These characters all belong to JE. FF disclaimers all around.

Here we go again. This is the first chapter in the continuation of All the Single Ladies, the first installment of the RangeWoman Series.

Truth be told, I wrote this story and several others in this series a while ago. The chapters should go up pretty fast until I run out of existing content. Hopefully a second read-through will eliminate many of my errors.

Let me know if you want me to continue.

Lula's POV

As usual, I woke up and didn't feel all that well rested. My mattress was killing my back and I had no money to replace it. I hoped White Girl would let me tag along with her for a few takedowns this week because I could really use the money. I went through my morning routine and headed out the door looking fabulous as always.

I pulled up in front of the office and saw both Connie's and Steph's cars parked out front. This meant that there was a pretty good chance that there were donuts inside. I hurried into the office for fear that there would be fewer donuts for me if I took my time. I was rewarded with two large and mostly full boxes from Dunkin Donuts.

I looked at the girls and asked, "What's the occasion of all these donuts?"

Connie said nothing and looked down at the nails she was filing while Stephanie cleared her throat. She looked at me and grabbed a box of donuts and directed me towards the sofa. Once I was on my third donut Steph said, "Lula, I talked to Ranger yesterday. He wants me to work full time at RangeMan and I'm seriously considering it."

Oh no, that would leave me here all alone to catch the skips. How would I cope without her? She must have sensed my disappointment because she said, "I'll still be catching skips and I'd still like to work with you. There's more. Ranger wants you to come and work for RangeMan as well. He says that if we are both trained a little better, we can start going for some of the medium and higher level bonds."

Wow, working every day with that group of hotties wasn't something I ever seriously thought would be possible. A steady pay cheque would be nice. I could afford a new bed and I could probably afford to keep going to my night classes. This sounded too good to be true so I asked, "Is this a trick White Girl?"

Stephanie shook her head and said, "The reason I turned down a full-time job with RangeMan in the past was because I didn't want to get stuck behind a desk all day and I wasn't too keen on the fitness and firearm training. I always felt so inferior to the guys in every aspect that it always put me off. When Ranger suggested that you could work for him as well, I realised that I'd be more willing to go through all that pain in the gym if I could share it with someone."

I thought about that for a moment and realised that I would have felt the same way. In fact, having a regimented schedule and a more formal way of training was actually a nice idea. I thought about my current schedule and the fact that I could no longer afford to go to my night classes. I also knew that RangeMan schedules were not always 9-5. How would they cope with me taking night classes? I decided to ask Steph.

"Would it be a problem if I was unavailable to work some evenings? I would like to start up my night classes again."

"No, I doubt that would be a problem at all. In fact, RangeMan has a program to pay for further education for employees. Ranger knows about your business classes. He mentioned to me that once you are finished that it would be beneficial to RangeMan to have your skills. He's not only interested in you for Bounty Hunting. He thinks you have good instincts and trusts your judgement on a lot of things."

I looked at Stephanie for a moment. I wasn't sure if I believed what she said, but Steph doesn't tend to lie to me, so I was inclined to believe her. My biggest concern about working for RangeMan was the lack of fashion. I voiced my concerns to Steph and she said, "When we visit customers, we are encouraged not to wear the boring RangeMan black uniform. Ranger and the guys wear suits, so we'd be required to do the same."

That didn't sound too bad, but it did mean that I'd have to give up wearing my spandex outfits. But if I'm being totally honest with myself, the spandex is a throwback to my days as a Ho. I kind of use it as a way to make me feel like I haven't changed as a person on the inside. I've only changed how I make my money. In reality, more than that has changed.

Steph has taught me a lot about how to deal with different sorts of people. She's shown me when to be compassionate and when to be confrontational. I know I still have a problem with certain people, and especially if anyone calls me fat. I tend to go into 'rhino' mode as Steph calls it and it lands me in a lot of hot water.

I'm relatively happy with the way I look, but I don't like it when people point out that I'm overweight. I've struggled with my size my entire life, so maybe I should get on board with this whole RangeMan fitness thing. Maybe the strictness of RangeMan is just the motivation I need to follow through on my exercise and dietary issues.

As all these thoughts went through my head, both Connie and Steph sat there watching me, waiting patiently for an answer. I looked up from my hands and asked, "Do you think Batman would be offended if we took this job on a trial run to see how things went? That way, if things don't work out, nobody has to feel bad."

Steph pursed her lips and then said, "I think Ranger would be fine with that. I am sure we could ask him. What are your main concerns?"

"The fitness requirements are my biggest concern. What if I can't hack it? What if I hurt someone or worse, get someone shot?"

"I can assure you that you're not the only one with those concerns. What if we agree to extra work outside RangeMan if we think we're falling behind? There are plenty of area gyms who offer self-defense and martial arts classes. I don't know exactly what our schedule will be like, but I'm pretty sure that we'll have several nights off during the week."

I nodded and said, "I like the sound of that White Girl. I think I'd prefer to do that anyway, so I don't look like such an idiot for our RangeMan training. We can even meet early-ish in the morning to get in a run once we're a bit better prepared. I just need some motivation to keep it up."

That was true. In the past, I've tried to workout with Steph, but she gives up after such a short time and that leave me to motivate myself. It's not easy you know, I'm a big black woman and I am far from fit. I could do with losing around 100 pounds, but I've never had the stamina to stick with the diet and exercise.

I looked at Steph and said, "You need to promise me something if I agree to this."

"Of course Lula, what is it?"

"You have to stick with me. I'm going to have to give up a lot to do this. I will have to wear that boring RangeMan uniform. I won't be able to have my fabulous hair. I will have to go on a diet and worst of all, I will have to exercise on a daily basis. I will need some help getting through this. I won't be able to do it on my own."

"I feel the same way. I will need your help as much as you need mine. Why don't we go over to RangeMan and you can discuss any concerns or questions with the man himself?"

I smiled at that because I had a lot of questions for Batman and not all of them were job related. I must have grinned a little too much because Connie laughed and said, "I think Steph meant questions about the job Lula."

I laughed out loud and said, "Every question I intend to ask is related to the job in one way or the other. Besides, if I ask Ranger something he doesn't want to answer, he'll just keep his mouth shut."

Both Connie and Steph nodded because they know as well as I do that Ranger is good at deflecting questions he does not want to answer.

Steph looks at me and asks, "When did you want to go over to RangeMan?"

I looked at Connie and she waved at me and said, "You ladies go ahead. I'm almost jealous you know. You'll be surrounded by all those men all the time. The only thing keeping me from joining you is the uniform and the hours."

I was glad that Connie wasn't upset about both Steph and I leaving Vinnie's. It's not like we'd never see her again, and I think she understood. That was good because she and Steph are really the only friends I have outside of my old life. I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardise those friendships.

More to come...