It has been a long time since I have published a story. This one has been around since 2016. I had written on it, had someone want me to change a lot on it, got frustrated with it, thrown it to the side and almost deleted it all together. Then my husband and a couple other friends read it the way it was and the way I had changed it. "Go back to what makes you happy," came from all three. This story is completed and will be released a couple chapters a week or as my beta finishes each chapter. Thank you for reading. The recognizable characters are not mine. Staci and the crew at Biscuits n More are from my head. Thank you Larry (my Lester), and Rainbow.

Lester and Staci's Story

Prologue

The window at the drive-thru was always slamming every morning, but for the last three weeks her mornings got a little brighter around eight oh five. That was the time the sexiest man she believed she had ever laid eyes on rolled through. Her name was Staci Martin and she worked the drive-thru window of Biscuits and More seven days a week. She learned the man's name was Lester Santos, he flirted with her a few moments every day and yes, she flirted back. He usually asked her one question every day that surprised her. One question had been: Are you ever going to take a day off? Her reply, "Can't, too many bills."

Chapter 1

Bright and early Monday morning Lester was going to met Stephanie. For some strange reason she had asked him to take her to the mall to help her pick out something for Ranger for Christmas. He was not sure what possessed him to agree, but he had. Over the last few weeks for his morning meal he had been stopping at a new little biscuit shop that had opened recently in Trenton. They were open for breakfast and lunch. Recently, he had made friends with Staci who usually worked the drive thru window and was debating about asking her out. He thought she was cute in a girl next door way, he loved her smile and could talk to her all day if possible. Life had been changing for him and he was getting tired of the love 'em 'n leave 'em life style he had been leading. He wanted something more and this woman ... well she intrigued him. Lester was longing for a relationship.

At the menu board was a speaker where you placed your order, above it was a camera so the person working the window could see the person and vehicle placing the order. Staci had grown to recognize Lester's voice and the SUV he drove.

Instead of the usual greeting over the speaker she said, "Good morning Les, your usual?"

"Yes Sweet Pea and I also need a Sarah Jo plus an extra coffee." A Sarah Jo was a biscuit with bacon, egg and cheese.

He pulled around to the window to where Staci was waiting, "Sweet Pea, you look beautiful as usual."

She rolled her eyes, "I bet you tell every woman that."

"Only the ones I want to go out with." She smiled back at him over that statement. But she ate up the few moments of attention, she could listen to that husky voice all day long and he wouldn't even have to make complete sentences to get her to listen.

"Your question of the day Pea, Who is your favorite music group?"

"Pink Floyd," she replied without hesitation.

He paid for his and Beautiful's breakfast, she in turn handed him his order. As much as she would love to go out with him, it was not possible. He was gorgeous, drove nice vehicles and looked like he constantly worked out. There were a lot of physical things she loved about him, he had a gorgeous smile with killer dimples, glistening green eyes and his black hair begged for fingers to be ran through it not to mention his biceps. It wouldn't bother her to see his chest, that was her favorite part of a man or at least for the moment. She knew if he had a clue where she lived and what her life was really like, he would have nothing to do with her. For her, the rest of the day was a mixed bag of emotions because of her situation.

When her shift was over at Biscuits and More she went home. Home was why things would never work out for her and Lester. She lived in an older single wide mobile home that needed tons of work, but it was hers. There she was warm and dry and not living on the streets but not something you would want from the outside. Inside was a different story, everything was neat and clean, everything had its place. She wasn't OCD but living in a smaller place made it necessary.

In order to keep the few possessions she had she worked seven days a week from four-thirty in the morning until two-thirty in the afternoon. Her car was a nineteen ninety-three Dodge Shadow, it took most of her extra money to keep it going not that she really had that much extra money but she was trying to save for another car.

