Disclaimer: anyone recognizable belongs to Janet

Chapter Eleven

The next few weeks were incredibly busy. I went shopping with my mom for part one of my new wardrobe, and talked to Ranger's lawyer and a real estate agent about listing the house for rent. I went to Ma Morelli's for a few dinners with just her and Bella, who were oddly supportive of renting the house out. They were less pleased when I told them in case they heard anything from other sources that I was casually dating Ranger. Really it was just Ma Morelli. I tried to explain how Joe had visited me in my dream, and that he had actually encouraged me.

Grandma Bella stood up for me, saying that just like her Eye, my dream vision was a gift from God. I had to agree with her, because no other way I would have let myself off the hook on the guilt if not for that dream and it was one of the best things to happen lately. My needs were getting serviced regularly and if I couldn't have sex without my heart involved, well, I was coming to terms with it. I was lucky enough to love and be loved by two great men in one lifetime.

We had gotten some results on our searches that I had left running in the office, and Ranger had contract workers doing surveillance and chasing down other leads. Because I wasn't in any shape for field work right now, I just kept running searches. I requested all conversations with potential suspects and witnesses be recorded for my own investigative purposes. I could better understand what happened in a conversation if I could hear the changes in someone's voice. It would be better if we could use mini cameras, too, but we weren't trying to lose money solving this case.

We had found an anomaly in 2012. Somebody was abducted but they had been found strangled to death three months later. It had also been a young male. It didn't fit with the pattern we had now, but maybe that was it – maybe there was no pattern. I contemplated this while I packed up the home I'd shared with Joe.

I'd found a tenant, a middle aged man relocating temporarily due to an office move compounded by a split with his wife. He had two kids who would visit every weekend and on school holidays. I quoted him a reasonable price, according to the realtor and the lawyer, but I still felt I was asking a lot so I told him I'd leave the living room furniture and the kitchen table and he could keep it when he moved out. I gave him permission to paint but he had to paint everything back to white when he moved out.

I hadn't expected that I'd find a tenant so quickly so I still didn't have a place to live, but the realtor was taking me to a few places this afternoon. I'd asked my mother and Ranger to join me, for two completely different reasons. My mother would be able to assess decorating issues that would pose a problem for me plus things that wouldn't be child safe, like a gas stove with knobs on the front instead of near the wall or up on the back of the counter if it was a built in island stove. Ranger could help with every other security feature, because god knows that my daughter would probably be trying to sneak out, and a Morelli boy was not to be trusted.

When I got to the first house with Ranger two hours later, my mother was already there on the porch with the realtor. It was a wrap around porch and I loved the look of it, and I could see myself sitting there rocking on a day when it wasn't too hot. It was outside of the Burg, about thirty minutes away, so it was on the far end of where I wanted to live but I really loved the look already.

"This house was built in 2005, so it's just over ten years old. The original owner passed away before completing the payments on the loan for the construction. The family is willing to sell it well below market value to get it, and the payments to the construction company, off their hands. The list price is $130,000 even and the remainder on the balance due to the company is $107,000. You would own about four acres of land with that cost as well. It's got five bedrooms, three bathrooms upstairs, and a half bath on the main level."

I smiled at Ranger. So far this sounded exceptional to me. She had met all my requirements for space and price. We walked through the foyer where there was a single staircase to the right, and on the left was a nice room with white built in shelves along the wall facing the double doors and a window seat overlooking the porch. There was a lot of natural light. There's a small hallway that opens immediately into the kitchen from the foyer, and the concept of the rest of the main floor was extremely open. There was a small breakfast bar overlooking the living room, and a curved alcove off to the left of the kitchen where you could place a small table and some chairs. Right off the living room was another staircase and a set of double doors that opened to the dining room and another small room where there was a half bathroom attached. There was dark hardwood floors throughout the entire main level, and the kitchen was done in a pale gray granite. The cabinets were all white, as were all of the walls in the entire main level. There was a fireplace in the living room, and a doggy door on the door leading out of the kitchen to the backyard. It was spectacular. It was everything I wanted.

Everything was updated in the kitchen, and the appliances were stainless steel. The stove was a six burner gas island top. I loved it. There was even a wine refrigerator built into the island, but you wouldn't know unless you lifted up the cabinet door that was outside of it to conceal it.

"Mom?" I asked her, curious as to her opinion. I had noted that the knobs for the stove were up and away from little hands, but I wasn't sure if there was anything else.

