this clinic..........”

“What did you say?” Luis asked, hoping that he had heard wrong.

“I know that this is a big shock to you, and I dread telling you this but there is no way around it. Perhaps I should just start at the beginning. When Julian Crane was in a coma, the funds for Martin’s stay here stopped coming, and from what I gather Dr. Heintzman thought that he would die, so he made a radical decision. Since this place does not take in indigent cases, the doctor had Martin sent to a facility in France that is run by the state.”

“I just can’t believe this,” Luis said, sounding so dejected.

Sheridan grabbed Luis’ hand under the table and squeezed it. “Do you know the name of the facility they took Martin to?” she asked.

“I’m afraid that the news gets worse. Normally I would not be privy to what goes on in Heintzman’s office since I’m just a lowly patient here, but when Martin was sent away I had to know the facts. Fortunately, Gertrude has a certain affection for me and I was able to get the details from her. When Martin left here, he was being driven by one of the attendants from this clinic, and I’m afraid they were in an automobile accident.............”

“Oh my God, was papa hurt?” Luis asked, shakily.

“That’s just it,” George said, wearily. “We don’t know. The driver was killed, and when the emergency crews arrived Martin was nowhere to be found.”

“Are you trying to tell me that papa just disappeared into thin air?” Luis asked, incredulously.

“They sent people out to search all over the area and they found no trace of him, but they did find some blood drops along the road, but they just stopped suddenly.”

“Maybe someone came alone and picked him up,” Sheridan speculated.

“I guess that is possible, but if he was hurt, wouldn’t you think that the Good Samaritan would have taken him to a hospital or a doctor? There were no reports of him going to the hospital in the area or any reports of him visiting any doctors.”

“Where did this happen Georges?” Luis demanded, but then softened his tone. “I’m really sorry, but I just can’t stand the thought that we came so close to getting my father back, and now he could be out there hurt or worse.............”

“Luis,” Sheridan said, laying a comforting hand on his arm. “If your father had passed away someone would have found him.”

“I agree with your wife Luis, and I do believe there is still hope. Do you have some paper and something to write with? I want to draw you a map of the area where the accident happened. I know the place well, because my aunt had a farm around there, and I used to spend my summers there.”

“Here, use this,” Sheridan said, handing Georges a pen and notebook from her purse.

“Here is the road that leads from here in Lausanne to Paris. There is a small town right here not too far from Paris called Troyes,” Georges said, pointing to the crude drawing. “Just as you drive out of the town into the countryside there is a large curve, and this is where the accident happened.”

“Do they know what caused the crash?” Luis asked, studying the map.

“They believe that some livestock were crossing in front of the van because they found an injured sheep by the side of the road. That happens all the time around that area,” Georges explained.

Luis was just about ready to say something else when they spotted Dr. Heintzman moving toward them with a huge smile on his face. “Pardon the interruption, but they are serving a nice lunch in the dining room today, and we would like to invite all of you to join us.”

Luis didn’t want to answer because he was afraid his voice would give away the fury he felt toward this man for sending his father away again. Sheridan must have sensed his hostility, because she spoke up, with a smile on her face. “Thank you so much Dr. Heintzman for your offer, but we do have other commitments, and were just about to finish up here.”

“Well, I hope that things are moving along in the direction you wanted,” Dr. Heintzman said, hinting for some kind of confirmation that the deal had been made.

“Let us just say that I am giving the offer careful consideration,” Georges assured him.

“That is good Georges. I don’t want to put any undue pressure on you, but this might be just the thing to lift your spirits, and make you productive again.” Dr. Heintzman encouraged. “Well then, I’ll be back in my office if you should need anything.”

After he walked away, Georges moved in to whisper to them. “Do not trust that man. He is the one that has been working hand in hand with Julian Crane all these years to keep Martin here.”

“I would love to tear the bastard’s head off,” Luis snapped.

“I can understand you feeling that way, but we must not let on to your true identity. By the way, you were both very clever with your plan to get into the clinic to see me.”

“Well, papa warned us in his letter that nobody at this clinic could be trusted, but you. You’re a good man Georges,” Luis told him.

“Your father was very kind to me in my darkest hour, and I will never forget him. Sending the letter was the least I could do to help him get out of this place.”

“It’s just too bad that your efforts were in vain,” Luis said, defeated.

“You must not give up hope Luis. I feel sure that Martin is fine and is in hiding. I think he saw his opportunity to escape and took advantage of the situation.”

“I think that Georges is right Luis,” Sheridan agreed. “In fact, this could be a blessing in disguise.”

“A blessing in disguise?” Luis repeated, confused.

“I know that this is not the best of situations, but if you think about it we never had a plan for how we were going to get your father out of here. Now, all we have to do is find him and we’ll be home free.”

“You act like this is going to be so easy,” Luis said, amazed. “We have no idea where papa is, and I don’t even know where to begin.”

“I know it’s not going to be easy Luis, but I’m trying to stay positive here,” Sheridan said in her own defense.

“You’re right, we have to stay hopeful...........”

“Oh dear, it looks like Dr. Heintzman is stalking us again,” George said, under his breath. “The man is becoming a parasite.”

“What are you going to tell him when we leave?” Sheridan asked.

“I will tell him that I am still pondering your proposal. That way, if you two need to speak with me again you will still have a reason to come back here.”

“Thank you again Georges,” Luis said, standing up and holding out his hand.

“Yes, thank you,” Sheridan said, standing as well.

Just as they were getting ready to walk away, Georges called out to Luis. “Your father is going to be so proud of you.”

“I sure hope so Georges,” Luis said, giving him a grateful smile.

As they drove away from the clinic, Luis was very quiet, and Sheridan wisely left him to his thoughts. They had been so optimistic when they had arrived at the clinic this morning, never expecting to have the wind knocked out of their sails like this. Suddenly Luis pulled over to the side of the road and turned to Sheridan with tears in his eyes. “How am I going to tell mama this news? She is going to be devastated Sheridan.”

“Oh honey, I know, but your mother is the strongest woman I know, and I think that even though this will be hard on her, she will handle it with the same resilience that she’s always shown.”

“You know something?” he said, taking her hand and brushing her wrist with his lips. “Mama is not the only strong woman around here. You are pretty amazing, and for some reason I just want to be with our little munchkins right now. There is something about being with them that gives me strength when I need it the most.”

“They certainly do have a way of making everything good in the world,” Sheridan agreed.

*********************

Pilar had just finished speaking on the phone to Miguel and Theresa, and was relieved to know that everything was going well at home. It took all of her will power not to spill the news about their father being alive, and the possibility that he would be home soon. She had tried to remain calm, but it was hard to not feel the excitement that she would see her loving husband soon. She had missed him so much all these years, and not knowing if he was dead or alive had been torture. The good Lord was going to give them a second chance and she was never going to take that for granted again. She glanced over to check on the twins and saw that they were still engrossed in some children’s show on the television. It didn’t seem to phase them in the least that the show was in French, they were still staring at the screen with avid attention. It was so obvious that they were showered with love because they were such sweet and well-adjusted children. It was almost as if he sensed that she was thinking about him, because right then Luke looked over at her, and he toddled over on his short little legs and pulled her hand. He was, obviously, in his own little way inviting her to join him and his sister and it was an offer she couldn’t turn down for all the riches in the world. “Abuela would love to watch your program with you,” she said, taking his little hand and following him to the front of the television. She sat down on the sofa and pulled both Luke and Lily up to cuddle beside her and watched the antics of the characters on the television program.

Pilar tried to concentrate on the little creatures on the screen as they flipped flopped through the garden, but her mind started to wander again. Had Luis and Sheridan’s visit with this Georges Cezanne been successful? Normally she was a very patient person, but she wished that they would arrive back here soon, because the suspense was killing her. As it turned out she didn’t have much longer to wait, because not more then ten minutes later, they came through the door calling out for Luke and Lily. When they heard their parents’ voices, the twins stood up and peeked over the back of the sofa, jumping up and down excitedly. Luis and Sheridan touched by their sweet greeting moved to the back of the sofa and lifted their babies up into their arms squeezing them close against their bodies. Lily who was in her father’s arms, turned and pointed to the television screen to show Luis what they were watching.

“Daddy can’t believe his eyes. Are you actually watching something else besides the Teletubbies?”

“Apparently they’ve decided to expand their horizons,” Sheridan said, laughing.

Pilar watched the happy foursome, and couldn’t help but sense that something was not right. It wasn’t as if she could tell that anything was wrong by their appearance, but a feeling of doom seemed to saturate the air making her heart beat erratically. “I thought you should know that they have been very sweet and well behaved since you were gone,” Pilar announced.

“That’s certainly good to know. Thank you mama,” Luis said, bending down to give his mother a kiss on the cheek.

“Yes Pilar, thank you,” Sheridan echoed. “I feel so bad that you’ve done nothing but baby sit since we’ve been here.”

“What do you mean? I had a lovely outing with the children yesterday, and a wonderful dinner last night with my family. I treasure every moment that I can spend with my precious grandchildren, but don’t you think that it is time for you to tell me what is wrong? Did you see Georges Cezanne?”

Luis and Sheridan shot each other a look of anxiety, but Luis was the one that spoke first. He moved around the sofa and sat down next to his mother still holding Lily in his arms. “Yes mama, we did see Georges Cezanne today, but I’m afraid that he gave us some bad news.”

“Oh no,” Pilar said, wringing her hands. “Please tell me mijo that your father is still alive.”

“We’re not sure mama, but we believe that he is,” Luis said, raggedly.

Pilar looked at him with confusion. “I don’t understand Luis. How can you not know if he is alive?”

“Hey Peanut,” Luis said, kissing his little girl. “Why don’t you watch your show with Luke while daddy talks to abuela?” He sat her down on the floor, and Sheridan gave him the signal that she would sit with the children.

Sheridan’s heart went out to them as she watched Luis lead his mother out on to the terrace. She wanted to turn away so that she didn’t have to see how heartbroken Pilar would be when she heard the news, but her eyes remained glued on the mother and son standing there so dejectedly. She couldn’t hear their voices, but she didn’t need to because their body language told her everything. Luis stood there with his hands on his mother’s arms, as he told her what Georges had revealed. When she saw Pilar slump against him, tears formed in her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away so that the children wouldn’t see her crying. “Lily, why don’t you come up here on the sofa with mommy and Luke so I can give the both of you a giant hug?” she said, lifting her little girl up next to her. Sheridan finally did turn away to give them their privacy, and concentrated on her children. She tried to keep things lighthearted, but the twins must have sensed her sadness because they were very solicitous with the sweet way they were touching her face. It simply amazed her that these two precious children would already know how to offer such comfort. “Oh my little sweet peas, do you know that mommy thanks God every day that he blessed us with the gift of you two. Daddy and I love you so very much............”

“Mommy’s right, we do love you,” Luis said, coming up behind them.

“Luis, I didn’t here you come back in. Where is your mother?”

“Mama is still out on the terrace. She said she needed a few minutes to compose herself so that she wouldn’t upset the children,” Luis told her solemnly.

“How is she doing Luis?”

“She’s devastated of course, but still hopeful. She said that she believes in her heart that papa is out there alive somewhere.”

“I believe that too Luis, but I’m not so sure that you’re as convinced as we are.”

“It’s not that I’m not convinced, I’m just really worried about papa,” Luis said, rubbing his temples. “We have to find him, but I don’t know where to begin.”

“I guess we just begin where the accident happened,” Sheridan suggested. “If your father was hurt, then he couldn’t have gotten far.”

“Unless somebody picked him up like you suggested earlier. If that’s the case, papa could be anywhere.”

Just then Pilar walked in from the terrace. If she had heard what Luis said, she didn’t comment on it. “I think that I am going for a walk down by the lake.”

“Are you sure you don’t want some company?” Sheridan asked. “I could use some fresh air myself.”

“I appreciate the offer Sheridan, but I think I just need some time to put my thoughts together,” Pilar told her smiling.

“I don’t know if I like the thought of you out there by yourself mama..........”

“Luis, I know that you mean well, but I am quite capable of taking care of myself. It is the middle of the afternoon, and quite safe. Besides you trusted me with the children out there just yesterday,” Pilar reminded him.

“Sorry mama,“ Luis said, sheepishly. “I’m just worried about you right now.”

“I’ll be fine mijo,” she assured him. “I’ll be home in time for dinner.” With that, she turned and walked out the door.

“Poor Pilar,” Sheridan said, shaking her head sadly. “If anyone deserves happiness it’s your mother.”

“You’re right Sheridan, and we have to find a way to give her that happiness.”

**********************

They had room service deliver dinner to their room that night since nobody was in the mood to go out. They hadn’t gotten around to ordering until late, so the twins were already asleep. It was quite the contrast to last night when they had dined in the restaurant so filled with hope. Sheridan looked up and noticed that Pilar and Luis were making an attempt to eat, but were basically pushing their food around their plates. The place was silent, everyone lost in their own thoughts and it was driving Sheridan crazy. She felt so strongly that they should be positive and start making plans to find Martin, but Luis and Pilar seemed to still be in shock over Martin’s current disappearance. It was time to jump start the conversation, so that they could get the ball rolling. “I was thinking that we might go to Troyes to start hunting down clues,” Sheridan said, taking a sip of her wine.

“It’s funny that you brought that up, because I was just thinking about that very thing. You lived in Paris for a long time. Were you ever in this area where papa disappeared?” Luis asked.

“I’ve been through there on several occasions. It’s very beautiful country with quaint farmhouses, but I’m certainly no expert on the area,” Sheridan admitted.

“I just hate leaving mama and the babies here in Switzerland while we’re in another country,” Luis said with a worried frown.

“We’ll be fine mijo,” Pilar assured him.

“Wait a minute,” Sheridan said, excitedly. “There is no reason to leave you and the children here in Lausanne. I think we should move our base of operations to Paris. We would be much closer to the area, and it would also save us a lot of money.”

“How do you figure that Sheridan? From what I remember the hotels in Paris were not cheap.”

“Because Luis, we can stay in my townhouse. There is plenty of room with easy access to the shops and everything............”

“Whoa..............,” Luis interrupted bluntly. “Since when do you have a townhouse in Paris, and why don’t I know anything about it?”

Sheridan was taken aback by Luis’ sudden anger about news of the townhouse. “Why are you acting so surprised Luis? I did live there for a number of years,” she reminded him.

“I know that Sheridan, but that was over three years ago. I assumed that you had cut all ties to the place. Besides, don’t you think it would have been a good idea to let your husband know about something that important?”

“Well, to be honest with you I hadn’t given the place much thought over the years. The expenses for the place are automatically paid for out of the trust from my mother’s estate. As for not telling you, I guess I just assumed that you would know that I didn’t live in a hotel the whole time I was in Paris.”

“Okay, so if you’ve had this townhouse the whole time, then why did you stay in a hotel room the first time you walked out on me?” he asked, curtly.

Sheridan felt like he had punched her in the stomach, and she couldn’t believe that he was throwing that in her face. “For your information, the townhouse was being renovated at the time. I was going to move back in when the work was completed,” she answered, trying to control the hurt she felt by his words.

When Luis saw the pain in her blue eyes, he felt like the biggest jerk, and he wished he could take back what he had just said to her. “Sheridan, I............”

“If you will excuse me Pilar, I’m really quite exhausted so I think that I’ll check on my children and turn in for the night,” she said, rising from her chair. Sheridan walked over and placed a hand on her mother-in-law’s shoulder. “Just try to keep the faith. I have a feeling that everything is going to turn out okay.”

“Thank you mija,” Pilar said, laying her hand over Sheridan’s. “Give the children a kiss for me.”

Touched by Pilar’s affectionate term for her made Sheridan want to cry. “I will Pilar,” she said, making her escape before she broke down.

“You know Luis, you are my son, and I love you dearly, but I cannot believe what I just heard come out of your mouth. The whole time that you and Sheridan have been together, I have tried very hard to never interfere in your relationship, but not this time. You know full well that when Sheridan left you both times that it was because of the manipulations of her family, yet you still use that against her.”

“I know that mama, and I didn’t mean for it to come out that way,” Luis said, regretfully.

“Maybe not, but you still hurt Sheridan, and you need to make it up to her before this gets out of control. You have a wonderful woman that loves you deeply, and she has proven that over and over again. I know better than anyone that life can hand you cruel twists sometimes, and you should always treasure the moments you have with the person that you love, because you never know when they will be torn away from you. Don’t let a silly piece of property come between you.”

“You’re right mama, and I promise that I’ll make sure that Sheridan knows how sorry I am.”

“I am glad that you feel that way, because you have two precious children that need their parents to be happy and loving. Even though they are small they still sense it when all is not right. Now, I think that I am going to go to bed too. It has been a very emotionally exhausting day for me.”

“Mama, can I come in first and kiss Luke and Lily goodnight?” Luis asked. “In fact if you want some privacy, I could bring the twins to our room.”

“No mijo, if you don’t mind, I really like having them with me, and besides you would have to wake them. It gives me a lot of comfort to see their little faces in the morning.”

“Come on, let’s go check on them,” Luis said, putting his arm around his mother.

********************

Sheridan just lay there staring at the ceiling feeling more miserable than she had felt in a long time. The shock about Martin was bad enough, but to have Luis say those things to her had been the final blow. She didn’t know if she was more angry or hurt by Luis’ comment, because she thought they had gotten past that a long time ago. Apparently he still harbored resentment for her about the times she left him or he would have never said that to her. The first time had been over that awful imposter business and they hadn’t even admitted their feelings for each other yet, but it must have come as a terrible blow because they were just on the verge of falling in love. The second time she left him was just too painful to think about, because she had lost not only Luis, but her precious little baby too. Why was it that every time she thought that they were over all the pain of the past, it would rear its ugly head again? Maybe she should have mentioned the townhouse to Luis, but she honestly didn’t think that it was that big of a deal, so why did he? She had promised herself that she wasn’t going to cry over this, but she had no control when the tears started flowing down her face. She turned to the side and pulled herself into a ball and let the dam break, shaking the whole time from her misery.

When Luis came into the room and saw Sheridan laying there crying like that he cursed himself a hundred times over. It broke his heart to see her in so much pain, especially knowing that he was the one that did it to her. “Sheridan?”

He must have surprised her, because she sat up suddenly, and wiped her tears away, but she didn’t look at him directly. “I’m not in the mood to argue with you, so if that is why you are here..........”

“No, I promise I’m not here to argue,” he said, approaching the bed tentatively. “I wanted to tell you that I’m the biggest jerk in the world, and I feel terrible about what I said.”

“Well, I will agree with you about one thing,” she said, playing with the ties on her robe. “You are the biggest jerk in the world.”

“Okay, I deserved that,” Luis said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Will you look at me Sheridan? I’m really sorry honey.”

She finally turned toward him and blessed him with her liquid blue gaze. “I do believe that you’re sorry Luis, but just the fact that you threw that in my face makes me think that you still resent me, and that’s what bothers me.”

“Sheridan, I don’t resent you. I reacted the way I did because when I heard that you had that townhouse it really scared me.”

“Scared you?” she said, confused. “I don’t understand Luis.”

“I’m scared because the townhouse represents a haven for you. A place where you can run to when you figure out that I’m not the person that you really want to be with.”

“What?” Sheridan said, astounded by his words. “I love you Luis, and I’m not going anywhere. I thought that you believed in me.”

“I do believe in you Sheridan, but I don’t believe in myself sometimes. Ever since we found out that papa was alive my emotions have been all over the place, and all these old feelings of embankment resurfaced again. I know it doesn’t make sense that it would happen now that I know for sure that papa didn’t leave us on purpose, but it’s like now everything is coming to a head.”

“You sound so confused, and I just wish that I could help you.”

“Look, I know I sound like a basket case, but I just get scared sometimes that I’m going to lose you, and I don’t think that I could survive that again.”

“Oh Luis, I know this has been rough on you. Especially when you finally found your father and he disappeared again, but I can promise you that I’m not going anywhere.”

“Yeah, but what happens when we get to your townhouse and it brings back all the old memories of the good life? You have to admit that ever since you hooked up with me you’ve been through hell and back. Look at everything your family has put you through because you fell in love with me.”

“And I would do it all over again as long as I could be with you. Believe me Luis, that was not the good life. All I ever wanted back then is exactly what I have right now, and I wouldn’t trade it for all the money in the world. I was so lost back then and I don’t think I really began to live until you came into my life.”

“Even though you’re married to a jerk that keeps you on a budget and drags you into a bunch of crazy adventures?”

“Excuse me, but I happen to be crazy in love with that jerk and sometimes those crazy adventures can be kind of fun. Besides, you gave me the most precious gift in the world and that is our children.”

“So, does that mean that you forgive me?” Luis asked her hopefully.

“Yes Luis, I forgive you, but only on one condition.”

“Name it.........”

“You have to promise to get that idea out of your head that I’m going to leave you. You’re going to have to kick me out to get rid of me.”

“Okay, I promise,” Luis said, stroking her face. He suddenly remembered the rose, and he pulled it from behind his back. “I brought this as a peace offering. I love you Sheridan.”

“Oh Luis,” she said, taking the rose in her hand to inhale the sweet smell. “This is so sweet. Where did you ever find a rose at this time of night?”

“Well, don’t tell anybody but I stole it from some flower arrangement in the lobby. I figured they wouldn’t miss it, and I didn’t know of any florist shops open at this time.”

Sheridan chuckled softly. “Come here Lopez-Fitzgerald. I think I really need to hug you right now.”

“Do you think we might be able to squeeze a kiss or two in there as well?” he asked, sheepishly.

“I think that could be arranged,” she said, pulling him down to cover her body.

