surprise, and she hurried over to take them out.
“Lucas, they’re adorable!”
“They’re Sydney’s birthday present,” he said with a smile. “I know you said you were waiting until you got a house, but they’re so darned cute, I didn’t want to pass on them. Think she’ll like them even though they aren’t Corgis?” They were seven-week-old West Highland White Terriers and they were fluffy white balls with bright eyes and happy smiles.
“She’s going to love them—are you kidding? They’re so adorable. She’s going to go crazy for them.” She sat on the floor and let them crawl all over her with yips of joy. She’d never seen anything so sweet in her life.
“Where’d you get them, Lucas?”
“One of the hostesses at Seven-Seventeen has a friend that breeds them and when she told me that they were ready to be adopted I couldn’t resist. I hope you don’t mind having the puppies before the house.”
“They’re just perfect, Lucas. You’re the sweetest man in the world. I love you so much,” she said before pulling his head down for a kiss.
His face broke into a huge smile because it was the first time she’d said the words he’d wanted to hear for months. She played with the puppies while he watched her, pleased to see nothing but happiness on her face.
He had another surprise for her, too. He’d bought her an outfit to wear to work the next day so she wouldn’t have to go home to a house without Sydney in it. Everything she needed from toothpaste to new underwear was waiting for her in the bedroom. He picked up the puppies and took her by the hand to show her. She was once again thrilled by his thoughtfulness.
“Lucas, I really don’t know what I’d do without you.” She sighed. “You’re so wonderful to me and my baby. I can’t imagine our lives without you.”
“It’s a good thing you won’t have to, isn’t it?” he answered.
Both puppies barked loudly as if to agree. Lucas laughed and said they must be hungry. “You’re lucky your daddy is a gourmet chef, ladies. Let’s go grill you a steak!”
Sherri protested at once, saying they needed puppy chow for their tender baby tummies, but Lucas teased her by saying he was going to make them rib eyes for dinner. They laughed and teased each other so much that she forgot why she was there, at least for the night.
* * *
After a night spent secure in Lucas’s arms, Sherri went to work feeling like her old self. She stayed busy and focused until it was time to leave. Just before Lucas arrived to take her home, she got an odd phone call from Mrs. Haithco at the daycare center.
“Dr. Sherri, I feel like you need to know this. A man called here yesterday trying to find out when Sydney would be picked up. He was told that we don’t give out that information. Then he called again today and was told the same thing. There was a strange man loitering around the building and security asked him to leave, but I thought you should be aware of it,” she said. Sherri could hear the concern in her voice and thanked her for the call.
As she dialed Royce’s number, Lucas came into her office. She told him what had happened. Once Royce was also informed, he said he’d notify the authorities; they were all certain it had been Trevor behind the calls. Sherri’s stomach clenched in anxiety, but Lucas was right there to reassure her.
“Sweetheart, it’s handled so let’s go home and feed the babies, okay? Try not to get upset,” he soothed her.
They were on their way to the car when her cell phone beeped to signify a text message. She frowned at the screen, not recognizing the number. It was a picture and for a long moment she didn’t recognize what it was. Then she saw it clearly—it was her mother with a look of utter terror on her face. The caption read, “Mother Stratton wants you home right away. We’re waiting for you.”
“Lucas, Trevor has my mother! We have to get over there right now!”
Lucas drove to her parents’ house while he talked to Jared on the phone and Sherri called Royce. When they got to the house, she was horrified to see the flashing lights of police cars in the street and an ambulance in the driveway. Clutching at Lucas’s arm she stifled a scream. She stumbled getting out of the Rover in