Most of her evenings were spent alone, she didn't date nor did she have a steady love interest. In her almost thirty years on this earth she had only dated three men. When she would refuse to have sex they would leave her, she had made a pledge to herself that she would wait until her wedding night to lose her virginity so she quit dating for all intent and purposes. Her only companion was her dog Daisy a tri-colored mixed breed that had been dropped in the trailer park as a puppy. Daisy gladly stayed with her and slept with her at night snuggled in her blanket.

The next morning came way to early, but she walked Daisy and left for work. She was getting tired of working everyday and hoped for some kind of break. Lester rolled through the drive thru at his usual eight oh five, she could set her watch by him. He flirted with her when he pulled up to the window and made her feel special for a couple moments while he was there. She wanted to give him her phone number but held off because of the thoughts of her home.

The next couple days went on much like they had been, him arriving at eight oh five and asking his usual question of the day. On Thursday morning, Lester rolled through again except he was late. Staci took his order and another order for someone else in the SUV with him. She had planned on sucking it up and giving him her number, she thought she could always meet him here at the restaurant and leave from there. When he pulled to the window Lester had a woman in the SUV with him. She had both of her hands wrapped around his. Staci saw him pull his hand from the woman, she asked him if he needed his receipt. He told her no, she wadded up the piece of paper with her number written on the back and threw it away. Staci sensed that Lester wanted to say something but didn't, finally Lester smiled at her then told her to have a great day before driving off.

As they pulled away the woman asked, "Is she the woman you want to ask out?"

"Yes, she is."

"Why didn't you? She wants you too, there is a look in her eyes that says she likes you too. She is cute too. Les, it is all over your face that you like her," the woman replied.

Staci took a break after he left to go to the restroom; while she was there she had a small cry to relieve her broken heart. She thought to herself 'I should have known he would have a girlfriend and she would be gorgeous.' Another thought that went through her mind, 'why couldn't I find a sexy, nice man like him.' After getting herself composed, she returned to the drive thru. The rest of her day was long and slow going it seemed to take forever for two-thirty to arrive.

She made her way home to a very happy Daisy. Before doing anything else she took the little dog on a walk and hopefully clear her mind more, there was something about the love of an animal to make you feel better and for her, Daisy helped.

The next few days that followed she avoided the drive thru when she knew it was about time for Les, she couldn't face him once she found out he had a girlfriend. 'Why wouldn't he' she thought, 'he's hot.' He finally asked one day where she was. The guy working the window said she was hurt by one of the customers who comes through here daily and thought it best not to wait on him.

Lester knew it was him. He had flirted with her but never went on to ask her out. He asked what time the restaurant closed, the guy told him. Les made the decision to be here when Staci left work that day, he needed to clear the air and make things right.

At two o'clock on the dot he was waiting on her to come out of the building. When she emerged he got out of the black SUV and slowly began walking towards her. Staci was only about five foot four and probably weighed a hundred and forty pounds. Her blonde hair was pulled up as usual and she looked tired; not just tired but exhausted in his opinion.

She saw him walking towards her, "Hi Lester, I'm sorry but we are closed for the day."

"It is okay, I'm here to see you. I think you maybe avoiding me."

"Yeah, I have been."

"Why?"

"You don't need to flirt with me. Your girlfriend is beautiful why would you flirt with me when you have her?"

"The woman with me the other day wasn't my girlfriend, she is my partner and married to my cousin."

She looked at him for a moment before asking, "Then why were you holding hands with her?"

He smiled, he understood exactly what happened, "She was trying to encourage me to ask you out. I needed moral support to ask you."

"So you don't have a girlfriend? Why not?"

Still smiling at her, he asked her to come sit in the SUV with him, "No, I don't have a steady girlfriend, most women are intimidated by my size and the ones who aren't are just looking for a good time. For some reason you are not intimidated by me. So why aren't you?"

"Never thought about it. I see you as a person, you usually make me laugh and smile at me. I certainly don't find you intimidating. It might help that I always see you sitting down so I have never really seen your size until now."

"Staci, would you like to go out with me this evening?"

"Sure, I just have to be home early, I have to be at work by four-thirty in the morning."

