Way to Her Heart

by Melanie Schuster

  “No, you didn’t. It was just perfect,” she said softly.

  While she was washing up, Alexis and Jared came to help in the kitchen. Lucas saw that Alexis had calmed down somewhat, but she was still obviously angry about the dreadful surprise attack on her friend. Jared was putting the finishing touches on the food while she fumed and set places on the work island. She slammed a plate down so hard that it risked being broken into bits.

  Lucas straddled a stool and remarked, “I guess you’re not a fan of this Trevor person.”

  “That’s way too mild for what I feel about that jackass. I’m also not a big fan of her parents. If you knew what my girl went through, you’d understand why my fondest wish is to douse him in lighter fluid and throw a match at him.”

  Sherri came into the room just in time to hear this, and she laughed as she stood behind Lucas and wrapped her arms around him. “Don’t waste your time thinking about things like that, Lexie. He’s not worth it.” Her eyes lit up with pure joy when she saw what Jared had prepared. It was one of her favorite things—pancakes. They were so thick and fluffy that they defied description, and she let out a happy sound of anticipation.

  “Jared, thank you. I love pancakes so much and mine never turn out right. These look so good!”

  “They taste even better, so hop up there and dig in before they get cold.”

  She did so at once. They held hands and Lucas said grace, after which she took her first bite of the best pancakes she’d ever eaten. Jared served them with melted butter and some of Alexis’s homemade fig preserves with crisply browned sausages on the side. Sherri was in heaven.

  “I’m so happy.” She sighed. “I go to my parent’s house and get waylaid and I come to my best friend’s house and get all this love. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble for me, Jared, but I thank you from the bottom of my greedy little heart.”

  Jared leaned over the work island and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “It’s never trouble when it’s for family, and that’s what you are. You’re part of our family, Sherri—never forget that.”

  She could feel tears forming but she forced them back and smiled widely. “Yes, I am,” she said as she reached for Lucas’s hand and held on for all she was worth.

  * * *

  After an upsetting evening, Sherri’s night was much better. She had a delicious, filling meal, the comfort of her friends and Lucas’s love all night long. She was feeling much better the next day, although she knew that there was mischief afoot. To hope that Trevor would slink back to wherever he’d come from was like hoping there was really a Santa Claus.

  “I doubt that this Trevor is done with you. He came here to accomplish something, and I don’t think he’ll leave here until he gets what he wants,” Lucas said.

  They were in her sunny kitchen, drinking coffee and eating a fluffy omelet, crisp bacon and toast. Sherri agreed with him, but she was much more confident about the situation.

  “Like I told you last night—he claims that he wants to make amends and meet his daughter. I have no idea what put the idea in his head. It really doesn’t matter because he has nothing coming from me. I’m not too keen on the idea of him meeting Sydney, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, I have to get to work. I’m only in the office this morning and I’m booked solid. I’ll be at the hospital all afternoon, and then I have to think of something wonderful to do for you because you were so wonderful to me last night,” she said playfully.

  “You don’t have to do anything but be you,” Lucas declared. “Do you want to go out or stay in tonight?”

  “Stay in definitely. We’re leaving early for Hilton Head, remember?”

  “Of course. So why don’t you come over to the loft after work and bring your things? I have something in mind for you,” he told her with a seductive gleam in his eyes.

  “Sounds just perfect to me. Lucas, you are way too good to me. You know that, right?”

  “I know no such thing. I can never be too good to you. You’re my heart, Sherri. I’ll do anything to make you happy.”

  The ringing of the phone interrupted the tender moment. Sherri didn’t answer it when she saw the call was from her mother. “Okay that’s it. That’s, what, the fifth time she’s called? I’m going to work. I don’t have time for drama today.”

  “Well, you’re dressed to handle anything, Dr. Sherri. That color looks great on you.”

  She smoothed the front of her deep teal sleeveless dress with the mandarin collar. “Thanks, but it’ll probably have upchuck or pee on it by the time I get home,” she said, laughing. “Sick children have no respect for a power dress. Trust me.”