********************

The trip to Paris went even more smoothly than the previous trip from the States, and it didn’t take long at all for everyone to get settled in. If Luis had any residual anger about the townhouse, he certainly wasn’t showing it. In fact, Sheridan couldn’t get over how much lighter his mood was since their argument the other night. She was especially proud of her babies, because they were like little troopers adjusting to all the changes like it was nothing. Since there were three bedrooms in the townhouse, the children had their own room, and they were already making it their own. Luis had gone out and purchased stuffed animals and toys so that the twins would feel more at home, and Luke and Lily were having a grand time with all their new treasures. When Sheridan had argued about all the money he was spending, he reminded her that they were saving a fortune by not have to pay for a hotel room.

As soon as they finished their breakfast, Luis and Sheridan were leaving for Troyes. The plan was for them to stay undercover as Veronica and Mario so they could use the excuse that they were scouting the area for filming purposes. Since Georges had spent his summers there, it would be the perfect cover while they investigated the clues to Martin’s whereabouts. Luis had pointed out that they had to be very careful, since he had no doubt that Julian was aware that Martin was missing, and there was a good chance that he had a team of his thugs over here.

The drive to Troyes was a pleasant one, even though Luis and Sheridan were filled with a mixture of anticipation and fear that they were following a dead lead. Since Luis was driving, Sheridan was appointed the navigator and as she studied the map it occurred to her that they were almost to the point where Martin had been involved in the accident.

“Luis, there should be a curve coming up in about five miles. If I’m not mistaken that should be the spot where your father had his accident.”

“I guess it would be a good idea to start from there and work our way outward,” Luis suggested.

“I agree, and I think we should start with the farms first,” Sheridan said, looking around her to see if she could locate any houses to start their search. “Okay Luis, slow down because that curve should be coming up soon.”

When they arrived at their destination, Luis pulled the car over to the side of the road, and he and Sheridan studied the map to compare it with Georges rough drawing. They were so deep in concentration that they didn’t pay much attention to the car that had passed by. What a terrible irony that the object of their search had just been so close to them and was now on his was way to the American Embassy in Paris.

Chapter 19

They had already been to four farmhouses in the surrounding area of where the accident happened and still had no clues as to where Martin was. Most of the folks they had spoken with were simple people that didn’t seem to be very impressed with Hollywood types. The premise had been that they were scouting for locations for their film about Georges Cezanne, but they had found a way to work in the fact that Georges’ good friend had been in an auto accident right here in the area. Sheridan had been brilliant about throwing that little tidbit in there, trying to sell the fact that it would be a wonderful human interest angle to put the plight of Georges’ friend in the film. Luis was pretty good at reading people, and not one person that they interviewed had even flinched when they brought up Martin.

Luis pulled the car over to the side of the road so that they could regroup, and pounded on the steering wheel in frustration. “Well, that last house was a bust too. Those people didn’t have a clue about papa,” Luis said, dragging his fingers through his hair. “So what do we do next Sheridan? Maybe we could hire some bloodhounds to start searching the woods?”

Sheridan ignored his sarcastic tone. “I know this is frustrating, but we can’t give up now Luis. Let’s start driving again, and maybe we will spot somewhere else to check.”

Luis glanced at his wife, and saw the determined look on her beautiful face. “You really are amazing, you know that? Every time I turn into a big grumpy pain in the butt, you just hang in there and keep me focused and positive.” He leaned in and pulled her in his arms, planting a heart-stopping kiss on her lips.

“Oh my,” Sheridan murmured against his lips. “You better stop that or you will shock these poor country folks.”

“Ohhhh,” Luis grumbled. “As soon as we find papa, you and I are going to lock ourselves in the bedroom for three days straight and have a love marathon.”

“That sounds wonderful, but who’s going to take care of our children?” Sheridan asked, laughing softly.

“Well, I was thinking that mama and papa would watch the twins. If would be a great opportunity for papa to get to know his grandchildren..........”

“Luis,” she said, astounded. “I don’t believe that you just said that. Your mother and father have been apart for ten years, and you expect them to baby-sit for our children? Don’t you think they deserve a love marathon of their own?”

“Oh yuck Sheridan, come on,” he said, making a face. “You’re talking about my parents here.”

“You are such a baby Luis,” she said, laughing. “What are you in high school or something? Your parents are young vibrant people, and they’ve gone a long time without each other. Do you think they’re going to watch television all night?”

“Stop, I get your point, but please can we change the subject? This isn’t even going to be an issue if we don’t find papa,” he said, suddenly getting serious again.

“I was thinking that we could drive down this road again. We may have missed a house, or some other kind of shelter.”

“Okay, but I think that we’ve already hit every place around here,” Luis said, starting the car.

As they moved down the road slowly, Sheridan scoped out the area. She almost missed a narrow lane, because the opening was surrounded by thick foliage. “Wait, back up Luis. I just saw something back there.”

Luis backed up the car and stopped at the spot where she directed. “Look there, it’s a mailbox. This has to be somebody’s home,” Luis said, excited. “I’m going to drive back there.”

The driveway was rolling, and when they drove over the last hill, there stood a charming stone country house. If was amazing how much it looked like their own home back in Harmony, and it had a peaceful effect on both of them. “Oh Luis, I have a good feeling about this one.”

The last thing either one of them expected when the door was opened, was the shocked look on the woman’s face when she saw them. “It is you!”

“Excuse me?” Luis asked, confused. “Do you know us?”

The elderly woman stepped outside the door and looked around nervously. “Please, come inside,” she said, motioning them with her hand.

Once they were inside, the woman broke out into a smile. “My name is Juliette, and you must be Martin’s son, Luis, and his wife, Sheridan. You both look just like the picture in the paper. I can not believe that Martin’s son is finally here, but this is not so good.”

“Oh my God, you know my father,” Luis said, happily. “Is he here with you?”

“Martin has been staying with us for several months. My husband, Charles, had to hide him out here because there were many men looking for him. When he came to us he was injured, but we nursed him back to health.”

Luis was so excited he pulled her into a bear hug. “Thank you so much for taking care of papa. Where is he? Can I see him?” Luis said, looking around.

“I’m sorry, but he is not here,” she said, regret written on her face. “Charles took Martin to the American Embassy in Paris. You will not believe this, but they left just this morning.”

“That was several hours ago,” Luis said, exasperated. “They could easily be in Paris by now.”

“Juliette, does your husband have a cell phone on him?” Sheridan asked.

“I’m afraid not, but he said that he would call me when he reached Paris.” Juliette told her.

“Oh good,” Sheridan said, relieved. “When he calls will you tell him that we are on our way, and to wait at the American Embassy until we get there?”

“Of course, I can do that,” she agreed, smiling.

“Can you give me your phone number?” Luis asked. “I can call you when we get to Paris so that we can make sure that your husband got our message.”

“Yes, I can give you my number, but you must be very careful when speaking on the phone, because the local authorities have the phones monitored.”

“That doesn’t surprise me in the least,” Luis said, knowingly. “Your brother certainly leaves no stone unturned.”

“That’s even more reason for us to be careful,” Sheridan warned. “If Julian discovered that we are here, he could find a way to get to your father.”

“I refuse to let Julian come out on top this time,” Luis promised. “It’s finally time for his day of reckoning.”

“Well, I suppose we better get moving, if we want to have any chance of catching up with your father,” Sheridan suggested. “Juliette, you have been so gracious, and wonderful. We will be forever in your debt for all of the kindness you have shown Luis’ father, and to us.”

“Martin showing up on our doorstep was a blessing to us. He helped out with the work around here, and it was good for Charles to have a friend around. It was very sad for us to see him go, but we are happy that he can be united with his family,” Juliette said, with tears in her eyes.

Luis took the elderly woman’s hands in his. “It’s people like you and your husband that still make me believe that there are good and decent people in the world. It’s not everyday that someone would take a complete stranger into their home, and we will never be able to thank you.”

Juliette reached up and stroked Luis’ cheek affectionately. “I think that Martin is lucky to have a good son like you. Now, you must go, and I promise to give Charles your message............ Oh, wait, I have something to give to you,” she said, moving over to the bookshelf. She pulled out a thick book and removed something from within the folds of the pages.

When Juliette came back and handed a photograph to Luis, he felt a surge of emotion run through him. He was much thinner then he remembered, and there was a little gray at the temples, but he would recognize his father anywhere. There was an elderly gentleman standing next to Martin, that Luis assumed was Charles. “Oh God, it’s papa,” he said, tracing the image of his father with his finger. “How did you manage to get this developed without anyone finding out?”

“My Charles has one of those cameras that give you instant pictures. I did not know if your father had changed, so I thought it would be a good idea for you to have this picture so that you would know what he and Charles looks like.”

“Thank you Juliette,” Luis said, giving her a hug. “I was a little concerned that I wouldn’t recognize papa. A lot of years of suffering can change a person, but he looks exactly the same. When we find my father, I think that we should all get together and have a celebration,” Luis told her.

“I think that Charles and I would like that very much,” she told him with a warm smile.

********************

The day was beautiful, and Pilar decided that it would be a wonderful opportunity to take the children outside to play in the yard. She didn’t want to stray far from the house for fear that she would miss any news about Martin. The back of the townhouse was bordered by a service alley, but the front was graced with a yard of lush green grass, surrounded by a black wrought iron fence. The area wasn’t large, but there was plenty of room for the twins to run around and expel some of their excess energy. She was rolling the ball to the children, and they were having the best time chasing after it, and attempting to roll it back to their grandmother. Lily eventually became tired of the game and discovered a Hydrangea bush in full bloom, and toddled over to it. She broke off one of the stems with a blooming flower and offered it to her grandmother as a gift.

Pilar looked down at the flower that Lily was clutching in her little hand, and noticed that the stem was broken off right at the base of the flower, and the petals were a trifle smashed, but it was the sweetest gift she ever received. “Oh Lily, thank you. That is a very beautiful flower, and abuela will put it in a vase as soon as we get back into the house. You are such a sweet little girl,” she said, leaning down to give Lily a kiss.

“Ball,” Luke shouted to her from across the yard. The poor little guy had been waiting patiently for Pilar to roll the ball his way and he was getting impatient.

“Okay Luke, here it comes,” she said, rolling the ball his way. Luke decided that it might be fun to kick it, and swung his short leg back with such a force, his face scrunched up when his foot made contact. The ball only traveled about two feet, but he giggled excitedly like he had just accomplished a major feat.

Lily had been observing her brother, and ran toward him wanting to get in on the fun. She too kicked the ball, copying Luke’s moves and fell backward on her little behind. She looked surprised at first, like she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but humor won out and she began to squeal with giggles. Pilar couldn’t help but get caught up in the twins’ spirit, and she broke out into laughter right along with them. A man strolled by walking his dog, and when Luke and Lily spotted the animal, they ran toward the fence. When the gentleman saw the babies, he stopped and led his Cocker Spaniel toward them so that the children could pet the dog. Suddenly two motorbikes came to a screeching to a halt in front the townhouse. Two men with cameras came running up to the fence and started taking pictures of Luke and Lily, and things turned into pandemonium. The dog started to bark, blocking out the clicking sound of the cameras. Pilar began shouting to the men to go away, as she struggled to block the view between the children and the Paparazzi.

“So, these are Sheridan Crane’s twins........ Who are you, the nanny?” one of the reporters asked Pilar.

“I am their grandmother, and I want you to leave here this instant. Stop taking those pictures. You have no right,” she screamed at him.

“Sorry, but Sheridan Crane has been hiding out for too long, and the public has been dying to see her little twins.”

Pilar scooped up the babies in one fell swoop and carried them toward the house. “Leave here now, or I am calling the police,” she called back to them, as she slammed the front door behind her.

“Ball,” Luke said, pointing to the front door.

“I’m sorry sweetie, but we will get your ball after those men leave,” Pilar told him. “Come now, abuela will get you a nice snack. Maybe your mama and papa will call soon.”

“Mama?” Lily asked with a pouty bottom lip.

“Your mama is not here, but she will call you later. Why don’t you go get your kitty cat over there,” Pilar said, pointing toward Lily’s favorite stuffed animal.

“Kiki,” Lily squealed running over to pick her kitty cat up in her arms.

Pilar was glad that she was able to distract her little granddaughter from wanting her mother, because she wasn’t sure when Sheridan and Luis would be home. She just prayed that they had found some clue to Martin’s whereabouts because she didn’t know if she could take any more disappointments. “Okay,” she said clapping her hands together. “Follow abuela to the kitchen, and we will see what we can find for a snack.” It was such a comfort to her to hear those little feet tapping against the hardwood floor as they followed close behind her.

********************

Martin was beginning to wonder if the fates were conspiring against him and he was never going to be reunited with his wife and family again. Just when he had been able to crawl out from his hiding spot and take his place in the passenger seat, the car broke down. Thankfully they were near a small town and it was relatively easy to have the car moved to a service garage there. The bad news was that the part was not available and would have to be brought in from a neighboring town. A hefty bonus had been just the inspiration to make the garage owner stay and work overtime, but it was going to be hours before they could continue their journey. Martin felt terrible that this was going to cost Charles so much money, and he stated that very thing to his friend.

“Charles perhaps we should just stay the night so that you don’t have to pay so much money for this man to fix the car,” Martin suggested.

“Money is not a problem for me Martin. I was left a very sizable inheritance from my father’s sister when she passed on. The important thing is to get you to Paris as soon as possible. Now, why don’t we walk down to that cafe I saw when we were coming into town and get something to eat. When we are finished, I will find a phone and ring Juliette up to tell her what has happened.”

“My debt to you seems to be increasing daily Charles, but I promise that I will find a way to repay you for all of your kindness,” Martin promised.

“Now Martin, we have already discussed this, and I do not want repayment. What will make me happy is to see you reunited with your family, and that this Julian Crane gets what he deserves. Now, you must promise me that we will not speak of any debts owed to me again,” Charles said, adamantly.

“All right Charles, I will not say another word about it, but you can’t stop me from saying a special prayer of thanks that you and Juliette came into my life.”

“Now that Martin, is something that I would never refuse,” Charles laughed. “I’m going to need all the help I can get to make it to those pearly gates after I’m dead and gone.”

“I seriously doubt that Charles, because you are one of the kindest men I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. I’m beginning to think that miracles come in all types of shapes and sizes.”

Charles was clearly touched and embarrassed by Martin’s words. “Well this miracle is very hungry. Why don’t we see about filling our stomachs?”

“Okay Charles,” Martin smiled. “I think that I’m rather hungry myself.”

An hour later, after a hearty repast, Charles was able to locate a public phone where he could make a collect call to his wife. Even though they were out of the range of Julian’s thugs, Martin had not taken any chances and was wearing a hat pulled low on his face with some dark glasses. He now stood in the shadows of an awning of one of the small shops in town watching Charles speaking to his wife. After his friend hung up the phone and was walking toward him with a delighted look on his face, Martin had to admit that he was more than curious about what had transpired during the conversation. “Come Martin; let’s go over to that little park across the street. I have some wonderful news to share.”

Once they were seated comfortably on one of the many benches around the duck pond, Martin finally spoke. “What is it Charles? You look like your going to burst at the seams with your news.”

“Oh, I am my friend. Juliette said that your son and his beautiful wife showed up at our house today..............”

“What?” Martin asked excitedly. “Are you serious Charles? How did she know that it was them? Does my son know that I was there............?”

“Calm down Martin, and let me answer some of these questions you have,” Charles said, smiling.

“Okay, sorry about that Charles, but it’s hard to fathom that someone from my family is so close by. I can’t believe that we missed them,” Martin said, regretfully.

“I know the timing is not the best, but this is still wonderful news. Juliette knew them as soon as she opened the door, because she recognized them from the picture.”

“So, it’s Luis and Sheridan............?”

“Yes, and she said they were very emotional when they found out that you were alive and well. They must have tracked you down from the clinic. I think perhaps they were on a random search, and as luck would have it, they came to our house.”

“Yes, I’m sure that Georges helped them, because I know that Dr. Heintzman would never give them any information about me. Luis must have taken my letter to heart when I warned him. What else did Juliette say?”

“Just that they had a very nice visit, and she sent them back to Paris, and told them that I would be taking you to the American Embassy. They are on their way there as we speak.”

“But Charles, we’re still stuck here for God knows how long. They will expect me to already be there, when in fact I won’t arrive for hours yet. What if they give up and go back home?” Martin said, despairingly.

“Come Martin, you don’t think they’ve come all this way to give up so easily, do you? They are going to call Juliette as soon as they arrive in Paris to see if she has heard from me, and she will tell them what has happened, and to wait there until we arrive.”

“Oh God Charles, this really is the best news I’ve heard in a long time, but wait a minute. What about the phones being tapped? Julian’s men could have heard every word of your conversation...........”

“Don’t worry Martin, Juliette and I might be old, but we are still clever enough to outsmart those thugs. I can assure you that our conversation was very cryptic. Juliette told me that our beautiful blonde granddaughter had arrived with her handsome dark husband, and that they looked just like the picture.”

“I didn’t know that you had a granddaughter Charles. You never spoke about her before.”

“That’s just it, we don’t,” Charles said, laughing. “Martin, you need to stay focused.”

“I’m sorry Charles, but I’m a little rattled by this news. Excitedly so, but rattled just the same,” Martin admitted. “You know something; I could really use a beer right now.”

“Spoken like a true Irishman. Shall we go see if we can find a pub to celebrate our good news?”

“Why not,” Martin agreed. “We don’t have much else to do while we wait.”

********************

When Sheridan and Luis arrived back in Paris it was already dusk. They drove directly to the American Embassy, and were disheartened to see that if was already officially closed for the day. “Great, what do we do now?” Luis asked in a frustrated voice. “Papa could already be inside.”
“Why don’t we call Juliette to see if she’s heard from her husband yet?” Sheridan suggested. “I’m sure that if Charles was able to get your father inside the Embassy, she would be able to tell us that.”

“Good idea. Let me find someplace inconspicuous to park, so that we don’t look like we’re casing the joint, and I’ll go find a phone,” Luis said, pulling the car onto a side street that had a perfect view of the entrance to the Embassy.

“When you get back, I’m going to go call your mother to fill her in on everything, and to check on the children. I sure miss my babies, but Pilar is going to be so excited to know that Martin is still alive and could be in Paris right now.”

“Okay,” Luis said, leaning in to give Sheridan a kiss. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. You just keep your eyes peeled on the entrance to the Embassy just in case.”

“Will do captain,” she said in an official voice. “Hurry back because I really want to check on the children.”

“I will,” he said, slamming the door behind him.

While he was gone, Sheridan did as he instructed and watched the front gates. It was comforting to see the Marines in their dress blues guarding the entrance, and it gave her a sense of peace to see them standing there. She thought back to when she had lived in Paris, and could remember driving by here from time to time when she was homesick. There were plenty of Americans in Paris, but there was something about seeing those guards that brought a real sense of home to her. It was nice to know that this time her stay was only temporary, and that she had a happy home to go back to in the States. She was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn’t see Luis approach the car, and it startled her when he opened the door. “Oh God Luis, you frightened me,” she said, holding her heart.

“Sorry about that honey. Did you see anything while I was gone?”

“No.......... Did you get a hold of Juliette?”

“Yes, and you’re never going to believe this but Charles had car trouble, and apparently they are holed up somewhere waiting for it to be fixed. She said that the guy that owns the garage is going to work overtime to fix it, but there is no telling when they will be able to leave. Juliette told her husband that we would be waiting for them here in front of the Embassy, so I’m afraid that we may be in for a long night Sheridan.”

“I don’t mind Luis. It will be like we’re on one of our stakeouts. I just wish we had more of an idea on when they were going to arrive so that I could go home and see Luke and Lily.”

“I want to see the babies too, but I’m afraid to leave here. We’ve come too far to miss papa now, but if you really want to go home Sheridan, I can get a cab to take you back to the townhouse,” he offered.

“No Luis, I’m going to see this through. There is no way I’m going to miss the look on your face when you see your father again after all these years. I’ll tell you what, I’m going to go call Pilar, and then I’ll stop off at one of these Bristol's and get us something to eat and a large cup of coffee to go.”

“I don’t know Sheridan; it’s getting dark out there. Maybe I should go.”

“No way Luis,” she protested. “I can take care of myself, and don’t forget that I know this city a lot better than you do. Besides, I’m hoping that Luke and Lily are still awake so that I can talk to them.”

“Okay, there’s a phone booth just down the street to the left, but please be careful. Oh, and Sheridan,” he said as she was getting out of the car. “Would you tell Luke and Lily that their daddy loves them?”

“I will, and I’ll also send them some kisses from you. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” she said, hurrying off to find the phone.

Sheridan found the phone without any problems and dialed the townhouse, and waited for Pilar to answer. “Hey, it’s Sheridan. How are the children doing?”

“They are fine,” Pilar told her. “In fact they just fell asleep.”

“Oh no, I really wanted to talk to them, but will you give them a kiss from Luis and me?”

“Of course I will, but where are you Sheridan?”

“We’re here in Paris, and I have some wonderful news for you. We found the house where Martin has been staying all these months. The lady, Juliette recognized us the minute she opened the door from the picture Martin had of us in the paper.”

“Thank God he is alive and well,” Pilar said with relief. “Is Martin with you now,” she asked, excitedly.

“I’m afraid not,” Sheridan told her regretfully. “As it turns out, we had just missed him by hours. Juliette’s husband, Charles is driving Martin into Paris to take him to the American Embassy, but they had some car problems along the way. Luis and I are going to camp out in front of the building and wait for them to arrive. Pilar, are you still there...........?”

“Yes,” Pilar said in a ragged voice, wiping her tears away. “It is just that I can hardly believe that this nightmare might finally be over.”

“I know Pilar, and I promise you that we are going to bring your husband home to you. Juliette gave us a picture of Martin and Charles, and I can assure you that he is just as handsome as he was when he disappeared. You two deserve so much happiness,” Sheridan said, feeling a little teary-eyed herself.

“Thank you Sheridan. You and Luis take care, and let me know as soon as you know something.”

