Darkness in the Offing
By Dayoh
Chapter Nine
Stephanie sat silently on the couch, dazed at what had just transpired. She felt like shit, and rightfully so. Instead of just asking Ranger what was in the envelope, she'd jumped to the most negative conclusion without giving him the benefit of the doubt. Ranger had always held his cards close to his chest, never showing his hand until he was good and ready. But the lack of communication combined with Stephanie's probing nature was sure to cause problems in their relationship, if they couldn't find common ground.
Ranger had walked angrily out of the room forty minutes prior, leaving Stephanie in a daze. Staring down at the tickets sitting in her lap, she contemplated her next move. In another place and time, Stephanie would have shoved herself into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and rushed out the door with her tail tucked between her legs. But those days were over. She was going to act like an adult and deal with the situation head-on. Standing to her feet, she placed the tickets on the couch and walked into the living room. Ranger was in his zone, eyes glued to the television. But she could tell that his mind was somewhere else. He was probably wondering what the hell he'd gotten himself into.
Stephanie watched him for a couple of minutes, and then she said in a non threatening tone, "Ranger, we need to talk?"
"I'm done talking for tonight, Stephanie. You should go home."
Stephanie stood by the couch, studying Ranger's face, trying to gauge how far she should push the situation. Just because he was done talking didn't mean he couldn't listen. So, she pressed on.
"You're pissed. I get that. But I'm not leaving until you hear me out."
Ranger didn't say a word; he just sat in silence, pretending to watch ESPN. And Stephanie remained planted in her spot, standing by the couch, staring at Ranger. After a few uncomfortable moments, he finally picked up the remote and shut off the television. Keeping his eyes glued to the dark screen, he said, "Talk."
Blowing out a small sigh, Stephanie sat on the couch next to Ranger, leaving adequate space between them. Just in case she had to make a quick dash for the door. She didn't expect the conversation to turn into a violent yelling match, Ranger didn't yell. But if he suddenly got the urge to toss her out the front door on her ass, she'd have a head start.
"I'm sorry," she said, facing Ranger. "I handled this situation all wrong. I should have asked you what was in the envelope instead of assuming the worst."
Ranger ran his hand down his face in frustration. "Why would you assume that I'd gone back on my word?"
"What was I supposed to think, Ranger?"
Ranger turned to Stephanie in disbelief, shocked that she would even ask such a question.
He said, "You're supposed to trust me."
"I do trust you!"
"You have a strange way of showing your trust, Stephanie."
"I apologize. I was wrong."
"I don't need your apology," Ranger said, frustration filling his voice. "I need you to have confidence in me, know that I'm going to do what I say. If you can't do that, we can't continue this relationship."
Tears burned Stephanie's eyes and she quickly turned away from the look of hurt spreading across Ranger's face. Of course his feelings had been hurt by her actions. He was human, after all. He'd gone and planned a romantic trip for the two of them, and she was worried about him sneaking around behind her back. Nice job, Stephanie.
Staring straight ahead, she fought back the tears threatening to fall, blinking rapidly.
After a few silent moments, Stephanie pulled in a deep breath and said, "I need more communication from you. If I don't know what's going on, I assume the worst."
"The trip was a surprise, that's why I didn't mention it."
"I understand that now," Stephanie said, turning to look at Ranger again. "And I might have drawn a different conclusion about the travel arrangements if you had just talked to me, and explained that things were settled with the organization."
Ranger remained quiet, considering Stephanie's appeal. She didn't think the request was unfair. But she wondered if Ranger was willing to meet her half way.
"I've never shared all of my personal business with anyone," Ranger confessed.
"I'm not asking you to share all ofyour personal business with me, Ranger. I'm asking you to communicate information that affects our relationship. My actions were based on fear, not distrust."
"I know I need to communicate more with you," Ranger said through a soft sigh, shifting his body on the couch to face Stephanie. "And, I owe you an apology. You're right; I should have mentioned that I'd talked to someone from the organization."
Stephanie absorbed the words for a beat and then scooted a little closer to Ranger, closing the space between them.
"I don't need your apology," she said, repeating his words. "I just need you to talk to me, keep me posted. That's a sign that you trust me. And if you can't do that, we definitely can't continue this relationship."
Ranger cut his eye to Stephanie. "That's my line."
"Yeah, I hope we don't have to keep repeating that same old line, over and over."
"No, Babe. I don't want to hear a repeat of that line," Ranger said, grabbing Stephanie by her shirt, hoisting her into his lap, holding her close. The lines around his mouth had softened, his anger deteriorating along with the fight. Touching his lips to Stephanie's ear, he whispered. "I don't like fighting with you."
Stephanie wrapped her arms around Ranger's neck, relaxing in his embrace, relieved that they'd survived their first fight.
"Well, on the bright side, the fight could have been worse," she said. "I think we handled the situation with a great deal of maturity. I didn't wave my hands in the air or stomp out of the apartment. And you didn't throw me out the window."
"I thought about it," Ranger said, nuzzling Stephanie's neck. "But it would be hard to throw the woman I love out a window. That's just wrong."
Stephanie looked at Ranger and smiled. "Are you still taking the woman you love to Cancun?"
"I'll call and ask her as soon as you're asleep."
Stephanie rolled her eyes at Ranger's sad attempt at humor and said, "I'm serious. Have I ruined our vacation or what?"
"That depends," Ranger said, his lips spreading into a smirk. "How bad do you want to go?"
"Jeez, there's a price now?"
"You ruined my surprise. You owe me."
"Why Mexico?" Stephanie asked. "That place holds such bad memories."
"My goal was to try and replace the bad memories with pleasant ones."
"Well, isn't that romantic… and rotten. I feel guiltier now than I did before."
"Good," Ranger said. "I plan to milk that guilt for all it's worth."
"Not to ruin your payback moment," Stephanie said, crawling out of Ranger's lap. But while we're on the subject of Mexico, can you tell me what you said to the organization to get out of your contract?"
Ranger looked at Stephanie and blew out a soft sigh. "I told them I was having some complications from surgery and I didn't know how long I'd be out of commission. I had to make them believe I'd be a liability health wise. The company doesn't deal with employees that are not healthy enough to do the job. So my request for an early termination was reluctantly approved."
"Good to know," Stephanie said. "If you would have shared that information with me a few weeks ago, I would have never worried about that envelope."
"Liar," Ranger said around a small, disbelieving smile.
Stephanie smiled sheepishly back at Ranger, knowing he was right. "Okay, so I would have been slightly curious."
"Babe, you would have torn my room apart trying to find that envelope, no matter what you assumed. You're nosy as hell."
"That's what makes me a good bounty hunter, right?"
Ranger stood to his feet and said, "No, that's what makes you a pain in the ass." He strolled into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, peering inside.
Stephanie shuffled behind him, hot on his heels. "But you're still taking this pain in the ass to Cancun, right?"
Ranger pulled a can of whip cream off the shelf and gave Stephanie a roguish grin, hooking his arm around her neck. "You're gonna have to work hard for that trip, Babe."
"And you think whip cream's gonna wear me down?" Stephanie asked incredulously.
Ranger dragged Stephanie towards the bedroom. "Did I mention you'll be handcuffed to the bed, wearing a blindfold?"
Oh, boy!
The End…For Now
