Author: Ren Kayashima

Rating: T

Disclaimer: It is sad to say that my attempt to get the rights to the Stephanie Plum characters was unsuccessful. They still belong to Janet Evanovich, who is one lucky person for having a mind like that.

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Chapter Thirteen:

Stephanie sat in the passenger seat of Ranger's Turbo. Her eyes were glues to the silver Honda Civic in front of them. She was alert and ready to tell Ranger directions, should he lose site of the car for one second.

"Babe, something tells me that if Allegra finds out that you're following her, you'll be in a world of hurt," he told her, as he reluctantly followed the car at a safe distance.

"If you were given the chance, wouldn't you follow Julie on her first date?" Stephanie asked.

Ranger remained silent, but he couldn't argue with her on that point. He wanted to be there for Julie's first date, but she was in Miami and he was in Trenton. That made supervising dates difficult.

0o0o0o0

James pulled up in front of his family's workshop. Allied looked at the simple front shop door in confusion. The gold lettering on the glass read: Isles and Sons Instrument Repair and Crafts. "What are we doing at the shop?'

James got out of the car and walked around to open Allie's door. He smiled down at her. "You'll see. Come on," he said holding his hand out.

He's being so charming. Allie thought. She took his hand and he pulled her gently out of the car. She unconsciously patted her dress down.

He held her hand as he guided her into the small craftsman shop. He opened the door and pulled her in before closing the door and locking is securely behind him. "What's up with the dress?" he asked.

"Wendy told me to wear it," Allie stated defensively as she stopped walking.

James shook his head and quietly laughed. "You look cute, but you shouldn't try to impress me. I like you best when you're being yourself. Preferably yourself in clothing you usually wear."

Allegra's gaze wandered over the hollow outlines of violins, violas, cellos, and guitars. She started to feel more at ease as they moved farther into the shop. James opened a door to the woodshop. It had been swept clean and a newly constructed violin rested on a work table.

"I finished making this one today," James said. "I'll stain it tomorrow, and then string it in a week."

Allegra picked it up. "It's beautiful," she mused. She held it delicately in her small hands and examined the 'f' holes. "Crafting violins is becoming a lost art. Not many people make them."

"It's not a Stradivarius, but my family has been making string instruments since before they came to the United States," James said as he watched her. "It's something we've always done, and probably will continue to do until The Orchestra is a thing of the past."

"That will never happen," Allegra stated firmly. "In order to fully appreciate the music of today, you must first appreciate the music of the past."

James walked over and took the violin from her hands and set it back on the table. "Let's go up front," he said.

"I still don't see why you brought me here,' Allegra said.

"It's simple really," James smiled. "If I took you to a restaurant, you'd be even more scared than you are now," he told her.

Allie blushed as her shoulders tensed up slightly. She swallowed trying to make all of the butterflies in her stomach go away. "I'm sorry," she said. Her head hung low in embarrassment.

James chuckled. "I ordered Italian for delivery. Chicken ravioli in Alfredo sauce is your favorite right?"

Allie nodded as she continued to look at the ground. James reached up and tucked her hair behind an ear. "I have Beauty and the Beast to watch."

Allie started to giggle as she looked up at him. "You're the only guy I know who likes Disney movies."

"Beauty and the Beast is the best," James grinned widely showing a perfect row of white teeth. Allie was reminded of her mother's description of Ranger's smile. "It also happens to be your favorite movie slash musical of all time."

Allegra regained her composure and walked around the shop with no particular destination in mind. She ran her fingers over the soft sanded tops of incomplete fraction sized violins. "You put a lot of thought into this," she said. "And, I'm ruining it all because of my nervousness."

"I don't think it's been ruined. We're merely getting started."

Allie stopped at an upright piano. She started playing Joplin's The Entertainer. James walked up behind her and watched her fingers jump playfully over the keys.

"You and your first love," he said.

Allegra smiled and closed her eyes as she pictured the sheet music in her mind. "Now that's where you are wrong. My first love is the violin."

"My mistake," James laughed jovially. "How about we put the movie in," he suggested.

"You don't have to do all of this," Allie sighed as she opened her eyes.

"Allegra, I like you," James said. "A lot. I'm doing all of this because I want to make you happy tonight."

Allie blushed even more than the last time and James thought she might turn a beet red. "James, I…" she stopped and swore under her breath. "Why!" she exclaimed aggravated in her inability to speak. She turned away slightly.

James tried to hold back his laughter. "Why what?"

"When you do that," she pointed at him. "I can't talk to you."

James grinned and rocked back on his heels. "That's because you like me too," he said.

"Cheeky bastard," Allie said.

James pulled Allie into a hug. "Come on Allie," he said. "Relax some. This is supposed to be a night for fun."