“We will Pilar,” Sheridan assured her. “I better go now, before Luis sends out the troops for me, but don’t forget to kiss the children for us, and tell them that we love them.”

“I promise I will Sheridan, and the two of you be careful...........”

“Okay, but I better go. Goodbye Pilar.”

“Goodbye............. Oh, and Sheridan............” Unfortunately it was too late because Sheridan had already hung up the phone before Pilar could tell her about the reporters talking the children’s picture. Hopefully, the incident wouldn’t amount to anything, so she decided to put her worries aside and concentrate on seeing her husband again after all these years.

********************

Luis watched as a new dawn descended on Paris, and couldn’t help but think what a beautiful city it was. They had been there all night, and still there was no sign of his father. Sheridan was cuddled up in his arms sleeping, because he hadn’t had the heart to wake her when it was time for her shift to watch. It didn’t really matter, because he couldn’t have slept a wink anyway. He hoped that nothing else had happened to delay his father’s arrival, but he wasn’t going to worry yet. It was very probable that the man fixing the car had worked late into the night, and they still had the rest of the drive to Paris. Sheridan shifted in his arms, and he caught a whiff of the clean scent of her hair. It was amazing that they had been up for almost twenty-four hours and she was still as fresh as she was yesterday. When he looked down, he saw that her big blue eye were open, trying to adjust to the light. “Hey, sleepyhead,” he said, kissing her forehead.

She sat up suddenly, looking around her in confusion, until it finally dawned on her where she was. “Oh no Luis,” she said, yawning. “Why didn’t you wake me for my shift last night?”

“Don’t worry about it sweetheart. I was wide-awake all night anyway. I figured that somebody around here should get some sleep.”

“You must be exhausted,” she said, with concern. “I take it that you haven’t seen your father yet. It’s too bad that we didn’t have the foresight to give Juliette the address to the townhouse, and have Martin come there.”

“That would have been nice, but we had no idea at the time that they would be delayed. As far as we were concerned, papa was already in Paris. I’m not too concerned that they haven’t made it yet. If they got a late start in taking off, they may still be on their way here. God, I would die for a fresh cup of coffee right now.”

“Why don’t you let me go get it? There is a bakery down the street that has wonderful croissants,” Sheridan suggested.

“I really need to stretch my legs and use the little boys’ room. That hotel down the street is probably sick of seeing my face,” Luis laughed.

“Okay, but when you get back, it’s my turn,” Sheridan insisted.

“Do you think you can hold it baby. I promise I’ll hurry,” Luis teased.

“Just go,” Sheridan said, waving him away.

Luis made quick work of completing his business at the hotel and then slipped into the bakery next door to purchase some coffee and croissants. He was hurrying back to the car when he passed a newsstand, and something caught his eye that stopped him in his tracks. At first he thought he was hallucinating from lack of sleep, but sadly that was not the case. There on the front page of several of the tabloid publications was a picture of his sweet babies playing in the front yard. One of the shots even had his mother in the background. If that wasn’t bad enough, the headline filled his body with rage. MILLION DOLLAR CRANE TWINS HAVE ARRIVED. “Damn, I’ll kill whoever did this!” He gathered them in his hands, and threw some francs at the owner. By the time he got back to the car, he was ready to explode.

“Luis, what is the matter with you?” Sheridan asked, when she saw how red his face was. “You look like you’re ready to murder someone.”

“Oh believe me Sheridan that is the least I want to do to these damn idiots. You better brace yourself,” he said, handing her the newspapers.

The look on her face went from shock to pure outrage. “Oh my God! How dare they stalk our children that way? Do you have any idea what they have done by printing this? Luke and Lily could be targets for kidnapping, and these vultures have practically shown them the way. I’m going to sue these bastards for every penny they have and put them out of business.”

“How in the hell did they even know the twins were there?” Luis asked, shaking with anger.

“Because, they’re like a nest of vipers, and they have their routes they travel every day past celebrities’ homes and the places where famous people frequent. I can imagine that one of them drove by and got the word out to all his fellow rats,” Sheridan snapped.

“Okay Sheridan, I think that we need to calm down and put this into perspective. The papers just came out, so I doubt that anybody has had a chance to put together any master plan for kidnapping. Besides, we don’t even know if that will happen. We’re going to have to call mama and tell her to stay locked in the house, and to not answer the door for anyone. Hopefully papa will be here soon, and then we can all go home to protect the kids.”

“Maybe we are overreacting, but just the same I’m going to call Claude and have him go over to the townhouse right away,” Sheridan said, opening the car door.

“Wait a minute. Who in the hell is Claude?” Luis asked, putting his hand on her arm.

“He’s a bodyguard that I used to use when I lived here. There were times when I went out when it was impossible to get away from the press and he is very good, and I trust him implicitly.”

“Okay, that’s probably not a bad idea, but make sure that you call mama first and tell her to expect him,” Luis suggested. “As soon as we get papa back we are getting the hell out of this place so we don’t have to worry about this anymore.”

Sheridan started to walk away, but then stopped and came back to the car. “Oh no Luis, something just occurred to me. If any of Julian’s henchmen see this paper they will know that we’re here in Paris.”

“Oh God, you’re right,” Luis said, running his fingers through his hair in exasperation. “Let’s just hope that we can get to papa before they put two and two together.”

********************

As bad luck would have it, Julian did have some of his men stationed in Paris, and one of them did see the newspaper. The first thing he did was call Julian on the phone to tell him the news. “You better have a damn good reason for waking me up in the middle of the night,” he snapped into the phone.

“I’m sorry sir, but I thought that this was important enough to wake you up for. There is a picture of your sister’s twins on the cover of this French tabloid, and it says that they are here in Paris.”

If Julian wasn’t completely awake before, that certainly was enough to make him come alive. “Are you sure about this?” Julian shouted.

“Yes sir. It says right here that this photograph was taken yesterday.”

“I can’t believe they pulled this one over on me,” Julian snapped. “If they’re in Paris then you can bet that Martin Fitzgerald is around there also. I want you to scower that city until you find all of them,” Julian ordered.

“If we find them sir, what do you want us to do with them?”

“Contain them you idiot, and wait for orders from me.”

The second piece of bad luck that day happened when one of Julian’s men happened to be driving by right when Sheridan was walking back to the car. He spotted her right away, because he had always admired her beauty, and he pointed her out to his buddy in the seat next to him. “There she is the allusive Sheridan Crane.”

“Let’s follow her. I have a feeling that something is up, because it’s too early for her to be out shopping. Look, she’s heading right toward the American Embassy. They might have plans to meet up with Martin Fitzgerald there.”

********************

Sheridan felt a lot better now that she had spoken with Pilar and made arrangements for Claude to go over and guard the children until they could get home. They may be overreacting, but she didn’t want to take any chances where her little angels were concerned. She finally made it back to the car and slipped inside. “Well, that’s taken care of. I don’t think we have to worry about anybody getting to the babies.”

“That’s a relief. Hopefully we’ll be able to get home soon. I just wish that papa would show up,” Luis said, fighting with his hands.

“I don’t see how it can be that much longer Luis.............. Wait a minute, look over there,” she said, pointing accross the street.

Luis saw a man getting out of the passenger side of the car that looked amazingly like his father, and he leaned forward to get a better look. “Sheridan, I think that’s papa,” he said, his face lighting up with pleasure. “Don’t you think that looks like him?”

“Yes, and the driver looks just like that man in the picture. It’s got to be him Luis.”

“Come on, let’s go,” he urged happily.

Just as they were getting ready to cross the street, Luis called out but his father never heard him, because a car pulled up beside Martin, and two men jumped out and forced him into the back seat. At first Luis was stunned, not understanding what just happened, but his old cop instinct kicked in and he realized that it was probably Julian’s thugs. “Come on Sheridan. We have to follow them,” he shouted, running back to the car.

“What just happened Luis? Who were those men?” she asked, following behind him. She jumped into the car just as he was starting the engine.

“Probably your brother’s lackys, but I’ll be damned if they are going to take my father away from me again,” he said, pulling away from the curb with such a force that it sent Sheridan flying back into the seat with a force that made her teeth rattle.

Chapter 20

Since it was getting near the work hour, the Paris streets were filling with cars and it made it all the more difficult for Luis to keep up with the kidnappers. There were a couple of close calls when he had sped through the intersections and almost got broad sided by another vehicle. Sheridan was holding on for dear life as Luis navigated through the traffic. “Luis, be careful, or we’ll end up getting in an accident, and we’ll never get to your father,” she warned in a shaky voice.

“I’m sorry Sheridan, but if I lose them now, there may never be another chance. I can’t believe those bastards found him,” Luis shouted, beating on the steering wheel. “We were this close to getting papa, and your damn brother’s thugs show up.”

“I’m really sorry Luis.............”

“No Sheridan, I don’t want you to apologize one more time for the low life brother of yours. You are not responsible for Julian’s dirty deeds.............. Damn, where are these guys going?”

“I’m not sure, but it looks like we’re heading toward the rough side of town............ Slow down Luis, there’s a big hill coming up............. Ouch,” she said, hitting her head on the top of the car, when Luis flew over the hump.

“Are you okay?” Luis asked, glancing over quickly, and then back to the road.

“The whole topside of my cranium is throbbing, but other than that I’m just doing peachy,” she groaned.

“Sorry Sher, but I was going too fast to slow down in time,” he said with regret. “Oh shoot, I lost them. Do you see them anywhere?”

“Yes, they pulled in front of that white panel truck,” Sheridan said, pointing ahead. “See, they just turned to the right.”

“Okay, hang on, because I’m going to have to make a sharp turn here,” Luis warned.

Sheridan planted her hands firmly on the dashboard in front of her to anchor her body, but she still hit the side of the door with her shoulder. “I think I’m going to need a hot bath and a massage when this is all over,” she said, under her breath. “Luis, why are you slowing down?”

“Because, I don’t want them to know they’re being tailed. If they suspect we’re behind them, we’ll lose the element of surprise,” he explained. “Now that the traffic is thinning down we have to be more inconspicuous.”

“Oh look Luis, I think they’re pulling up beside that warehouse.”

“Looks that way to me too,” Luis said, pulling over to the side of the road and stopping. “Let’s hang here for a minute to see what happens.”

Just then a man got out of the driver’s seat and opened the back door, while another climbed out from the back pulling Martin behind him. With a gun at his back, they pushed their captive along to a metal staircase. Luis was convinced that they were unaware of their presence, because the thugs seemed to be taking their time in getting Martin into the warehouse. “Okay Sheridan, we need to form some kind of plan.”

“I say we just call the police,” Sheridan offered. “We’re not prepared to go storming in there with guns blazing. Do you even have a weapon on you?”

“No, but I’m not about to call the Paris Police,” Luis said with disgust. “Don’t you remember how inefficient they were when you were being chased by the drug cartel? Hell, half of them are probably dirty and could be easily swayed into corruption by Julian’s money.”

“You’re probably correct about that, but what other options do we have?” Sheridan asked.

“Well, I think the first thing I need to do is to go up there and check the place out, so I can get an idea of what we’re up against. Hopefully, once I get some perspective on the situation, I’ll know the best way to rescue papa.”

“Okay, then I’m going with you,” Sheridan, told him opening the car door.

“Hold on there,” he said, grabbing her arm. “You’re not going anywhere. These guys are dangerous, and I want you to wait right here in case you need to go for help.”

“Excuse me, but I don’t think so,” Sheridan protested stubbornly. “How many times in the past have we had this argument, and how many times have I proven myself? Besides, I’ve studied martial arts and I can take care of myself.”

“Come on Sheridan, this is no time to argue with me. For once will you just listen to reason?” he pleaded.

“You may as well let me go with you Luis, because if you don’t, I’ll just follow you,” she said with a determined jut to her chin.

Luis knew that there was no use trying to change her mind, because he had no doubt that she would do exactly as she threatened. “Okay! I should know better than to try to tell you anything, but you better promise me to run like hell if something happens. Just remember that you have two little babies that need their mother,” he reminded her.

“You’re little guilt trip is not going to work Luis, because our children need their father just as much as they need their mother. Come on, we’re a team, and we’re invincible together,” she said, going for the old pep talk approach.

“Let’s just go, but will you at least follow my directions?” he asked with an imploring tone.

“Okay, I’ll follow your instructions,“ she conceded. “So, what’s our next move?”

“I think that we should check out the opposite side of the building to see if there is a ground entrance. Besides, those boots you have on will make a hell of a noise when you climb up those metal steps,” Luis said, pointing to her feet. “In fact, you’ll probably break you neck with those heels.”

“I can manage the heels Luis. Now, I’m ready when you are,” she told him, moving toward the warehouse.

“Hold on a second,” he said, grabbing her arm, and pulling her back toward him. “Please, just be careful Sheridan. Can I have a hug for luck?”

“Yes,” she said, wrapping her arms around him tightly. “Everything is going to work out Luis, because we’ve come too far to fail now.”

“All right, let’s do it,” he said, clasping her hand and leading the way.

As they rounded the corner of the building, they happily discovered another door on the ground floor. Before making any attempt of breaking the lock on the door, Luis peeked into a window that was located not far from the door to see what he was walking into to. Most of the space was an empty large room; however, there were a few built out rooms, and an inside staircase that led to a large loft. Luis pulled his wallet out of his pocket, and produced a sharp tool that he used to pick the lock and he had it opened in a matter of seconds. “Undercover work was good for something,” he whispered, with a smile.

“Yeah, it frightens me just visualizing all the things you picked up on the streets,” Sheridan whispered back. “I would prefer that you didn’t pass those on to your son.”

Luis just flashed her a cocky smile. “There are some loose pipes over there that we can use as a weapon,” he said, pointing to the side of the building. Stay right here and I’ll go get us one. Luis walked over to the pile and found two pipes that were big enough to do some damage, and small enough to handle. Just as he was ready to turn around, he heard Sheridan’s voice right behind him.

“Aaaa, Luis,” she said in a shakily.

When he turned around his heart stopped in his chest when he saw a man standing behind Sheridan with a gun pointed at her back. “Look buddy, we’re just trying to save some money on a plumbing job, and we found these pipes just laying here doing nothing,” Luis said, trying to talk his way out of this. “There’s no reason for you to hold her at gunpoint. If these pipes are so important to you then we’ll put them back...............”

“Shut up!” the man barked. “Put the pipe down and your hands above your head or I’ll shoot her right here.”

Luis strongly considered making a move on the guy, but he was too afraid to risk Sheridan’s life, so he dropped the pipe and put his hands in the air. “All right, I did as you asked. Now take that gun away from her head,” Luis demanded.

“You are in no position to be giving me orders. Now, start walking, and don’t even think about trying anything or your beautiful wife will be found floating in the Seine.”

Sheridan’s fear was instantly replaced by anger and she lost control. “Listen to me buster;” she spat out at him. “I know damn well that you work for my brother and as disgusting as he might be, he would never want you to kill me. In fact, I want you to get him on the phone this instant so that I can speak to him.”

Julian’s henchman started laughing. “I wouldn’t count on your brother’s loyalty since he’s the one that told me to............ Let’s see, how did he put it? I believe he said to contain you. Now, shut up and start moving.”

“If you touch her, I swear I’ll find a way to end your sorry life,” Luis threatened.

“You shut up too, and get moving, or you’ll be joining your father in hell.”

Luis’ blood ran cold at his words and he had to choke out his next words. “You killed him? You’re a dead man, you bastard!” he threatened with a voice that even scared Sheridan.

“Did I say that? Now move or I’m going to start pulling this trigger,” he said, cocking the gun.

Luis and Sheridan did as he asked and went into the warehouse without another word. The other man that was in the car earlier came walking out of a room from the back. “Well Bernie, it looks like they took the bait just like the boss said they would. Where did you find them?”

“I caught them snooping around outside. What do you want me to do with them Stan?”

“Lock them in the storage area upstairs,” he replied, raking Sheridan’s body with a look of lust in his eyes. “Although, I can think of something else I’d like to do to Blondie here...................”

Luis became unhinged at his words, and lunged toward Stan like a wild bull. A shot went off and Sheridan screamed, but fortunately she had enough presence to hit Bernie’s hand so the bullet hit the wall. Bernie pushed her away, and ran to pull Luis off of Stan. By the time the scuffle ended, Luis and Sheridan were once again on the receiving end of a gun, and ordered to move up the stairs. “Try that again, and I promise you that I won’t miss this time.”

“Yeah, well you just tell him to keep his hands off of my wife;” Luis spat out at him.

“Don’t worry, I make sure that he does,” Bernie told him. “But, it’s not because I really give a damn about what you want. I just don’t need Stan to have any distractions. Now, walk right down there to the end of the hallway.”

Luis looked to the place he was referring to, and noted that it was a room with a metal gate for a doorway. How appropriate the place seemed, because it looked just like a jail cell. Once they were inside and the door was locked behind them, Luis pulled Sheridan into his arms and hugged her close. “Are you all right? My God, when that shot went off I thought they had killed you.”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she said, melting into his arms. “I was scared that they had shot you too, before I realized what was happening...........”

“Luis?” a male voice asked from the shadows.

Luis turned slowly, afraid that his ears were deceiving him and started shaking with emotion when he saw his father move into the beam of sunlight coming through the lone window. “Papa...........?” he asked, his voice laced with elation.

“Yes son, it’s me.............. It’s your father,” he said in a ragged voice.

Father and son stood there frozen, just staring at each other, both afraid that if they moved they would wake up and find out that this was nothing but a dream. Sheridan didn’t know which one of them took the first step, but suddenly they were embracing, and the tears started streaming down her face. The one person that could make Luis’ life complete was here and all the years of pain suddenly seemed to melt away. She felt almost like an intruder to be a witness to their happy reunion, but she was glad that she was there. Luis’ happiness was spilling over and filling her with such joy. They finally broke apart and stepped away from each other, and Martin spoke first, gazing at his son lovingly.

“Luis, you have grown into a fine young man, and I am so proud of you,” Martin said with love written on his face.

“Oh God papa, I have been looking for you for so long. I didn’t think I would ever see you again,” Luis said, wiping the tears away.

“I know son, and I’m so sorry for all the pain you’ve suffered all these years, but I promise that I would have never left my family willingly. I missed you all so much.”

“There is nothing for you to be sorry about Papa, because I know that this was not your fault. Those damn Cranes did this to us, and I’m going to make them pay if it’s the last thing that I do,” Luis promised angrily.

Martin looked over at Sheridan just in time to see her flinch at Luis’ words. “Well Luis, there appears to be one Crane that you don’t feel such hatred for. Sheridan,” Martin said, taking her hands in his. “I can’t believe how much you look like your mother. She was such a generous and kind person, and I can see that you have her beauty too.”

“Thank you,” Sheridan said, almost shyly. “That is really kind of you considering what my family has put you through all these years. I’m the one that should be apologizing here.”

“Sheridan, you had no control over what Alistair and Julian did, and let’s face it we were all their victims, you included,” Martin told her kindly.

“Papa’s right Sheridan,” Luis said, putting his arm around her. “Besides, you’re a Lopez-Fitzgerald now. Can you believe how lucky I am to have Sheridan in my life papa?”

“I have to admit that when I first saw the two of you in that tabloid together and found out you were married, it took me by complete surprise. I just knew that Alistair would never approve of Sheridan marrying someone from the other side of town. But, you know what? Now that I see you together, I can tell by the way you look at each other that you have the real thing,’ Martin said, smiling fondly.

“Well, we went through hell to be together, but it is the real thing. Sheridan is the love of my life. I can’t imagine being with anyone else.”

Sheridan’s heart filled with love at Luis’ words, and she was a little surprised that he would be that forthright with his passionate declaration to his father. “I can assure you that I feel the same way about Luis. I know it sounds silly, but he really is my Knight in Shining Armor.”

“Speaking of great loves,” Martin said, almost hesitantly. “Tell me about your mother Luis. Does she hate me for deserting her, because if she did, I don’t know if I could stand it?”

“No papa, she loves you,” Luis told him adamantly. “In all the time you were gone mama never gave up on you. She used to light a candle for you every night hoping you would find your way home.”

“Oh God Luis,” Martin said, his eyes welling up with tears. “I miss her so much........”

“She feels the same way that you do, and as soon as we can get out of this mess, you can tell her that yourself.”

“What do you mean son..........?”

“Mama is here in Paris right now, and she is dying to see you,” Luis told him happily.

“Oh God, we have to get out of here,” Martin cried with exasperation. “I can’t believe that Pilar is so close and I can’t be with her.”

“We will papa,” Luis assured him. “We just have to think of a plan to outsmart these idiots. Sheridan and I are just as determined as you are because our children are here too with mama.”

“I can’t believe that I forgot about your children,” Martin said, smiling again. “I can’t wait to meet my grandchildren for the first time. The paper said you had twins, but it didn’t say what sex they were. You have to tell me all about them.”

“Well, we have a little boy named Luke and a little girl named Lily,” Sheridan said, proudly. “They are the sweetest, most precious babies too.”

“They really are papa,” Luis said, beaming. “You’re going to fall in love with them as soon as you see them. They are my pride and joy.”

“I can see how much you love them, and I can imagine that your mother is crazy about them too. She always loved babies,” Martin said with a far away look on his face. “Luis, you have to tell me about your brothers and sisters.......... I have to admit that I’m surprised that Antonio didn’t come with you.”

This was the part that Luis had been dreading, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to tell his father the news. “Well, Theresa has grown into a lovely young lady. She is a bit impulsive, but she has a good heart. Now Miguel is the complete opposite. He’s kind of on the serious side, but he’s a good guy and he has a girlfriend that he’s very dedicated to, but............. Oh God papa, I don’t know how to say this, but Antonio took off not long after you disappeared and we haven’t seen or heard from him since.”

“Oh no,” Martin said, fearfully. “Why would he do that? I can’t believe your mother had to bear that on top of everything else.”

