Thank you for your patience and requests. Here is a new chapter! Lee Anne
Whispers in the Wind
Chapter 21
"Ah! I give up!" Stephanie banged a fist on her bedroom window sill. The screen had slipped down in her bedroom window. She got the screen up, but for the last fifteen minutes had been struggling with the window to get it down. She was ready to call her father when there was a figure that came out of his house seeing him beyond the fence.
"Oh, Rock Star!"
Ranger looked up to her house. "Yes, Rapunzel?"
Stephanie laughed with her head out of the window. "This," she said tugging on curly strands of hair, "is more like Rumplestilskin's. This window is stuck. If you have a moment, would you get it down for me, Ranger?"
"Anytime."
From the window, she watched him effortlessly pull himself up, balance on the top of the wooden fence for a split second only to land not disturbing a blade of grass. Tink was waiting by the fence for him and Ranger could swear the dog sighed catching his scent. He and both dogs were at the sliding glass door as she ran down the steps and turned in the hallway motioning for him to come inside.
"Tink, leave him alone!" Stephanie told her black Shepherd sniffing at his heels. "She loves how you smell."
Ranger looked down at the dog; at least it was a beautiful one. "My ego may never recover," he chuckled following Stephanie and her companions up the staircase. Peering down, the chandelier sparkled above the entry in the afternoon sun. All she had was a glass table on a burnished metal base inside the door with a glass lamp and an empty coat tree in the same finish. They appeared to be aged brass.
"It's empty down there, but hopefully my Grandfather clock will be arriving soon with the rest of the furniture. We've been living around and in the pool, the bedrooms, and kitchen with the attached family room. When I think of it, I'll probably only use the living and dining rooms at the holidays or if I have company. Maybe I should just rent them out," Stephanie laughed. "In here," she said making a left at the top of the stairs.
Ranger stopped walking into the bedroom which he knew was hers. There was sculpted beige carpeting with slightly darker walls and bright cream trim. The furniture was deeply polished cherry. The nightstands and dresser with glass shelves were bowed or waved. The sleigh headboard mimicked the curved lines of the other pieces. A satiny quilted comforter in white covered the bed, Beige, white and blue round pillows were overlapped at the top and the seat cushions in the rattan swivel pedestal chairs by the window that was stuck were the same blue. His bedroom consisted of a king size bed while Stephanie's was a queen and simple black furniture with slate grey walls. His was male, cold, and very man-cave compared to her warm, neutral room. Hers was much nicer.
"This is comfortable," Ranger commented.
"I like the contemporary feel here. It's not so modern like the New York condo I have or the comfy laid-back of the windmill. It's in the middle somewhere."
Ranger nodded. He liked her house; it felt lived in even the short time Stephanie lived in it. He walked over to the stuck window giving it a push up and it gave little resistance to his strong arms coming down.
"Show off," Stephanie called him.
"Rapunzel."
She twirled a curl around a finger. "I don't think."
He said very quietly, "Yes, I think. Those curls frame your face holding your lovely eyes that see what others don't."
Stephanie didn't know how to respond to his compliment. It was very personal and any words were lost under the gaze of his dark eyes. They were soft, maybe a little uncertainty mixed in with the usual confidence the man exuded from head to toe.
"Aunt Stephanie!" It sounded like Mary Alice.
The moment broken, Stephanie dashed out of her bedroom after Tink and Mingo with Ranger behind her looking over the railing. "Did something happen?"
"There's a furniture truck!"
Coming from the back of the house a male voice was calling, "Auntie Stephanie!"
"Les? Come on it!" Stephanie yelled going for the front door.
A large white truck was parking at the end of her sidewalk as she opened her front door. "So Tink and Mingo aren't in the way put them in the back," she told her nieces. "I wasn't expecting any delivery today," she said to the man who was the driver coming up the walkway.
"The last piece came in and Mr. Warren instructed us to get it down to you, Miss Plum," he repeated his orders with a clipboard in a hand.
Ranger saw a flash of sorrow across Stephanie's face. Since the delivery was coming from New York, the store address was on the truck, he assumed 'Mr. Warren' knew Regis Burton and why the furniture was here today.
"Thank him for me," Stephanie said with a quiet remorse.
Ranger hoped in his heart she didn't regret her move to Trenton.
"What's going on?" Lester questioned walking through the house with Bobby right behind him. "Ranger?" He stopped seeing his Boss standing there big as day.
"He got my window unstuck and now I have my remaining furniture being delivered," Stephanie told her 'nephew' and his best bud.
"Lester. Bobby," was all Ranger said.