"What time should I pick you up and I need your address?"

"How about five o'clock and I will meet you back here?"

"I don't mind coming to your house to pick you up. It is what a gentleman does on a proper date."

"I would prefer to meet you here."

They argued back and forth about where to meet until he finally agreed to her terms and would meet her back here at the restaurant. She told him she needed to get home because of Daisy. He came around to her side of the SUV to open the door for her then proceeded to walk her to her car. She was embarrassed for him to see the rolling wreck but it was all she could afford for the time being.

He returned to Rangeman to get ready for his date with Staci. When he went to his office he ran into Steph. "I did it. I asked her out."

"When are you going?"

"This evening, I'm picking her up at seventeen hundred."

"What was her name again?"

"Staci Martin."

Stephanie thought it might be wise to run a background check on Staci just to make sure she was right for Lester.

She dressed in the nicest clothes she had which was still jeans and a nice blouse. There were no dresses in her closet, luckily for her she wasn't into them anyway. She pulled into the restaurant lot at four fifty-five, Les was waiting on her. By the time she had parked her car, he was at her door opening it for her. "You look wonderful."

She smiled and thanked him before telling him he looked great. That was until her eyes fell to the firearm on his side. They decided on going to Smokey Joe's. It was a rib joint that several of the guys at Rangeman liked going to on a semi regular basis.

They talked about themselves where she learned he worked for Rangeman. Les told her more about Stephanie. She was married to Ranger, they had been together for three years, he went as far as to divulge a few of her nicknames. Rangeman was an elite security company offering many different type of security ranging from home and business to bodyguard service. It eased her mind somewhat about Les wearing a gun on his side.

He asked her about her history. She was reluctant to talk about it since she did not have a good childhood. Finally she told him about some of her most recent history of jobs and such. She really didn't think she had appeased him with her answers but the rest was too painful to talk about.

Staci had a rough childhood growing up. She had been in and out of foster care since she was thirteen, after her father killed her mom and younger brother, then himself. The social worker once told her she got lucky because she was staying with a friend the night he came home drunk and shot the rest of her family. Staci didn't feel lucky, she had lost her family after all. After that incident the extended family turned their back on her, none of them offered to take her in. It wasn't that she was a bad kid, but none of her dad's side of the family approved of her mom and her mom's side was scattered across, the country to the point of non-existent and couldn't be located. So she ended up being bounced around in the foster care system until she was eighteen.

After that birthday she couldn't stay with the last foster family any longer per the foster care program rules. Staci graduated high school then found an efficiency apartment to live in; the state helped pay for that until she got on her feet. She got two part-time jobs at some shops in the mall and had worked her schedule so she could take the bus to work and home. Once she had managed to save a few dollars, she bought the single wide trailer in the trailer park. She still had to pay lot rent but at least it was hers and nobody could take that from her.

Her next step had been to purchase a car. She drove an eighty-five model Ford Escort until it died, fortunately it got her through until she had saved for a nicer car. Staci bought herself a ninety-three Dodge Shadow, it had several years on it but was low mileage and still in pretty good condition body wise. It had allowed her to get a different job one she had hoped would be a better one.

She left the jobs at the mall after many years and went to work at The Dive, a strip club; as a waitress. Staci ended up hating that job, while yeah she did make a little bit more than she had at the mall jobs combined, she hated getting groped by men when she would take their drink orders and when she would deliver them to the tables. Because she didn't show a lot of skin, her tips suffered but she was never really happy with her body. She suffered with that job until she saw an ad for Biscuits n More. At least she wouldn't get pawed while working this job.

She applied and was hired on the spot. Her smile and wit was a big hit with Darrin McDaniels the owner, manager and now her boss. She didn't handle quitting The Dive like she could or should have, she walked in handed them her apron and order pad then left without notice. The next day she was scheduled to help with setup of supplies for the new restaurant. It had been a long day but she felt good about the new job and new opportunities that lie ahead. A few days later, the restaurant opened.

