Let's Play House

Chapter Four

Ranger was up before sun rise on Wednesday morning, checking emails at his desk in the sitting area of the bedroom. Forcing open one eye, Stephanie focused on Ranger's form, glowing by the light of the computer screen.

"What time is it?"

"Six a.m.," Ranger answered. "Go back to sleep, I'm just going over some paperwork before we leave."

"What time do you want to head out?"

Ranger looked at the clock on his computer monitor. "As soon as you and Julie are up and dressed. We have a long day planned."

Rolling over in bed, Stephanie pulled the covers up to her neck and mumbled, "Wake me in an hour."

Two hours later, Stephanie tumbled out of bed to find the blinds open and Ranger gone. Deciding to wake up Julie, she pulled on a robe and padded across the hall. But Julie was also gone, her bed nicely made, clothes picked up off the floor. The full-bodied aroma of recently brewed coffee floated up the stairs and swept past Stephanie's nose, and she followed the scent down the stairs to the kitchen. Julie and Ranger were sitting at the table, discussing the history of the Statue of Liberty. Actually, Julie was doing most of the talking, and Ranger was being a good listener.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Julie was all bright eyed and cheery, dressed in jeans, a pink and silver t-shirt with a baby phat logo on the front, and grey walking shoes with a pink Nike logo. Her hair was loose, hanging down her back, and she had a bowl of peanut butter Cap'n Crunch cereal resting on the kitchen table.

"Babe," Ranger said as a good morning greeting. He was eating a bowl of Grape Nuts cereal topped with a sliced banana.

Stephanie gave a finger wave to Ranger and Julie and headed straight for the coffee pot. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"We decided to let you sleep in for a while," Ranger said. He was wearing black jeans, a snug fitting black t-shirt, and black running shoes.

Glancing at the cereal boxes on the table, Stephanie said, "I see you prepared a hearty meal."

Ranger pointed to an empty bowl on the table. "Your breakfast is getting cold."

Giggling at Ranger, Julie poured a mound of Cap'n Crunch cereal into the empty bowl for Stephanie. "You and I like the same types of food."

Stephanie carried a hot mug of coffee to the table and sat down. "Cap'n Crunch is the best cereal on the market. Are you excited about New York City?"

With her mouth full of cereal, Julie nodded her head, swallowing her food before speaking. "Yes. Ranger said we have crown tickets. We get to walk all the way up to the top."

"That's great," Stephanie said, feigning excitement. And then she gave Ranger a dirty look and discreetly flipped him the bird while running her fingers through her hair. Ranger returned the grimace with a megawatt smile, knowing she wanted to kill him right about now. Years ago, Stephanie had visited the Statue of Liberty on a college trip and swore she'd never go again. Climbing 354 steps in a narrow crowed space was not her idea fun. The tour had been like a workout session. And Stephanie wasn't the working out type.

"We are going to Ellis Island, too," Julie added with excitement, missing the entire exchange between Ranger and Stephanie.

"Well, at least the weather will be mild today," Stephanie said, looking on the bright side. "It's not a pleasant experience to climb those stairs when it's hot and humid."

Polishing off her cereal, Stephanie pushed back from the table. Julie stood quickly and said, "I'll clear the table while you get dressed."

"I appreciated that," Stephanie said, looking at Ranger. The talk he'd had with Julie yesterday appeared to be working. "Give me a half hour, and I'll be ready to go."

Ranger pulled the SUV into the Liberty State Park facility parking lot in Jersey City at exactly half past nine a.m., just in time to catch the docked ferry, appropriately named, Miss Ellis Island. Ranger had purchased tickets over the Internet, but the long lines to get on the ferry and through the security check points added almost two hours to their trip. The trip would have been faster by car, as Hunterdon County was about an hour from New York City, but Julie wanted to take a ferry boat to the Big Apple. So they made it to the Statue of Liberty Monument just before noon.

The tour took a little over an hour, and by the time they'd made it up the statue, and then back down, the lunch hour had come and gone. Inside the lobby of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, Stephanie's legs were burning from the climb, and she had beads of sweat across her forehead, but Ranger and Julie seemed more energized than they'd been in the early morning hours. Obviously, the love of physical activity had traveled down the bloodline.

"I'm hungry," Julie said, eyes searching Liberty Island, looking for restaurants.

