They aren't mine. I wish they were. Just going to borrow them for a while. Continuation of Christmas Eve Visitor, Starting Our Life Together and Holy Matrimony, Batman!. People, places and things in the story may or may not be totally factual or real.

Christmas Past and Present
By JayCee08

Chapter 10
Teenage Problems

Ranger and I woke up in each others arms and started our day with slow, tender kisses. We got up and took a shower together where things really heated up and not just the water.

We got dressed and went down for breakfast. We found that Julie wasn't up yet.

"Do you want me to go wake her? She may still be mad at you." I offered.

Ranger let out a breath. It wasn't quite a sigh. "Yeah maybe you better."

I went up to knock on her door. "Julie?" No answer. "Julie? It's Steph. Are you awake?"

"Go away!" She yelled.

"Julie. Can I come in?"

"No! Leave me alone!"

"Julie. I thought we were going to ride that duck thing today. Don't you want to go?"

"I said, leave me alone!"

"O.K. We'll be downstairs if you change your mind."

I walked back downstairs. Ranger was sitting at the kitchen table. He looked at me as I came into the kitchen.

"Where's Julie?"

"Um, um. She wants to be left alone. I guess she doesn't want to go with us today." I explained.

"What?"

"She said to 'go away' and to leave her alone. It is just the usual emotions that a teenage girl goes through. She is still trying to deal with you and her emotions. She'll be O.K. Just give her some space."

"Well that is unacceptable. She will get up and she will go with us. I am not going to leave her here by herself." Ranger said as he got up from the table. I stopped him.

"Carlos. Let her be. We can go and you can show me around Miami."

"No. She can either come with us, or she can go back home."

"Carlos. How about we do this? Why don't you go and check in at RangeMan Miami? You can do a spot inspection. They won't be expecting you, or will they?"

"Maybe. They know I am here, but I sometimes don't stop by when I am here to see Julie."

"Good. Go check your men and your company. I'll stay here. Maybe Julie will come out and I can try and talk to her. You know girl to girl. She may open up to me or maybe not because I am a stranger. Who knows?"

"I don't know, Babe."

"We don't have any time frame to stick to. We can do the duck thing tomorrow or later this afternoon if Julie feels up to it."

"O.K. How long am I supposed be gone?"

"How about the morning, but call first to see how things are going here before you come back."

"Come here Babe." He motioned for me to come closer. "How did you get so smart on how to deal with a teenager girl?" He said as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close.

"I was one once. I may not be going through the same problems that she is trying to deal with, like trying to understand why her father gave her up so she could have a happier life. But I understand the conflict. She isn't a little girl any more and she isn't a woman yet. It is a hard thing to balance. You still want to be able to crawl into your parent's lap when you have a problem and you're feeling down, but you still want your freedom to experience different things. Like boys and high heels and make-up and your first real date." Ranger cringed at that. Then he gave me a kiss that made my toes curl.

"O.K. Babe. I'll call before I come home. You're sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, I think she wants to talk to someone that isn't a parent. I guess I fit the bill."

I sat out by the pool reading a magazine that I bought at the airport to read on the plane. I saw movement from an upstairs window and the curtains falling back in place. A little while later Julie came out of the house wearing a bikini and carrying a towel and her boombox and walked over to me.

"Hey Julie."

"Where's Ranger?"

"He had to go and check on something at RangeMan. Are you hungry? I think Olivia left some breakfast burritos in the refrigerator for you."

"I ate them, thanks. You didn't want to go and see the Miami office?"

"No, not really." I said nonchalantly as I turned the pages of the magazine. I was lying. I really wanted to see RangeMan Miami.

"I'm going to work on my tan." She said. She went to one of the chaise lounge chairs and laid her towel down. She turned on the boombox and got herself situated in the chair. About fifteen minutes later she sat up and turned the boombox off. She went to the refrigerator by the grill and took out a bottle of water. "Can I get you something to drink?" She asked.