  They shared a blazing-hot goodbye kiss at the door and went off to work, Sherri to her office and Lucas to the restaurant. It was a busy, productive morning during which she didn’t have to think about Trevor or her parents because she never took personal calls while she was at work. There were several messages waiting for her when she finished with her last patient, though. She sat at the desk and quickly scanned the handful of pink while-you-were-out slips. Her mother had called four times and Trevor had called five times. She rolled her eyes and tossed them all into the trash. She was going to have to talk to him at some point, but it was going to be on her time and her terms. He just couldn’t come to town and expect her to fall all over him, the big jerk.

  A knock at the door made her look up. “Come in,” she said.

  It was Kayla, lugging a huge, gaudy arrangement of blue flowers. Sherri frowned because she knew immediately that these weren’t from Lucas.

  “Somebody must really be thinking about you, Dr. Sherri,” Kayla said with a smile.

  Sherri plucked the card from the middle of the arrangement and read it; as she suspected, it was from Trevor. I can hardly wait to see you. We need to talk, read the card. Sherri had to bite her tongue to avoid saying something that would shock Kayla. Instead she offered the flowers to her.

  “Kayla, didn’t you say your mom has a sprained ankle? Maybe these would cheer her up. Why don’t you take them to her?”

  “She would love them, but are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. Give her my best and tell her I hope she feels better soon. Have a good weekend, Kayla.”

  “You, too, Dr. Sherri. Thanks again for the flowers.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Sherri said as she waved goodbye and headed out for her shift at the hospital.

  * * *

  Later that day, Sherri was walking across the hospital parking lot to her car, thinking about a few of her patients as she approached her Lincoln Navigator. A shadow fell across her as she reached for the door. She gasped and looked up into the face of the man she’d learned to hate.

  “Trevor, what are you doing here? How did you even know where I’d be?” she asked with a frown.

  Trevor put his hand on his chest in a gesture of contrition. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Sherri. Mother Stratton suggested that you might be at the hospital this afternoon and I took a chance. I’ve called several times and you haven’t returned any of them. I went by your office and saw a young woman leaving with a large flower arrangement,” he said with a slight edge to his silky tone.

  Lovely. So “Mother Stratton” ratted her out to her worst enemy. It was nice to know just how deeply the battle lines were drawn. Sherri was tired from a long day of work and ready for her evening with Lucas. She was short on patience right about then, and her clipped response showed it.

  “Trevor, I’m very busy and I don’t have time for this. What exactly do you want?”

  “I just want to talk to you, Sherri. That’s all. I thought I’d expressed myself adequately last night, but because you stormed out I don’t think you understand how important this is to me.”

  “What this, Trevor? What could you possibly want from me?”

  “I want you back, Sherri. I want you and my daughter back.”

  Pure rage engulfed her from head to toe. “Seriously, Trevor? Well, that’s
going to happen when hell freezes over. Now get out of my way before I call security on you.”

  “Sherri, I think it’s in your best interests to listen to what I have to say. After that, I’m sure we can work out an amicable agreement that will be mutually beneficial. Can I have just fifteen minutes of your time?”

  “Okay, Trevor, fifteen minutes. No more.”

  Chapter 13

  Sherri led Trevor over to a concrete picnic table under a cluster of trees. She could tell by the look on his face that this wasn’t what he had in mind. He could either sit down where the employees took breaks or he could go on his merry way; it didn’t make a bit of difference to her. All she wanted to do was find out why he was here in Columbia and what he expected to get from her. He was up to something—of that she had no doubt.