“We have no idea papa, but as soon as we all get home we’ll look for him and bring him home again. I know we haven’t heard from him, but I have a feeling that he’s alive and well. He packed his bags when he left, so we know he didn’t leave because of foul play.”

“I pray you’re right Luis. It would kill your mother if anything happened to any of our children............ Wait a minute............. You didn’t say anything about Paloma.”

“Don’t worry papa, Paloma is fine. It’s just that after you disappeared and Antonio took off we didn’t have much money so we sent her to live with Aunt Maria. She is doing great though, and we are going to bring her home soon too.”

“You and your mother have had to endure so much on your own. That must have put a huge responsibility on your shoulders son,” Martin said, regretfully.

“None of that matters now papa. The important thing is that we found you, and we will find a way to bring our family together again,” Luis promised.

“I know I said this before, but you really do make me proud, and I just thank God that your mother had you around to handle things,” Martin said, putting his hands on Luis’ shoulder.

“Thank you papa,” Luis said, feeling uncomfortable by his father’s praise. “Now, I think we should come up with a plan to get out of here before Julian comes up with a way to have us permanently removed.”

“Well I hope one of you can think of something, because I can’t come up with a thing,” Martin said.

“I think I might have an idea, but I’m only going to tell you, if Luis promises to keep an open mind,” Sheridan said, tentatively.

“Oh no,” Luis groaned. “I just hate it when she says that..........”

********************

It had been hours since Pilar had heard from Luis and Sheridan and she was worried sick about them. Even if Martin had been delayed in getting to the American Embassy, they would have called to keep her posted and to check on the children. She heard the twins giggling, and looked up to see them playing with Claude. It was hard to believe that such a giant of a man could be so gentle with children, but he was an instant hit with Luke and Lily. Apparently he had won an Olympic medal in weightlifting for France, but that wasn’t exactly a sport that you could make a living from, so Claude had opened a security company. He spoke so highly of Sheridan, that Pilar felt sure that he would do whatever was possible to protect the babies. Claude had been quite impressive earlier when some reporters had showed up, and when they refused to leave; he had turned a garden hose on them. She hated to interrupt the fun, but it was time for Luke and Lily to eat their lunch, so she walked into the next room to get them.

“Come Luke and Lily,” Pilar called out to them. “It’s time to fill those little tummies with lunch. Claude, would you care to join us? I made plenty of food.”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea since I’m here to protect children,” Claude declined graciously.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Pilar, told him. “You have to eat, and I am sure that the children would enjoy it if you joined us.”

“Okay Mademoiselle Lopez-Fitzgerald. I guess that would be a good way to keep my eye on the children.”

As they sat down for lunch, Pilar still couldn’t stop thinking about what could have become of Luis and Sheridan. She just wished that they would call so that she knew they were safe. A little hand on her arm brought her out of her doldrums, and she looked down at her grandson who was sitting in his highchair beside her. “What is it Luke? Do you have something to tell abuela?” she asked, tenderly.

“Bela, Claw,” he said, pointing to Claude across the table.

“What is he trying to say?” Claude asked, smiling at the little boy.

“I believe that he is trying to tell me your name,” Pilar laughed, and turned to Luke. “You like Claude don’t you?”

“Claw,” Luke said, clapping his little hands together.

“I guess being called a talon fits my image more that just plain Claude,” the giant man snickered.

“I must admit that when I saw you I was a bit surprised,” Pilar admitted. “It’s funny how we have preconceived ideas about people just by their name.”

“My mother was a Bohemian of sorts, and she named me after Monet. When I was a small boy, she would take me to the Left Bank to see the street artist. I think that she wanted me to be a painter, but you can imagine how disappointed she was when my hands grew so big. I was very clumsy when trying to hold a paintbrush,” Claude said, showing Pilar his huge hands.

“Well, I am sure your mother is proud of you just the same. Winning an Olympic medal is quite an accomplishment.............”

“Mama, dadee, mama, dadee,” Lily whined, rubbing her eyes.

“She misses her parents,” Pilar explained while getting Lily out of her highchair. “I have tried to keep the children distracted, but I have to admit that I am concerned that I have not heard from Luis and Sheridan.”

“Maybe they are all in the embassy getting things in order for your husband,” Claude suggested.

“I hope that is the reason we have not heard from them,” Pilar said, with a worried frown. When Pilar noticed that Luke was getting sleepy, she decided that it was time for a nap. “I am going to put the children down for a nap. Would you mind getting Luke?”

“Not at all,” Claude said, lifting Luke out of his highchair. “Come little tough guy. I think you have played too hard.”

They were just ready to climb the stairs to put the children to bed when they heard a knock on the door. “Who could that be?” Pilar asked with a concerned look on her face.

“I do not know, but if it is those reporters again, I will send them away,” Claude said, putting Luke down on a settee in the entryway. Charles went over and opened the door, blocking any entry with his big body. “Can I help you sir?”

“Yes, I am looking for Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald,” the frazzled gentleman told him.

“He is not here, so maybe it would be better if you would come back later,” Claude advised.

“Is his wife Sheridan here?” the man asked.

“She is not here either. I think that it is best that you leave sir...........”

“Please do not send me away,” the man begged. “My name is Charles Welling and Luis’ father has been staying with me for the last several months..........”

When Pilar heard the man’s name, she recognized it immediately from the conversation she had with Sheridan on the phone the day before. “Claude, please let Mr. Welling in. He may have news on my husband, or Luis and Sheridan.”

“Okay, but I will be by his side the whole time,” Claude said, opening the door for Charles.

“Mr. Welling, I am Pilar, Martin’s wife. Do you have some news to tell me about my husband?”

“Pilar,” Charles said, smiling. “You are as beautiful as Martin described. I wish that we could have met for the first time under more pleasant circumstances, but I’m afraid that I have bad news.”

“Oh no,” Pilar gasped. “What happened?”

“I dropped Martin off in front of the embassy, and a car drove up and two men jumped out and pushed him in the back seat. Before I knew what was happening, the car sped away.”

“Are you sure that it was not my son and daughter-in-law? They were supposed to be waiting for Martin there.” Pilar told him, praying that was the case.

“No, I am sure that it was not your son,” Charles said, regretfully. “If you say that they were there, then perhaps they saw the whole thing happen and took off after the kidnappers.”

“Oh no,” Pilar said, feeling the fear overtake her body. “Now, all three of them could be in trouble. We need to call the police.”

“I already tried,” Charles admitted. “I don’t thing the police took me very seriously though. They told me that they would look into it, and call me if anything came up. What imbeciles they are. If this were England, Scotland Yard would be out there searching right now.”

“What are we going to do if the police won’t help?” Pilar asked, clearly distressed.

“I will call some of my people to go out on the streets to ask questions,” Claude offered. “They can get information that the police would never be able to get.”

“Thank you Claude,” Pilar told him gratefully. “You have been a Godsend, and you Charles are a Saint for everything you have done for Martin.”

“I have come to look at Martin as if he were a son to me. I can assure you that he was a pleasure to have around. I just hope that we can find him,” he said with a worried frown.

“Do not worry,” Claude told them. “I will do everything I can to bring your family home again.”

“Oh my,” Charles said, shaking his head. “I can’t believe that I was so upset about Martin that I didn’t notice that sweet little girl asleep on your shoulder. This must be your son’s little girl.”

“Yes,” Pilar said, proudly. “And over there, is her twin brother asleep on the settee.”

“Martin will be thrilled when he sees these two little ones,” Charles smiled, but it faded and he looked so sad. “I am so sorry that I did not protect Martin. I just hope that he will get his chance to meet his precious grandchildren.”

********************

Luis stared at Sheridan, and knew in his gut that he was not going to like what she had to say, so he decided to review all of the options first. “Okay, before you say anything Sheridan, I want to evaluate the situation here. There’s a window over there. What are the chances that we can escape that way?”

“Slim to none,” Martin told him. “I already checked it out and there is at least a thirty-foot drop right onto the blacktop pavement. We would be lucky to get away with broken legs.”

“Is there anything around here that we can fashion a rope from?” Luis asked, looking around the room. The place must have been an area where supplies were kept at one time, because there were a lot of metal shelves, but nothing on them.

“I’m afraid that I’ve already checked that out too son,” Martin said with frustration in his voice.

“Damn,” Luis said, kicking the wall. “I finally find my father after all these years, and we should be catching up, but instead we’re trying to figure out how the hell to get out of here.”

“Are you finished?” Sheridan asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Finished...........?”

“Yes, are you finished stalling for time just so you won’t have to hear my idea? Wait a minute; don’t answer because I know that you are. Listen to me Luis........... I miss my babies, and I want to go home to them, and I know that your father is dying to see your mother, so why don’t you just listen to my idea before you make judgments.”

Martin had to chuckle at Sheridan’s feistiness. She was the perfect woman for Luis just because of the way she challenged him. He remembered all too well that his son had a good heart, but he was also known to be a bit stubborn sometimes. “Not that I’m taking sides here, but she does have a point Luis.”

“Oh, I can see that you’re both ganging up on me here. You don’t know her papa. I can just about imagine that her plan will make me gray before my time,” Luis said, defensively. When he happened to look over into Sheridan’s flashing blue eyes, he finally relented. “Okay, tell me your idea, but I just want you to realize that I’m only stubborn because I worry about you.”

“I’m a lot stronger then you think Luis, and I promise you that this plan is not going to put my life in danger, but your concern is very sweet,” she said, brushing his face with the side of her hand.

He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips to kiss the top. “I trust you Sheridan...............”

Suddenly, they heard a car door outside, and Luis ran to the window to see what was going on. He saw Bernie through the driver’s side window, pulling away. Look’s like we’re down to just one guard,” Luis said, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

“That’s great news,” Sheridan said, smiling. “This will give us even better odds for my plan to work.”

“Okay, are you going to tell us this plan?” Luis asked.

“I think that we need to cause a big commotion. You know, something to bring Stan up here, and I was thinking that we could pretend that we’re having a huge fight. When he comes up here to investigate, I’ll ask him to get me away from you and lock me up some place else. When he opens the door to let me out, you two can jump him and get his gun away from him.”

“I don’t know about this Sheridan. I don’t trust that Stan creep after what he said about you,” Luis said, trying to control his rage just thinking about it.

“I happen to think that it’s a brilliant idea,” Martin said. “We’re never going to get out of here with us up here and them down there. Besides Luis, I think that between the two of us we should be able to protect Sheridan. It‘s going to be even easier with only one of them left.”

“Okay,” Luis conceaded. “But you make sure that you find a way to lure him in here so that we can get to him.”

“Are you two sure that you’re going to be able to have an argument that’s convincing?” Martin asked, skeptically.

“Oh believe me papa, we’ll pull it off............”

“Yeah, we’ve had a lot of practice,” Sheridan said with a little snicker.

“Excuse me?” Martin asked, confused.

“It’s a long story papa. We’ll tell you about it some time when you have about a week.............. So, are you ready?” Luis asked, grabbing Sheridan’s arms.

“Yep, I’m ready,” she said, moving against him.

He leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss. “Come on Princess, bring it on.”

“You are the most arrogrant jerk I’ve ever had the misfortune to know. How dare you blame this whole mess on me!” Sheridan bellowed at the top of her lungs.

“If you would have waited in the car like I told you to, you could have gone for help. But nooooo, you had to come along to prove that you’re this big bad girl that can take care of herself,” Luis screamed back.

“Why you buffoon. I can’t even believe that I ever married you. My brother was right about you the whole time,” Sheridan snapped.

“Your brother is the scum of the earth, so why would his opinon be worth anything.............”

“Hey, what in the hell is going on up here?” Stan said, from outside the gated door. “You two are yelling so loud that they can probably hear you in the United States.”

“I’ll tell you what’s going on,” Sheridan said, putting her hands on her hips. “My jerk of a husband is being hateful to me and I don’t want to spend one more minute with him,” she said, making a face at Luis.

“Don’t listen to her. She just likes to act like a spoiled brat when she can’t get her own way,” Luis said in a condensendng tone.

“Why you.............,” Sheridan hissed, moving her arm back in position to smack him, but he stopped her by grabbing her wrist. He did manage to flash her a quick look of apology.

“Both of you shut up,” Stan ordered.

Sheridan ran up to the bars and wrapped her hands around them. “Please, get me out of here,” she whispered. “Can’t you just lock me in another room so I can get away from that maniac?” she asked, with big blue liquid eyes.

Stan couldn’t resist her pleading look and fell for the ploy hook line and sinker. “Okay, but don’t try anything stupid, and just to make sure your crazy husband doesn’t protest too much I’m going to have my gun pointed right at him.” Stan was true to his word as he aimed the gun at Luis with one hand and opened the door with the other.

Luis didn’t like the way this was going at all. Sheridan was supposed to lure Stan inside the cell, but the idiot wasn’t going for it. “You’re not going anywhere,” he demanded, and Sheridan knew that this time he wasn’t pretending, but she had to go for it.

“Your wife doesn’t want to be around you, and the way I look at it, this not your decision,” Stan said, opening the door wide enough for Sheridan to get out.

After he locked the gate back and they turned to walk away, Sheridan shot Luis a look that said trust me, but it did little to comfort him. “Oh my God, what the hell is she doing?” Luis said, looking at his father helplessly.

“I don’t know son, but I don’t like this at all. I certainly hope that Sheridan has something up her sleeve.”

“If he touches her, he’s a dead man,” Luis said with a sardonic tone that even scared Martin.

Chapter 21

Luis was going crazy thinking about what could happen to Sheridan with that goon, and he threw himself against the gated door and started to rattle it. “Sheridan, come back here,” he yelled through the bars.

“Luis, calm down,” Martin said, coming up behind him. “Acting like a wild man is not going to accomplish anything.”

“You don’t understand papa,” Luis said, raking his fingers through his hair. “That creep made a disgusting sexual innuendo to Sheridan earlier, and now she’s at his mercy. Why in the hell didn’t she abort the plan when we couldn’t get Stan to come into the room?”

“Look son, I don’t blame you for being concerned, because I am too, but I heard you tell Sheridan earlier that you trusted her........... So, if you really meant that, then you have to believe that she wouldn’t take this chance if she didn’t feel confident that she could handle the situation..........”

“I do trust her papa, but sometimes Sheridan has a tendency to jump into things before she thinks, and even though she has good intentions, bad things happen,” he said, remembering when Sheridan ran off to the cabin and Antoine almost raped her. “I don’t think she could take that again.........”

“Luis, what couldn’t she take again?” Martin asked, concerned that his son was ready to fall apart.

Luis didn’t feel like it was his place to tell his father about Sheridan’s private hell, so he avoided answering the question. “I guess I’m just so upset that I’m babbling.”

“Look, why don’t we put our heads together and see if we can figure out a way to get out of here. Maybe we can find something to pick the lock with,” Martin suggested, trying to distract Luis before he went to pieces.

“I had something to pick the lock, but they took it away when they caught us breaking into the warehouse. I don’t know what to do papa. I feel so helpless, and I’ll die if anything happens to her.”

“You have to have faith Luis,” Martin said, putting his arm on Luis’ shoulder. “Believe me I know better than anyone that sometimes faith is all you have to hang on to.”

********************

Sheridan knew that Luis was going to be furious with her for going along with Stan, but what choice did she have? She didn’t especially want to go off with this jerk, but if they were going to escape it was her only option at the moment. Now all she had to do was to figure out a way to charm this creep so that she could take him off guard. He was so close as he followed behind her that she could feel his breath in her ear. “Stan, can I ask you a question?” she asked, turning toward him.

“Sure beautiful,” Stan said in a voice that gave her chills. “What do you want to know?”

“What is my brother planning on doing with us?” she asked, with just the right amount of fear in her voice.

“He’s having a problem making up his mind. If it was just your husband and his old man, I’m sure he would just have us make them disappear, but I guess he’s a little hesitant to kill his own sister.”

“Why don’t you let me call him?” Sheridan suggested, with searching blue eyes. “Maybe I could convince him to spare our lives.”

“Why would you care about sparing your husband’s life when you were ready to kill him a few minutes ago?” Stan asked, skeptically.

“I might loathe my husband, but I don’t want him dead. He is the father of my children you know, and besides, I don’t want that responsibility all to myself,” Sheridan told him, hoping that explanation would satisfy him.

“I still don’t understand why you married the guy to begin with. If I remember correctly old man Alistair was dead set against you marrying that cop, but you did it anyway…….”

“For your information the reason I married Luis was because I hate it when anybody, especially my father tells me what to do, so I did just to irritate him. I figured that it would make my father show me some attention, and it certainly did that,” Sheridan said with a little chuckle.

“Well, you had kids with the guy, and I don’t see you getting any divorce,” Stan said almost accusingly.

“Hey, I don’t exactly like my husband, but it’s convenient to stay married,” she said, shrugging it off casually. “That way I don’t have to fight off the fortune hunters, and as far as my children go, well it happens sometimes. I mean a woman has her needs, and even though Luis is a jerk, he’s still pretty hot to look at.”

“I have a confession to make to you,” Stan said, eyeing her up and down. “I have had the hots for you ever since the first time I saw you. I was at the Crane Estate doing a job for your brother, and I saw you walking up to the main house from that cottage of yours. I could hardly take my eyes off of you.”

Sheridan tried hard not to show her repulsion, and pasted a big smile on her face. “Well Stan, I’m flattered. Why didn’t you speak to me?”

“Are you kidding?” Stan laughed. “I’m the hired help, and your brother would have kicked me out on the spot for thinking that I could talk to you. I mean, you‘re like some kind of a princess..........”

“Well Stan,” Sheridan said, moving toward him. “We’re talking now, and as you can see I’m just a normal woman.” She looked behind her captor to see if there was a weapon she could use against him and spotted some tools lying on a shelf. Stan moved in closer too, and reached behind her and put his hand on her behind. Sheridan came unglued when he touched her, and brought her knee up hard to connect with his groin.

Stan bent over moaning in pain, unable to speak at first. “You bitch,” he hissed, finally finding his voice. “I should kill you for that.”

Sheridan took advantage of his weakened position and grabbed a wrench off of the shelf and hit him in the back of the head. She tried not to put too much force into it, because she wanted to knock him out, not kill him. Stan slumped over and fell to the floor in a dead heap. Moving slowly, she leaned over to check his pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief that it was still beating strongly. She checked his pockets looking for the key to the prison cell upstairs, and finally located it in on an elastic band around his wrist. She quickly removed it, and stood up. “Sorry about that Stan, but maybe this will teach you not to grope a woman before she gives you permission.” Knowing that Bernie could come back at any time, Sheridan ran upstairs and reached the cell within minutes to find Luis standing there gripping the bars on the door.

“Sheridan, thank God,” Luis said, raggedly. “Where is Stan?”

“Let’s just say old Stan decided to take a little nap,” Sheridan told him, opening the lock and swinging the door open.

Luis pulled her into his arms, and hugged her close. “I can’t believe you pulled a stunt like that. Do you have any idea what could have happened to you............?”

“Luis, please save the lecture for later when we’re not trying to escape with our lives,” she said with flashing eyes that dared him to say one more word.

“She’s right Luis,” Martin said, pulling his son along. “We have to get the hell out of here before Bernie comes back. “Sheridan, did you manage to get Stan’s gun from him?”

“I’m sorry Martin, but I was so intent on getting the key that I didn’t even think about it,” Sheridan said, regretfully.

“We’ll stop and get it on the way out,” Luis suggested.

They flew down the steps and turned the corner, stopping dead in their tracks when they saw Bernie bending over Stan’s prone body. In all the confusion, they hadn’t even heard him arrive. He stood up quickly and pointed his gun at them. “I don’t know how you managed this, but I suggest that you get your butts back up those steps now before I start using you for target practice,” he demanded, pointing the nose of his gun in the direction he wanted them to take.

“Come on Bernie,” Luis said in a calm voice. “You seem like a reasonable guy to me. There has to be some kind of understanding we can come to that would benefit all of us.”

“Let me see,” Bernie said, giving it his consideration. “Oh I know............. Why don’t the three of you move up the steps and let me lock you up again?”

“Okay Bernie, why don’t we talk about a deal that I know you’ll be interested in?” Sheridan said in a saucy voice with her hands on her hips. “How about I pay you double the fee that my brother is offering you? Just think about all that money.........”

“The offer is tempting, but there is no amount of money in the world that would make me cross Julian Crane. If I took you up on your deal, I wouldn’t be around long enough to spend it. Now, all you shut the hell up and start mov............”

Bernie’s sentence was cut off short when a van came crashing through the large garage door of the loading bay, sending debris everywhere. Like a lightning whip, Luis sprang into action and kicked the gun out of Bernie’s hand sending it sliding across the floor to land at his father’s feet. Martin picked up the gun, cocked the trigger and pointed it directly at Bernie. By this time Stan was starting to come to and Luis bent over and retrieved his gun, just before the thug could get his hands on it. Sheridan, still stunned from the sudden mêlée, noticed a familiar face get out of the driver’s seat of the rescue vehicle, and she flashed him a grateful smile. Another man that Sheridan had never met before slipped out from the passenger side shaking the broken glass off of his clothes.

“You know Jacques, you always did know how to make an entrance,” Sheridan chuckled. “To say I’m shocked to see you here after all this time would be an understatement.”

“What can I say,” Jacques said, shrugging his shoulders with a sheepish smile. “I have been watching a lot of your American action movies lately.”

“Excuse me,” Luis said, looking back and forth to the two of them with confusion. “I really appreciate what you did here for us Jacques, but could you tell me just who the hell you are and how you know my wife?”

Sheridan and Jacques started to laugh. “Sorry Luis, this is Jacques. He works for Claude’s security company, but I’m afraid that I don’t know the other gentleman’s name.”

“That is Paul. He joined us after you went back to the States. Paul is going to take care of these two parasites until the police get here.” Martin and Luis handed over Bernie and Stan to Paul, relieved to be rid of them.

