There Ain't no Love Like Ranger Love

Chapter 14

A little more than six weeks had gone by since Stephanie quit bounty hunting and took up dancing, swimming, biking and karate lessons. She'd now completed 19 sessions with Yashi and had to admit that she loved every minute of it. He was a great teacher and the way he took her through each step made them easy to learn and remember. He never got impatient with her and was always quick to praise her efforts and accomplishments.

Yashi could tell Stephanie enjoyed their time together and he loved teaching her. She was smart and determined and never gave up, even when she got frustrated. He could tell after just a month and a half of exercise and karate lessons, her body was becoming stronger and more toned, and the stretching exercises she was doing were making her more limber.

Ranger noticed too, but of course nothing escaped his notice. He was proud of her progress and determination and worked hard not to let his irritation show when she'd come into work on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays and relate stories and things that had happened at Yashi's house. Not that he was irritated that she was having a good time, it was just the initial excitement when she'd breeze into RangeMan energetic and glowing and the first few minutes were all Yashi said this and Yashi said that and Yashi did this or that. Sheesh. It was almost like she was coming home from a fun date and couldn't wait to tell him all about it.

He reminded himself that Stephanie was completely trustworthy, but that wasn't the issue, of course. It was Yashi he didn't trust and he was still not convinced that the man wasn't interested in Steph. One time, she had left her cell phone at Yashi's house, and when he dropped it off at RangeMan, Ranger just happened to see the two of them on the security monitor when she met him in the lobby. He had to force himself not to fly out of his chair and down the stairs when Yashi squeezed her shoulder and dropped a kiss on her head as he was getting ready to leave.

As he sat at his desk, ignoring the contracts in front of him, he groaned when he thought about the fact that she still had six weeks of training to go. Part of him knew his jealousy was unreasonable, but he didn't seem to be able to shut it down no matter how he tried. At least he was doing a good job of hiding it from Steph.

He stood up to stretch his legs, then walked down stairs and out through the garage. There was a flower shop just two buildings down from RangeMan and he had been going there once a week to send her flowers. The first time he sent them, he wasn't even sure if she was the sort of woman who liked getting flowers. But, her brilliant smile when she saw them and read the card, then threw her arms around him to thank him was all the encouragement he needed to keep up the ritual.

Each time he ordered them, he picked a different kind and thought of something new to write on the card. Today, he picked out a mixed bouquet and on the card he wrote, I requested the most beautiful flowers available, but it seems none exist that can hold a candle to you.

He knew it sounded kind of sappy, but it was true. After more than three and a half years of knowing her, she could still take his breath away with a smile, especially when it was a smile meant just for him. She'd given him one of those smiles the week before when he informed her that his government contract had come up for renewal and he'd elected not to sign a new one.

He had thought it would be a difficult decision, but it turned out to be easy. He was walking away from a career that had been part of his life for so long and which had provided the funds for him to start RangeMan. But, though he was walking away from one thing, he was now one step closer to being able to offer Stephanie a relationship.

They celebrated by going away for the weekend and staying at The Haddonfield Inn, a small, elegant bed and breakfast hotel in historic Haddonfield, New Jersey. It was quaint and romantic and they were both a little sad when Sunday night came and they had to head back to Trenton.

Things at RangeMan were going great. One would likely never guess it, but Steph had a very organized mind when it came to paperwork and office tasks. She walked into Tank's office and asked if she could speak to him about payroll.

Tank, happier than a clam that she was there to take a bunch of work off their hands, was more than happy to listen. "Log into the payroll program you use," she told him.

Tank obliged and brought the program up on his screen, then looked at her for further instructions. She stood beside him and leaned down to point at various tabs on the screen. "This program is not efficient, at all," she told him. "You have to type in each employee name one at a time in the search bar to bring them up. Then, after you click to verify that you have the correct employee, you have to enter their hours for the week here," she said pointing. "And then their rate of pay here," she showed him, though he was already painfully aware of the steps. "And then click the dollar sign icon to calculate the pay for that week. Once you do that, you have to move on to the next employee and do it all again."

"Exactly," said Tank. "Why do you think I'm so happy that you've been doing it the past few weeks?"

"Well, if you'd use the payroll program that came with the business software Ranger bought last year, you would eliminate most of those steps. Plus it's much faster than the old system. The company paid a lot of money for that new software, but none of you have had the time to learn to use its best features. For payroll, I've already entered everyone and the names are listed alphabetically on one screen. The rate of pay for each employee is on the same screen, next to their name. You don't have to search for their name. You only have to bring up the screen, input the hours for each employee next to their name and then hit one button. It calculates them all at the same time in about ten seconds."