  She sat and crossed her arms on the table. She tried with some success to keep the dislike she felt from showing on her face. Trevor hadn’t changed much. He was tall, although not as tall as Lucas. His smooth brown skin was the same; of course he still had the same slightly slanted eyes with long straight eyelashes and the same pouty mouth that she once found so sexy. He had a neatly trimmed goatee in addition to the thick “pornstache” that he affected. It used to make him look dashing, but now it just looked corny. She was pleased to see that his curly black hair was definitely thinning on top. In a few years he’d be good and bald, and it would serve him right. And she was pretty sure that he was toting a bit of a beer belly under his expensive suit. Her lips twitched as she tried to stifle a mean little snicker. Unfortunately, Trevor mistook it for a genuine smile and he immediately began to pile on his version of charm.

  “Sherri, I can’t tell you how good it is to see you again. You’ve just blossomed—you really have. You were beautiful when you were in medical school, but now you’re just stunning. Stunning,” he repeated, as though his evaluation of her looks was somehow paramount to her well-being.

  “You have fourteen minutes left, Trevor. Do you really want to waste them on crap talk?” she said coolly. To her amusement he started talking like she’d pushed his fast-forward button.

  “I tried to tell you, Sherri, I’ve realized over the years that I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but the biggest mistake I ever made was letting you go. I have no excuse for my behavior—none—other than the fact that I was young, scared and stupid,” he said, reaching for her hand.

  Sherri moved her upper body so that she and her hands were well out of his reach. Trevor hadn’t changed one iota; in one sentence he said he had no excuse, and in the next one he came up with three. She glanced at her watch and tapped it with her forefinger. “Twelve minutes, Trevor.”

  Hastily, he began again. “I’ve had a lot of lonely nights to think about what I lost when I ran out on you. Not just your beauty, wit and loving nature, but your intelligence, your ambition. And most important,” he said earnestly, leaning forward, “you were the one who cared enough to bring my child into the world. You could have aborted it or given it up for adoption, but you didn’t. I’ll be on my knees to you in gratitude forever for that.”

  “Why?”

  Trevor looked blank for a moment because he wasn’t expecting Sherri to interrupt him. He gamely tried to get his smooth flow going again, but it was useless; she’d thrown him offtrack. Unfortunately, his only comeback was “What?”

  “I want to know why you’ve come back to Columbia to unburden yourself. It’s been a long time, Trevor, and all of a sudden you come here and start spouting all this stuff about losing me and your child, a child that you have never even acknowledged in thought, word or deed, and I want to know why. Is this part of a twelve-step program or something?”

  “I’m doing this badly, Sherri. I’m not expressing myself the way I want to, probably because this is the most important thing I’ve ever done. I realize now that I was a fool to let you go. No woman has ever made me feel the way you did, and I know I’ll never feel like that again. I was a fool to abandon you when you told me you were pregnant. I was a total fool. But I want to make it all up to you, Sherri. I want a chance to put things right, to show you that after all the years we spent apart that I’ve changed. I’m a different man now, and I’m ready to be the kind of man you need. I’m ready to be a real father to my child,” he said, his voice choked with the nuanced fervor of a 1950s doo-wop singer.

  Sherri glanced at her watch. “Fourteen minutes and twenty-five seconds. Good timing, Trevor. I have to say that I still don’t know what you think you accomplished with that speech because I didn’t understand what you were trying to say. I’ve got to go.”

  She started to rise, but this time Trevor was successful in grasping her hands to stop her.

  “What I’m trying to tell you is that I want you back, Sherri. I want to marry you and make a real home for our child. I want you to give me another chance to be the man you deserve,” he said with what he thought was passion.

  Sherri jerked her hands away and got up from the table so fast that Trevor almost hit his head on the concrete. “Trevor Eugene Barnes, I think you’ve lost your mind. Do me a favor and stay far away from me from now on.”

  She was halfway to her car when he caught up with her and grabbed her elbow. “All right, Sherri, all right. Maybe I’m moving too fast. I can accept that. But I have a right to see my kid. You can’t keep her away from me indefinitely and I don’t want to have to sue you for visitation, so think about that. And don’t keep me waiting too long. I’ve already waited long enough.”

