This is an incentive chapter for the Rangeman Writers Challenge.

A Christmas Wish

Chapter 21

Delaney, what are you doing?" Stephanie was looking at her young daughter. She had her hair in a ponytail; her wavy hair was slick with her mother's hair gel. Undoing the ponytail holder, Stephanie smoothed her still sticky, damp hair, then redoing it. The little girl was dressed in a black shirt, black shorts, and her wild purple paisley sneakers she loved.

"Mom, I want to fit in so I'm dressing like the natives. I'll be back. Ella said I could help her stock stuff," Delaney told her standing on her tip toes to kiss her mother before going out the apartment door.

Once she finished stacking paper towels in the break room cupboard for the housekeeper, the little girl meandered across the hall listening to the morning meeting going on, Ella was on the phone ordering some extra supplies so Delaney stepped into the room taking the empty seat right inside the door.

Ranger saw the little girl dressed in black with her colored shoes checking out the morning meeting taking a seat in the back row. He kept on speaking uninterrupted. A few of the men snickered in the back he heard.

"Any questions?" Ranger asked his men when he finished discussing a new client's installation for his stately home outside of Trenton.

A small hand came up. "Shark has a question, Ranger."

His lips curled into a grin at the nickname she gave herself with names like Tank, Ram, Binkie, and Woody in the building. 'Shark' for 'Card Shark'. "Yes, Shark, what do you have a question about?"

"Does this guy have any little kids?"

"Yes, he does."

"Well, shouldn't he have something that is easy to reach for a little kid like me to let you know there is a problem if he can't? What if a burglar hit him and his little girl had to get help? Maybe, she couldn't find the telephone to call her grandpa."

"That is a very good point, Shark. I will ask the home owner about that and have my electronic developer see what he can design."

Hector stood up walking to the front so he could see the little voice. "Boss," he explained with his heavy Spanish accent, "we could hide a panic button on a wall behind a cabinet so it wasn't accidentally hit anytime, but within easy access."

"See, people who don't Think probably don't have Brains; rather, they have gray fluff that's blown into their heads by mistake. The world is not all big people."

Ranger nodded his head impressed with the little girl. Not only was she a good gambler, she was smart. It also gave him an understanding how scared she was for her mother when the cop attacked her.

"That was a very smart idea, Delaney," Ranger told her walking towards the kitchen with her after the meeting.

She looked up at the tall Cuban man, "Thanks, but it's Shark up here. Maybe I could pick up a few skills in the security line."

Ranger laughed to himself because he saw her picking locks in his mind. "What are you going to do with all these skills?"

"Mom works really hard, so one day, maybe, I could earn the green stuff," she rubbed her small fingers together, "and buy her a really nice car or take her on a trip to a fancy casino. She takes really good care of me and Ghost."

"That's very admirable of you." Delaney cocked her head and arched her brow with a finger doing a silent questioning of the word. "Wonderful."

"Cool."

The elevator door opened with Stephanie stepping off with a small floral arrangement she made for the conference room. She was pretty sure who Delaney would be pestering. "Delaney, there you are."

"Hi, Mom. The meeting just ended."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Now, I hope you didn't interrupt it. Ranger is running a business here."

"No," Ranger shook his head. "Actually, 'Shark' here made a very good suggestion regarding a home security installation."

"Really?" Stephanie looked down at her little girl.

Delaney had her hands on her hips, "Mom, I'm getting new skills." She pulled a deck of cards out of a back pocket. "Hi or lo?"

"Hi," Ranger told her.

She split the deck showing a '2 of Diamonds'. She didn't say anything but held out a hand. Ranger dropped a quarter in it. He carried a constant supply in his pockets now.

"We're guests here, Delaney." Stephanie said with that firm but laughing expression she developed, "Not to be shaking down the Boss."

She put her hand up to her mouth and leaned towards her mother, "Mom, he's easy," shaking her pocket of collected quarters.

He stopped in mid stride bent over laughing, "You have my number."

"You just figured that out. You're slow, too, sometimes." She gave him that impish grin, but Ranger knew she meant it.

"I have an appointment with a client. Can I catch up with you later?"

"Sure, I'm a little kid so I'm pretty free."

"Thanks," he told her tugging on her pony tail. "You, Delaney, are really something."

"You trying to butter me up for something?" she asked with scrunched eyebrows.

"Never."

"Ranger," Stephanie put a hand on his warm arm, "my attorney has to meet with me. Is it all right I told her to come here?"

"Of course. Anytime you need to see her," he nodded. He wanted Stephanie to be safe but she wasn't a prisoner.

"And Josie who owns the flower shop where I worked is backed up. If my father brings me the flowers and supplies, can I do the arrangements here? He'll take them back when they're finished. I do need to earn a living."

"Use the small conference room here on 5 to talk with your attorney. There's an empty office on 3 I'll have Luis unlock. Will that be big enough?"

Stephanie shrugged her shoulders, "I won't need too much room. Just someplace to arrange the flowers and decorate a few wreaths."

"If you need anything while I'm out, see Tank or Ella."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

She was in the hallway nervously rubbing her hands together waiting for Laura Walters to step off the elevator; Delaney was happily baking peanut butter cookies with Ella while Stephanie was meeting with her attorney. It dinged and the petite woman wearing her Zebra striped glasses stepped off.