"What is coming off first?" she questioned the driver with the invoice. "The dining room pieces go in there," she pointed to the room through the rounded archway across the back of the living room. "The sofa and chairs in here." She indicated standing in the empty front room off the entry. 'I want the Grandfather clock to goes against the stairway."
"Yes, Miss Plum," the driver acknowledged her instructions. His shirt read 'Charlie'.
"Please call me Stephanie," she called as she began tugging at an area rug rolled in the corner of the living room.
Ranger beat Lester at reaching her first. "Where do you want this?" he asked lifting up the subdued teal rug with beige, peach, and pale yellow tapestry flowers.
"In front of the fireplace. My father will like this one better when I use it. It burns the real stuff." Her other one in the family room was gas with the glass pieces, Frank Plum thought it was too fancy for him.
Coming through the front door, three men were carrying a large glass topped table on curved base. They went straight into the dining room. The table was centered on a dark blue rug over the hardwood floor. The china cabinet and chairs came in finishing that room.
A beige sofa Stephanie directed was placed along one short edge of the area rug and two armless accent chairs with dots matching the colors of the rug went on the other side. Glass and polished metal tables went between the furniture. Ranger, Lester, and Bobby watched a tall wrapped object come in the door carried gingerly by all three deliverers. That must be the grandfather clock. It was placed in the corner where Stephanie wanted it at the staircase and the cloth covering carefully removed. It appeared to be stone and Ranger discovered it was when he tapped a knuckle on it.
"Slate," a furniture mover clarified.
The stone was housed in a copper frame with the face and pendulum of the same material. The head driver checked his watch and pulled cotton gloves out of his pocket. "Stephanie, if you need to adjust the time use cotton gloves or paper towels when you touch any of the mechanisms. The skin oil will cause the copper to corrode. It will age with time, but the skin oil will cause spots so it won't be natural. How often do you want it to chime?"
The home owner thought for a second. "On the hour, but not too loud," she instructed.
"OK," Charlie said reaching in the back. "There are two knobs. The top controls the chimes. It is set as silent now. One click is on the hour, two is half hour, and three is every 15 minutes." They heard one 'CLICK'. "The second one controls the volume. It goes clockwise, silent to loud." He set it at three clicks. Next, Charlie was arranging stones in the bottom base from a bag. 'We'll need water before we plug this in," he told Stephanie.
Lester went running after Stephanie quicker than Ranger and closer to the kitchen. He came back carrying a pitcher.
"Another one," Ralph, one of the other delivery men called out.
It was Ranger's turn to retrieve; he practically knocked his buddy into the wall. To out-do Santos, he brought back two containers of water. Bobby was standing there watching the he-man competition.
The clock's second plug was pushed into the outlet. "Here goes," Charlie said.
All of them stood watching the grandfather clock. The pendulum was swaying and the minute hand moved. Ranger assumed they were waiting for something, maybe to hear the chimes.
"Aunt Stephanie, what are we waiting for?" Mary Alice asked.
There were a few small bubbles that came from between the rocks at the base of the tall clock. "Watch," her aunt told her niece.
Water began trickling down the blue-gray slate behind the swinging pendulum.
"I'll be," Ranger commented amazed at the fountain in the grandfather clock. "Stephanie, that is amazing and the clock is the focal point of the entry."
"Thanks," she replied taking in her prized piece of decorating. She and Regis talked about a Grandfather clock for the New York condominium, but never got around to buying one.
Lester swung his arm around her shoulder. "You have excellent taste, Beautiful. Uncle Regis knew it."
The next-door-neighbor felt his jaw clench at their closeness. Lester saw the look as he casually let his eyes wander around the entry and he felt the dark eyes boring into his head. Lester liked having the upper hand sometimes, but it was very infrequently around Ranger. Like never, but in this case, he had it.
Santos didn't like the interest his boss showed where Stephanie was concerned and he didn't want her hurt.
"If you could sign the delivery receipt, we'll be out of your hair." The man in charge handed Stephanie his clip board. She signed it and returned it with some folded bills from her pocket.
"When you get off work, please enjoy a round on me," Stephanie invited the hard working men, "and thank Mr. Warren for me."
The men appreciated her generosity and graciously thanked her before leaving.
Mary Alice and Angie went through the kitchen and circled back to the entry.
"Aunt Stephanie, the house is almost decorated," her younger niece observed.
She was watching the water flow down her Grandfather clock. "Almost. We'll go shopping for some accessories tomorrow to finish off the dining and living rooms."
Angie liked that. "We love shopping."
