Disclaimer: I love the Stephanie Plum series, but I don't own them and I don't make anything off of them.
Thanks to everyone for your reviews on my first story. Also a special Thank You to Margaret Fowler for you encouragement.
I hope you like it.
Previously…
"And where do you think you're going?" I asked.
"Miami." was Ranger's only response as he walked up the stairs.
Lester glared at his back as I looked at Lester. "Why is he here?" I asked him.
"He's supposed to be working things out with you." He replied still looking at the doorway that Ranger disappeared through. He turned to face me, "Beautiful, you need to try to work this out with him. Talk to him, and don't accept his one word answers, but please make sure you listen to what he has to say, all of it. I love you, but I know you need to do this." He took me in his arms and hugged me close kissing my forehead.
"I love you too." I said into his chest. He released me and I grabbed my suitcase and climbed the stairs to the plane.
XXXXXX
Visit to Miami Part 1
The flight to Miami was quick and quiet. I really didn't know what to say to the man sitting in the other seat. Ranger seemed to go into his zone as soon as he walked onto the plane and never broke it the entire time. That was fine with me, I was able to do some work on the computer so I didn't have to do it in Miami. Yeah right, things always seemed to crop up out of no where in my line of work.
Before we started or descent into Miami I called Jeffrey, "Hey there, we're starting our approach." I said.
"Good the kids are excited to see you, I am too." He laughed.
"Yeah, but it won't be the same kind of fun that we had the last time that I saw you." I laughed. I also noticed an eyebrow from Ranger. "I'm on vacation for a few days."
"Sure you are. You know you can't not knock some heads together if given the opportunity." He laughed.
"Har har Jeffrey. We'll see you at the house in a bit." I said.
"Who's we?" Jeffrey asked.
"Ranger is with me." I said flatly.
"Oh boy. This should be an interesting visit then." He laughed.
"Sure will be." I responded.
"Is he still Mr. One Word?" Jeffrey asked.
"I'm afraid so. Although at times it seems to be more than that. Only time will tell." I replied.
"Alright, we'll see you two in a bit. I have one of my guys on the way to get you." He said.
"Okay, see you then." I said and hung up.
I looked out the window of the plane and saw clear blue sky. I couldn't wait to layout in the sun. It had been so long since I'd had a chance to relax I was really looking forward to it. I was brought out of my thoughts by Ranger's voice.
"Jeffrey doesn't mind that I'm coming does he?" He asked. I saw his jaw tense.
"No, he's fine with it. I bring guests with me down here sometimes. He'll have a room set up for you probably down the hall from me. Jeffrey has a room available to me for when I'm down here." I replied. He just nodded.
Before we knew it we were on the ground and heading to Jeffrey's house. As soon as we pulled up to the front of the house both John and Isa were waiting for me. I was excited to see them, but at the same time I wasn't looking forward to what I had to say to them. Stepping out of the car Isa jumped into my arms crying.
"Steph, I missed you." Isa cried. At first I was stunned, but I could only think that she was worried she would never see me again, like her parents.
"I missed you too Isa. Have you been having fun here? I hear you went to Disney World. How was it?" I asked as I set her down, and hugged John. "How are you John?"
"Good I guess. Who's this with you?" I noticed that John's posture was a bit stiff.
"This is Ranger. He won't hurt you. I promise to make sure you're both safe. I won't bring anyone that could harm you." I replied. John had been playing the role of protector for his sister for so long that it was hard to let it go. He nodded his head in acceptance, but didn't relax right away.
"Disney World was great. We got to meet Mickey and Minnie, and we got to ride rides," and then her body slumped slightly, "Only I wasn't tall enough for all of them."
"Well, maybe next time you will be, you look a lot bigger than the last time I saw you and that was only about two weeks ago Isa." I laughed.
"Really? I grew?" She asked excitedly.
"I think so." I said smiling down at her. I grabbed my bag and headed for the door. Jeffrey enveloped me in a big hug and gave me a kiss on the forehead.
"Welcome back. It's been a while Steph." He said smiling. "Welcome Ranger, it's been a very long time since we've seen each other." He said with a bit of anger in his voice. I smacked his chest and laughed at him.
"You know he's not intimidated by you." I laughed and walked into the house. "I'm going to get changed and then how about a swim kids?" I asked them. Both their faces lit up. "We can talk a bit later." I said and headed up the stairs with Ranger on my heels.
"Ranger has the room directly across the hall from you, John and Isa are in the room next to yours Sweetheart. I'll see you out on the patio in a bit."