"Yes, a bottle of water if there is still some in there." I didn't know how often Olivia replenished the supply. She pulled out another bottle and brought it over by me. She pulled out a chair across from me. I knew she wanted to talk, but I was letting her control the conversation.

"Steph? Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Julie."

"Why do you love Ranger?"

I sucked in a breath and blew it out. How do I answer this without revealing too much but still giving an answer that will satisfy her?

"Ranger has always been there for me. He always supported me in my decisions and my job when other people thought that I was a walking disaster and incompetent. Whenever I was in a jam, he came to help me. When I needed assistance, he would come or send someone else to help. He lent me vehicles when mine got blown up, even after I destroyed some of his. And let me reiterate that neither my vehicles getting destroyed nor his, where my fault. In some cases I was lucky to get out of the car before it blew up or exploded. He gave me a safe place to stay when I needed it. We became very good friends and eventually that became love." I hoped that would be enough for her to understand.

"O.K., so he helped you and gave you cars and a place to stay. But why do you love him?"

Damn. O.K. here it goes. "Ranger is a very honorable man." Julie rolled her eyes. "He is. You may not think so, but he is. He has a moral code that he tries to follow. He doesn't make promises that he can't keep. If he doesn't think that he can follow through he won't say that he will. He doesn't tell tales or brag or repeat rumors. If you tell him something, he won't tell anyone else. That was the foundation of our relationship. Trust. We trust each other. We trust each other with our lives. Both of us is willing to die for the other. He may be intimidating and badass. But that is his public persona. He will only let you in to meet his private persona when he knows he can completely trust you. It was a couple of years before he opened up to me about you. It sort of threw me because a) he was telling me a little something about himself that he was married and had a daughter and b) he trusted me with the information knowing that I wouldn't go spreading it around. I trusted him with my life and he was trusting me with information on his family."

"His family. What a crock. We were never a family." Julie snorted.

"Julie, listen to me. Ranger loves you. He was young and foolish when he met your mom. He didn't really love her. When they found out that she was pregnant he did the honorable thing. He married her and made sure that you would be taken care of. He was in the Army then and he was away a lot for long periods of time. After you were born, he knew that he couldn't stay married to your mom. So they got divorced. When your mom met Ron and they fell in love, your dad did what he thought was best for you and let Ron adopt you, so you would have two loving parents to be there as you grew up.

He still kept in contact with your mom and got updates on you as you grew. But he knew he couldn't be the father you needed. He then became an Army Ranger and being a special operative. That brought secretive deadly missions and coming in contact with some of the world's notorious individuals. He was still gone for long periods of time. He couldn't be there for your school plays or your dance recitals. He tried to be there for some of your birthdays and other holidays. He tried to be in your life the best he could. And if that was like being a favorite uncle, then he was willing to accept that. He thought that by keeping his distance from you, that you wouldn't become attached to him and that if anything happened to him, if he got hurt or God forbid didn't come home, you wouldn't miss him and mourn him.

And then he started up RangeMan. And that took up much of his time, but it also brought him into contact with some very bad individuals. Some of these individuals he helped to put in prison. He knew that if they ever got out, there is a good chance that they could come after him with avengence. So he knew he needed to keep his distance from his family, so that they could not be used as pawns by some of these unsavory people to get back at him. Even the families of these individuals, whether here or from other countries could try to get to him for his part in putting their family member behind bars or worse.

You have to realize that this hurt him just as much. To isolate himself so much from the people he loves the most. He had to take a back seat and watch his only child being raised by another man. He missed out on the little things like first steps and first words and tucking you in bed and getting butterfly kisses from you. But he also missed out on things with his own parents and siblings and nieces and nephews. He sacrificed his happiness to keep those he loves the most, to be safe."

Julie had tears in her eyes. "And now he feels he can be a father to me and have a relationship?"

"Yes, his contract with the Government will be expiring soon. He says he doesn't want to extend it. He says there is still a risk that someone will want to hurt his family. But I think he wants to finally have some happiness in his life. He told me that you and I are the two most important people in his life."