"Well, since we have company maybe we should feed them." Stephanie looked at Lester, he nodded he would stay. So did Bobby and her next-door-neighbor.
"Auntie, can Bobby and I take a dip in the pool later?" her nephew Lester asked.
Stephanie playfully shook a finger at him. "Only if you clean your plate, Nephew!" she warned. She directed her question at her nieces. "Does the pool need to be cleaned?"
"It was my turn," Angie replied, "to clean it this morning."
"I'll check," Bobby offered. His partner was sticking close to his uncle's girlfriend with Ranger in the house. He didn't know if it was actual jealousy or over-protectiveness, but he felt a storm brewing like Tank had predicted. And, he wanted no part of it.
"What are we having?" Mary Alice asked watching Stephanie take items out of the refrigerator.
"Remember we bought those big shrimp at the fish market, I thought about shrimp kabobs on the grill with the potato wedges. I haven't made it in a long time, but a restaurant in New York served mango slaw. The chef explained it to me and I would make for myself."
Ranger's mouth was watering, being Cuban. Mangos, limes, and tropical fruits were a part of his meals growing up. It was one reason he ate so many salads and he didn't like to feed his body unhealthy stuff since he worked out to maintain his build. "Stephanie, mangos are one of my favorite fruits and being Cuban my mother cooked with them. Can I help?"
"Me, too!" Lester volunteered eyeing up his boss.
It was a good thing her kitchen was roomy and laid out in a way that is was easy to move around in, particularly with two big men in it.
"I need the grill turned on to medium," she instructed.
Her 'nephew' was closest to the door so he ran out. "I'll get it."
"Want to pat the shrimp dry?" She asked the man left in her kitchen. Mary Alice and Angie were getting the colorful melamine plates they picked out for eating on the patio since they didn't break with the silverware, glasses, and napkins. Stephanie began rinsing the potatoes and shrimp in the sink.
Ranger wasn't completely sure what 'pat dry' meant. "What do I do?"
Stephanie placed a couple layers of paper towels down on her counter top and reserved extra sheets. "Lay the shrimp out on the paper towels and take these to pat the shrimp to absorb the water.
"That's easy," he smiled at her,
"I thought a 'rock star' could handle that," she teased.
The potatoes were quartered and brushed with olive oil and topped with a mix of parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of garlic powder.
Lester came in from outside, there was a comfortable silence between his friend and his uncle's girlfriend working in the kitchen. "What can I do?" he announced breaking the quietness.
Bamboo skewers were pulled from the drawer, "Skewer shrimp."
"So the shrimp don't slide off, put a piece of green pepper at the ends and double skewer them so they don't turn," Stephanie demonstrated.
"Ranger, mine is nicer," Lester cajoled Ranger making his kabob on the other side of Stephanie.
"Mine looks the same, Santos."
She glanced between them, there was a simmering competitiveness between them all day she felt and didn't understand. Whenever she had been in both of their company before, it wasn't there. "Fight nice, Boys."
Ranger and Lester locked eyes momentarily over her curls continuing to stab the shrimp.
"Good job, Guys," she said brushing their dinner with a honey sauce. "Hey, Les, want to check the grill?"
"Got it." Lester was out of sliding glass doors.
Taking bowls out of the refrigerator, Stephanie handed one to Ranger. "Since you're the mango lover like me, you can help."
"Gladly," he said. The Cuban next-door-neighbor enjoyed being anywhere near the beautiful photographer, even if it included her outside-the-norm family.
"Stir that while I slice this."
"Yes, Ma'am," Ranger said doing as he was told.
Walking back into the kitchen, neither Stephanie nor Ranger heard Bobby and Lester. They witnessed as innocent as it may have been, Stephanie feeding the muscular Cuban man a piece of mango.
"I love mangos," she told him taking a piece for herself.
"Me, too."
"Grill's hot," Lester announced breaking the two of them apart.
From the pantry cupboard, Stephanie grabbed a can of cooking spray. Ranger picked up the tray full of marinating shrimp kabobs. "Let's get dinner cooking."
With the seafood about to come off the grill, dinner was almost ready. Ranger had to fight against the impulse to trip his employee going out the patio doors with the bowl of potatoes. He couldn't wait for him to leave.
"Aunt Stephanie, what is this?" Angie asked for her sister and her. They were glimpsing into the bowl with the cabbage and orange slices.
"Mango slaw. If you have never eaten a mango, it's a tropical fruit. Most people I think either love it or don't. If you don't like it then it's OK. You don't even have to try it. There is cut mango by itself if you want to try it."