"Stephanie, what a building! How are you?" Ms. Walters greeted her client.

She took in the sleeveless bright green shell top over the beige tailored pants and low green sandals Laura was wearing and her highly polished tan leather briefcase in hand compared to her cut-off jean shorts, tank, and white sneakers making Stephanie feel very underdressed. "Well, I'll be better when we get this over, Laura. We can talk in this room down here." They walked down the hallway to a small meeting room almost directly across from Ranger's office and she noticed a few of the ex-military men checking out her attorney.

"Wow, I haven't seen one yet that I would consider having an average build. You must feel very safe here," Laura said walking into the conference room after her client closed the door.

"Almost every man I've met here is ex-military and completely all muscle including the owner, Carlos Manoso."

The attorney nodded fanning herself, "I've seen him at the police station, but never had any direct contact with the Trenton bounty hunter. I wouldn't mind him bringing me in if I missed my court date. WOW!"

"Would you like coffee, tea, water, or sweet tea?" Stephanie offered as she poured herself a glass of the cold drink and placed the fresh cookies Delaney brought down in the middle of the table.

Laura told her taking papers out of her briefcase and placing on the table top, "Iced tea would be great. It is warm outside."

"How bad is it?" Stephanie asked apprehensively handing her attorney her glass and sitting down across from her.

"You said your husband would contest the divorce and his attorney is making things difficult. He's asking for a full accounting of the money in your account that was your wages which we figured he would. Your husband wants partial custody."

"NO! Delaney is mine!"

"The family judge won't award with that. What I think Judge Simpson is going to recommend before Joe even sees your daughter is for an evaluation by a court appointed child psychologist to speak with Delaney about her feelings relating to her father and about that night. The court will not allow any type of visitation if it is going to be detrimental to your little girl. Before we even get that far, didn't you say," Laura opened a notebook, "you and Joe were married at St. John's on May 10, 2003."

"Yes, we just had our seventh wedding anniversary. Well, I had pizza with Delaney at Pino's. Joe was on a 'case'," Stephanie emphasized with her fingers as she spoke. "Father Joe married us. Most of the 'Burg' was there. Why?"

"Well, the priest may have officiated the ceremony, but the state has no record of your marriage certificate being filed. I went to the courthouse to get a copy; the clerk couldn't find it in the computer under your names or date."

"What! We were married in the church. I still have my dress and my father walked me down the aisle!" Stephanie couldn't have heard correctly and was intent on her attorney's words.

"There is no record in the courthouse that your marriage certificate was ever filed," Laura repeated to her stunned client. She could only imagine a part of the disbelief Stephanie felt because the attorney couldn't believe it either. This only happened in made-for-TV movies. "Father Joe was hospitalized after your wedding a priest told me at the church after he went back into the records and I spoke with the older secretary. He developed a case of food poisoning from a church picnic the next day and while he was in the hospital broke his hip falling out of bed after emergency appendectomy surgery. He was admitted to a Catholic rehabilitation hospital to convalesce, but never returned to St. John's Church because he was reassigned to a smaller church. The church secretary found the wedding certificate in a ledger that was stored in the basement after he left. It was never filed and the statute of limitation is up." Ms. Walters slid the marriage certificate across the table to her client.

Stephanie studied every inch of the slightly faded document. There were her and Joe's signatures, the marriage date, the priest's signature, the church seal stamped on the document so it was the original, but the area for the official state stamp was blank. "I'm not married? Joe and I have been living as a married couple," the stunned woman said to herself. "We're not legally married?"

"No," the attorney shook her head. "And, New Jersey doesn't recognize common law marriages. There is no need for a divorce here."

"What about Delaney?"

"That will be determined by the court since both of you are listed at her parents. If you husband fights your full custody, that may take some time to finally settle. The DA is pursuing the abuse and assault charges. I think the police union is going to fight for his job hard. Joe is probably going to be ordered into alcohol rehabilitation for 30 days and anger management. He has a clean work record up to this point. Once he has completed that, then the case will go back in front of a judge after review of the psychological reports. More than likely, he will be sentenced, I think, to 6 months in jail and a probationary period of a few years. He will be demoted, also."

"What if Joe isn't her biological father?" Stephanie asked. "His pride wouldn't allow it knowing I was unfaithful even if it was before our marriage."

"That would change things. Joe Morelli is legally listed at Delaney's father, but he could give up that right and petition to have his name removed from the birth certificate depending on what is in this envelope." Laura removed a sealed, white, flat, business envelope from her briefcase and handed it to Stephanie.

It was addressed to Stephanie Plum in care of her attorney as she had requested of her so no one would know what she had done.

"I believe, Officer Morelli's very slimy cousin of an attorney is representing him and will request a DNA test of their own to prove Joe's paternity. Let them do it. You, Stephanie, are the injured party here and I want you to be the agreeable one complying with the court's requests."

"OK," She agreed opening up the envelope. She read over the first report which compared Joe's DNA to Delaney's, then the second page comparing 'CM' as she had labeled Ranger's hair sample with another of her daughter's.

She looked up at her attorney with tears sliding down her face. "It's what I expected."