I had a long hot shower as I tried to figure out why Ranger hadn't gotten upset. When I couldn't figure that out I tried to figure out my relationship with Ranger and why he wanted me around. I showered until I ran out of hot water and, after blasting my hair dry, I still hadn't figured it out, so I assumed my favorite thinking position – lying back on the bed, my face covered with my pillow. When I still couldn't figure it out, I decided that my favorite thinking position was very similar to my favorite napping position and, despite my confusion over Ranger, I fell asleep.

Two hours later, I woke as Ranger lifted the pillow off my head. "Thinking or napping, babe?"

"It started out as thinking and progressed to napping", I said. Ranger gave a half-smile.

"Did you figure out anything when you were thinking?"

"No. I still can't understand why you weren't upset with me. You not yelling will take me some time to get used to. I'm so used to Morelli yelling at me and being scared to tell him anything as a result that having you not yell at me is something new."

"Have I ever yelled at you?"

"No, but you weren't going out with me before either. As my mother says, I'm a trial and would frustrate a saint."

"I will never yell at you, and you aren't a trial. I'm uncomfortable with the thought that you aren't telling me things when they happen in fear of what I'll say though. We're a team, but I can't help you if I don't know what is going on. Take for instance your busted lock. Borrowing a car while it is repaired is such a simple thing, yet from what you said it sounds like you were afraid to tell me about it. Is that right?"

"I didn't want you to yell at me for being in the convenience store at the precise moment that Bucky shot his gun."

"It wasn't your fault, and that's what I'm saying. You being afraid that I'll yell is stopping you from getting help when you need it, and that's a dangerous thing."

I walked into the bathroom and since my hair was flattened from lying on the bed thinking, I pulled it back into a ponytail. Ranger followed me into the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe while I got ready. I applied a light dusting of makeup and two coats of mascara for luck, and stood back and surveyed myself. I was as ready as I would ever get.

"What about if I promise not to yell at you?" said Ranger as he watched me.

"It's just hard. I don't know if it is learned reaction or not, but when something goes wrong I have a squishy feeling in my stomach, and my immediate reaction is to worry that you'll yell at me. If it had been Morelli, I would have done whatever it took to ensure he didn't find out. He usually found out anyway." I walked into the bedroom and pulled from the closet my favorite pair of distressed jeans that had the holes in just the right places, a black tank top and a black blazer. I dressed quickly and, when the blazer was on, I rolled the cuffs and pushed the sleeves up my forearms.

Ranger pulled me to him and gave me a deep kiss. Just as I was calculating how much time we had before we had to be at Mary Lou's and how long it would take to get there and whether we had time for a quickie, Ranger pulled away. He kissed me on the tip of my nose and said, "I love you, okay? And that means that I will never yell at you, no matter what happens to you, no matter if it is your fault or not. Yelling doesn't solve anything and I don't agree with it."

"I love you too", I said. "I just don't understand you."

Ranger smiled suddenly, and I stopped to appreciate the view. It was rare that Ranger gave a full-wattage smile, and doing so kicked his 'hotness' rating into the stratosphere. "Then think of the fun you'll have as you try to figure me out." He gave me another quick kiss and said, "we have to go if we don't want to be late."

Ranger captured my hand as we walked out to the car, and I found the simple contact to be grounding. For the first time since I had woken up this morning, the squishy feeling in my stomach was fading away. "Do we have time to get Mary Lou some flowers?" I said.

Ranger smiled and, when we got to the car, he handed me a bouquet. "I already thought of it", he said.

He saw me into the car and shut the door after me, then rounded the hood and slid into the driver's seat. "I have to warn you", I said. I tensed again. "Lenny, Mary Lou's husband, is a little touchy feely."

"Is he inappropriate with it?"

"Yes. I have never seen why Mary Lou likes him. She got together with him when they were in high school, but even then I didn't see the attraction. He's a flirt, and an alcoholic, and often crosses a line. When we were at their wedding rehearsal dinner, he cornered me and made a pass at me." Ranger tensed. "I didn't know how to tell Mary Lou so I didn't. To this day she doesn't know."

"I'm surprised you didn't use your signature move on him."

"To sack him? I thought of it, and I told him I would if he ever did that to me again. I think he took me seriously because he's never tried it, but he does try to pat my ass every time I'm near him."

"Despite his infidelity, does Mary Lou have a good relationship with him?"

"I love Mary Lou, but when she got engaged I had already been engaged to Dickie for a few weeks. I think the fact that I was engaged was one of the driving forces behind her decision to get married. Because she was desperate to get married, she settled on the first person who asked, even though he wasn't right for her. Lenny is a womanizing jerk, and Mary Lou has closed her eyes to the fact that he's had several affairs on her. She says that he's a good husband because he goes to work and works hard for his money, and he earns enough that she can stay home and look after the kids. That's important to her. Personally, I would have preferred to be independent from him and working in my own job."

"What does he do?"

"He's a plumber and he owns his own business. I think he does alright by it. At least, he earns enough to support Mary Lou and their four kids and to still have money left over to support whatever honey he has on the side."