Angie and Mary Alice stared at each other. They never had eaten it before that they were aware, but since being with their aunt had tried a lot of new things. Giving each a sisterly shrug, each forked a piece of the cut fruit.
"Wow, this is juicy!" Mary Alice remarked after taking a taste. Her sister liked it, too.
The younger girl spooned more mango on her plate and a spoon of the salad.
"You don't make us try icky stuff. Everything new has been good. We tried River Pete's chicken-on-a-stick."
"I'm glad," Stephanie kissed her sun streaked hair.
Lester got excited remembering tasting those. "I loved those chicken sticks. You knew all the best vendors in New York!" His uncle and girlfriend introduced the Army man to those appetizers on a visit to the 'Big Apple' when they were out. "Bobby, this guy had a stand near Uncle Regis and Stephanie's condo on the sidewalk. They smelled so good and tasted even better!"
"You get all the good stuff!" His partner chided him.
"It's who you know."
That twinge of jealousy reared itself inside Ranger. It was the familiarity of the past that Stephanie and Lester shared and would always. But he had one thing over on Santos, Ranger enjoyed mangos and he didn't.
Taking his second helping, the handsome man beside Stephanie was savoring his meal. "This is excellent. Would you mind giving Ella, the Rangeman housekeeper the recipe? I'd like this again," Ranger complimented.
"You're going to look like a salad," Lester said sarcastically. The guys at Rangeman hated all the healthy stuff that was around to eat.
He jeered back, "Could be worse things, Santos."
"It's simple, but I'll make a copy for your housekeeper. I'm glad you liked it, Ranger," Stephanie said. His request made her feel good. She wasn't much of a cook besides simple dishes. Both her and her businessman boyfriend cooked in the condominium and in Maine, the meals were easy like their life. After buying the windmill, the kitchen area was about non-existent, so they grilled most of their food or ate a lot at 'Ruthie's Corner Café' once they discovered it until the kitchen was operational. She and Regis longed for those breakfast bowls she dished out.
The pool was quite lively with the two young girls, two dogs, and two men jumping in it. It made her smile looking out the kitchen window. "You didn't want to join your workers?" Stephanie asked her neighbor helping to load the dishwasher.
Ranger shook his head. He swam a few laps early in the morning before heading to Rangeman for his normal morning workout before taking his position as boss and owner. "I did laps this morning before I left for Rangeman. Thank you for dinner and all the dinners I have eaten at your house. I enjoy the company."
"Me, too," she told him honestly. The times she spent talking with the Cuban man, it was very effortless and relaxing. He listened and asked questions about her photography. Even when sadness crept in when Regis was mentioned, he sat quietly offering comfort by being there.
After Ellen Plum's apple pie for dessert, Bobby and Lester were leaving for their Rangeman apartments.
"Thank you, Stephanie," Bobby said hugging her for dinner and the fun time he had in her pool.
"You are welcome to come back, Bobby."
Her tall nephew hugged her next. "Thanks, Beautiful. Your house is great and Uncle Regis would like it."
She let out a sigh, it was part sad and part working-on-being-happy. "I think so to."
"Come on, Ranger," his employee offered, "will make sure you get home."
An eyebrow was up glaring at Lester. "Thanks." He squeezed Stephanie's hand. "Thank you for another enjoyable evening on your patio."
Stephanie smiled. "We have done this a lot and I enjoy the company. Thank you for getting my window down for me."
"It's what neighbors do help each other."
The grandfather clock began to chime softly at the hour. The few seconds it was 'Ding Dong Ding' her fingers were curled in the warm Cuban hand as all were focused on the clock.
"Lock your door," Ranger said slipping out the front door with his employees.
She was aware of the tingling that remained in her hand after Ranger left. She felt it the first time she met him.
XXXXXXXXXX
Standing out on his patio in the dark, Ranger was watching the house across the fence, his ears picked up a faint chime. It must be Stephanie's grandfather clock. It looked at his watch. It was 10 O'clock.
Next door in the yellow house, Stephanie was watching her chiming grandfather clock. The face was illuminated and a soft glow lit the rocks at the bottom. The trickling water reminded her of Maine. She began taking steps in her fully furnished house. Hers. The only other living space she had which was truly hers was the narrow house she rented before she met Regis Burton. The dogs were let in the sliding door when she made her circle. Standing against the railing, Stephanie looked down at her entry before she and the dogs went into her bedroom. It was her house and her home with her dogs and her nieces. It felt good to be hers.
The wind like the moving hands on the slate Grandfather clock echoed each other "Move forward together."