"Oh Stephanie, it's perfect! I want to come bake here, can I come bake here when you buy it?"

I laughed, as did the realtor. Ranger was assessing everything.

"My only concern is the amount of Windows. I'd have to replace them with bulletproof glass to feel comfortable. I wouldn't want them to be able to open, but I think we could come to a compromise on that."

I nodded. I knew he'd hate the windows. We took the staircase from the living room to the upstairs. The four smaller bedrooms were attached to each other by a bathroom. Two rooms on one side, two on the other. They looked like they were all exactly the same size and they had the same size closets. I asked the realtor about that, and she confirmed that the measurements were equal to each other, but that everything was just mirrored and flipped.

The master bedroom was what really sold me though. I didn't care about the safety concerns anymore, we could figure it out. Because there, in front of the fireplace in the master bedroom, was Bob. The realtor started apologizing profusely, and I just shushed her with a wave of my hand and started to pet Bob dog, who had come slinking over to me and leaned against me. He was thinner, but he was still the big pile of orange floof and he whimpered as I scratched his ears. The entire upstairs was carpeted, and where he had been laying was a big mess of orange fur, but he was Bob and he was alive, and this was my house.

"He must have come through the dog door, Babe," Ranger whispered, not wanting to spook poor Bob who had probably been through a lot in the three years since I'd seen him.

"I can't believe it's him, but look, here's the scar from the bullet that skinned him when he shot himself trying to eat Joe's gun and here's where his skin got rubbed raw from his collar when we chained him in Joe's yard when he wouldn't stop trying to eat Grandma Bella and it scarred."

I heard my mother explaining to the realtor that my dog had been lost for over three years and we didn't think he was still alive. I continued to look around in the master bedroom and bathroom with Bob following me, and went downstairs to tell the realtor I'd take it. I asked her to call the family for an immediate offer. I'd give them $120,000 – $10,000 under listing price – but I could make a $30,000 down payment immediately if the the rest of the process could be fast tracked.

I was relieved when they accepted and I knew I'd be moving in before the next weekend. Ranger arranged to have his window guy come out and change out the glass, and when I expressed concern over it he told me it was his money, he could spend it however he wanted and he wanted to spend it making sure my kids were safe.

I took Bob back to Morelli's with me that night after stopping at an emergency vet. Poor Bob was dehydrated and malnourished but he would be okay with lots of love, food, and water. When Bob walked in he sniffed everything, bounding around the house, and when he finished his search he came to me whining softly.

"I know, Buddy, no Daddy."

Bob and I slept on the couch together unable to sleep in the bed we had shared with Joe, his head just above the curve of my stomach. I didn't dream of Joe that night but I could feel his presence around me and it brought all four of us comfort.

Rangers POV

I was glad Stephanie and Bob had found each other. We'd been keeping the relationship fairly quiet so I'd been trying not to spend the night at her place. I wanted to, don't doubt that, but I wouldn't subject Stephanie to more gossip than she'd been privy to already and I absolutely refused to contribute now when I knew that news of our relationship broke publicly. Of all people, Grandma Bella had been on her side but Angie Morelli was not pleased she was seeing me and I felt like that was an understatement.

Stephanie had an ultrasound tomorrow and I couldn't wait to see more pictures of the babies. They weren't mine but they were a part of her and I loved every part of her.

Stephanie had no idea about the ultrasound. It was a gift from me. I'd booked her for a half hour long 3D/4D ultrasound and I'd sent an invitation to Angie & Bella Morelli and one to Stephanie's mom and Grandma Mazur. I'd arranged to have lunch with Stephanie tomorrow and I was just going to drop her off.

I knew Helen was excited and I was hoping Angie would calm down getting to see live her next grandkids. I was also really hoping they were able to make out decent facial images, so they could see if there was a probability either baby would look like Morelli. I figured that would go a good ways to appeasing his mom. The technician I talked to when I made the appointment said they usually could grab fairly good pictures at the 16 week mark and Stephanie was at 17, but she may go back if they couldn't get a good one.

I smiled, knowing I'd send her back anyway. But next time, I'd stay. I intended for these babies to be mine, even if I had to stay in the periphery. Thanks to Morelli's visit to my dreams, though, I knew I'd likely get to play a much larger part in all four of their lives.

I really didn't know how I'd handle that mutt, but for Steph? Anything. I'd do anything.