"Thanks Jeffrey." I said
A short while later we were all changed and ready for a swim. I thought it would be best to have some fun with them before I explained what happened to their parents. I wanted to make sure they were comfortable in their environment before I had to tell them what their options were.
I headed downstairs in my bikini that honestly didn't cover much, it was black with red piping, had ties at my hips, and scraps of material that only covered the areas that were absolutely necessary. This honestly would surprise Ranger, I was never comfortable with my body before he left, but I had no need to hide anything any more. I was toned, muscular, but still feminine. My flat stomach and now tiny waist accentuated my boobs, making them look bigger than they used to. I looked forward to being able to show off my body now at every opportunity that I had.
Jeffrey was already down by the pool in his board shorts and bare chest, and John and Isa came running down the stairs just seconds after me. I was standing there looking at the water when I was picked up from behind and tossed into the pool. The water was cool, but not overly cold, but still cold enough to make me shiver. When I came back out of the water Jeffrey was standing at the edge of the pool laughing.
Treading water in the deep end, I looked at him and said, "Oh you think that's funny? You just wait." The next thing he knew he was shoved in the pool by Isa. I was laughing hard at him as he had a very surprised look on his face as he went into the water. Isa was so proud of herself.
"Great job Isa." I laughed. John was laughing so hard he had to bend at the waist to catch his breath.
"She's been trying to do that ever since we got here. I guess he needed to be distracted in order for her to do it." He said between gasps.
"Come on in you two." Once John got his laughing under control he jumped in. Isa stood on the edge debating whether she should jump or not. "It's okay, I'll help you if you need it. Do you want to jump to me?" I asked her.
"The deep end makes me nervous. I can't touch the bottom." She said. I saw Ranger coming out of the house from behind her, watching what she was going to do.
"How about you jump to me and I can swim you to the other end if you want, but only if you trust me to do it Isa. I won't force you to do anything." As soon as I said that she jumped into my arms and clung to me. It's a good thing I'm a good swimmer. I was able to tread water and hold her in my arms at the same time. She had the biggest smile on her face. "That was a big jump there kiddo. You want to go to where you can stand or do you want to jump again?" I asked her.
"Jump again. That was fun." She said so I swam her over to the wall.
John came swimming up next to me and whispered, "We've all been trying to get her to jump in and she never has."
I was stunned. I just nodded at him and then moved over to the middle of the deep end when Isa called me. We repeated this pattern for the next half hour and then we started up a game of Marco Polo in the shallow end so Isa could play more comfortably. Tommy joined in the game and there was a lot of laughing to be heard.
Ranger sat on the sidelines the entire time watching us all interact. I couldn't figure out if he was afraid to get too close to the kids, or if he was uncomfortable with how comfortable I was here.
We all climbed out of the pool and had some lunch on the patio by the pool and just relaxed. Before too long it was time to talk to the kids. I still wasn't sure how to approach them. I went upstairs to grab my bag, since I had the picture for them.
Coming back downstairs John was waiting for me at the bottom of the staircase. "Their both dead aren't they?" He asked quietly.
"Yes they are, and I'm not going to go into details, but by the time I got there your mother was already gone." I said sadly.
He stood there stoically trying to reign in his emotions. I saw the tears form in his eyes. I grabbed a hold of him and hugged him tight to me. "Let it out John, it's okay to cry. You loved them both, no matter what. Just remember your mother as she was, and that she died protecting you." I explained.
His body shook with sobs and he held on to me as if I was his lifeline. "What will happen to us now?" He asked once he calmed down a bit.
"Hey," I said tilting his head up to meet my eyes, "I'm here for you. Let's go talk to your sister, but know this, you are not alone, I WILL take care of you. I promised your mother that I would. So you will have some decisions to make, but there is no rush okay?" I squeezing him tighter to me. He just nodded his head.
We walked out onto the patio and I noticed that Isa was sitting in Tommy's lap. He went to stand and I shook my head no at him. I sat down in my seat next to John on the love seat, and Ranger was on the other side of me in a chair. I looked at Jeffrey and he nodded his head that he was ready.
I looked at Isa's smiling face and was dreading what I had to tell her. "Isa, we need to talk about your parent." I noticed the smile drop from her face and her body stiffened. Tears were forming on her cheeks.
"My mom is dead isn't she?" She asked. I noticed she didn't say anything about her father.