  * * *

  Sherri parked her SUV in front of Lucas’s building and took a deep breath. The building had once been a sizable warehouse but it was now loft apartments. Jared had lived here when he first came to Columbia, and he passed it on to Lucas once he and Alexis married. Sherri didn’t rush to get out of the car; she needed a few minutes to collect her thoughts.

  What kind of craziness was looming in front of her? Trevor had to be on some serious narcotics if he thought that she was going to let him into Sydney’s life. All that hoo-ha he’d been talking about wanting her back and wanting to build a life together was too far-fetched to be true. He had to be up to something, and right now she didn’t know how to find out what his endgame was.

  She finally got her things out of the car and made her way to Lucas’s door. She was going to try to put the whole annoying incident out of her mind, at least for a little while. Putting her finger on the bell, she smiled, thinking how good it would be to see Lucas. He always made her feel better no matter what was going on. Sure enough, when he opened the door with his beautiful smile a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

  “Hello, sweetheart,” he greeted her. She didn’t have a chance to respond before he picked her up and gave her a lingering kiss, right there in the doorway. Finally she was able to speak.

  “Hello, yourself. You’re looking awfully handsome.”

  He was wearing an untucked oxford-cloth shirt in a green-blue color that made his eyes look spectacular and a pair of jeans that showed off his long, hard legs and his butt. It had to be against some law for a man to look that good in casual clothes.

  She took a deep sniff and grinned. “What smells so good?”

  “Something I think you’ll really like,” he said. He picked up her overnight bag from the hallway and brought it in, scolding her for carrying it. “You should have let me bring your things in, Sherri. You know that’s a VanBuren law. No hauling, toting, cleaning or heavy lifting for our ladies.”

  Sherri didn’t pay his words any attention because she was too taken with what she saw in the loft. Candles were lit all around the big living area—on the mantel over the fireplace, in the fireplace, on the dining room table and on the coffee table. It looked beautiful. Besides being full of candlelight, the loft was filled with music. Sherri tilted her head and recognized the distinctive sound of “Mother Nature’s Son” by Ramsey Lewis, some of the most seductive jazz in existence.

  “Wow,” she said in a whisper. �
��This is amazing, Lucas.”

  “You haven’t seen anything yet. Come with me,” he invited. He took her hand and led her to the bathroom. The big soaking tub was partially filled so it would be ready for her. The big ivory pillar candles were arrayed around the room, and a big fluffy bath sheet was at the ready on a stool by the tub. There was a stand with an ice bucket containing a bottle of green tea and a crystal flute along with a bowl filled with strawberries.

  “Lucas, this is the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “Ahh, we’re not done yet,” he said, leading her into the bedroom. The bed was freshly made with expensive white linen and big down pillows, and strewn across it was an array of beautiful lingerie—bras and panties and camisoles in delicate colors and patterns, plus a couple of really seductive sheer nighties. Sherri was overcome by his good taste and generosity.

  “Lucas, this is too much, honey. These are so beautiful, but there’re so many! I can’t believe you did this,” she murmured.

  He gave her a rakish grin and pulled her into his arms for a long hug, followed by an even longer kiss. “Believe it, Sherri. Look, I like the basic schoolgirl white undies—they’re as cute as can be. But when I saw you in the fancy ones you looked so damned sexy I wanted you to have more. And if you feel compelled to put on a fashion show for me later, don’t hold back,” he teased her.

  “You’d just love that, wouldn’t you?” she said with a sassy smile. “I will, but only if you do a striptease for me.”

  “That can be arranged. You know I’m not modest in the least. Listen, you get undressed and relaxed while I finish filling the tub for you. I didn’t fill it all the way because I wanted it to be nice and hot.”

  “You are the most thoughtful man in the world. That sounds like a lovely idea.”

  “And when you get done, you’ll have a fabulous dinner waiting for you.” Lucas kissed her on her forehead and then her cheek.

  Sherri sighed deeply as she got ready to get in the big tub. Tonight she was just going to take pleasure in the wonderful surprises he had given her, and that was all. The Trevor mess could wait for another day.