Take a Chance
.
a/n Thanks to everyone who read & reviewed!
Chapter Four: She Said...
.
[still Stephanie pov]
"Guess he has an agenda, " said Jilly as we watched the sleek black Porsche drive away.
I looked at her and she did a great eye roll and grinned. I was starting to like this girl. Amazingly she didn't seem awed by Ranger.
I said, "Ranger always has an agenda." I added, "Are you Colonel Stewart?"
She said, "Yeah…it's Lieutenant Colonel, actually."
"Were you Ranger's commanding officer?"
She laughed. "Omigod. Hardly! No way! Plus, you know, he is—was—is...sort of, uh, Army. Can you look in the bags and see what our boy bought me?"
Huh. I noted the unsubtle subject change and was annoyed but I rummaged. "Okay, we have...jeans..." I told her the brand. She nodded. I did not add that they cost almost three hundred dollars and were size 2. "...cargo shorts, a couple tee shirts. Tank tops, flip flops?" She nodded agreeably again . I opened the Bloomingdale's bag. "Chanel tinted moisturizer. Kiehl's hair products. Perfume. Underwear...from Victoria's Secret?" My voice trailed away.
Jilly watched the traffic and the GPS, mumbled, "Mmm-hmmm...".
I sat there in shocked silence, thinking, Ranger bought this woman perfume! He bought her lingerie from Victoria's Secret! He-spent a LOT of money!
Jilly noticed I'd gone silent and said, "What?"
"Uh…"
"C'mon. What's wrong? You're not car sick, are you?"
''No! I'm trying to picture Ranger shopping for you at Victoria's Secret."
She laughed again. "He probably just had Ella or someone call and get my usual, it's no big deal."
"Perfume seems like a big deal to me," I said, meaning to be talking to myself.
But she heard me and said, "Well, Ranger's a sweetheart and he knows what it's like where I've been the past few weeks. My own favorite perfume will be great. He didn't get some important things though. Swimsuits! Purses. Shoes."
I looked in the bags again. At the bottom was a note in Ranger's neat handwriting. It said: Coach Hamptons tote in the backseat. Cell phones/ sat phone/ beepers/ guns inside. x R
I read it out loud.
Jilly squealed and rooted around, with her free hand. She pulled out a striped canvas and leather Coach bag, said, "He's gonna make someone a great husband someday!"
I was thinking, He signed the note with kisses! I was depressed.
Jilly swerved across three lanes of heavy traffic and pulled into a rest area. She stuck her hand in the bag, pulled out a cell phone, then another two, one presumably satellite enabled. Two guns, a SigSauer like I had and a different 9 mm. She showed it to me,said, "Beretta. Small and light."
She checked the clips, loaded of course. Ranger saw no point in an unloaded gun. She put the Beretta into her cargo pants pocket and the Sig back in the purse. The cell phones got tossed in with the gun. Holding the third phone, she examined the screen, pressed a speed dial, left voice message: Hi I'm home and you're not. Where are you? Love you.
Then she poked the nav system touch screen, glared at the extra phone, then heaved a big sigh. "Shit. Shouldn't the phone-one of these phones? work on the nav sys? I'll have to fix the Bluetooth thingy later." Jilly quickly examined the other items: beeper onto visor, lip-gloss. Hairbrush. Palm Pilot. Extra keys. "God, he is so fucking efficient. The mind boggles. Do you find him exhausting?''
''What do you mean? Ranger's a good boss.''
''Not just a boss though, right?'' We went screaming back into traffic. She drove the big SUV like it was a sports car. And way too fast.
I said, "Well, I consider Ranger a friend."
She smiled "Yeah. Me too.''
She continued after a bit of silence. "Maybe tomorrow we can sneak out and do some shopping? I'd love to just relax and have some fun? Please say you'll come. Bring your friend Lula?"
How do you know about Lula?
We pulled into the Sheraton driveway, the valet took her car. She rummaged in the bag Ranger had given her and came up with a wad of cash. She gave the valet $100 bill.
Jilly sighed, "Soooo efficient."
At the desk we were greeted with great enthusiasm and the key handed over with no paperwork required. Jilly wiggled her eyebrows at me, referring to the Ranger efficiency at work again.
We entered her suite, big, tasteful.
Jilly said, "I gotta eat! And shower, okay?"
"Sure. I can order room service. You go shower.''
''Awesome. Get me a burger, rare, with swiss and mushrooms, no bun and extra fries and some kinda sparkling water, like Pellegrino, please.''
I leaned over the mini fridge and opened it. Yep. All stocked with cold mineral water. We both smiled. I took two, handed her one.
She rummaged through the bags for her new toiletries and disappeared. By the time she emerged the food had arrived. We sat on the hotel balcony and ate in silence. Jilly seemed subdued now. Finally she said, "I'm just gonna put my feet up for a sec, okay? I've been up for about thirty-six hours. Jet lag, you know.''