"Says you," she grumbled into his chest. She took a deep breath and picked up the scent of Old Spice and relaxed. He used the correct amount and it was delicious.

James playfully dragged Allie to the cash register and opened the bottom cabinet to the left to reveal a TV and DVD player. Directly across from it was a small set up of pillows and blanket. It had been created years ago in the interest of keeping the Isles children out of trouble and more importantly, out of the customers way. Allegra grabbed the blanket and childishly wrapped herself up in its warmth, leaving only a small corner of the blanket for James.

"What are you going to do when dinner gets here?" he asked her as he popped a DVD in.

0o0o0o0

"Really?" Stephanie asked herself. "You're hiding behind a counter. Bad things happen behind counters Allegra." She looked over at Ranger. "They couldn't possibly know that we were following them. Could they?"

"Are you done spying on your daughter?" Ranger asked from behind the wheel. How had he gotten himself dragged into this mess? He mentally sighed and leaned back in seat a little more. He watched as a small delivery car arrive, boasting fine Italian cuisine. A man got out with a bag of food and walked over to the door. Both James and Allegra came out from behind the counter.

Allegra stared out onto the street and Ranger knew that she had spotted them the teenage girl jogged over as Ranger rolled his window down.

The teen raised a questioning white eyebrow. "Really mom?" she asked. "I can understand following me if this was John Master, but it's not. I'm at a music store with James."

Stephanie leaned forward and looked at Allie. "What kind of mom would I be if I didn't supervise my daughters first date?" she asked with a smile.

"I don't think supervise is the right word for this situation," Allie pointed out as she crossed her arms. "Spying seems much more appropriate. Mom, go home, where it's warm and there is food to boot."

"Home by eleven," Stephanie said as her stomach gave off a loud gurgle. "Are you okay?"

Allie smiled and nodded. "I'm fine. I built this up to be more of a horror than it really was. I'll see you later. Love you."

"Love you too."

Allie turned on her heel and ran back into the shop. Ranger looked at his passenger with a placid face and a gentle smile. "Satisfied?"

Stephanie slouched in her seat. "No, but we've been made and if we stay, she'll get angry."

0o0o0o0

Stephanie sat down at the kitchen table with a large bowl of homemade chili. It seemed that her diet had come to a balance when she moved in with Cayden and Allie. She was mooching meals off her parents only once every two weeks, and birthday cake was only reserved for desert. Ranger took a seat across from her and started on his own bowl of chili.

"I was going to give Allegra up for adoption," Stephanie spoke. She looked at her dinner as Duke came trotting into the kitchen for a snack.

"Why?" Ranger asked. He leaned back in his seat waiting for an answer. Stephanie was completely wrapped up in Allegra's small world. So much, that after he found out about the child, it was hard to imagine Stephanie ever considering adoption.

"I was eighteen and had been raped. Adoption seemed like the only choice. But, as my pregnancy progressed," she trailed off.

"You changed your mind."

"I was walking in Central Park with Cayden," she began as she though back to her memories of her time spent in New York. "I was four months pregnant. We stopped for a moment to rest because my ankles were starting to swell up. We saw some children running around playing tag. It was then that Allegra kicked for the first time. That night, I decided that I was going to raise her, even if I had to do it alone in order to keep my rape a secret."

Ranger smiled and took another bite of chili. "Was that when Cayden said he would be Allie's dad?"

Stephanie nodded. "Being raped is something haunts me every day, but I never would have had Allegra," she said as she looked Ranger in the eye. "Cayden's mother once told me that bad things will happen to a person for a reason. We may not like what happens, but there will always be something better that will stomp out the bad. Allegra was that better part that came around to get rid of the fear and the self-loathing. Her smile alone can bring a little light into my dark moments."

It was then that Ranger realized the bond that Stephanie and he had. Like Allegra, Stephanie's smile could light up his world. It wasn't that he hadn't noticed this bond before. He just never knew how strong it actually was.

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Author's Note: All right all right. James is a dorky teenage boy, but admit it, that would be an ideal first date for someone like Allegra. Or any girl for that matter. I liked writing the end. Lots of fun and cuteness going on in this chapter. I do apologize if it's a little too short. It's longer than the last at least. Chapters tend to vary in length for me. They will never be less than a thousand words and I try not to go over three thousand, but a chapter will often times call out to me 'Hey, you need to end it here!'

Forum News: I've put up a thread for writers to talk about the process they go through when they write. Maybe we can all find some similarities in our specific style. I'll be putting up some more book threads this week as well.

Twitter: I have a twitter, and you can follow me. You have to send a follow request, that isn't such a big deal. I protected my tweets to prevent unwanted followers who want to sell me stuff. Check it out. I post little fun facts for my stories as well as links for the latest chapters.

Shane