Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing. Not making any money.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I hope I continue to meet your expectations!
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Chapter Four -- Taking Flight
Stephanie sat cross-legged on the floor of her old room, elbows propped on her knees and her face in her hands. Stationery was scattered on the floor around her. Two pages with writing on the front and back, much of it crossed out, lay discarded at her feet. One sealed envelope sat to one side.
Strangely, the letter for Joe had been the easiest to write. Maybe it was because they'd already had their big break-up fight and had only just gotten back to being friends, but for whatever reason she'd been able to write to him what she felt.
Ranger's was proving to be much more difficult.
Sighing, she sat up straight and stretched her spine. Selecting a new sheet of paper she decided to try her grandmother's note. It shouldn't be too hard. After all, Grandma Mazur seemed to know her almost as well as she knew herself - maybe better at times. The words flowed and Stephanie explained as well as she could, ending by telling her grandmother how much she loved her and appreciated her support all of her life. Then she folded it into an envelope, wrote Grandma on the front, and sealed it.
Working up to it seemed to have helped. Stephanie started on the letter to Ranger, taking her time and choosing her words very carefully. It took well over an hour, and when she sealed the envelope and wrote his name on the front she had tears sliding down her cheeks in a steady stream. Heart aching, she just rolled over on the carpet and cried until her tears were gone, then went into the bathroom to wash her face. The bruise was starting to turn darker, especially along her cheekbone. She retrieved the makeup from the room and covered it again as well as she could.
It was nearly five when she went back downstairs. The letters were safely tucked into her purse upstairs. She admired Grandma's new blonde hair tint, set the table for her mother, and ate dinner with her family. She even helped with the dishes afterward.
She did her best to seem normal. But her father knew, and her mother and grandmother gave each other furtive, speculative looks behind her back.
She spent some time watching TV before she went upstairs to get ready for bed. She needed to talk to someone so she called Lula, but Tank was there so she let her go. It wouldn't do for Tank to suspect.
A few more days. If she could make it a few more days without raising suspicion she might be able to leave undetected, unchallenged. She could only hope she would make it.
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It was barely light outside when she got up and slipped across the hall to take a quick shower. She was back in her room before she heard her parents stirring, and she just laid on the bed thinking as the morning squabble went on in the hallway. She started going over things in her mind again, over and over, looking for mistakes. Working for Ranger doing searches part-time had taught her a few things that would come in handy now. She had learned what things showed up in systems, and what things raised flags. She knew how certain transactions could be traced. Did she know enough?
There were a few more items she wanted to pick up. She got a scrap of paper and made a list. She needed a hair brush, toothbrush and paste, and makeup removal wipes. A suitcase? Or would a backpack work better? And how would be the safest way to carry her money?
Dressing quickly, she went downstairs and ate breakfast with her family, then borrowed the Buick again. She drove straight to Mary Lou's house.
It was comparatively quiet this morning. The youngest boy was still asleep, and the two older ones were headed to school on the bus. She got some time with Mary Lou uninterrupted, a very rare thing. It worked out well because she was able to tell her the whole story without stopping.
On the surface, Mary Lou's reaction was a lot less drastic than Lula's. Stephanie wondered if it was because Mary Lou had a busier life, or did she just know her well enough to know that she'd eventually find her way back to Trenton?
Mary Lou smiled, as if she could read her thoughts. "I'll miss you, but I understand. In the end only you can make yourself happy. You have to do what feels right, and live your own life. Right now there are far too many people in Trenton that feel like they own a piece of you, and your heart tries to make them all happy. It would make anyone crazy."
She really did understand.
Mary Lou went even further and aided her cause, digging a small wheeled suitcase out of her attic storage. Inside it was stashed a lightweight fabric fanny-pack, and a waterproof zipper bag.
"We bought two sets of luggage when we took the boys to Disney World a couple of years ago," she explained. "We only used these that one time. They are supposed to be carry-on size, but the airline regulations have changed and now they're too big. But if you can use it, it's yours. Oh, and I wore the fanny-pack under my shirt and kept most of our cash in it. It made me look pudgy or pregnant, but it felt safer than my purse or Lenny's wallet."
"Thanks, Mary Lou. This will help a lot."
"I wish you didn't need to go," she whispered, her control finally beginning to break.
"It won't be forever," Stephanie reassured her. "And I will find some way to keep in touch. Just, please, don't let anything slip until I'm gone." Not that she was worried about Mary Lou. She'd always kept her secrets.
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She left the suitcase safely stashed in the Buick's trunk and stopped at a discount store. She just walked around aimlessly for a while before making her way to the toiletries section. Hair brush, tooth brush, and tooth paste were all simple items to select. At the end of the isle was the section of travel/trial items and her eyes fell on a small bottle of concentrated laundry soap. That might be handy, too.
She dodged around a clogged isle and found herself in the medical section looking at a display of wrist, ankle, and knee braces. One of the knee braces was mostly elastic and Velcro but lined with soft fleece, and it gave her another idea. It would be better to have her money in different places, just in case. So she bought it, too.
Part of her wanted to go goof off at the bonds office for a while, just chatting with Connie and Lula, but she knew she wasn't good enough at acting to fool Connie for long. Instead she called and told Connie that she would be taking a few days off. Connie didn't question it.
Steph went home and found the house empty and a note on the table saying her Mom and Grandma had gone grocery shopping. It gave her the chance to sneak the suitcase upstairs and hide it in the closet. She sat down to write a letter to Connie and her mom, and as she was finishing her cell rang. Her insurance check was ready.
Her heart pounded so hard she could hear it in her ears, and she felt nearly sick with nerves. This was it, the last thing holding her here. Well, almost. She'd realized she couldn't leave without seeing Ranger one more time.