Julie was crying now. "I was mean to him last night. I wanted him to hurt like I was hurting. I guess I didn't realize that he was hurting just as much by not being there."

"I know. I don't think he realized just how much his actions hurt you either. He thought that he was the only one to feel it. I think he thought that by not being in your life that you would happy."

"He tried to tell me that last night. I wouldn't let him in the room, so he talked through the door. I didn't believe him. I guess maybe if we had talked face to face I could have seen it in his eyes just how much this was hurting him too."

"Well, I wouldn't have counted on that. He is really good with the blank face. You have to know just what to look for so you know he is being sincere or not."

"Thanks, Steph, for letting me know. I feel really bad."

"I think if you tell Ranger, it will make him feel better too. So, do you want to work on your family tree? Maybe I can help?"

"Sure. I'll go and get it." Julie ran off. She came back a little while later. She changed out of her bikini and had shorts and a T-shirt on.

"So what do you have to do?" I asked.

"I start out with myself here." She pointed to the tree trunk.

"O.K. So write down your name." I said. Julie wrote her name using both last names.

I smiled. "So then what?"

"My parents are supposed to go here." She pointed to the two boxes above hers. She wrote Ranger's name in the box for her dad and Rachel's name in the box for mother. Then in the place below her mom's name, she added another box and put Ron's name in. She continued to fill in the names for grandparents. She wrote Ricardo and Maria for Ranger's parents. "Are those Ranger's parents names?" I asked.

"Yeah, Silly. Don't you know?" She asked. I shook my head. "I only know his grandmother's name is Rosa. And he has a sister named Celia. And that he has one brother and three other sisters. That's all I know about Ranger's family other than you."

"Wow. Ranger didn't tell you anything about his family?" I shook my head. "Uncle Ernesto is his brother. His wife is Auntie Shantel. And there is Auntie Celia, Auntie Alana, Auntie Katarina and Auntie Josephina. And then there are my cousins, Roberto, Cara, Rebecca, Melissa, Jason and Todd and baby Gracie. And of course Abuela Maria and Abuelo Ricardo."

"Thanks for the info." My phone rang just then. "Yo." Julie rolled her eyes.

"Hey Babe. Is it all clear to come home?"

"Yeah, Julie and I are working on homework."

"Homework? She actually came out of her room?"

"Yeah. We are out by the pool." Olivia came out to see if we wanted lunch. "Olivia wants to know if you are going to be back for lunch."

"I am almost there now. ETA ten minutes."

"O.K. I'll let her know. See you soon."

"Love you, Babe."

"Love you, too."

Ranger came out by the pool as soon as he got home. He walked over to me and gave me a kiss. He looked over at Julie not sure what the reception was going to be.

"Hey Julie." He said.

"Hi, Ran-ger." She stammered. "I want to apologize for my behavior last night and this morning. I'm sorry."

"It's O.K., Julie. I know I have hurt you. That wasn't my intension."

"I know. Stephanie explained things to me. I understand why you did what you did. It still hurts, but I'll get over it. As long as you still want me to be in your life."

"Of course, I want you in my life. You're my flesh and blood and I love you." He said.

He walked over to Julie and she jumped up into his arms. He held her to him and he closed his eyes. A tears slipped out of my eye as I witnessed father and daughter embracing.

Olivia brought out lunch of Tuna Salad sandwiches on whole wheat and ice tea.

"So, do you still want to ride the Duck?" I asked them.

"Yeah." Julie said.

"I think we can swing it." Ranger said.

We finished our lunch and I ran upstairs to get my purse and camera. We headed out for our adventure.

The Duck Tour turned out to be 90 minutes of fun. It started out in South Beach. We drove down Collins Ave. past what is known as Millionaire's Row. There we saw some of the most expensive real estate in Florida. There were high priced boutiques and high priced restaurants. From there we drove over the MacArthur Causeway and then splashed down into Biscayne Bay from Watson Island near Jungle Island where we were just yesterday. Julie was incorrect in saying we will get wet. We got soaked.