"I like the sound of that, Steph. But since you're doing it and not me, I'm not quite as happy as I would have been if I'd known about it last year," he teased her.

"Stephanie straighted up and looked at him. "Tank, someone besides me needs to learn this. I don't know how long I'm going to be working here, but while I'm here, I'm happy to set things up so that you'll save a lot of time on almost every task you've been performing."

She felt a tingle on the back of her neck and turned to see Ranger standing in the doorway. "Babe, I heard that. Are you leaving us so soon?"

He didn't want her to leave, ever. He loved having her there and so did his men. Bobby's old office was two doors down from Ranger's and had been sitting empty ever since they set up the new medical facilities on the third floor. Bobby didn't feel he needed an office on both floors and had moved all his stuff to his third floor office.

Ranger had asked Louis and Ella to do a makeover on the fifth floor office and Ranger had presented it to Steph after having a gold plate with her name on it made for the door. He loved having her just two doors away. They had lunch together on days Ranger was in the building. Sometimes they went out to Pino's or Shorty's or the diner where they first met. Other times they went up to the seventh floor and were late getting back to work because they couldn't keep their hands off each other.

He hated the thought she might take a job somewhere else and he wouldn't be able to see her as often. Of course, he didn't tell her that. He wanted her to be happy and he knew having the freedom to make her own choices was extremely important to her.

She smiled up at him. "No, I'll still be here for another six weeks, at least."

Ranger nodded. "Can I see you in my office when you're done here?" he asked.

"Am I in trouble?" she asked with a grin.

"No, but I can show you all the trouble you can handle," he told her with a smirk.

"Would you two just get a room?" Tank said. He wondered if they'd forgotten he was there. There was something about the two of them being in the same space that totally changed the atmosphere. It was like a force field of static electricity that fed off the sexual chemistry between the two of them. He was actually pretty sure the temperature in his office had gone up a few degrees.

"Take a chill pill, Tank," Ranger said as he walked away.

Tank and Steph exchanged a look and Stephanie let out a giggle. "Take a chill pill?" she repeated.

Tank nodded. "That, I believe, is your influence, little girl. Before the two of you got together, he'd bark at us guys to meet him on the mats if we said something he didn't like. Now he says things like take a chill pill or mellow out. Or, my personal favorite, cool your jets. He's still tough as nails when we go out on a take-down, but he's a lot nicer to be around in the office. I actually heard him telling Lester a joke the other day. He's still edgy enough to keep everyone in line and command respect, but I'm pretty sure it's a good thing he didn't renew his government contract."

Stephanie thought about that as she made her way to his office. She knocked softly before entering and as soon as he looked up and saw her, a grin broke out on his face. "Babe," he said, leaping up from his chair. "What took you so long?" he joked as he crossed the room and backed her against the door. He leaned into her for a kiss that went on and on. His hands were tangled in her hair and her arms were around his waist, holding him tightly against her.

They were both breathless when they broke the kiss and Ranger rested his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry I didn't get back in time for lunch today," he said softly.

"It's okay. I had lunch with Connie and Lula and we had a nice time. They said to tell you you're monopolizing too much of my time," she told him with a grin.

Ranger took her hand and pulled her over to his chair, then pulled her sideways onto his lap after he sat down. "Am I?" he asked.

"Of course not. I love every minute we're together."

"I do too," he said as he unbuttoned the top two buttons on her blouse. He leaned down, angled his head, and kissed the tops of her breasts above the edge of her bra. "Mmm, you taste so good."

Stephanie didn't want him to stop, but she knew they should. "You know your door isn't locked right?"

"I know," he said regretfully, refastening the buttons. I have work to do. I just wanted a little appetizer to hold me until tonight. Will you have dinner with me and stay over?"

They'd only spent one night apart since they'd make their "casual sex" agreement and that was because the guys had had a take-down that lasted until 2 am. By the time Ranger had wrapped things up with the police statements and gotten back to RangeMan it was almost 3 am. He'd thought about going to her apartment and crawling in bed with her, but decided it was too late to disturb her. He found out that night just how much he hated sleeping without her now that he had gotten used to having her there. He was more determined than ever that he would make his dream of having a relationship with her a reality.

"Try and stop me," she said with a cheeky grin.

He chuckled at her silliness, then cupped her face with his hands and kissed her thoroughly. Their tongues collided, each eager to claim their counterpart. Stephanie moaned softly. She was so happy, she felt like purring. She'd never get tired of being with him, having him touch her, kiss her, make love with her.