She called Lula and asked for a ride. Then she quickly packed her accumulated things, tucking the fanny pack and knee brace into the outside pocket of the suitcase along with a plastic trash bag. The tracking pen she tucked into the drawer of the bedside table, and she tucked the bogus lip balm into the pocket of her pants. Lula had pulled up out front by the time she made it downstairs.
Her heart hurt as they pulled away from the curb. She'd left the letters to her mom, grandma, and Valerie on the bed. Lula was grim faced as she drove Stephanie first to the insurance agency, then to the bank. They stopped in the back lot of McDonalds while Stephanie divided cash between the knee brace, the fanny pack, and her wallet.
"Where to now?" Lula asked. It was just after five.
"I need to eat. I'll buy you dinner, and then maybe a drink or two." She took a deep breath and turned to look Lula in the face. "And then I want to spend some time with Ranger…until midnight, maybe. Will that be too late for me to get another ride?"
"It's not that late," Lula said gruffly. "Let's go to Pino's for dinner and our drinks."
Three hours and two stiff drinks later, Lula dropped Stephanie off in front of the RangeMan building. Steph left the suitcase and the fanny pack in the trunk, and the knee brace was buried in her purse. "I'll be waiting outside that little deli up the block after eleven," Lula said. "You take your time."
Dutch courage was the only thing keeping her knees from knocking as she made her way into the lobby and up to the fifth floor, and even then her hands were shaking. She kept one hand wrapped around the strap of her purse and tucked the other in her pocket as she stuck her head in the control room.
"Hi guys," she said huskily. "Do you know where Ranger is?"
"Hey, Steph, you doing okay? Ranger just went upstairs," Woody told her with a smile and continued in a teasing voice. "He just came in from an op so don't be too hard on him."
She just waved and went back to the elevator.
Ranger opened the door at her first knock, still dressed in his usual black including a zip-front hoodie that was probably hiding his guns. He was holding a half-empty beer. He didn't speak, just stepped back, inviting her inside.
"I wanted to apologize again, Ranger, and explain--"
"Not necessary -- I understand, Babe. It was a bad night all around and I didn't help." He turned and started back toward the living room. Steph followed, dropping her purse near the kitchen bar.
"You tried to help, I just jumped your sh--"
Ranger cut off her words with his mouth, turning suddenly and pulling her to him all at once. For an instant Steph stiffened, then she melted against him and he deepened the kiss. And kept kissing her, one hand tangled in her hair, until he'd managed to steer them into his bedroom.
"You taste like margaritas," he whispered with a tiny smile when he at last lifted his head.
"Lula," she said dazedly. "I had a drink with Lula, and she gave me a ride here."
"Ah," he said as if that explained everything. He slipped his windbreaker off and dropped it on the floor then reached for her shirt. "I need a shower. Want to join me?"
Steph just raised her arms and let him pull off her shirt, then tugged at his. If Ranger's lips tightened at the sight of her dark bruises, he didn't say anything, just got them both naked and into the shower.
He was a little surprised when she took charge of the shower gel and washed him. And he nearly lost his mind when she went down on her knees in front of him washing him with maddening thoroughness, her gentle fingers stroking. When the heat of her mouth enveloped him his groan echoed off the tile.
He took her against the wall, careful not to hurt her even as he lost himself in her, thrusting hard and deep until his cry blended with hers, and they nearly ended up in a pile on the shower floor.
She turned her eyes away from her reflection as he dried her body a few minutes later, so when they moved to the bed he turned off most of the lights. Then he set out to make her forget all about her bruises, taking his time working his way to his favorite spot between her legs, using his lips and tongue, teeth and fingers to drive her crazy. He knew when she was at the limits of her endurance and moved over her, sliding deep and holding her tight as he rocked them both to oblivion…
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Steph fought hard to both keep her body relaxed and keep her mind alert until at last Ranger slept. As it was she couldn't stop the silent tears that trickled down her cheeks. She would have thought she was completely cried out by now.
Quietly she got up and dressed. Ranger didn't stir, thank God. He'd been tired when she arrived and had become somewhat used to her being with him at night during their time as lovers. She hesitated only briefly before taking the t-shirt and hoodie he'd been wearing. The smelled of him, and the jacket might come in handy.
In the kitchen she opened her purse and set the items in the top out on the counter -- the sealed letter, his apartment keys, and her phone and charger. The phone number had originally been hers but he'd replaced it for her numerous times, and she knew all too well that cell signals were easy for Ranger to track. It had saved her life before. But now she didn't want to be found.
With a deep if shaky breath and one last look back, she opened the door and slipped away.
True to her word, Lula was waiting at the curb outside the little deli on the corner. She unlocked the door and Steph slid in. Lula gave her clean face and wet cheeks one look and started the car.
"You can't go anywhere like this," she said firmly. "You got to pull yourself together a little." She found a late-night drive through and got a Coke and fries, surprising Stephanie into a half-laugh, half-sob. But she ate some, sipped some Coke, and it settled her down enough to find her makeup and re-cover her bruise and brush her hair.
"The bus station, please," she said finally. "And Lula, I'll never be able to thank you enough."
"You saved my life, white girl. I reckon that's thanks enough."
She asked Lula not to come in with her and tucked the fake lip balm under the seat as she climbed out of the Firebird. Maybe it would confuse things and give her just a little more time.
The ticket window was only fifteen minutes from closing when she bought her ticket - a thirty-day unlimited pass. She went to the bathroom and fastened the brace around her left knee, and the fanny pack low around her waist under her jeans and shirt. She folded Ranger's shirt into the suitcase and tucked the hoodie in the outer zipper pocket, and was on a bus leaving Trenton ten minutes later.
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TBC…