She volunteered to work the drive-thru window, liking the speed and pace of it. For her it made the day fly by. She made just a little over minimum wage, but was okay for now, because she knew Darrin was going to be needing an assistant manager before long and hopefully she would get that position. It would mean a nice pay raise for her but more headache, she could deal with the headache.

Lester was curious about her home and without thinking blurted out, "Are you ashamed of where you live? Is that why you didn't want me to come to your house to pick you up?"

She blushed and admitted that was the truth. "This was a bad idea, maybe you should take me back to my car."

It broke his heart that she was embarrassed by her situation and saw herself as a failure, but he paid the bill and led her back to his SUV. The ride back to her car was silent. He wasn't sure what to say, which was a first for him. When they arrived back at the lot, he came around her door to open it for her.

Once she was out of the SUV, he pulled her to him, "Staci you are an amazing woman, you have worked hard from what I've learned this evening. I'm personally impressed with you. Would you go out with me again? Our company is having their office Christmas party next weekend, come with me?"

"Les as much as I would love to go, I don't have the clothes for such an event and I cannot afford to buy them either."

"My treat. Get the clothes, shoes, handbag and have your hair done. I will pay for it."

"Let me think on it."

He smiled and nodded his head before climbing back in the SUV. Before pulling out he waited to make sure her car started. She tried to start the car, it sputtered and quit. On the next attempt, it backfired up through the intake and caught on fire. In the dark it was easy to see the glow under the hood. Les jumped out of the SUV and ran to her car. He helped get her out, along with her purse and phone. Staci called 911 to report the fire. The car was quickly engulfed in flames and black smoke. Lester did however get the SUV out of danger before his phone started ringing.

Ranger wanted to know what was going on and why his SUV was at a reported car fire. Lester explained the situation to him, he knew Ranger would show up with Steph since for a change of pace it wasn't her car going up in flames.

Staci stood there in shock watching her car burn to the ground. She wondered how she would pay for another one, since that one only had liability on it and how she was going to get to work.

A short time later, Ranger and Stephanie showed up at the scene. The firetrucks had gotten there quickly but there wasn't anything left of the car. Steph remembered Staci from the restaurant, so she walked over to her to see if she was okay.

She told Steph that she would be alright and introduced herself to Steph. Staci instantly liked Steph and felt comforted by her. Now if she could feel comforted about the new situation she found herself in.

She placed a call to her boss to tell him what had happened and that the building was okay. Her boss offered to come get her in the morning so she could make it to work, at least that was taken care of for tomorrow, who knew after that.

Lester offered to take her home. Although she didn't want him to see where she lived, she finally agreed. He held her hand as he drove. She told him where to turn to get to the trailer park. When he pulled in her driveway she pulled her hand out of his.

"Thank you for dinner."

"Sweet Pea, I enjoyed spending time with you, will you go out with me again?"

"I will think about it. Dinner was good."

"Please think about going to the Christmas party with me."

He walked her to the door, after the door was opened she invited him in. He looked around once in the door, " Sweet Pea this is beautiful."

She smiled and thanked him. "When I was growing up my Abuela Rose lived in a poor part of Miami. During the summer, I spent a lot of time with her growing up. My parents asked her watch me while they both worked. Ranger spent a lot of time there along with me. The outside wasn't much but the inside was beautiful because of all the love in that house. Don't be ashamed of it. It doesn't matter to me what it looks like, its you I am here for."

She blushed and smiled again, "Thank you. You are too kind. Lester, yes I will go out with you again but after this evening, I'm sorry I cannot afford to go to the Christmas party."

"Take me up on my offer, I will buy the clothes for you. Would you like Stephanie to go with you? She has excellent taste."

"Let me think on it please."

He gave her a kiss that was soft and gentle, it conveyed no pressure but let her know he had enjoyed himself. "I will talk to you soon. Good night Sweet Pea."

"Good night Lester."