She flopped onto the bed and was sound asleep before her head hit the pillow. After a minute I reached down and pulled the blankets out from under her unconscious form. I covered her up and sat down to wait, dozing off too in seconds.
I was awakened by the entrance of Ranger who walked in and opened the blinds. I whispered to him, "She's exhausted! Let her sleep?"
Ranger said, "We've got work to do."
And he walked over to Jilly saying, not loudly but firmly, "Jilly, you gotta be on deck in ten minutes. Up and at 'em. Rise and shine, princess.''
Jilly woke up instantly and totally, her military training at work. I'd have cursed him out and covered my head with the pillows but she smiled at him and said, "Hey."
"Yo."
"Thanks for all the great clothes, sweetie. I really appreciate it."
"Here's your..." He handed her a manila envelope. She shook out the contents, a black velvet case. A small pile of glittering jewelry was in the box. She put on diamond earrings, solitaire studs about two carats each. A platinum and diamond watch, a Rolex it looked like. And a platinum chain with a charm on it. Ranger took it from her and fastened it around her neck.
"Thanks." She shook the bag and looked inside. "Where's my….?"
"Your other things were at a different place. I'll have them for you later."
She sighed. ''Okay. You know this isn't really your job."
"My pleasure."
... ... ...
We went back to the office. I got my belongings to leave for the day. Jilly was already at the computer center, typing madly. Lester was watching closely as were some of the other tech people. Okay maybe their eyes were on Jilly's chest (no bra! at Rangeman!) not on her computer screen; the guys are well-trained but they're not brain dead. Ranger wasn't around. I stopped to say goodbye and gave her my numbers.
"Call me if you need anything or if we can go shopping tomorrow."
She looked up and smiled. I glanced at the computer screen. I could swear she was hacking into a Department of Defense site. Surely not!
Jilly called me later that night. "Okay. We're on for tomorrow. Bring your friend Lula! I've heard so much about her. I'll pick you up at Vinnie's at 11!"
"Do you know Vinnie?" I asked.
"Lucky me."
... ...
We were wiped out, all three of us. It was official, we shopped til we dropped. At 5 PM the next day we collapsed onto the beds in Jilly's hotel room. She ordered snacks and fruit-flavored martinis. Lula looked at her and apropos of nothing said, "So are you here to take Batman away from Steph?"
"Lula!" I squeaked.
Jilly looked faintly surprised and said, "No. No way…."
Lula interrupted, "What? You don't think he's hot? And what about that biological clock ticking, girl? Don't you wanna get married and have babies and all that? Don't you ever think about it—someday you'll be thirty? What's with that?"
Jilly sat up and stared at Lula. Her eyes were light golden like a tiger's. I shivered a bit. Then she grinned, her shit-eating Miss America smile. She said, "I don't need your Batman! I have one of my very own. And I'm already thirty and married and have kids. I though you knew…."
She wiggled her fingers, displaying the diamond rings—her "things" she was wanting earlier—that Ranger had delivered to her when we got to Haywood last night. They were so extravagant I hadn't realized they were real let alone a wedding ring set. Now Lula and I looked closer and I saw that they were platinum and diamonds, a huge heart-shaped central stone on a band of channel set large diamonds and a similar band of just diamonds. The heart-shaped diamond was as big as a grape, I thought. No wonder Ranger had kept them in a safe for her.
Lula and I just looked at her.
Finally I said, "You're thirty years old."
"Yes! Since November…Big 3-0h."
"Kids?"
Jilly rummaged in the Coach bag, finally pulled out a silver photo case about the size of a paperback book. She opened it and handed it to us.
Inside were two photos. One was of a pair of adorable little kids, blond angels. Just babies, really. The other was a shocker. Taken on a beach somewhere: Three very young men in dark jungle camouflage cargo shorts and Oakley sunglasses. Three gorgeous men. Big assault guns in their hands. One man with blond hair in little, funky dreadlocks. The other two men had long dark hair pulled back and braided, sides buzzed short. They were all smiling. Smiling versions of Ranger's million dollar, megawatt smile.
The blond guy was unfamiliar. The two dark haired men were Ranger.
Huh? Ranger and someone who looked a heck of a lot like him?
The three men were bare-chested and dark skinned. The blond boy had a tattooed stomach and a belly jewel. All three wore diamond stud earrings, rap star style.
Finally she said, tapping the photo of the kids, "My son Jake and daughter ZaZa, uh, Izabelle." The others, she indicated,"—My brother Anthony." (the blond boy) "Ranger, in the center. My husband, Nick. Aren't they adorable! It's an old photo but it's my fave. Yum!"
"Wow," Lula and I both said.
Jilly tucked the photos back in her bag. She appeared to be thinking deeply, then she leaned close and said, "Okay...so, now, here's the plan."
Oh boy, a plan!
tbc