“Well,” Luis said, holding out his hand to Jacques in a friendly gesture. “I would like to thank you for saving the day here, but I’m curious about something. How did you ever find us?”

“All I know is that Claude called and asked me to see if I could find out anything about these American thugs. I made some discreet inquiries on the street and discovered that they recently rented this warehouse, so I decided to check it out, and I got lucky. When I looked in the window and saw that you were being held at gunpoint, I knew that I needed to cause a distraction.”

“You certainly caused a distraction,” Luis acknowledged with a smile. “Well Jacques, if you don’t mind we would like to go home now. My father is scheduled for a long overdue reunion.” Luis grabbed Sheridan’s hand, and motioned for his father to follow them.

“But, the police will probably want to speak with you,” Jacques called out after them.

“Tell them that they can talk to us tomorrow,” Luis called back.

Once they were in the car and heading back to the townhouse Luis looked in the rearview mirror and noticed that his father was staring out of the window, lost in his thoughts. Martin had barely said a word since they had left the warehouse and Luis was a little surprised by his father‘s lack of enthusiasm. “Papa, you’ve been awfully quiet back there. I thought you would be so excited that you were going to see mama again. Is everything okay?”

“Oh believe me son, this is a moment I’ve been dreaming about ever since I can remember. It’s just that now that it’s a reality, I have to admit that I’m really nervous.”

“Papa, you don’t have any reason to be nervous. Mama loves you and I can assure you that she has been waiting for this moment since the day you disappeared.”

“Maybe so, but sometimes when people have been apart for a long time they end up discovering that they have grown apart, and that things will never be the same,” Martin said, sadly.

“Are you afraid that’s how you’re going to feel?” Luis asked, disappointed by his father’s words.

“No, I still feel the same love for your mother that I have always felt, but I’m afraid that maybe Pilar has gone through so much heartache since I’ve been gone, and she might not be able to get past that. I know that it wouldn’t be intentional, but she had to have a certain amount of resentment for me, thinking that I abandoned her and the family. Just because that isn’t true doesn’t wipe away the years of doubt and pain for her.”

“Papa, I can promise you that mama never lost faith in you, even when other’s tried to convince her that you were a bum that ran out on your family, she still believed in you. I have to admit that I was one of those people for a while when I was stupid enough to believe Julian Crane’s lies, but it was only for a short time until I came to my senses. I’m sorry papa.”

“Don’t be sorry Luis. You had nothing to disprove that and I can understand why you would feel that way. You are the best son a man could ask for and I’m proud of you for stepping up to the plate when you had to.”

Sheridan wisely kept out of the conversation between father and son, but she wanted so badly to tell Martin just how much Luis sacrificed to support his family. It was not her place though, and she knew that Martin would find out soon enough just how wonderful Luis was. She also hoped that in the near future, that her and Martin could have a conversation about what really happened that night, but it was not the time for that either. Right now she would just enjoy the sweet reunion that she was sure would happen between Martin and Pilar, and also the sweet reunion that she was dying to have with her children.

********************

Pilar had been waiting by the front window ever since Claude had gotten the word from his man that her family had been rescued and were on their way to the townhouse now. She was feeling such a range of emotions right now and she wasn’t sure which one was more prevalent. Excitement that she was going to see her husband again after all these years, relief that everyone was safe or nervousness over her reunion with Martin? Just then the car pulled up outside and she saw Sheridan and Luis get out first, and then as if it was playing in slow motion, there was her beloved Martin climbing out of the back seat to stand tall and handsome. As he walked toward the front door, she took in everything about him. He was a little thinner than she remembered and he had some gray at the temples, but he was still as handsome as the first day she met him. It was almost as if he had sensed her presence, because he looked up then and saw her standing in the window and their eyes connected. There were no words spoken, but they both knew that that simple look spoke volumes, and their nervousness was gone to be replaced by joy. Martin moved quickly now, almost running to the house, and flew inside the door searching her out. When they came face to face again, they stopped and drank in each other, both praying that this was not a dream, and then Martin finally spoke.

He must have spotted one of the early roses blooming by the front door, because he pulled his hand from behind his back and offered her the red velvety flower. “I swear Pilar; you look as beautiful as the first time I saw you standing there in your pink bridesmaid’s dress with flowers in your hair. I remember thinking at the time that you must be some figment of my imagination because it was impossible for anyone to be so perfect.”

Pilar stood there with tears streaming down her face, and brushed them away with her hand. “And you look as handsome as the first time I saw you standing there so distinguished and proud in your uniform. I knew from that moment that you were the man that was going to change my life.” She could finally wait no longer, and she threw herself in his arms sobbing with pure happiness.

“Oh God Pilar, I’ve missed you so much that it hurt sometimes,” Martin groaned, holding her close.

“I have missed you too Martin. So much that it was hard to breathe sometimes,” she said, melting against him.

Luis and Sheridan stood there and watched the emotional reunion, and shed a few tears of their own. Luis put his arms around Sheridan’s waist, and she leaned back against him, feeling a whole new appreciation for him right now. She couldn’t even imagine being separated from Luis for that many years, but she knew that she would feel the same way that Martin and Pilar felt right now if something like that would ever happen. Luis on the other hand was having a bit of a revelation right now watching his parent’s reunion. He had always known that they loved each other, but he knew now that he had remembered it from a child’s point of view.
It was rather shocking to him to come to the realization that his parents shared a passionate relationship just as he and Sheridan did. Knowing that made this scene so much sweeter for him, and he felt an overwhelming happiness for them. Both were so lost in their own thoughts that they didn’t see an elderly gentleman walk up beside them.

“Well, this is certainly a wonderful occasion that fills one’s heart with joy,” he said in a low voice. When he saw Luis and Sheridan’s surprised looks, he introduced himself. “Forgive me. You must think me a lunatic right now. My name is Charles Welling, and your father has been staying with me the last several months,” he said, holding his hand out to Luis.

“I recognize you from the picture your wife gave to me of you and my father,” Luis told him. “It is an honor to meet you sir.”

“It certainly is,” Sheridan agreed. “Your lovely wife was so gracious to us.”

“It is so good to finally meet the two of you also, but I think perhaps we should give your parents some privacy,” Charles said with a wink.

“I was just about ready to suggest the same thing,” Sheridan said, smiling.

They all turned to leave when Pilar and Martin finally noticed their presence. “Mijo, don’t leave,” Pilar said, coming forward to give her son and daughter-in-law hugs. “Thank God that the both of you are all right, and thank you for bringing my husband back to me.”

“It was definitely our pleasure,” Sheridan said, kissing Pilar’s cheek.

“Sheridan’s right mama. This is a very happy moment for us all,” Luis said, kissing his mother’s other cheek.

“You should have seen them in action Pilar,” Martin said, proudly. “They were really magnificent. You wouldn’t believe how well they staged an argument to get the guard to open the cell door.”

“I’m sure they were Martin,” Pilar said, flashing them a secret smile. “They have been so wonderful and supportive to me through this whole thing.”

“Charles,” Martin said, surprised. “I didn’t see you standing there. You are certainly a sight for sore eyes.”

“So are you my friend. When I saw those men kidnap you, I was beside myself with worry. I went to the police but they were not much help, and I finally found my way here to let your wife know what happened. Claude was kind enough to offer his men to assist in your rescue.”

“So that’s how Claude knew that we were in trouble,” Luis said, glad to know that the mystery was solved. “Boy Charles, the list of thanks just keeps getting longer and longer for you.”

“I hope you don’t mind Sheridan, but I invited Charles to spend the night here,” Pilar said.

“Of course not,” Sheridan responded. “That is the very least we can do for him, and besides this place is a home to all of you.”

“I’m glad you feel that way Sheridan, because I could really use a nap right about now,” Charles said, yawning. “I’m getting a little old for all of this excitement.”

“Oh please do Charles. Did Pilar give you a room to use?”

“Yes, and I think I’ll go rest before dinner,” Charles said. “By the way, you have the most beautiful children.”

“Speaking of the children, has anyone seen two cute little short people walking around here named Luke and Lily?” Luis asked, smiling.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe I haven’t asked about the children,” Sheridan cried. “Where are they anyway? I’m dying to see them.”

“They are dying to see you also Sheridan. The last time I checked they were still napping and Claude was sitting outside their room being the perfect bodyguard,” Pilar told them warmly.

“Well, I think that Sheridan and I are going to give the two of you some privacy, while we go upstairs and check on the twins,” Luis told his parents.

“Will you promise to bring them down as soon as they wake up from their naps?” Martin asked. “I can hardly wait to see my grandchildren.”

“We promise Martin,” Sheridan assured him. “I’m sure they will love meeting their grandfather for the first time, but I should warn you. They have this way of crawling into your heart and kind of sticking there.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem, because I have plenty of heart to go around,” Martin said, putting his arm around Pilar to pull her close.

********************

When Luis and Sheridan arrived upstairs, they found Claude sitting in front of the children’s door reading a book. He looked up in surprise when he saw them approach. “Well, it is good to see that you are finally home. I was so happy when Jacques called and said he was able to get there just in time.”

“Thank you so much Claude for everything that you’ve done. I would like for you to meet my husband, Luis.”

“It is a pleasure to meet the man that was able to capture Sheridan’s heart,” Claude said, extending his hand to Luis.

“Well it’s a bigger pleasure to meet you Claude. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you stepping in at the last minute to guard the children, and also for saving the day for us.”

“Oh, I have done nothing. Your children are such a delight to me, and I’m glad that you are both safe.”

“Claude, why don’t you go home and get some rest, but would it be okay to call if we need you again?” Sheridan asked. “I mean, I know that you have a busy schedule............”

“I will make the time for you,” he assured her. “I have grown quite attached to your little ones.”

“Good,” Sheridan said, happily. “I plan on having a small party just to celebrate all of our good fortune lately and I would love for you to come.”

“You just let me know when and I will be there,” Claude said, walking toward the steps.

“My God,” Luis said, staring after the giant. “That guy is huge. I guess we couldn’t have asked for a better bodyguard for Luke and Lily.”

“Yeah, Claude is the gentle giant, but he also knows how to get mean when he is protecting someone. Come on Luis; let’s go inside. I can’t wait a minute longer to see Luke and Lily.”

When they walked into the room they were pleasantly surprised to see that the children were awake and standing up in their bed. When the twins saw their parents, their little faces lit up with joy, and they started jumping up and down, squealing with delight. Sheridan ran toward them, and dropped down on her knees to plant kisses all over their cheeks. “Mommy is so happy to see you.”

“And so is daddy,” Luis said, rubbing their heads with his long brown fingers.

“Out dada,” Luke said, waving his arms around.

“Okay, here we go sport,” Luis said, lifting Luke up and out of the bed. He couldn’t resist hugging his son close to kiss the top of his downy head.

Sheridan stood up and lifted Lily out, and swung her around playfully. “Mama,” Lily said, giggling.

“Okay, time for a change,” Luis said handing Luke over to Sheridan, and taking Lily from her arms. “Hey Peanut, you just get prettier ever day.”

“Hi dadee,” Lily said, wrapping her arms around Luis’ neck.

“I think we should change some diapers, and then we’ll put you in some cute outfits. There is someone very special that mommy and daddy want you to meet,” Sheridan told them with her award-winning grin.

“Yeah, mommy’s right. We searched for a really long time and we found your grandpa, and he is very excited to meet you for the first time. Can you say grandpa, Peanut?”

“Pawpaw,” Lily said, clapping her little hands together, like she was so proud of herself.

“Claw mama,” Luke said, pointing to the door.

Luis laughed. “Well if you want to call your grandpa Claw, I’m sure it will be all right with him Sport.”

“I’m not so sure that he is referring to your father Luis. I wonder if he’s talking about Claude?”

“Claw,” Luke repeated.

“I think you’re right Sheridan, because he just said it again when you mentioned Claude.”

“I’m sorry sweetie, but Claude had to go home so that he could take a nap just like you and Lily do,” Sheridan explained gently. “Now, let’s get you and your sister ready so you can meet pawpaw.”

An hour later, Sheridan and Luis carried their children downstairs, and sought out Martin and Pilar. They finally located them in the library, where they could hear their voices behind the closed door. “I would suggest that you knock first Luis,” Sheridan said with a little smile.

“Come on Sheridan, mama’s hardly the type to get it on in the library,” Luis said, brushing away her suggestion.

“You never know Luis. We’ve gotten it on in some pretty strange places,” she said, unable to hold back a laugh this time.

“Look Sheridan, I’ve come to terms with my parents‘, you know, relationship, but let’s not push it here,” Luis said, knocking on the door.

“Yes,” Martin called out from behind the door.

“Papa, it’s me and Sheridan and we have the twins with us, but we can always come back if you don’t want to be disturbed right now..............”

Suddenly the door flew open, and there stood a smiling Martin with Pilar behind him. When he saw his grandchildren for the first time, a look of amazement and pride came over his face. “Oh Luis, I didn’t think this day could get any better, but now I know I was wrong. Your children are just beautiful, and look Pilar. Luke is the spitting image of Luis at that age. I feel like I’ve traveled back in time just looking at him, and what’s even more amazing is that this precious little girl looks just like you Sheridan.”

“Meet your grandchildren papa. This is Luke and Lily.” Sheridan and Luis put the twins down to stand before them to give them time to adjust. Luis squatted down beside the children. “This here is daddy’s daddy and he is your grandpa,” Luis told them pointing to Martin.

Martin, sensing the twins’ shyness, spotted one of their balls that had been left lying around the room and went over to retrieve it. He sat down on the floor so that he would be level with the children and started to roll the ball toward them. All that anybody needed to do to win the twins’ affection was to offer to play with them, and there was certainly no exception here because they started to walk toward Martin eager to play.

“Ball pawpaw,” Luke called out to him.

Martin’s eyes teared up when he heard his grandson’s moniker for him. “Here’s the ball Luke,” Martin said, rolling it toward him. “Come Lily, would you like to play too?”

“Pawpaw,” she giggled, lifting her dress to show her grandfather her panties.

“Oh God Peanut, don’t do that,” Luis groaned.

Everyone laughed about Luis’ reaction to his little girl’s lacy display. “Relax Luis,” Martin said, trying to catch his breath. “You have quite a while yet before you have to worry about protecting your daughter’s honor.”

“I hope you all know that you only encourage her when you laugh like that,” Luis grumbled.

“Mijo, your father is right. You need to relax about Lily. She is only thirteen months old. Now, we should call Charles, because I have made dinner for everyone,” Pilar said.

“Mama, what were you doing cooking when you should have been catching up with papa?” Luis asked, not believing what he just heard.

“I’m afraid that is my fault son. I happened to mention to your mother that I was dying for one of her Tamales, and she insisted on making them. I tried to talk her out of it, but I forgot how stubborn Pilar can be when she sets her mind on something,” Martin said, rubbing his wife’s back affectionately.

“It was the least that I could do. Martin looks like he could stand to put on some weight on his bones,” Pilar said, leaning into her husband. “Now come and gather up the children. Dinner should be ready in a few minutes.”

“Well, we better get Charles. You know how mama can be when people are late for dinner,” Luis said, scooping Lily up in his arms.

********************

Martin paced back and forth in the bedroom they were occupying, waiting for Pilar to come out of the bathroom. He had to admit that he was nervous as hell about the coming night. It had been so long since he and Pilar had been together in the conjucal sense and the last thing he wanted to do was push her into something that she wasn’t ready for. He wanted her so badly, but he had waited ten years to feel her body against his again, and he was willing to wait longer if Pilar was not comfortable. His back was to the bathroom door, but he could feel her presence when she came into the room. The beating of his heart was so intense that he could have sworn it was going to burst in his chest. He turned around slowly to see her standing there in a white satin robe with her hair hanging down around her face. She was so beautiful that it took his breath away, and he had to restrain himself from jumping on top of her like a horny schoolboy.

“Pilar, I didn’t hear you come in,” Martin said, trying to catch his breath. “Look, I know that we’ve been apart for a long time and things may be a little uncomfortable at first, but I want you to know that I will let you set the pace..............”

Pilar slipped the robe off, letting it drop to the floor to reveal a nightgown that left little to the imagination. “What were you saying Martin?”

“My God Pilar,” Martin said in a ragged voice. “That’s a hell of a thing to wear in front of a man that’s been celibate for ten years........”

Pilar lost her earlier confidence, and bent to pick up her robe. “I’m sorry Martin. Perhaps I assumed too much........”

Martin was in front of her in seconds, and took the robe out of her hand to toss it aside. “I want you so much Pilar, but I need to make sure that you’re ready.”

“Believe me Martin, I’m ready,” she whispered, as she moved her body toward his.

“Are you sure?” he asked in a husky voice, lifting her chin with his finger.

“More sure than you will ever know,” she said, stroking his face.

“That’s all I needed to hear,” he mumbled, as he lowered his lips to hers.

********************

In a room at the other end of the hall Luis and Sheridan were enjoying a romantic steamy bath together. Luis was stretched out with his back leaning against the tub, and Sheridan’s back was leaning against his rippled chest. His soapy hand moved up to caress her breast, as he fulfilled his promise to wash every inch of her body.
“I do believe that I just died and went to heaven,” she said, sighing out loud.

“I know,” Luis said, moving his hand to her other breast. “I can’t think of a better way to cap off a perfect day.”

“It was perfect wasn’t it?” she said, moving closer against his growing erection.

“I might have to end our bath early if you don’t stop rubbing your pretty behind against me,” he groaned.

“Oh come on Luis,” she protested. “You haven’t even washed my hair yet, and that is my favorite part.”

“Even better then this?” he said, stroking her liquid heat.

“Oh God,” she moaned, feeling her body start to shake. “You know I can’t take that Luis...........”

“I’m sorry baby, but I definitely think that this bath is over,” he said, rising up out of the tub, taking her with him. He grabbed a big fluffy white towel and started to rub her body dry with sensual strokes.

As he worked his magic, she moved her hands down his slick muscular chest to caress his throbbing need for her. “Forget the towel,” she demanded. “I want to be in bed right now with you inside of me.”

Without hesitation, Luis picked her up in his arms to carry her into the bedroom. They fell to the bed in a frenzy of wild passion, and their hungry kisses had enough sizzle to start a fire. Finally lifting his head from her lips Luis stroked her face with his fingers. “This had been such a day filled with so much emotion, and I feel like there is so much I need to tell you. I love you so much Sheridan, and I want you to know how much it means to me that stuck with me through everything.”

“Nothing is difficult when it comes out of love. It’s as natural as breathing for me to be by your side because I love you more than I could ever say.”

“Oh Sheridan,” he said, slipping inside of her satin lined flesh. “I want to take you to heaven.”

“You always do Luis,” she whispered, as she rose up to take him deeper inside of her. “Make love to me like there’s no tomorrow.”

He groaned and moved with deep steady strokes making her cry out with pleasure. The friction was so intense and the passion was so overwhelming that before long, both were crying out with the rapture that belonged only to them. They were still coming down from their high when Luis, unable to help himself started their cycle of love all over again.

Chapter 22

Luis lay there in the pre-dawn darkness and listened to the raindrops tapping against the window. He should be fast asleep after his rigorous night of lovemaking and then there was also the sleepless night before when he had been keeping vigil at the American Embassy, but instead he was wide-awake. Sheridan lay cuddled against him lost in peaceful slumber, and it felt so good to feel her silky skin against his own. Obstacles that were weighing heavily on his mind overshadowed the happiness he was feeling right now. When Julian found out that they had outsmarted his men and escaped he was going to be furious, and they were all at risk until he could get his father home again. There was also the threat to his children because of that damn tabloid, and the thought of anything happening to them made his blood run cold. He suddenly felt an overwhelming need to see them right now to assure himself that they were safe, so he gently removed Sheridan’s arms and slipped out of bed. Pulling on his robe, he moved quietly from the room and out into the hall, closing the door behind him. He crept inside the twins’ room and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them laying there sleeping. Luke had kicked his blanket off, so he pulled it up snuggly around his little boy and kissed him on the forehead. He smiled when he saw Lily hugging her kitty and he couldn’t resist brushing a stray curl away to plant a kiss in its place. It would never cease to amaze him that these two precious babies were made from the love that he and Sheridan shared. They were everything that was innocent and good in this world, and he would die to protect them from all the evil that was out there. He leaned down and kissed them again and went back to his own room.

Luis peeled his robe away, letting it drop to the floor and climbed into bed. A whiff of lavender assailed his nose, as Sheridan unconsciously moved toward his body. Thinking she was asleep, he was surprised when she rose up on one elbow, and put her other hand on his chest. “I’m sorry sweetie,” he said, grabbing her hand to kiss it. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t,” she said in a throaty, sleep-laden voice that sent a little jolt of electricity shooting through him. “Where were you anyway?”

“I got up to check on our little bambinos..........”

“Are they okay?” she asked, going into mother mode.

“They are fine, and sweet, and sleeping like little angels. So, you never did tell me what woke you up.”

“I had the hottest dream about you,” she said, huskily. “I wanted you so badly that it woke me up.”

“So,” he said, flashing her a sexy grin. “Are you going to tell me about your dream?” His eyes dropped to her provocative breasts, and all he could think of was tracing her satiny curves with his tongue.

“Well,” she purred, rolling her body on top of his. “Should I give you all the details?”

“Leave nothing out............”

“We were in Spain on this private beach along the Mediterranean Sea swimming in the warm blue water.........”

“What were we wearing...........?”

“We were naked, and our skin was golden brown from playing in the sun. Don’t you remember, I told you the beach was private?”

“Oh right,” he said, closing his eyes trying to picture the scene. “Don’t stop now.”

“Okay well, I came in from the water first, but I took my time because I wanted you to watch me walk from behind. I was determined to seduce you and it worked too, because I could feel your eyes burning a hole through me.”

“What did I do then?” he groaned, running his hands over her lush bottom.

