Hope you enjoy!
Not mine.
I woke up in bed, alone. The sun was starting to stream through the windows as I wrapped the sheet around myself. Where was Ranger?
"Morning, Babe," Ranger said from the doorway.
"What's that?" I asked, looking at what he was holding in his hands.
He chuckled. "Breakfast."
"It looks delicious." I crossed my legs and pointed to the space in front of me. He nodded and placed them down and gently climbed back into bed.
"This is sweet." I said, giving him a quick kiss. "Thank you."
"Welcome, Babe."
I moaned at every bite, enjoying the Spanish omelet. Ranger just chuckled at each one. I smiled at him when I was done.
"You never disappoint." He said.
It was nice being with Ranger. He was more open about himself than I had ever seen him before. I knew more about his family than probably my own. Of course, in my family, we don't like to talk.
"I want you to meet my mother."
I almost spit out orange juice. "What?"
"My mother wants us to come up and have lunch."
"What?"
He smiled. "Don't worry, she's not going to eat you."
"I don't know…"
He tucked a curl behind my ear. "What's wrong?"
"We've only been dating for a few months."
"I know."
"And you want me to meet your mother? So soon?"
"I want you to meet my mother, my sisters, my brother, my grandma, and all of my nieces and nephews. I want everyone to know that we're together."
I looked at him for a moment, and then nodded.
"It'll be fine." He said to me, helping me from the car. Ranger had decided to take the day off for me to go meet his mother. Shocking, I know.
"What if she hates me?"
"How is that possible?"
"I'm not Cuban."
He raised an eyebrow at me.
"What? It's a logical thing to be worried about."
Ranger chuckled and walked us up the path.
"Carlos, I'm glad you're finding this all so funny."
"Finding what funny?" Asked a woman who I assumed to be Mrs. Carmen Manoso. She was taller than I was expecting, just about a head shorter than me, thin and had the same hair and eyes as Ranger. The rest, I assumed, he got from his father.
"Hi, mama."
"Don't you 'hi mama' me. I haven't heard from you in weeks." She smacked him upside the head.
Maybe I could learn to love her…
She turned to me. "Stephanie, I've heard so many wonderful things from you. You must truly be one of a kind to put up with my son." She said. And then she surprised me by bringing me into a hug. "Welcome to the family."
"What?"
She turned her eyes to Ranger. "You two aren't getting married?"
"Well…" He started. She smacked him.
"Shame on you! She's the first decent girl that will put up with you and you two aren't getting married?" She smacked Ranger again.
"We haven't set a date." I blurted out. Mental head slap. It was like the time Joe proposed in front of his mother and grandmother. I blurted something similar to my own mother.
Ranger looked at me for a beat, and then turned back to his mother. "We're taking things slow."
"Fantastic! Well come on in!" She went to the kitchen and we followed her.
"'We haven't set a date'?" Ranger asked me.
"I kind of just came out! I'm sorry, but she kept hitting you!"
He put his arm around my shoulders. "Let's go inside." He said with a smile on his face.
I sighed with relief that my word vomit didn't scare him away.
We sat down at the table and had a nice, quiet lunch and I learned more about Ranger's childhood. It was pretty much anything he didn't want to tell me himself.
"I'm just glad I got to take a picture before he wiped it all off!" Carmen laughed.
"Aw, Carlos, you would've made a pretty girl." I said, patting his knee.
"They blackmailed me." He said, his head in his hands. I wonder what kind of dirt they had to make him dress up like a girl.
I couldn't wait to meet them.
Ranger groaned, reading my thoughts. I smirked at him.
"I like your mother." I said, when we got back into the car. Tank had called Ranger and now we were heading back to Haywood.
"I knew that you would."
I smiled. "Thank you for being a good sport."
He smiled back, but didn't respond. I'm guessing he's trying to figure out which third world country to send me to. Not that I would tell the guys about the pictures I saw…
Or show the copies that I had in my handbag…
The rest of the way home was filled with a comfortable silence and I dozed through most of the trip back.
"Babe, we're back." Ranger said, lifting me out of the Porsche.
"I'm awake." I said groggily. "I can walk."
When we got to the elevator, he sat me down on my feet. "I have to go check on five." He kissed me lightly on the lips before getting off. I went on up to seven and went to lie down. I went into the bedroom and stripped down to my t-shirt and panties, excited for a nap.
I had been feeling off for a little while, but nothing that was too unsettling.
But the pain I felt now, confirmed that something was wrong.
I cried out from pain and clutched my stomach. I rolled over and hit the five button on the intercom.
"Control center." Hal said.
"Ranger. Get Ranger." I gasped.
"Stephanie! Are you okay?"
I shook my head. As if Hal could see me. "No."
"He's on his way, Steph, hold on."
"Babe!" I heard him say a minute later. "Oh God." He picked me up and we flew down the stairs. I still clutched my stomach and whimpered to Ranger. "We're almost to the car, Babe, hold on."
He gently placed me down and ran to get into the driver's seat. He screeched out of the parking garage and sped towards the hospital with an SUV following close behind.