"I could eat a horse," Stephanie added, wiping sweat off her brow.

Glancing at his watch, Ranger said, "We have time to grab a quick lunch before the Ellis Island tour."

He took Stephanie and Julie by their hands and pulled them through a mob of tourists, cameras flashing, videos recording. Julie had a small digital camera hanging around her neck, and she was snapping picture's of everyone and everything she passed.

The Kiosk Café boasted a popular eating spot, overlooking the New York Harbor. There was a gentle breeze coming off the water, so they all collectively decided to sit at a picnic area outside of the café.

Stephanie ordered a barbecue pork sandwich and fries; Julie had chicken tenders and fries, and Ranger ordered a large grilled chicken salad.

Pushing a chicken tender toward her father, Julie said, "Want to taste some real food?"

Ranger curled his lips into a smile, shaking his head. "No thanks. I'm good."

"Your father is very health conscious," Stephanie said, shoving barbeque pork into her mouth.

Julie gave Ranger a once over, as if she were seeing him for the first time. And then she pushed her finger into a muscle pulsing from his bicep. "I guess you keep all these muscles by eating healthy."

Looking at his daughter through amused eyes, Ranger swallowed a mouthful of lettuce and nodded his head. "With the kind of work I do, I have to stay physically fit."

Julie dipped a chicken tender in ketchup, studying Ranger closely. "Do you still deal with bad guys every day?"

"There are times when I still have to deal with bad people. Right now, my main objective is to protect people from the bad guys, so it's hard to stay off their radar completely."

Chewing thoughtfully, Julie was quiet for a beat, and then she said softly, "I still occasionally have bad dreams about Scrog. He was such a stupid loser."

Ranger set his fork down and gave Julie his full attention. Pushing a wind blown strand of hair from her face, gently tucking it behind her ear, he said, "You won't ever have to worry about Scrog again, Julie. He'll be behind bars for a long time."

What Ranger failed to tell his daughter was if Scrog ever got an early release out of prison, he'd make sure the lunatic disappeared forever. No matter how it played out, Scrog was never going to be a threat to his family again.

"What if he gets out on parole?" Julie asked Ranger, as if she were reading his mind. "He's probably really mad at me for shooting him."

Stephanie stopped chewing her sandwich, knowing what the end result would be if Scrog ever got out of prison. She wondered how Ranger would alleviate the child's fears without showing a side of himself that he'd kept well hidden from most people.

"A prisoner has to be granted parole," Ranger explained. "I don't think parole will be an option for Scrog."

Okay, that sounded good, Stephanie thought to herself. But Julie didn't seem convinced. "Did therapy help?" she asked Julie, trying to change the direction of the conversation, just a little.

"Yeah, therapy helped a lot," Julie admitted. "I used to have nightmares every day, but now I only have them once in a while." Looking at Stephanie, Julie asked, "Did you have nightmares about Scrog?"

Stephanie remembered the first time she'd laid eyes on Julie after Scrog had kidnapped her.

The grime on the child's face and the fear in her eyes had been enough to make Stephanie feel homicidal. She wanted to kill Scrog, right then and there. But she'd also felt a great deal of relief that the man hadn't killed Julie. And then there was the memory of Scrog standing over Ranger, prepared to take his life, as Stephanie looked on, unable to save him. That scene had haunted her dreams for months on end. But after some time, waking up next to Ranger every morning had been all the therapy she'd needed.

"Yes, for a while I did," she said to Julie. "But I'd been through a few bad experiences as a bounty hunter, so by then I was used to the insanity."

Popping a fry into her mouth, Julie furrowed her eyebrows in curiosity. "How do you ever get used to that kind of stuff?"

Stephanie shrugged. "You have to grow thick skin, I guess."

Naturally, there was no logical answer Stephanie could give Julie. There were times when she'd wondered what had possessed her to take on the line of work she'd chosen. But admitting to insanity didn't seem like a good answer at this point.

"What are you two going to do when you get married," Julie asked Ranger and Stephanie with a pointed look.

"What are we going to do for a living?" Ranger tried to clarify.

"That's right. You can't be married with dangerous jobs." Julie gave Ranger a 'like duh' look, believing he should already have a plan to retire into the land of Pleasantville after the wedding.