From there we floated down in between Palm Island and Hibiscus Island. Then around Hibiscus Island where we saw the homes of Ricky Martin, Julio Inglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Shaquille O'Neal, Elizabeth Taylor, Will Smith and Gloria Estefan just to name a few. We sailed past Star Island and around Flagler Memorial. Then we sailed back to Jungle Island. We got back on the Causeway and headed to Downtown Miami. We went past the American Airlines Arena.

Then we turned around and went back to South Beach. From the Causeway we could see the cruise ships docked in the Port of Miami. We drove past the Versace Mansion and Ocean Drive back to the Art Deco area and the beginning of the tour. It was fun and I took a lot of pictures.

We got home and we decided to swim before dinner. Julie came down in a once piece swimsuit. She said she wanted to do some laps. Ranger and I found a place in the corner where we could be out of her way.

Ranger kissed me and soon there were a lot of heated kisses exchanged.

"Hey! There is a kid here!" Julie shouted.

Olivia came out and announced that dinner was ready. We got out and wrapped towels around ourselves. We ate in the kitchen so as not to sit on the dining room chairs in our wet suits.

After dinner, Julie announced that she was sort of tired and asked if she could use Ranger's laptop to check her emails and to see if any of her friends were online. Ranger got her the computer and kissed her good night.

We went back outside and into the pool the air was cool, but the water was warm. We picked up where we left off, but didn't let it progress too far incase Julie happened to look out her window or decided to come and join us.

We eventually got out and we cuddled on the chaise lounge wrapped in each others arms. I started to dose off. So Ranger said we should head inside.

He checked on Julie and I continued down to our room. Our room? When did it become our room? Ranger joined me and said that Julie was indeed asleep. We showered together and then we made love into the night.

The next morning Ranger took us to Little Havana. We ate breakfast at a small restaurant. He showed us different places. We watched the men play Dominos in the park. He bought Julie and me very pretty embroidered dresses. We ate empanadas for lunch. He drove us past the house where he lived with his abuela after his stint in juvy. He drove past the RangeMan office so I could see what it looked like. He asked if I wanted to go in and meet everyone. I shook my head and said another time.

We stopped to pick-up Joshua and Jennel and brought them back so they could swim in the pool.

Rachel and Ron joined us for a cookout. We had grilled salmon with baked potatoes and salad. Olivia made cheesecake for dessert.

Soon it was time to say good-bye. It was hard. Julie and I held each other and promised to stay in touch. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. Then Ranger hugged her. He told her how much he loved her and they would talk soon. We said good-bye to Rachel and Ron and to Joshua and Jennel. The kids thanked us for letting them come and use the pool.

Then it was just the two of us. We sat in the living room and Ranger turned on the sound-system and we listened to some music. We held each other and made out like high school teenagers only we didn't have to worry about our parents walking in on us.

After we made love, we just talked about what was going to happen when we got home. I wasn't comfortable yet with just moving in with Ranger, so we agreed to live in our separate apartments for the time being. We agreed to at least two nights a week sleeping over at either of our apartments. We agreed to take our relationship slowly, one step at a time and not rush anything.

He asked me to come and work at RangeMan full-time. I didn't want to leave Lula to handle all the skips by herself so we compromised. I would work at RangeMan part-time and when there were no skips at Vinnie's. That way I would have a steady income but still get the skips with Lula. I also said that I would call RangeMan and arrange a backup if we run into a problem.

We eventually fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms. Soon it was morning and time to get up. We had to pack. Ranger needed to take care of somethings around the house. Then it was time to leave for the airport.

We left the SUV where we picked it up. Someone from RangeMan would be by to pick it up. We got to our gate and we sat holding hands. Then they called for boarding and we made our way down the ramp and into the plane. Soon we were in the air and headed back to Trenton and the cold, sloppiness of winter.

TBC Chapter 11 - Happy And Sad