“I sat down on the wet sand, and willed you to come to me..........”

“Did I come...........?”

“Oh yeah,” she chuckled. “In more ways than one.”

“Please, don’t leave out the in-between stuff. Tell me more,” he begged.

“You kissed me, and it was open-mouthed, hungry, and very wet..........”

“Like this?” he mumbled right before he invaded her mouth with a hot sultry kiss that caused her body to melt into a puddle of desire. He finally raised his head, and pinned her with a smoldering gaze. “Go on............”

Sheridan took a deep breath, trying to control her trembling body. “You........., you pushed me down in the sand and kissed my body everywhere.............”

“Everywhere............? Does that mean I kissed you here too?” he asked, touching her with the most intimate caress.

“Yes,” she said, breathlessly. “The things you did with your tongue........ It was so hot, and you were so aroused, just like you are right now.”

“Did we do this?” he asked in a raspy voice, lifting her hips to fill her with his pulsing heat.

“Oh God, yes!” she cried, moving on top of him so that he was now filling her completely. “You were on top though...........”

“Then I need to make your dream come true,” he growled, rolling her over on her back, never breaking their connection. He thrust inside of her with slow even strokes that made her shake with desire.

“Oh Luis.......... It was just like this, and then it became faster..........., harder. Yes, just like that.......... The tide came in and surrounding our bodies with warm water. You..........”

He silenced her then, putting his finger on her swollen lips, and lowered his head. They kissed and kissed with a searching need, filled with longing and love. In between their kisses Luis spoke in hot whispers. He told her she was his life, that she was beautiful........... He also uttered sultry searing words that made her blush, even after all this time. The temple of their joining increased, and she arched against him wanting even more of him, and he took what she offered. She tried, but she was unable to hang on any longer and the spasms began to roll through her body like thunder to end in a final explosion of shattering bliss.

Between Sheridan’s sexy narrative and the feel of her body against his, Luis was completely lost in every part of her. He was so crazy in love............., so crazy in lust that it made his need for her that much more intense. She always gave everything to him, and still he wanted more, and he drove deeper into her sweet essence. When he felt her go over the edge and shower him with her love, he knew with every fiber of his being that he would die if he could never feel this ecstasy again. When he felt her body tremor with the aftershocks it became his undoing and he crashed into nirvana. He buried his scream inside her sweet mouth, and fell against her sated and exhausted. When he was able to move again, he rolled from Sheridan and pulled her into his arms. “Did I tell you yet today just how much I love you?” he told her in a shaky, breathless voice.

“I think you told me in ways I could never imagine,” she said, snuggling against him. “God Luis, you sure know how to make love.”

“Well, I don’t know about that, but you sure do inspire me to be the best that I can be,” he chuckled.

She chuckled back. “Wow, I had no idea that my dream would be such an inspiration to you.”

“Believe me, the dream was icing on the cake, but it’s you alone that drives me crazy with passion,” he said, kissing her on the forehead.

“You have that effect on me as well.................. Wait a minute,” she said sitting up. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Luis asked, concerned.

“Little baby chatter,” Sheridan laughed. “It sounds like our little angels are up and needing some attention.”

“I guess we better go get them before they wake up the whole house,” Luis said, smiling as he crawled out of bed.

Sheridan did the same, and pulled her robe on, tying the sash around her waist tightly. Her eyes were drawn to Luis walking across the room to retrieve the jeans that he had discarded on a chair the night before. His finely toned backside was enough to excite a chaste nun, and she had to turn away just to gain control. She jumped when Luis came up beside her and pulled her into his arms to plant a quick hot kiss on her lips. “What was that for?” she asked, breathlessly.

“I just wanted to taste you one last time before we began our day,” he said in a low seductive voice.

“Oh geez, I think we are heading for dangerous territory,” she said grabbing his hand, and pulling him forward. “Let’s go to our children before they start to feel neglected.”

Since Luke and Lily’s room was right beside theirs, they only had to step out into the hallway before they were there. When they entered the room, both were shocked to see Martin sitting on the floor with the twins showing them how to put a puzzle together. He looked up when he heard them enter and smiled. “Good morning.”

“Papa, what are you doing up this early? I hope the kids didn’t wake you.”

“Not at all,” Martin assured him. “I couldn’t sleep and I had an urge to look in on my grandchildren. Imagine my surprise when I found them already awake. I hope you don’t mind that I got them out of bed...........”

“Of course not,” Sheridan said, walking toward her children. “Good morning you little sweet peas. Are you going to come over here and give mommy a kiss?”

The twins finally looked up from their puzzle and saw Sheridan. “Mama,” they squealed, jumping on top of her.

“Hey, what about daddy?” Luis asked, making a sad face for Luke and Lily. They wasted no time in showing Luis their own sweet version of love.

Martin smiled when he saw them all so happy to be together. It was obvious that Luke and Lily were crazy about their parents and they were all just a joy to watch. He couldn’t have wished a better life for Luis and he also knew from some of the things that Pilar had been telling him that they had overcome a lot to be together. Speaking of his wife, he wondered if she was still sleeping. He certainly hoped so, because she deserved to have a chance to sleep in after everything she had been through. It was plain to see that his little grandchildren had lost interest in their puzzle so he decided to leave the happy family alone to check on Pilar. “Well, if you will all excuse me, I’m going to go make sure my wife isn’t running around cleaning the house.”

“That’s a good idea papa,” Luis agreed. “Mama needs to learn how to relax and stop working so hard.”

“I’m going to make sure that she takes some time to stop and smell the roses,” Martin said, smiling. “Okay then, I will see you all later.”

“Oh Martin,” Sheridan called after him. “Make sure you tell Pilar that Luis and I will fix breakfast this morning.”

“What she really means papa, is that I’ll fix breakfast,” Luis teased.

“See how your son loves to bait me,” Sheridan said, winking. “You just witnessed it for yourself.”

“Yeah, and somehow I get the feeling that you love every minute of it,” Martin said, laughing as he turned to leave.

“Bye bye pawpaw,” Luke and Lily said, waving at their grandfather.

Martin had an inkling that their parents coached them a bit, but it still pulled on his heartstrings. “You two sure make it hard for grandpa to leave, but I think it would be a lot easier if you would give me a kiss before I left,” Martin said, squatting down in front of the children.

“I think that would be very sweet of you to give grandpa a kiss,” Sheridan said, urging them on.

The twins approached Martin and planted wet kisses on his cheek. He couldn’t resist pulling them into a hug, and they wrapped their little arms around him. “Okay, well grandpa needs to go before I lose control and tickle your bellies,” he said, making them squeal with laughter.

“More pawpaw, more,” Luke begged.

“No sweetie,” Sheridan told him gently. “Your grandpa has do go now, and it’s time for you and your sister to get dressed.”

“You have to do what your mother tells you Luke, but I promise you that after breakfast grandpa will give you a horseback ride. That was always one of your daddy’s favorite things to do when he was your age,” he told the little boy.

“Me pawpaw,” Lily whined, tired of being ignored.

“Don’t worry princess, grandpa will make sure you get lots of rides too,” Martin assured his granddaughter.

********************

Martin was finally able to make it out of the room, and Luis and Sheridan got their babies changed and dressed for the day. Afterward, they brought the twins to their own room and took turns watching them while the other showered and got ready. When they all arrived downstairs, and found Pilar in the kitchen ready to make breakfast, Sheridan insisted that she spend time with her husband and would not take no for an answer as she pushed her mother-in-law out of the kitchen.

In spite of the dreary, rainy weather outside, breakfast was a pleasant time, but all were disappointed when Charles announced that he was leaving later that day to go back to his farm in the country. Sheridan made him promise to come back for the weekend with his wife for a celebratory party she was having for Martin. He graciously agreed, which made Martin happy because he was not ready to say goodbye to his friend so soon. When that was settled, Luis finally broached the subject that everyone had been dreading and that was Julian.

“I hope you know that the last thing I want to do right now is ruin papa’s homecoming, but we have to protect ourselves against Julian. It’s still the middle of the night in the States, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he already knows that we escaped.”

“Luis is right,” Martin concurred. “I have the power to bring his empire down and send him to prison. He’s going to be desperate, and that will make him very dangerous.”

“Please stop,” Pilar said with a worried frown. “Must we discuss this in front of the children?”

“I’m afraid that I’m going to have to agree with Pilar,” Sheridan said. “I have some ideas on how to handle my brother, and it’s not going to make a difference if we wait until after breakfast to discuss them.”

“Well, since we’ve changed the subject, what are your plans for getting out of France and back to the United States?” Charles asked.

“I phoned the attorney that Sheridan’s friend recommended right before breakfast, and he has agreed to come over here later today to discuss getting me the proper papers,” Martin supplied.

“I can assure you papa that if Michael thinks this guy can get you home again, then I know he will. Michael has bailed us out of some pretty sticky situations and I know he wouldn’t steer us wrong on this.”

“That’s good to know, because I cannot wait to get home to finally resume my life again. I have so much time to make up for,” Martin said, regretfully.

“It won’t be long papa,” Luis promised. “You will get your life back and Julian Crane is going to pay for what he did to you.”

“Mijo, I thought that we were not going to discuss that right now?”

“Sorry mama, but every time I think of what he did to papa and the rest of our family I just go crazy..........”

“Dada, down,” Luke demanded.

“Okay sport, but you better let me clean your hands and face first,” Luis said, getting up to get a wet cloth. “What about you peanut? Are you ready to get down too?” After he cleaned Luke up and lifted him down, he did the same for Lily, and the two headed for the television to watch some French children’s show.

Once the children were occupied and the breakfast dishes were cleared away they all discussed what they were going to do about Julian. It was decided that they were going to go on the offensive and immobilize him by playing his own game. After a little bit of a heated discussion between Luis and Sheridan it was decided that she was the best person to mount the attack. “Well everybody, should I put Julian on speakerphone so that you can hear his reaction?” Sheridan asked, with a cheeky smile.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Martin said, smiling.

“Now Luis, do you promise not to go off on Julian?” Sheridan asked, feeling a little nervous about Luis’ hot temper when it came to her brother.

Luis looked like he was ready to protest, but when he saw Sheridan’s pleading look, he relented. “Okay, I promise to bite my tongue, but it’s not going to be easy.”

“Okay, here goes,” Sheridan said, dialing the number.

The phone rang, and Julian, sounding a bit inebriated answered, “Julian Crane.”

“Julian, guess who?”

“Sheridan,” Julian responded with trepidation in his voice. “Where are you calling from?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be disappointed to know that I’m at my town house. I just finished having a lovely breakfast with Luis and my father-in-law. You know Martin?”

“Martin Fitzgerald? Where ever did you run across that lowlife? Did he tell you why he deserted his family all those years ago?” Julian lied, trying to play dumb.

“Just stop now Julian. You know damn well that your thugs were holding us prisoner in that warehouse, but guess what? We outsmarted them and they are now in the custody of the Paris police. They admitted that you hired them and Martin is just packed full of information about the night that you and father made him disappear.”

“Okay Sheridan,” Julian snarled. “What is it that you want from me?”

“I want you to leave my family alone, because if you don’t, I’m going to hold a press conference with Martin by my side. Can you imagine the headlines when he reveals all your ugly little secrets to the whole world?”

“I’ll make sure that you never get the chance,” Julian threatened.

Sheridan saw Luis open his mouth to say something, and she held her hand up to stop him. “I don’t think you will Julian, because I have some extra insurance..........”

“What kind of insurance?” Julian asked nervously.

“I have the papers Julian. Written proof of the Cranes’ involvement with drugs, kidnapping, and the plot to kill a United States senator. And then there is always the murder of that poor man, not to mention the murder of Ben Bennett. Oh, and don’t bother to look for them at my house, because I’ve taken precautions to have copies hidden away all over the place. If anyone that I love gets hurt in any way, copies of those papers will be sent to all the major news publications in he United States and abroad.”

“Well little sister, I must say that I’m impressed,” Julian said with a sardonic tone. “I guess you are more like father than you thought.”

“I’m nothing like father,” Sheridan protested vehemently. “I’ve just learned from experience that the only way to fight you is to play by your rules. Now Julian, do we have a deal?”

“What do I get out of this deal since it appears that you hold all the cards?” Julian demanded.

“Well, if we all arrive back in Harmony safe and sound, we can sit down in the privacy of your library and discuss the best way for you to make restitution. As a matter of fact, the press doesn’t even have to know about it.”

“How can I trust you?” Julian asked, skeptically.

“I really don’t think you have a choice in the matter,” Sheridan reminded him.

“Touché little sister. I will look forward to your safe return home,” Julian said, sarcastically.

“Goodbye Julian,” Sheridan said, reaching for the button to hang up the phone. She didn’t quite make it before they heard the sound of shattering glass coming from the other end of the line. “I think my brother is a bit peeved.”

“That bastard hasn’t changed a bit,” Martin said through clenched teeth. “Do you think he suspected that you were lying about having copies of those papers being placed around to be delivered to the press?”

“Believe me papa, it’s in his nature to be suspicious, but he doesn’t know for sure so I doubt he‘ll take any chances. I have a feeling that he’s going to go along with our deal,” Luis predicted.

“Oh mijo, I pray that you are right,” Pilar said in a worried voice, grabbing Martin’s hand for comfort.

********************

Martin’s meeting with the immigration attorney went very well, however it was going to take several weeks to get all the papers in order. Pilar had been astute enough to remember to bring Martin’s birth certificate along so that they could prove her husband’s existence. He had assured them that if for some reason they couldn’t secure the necessary paperwork that they would just let French Immigration deport Martin for being in the country illegally, but he really didn’t think it would come to that. Luis called home to check on the business with Chad, and asked him to move in their house with Evan just in case Julian got the urge to go searching for the papers. He also made some other calls home to make arrangements for a special surprise for Martin for the party on Saturday.

Later that night as they lay snuggled in each other’s arms, Sheridan tried to get Luis to tell her about the big surprise, but he refused to budge. When she threatened to deny him access to her body if he didn’t tell, he just laughed and rolled on top of her to kiss away any protest she might have. She couldn’t help but giggle, because they both knew that her threat had been empty since she could never refuse letting Luis have his way with her.

“You know I’ve been thinking about your dream all day long,” Luis whispered huskily in her ear.

“I’ve been thinking about what you did after I told her about my dream,” she told him, kissing his neck with wet little strokes.

“If you don’t stop that I’m going to do it again,” he groaned.

“That was my intention,” she said, pulling him into a heated kiss.

“Oh God woman, you know this means we’re going to have another sleepless night,” Luis warned her.

“Do you see me complaining?” she said, touching him in an intimate way that left no question of her intentions.

Chapter 23

Luis lay there with his head thrown back feeling the fire spread through his body as Sheridan touched him so boldly. It wasn’t easy for him to give over control in any situation, but when his wife was being such a seductress, he lost all reason. She began to kiss his chest, moving down with slow precision, making him crazy with desire for her. When the swollen tips of her breasts grazed across his flesh, it aroused him even more. Oh God, she was moving lower and lower, and what she did next made him buck up off the bed. He didn’t know if he could handle the things that she was doing with her sweet mouth without completely going over the edge. “Sheridan baby..........., that feels so good.............., but............., but if you don’t stop........., it’s going to be over.............” It was impossible for her to respond with the way she was taunting him with her tongue. He started to shutter, and knew that he had to stop this sweet torture before it was too late. With a gruff cry, he pulled her up his body and met her mouth in a wild reckless kiss. His lips and hands raked her body teasing her breasts, and all her most intimate places.

Sheridan cried out, arched up and withered against him as he feasted on her body making her shake with anticipation. He was doing the most bold and wicked things to her and she begged him to stop.............., begged him to never stop................, begged him to give her everything. That was all the urging that he needed and he slipped fully inside of her. He didn’t move at first, and raised his head to stare down at her with a mixture of love and sultry passion in his eyes. Suddenly he was kissing her tenderly as he began to move within her in smooth even strokes that touched her very core. Suddenly, a storm raged outside, its power matched the intensity of their lovemaking. Lightning lit up the room, thunder exploded, at the same time they both screamed out as they reached a volatile climax that left them trembling and exhausted.

Sheridan was finally able to speak coherently again, and she stretched sleepily against him. “You know honey, as much as I loved that, my body is screaming out for sleep.”

“Actually, I was just thinking the same thing, but I was afraid to say anything to you because I didn’t want to ruin my image as a stud,” he teased.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. You definitely do not have performance issues, and besides, you will always be my stud,” she said in a low voice while closing her eyes.

“Go to sleep sweetie,” Luis said, kissing her forehead. “But........., if I wake up in the middle of the night wanting you, do you mind if I seduce you?”

“You better...............,” she said, smiling as she drifted off.

They were both in the early stages of sleep when a clap of thunder hit that was so loud it sounded like a cannon going off. As soon as the noise dissolved to a low rumble, they heard the twins crying. Heart pounding, Sheridan sat up, her protective instincts kicking in. “Poor babies............ They’ve always been afraid of loud thunder. I have to go to them,” she said, slipping out of bed. Knowing it might take a while; Sheridan donned a nightgown and matching robe.

“I’m going with you,” Luis said, hopping out of bed to locate his boxers.

By the time they arrived in the children’s room, Luke and Lily were sobbing with fright, but seemed to calm down a little once they were in their parents’ arms. Luis and Sheridan comforted, hugged and kissed the twins, but the frightened little babies still clung to them like a lifeline. It didn’t help the situation when another loud explosion ripped through the night, starting the cycle all over again. “Come on Sheridan; let’s take them to our room,” Luis suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” Sheridan agreed. “Maybe they’ll feel secure enough with us to fall back to sleep.”

When they stepped into the hall, they were met by Martin and Pilar coming down the hall with concerned looks on their faces. “Are the babies okay?” Pilar asked, fretfully.

“It scared us to death when we heard their screams all the way down in our room,” Martin said, with a worried tone. “I thought someone had broken in and was trying to kidnap them.”

“I’m sorry if they woke you, but they’ll be fine as soon as we can get them calmed down. Poor babies are afraid of the thunder,” Sheridan explained.

“Why don’t you two go back to bed and try and get some sleep?” Luis told his parents.

“As if we could sleep with all the racket going on outside............ Come on Pilar. I think that Sheridan and Luis have things under control,” Martin said, putting his arm around his wife.

They all said their goodnights and went back to their own bedrooms. Luke and Lily’s tears had been reduced to sniffles by this time, but they were both still clearly distressed. “Why don’t we just put them in bed with us for a while?” Luis suggested. “Maybe once they fall asleep again we can take them back to their own room.”

“Okay,” Sheridan said, wiping the tears from Lily’s little cheeks.

The storm subsided and the twins eventually fell into a peaceful sleep cuddled against their parents, but Luis and Sheridan never did take their babies back to their own room. Exhausted beyond measure, both parents followed their children, and succumbed to the fatigue that racked their bodies.

********************

Luis opened his eyes the next morning to a sun-filled room and a tiny foot planted right against his face. He gently pushed it away, and lifted his head slightly to look around. Luke was lying across the bed with his head on Sheridan’s shoulder and the bottom half of his body pointed right at Luis’ head. Lily was sleeping at an angle just below her brother laying in almost the same position, only her feet were resting against Luis’ mid-section. The little girl shifted in her sleep and kicked Luis hard in the stomach causing him to wince. He couldn’t believe they were lying in this huge king-sized bed with plenty of room and yet, everyone was huddled together in a small section of the mattress. Suddenly, Lily opened her big eyes, and smiled at him. “Hi dada,” she said with a big smile.

“Shhhh,” Luis said, holding his finger to his lips, and whispered to her. “Come here Peanut and give daddy a big kiss.”

Luis managed to shift Luke so that he was lying parallel to him without disturbing his sleep, and Lily climbed off of Sheridan with dainty movements and came over to her father. She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a big wet kiss on his cheek. “Dada,” she said, nuzzling his neck.

“You are such a sweet girl,” he said, brushing her blond curls away to whisper in her ear. “Daddy loves you so much.”

Sheridan awakened, and sat up in bed squinting her eyes to the bright light. “What are you two doing?” she said in a low voice, a smile breaking out on her face.

“Sorry, we were trying not to wake you,” Luis said, sheepishly.

“Mama,” Lily squealed, waking Luke in the process.

Fortunately, that little boy didn’t seem to be at all perturbed that he was awakened so suddenly, and hopped up and down onto Luis’ chest giggling the whole time. “Play dada........”

“Oh, you want to play do you?” Luis said, lifting his son in the air, causing Luke to scream in delight and laughter.

“Me dada,” Lily shouted.

“Okay sport, it’s your sister’s turn............”

Suddenly the phone rang and Sheridan scrambled to pick it up. She listened for a while and finally commented. “We’ll be down there later this morning,” she said, hanging up the receiver.

“Who was that?” Luis asked.

“It was the French police. They said they tried to give us time to recover from our ordeal, but they need for us to go down there and make a statement so that they can formally charge Stan and Bernie.”

“I figured that was coming. I’m surprised they gave us this long, but then again I’m surprised they are even doing anything about it at all,” Luis grumbled.

“Well, I guess we better get up and dressed. I can’t believe that it’s already nine o’clock,” Sheridan said, looking at the clock on the bedside table.

“I think we all needed the sleep.” Luis rationalized, as he got out of bed, and lifted his children down. The twins started running for the door, and stopped short when Luis whistled. “Wait for mommy and daddy.”

“Daddy’s right. There are big steps out there that you can fall down, and that would make us very sad if you were to get hurt,” Sheridan told her children gently.

“Kiki,” Lily whimpered, trying to open the doorknob.

“Hold on Peanut. We’re going to your room now to get you dressed and we’ll get your kitty then,” Luis told her patiently.

“You know Luis, I would feel better if we got Claude to come over here since we have to leave Pilar here alone with the children when we go to the police station.”

“That’s probably a good idea. Why don’t we give him a call to see if he’s available?” Luis suggested.