Chewing his food thoughtfully, Ranger searched for an answer that would placate his daughter, while Stephanie stifled a laugh. The thought of a 12-year-old asking them what they were planning to do about their crazy life was hilarious. Or maybe it was just plain sad.

Once again faced with sparing Julie the sordid details of his life, Ranger said, "Sitting behind a desk all day is not very dangerous, kiddo. And that's a huge part of what we do now."

Leaning into his daughter, kissing the top of her head, Ranger continued, "Thanks for your concern, but I think Stephanie and I will be just fine as a married couple."

Satisfied with the answer, Julie chose another chicken tender and glanced at Stephanie. "Will you continue to work after you have kids?"

This got a smile out of Ranger. He always enjoyed watching Stephanie squirm her way around the question.

"Sure, why not?" Stephanie said. "A woman can work and raise kids at the same time."

"My mom had to get a part-time job last month," Julie said.

"That's okay," Stephanie supplied. "A lot of women have to work outside of the home."

"Yeah, but my mom has to work because we might lose the house if she doesn't bring home extra income."

Ranger cut his eyes to Stephanie. Obviously, this was the first he'd heard of Julie's revelation.

Not sure of what to say, Stephanie and Ranger remained quiet. They didn't want to encourage anymore confessions. Ron and Rachel would not appreciate Julie's newsflash, nor would they appreciate Ranger and Stephanie discussing their financial woes with her.

Taking the silence as a signal to continue, Julie tried to explain. "I overheard them arguing one night. They thought we were all asleep. My dad's air conditioning repair business is not doing so well. I guess he's lost some customers."

Julie seemed relieved to get the information out in the open. Perhaps she just needed someone close to her to know, just in case. But at 12-years-old, she was too young to be worried about her parent's predicament.

Following a minute or so of stunned silence, Ranger cleared his throat and gathered the empty foam containers that had held their food. "I'm sorry you had to hear that, Julie. But you shouldn't worry yourself with adult problems, okay? I'm sure things will work out."

Standing to his feet, Ranger smiled down at his daughter. "Let's get going, we don't want to miss the ferry to Ellis Island."

Pulling the SUV inside the garage at eight p.m., Ranger, Stephanie, and Julie were listening to the last song on Lady Gaga's new CD. Ranger had threatened to throw the Justine Beiber CD out of the car window if he had to hear Never Say Never one more time. Julie, still wired from candy and fast food at Ellis Island, was singing every word to every song, entertaining her small audience.

As they all angled out of the car, Ranger's cell phone chirped. He looked at the caller id display and passed the phone to Julie. "It's your mom."

"Hi, mom. Guess what we did today?" Julie said, filling her mother in on the day trip to New York City. Walking into the house, she gave her mother a detailed account of the day, starting from the time she woke up. By the time the phone call ended, Stephanie wondered if Rachel had gotten one word in.

Passing the phone back to Ranger, Julie said, "They all miss me."

"Of course they miss you," Stephanie said. "I bet they all wish they were here with you."

"I miss them, too. But honestly, it's kind of nice being away from my brother and sister. They can be a pain sometimes."

"Siblings can be a pain in the butt at times," Ranger said. He kicked off his shoes at the door and headed toward the den. Julie mirrored her father's actions and followed close behind him.

"When I was a kid," he continued, "I had to split everything with my sisters and brother."

"Was your family poor?" Julie asked her father, sitting next to him on the couch.

"My parents were working class people. But with six mouths to feed, everything had to be shared."

"Did you have to share a room, too?"

"Yes. I shared a room with my brother until I was 14-years-old. And then I moved to Florida to live with my grandmother."

Truly invested in the story now, Julie hung on to every word Ranger was saying.

"Why did you move to Florida? Couldn't your parents afford to keep you?"

Hinting at a smile, Ranger admitted, "I got into trouble. Moving to Florida probably saved my life."

"What did you do?"

"I stole a car."

Julie went all bug-eyed. Ranger couldn't tell if the child was shocked or excited by the news.

"Why did you steal a car?"

Picking up the remote, Ranger clicked on the television, pondering the question. "Lack of confidence," he finally said to his daughter. "I was a follower, always trying to fit in. I followed a bunch of losers down the wrong path and got caught by the police."

"Were you a gang member?"

"No. I just let bad guys influence my actions."

"When did you become a good guy?"

Raising an eyebrow at Julie, Ranger said, "You think I'm a good guy?"

