Disclaimer: Not mine! All the characters you recognize belong to JE, I'm just playing.
Warnings: Up to book 18.
Author's Note: This is a continuation of my first attempt at Fan Fiction: Don't Fix It. It is really short, so I do recommend reading it first to know where I'm starting here. This is only second attempt, so please read and review. Many many thanks to Cristi0819 for being my beta. I'm already learning a lot from you. Thanks!
Previously…
I was really beginning to enjoy this conversation. We spent the rest of the evening eating dinner, walking along the beach hand-in-hand and enjoying the sounds of the waves hitting the shore as we cuddled together on one of the lounge chairs outside our hotel room. We didn't really discuss anymore RangeMan details that night other than Ranger showing me time and time again how much he was enjoying being my partner.
Ch. 2
Our flight home from Hawaii was much more enjoyable than my flight to Hawaii. First and foremost, I wasn't flying alone. I'm a nervous flyer, so having Ranger's hand to hold and constantly being rewarded by Ranger's kisses really helped to pass the time. Secondly, Ranger had upgraded my seat to first class, so I wasn't crammed into a coach seat between a snorer and the window with no escape route. And while I heard kids crying on the flight, I didn't give them much thought due to Ranger helping to keep my mind focused entirely on him.
When we arrived back in Trenton, Ranger spent the night in my apartment with me. He said he wasn't ready to give up holding me as he fell asleep yet. And truth be told, I wasn't ready to give it up yet either. Of course, I wasn't ready to give up the extra curricular activities that seemed to happen throughout the night either.
I awoke at 5 a.m. the next morning with Ranger as well. I'm not sure who was more surprised, Ranger or me.
"Babe, you don't have to get up. But I have to get going. I haven't had a good work out in weeks and Tank is expecting me for the morning meeting at 7."
I tried to pout telling him I thought I had given him a good work out in the last couple of weeks and even though I was rewarded with his wolf grin, I was still left locking the door behind Ranger after a toe-curling kiss that had me wishing more than anything I could convince him to skip his morning meeting.
With an abnormal amount of energy for 5:30 in the morning, I decided to rid my apartment of the dust it had accumulated the last two weeks while I was in Hawaii. I had only planned on being there for one week, but after Ranger arrived and we decided to give a relationship a try, we spent another week celebrating. We weren't able to capture The Rug, which was the original reason I had called him to Hawaii in the first place. He managed to slip away on us while I was ending things with Joe.
After giving everything in my apartment a quick wipe-down I hopped in the shower to shampoo, shave and exfoliate so I could go ahead and get a start on my day. I wouldn't be starting at RangeMan yet, as Ranger was going to talk to the guys about it at the morning meeting. Even though he assured me that there would be no objections, he told me he wanted me to wait until Monday to start, as that was when the new partners would take effect. It was a Thursday, so I had a couple of days to talk with Lula about the changes I was making and work out how we were going to handle things from now on.
Once I was finished getting ready for the day and with a third coat of mascara for courage I decided I was going to face my mother first. My answering machine was blinking furiously and I hadn't turned my cellphone on since Joe left Hawaii so I can only imagine what I was in for. But I was happy with the steps I was taking to finally be happy in my life and I was going to let her know it.
Plus, I had no food in my apartment and Connie and Lula wouldn't be at the office for a few more hours, so I figured I might as well get a good breakfast with my lecture. I pulled up in front of my parents' house just before 8 and my Grandma was standing on the front porch waiting to greet me.
"Welcome home, baby granddaughter. Where is that hunk with the package? I was hoping you would be bringing him with you this morning."
"Hi, Grandma. Ranger had meetings this morning. Plus, I figured it would be a good idea to face mom solo first."
"Yeah, she is ironing the neighbor's curtains because everything we own has been ironed twice already. Probably a good idea to leave the hunk at work. Wouldn't want to scare him off already. Your mother is a little scary these days."
I was determined not to hang my head as I walked in to face my mother, but I swear I could already here the 'why me' the second I entered the front door. I was determined to stay focused and greeted my mother as warmly as possible.