"Yes, Isa, she is. But I want you to remember her as she was. When she took you shopping, when she took you to the park, how she sang to you, and gave you some of the biggest hugs when you were scared. She loved you very much Isa. Never forget that." I saw tears streaming down her face.
She curled into Tommy's chest and he held her as she cried. John had tears streaming down his face. I could see that he had questions, but wasn't willing to ask them in front of his sister. I leaned over and whispered to him, "You don't need to details, trust me, maybe when you get older, but definitely not now."
When they had calmed down a bit I continued with what I had for them. I pulled out the photo I had saved for them. "I saved this for you, it was the picture your mother had on her nightstand in their bedroom. This is how you should remember her. I know that you have a few things that you packed to bring with you, but I wanted to make sure that you had something of the three of you. We can make copies of it so you both have one and we can also make smaller ones to put into a scrap book if you want. I have some pictures of my own with the three of you I will make copies of and I have some friends gathering pictures of you as well that we can put together. Your mother was a wonderful woman and I won't let you forget that." I said
John asked sadly, "So what happens now? If they're both gone, we have no family."
"Yes you do." I said, his head snapped back up to meet my eyes. "You have me, Jeffrey here, Tommy seems to have taken you both under his wing, Miguel and Rico in Columbia. We may not be blood relatives, but you have family. None of us are going to let anything happen to you." I saw shock register on his face. "John I told you, I promised your mom I would take care of you. Now you just have some decisions to make on where that happens. Nothing needs to be decided right now, you have time to make up your mind. And no one will pressure you into where you choose to go." I said.
Isa spoke next, "What do you mean? I thought we would have to go back home now."
"That's something else that we need to discuss." I paused to make sure that they were both paying attention. "The house is gone. Everything that was in it has been destroyed. That picture and the things that you brought with you are the only things left." I said softly. I noticed Isa's and John's eyes go wide with shock. "You wouldn't have wanted to go back there, and it was unavoidable, all that remains of the house it rubble." I said.
I waited allowing them to absorb what that meant. "The land is still yours, we can rebuild a house for you if you like in the future, but that will be in the distant future. Right now you need to think about what you want to do. Do you want to stay in the US or do you want to go back to Columbia?" I looked at them and saw Isa start to cry again.
"I don't want you to leave." She cried and launched herself at me. I hugged her to me and looked at her brother. He looked like he was trying to hold himself in his seat. I held up my other arm for him to lean into me and held him tightly to my side. I let them both cry some more and when they calmed down.
"I won't be going anywhere right away, but I do have some things I need to take care of, that you can't be anywhere near. For your safety, I need to get them done, and I need to know you are somewhere safe." They both nodded. "I have the someone working on papers so that you can stay here in the US if you want, but where will be up to you. Jeffrey has offered to keep you here until things are taken care of, or if you want to stay here permanently. I can visit you here anytime, or you can come live with me up in New Jersey. Miguel and Rico have offered to have you come live with them if you wanted to go back to Columbia as well. You have a lot of options as to where you want to go, and who you want to be with." I reminded them.
The only thing that Isa could get out was "You."
"I agree with Isa, once you get things taken care of, can we be with you?" John asked. "You knew our mother, you saved us, you protected us. I like it here with Jeffrey and Tommy, but I feel the most comfortable with you." I looked up to see the look on Jeffrey's face and saw that smile, I also saw a bit of a sad look cross Tommy's face.
"They've asked for you everyday. They were afraid that something would happen to you as well." Jeffrey explained. "We love having them here, but I think they need a mother figure."
I could understand that, but I wasn't sure how to be a mother, it was one of the biggest worries that I had in my life, but had been working to overcome, I certainly didn't have a great example growing up. I guess I would be finding out sooner rather than later.
I guess Ranger could tell what I was thinking because he spoke up for the first time since we arrived, "You'd be a wonderful mother Babe, your caring and put others first, you took car of your skips, even though you were returning them to the system. You obviously take the care of women and children seriously, and protect them all in the general sense, why wouldn't you do that for these two. Don't let how the woman who raised you warp how you see yourself as a mother yourself. You are the most giving person I have ever met. You love and with your whole heart, Babe."
No matter what had happened, his praise always meant so much to me. I smiled at him in thanks. "You two are more than welcome to come with me to New Jersey. You'll love where I live too, we're right on the beach, but it may be a while before I can bring you there. I hope you understand that. And if you change your mind I want you to know that it's fine. We can work out all the details later. How about we take some time and go shopping. I know you need to have some more clothes than what you have, and maybe we can head to the beach later today or tomorrow. What do you think?" I said trying to get them to redirect their thoughts.