"I don't really understand infidelity", said Ranger. "Willingness to have an affair is probably a sign that the relationship isn't a good one."

"That makes me a little uncomfortable to agree to that", I said. "After all, we'd hopped into bed together several times when I was seeing Morelli."

Ranger smiled. "And that proves my point. Morelli wasn't the best person for you, babe. That's why you were willing to cheat on him, and that's why you are no longer with him." He turned down Mary Lou's street. "Which house is it again?"

I pointed him in the direction of a house with a variety of kids' bicycles left haphazardly out the front. Within minutes, we were ringing the doorbell.

Lenny came to the door. He was just slightly taller than me and he had a significant beer belly. "Steph!" he said, and he pulled me into a hug. His hands drifted south and he patted my ass. The beagle puppy ran up between us and barked shrilly, and I extricated myself from Lenny's grasp with relief. I looked at Ranger. He did not look happy. I was glad that I'd warned him.

Mary Lou walked through from the kitchen. "Hey, Steph", she said, and she gave me a hug. She turned to Ranger and pulled him into a hug, and she tried to pat his ass as well. It was my turn to not look happy. "Let's sit on the patio. The kids are running through the sprinkler. This will be one of the last warm days of the summer. I can't believe that school starts again on Tuesday."

"Are you looking forward to that?" I asked.

Mary Lou smiled. "You'd better believe it. Every time I go back-to-school shopping, I feel like singing that song about it being the most wonderful time of the year. I know that it's a Christmas song, but it feels so much more appropriate for back to school instead." She turned to Ranger. "What would you like to drink?"

I was a little annoyed with Mary Lou for focusing on Ranger. Didn't she see he was taken? "Just a cola for me", I said as Ranger looked at me and waited for my answer. I wanted to be on my toes around Lenny. Ranger asked for a glass of water.

"Come on, have a beer with me, buddy", said Lenny.

"Thanks, but I have to drive", said Ranger. "Besides, after we leave here tonight Steph and I have some work to do, and I want to be able to perform."

"Is that what you call it? Work? I personally wouldn't consider it work to be with Steph." Ranger just looked at him, and Lenny shifted uncomfortably. "Well, if you won't have a beer, do you mind if I do? I go all day long and look forward to my frosty at night."

Judging by the flush in his cheeks and the brightness in his eyes, he'd been partaking of the frosties long before we had arrived. I gave Ranger a commiserating look and carried the flowers into the kitchen, where Mary Lou was making an antipasto tray. "These are for you", I said.

"I'm sorry that Lenny is so forward", she said. "He's such a loving person and he's so demonstrative that he forgets sometimes that not everybody appreciates it."

"It's okay, Mary Lou. I understand that you're in a tough position."

Mary Lou flashed me a relieved smile and took the flowers from me. "Thank you", she said. "It's been a long time since someone bought me flowers."

"It was Ranger's idea."

"They're beautiful. How about you take out the appetizers, and I'll get the blooms into water."

I left her to her flower-arranging and carried the antipasto tray through to the patio. As if a bell went off, children poured into the room from every direction and descended upon the tray like a swarm of locusts. Just minutes after the tray had been put down, the children had decimated the food until there was only a small ham cube left. As the dog saw his opportunity, he jumped up and scooped up the remaining piece of meat before one of the children noticed it.

Lenny shook his head. "Brats are like that", he said. "They are always hungry and eating you out of house and home. Never have kids. They aren't worth it."

I smiled. "You love your kids", I said. At least, I hoped he did. Mary Lou looked upon him as being a good father, and that was one of the things she loved best about him. If he wasn't a good father, it would be another lie their relationship was based on.

Lenny took a large mouthful of beer and belched loudly. "No", he said, "Mary Lou loves the brats. Personally, I think they bleed all the life out of you, and they make you old before you know it."

I didn't know what to say, and I looked at Ranger. He apparently didn't know what to say either, but that didn't surprise me. He was someone who typically kept his own counsel at the best of times. If he was unhappy about something, he became even quieter. I could tell by the tension around his eyes that he was not happy.

"So I know what you do, Steph", said Lenny. "You chase men and put them in jail, kind of like a wannabe police officer." I sucked in a breath. "What do you do, Ranger?"

"I do basically the same thing", said Ranger. "However, I also own my own company providing security services."

"You're a rent-a-cop service?"

"Something like that", said Ranger.

Mary Lou came out and said, "what did I miss?"

"Ranger was just telling me that he owns a rent-a-cop business", said Lenny. "My cousin is an out-of-work security guard that has been bouncing around since he failed at the academy. I should tell him to apply to your company."

"He certainly is welcome to", said Ranger, "but I don't usually hire anyone unless they have military training behind them. Applicants go through rigorous testing and an extensive interview process. Additionally, we aren't hiring anyone right now. Although our company is growing quickly, we have just recently gone through a hiring drive and have been able to identify a few suitable people."