She wondered when it was going to occur to him that they were actually already in a relationship. He still talked about it as a future project he was planning and she just allowed him to keep planning, hiding her amusement whenever he brought it up.

The day he told her that he'd refused to sign a new contract with the government, he'd said, "Babe, our someday is getting closer." She'd kissed him for all she was worth and said, "I can't wait." She hoped she would be with him and get to see his face the exact moment it finally occurred to him that their someday had already begun.

They were completely in love, both hearts totally invested in the happiness of the other. She knew no one could predict the future, but she didn't need outside confirmation to know that they would always be together.

She slid from his lap and he walked her to the door. "We can go out for dinner, if you'd like," he offered.

"Nah," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I want you all to myself tonight, if that's okay with you."

Ranger bestowed his wolf grin on her. "Babe, I'm behind that idea one hundred percent. I'll meet you on seven at six o'clock."

Over the past several weeks, they'd been bowling, gone to the circus, went sailing, dancing twice, spent an evening at the carnival, had gone to see two movies, had gone out to dinner at least five times and had dinner with her family twice.

Stephanie was continuously learning about things Ranger liked to do that she'd previously had no idea about. Who knew he could bowl? It only made sense though, he was naturally good at everything.

She gave him a last kiss goodbye and left him to his work. When she got to her office, there was a huge bouquet of stunningly beautiful flowers on her desk in a large crystal vase. She read the card and felt like the luckiest woman in the world. Well, she actually was the luckiest woman in the world. Ranger Manoso loved her and wasn't afraid to show it.

She picked up her cell phone and sent him a text message. Most gorgeous flowers, ever. Getting flowers from you makes me feel sexy. I love you.

Ranger grinned when he read her message and texted her back. You feel sexy because you are sexy. Sexiest woman in the world. I love you.

He clipped his phone to his belt and willed the clock to move faster. He couldn't wait to have her in his arms again.

Stephanie straightened up her desk, but didn't really feel like working any more. It was almost four o'clock and all she really wanted was for the clock to speed up. She needed to burn off some restless energy. She'd only gone for one bike ride this week, so she decided to head over to Yashi's house to get in another ride.

She went up to the seventh floor and changed into a t-shirt, pair of shorts and sneakers. She left a note on the kitchen counter for Ranger. Went to get some exercise. See you at six. Love you.

XXX

She parked in Yashi's driveway and let herself in with her key. Passing through the kitchen, she dropped her purse on the counter, tucked the house key in the pocket of her shorts, then let herself out into the garage. She hit the button for the overhead door to open and wheeled out the bike she always used, then hit the button again and ducked out into the driveway.

It was a beautiful day for a bike ride. The worst of the summer heat was long gone, but the days were still sunny and warm. Hopping on the bike, she headed out on her usual course, turning right at the end of his driveway. She wound her way through the paved streets in his neighborhood. She'd ridden the same route so many times now, she recognized the houses and some of the cars and knew ahead of time when she'd be approaching a house with a barking dog in a fenced-in back yard.

XXX

Things at the bonds office were slow, so at four o'clock, Yashi told Connie and Lula to go ahead and leave early. He locked up the office and headed home. He couldn't wait to get out of his suit and starched white shirt and dive into the pool. Floating on his back on a rubber raft helped him to relax and center himself.

XXX

Just before five o'clock, Ranger's cell phone rang. He checked the readout and saw that it was Tank. "Yo," he said when flipped open the phone.

"Ranger, a 911 call just came across the police scanner. There was a shooting in Yashi's neighborhood and Stephanie's tracker shows up as being at his house. Can't be a coincidence."

"On it," Ranger barked out. "Find Bobby and tell him to meet me there." He snapped his phone shut and noticed his hand was shaking a bit when he clipped it back on his belt.

He rushed down the stairs, hopped into the turbo and tore out of the garage. His heart was racing and he couldn't imagine what could have happened to cause a shooting in one of safest neighborhoods in a twenty-five mile radius.

He drove as fast as he safely could and on the way, he called Tank. "Run another search on Yashi just to make sure we didn't miss anything the first time."

"Got it," Tank said. "You having a funny feeling about him?"

Ranger let out a sigh. "Hell, I don't know. I've never liked him, but that could just be because I hate him being around Steph. Just run the search and call me back." He snapped his phone shut and his tires squealed as he turned sharply into Yashi's neighborhood.

A/N - Sorry for the delay in posting. Sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day/week/month. Thanks for following along. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Kristine