"I don't know if I'm up to it right now." Said John.
"You let me know what you want to do and we'll do that." I said to them.
"Can we go to beach now? I just want to go for a walk." He said.
"Sure. Go grab your sandals and we can go for a walk now. Is that okay with you Isa?" She nodded and sniffed. "I'll wait here for you while you get your stuff."
John offered his hand to his sister and they went upstairs slowly together. My heart broke for them again, thinking that they would grow up without their mother who loved them so much.
"I have some things I need to take care of while you go for a walk with them. Let me know if you need anything Sweetheart. They'll be fine because you're there for them." He squeezed my shoulder as he walked by.
"Thanks I will." I said, patting his hand before he walked back in the house. "Tommy did you want to go for a walk with us?"
I saw him sigh before he responded. "Yeah if you don't mind. I'm going to miss those kids when they leave here."
"Tommy, you know that you can visit them anytime you want right? You're always welcome to come with me anywhere, as long as Jeffrey's okay with it." I said.
"I know, but it won't be the same." He said.
"You need some kids of your own." I said to him.
"Yeah, but that would mean I would have to find a woman willing to settle down with me, and who would want someone who has the job I do?" He asked.
"I think you'd be surprised. You just have to look in the right places." I said.
"Do you mind if I come with you on the walk?" Ranger asked.
"Sure, maybe we can even introduce John and Isa to Julie this week." I said to him. He nodded in acceptance. The kids came back down ready for the beach and we all headed down to the water.
It took a while but the kids were able to play in the surf after much coaxing from Tommy. Ranger seemed to take the opportunity to talk break his silence. "Babe, I know yesterday was rough for you going to my parents house and my attitude afterwards, but I wasn't mad at you. I was mad at myself and Lester." He explained. My head snapped in his direction when he mentioned Lester.
"He took you to meet my parents, and in my family that's significant. It means you are being considered part of the family already. No one in my family brings home someone they are dating unless they are considering spending the rest of their lives with them. My father planted a rose bush for you, that's never done until that person is made a part of the family officially. Did my father explain to you where he planted your rose bush?" He asked.
"Not until yesterday, and I didn't even know that he had done it. I've only been there a few times, but I've seen them here in Miami when they came to visit Julie as well. I've talked to them more on the phone than anything." I explained.
"I knew they would love you, and the fact that my father planted that rose bush for you before I had a chance to bring you to them, doesn't surprise me, but I lost out on the opportunity to follow the tradition in my family. Lester took that from me." He explained.
"I honestly don't understand why you feel that way, you left. They wanted to meet me, and I went with Lester. There was nothing going on between the two of us, so why would I have felt that I needed to wait for you to go. You knew I always wanted to meet them, to get to know more about you. So when Lester offered to take me before I left I took the opportunity I had knowing that nothing would ever come of it. I had no expectations. I just wanted to meet the people who raised you." I said.
"I know that I confused you before I left. When you asked me for training I was more than willing to help, and I wanted us to get closer, but I didn't want to disrupt your training, so I was waiting until the time was right. Then when you asked me for the extra training, you shocked me. I didn't understand why you wanted to do what you were asking for. My reaction was to pull away from you completely. I was afraid that you would hate me for saying no, but I couldn't be the one to give it to you. As I told you before I would have hated myself. But, leaving was a mistake. I should have trusted that you knew what you wanted and were planning on doing, instead I panicked and ran."
"Yeah, it seems like we reversed roles for a while. You ran and I was moving forward." I replied.
"I guess you could look at it that way. I just didn't know what you would do once you were done with your training. I had no idea that you were planning on working with the Families. Honestly I guess you could say that I underestimated you. When you said you would find someone to do it if I didn't, I thought you were bluffing. When you handed in your resignation I knew you weren't." He explained.
"You know that when I set my mind to something I do it. I keep my word, and that is something that has never changed and never will." I stated.
"Yes and I could have possibly ruined the most important thing in my life." He exclaimed.
"What's that? Your business? Because the guys kept it running just fine while you were gone. Your family would never turn their back on you, no matter what you did." I shook my head at his stupidity.
"You. Your friendship, your love, your trust. I'm not going anywhere. I know you're afraid that I'll take off again, but I won't. I'm here no matter what. For you." He stated.
"I guess we'll see, won't we." I said.
So more to come soon. Let me know what you think, good or bad. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks again to everyone who has been following the story.
