told her that she had a few more minutes before her appointment, so she called Lucas.
“If you’re not busy tonight can you come over at seven? There’re a few things we need to talk about.”
“Of course, sweetheart. You don’t even have to ask. Is everything okay with you?”
“It will be once I see you,” she said in a subdued voice that he barely recognized.
“I’ll be there,” he promised.
When she hung up the phone she felt better. She went into her little bathroom to wash her hands and splash cold water on her face. She was dismayed to see her face looking pasty and strained and she patted her cheeks hard to bring some color back. Just a few more hours and everything would be right again. Just a few.
* * *
When Lucas got to Sherri’s place everything looked perfectly normal. Sherri and Sydney were setting the table for dinner, and Sydney was singing happily. She stopped long enough to give Lucas her normal affectionate greeting of a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, but minutes later she was singing again. He tilted his head to listen because he couldn’t believe her tune of choice.
“Is she singing ‘Walk Like a Man’? Where’d she get that from?” he asked Sherri.
She grinned. “The Jersey Boys soundtrack. I think she has it memorized. Yes, my thoroughly modern child has fallen hard for Frankie Valli.” She laughed. Her brief laughter died and her face turned serious.
She sent Sydney upstairs ostensibly to pick out an outfit for the next day, but as soon as the child was out of the room she took Lucas’s hand and led him out on the deck. She quickly filled him in on the events of the day, starting with her conference with Royce Griffin, then Trevor’s appearance at her home, her call to Royce and his plan of coming over at eight to discuss a strategy for handling Barnes for the next few days.
Sherri might not have realized how furious Lucas was, but he was utilizing every bit of control that he had to keep from exploding in rage. Something had to be done about the man. The very thought that he not only knew where Sherri lived, but also that he’d come over to rub her nose in the information was galling to him. Lucas wasn’t violent by nature, but he would have happily beaten the man to a paste. If he knew where Sherri lived and the hospital where she worked, he undoubtedly knew other things, like where Sydney went to daycare and where her dance classes were held.
He tried hard not to let Sherri know how much her news upset him, but it took every bit of the limited acting skill he had to keep her from seeing the anger simmering under the surface. He put his arms around her and held her close, so close that he could feel her heart beating faster than usual.
“It’s going to fine, Sherri. I got this, remember?”
She nodded and held him even tighter, drawing his strength into her body. “Let’s go eat so we’ll be ready when Royce gets here,” she said.
It wasn’t a very filling meal for a man, which was fine by him because he had no appetite. But it was delicious by any standards. Sherri served the chicken salad he’d made the night before, along with sliced tomatoes, a green salad and her special bean salad. And she’d made a stellar batch of biscuits. He’d never been particularly fond of five-bean salad, but Sherri’s was delicious. She mixed red beans, baby lima beans, black beans, wax beans and green beans with chopped shallots, red and yellow peppers and celery. The vinaigrette had a unique piquant quality that made the dish stand out. He looked at her quizzically and asked what was different about her recipe.
“Oh, I use dilled green beans and I use the juice in the dressing, that’s all. I’ve always liked bean salad so I played around with it until I found a really good variety of colors and flavors. Do you like it?”
“I love it. I’ve never been a big fan, but this I could eat every day.”
“You should eat it a lot, Uncle Lucas. It has lots of protein and it’s good for you,” Sydney informed him.
“Thank you for looking out for my health, sweetie.”
“You’re very welcome,” she said with a dimpled smile.
Lucas handled the table clearing and kitchen cleaning while Sherri took Sydney up to get her ready for bed.