"Hi Mom! How's it going?" How's it going? What the heck is the matter with me? I mentally rolled my eyes and braced myself.
"How's it going? Stephanie, how's it going? You come home after two weeks in Hawaii doing God knows what (insert crossing herself here) with that thug and all you can say when you get home is 'how's it going?' I'll tell you how it's going. I have spent the better part of a week avoiding everyone I know thanks to Angie Morelli spreading what my daughter has been up to all around town. Why me? I beg you to tell me. Cynthia Bernadelli's daughter doesn't go to an island to sleep with strange men. Carla Castanolli's daughter doesn't give up her only chance at marriage and a family just for a roll in the sack with someone who will no doubt end up in jail."
"Mom! That's enough!" My mother instantly turned into a fish and my Grandma got a mischievous smile on her face as I realized those words in that tone just came out of my mouth. I have never yelled at my mother before like that, but I couldn't let her talk about Ranger that way. I also couldn't seem to control my tongue because the yelling just kept coming.
"Ranger is a terrific man. I have no idea where you got the impression that he is a thug, but you couldn't be more wrong about him. He is a successful businessman. He has served our country and in some ways still does. He might have made mistakes in his past but who hasn't? Even you aren't perfect Mom. And Joseph Morelli is far from perfect. And even if Joe was my last chance at marriage and a family, there is no way I can make myself feel sorry about giving him up. Yes, Joe is a great man, but he is not the man I want to spend the rest of my life with, Ranger is."
No sooner did the words leave my mouth than I heard the "Hot Damn!" shouted from my grandma and the iron hitting the ironing board moments before my mother hit the floor. I'm not sure if it was from the shock of me yelling at her or from me saying I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Ranger, but she hit the floor regardless. I quickly secured the iron to avoid ruining the curtains and Grandma took to smacking Mom on the face to wake her up. She seemed to be smacking her awfully hard, but after what she was insinuating about Ranger I just couldn't bring myself to stop grandma.
Mom came to and slowly and got off the floor asking what happened.
"I'll tell you what happened. My baby granddaughter here finally stood up to your yelling and picked the guy she wanted for a change. And I'm happier than hell about it. It's about time she did what she wanted. Who cares what Angie Morelli has been spouting? And who cares what everyone else's daughter is doing? I'm proud of Stephanie no matter what."
Having Grandma stand up for me brought tears to my eyes and even more shock to my mom's face. I have never heard Grandma talk to my mom that way, but it had also been so long since anyone besides Ranger had alluded to being proud of me that I couldn't help the happy tears that were threatening to fall and the smile that was on my face.
"We don't know anything about this Ranger character, mother. And from what Joseph says he is a really sketchy man. He drives around in stolen vehicles, carries more weapons than the men on the police force and he works with gang bangers and giant muscle men that are just as shady as he is."
At this point I think the steam coming from my ears could have done a better job of getting the wrinkles out of the neighbor's curtains than my mother's iron and it was taking every last bit of my self control to not take my stun gun out of my purse and use it on my mother.
Grandma gasped, "Helen!" just as I turned to Mom to try to make her understand.
"Mom," I ground out through teeth clenched so tight I could have sworn I had dust on my t-shirt from them. "I would really like for you to hear me, just once. Ranger and his men are more honorable than any men I know besides Daddy. They are hard working, honest, loyal, strong, kind-hearted, wonderful people who have saved my life more times than I can count. I know that Ranger is not Joe's favorite person but I am equally sure that has more to do with the fact that Ranger is in love with me and less to do with how he conducts his business. I can assure you that Ranger wouldn't be successful nor would he work with the companies he works with if he weren't an honest businessman. Until you can look me in the eye and tell me you are sorry for the things you have said about Ranger and happily accept the fact that we are going to be together for a very, very long time then I won't be back in this house."
I turned to my Grandma and told her to call me anytime she needed to go somewhere and that I would find other ways to see her. I asked her to have my Dad call me when it was convenient and I grabbed my purse and walked away.
TBC…