Julie shrugged her shoulders. "You seem like a good guy. You protect and help people. That's good."

"I think everyone has moments they're not proud of," Ranger said, offering a vague answer. "I'm no exception."

"One time, I slapped my brother across the head," Julie confessed. "That was a moment I wasn't proud of. But sometimes I just can't help myself. He makes me so angry."

"Must be in your DNA. I used to fight with my brother all the time."

"Did you fight with your sisters, too?"

Shaking his head, Ranger said, "No. My parents didn't allow me to hit my sisters."

"My brother is not allowed to hit me. That's why I felt so guilty after I hit him, because I knew he couldn't hit me back."

"Probably, you should just lock him in the closet when he gets on your nerves," Ranger said. "That's what I used to do to my sisters. And I didn't feel guilty."

"That's a good idea," Julie said, as if a light bulb had turned on in her head.

"No!" Stephanie said, padding into the den with a bowl of popcorn. "Locking your brother in the closet is not a good idea."

Staring pointedly at Ranger, Stephanie rolled her eyes. Ranger and Julie smiled at one another playfully. They were too much alike.

"I leave you two alone for a few minutes and you're plotting sibling abuse." Stephanie sat down next to Ranger on the couch and placed the popcorn on the coffee table.

"We're not plotting," Julie said. She grabbed a fist full of the popped kernels and shoved them into her mouth. "We're spending quality time together."

Half way through an all night marathon of The Waltons on the Hallmark Channel, Julie had fallen into an exhausted slumber, her head resting on her father's shoulder. John Boy had just announced that he was leaving Walton's Mountain to pursue a writing career in New York City and Stephanie and Ranger were now invested in the family's reaction to the news. So they let Julie sleep until the episode was over.

"Babe, I haven't watched the Waltons since I lived with my grandmother. She used to make me sit with her and watch the reruns."

"Not bad for a family show, right?" Stephanie asked, turning off the television.

"Not much sex and violence on Walton's Mountain," Ranger returned, pulling on Julie's ear to wake her up. "Julie, let's go to bed."

Julie lifted her head and looked at the television. "What did I miss?"

"John Boy's on his way to fortune and fame as a writer," Ranger said, pulling his daughter to her feet.

"I like when they all say goodnight to each other," Julie said, heavy-eyed and sluggish.

"Me, too," Stephanie said, as they all made their way up the stairs to turn in for the night.

After Julie was all tucked in, Stephanie joined Ranger in the master suite. He'd stripped down to his boxer briefs and was checking messages on his iphone.

"Working late?" Stephanie asked him, peeling out of her clothes.

"You have something else in mind?"

"Sleep," Stephanie said. "We know for a fact that Julie listens in on things she's not supposed to hear. Can you believe she overheard her parents arguing about money?"

"That explains why she's so worried about college expenses five years before she even graduates from high school," Ranger said, turning off his phone.

"Do you really think Rachel and Ron could lose their house?"

"In this economy, anything is possible, babe. I'd like to think they have enough family and friends to help them out, if it came down to that."

"Would you help them?" Stephanie asked Ranger.

"Yes, if they asked me to." Ranger didn't hesitate with his answer. His daughter's well-being was part his responsibility. Helping Rachel and Ron would be helping Julie.

"But in all honesty, I doubt Ron would come to me for help."

Stephanie nodded in agreement. Ron probably didn't want Ranger to know he was having a hard time financially. He was raising his daughter, after all. There was an issue of pride.

"I'll slip extra money into Julie's child support checks for the next few months," Ranger said. "Just to cover any additional expenses she might be incurring right now. I know she's taking piano lessons this summer, so I'll use that as an excuse if her parents ask me why I'm sending extra money."

"That's a nice thing to do," Stephanie agreed.

"I don't want them to know that Julie is aware of their situation," Ranger said, pulling off his underwear. "They have enough to worry about."

"What are you doing?"

A mischievous grin creased Ranger's face. "Getting ready for bed."

"What if Julie has a nightmare and runs into our room in the middle of the night?" Stephanie argued. "You can't let her see you like that!"

Opening a dresser drawer, Stephanie pulled out a pair of ugly flannel pajamas and a wrinkled tank top and threw them on. And then she grabbed a pair of sweats for Ranger and threw them in his direction.

"Babe, you sure know how to kill a mood."