"That's too bad. My cousin wants to get a job where he can shoot his gun. I know that Steph has been able to kill a few people in the line of duty, and that's the kind of job that he wants."

I froze. I had killed three people during my time as a bounty hunter, and I wasn't proud of any of them. Each kill had caused me more and more problems. With the last one, the resulting stress eating from the shooting resulted in me going up a dress size. I was still losing all the weight that I had gained. It was fun going on, but it was a bitch coming off again.

Ranger slid his hand into mine and squeezed gently. "Killing someone, whether it is in the line of duty or not, takes a piece of your soul away", he said. "I would never hire a trigger happy person to my staff because of that. While I want my staff comfortable with a gun, I hope that they never have to use it."

"Hunh", said Lenny. He didn't sound like he believed Ranger.

"How is work going, Steph?" asked Mary Lou.

"It's going well. Vinnie has kept me incredibly busy and I've been working overtime hours on his files, and I also been working at Rangeman doing research. Rangeman provides the stability in income that I need, and Vinnie provides the excitement and variety in my job that I crave. Between the two I am able to cover my bills and save a little for the future."

"That's good", said Lenny. "If you were my wife, though, you wouldn't crave excitement. I'd be everything that you needed." He put his hand down to his privates and adjusted himself. "That's what I used to tell Morelli as well. He didn't understand how you could keep your little woman at home and make her satisfied. I tried to give him pointers, but he never listened to me." I shuddered to think of the pointers he'd recommended. I thought it explained some of the reason why Morelli hated to visit Lenny and Mary Lou.

"I think Steph would be bored silly if she had to stay at home with the kids", said Ranger with a smile. "I think that would be one time that Steph would be happy to use her gun, but I don't know if it would be on me as I was the only encouraging her to look after kids all day and night, or whether it would be on herself for the boredom and irritation of staying at home. I can remember the last time she broke a rib. She was frustrated when I encouraged her to go to bed and I think the only reason she agreed to it was because she had taken medication to help her deal with the pain and the pills made her sleepy and dizzy."

"It definitely wasn't the most enjoyable time of my life", I said.

Ranger smiled. He remembered how grumpy I had been with the enforced need for rest.

"Having children is a blessing", said Mary Lou. She sounded like she was saying it by rote.

"Not you too", I said with a groan. "My family is all encouraging me to settle down and have kids. I don't want them, though, and I don't think it's a good idea for me to have children if I don't want them."

Mary Lou smiled, but her smile was a bit unfocused. Although Mary Lou was little, she could hold her alcohol well, but looking at her slightly blurry smile I realized that Mary Lou had probably started drinking at the same time as Lenny had. "I love my kids", she said.

"I know you do. You're living the life that you've always wanted – and so am I. I've never been enthused about having children. You're like Valerie though, and having children is important to you. When I was with Dickie, I never questioned what I wanted and just assumed that going the traditional way of getting married and having kids was the way to go. As upsetting as breaking up with Dickie was, he actually – in hindsight – did me a favor. I would never have been happy living that sort of traditional life with anyone, let alone him."

"I still don't understand why you broke up with him", said Lenny. "After all, he was just having an affair on you. A woman has to understand that a man has needs far beyond what one woman can satisfy."

I looked at Ranger, and he looked at me. He gave me one of his half-smiles. "I don't know", said Ranger, "Steph is more than enough for me."

"That's Steph", said Lenny. "She's a sexual bunny. I remember all the comments about her written on the bathroom stalls." Ranger looked irritated again.

"I remember them as well", I said. "I had boys I didn't even know inviting me out with the promise of giving me a good time. I have since discovered that Joyce Barnhardt wrote a lot of those comments."

"What did she know of your sexual habits?" asked Lenny. His face brightened. "Do you swing both ways? Could I watch you with Joyce? That would be so hot." He looked across at Mary Lou glaring at him. "I mean, it would be hot if you got together with Mary Lou."

I forced a laugh. "I have all I need in Ranger."

"Morelli's been looking pretty grumpy lately", said Lenny. "I saw him at church the other week, and he looked devastated."

"What was Morelli doing in church?" I asked. I was surprised. Morelli, like me, believed in a God. He just didn't care for the organized religion and the devout praying-over-you practices that his mother and grandmother subscribed to. He hated going to church and only went on major holidays and when his mother and grandmother dragged him to it.

"He said he was praying for strength", said Lenny.

I was about to question Lenny as to why Morelli needed strength, but I decided I didn't want to know after all. I wasn't sure if I would like the answer. I didn't wish Morelli harm or sadness. I didn't want to get my revenge. I didn't break up with Morelli to be cruel. I broke up with him because it was time. We were no longer good together. But because I didn't wish him ill, I didn't like hearing that Morelli was upset enough with his life that he was turning to God.

"So, you're a stay-at-home mother", said Ranger to Mary Lou. "What do you do, Lenny?"

"I'm a turd wrangler. I'm the leading shit whisperer in the city."

Ranger looked at him blankly. "Okay, then", he said. He turned to Mary Lou. "How old are your kids?"