“Claw,” Luke said, clapping his hands together excitedly.

“It looks like the children aren’t going to mind if we leave them for awhile,” Sheridan laughed. “You know Luis, I really think that we need to take your father shopping for some clothes when we’re through at the police station.”

“I know,” Luis agreed. “All he has to his name are some hand-me-downs from Charles. He is not going to be happy about us spending money on him though. In case you didn’t notice, papa is a very proud man.”

“Well, it doesn’t surprise me, because his son is the same way,” Sheridan said, leaning in to kiss him.

“Mama, kiki,” Lily said, reminding her mother that it was time to leave.

“Okay sweetie,” Sheridan said, lifting her daughter in her arms. “Let’s go get your kitty cat.”

Luis picked Luke up and followed them out the door. “Women,” Luis whispered in his son’s ear.

********************

Thankfully Claude was available to come over to guard the children, so they didn’t feel as rushed to get back home after they made their statements to the police. Bernie and Stan were not talking, and refused to name Julian as their boss, so until they could get somebody to bail them out they were stuck in jail. As they left the police station, they broached the subject of shopping for new clothes with Martin, and as they predicted he refused at first. They finally convinced him that he couldn’t arrive back in Harmony with ill-fitting clothes. When Martin still protested they finally convinced him that he could pay them back once he was settled and had a job.

When they arrived back at the town house several hours later the twins were in the middle of playing a game with Claude, and were running around the house like little banshees. Pilar was in the kitchen baking one of Martin’s favorite desserts, and he went to join her. Luis scooped Luke up in his arms as he went running by. “Hey sport, settle down. You’re making so much noise that Ace can probably hear you back in Harmony.”

“Down dada,” Luke said squirming around.

“I don’t know about that Luke,” Sheridan said. “It’s time for you and your sister to take a nap.”

Just then Claude came bouncing into the room with Lily on his shoulders, looking slightly embarrassed when he saw Luis and Sheridan standing there. “Oh, I did not know that you had arrived home.”

“It looks like the twins have kept you busy while we were gone,” Luis laughed. “You do know Claude that it isn’t necessary for you to play with the children.”

“I do not mind at all. It is refreshing to be with these little ones after some of the unsavory people I have dealt with.”

“Still, you own a security company, not a babysitting service,” Luis protested.

“It is because I own that business that I can do the things that I really enjoy, and I really enjoy guarding your delightful children,” Claude assured him.

“That is really sweet of you Claude. The children love you and we are so thankful that you can help us out here,” Sheridan told him.

Pilar and Martin joined them from the kitchen. “So Claude, Pilar tells me that the twins have had a great time with you today.”

“Well, I have had a great time with them as well,” Claude said, handing Lily to Sheridan.

“I have a wonderful idea,” Sheridan said. “Claude are you busy tonight?”

“No, would you like for me to guard the children again?” Claude asked.

“Well, I was thinking that Luis and I could take Martin and Pilar out for dinner, and I think we would all feel better knowing that you are here with the children.”

“That would be a great idea,” Luis agreed smiling. “You two deserve a nice evening out. What do you say mama and papa?”

Martin appeared hesitant to answer, but finally spoke. “If your mother wants to go out then of course I will.........”

“Martin, do you mind if we discuss this in private for a moment?” Pilar requested with a weak smile.

“Of course honey,” Martin said, leading her back into the kitchen.

They came out a few minutes later, and told Luis and Sheridan that they preferred to stay home and spend a quiet evening together with their grandchildren, but insisted that they go out for a romantic evening. “Are you sure about this, because we’re buying,” Luis asked, thinking his parents’ money situation might be an issue.

“No really son, your mother and I have so much time to make up for and we really are looking forward to spending the evening together. It will be fun to put the children to bed, and to tell you the truth, I would rather phase into the social scene slowly.”

“I understand papa,” Luis said, knowingly. “It’s going to take some time to get adjusted again.”

“Well Claude, it looks like you’re off the hook for tonight,” Sheridan said. “I guess we should get these little sweethearts down for their nap or they won’t be fit to live with later.”

********************

As Luis and Sheridan waited for their table, Luis leaned down and whispered in his wife’s ear. “I’m glad that you suggested this. If feels good to have a romantic evening out with just the two of us.”

“It also gives me a chance to wear my new red dress,” Sheridan said with a twinkle in her big blue eyes.

“Which by the way is very sexy,” Luis said, huskily, looking her up and down with a bold stare.

“You might want to stop that, or we might have to go right home,” she chuckled.

“I apologize for the delay,” the maitre d’ said, approaching them. “Prince Albert is here with an entourage and it’s caused quite a commotion.”

“Oh wow,” Luis said, impressed. “Isn’t he the prince that’s always in the Olympics?”

“Maybe we should go some place else,” Sheridan suggested nervously.

“But Sheridan, our table is almost ready, and besides I’ve never seen a real live prince before.”

“Luis, there is something that you...........”

“Your table is ready now,” the maitre d’ said, leading them into the dining room.

Sheridan held her head down, hoping that Albert wouldn’t notice her, but as luck would have it, she glanced up once to see if she could locate the prince and their eyes connected. He smiled, and rose out of his seat and started walking toward them. “Isn’t that him Sheridan? I think that he’s walking this way...........”

“Well.........., he probably is, because actually I know him,” Sheridan admitted.

“What did you say?” Luis asked, not sure he heard her over the noise in the room.

“Sheridan Crane,” the prince said, taking her hands. “I couldn’t believe it when I looked over and saw you. My God, what has it been? Four years since we saw each other last?”

“Yes, I believe that it has been about four years,” Sheridan said, flashing him a smile. Luis put his arm around her waist possessively, drawing her closer. “I would like to introduce you to my husband. Albert Grimaldi, meet my husband, Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald.”

“Well, it’s good to meet the man that captured Sheridan’s heart,” Albert said, shaking Luis’ hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too,” Luis said, smiling, shaking Albert’s hand with a firm grip. “So what do I call you? Prince Albert?”

“Oh God no,” Albert laughed. “That name always makes me feel like I’m a brand of cigars. So............, how is married life treating you?”

“Married life is amazing,” Sheridan said, grabbing Luis’ hand. “You really should try it Albert. You must be giving your poor father fits.............”

“No, I leave that task for my sister, Stephanie,” Albert laughed. “Well, I think we’re causing a scene standing here. Why don’t you join us for dinner?”

“That’s very kind of you Albert, but we sort of planned to have a quiet dinner........”

“I understand, but you can at least have a drink with us,” he pleaded.

Sheridan looked to Luis for some direction, but he answered for her. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t join you for a drink. What do you say Sheridan?”

She couldn’t believe that Luis was being so gracious about everything. He actually seemed to generally like Albert, and she felt comfortable in accepting his offer. “I think a drink would be lovely.”

“Good,” Albert said, smiling. “I think there are a few people in my party that you may even know Sheridan.”

Unfortunately for Sheridan one of them was Lady Mitzi Fellows, and to make matters worse, there weren’t two empty chairs together, so Luis ended up sitting right next to her. The woman had always been a troublemaker and Sheridan didn’t trust her any further than she could throw her. She tried to concentrate on what Albert was saying, but she couldn’t pull her eyes off of Mitzi who was taking quite an interest in Luis. If only she knew just what the woman was saying to her husband, she would have never agreed to this drink. She would have also came across the table and pulled out every fake red strand out of Mitzi’s head.

Luis was feeling a little uncomfortable by the way Mitzi was moving her body against his when she spoke to him. He tried to move away, but the table was crowded and there wasn’t anywhere to go. She took a sip of her wine and flashed her brown eyes at him. Luis, trying to keep the conversation from getting too personal asked her what it meant to be a Lady. “So, does your title mean that you’re royalty or something?” Luis asked.

“Heavens no,” Mitzi laughed. “My father is an Earl, but that doesn’t mean that I’m royalty. In fact, I’m considered a commoner by the British Monarchy. I do have tons of money though and that speaks volumes.”

“Well, I’m a commoner too, and it’s fine with me,” Luis said, trying to make inane conversation.

“Oh believe me, there is nothing common about you Luis.......... I can call you Luis can’t I?”

“Yeah, sure. Everybody else does. I’ve never been one to stand on formality,” Luis said, looking over to Sheridan who was laughing at something that Albert said.

“You must be an amazing man for Sheridan to have married you,” Mitzi said, looking him up and down. “She could have been a princess you know.”

“What do you mean?” Luis asked, not sure he really wanted to know, but it was like when someone tells you not to put the knife in the toaster.

“Oh dear,” Mitzi said with a false tone of remorse. “I thought that you knew that Sheridan and Albert had a hot torrid affair. The prince wanted to marry her, but she suddenly ended the relationship when she met Jean Luc and broke poor Albert’s heart.”

“Oh that,” Luis said, laughing. “Of course she told me all about it. Sheridan and I have no secrets.” He refused to let the bitch know that she had rattled him.

“So tell me Luis,” Mitzi said, moving her head closer to his. “Do you and Sheridan have a conventional marriage?”

“Well Lady Mitzi, Sheridan and I have about the most conventional marriage around, so I suggest you get any thoughts of having sex with me out of your head and go take a cold shower,” Luis said, pulling his chair back to get up from the table. He flashed Sheridan a look that told her it was time for them to leave.

Sheridan and Luis excused themselves from the group, and made their way to a table in the corner. It was partially secluded and very romantic, but the tension that Sheridan felt from Luis made the situation less then an amorous moment. “Okay Luis, are you going to tell me what Mitzi said to you?”

“Why, do you have something to hide Sheridan?” he asked with a raised brow.

“Oh, I just knew it,” Sheridan sputtered. “I could just see the lies flowing out of her botox injected lips. Now, I want you to tell me right now what she told you.”

“Never mind Sheridan. It’s none of my business what you did before you met me.”

“Don’t give me that Luis,” she said with wild flashing eyes. “I can tell by now when you’re upset about something. Oh, and by the way, I saw the way that hussy was rubbing her body all over you.”

The arrival of the waiter stopped him from replying at first, but after they gave him their order, he opened his mouth to speak again. “Well, I will admit that Lady Mitzi is a slut, but I can assure you that I wasn’t interested.”

“Oh please,” Sheridan said, with a sarcastic laugh. “I can assure you that Mitzi is no lady.”

“Why is it that you’re so determined to pick a fight tonight Sheridan?” Luis said, giving her a skeptic look.

“I’m not trying to pick a fight, but I can tell that you’re madder than hell about something and I just want you to tell me what it is. You just sit there all calm and collected when I can see it in your eyes that you’re ready to blow a gasket. Now, tell me what Mitzi said to you.”

“Okay,” Luis said, leaning in toward her. “She couldn’t wait to give me all the details about your hot affair with Albert, and how you broke his heart when you dumped him for Jean Luc. God Sheridan, I can’t believe you dumped a prince for that loser...........”

“Oh my God,” Sheridan said, furiously. She is unbelievable........... For your information, I NEVER had a hot affair with Albert. We dated a couple of times, and I can assure you that it was very innocent. I didn’t meet Jean Luc until months later. You believe me don’t you...........?”

“Yes, I believe you Sheridan,” Luis said, seeming to relax a bit. “I am curious about something though. Why have you been acting so nervous ever since you found out that Albert was here?”

“Well...............,” she said, biting her bottom lip anxiously. “If you really must know, I was afraid that you would get upset that I knew Albert. You have to admit that you’ve had issues in the past about my jet set friends................”

“I’m sorry Sheridan,” Luis said, taking her hand, shocking her in the process. “You have every right to expect me to act like an ass when it comes to your past. I‘m really trying to work on that.”

“You mean, you’re not angry with me?” she asked, totally surprised by his attitude.

“How can I be mad at you? I will admit that it would be intimidating for any guy to know that his wife dated a prince. There are not many men that can live up to that, but I can honestly say that I liked the guy. He seemed to be really down to earth.”

“But you seemed so angry before...........”

“Only because Mitzi made it all seem so sordid, but now that you’ve told me what really happened I’ve had a chance to calm down.”

“Thank you for believing me Luis,” she said giving him a grateful smile.

“You don’t have to thank me Sheridan,” he told her with such passion in his eyes. “I love you, and I trust you so it’s not a biggie to believe you. Now, I think they’re playing our song. Would you like to dance with me?”

“I would love to dance with you,” she said with a seductive look.

He led her out onto the dance floor, and molded his body close to hers as they swayed to the slow music. “So tell me something,” he whispered in her ear. “Why would a woman that could have a prince choose a simple cop to spend the rest of her life with?”

“Come on Luis.......... Have you ever looked in the mirror?” she teased. “Seriously though........... There really wasn’t any choice here. The minute I met you I had this strong feeling that you were going to make a profound difference in my life, and then I fell in love with you. You don’t have a choice when it comes to love.”

“Good answer,” he chuckled, right before he pressed her closer to plant a kiss on her lips.

“I think we should hurry up and eat dinner, because I really have the urge to make love with you,” she whispered, huskily.

“Oh God,” Luis said, closing his eyes. “Maybe we can get it to go..........”

Luis was just joking about getting their food to go, but they did finish their meal in record time, and were heading out of the restaurant when they were accosted by the paparazzi. The press had probably gotten wind that Prince Albert was dining inside and were laying in wait. One of them shouted that it was Sheridan Crane, and the flashes were coming from all directions, blinding them momentarily. When they overheard one of the photographers make the comment that he had gotten a picture of the children, and now he had one of the parents to make his collection complete, Luis went ballistic. He pulled the camera from the man’s hands, and ripped the film from the inside, tearing it to shreds. “You stay the hell away from my children, because if I ever catch you taking their picture again to exploit it all over the tabloids, I’ll shove this where the sun doesn’t shine,” he said, shoving the camera back in the photographer’s hands.

“How dare you,” the man shouted angrily. “I should sue you for that. You can’t just destroy my property like that.”

Luis took some francs out of his pocket, wadded them into a ball and threw that at the reporter. “There, buy yourself some more film, but just make sure that you don’t use it to take any more pictures of my family. Come on Sheridan; let’s get out of here.”

Once they got inside their rented car and were driving away, Sheridan finally spoke. “I’m not so sure that was a very smart thing to do Luis. I hope you realize that your picture is going to be on the front of the tabloids tomorrow morning tearing that man’s film up.”

“Good, then maybe the rest of those idiots will get the idea to stay the hell away from us,” Luis said, stubbornly.

“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you..........”

********************

The day of the celebration dinner arrived, and so did Georges. Martin was delighted to see his friend, but was surprised that Georges was released from the clinic. He explained that since he checked himself in, then it was easy enough to check himself out, and that he was doing really well as long as he took his medication. Everyone laughed when Georges explained that he had told Doctor Heintzman that he signed a major movie deal and that the administrator would end up being a very rich man because of it. Charles and Juliette arrived a few hours later and everyone joined together with a glass of champagne to celebrate the happy reunion of old friends and family. About an hour before dinner was to be served Luis approached Sheridan and told her he had an errand to run.

“Luis, where could you possibly have to go right now?” she protested. “We have a house full of guests, and it would be rude to leave.”

“I’m sorry Sheridan, but this can’t be helped. I promise I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Okay, wait a minute. I figure that your mysterious surprise was to have Georges come for the party, so what else to you have up your sleeve?”

“My lips are sealed,” he said, heading for the door. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Where did Luis run off to?” Pilar asked walking up beside Sheridan.

“I have no idea,” Sheridan told her. “He’s being very secretive.”

“I guess we will find out soon enough. Come Sheridan, you need to see how adorable the children are.”

“Please tell me that Lily is not showing her panties to everyone,” Sheridan said, chuckling.

“As far as I know she is being the perfect little lady so far,” Pilar said, chuckling too.

“You know Pilar, we really haven’t had much of a chance to talk since we brought Martin home, but I just wanted you to know how happy I am for you. You have always been such a sweet and caring person, but I could detect a certain sadness in your eyes. It is so good to see that is gone now. In fact, you are positively glowing these days.”

“That is because I finally have my husband back again, and I have you and Luis to thank for that. I just do not know how I can ever thank you,” Pilar said, hugging Sheridan tightly.

“Seeing the joy on your face is thanks enough for me,” she said, kissing her mother-in-law’s cheek.

“I know that it has been crazy around here with the house full of people, but I think that when you get a private moment you should have a talk with Martin.”

“You’re talking about that night aren’t you?” Sheridan said, knowingly.

“Yes mija, that is exactly what I am referring to. I think that it would be good for the both of you if you discussed what happened,” Pilar advised.

“I think so to Pilar. Actually, I’ve been dying to ask Martin about it, but I wanted to give him some room to breathe before I started to bring up unpleasant things.”

“Well, I think you will both know when it is the right time,” Pilar assured her.

“You know Pilar, I have a feeling that things are really looking up for us,” Sheridan said, happily.

“I think so too,” Pilar agreed. “Now if I would only hear from Theresa and Miguel things would be perfect.”

“What do you mean Pilar? Have you not talked with them in a while?”

“Martin and I tried to call them early this morning to tell them the news about their father. We wanted them to hear the news from us before it got out in the newspapers. I know it was in the middle of the night there, but there was no answer. I left a message on the recorder, but they still have not returned our call.”

“Don’t worry Pilar,” Sheridan said, comforting her. “I’m sure that if anything happened to either one of them that Chad or Evan would have called to tell us. They probably didn’t feel like getting up to answer the phone, and then forgot to check the recorder.”

“I’m sure you are right. Perhaps we should try and call them later tonight. They are going to be so happy to hear about Martin. Oh well, let’s go join the others. Hopefully Luis will be back soon.”

Sheridan followed Pilar to the living room and suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. It finally occurred to her where Luis was. This whole time she had thought his big surprise had been Georges, but that was only part of it. She couldn’t believe he pulled this off without any of them finding out about what he was up to. He was such a good son, and she couldn’t wait to see the look on Martin’s face when he saw what Luis had in store for them. When she finally joined the others, she had to laugh out loud when she saw what her children were up to. Juliette had turned out to be an accomplished pianist, and was playing a lively tune on the piano. Luke and Lily were furnishing the entertainment by dancing in the middle of the room. Lily was moving her little fanny back and forth in perfect time to the music and Luke was bouncing up and down, giggling the whole time. Everyone in the room was enchanted with the little performers, and the twins were eating up the attention.

When the song was over, everyone was clapping for the babies when Luis walked in the room wearing a huge smile. “Hey, it looks like you started the party without me.”

“Sorry son, but your children were just dancing for us, and it was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” Martin said, smiling. “They’re quite the little entertainers.”

“Well papa, you might want to sit down, because I have a surprise for you,” Luis said, hardly able to contain himself.

“But son, you already surprised me by arranging for Georges to join us tonight. What else could there be.............? Oh my God................. Could it really be.............? Martin said when he saw who stepped into the room.

“Yes papa, it’s me, Theresa,” she said, flying into her father’s arms.

Martin hugged his daughter close to his chest, his eyes welling up with tears. “Let me look at you,” he said, finally pulling away. “I can’t believe my little girl is all grown up, and you’re so beautiful too.”

“Yes papa, I’m all grown up,” Theresa said, wiping her tears away. “Look behind me. Miguel is here too............”

Miguel stepped into Martin’s view and he shook his head in disbelief. “Come here son. I know you’re not too old to give your papa a hug.”

Miguel did as his father requested, and by that time Miguel was enclosed in Martin’s arms there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, except for maybe Luke and Lily. They were just so excited that Mig and Teetee were finally here to play with them.

Chapter 24

This celebration was one of those special events that the Lopez-Fitzgerald’s would never forget. The love that they all shared was evident to everyone in the room, and their happiness was a heartwarming site to see. The food was delicious, and after dinner someone turned on the music and the dancing started. Martin danced with his wife and then with his daughter. Luis saw this as a perfect opportunity to be close to Sheridan, so he took her hand and pulled her to the middle of the room. They danced in silence for a while, when Sheridan finally spoke.

“You are simply amazing,” she said, her eyes filled with pride and love. “Do you have any idea how happy you’ve made your father tonight?”

“He deserves it after all this time. My father has lost ten years of his life, and I was not going to make him wait any longer to see Theresa and Miguel. I wasn’t sure how long this immigration thing would keep us here.”

“You know Luis, the tenderness that you show your family is very attractive to me. It is one of the many reasons that I love you so much.”

“You might not say that after I tell you that I’m going to have to cut this short because there is a another girl that I really want to dance with. To tell you the truth, I think that I have a major crush on her.”

“Let’s see,” she said, wrinkling her forehead in thought. “You’re related to two of the women, and Juliette is married, so that only leaves Claude’s girlfriend. Should I be jealous?”

“No, but I hope you are willing to share a piece of my heart, because she‘s pretty close to perfect. You see, she’s very short, with blond curly hair, and she has big blue eyes like her mother.”

“Oh Luis, that is so sweet. I’m sure that Lily would love to dance with her daddy. I think that while you’re doing that, I’ll dance with that cute short guy over there peeking over the table with his finger on the cake .”

Luis looked over and saw his son sucking on his finger, and laughed. “I think you better get over there before he goes into a sugar coma.”

“Okay, I’ll see you in a little while,” Sheridan said, giving Luis a brief kiss before she went to collect her little boy. She moved toward him and scooped him up in her arms. “Mommy saw you eating that icing.”

“Mo,” Luke said, trying to bend down to get at the cake.

“No sweetie,” Sheridan gently corrected him. “Mommy doesn’t want you to have too much sugar, but she would love to dance with you.” She began to sway to the music, and Luke wrapped his arms around her neck to hug her close. She looked over and saw Luis dancing with Lily, and she had to smile when she saw her little girl bobbing her head to the music. “Look over there Luke. Who is that?”

“Dada...........”

“And who is that with daddy............?”

“Leelee...............”

“Oh you are so cute,” Sheridan said, squeezing him tightly. She moved closer to Luis and gave him the signal that it was time to put the children to bed.

When the music stopped Luis announced that it was time for Luke and Lily to go to bed. The twins made their rounds to give everyone a goodnight kiss, and there wasn’t a person in the room that didn’t think they were the most adorable children. Since there were a limited amount of bedrooms, Luis and Sheridan said that they would move the twins in with them, but Theresa insisted that she didn’t mind if they remained in the room she was going to occupy. Georges had his own house in Paris, and Charles and Juliette would be staying with their son, who lived on the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately for Miguel, there was no rooms left, and he was regulated to sleep on the leather sofa in the small library, but he said he didn’t mind at all.

Several hours later after all the guests had gone home, and the rest of the family was settled in for the night, Luis and Sheridan were lying in bed discussing how wonderful the evening turned out. “I know I’ve said this before Luis, but you really are a wonderful son. I will never forget the look on your father’s face tonight when he saw Theresa and Miguel walk into the room. It was truly a heartwarming moment.”

“There have been a lot of heartwarming moments since we found papa. I think that papa seeing mama for the first time was my personal favorite.”

“Oh I know,” Sheridan agreed. “To see two people in love reunite after so many years was amazing. I can’t even imagine being without you for that long. I think that I would just dry up and die.”

“No you wouldn’t, because you have Luke and Lily to think about, and I truly believe that was the only reason that mama made it through all of this.”

“Yes, Luke and Lily would be my saving grace. They were such a comfort to me when you were missing after Julian was shot, but still to be without you for ten years...........”

“Sheridan let’s not talk about something that isn’t going to happen. Things are going so good in our lives right now, and we need to concentrate on that.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to put a damper on the evening. I promise I’ll talk only about good things,” she said, running her hand over his chest.

“Now, that’s more like it,” he told her, right before he kissed her lips. “Oh, I almost forgot, what were Charles and Juliette talking to Theresa and Miguel about?”

“Charles was telling them about his grandson that just finished his first year at the university. He said that he was sure that Gaston, that’s his name would show them around Paris. Of course Miguel didn’t think that was a good idea since he felt they should spend time with your father. Of course your father interceded, and told them that he wanted them to go out and have a good time, because it wasn’t every day that they could see Paris.”

“That sounds like papa,” Luis said with affection. “You know Sheridan, he’s exactly the way I remembered him. He could have turned into a bitter man after everything that he’s been through, but he didn’t.”

“He really is a wonderful man Luis. You know, earlier your mother was encouraging me to speak with your father about what happened that night he disappeared.”

“Well, I didn’t want to bring that up, but I agree with mama. Maybe it will help you to finally get some answers to your nightmares. Papa might even be able to figure out what is fact and what is fiction. But, I want to make sure that you’re ready, because if you’re not, then I’ll support you.”

“Oh believe me Luis, I am more than ready. This had been haunting me far too long now. I obviously didn’t kill your father, but there has to be a reason I kept dreaming about the blood on my hands.”

“I want you to get to the truth too, because I can’t ever stand to see you in pain..........”

“Oh Luis,” she cried, feeling so emotional right now. “I feel so lucky to have you in my life. Most men would have run screaming into the night rather than deal with all of my emotional baggage, but you never once faltered...........”

“Hey,” he said, lifting her chin to stare into her eyes. “That goes both ways you know. I’m not exactly the poster boy for the emotionally stable, and you have helped me work through a lot of things too.”

“I don’t want to talk anymore,” she said, lowing her lips to his. “I just want to feel............”

********************

The last thing that Gaston Welling wanted to do today was show two Americans the sites of Paris, but here he was on his way to pick them up. One reason he had agreed to this was because he found it impossible to refuse his grand-mere and grand-pere anything. Hopefully, he could show them the highlights and be just in time to join his friends later. Another reason he had agreed to this was because he had yet to inform his parents about the modeling contract he had signed, and he didn‘t want to cause any friction right now. They were very insistent that he receive a formal education at the university, and his new career was going to delay that for a while. It was not as if he had been looking for a career in modeling, but when the famous agent had approached him on the street, he found it the perfect opportunity to make a lot of money quickly. He still planned to finish his education, but at least his parents would not have to struggle in order for him to do that. His grand-pere had offered to pay for everything, but his parents had refused, so it was up to him to take the strain off of them. Now, all he had to do was get through this day, and then he could take advantage of the few weeks he had left to have some fun before he began working.

His grand-pere had given him excellent directions, and he easily located the townhouse in the affluent section of Paris. After knocking at the door, he was greeted by a gentleman that introduced himself as Martin Fitzgerald. Gaston felt he knew the man already, because his grand-pere had told him all about the tragic story that had brought Martin to Paris. Once inside he also met Martin’s wife, Pilar, his son, Luis and his daughter-in-law Sheridan, whom he remembered from seeing her pictures in the paper and magazines. Gaston was confused at first, because he was under the impression that the people that he was supposed to show around were more his age. “Is there any place specific that you would like to see first?” he asked, hoping to get some answers.

“Oh no Gaston,” Martin laughed. “It’s my other son Miguel and my daughter Theresa that you will be playing tour guide for. It seems that they’re not moving very quickly this morning.”

“Let me go see what is taking them so long,” Pilar said, going to look for Miguel and Theresa.

Just as she climbed the stairs, Miguel came running from the back of the house with the twins chasing him, screaming and laughing. “You can’t catch me,” he taunted them.

“Thanks Miguel,” Luis said. “You get my kids all worked up, and then you leave.”

“Sorry Luis, but they like to chase me for some reason,” Miguel said, apologetically.

Luis and Sheridan picked up their children trying to get them to calm down. “Sorry about all of the commotion Gaston,” she said, flashing him a bright smile that made him weak in the knees. “These are our twins, Luke and Lily.”

“They are beautiful children,” Gaston said, smiling. “You should put them in the movies.”

“No, don’t think we’re going to do that,” Luis said. “My kids are going to live a normal life, but I do appreciate the compliment.”

“Sorry I’m late,” Theresa said, bouncing down the stairs looking like a ray of sunshine.

Gaston looked up, his green eyes connecting with her big brown eyes and suddenly he wasn’t dreading this day after all. It felt like someone had socked him in the stomach, but it was a good kind of feeling. He knew that it was rude to stare, but he couldn’t seem to turn away. “Hello,” he finally chocked out.

“Hello,” she returned in a breathless voice, but that was all she could manage to say. For as long as Theresa could remember she had been in love with Ethan Crane. In fact, she had never even looked at another guy with feelings of romance, so what was it about this guy that could turn her insides into mush? Gaston Welling was drop dead gorgeous, and a woman would have to be blind not to be affected by him. He had long light-brown hair with gold highlights, and chiseled features with green eyes that you could lose yourself in. She felt guilty for having these feelings, but not enough to fight them off.

Pilar noticed the two of them staring at each other like there was nobody else in the room, and it gave her a sense of hope. For so long she had tried to talk Teresita from her foolish mission to win Ethan Crane with no luck, but now here was her daughter actually showing interest in someone other than the Crane heir. “This is my other son Miguel, and my daughter Theresa,” Pilar told Gaston.

Pilar’s words seemed to finally bring Gaston out of his haze, and he greeted Miguel and Theresa properly. “”Are you ready to go?”

“I guess so,” Miguel replied.

“I’m ready,” Theresa said, smiling. “Shall we go?”

“It looks like somebody is smitten,” Sheridan said, after the three had left.

“Who’s smitten?” Luis asked, confused. “Did I miss something?”

“You know honey, sometimes you can be so oblivious to the things going on around you,” Sheridan laughed. “Come on, let’s get the children a snack and I‘ll explain it to you.

“I guess I’m as oblivious as Luis,” Martin said. “Maybe you need to explain it to me too.”

“I think what Sheridan is referring to is the spark between Teresita and Gavin, and I for once could not be more pleased.”

“Don’t you think it would be a problem if they really started to care about each other,” Martin warned. “A long distance relationship is not easy to sustain.”

“I do realize that Martin, but I am just so thrilled that Teresita is even showing interest in a man.”

“What are you saying Pilar? Martin said, worried. “I hope you’re not implying............”

“No,” Pilar smiled. “I can promise that our daughter is a normal young woman, but there is something that I haven’t told you.”

“Theresa’s not sick is she?” Martin asked, concern written on his face.

“No, she is not ill,” Pilar assured him. “Teresita has had a crush on Ethan Crane since she was a young girl. Ever since then she has been determined that he is the man for her, and she says that it is fate that they will marry someday. The situation has become impossible.”

“Well Pilar, I admit that I wouldn’t want to see my daughter married to a Crane, only because I know that Julian would fight a match between his son and our daughter, but if they love each other............ Luis and Sheridan were able to overcome all of that..........”

“There is no relationship between them Martin. Ethan is engaged to marry Gwen Hotchkiss...........”

“What!” Martin said, aghast. “I will not have a daughter of mine chasing after an engaged man. It’s just disrespectful, and I can’t believe that Luis would approve of Theresa carrying on like that!”

“Luis doesn’t know,” Pilar said, lowering her eyes. “I’m ashamed to say I’ve been keeping it from him. Our son has such a temper, and I was afraid that he would send his sister to a convent. He thinks that it was nothing but a school girl crush and that she is over it now.”

“I hope to hell you’re right about Theresa showing an interest in Charles’ grandson, but if Theresa doesn’t get over Ethan Crane, I’ll make sure that she does,” Martin promised, with determination.

********************

Luis was gracious enough to offer to put the children down for their nap and since the house was quiet, Sheridan decided that now would be the time to seek out Martin. She looked for him in the kitchen and found Pilar cleaning out the cupboards. “Pilar, what are you doing?”

“I was putting the dishes away from lunch and I thought that these cupboards could use wiping out.”

“Pilar, you are not here to do housework, and I want you to stop now and spend some time with your husband.”

“I really do not mind Sheridan, and besides, I am almost finished. I am not used to just sitting around with idle hands.”

“Okay, but you have to promise me that you are going to learn how to relax,” Sheridan said with determination.

“I will promise to give it some consideration,” Pilar said, smiling. “Where is Luis?”

“He was sweet enough to put the children down for their nap, and I was thinking that now might be a good time to have that talk with Martin.”

“That is an excellent idea Sheridan,” Pilar said, approvingly. “I believe that Martin said he was going to the library.”

“Are you sure that he won’t mind.........?”

“Go Sheridan,” Pilar said, giving her a hug for support.

Sheridan thanked Pilar, and started out for the library. She found the door open, and saw Martin standing in front of the bookcases browsing through the titles. It was apparent that he didn’t see her, so she cleared her throat to get his attention. “Oh Sheridan, I didn’t see you standing there,” Martin said, greeting her with a warm smile.

“Have you found something that interested you?” she asked, smiling back.

“Oh yes,” he said, looking around in awe. “The problem is I can’t decide what I want to read first. When I was in the clinic my choices for reading material were very limited because they wanted to keep me detached from the outside world.”

“That time must have been terrible for you,” Sheridan said, sadly. “I’m really sorry..........”

“Let’s make a deal Sheridan,” he said, holding out his hand to shake. “Now that you are part of the family, there will be no more apologizes for something that your family did.”

“Okay,” she said, shaking his hand with a bright smile. “Martin, I really hate to bring up unpleasant things, but I was wondering if we could talk about the night you disappeared.............. I mean, the night that my father destroyed your life...........”

“I’m glad that you brought that night out in the open. I’ve wanted to say something to you before, but I didn’t know if you were ready..........”

“Oh Martin, you wouldn’t believe how much I want to know about that night, even though I’m scared to death that I did something terrible. If I did anything to harm you in any way.............”

Martin put his hand up to stop her. “You didn’t Sheridan. Why don’t we sit down over here and maybe he can help each other to understand what happened.” Once they were seated, Martin gave her a warm smile. “Now, why don’t you tell me what you remember about that night?”

“That’s the problem Martin. I have yet to define what is fact and what is fiction. This whole thing has haunted me for years, and it’s all such a convoluted mess in my head. For the longest time I believed that I stabbed you, and then when Pilar received the letter from you............ Well, you can imagine how relieved and happy I was to find out that you were alive.”

“Why don’t you just tell me about your nightmare, and maybe I can tell you if it is reality,” Martin suggested.

“Okay,” she said, shakily. “I remember I was feeling really happy that night about something, and I had just said my prayers when a noise downstairs frightened me. I was afraid to investgate, but it was as if something was pulling me forward. I remember seeing a man who I can assume now was you, but for some reason I got a letter opener out of the drawer, and.............” Sheridan had to stop for a moment, because she was starting to shake with the memories.

“It’s okay Sheridan, just take some deep breaths and it will help you to relax,” Martin told her with an encouraging smile.

Sheridan did as he advised, and continued. “The next thing I remember was standing there with blood on my hands, and my father was telling me that I was a bad little girl. There was a body under a sheet lying on the floor, and then they put him in a casket and took it away...........”

“Damn,” Martin said, furiously. “That must be how they transported me out of the country. Sheridan, your nightmare is true, but you did not stab me..........”

“Oh my God,” she cried. “I can’t believe that it was true after all, but I don’t understand. Was there someone else there besides my father and brother?”

“No Sheridan,” Martin said, tentatively. “The person that you stabbed was Alistair.”

“What?” she said, shaking from Martin’s revelation. “But why...........?”

“Your father came after me and a struggle ensued. He tried to strangle me, and you came up behind him shouting for him to stop. Alistair pushed you away, but you came back and stabbed him in the leg with the letter opener. You told him to stop hurting mommy.”

“I said that?” she asked, astonished. “Why would I bring up my mother? She was already dead............”

“I don’t know Sheridan, but you seemed to go to another place when you said that. I didn’t have much time to analyze it because suddenly everything went black, and I don’t remember anything after that. I was able to put two and two together when I thought about it later and I decided that Julian must have hit me on the head from behind.”

Sheridan stood, and began to pace the floor. “This is just so unbelievable. You gave me answers, but now I have even more questions. Oh Martin, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I was very much help to you.........”

“You did help me Sheridan. I now have some idea about what happened to me after Julian knocked me out cold.”

Suddenly, it was too much for Sheridan. This revelation about her stabbing her father, and what she said about her mother was so much to absorb. She felt so emotional all of a sudden, and the tears started flowing before she could stop them. Martin hopped up from his chair and pulled her into a hug to comfort her. “You must think I’m a blubbering fool.............” she sobbed.

“No I don’t,” Martin said, patting her on the back. “You have just been delivered some shocking news, but you need to remember that you were a brave little girl that night. You did start out defending me............”

“It sounds like I didn’t know what I was doing,” Sheridan cried.

“Papa what happened?” Luis called from the opened doorway. “Sheridan are you okay?”

“Oh Luis,” she said, turning to run to her husband’s arms. “I’m so glad that you’re here.”

“What is it sweetie?” he asked, brushing her tears away with his finger.

“I think that I’m going to go speak with your mother.” Martin told Luis. “It looks like Sheridan is in good hands,” Martin said, closing the door behind him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Luis asked, lifting her chin to look into her liquid blue eyes.

“I don’t know what emotion is making me the most upset,” Sheridan said, finally calming down. “You father and I were just discussing the events of the night that he disappeared. He told me some things that knocked me for a loop.”

“Tell me about it,” Luis said, trying to encourage her to let it out.

“Okay,” she said with a weak smile. She told him everything that Martin had revealed to her about that night and her shock at having stabbed her father. “Why would I have said that about my mother Luis?”

“I don’t know honey. Maybe you have some more repressed feelings about your mother that came out that night. We both know from your mother’s journal that her life with Alistair became tremulous. You might have witnessed something your father did that brought it all out that night.”

“Yeah, maybe I did,” she said, staring off in deep thought. “I just wish that I could remember everything.”

“There is a good note to all of this. At least you now know that those nightmares were based on real events. It’s just that your father made sure you remembered things in his favor, and also implicated yourself in the process. I really think that with Barbara’s help you’ll be able to figure everything out. You are very brave and strong and you also have me and the munchkins for support, and we all love you very much.

“I know that I’ve said this before, but you really are my Knight in Shining Armor, and I can’t wait to get back to get back to Harmony, so that I can kick Julian’s ass for his part in all of this.”

“Now, that’s my girl,” Luis chuckled.

********************

One day of playing tour guide had turned into five and Gaston Welling was sure that he was falling in love. Theresa, in spite of the guilt she felt was starting to feel the same way. She tried to fight the strong feelings, but the more time she spent with Gaston, the more Ethan Crane’s face began to fade from her memory. Poor Miguel had bowed out after about the third day, saying that he was tired of feeling like a third wheel when he was around the couple. At the end of their date together, Gaston would always offer to take her out the next day, and she would always decline, saying that she should spend time with her father. Martin would have none of it and strongly encouraged his daughter to go out and have a good time, and Theresa did just that. She felt like she was ready to burst with her feelings and she decided to call Whitney to tell her the news. When she was done filling Whitney in on the current situation, her friend was speechless for a few minutes.

“Okay, please tell me who you are and what you have done with my best friend,” Whitney asked, unable to contain her shock.

“I know it’s hard to believe Whit, but it’s true. I think I’m falling in love.”

“Okay Theresa, pardon me for being a skeptic, but how can you love this guy after only a few days, when all you have talked about for years is getting Ethan Crane to love you?”

“It must be fate Whit,” Theresa giggled. “I don’t know how else to explain it.”

“Oh God, here we go again. Theresa, I don’t mean to rain on your parade, but what are you going to do when you have to come back to Harmony and he has to stay in Paris?”

“You always did have to be the voice of doom Whit. I’m not sure we’re going to do, but I know that we’ll work it out. You should see him Whit. He is so gorgeous, and he has the sexiest French accent. He even told me that I was belle. That means beautiful, and he hasn’t told his parents yet, but he just signed a modeling contract with one of the biggest agencies..............”

“Theresa, is that Whitney on the phone?” Luis asked, coming up behind her, scaring her half to death.

“Yes Luis, would you mind...........?”

“Yes, I would mind. Do you have any idea how much that phone call is costing?”

“Oh no,” Theresa said, rolling her eyes. “Does that mean I’m in trouble now?”

“Only if you don’t hang up in five minutes,” Luis warned. “Now hurry up and tell Whitney about what a hunk Gaston is, and hang up the phone.”

“Very funny Luis,” Theresa said, getting very frustrated with her brother.

Suddenly Lily ran up to Theresa and started to pull on her hand. “Play Teetee.”

“Okay sweetie. Just let me say bye to Whitney,” Theresa told her little niece.

“Bye bye,” Lily shouted into the phone, waving her little hand.

Theresa laughed at Lily’s antics. “I better go now Whit, but I’ll call you back when Luis isn’t around.”

“Okay, but just don’t put Lily’s hair in any of those funky hairstyles that you come up with............”

“Oh Whit, you just gave me the perfect idea on how to freak out Luis. Can you just imagine the look on his face when he sees his little girl with ten pigtails in her hair?”

********************

The immigration attorney had called and told Martin that his papers were all in order and he would be able to leave the country in a couple of days. Since their days in Paris were winding down, Sheridan decided that she needed to show Luis the romantic side of Paris. The first time they were here together hadn’t been under the best of situations, and they had only managed to have a brief tour. When Sheridan suggested her idea with Luis, he readily agreed, wanting to have some time alone with his wife. He loved his family dearly, but he was looking forward to getting home to their own house again without all of these bodies being around. Their first stop was a stroll down the Champs-Elyees, but Luis said even though it was impressive, it was a little rich for his blood. The next venture was a visit to the Louvre to admire all the works of the masters, and it was very romantic to see Sheridan’s eyes light up as she admired the fine works of art. Luis accidentally stepped onto a restricted area and set off the alarm, and it took some fancy talking on Sheridan’s part to keep him from being arrested. They ended up running out of the museum laughing like giddy teenagers.

Sheridan suggested that they go to the Left Bank to see the struggling street artist. After she gave him the tour of where some of the most famous painters in the world had lived, they stopped at a sidewalk cafe for some rich coffee and pastries. Luis watched as Sheridan licked the sticking icing from her fingers, and couldn’t resist pulling her hand over to give her a kiss on the very spot where her tongue had been.

The day ended with a very romantic dinner at one of Sheridan’s favorite Bristol's and they shared a wonderful bottle of wine. The atmosphere lent itself to brief kisses and handholding, and by the time dinner was over they were dying to be alone. On their way back to the townhouse Sheridan told Luis to turn around and head for the Eiffel Tower.

“But honey, I thought that you wanted to go home and get romantic,” Luis said, puzzled by her suggestion.

“I do, but I can’t let you leave Paris without seeing the view from the tower. Come on Luis, I know that you won’t regret it.”

“Okay,” he said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “I’m your slave tonight.”

When they arrived, the place was closing for the night but between Sheridan’s charming smile and the francs Luis placed in the guards hand, he allowed them to take the elevator up to the top of the tower, if they promised not to be too long. When they got to the top the place was deserted, leaving them completely alone.

Sheridan walked up to the railing and gazed out at the lights, while Luis came up behind her and placed his arms around her waist. “They say that Paris is the most romantic city in the world,” Sheridan said, sighing out loud. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“It certainly is, but it’s not as beautiful as you are,” he said, kissing her neck.

“Luis, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something............. You know how you‘ve mentioned a couple of times how you would like to have another baby..........”

“Oh God Sheridan, are you trying to tell me that you’re...........”

“No,” she said, laughing softly. “What I was trying to say that I’m ready to start working on that baby now. I stopped taking my birth control............ That is okay with you isn’t it?”

“It’s more than okay,” Luis said, picking her up and swinging her around in a circle. “I want nothing more than to have another baby with you.”

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close. “I think we should go home and start working on that baby right now.”

“Let’s not wait to get home,” he mumbled right before he lowered his head and gave her a kiss that made her melt against him.

“Luis, we couldn’t...........”

“Oh yes we could........”

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