Janet Evanovich owns most of these characters. I'm just borrowing them
Time Out
Ch21
Intel gathering turned out to be pretty fun with this crowd. Three hours passed easily and by the time we all stood up to go home, I knew I'd made some new friends. I'd promised Steve's sister, Sara, that I'd attend the Jacksonville Symphony concert over the weekend and the little cocktail after-party. Sara was a violinist. Her husband was an accountant and seemed to know a lot about a lot of people in town. Steve's buddies were also helpful in sharing gossip. Most of them were involved in the construction business in some way (plumbers, electricians, roofers), and came into contact with a wide variety of people. I told them right off the bat about Doris' attack and my suspicions about the Price family and they were appalled that someone would treat an old lady like that. All seemed eager to be helpful and I think they all had visions of playing Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. Hopefully I didn't create a monster here!
Once we returned home, I turned to Ranger. "So..." I started. He just looked at me. I sighed. "Do you want to finish our conversation from earlier tonight or should we wait until the morning?"
"Babe, I'm tired. The nap this afternoon helped, but I'm still tired. It's not that I'm avoiding this, because that's not the case. I thought about this every day that I was gone. I just think I'll do a better job of getting it out if we wait."
"Fair enough. Are you sleeping with me or would you like your own bedroom?"
"With you, of course."
"Alrighty then. Where's your stuff? I noticed it wasn't in my room when I was up there earlier."
"I left my bag in one of those little rooms at the back of the house that looks like you were using it as a bedroom. Why aren't there closets?"
"Exactly, that was my problem. That's one reason I had to hire Steve. This house had twelve plus bedrooms, just one bathroom, and no closets. It was ridiculous. Anyway, get your stuff. I call first dibs on the bathroom." I hurried up the stairs and started peeling off my clothes the minute I got to my bedroom. I grabbed some flannel pajama pants and a tank top and hustled into the bathroom for a quick shower. I had no intention of getting involved in anything with Ranger tonight, but didn't want to go to bed stinky either. By the time I walked out of the bathroom, Ranger was already in bed. I climbed in on my side and turned off the lamp. He reached out and pulled me into his arms and I instantly relaxed. The last thing I remembered before falling asleep was thinking this was the best way to sleep, wrapped in Ranger's arms.
/
I woke up the next morning and basked for a moment, wrapped in the arms of my own personal heater. We were on our sides, with Ranger's front pressed to my back. My basking was rudely interrupted when nature called. I attempted to scoot out of Ranger's arms without waking him up, but quickly discovered it wasn't going to happen. Ranger had a death grip on me that tightened every time I attempted to move. I whispered for him to let me go and he mumbled in his sleep, "No, never letting go, Babe. You're mine now." Aw, that made me giddy, and I happily thought about his statement for a moment before nature called more urgently.
"Ranger," I said more loudly. "I have to get up. I'll be right back, I promise, but you have to let me go." He startled a bit and his arms relaxed. I darted to the bathroom and completed my business. After brushing my teeth and doing my best to tame my bed head, I crawled back into bed. Ranger was awake now and sitting propped up against the headboard. He opened his arms and I leaned against him so he could wrap me up again.
"How do you feel?" I asked.
"Better. It'll take a few days, but I feel better."
I hadn't paid much attention last night, but this morning I took a good look at his bare chest. It was heavily bruised on one side and there was a line of stitches going down his ribs. I lightly traced my fingers over the bruise and he let out a light hiss. "Was it bad?"
"I've had worse. The rest will help."
"How long can you stay here with me?"
"How long do you want me here?"
"As long as you can give me. I know you have a business to run, but Tank does a good job while you're gone and it looks like you could use a little R&R. Jacksonville isn't exactly a sunny beach somewhere, but you can still get a little relaxation in here. Life moves slow here and generally nothing ever happens."
"You like it here."
"I do, but it isn't home. I want to return to Trenton, but I don't hate it here like I thought I would. Will you stay awhile?"
"Yes. I'd like to work on a relationship with you, but Steph, it won't be easy."
"I know. I'm not foolish enough to think it'll be all sunshine and roses but I'd rather try than never give it a shot."
"Babe, I know I've fed you a lot of lines over the years. Most of them hit pretty close to the truth. My life really doesn't lend itself to relationships. I'm not saying it can't happen, but it'll be hard. I own a business with offices up and down the East Coast. Periodically I have to leave on government missions that I can't talk about. I've made enemies over the years that would love to hurt me and mine."
"The thing is, Ranger, my life doesn't really lend itself to relationships either. My life hasn't exactly been normal over the past several years. I attract enemies all on my own, so danger isn't anything new to me. I'm not looking for a ring or kids. I'm not sure I'll ever want that. I'm looking for someone to share my life with, someone to tell about my successes at the end of the day, and someone to hold me when something goes wrong." I thought for a minute and added, "How about we go slow and just take it one day at a time? Or is that too cheesy?"
"I think it sounds like a plan." He quickly maneuvered us so I was facing him. He looked in my eyes and ever so slowly lowered his mouth to mine. This wasn't a demanding kiss, it was more gentle. It went on and on and almost seemed like a promise. Finally we broke apart and I could feel what had to be a goofy grin spread across my face. Ranger, of course, would never have a 'goofy' grin but he did give me his blinding 200 watt smile.
/
I impulsively decided to put the investigation on hold for the day. I texted Steve and told him to stay away. Ranger and I were going to hang out and not leave the house. I was somewhat surprised that Ranger went along with it. I figured he'd be chomping at the bit with the inactivity. Instead, we spent the morning in bed, talking about everything and nothing. It was nice to not feel rushed. The time I've spent with Ranger in the past was usually a stolen moment or two, and there was always something going on in the background. This felt like it was just us and nothing else.
By noon, my stomach was rumbling loudly. Ranger chuckled and covered my stomach with a large hand. "Time to feed the beast, Babe."
We took the party downstairs and raided the kitchen. I started the coffee and visited with Rex while Ranger rummaged through the fridge. We ended up eating bacon and egg sandwiches. I raised my brows at him. "The temple can take the day off," I got in reply. I smiled and offered him an Oreo and he actually took it! I was missing my Tastycakes, so Oreo's had been filling the void for several months now. After lunch we toured the house with my laptop displaying the 'before' photos so he could see all the work that Steve had accomplished. I told him about my plans for the rest of the renovation. I told him about all things I'd been doing during my time in Jackonville, the self defense classes, yoga, running, cooking lessons, and art classes.
For dinner, we decided to order pizza in lieu of cooking something. I promised him Leo's had the best pizza in town and we had a couple Coronas with the pizza. Finally, the conversation turned to the investigation. I was somewhat surprised that we'd managed to avoid talking about it all day. I know I said I was putting it on hold, but didn't really think we'd make it the whole day without discussing it.
Ranger suggested that instead of focusing on 'who', we should look at 'why'. Why would someone want to get into the house, especially after most of the valuable items were removed? We tossed ideas back and forth and I grabbed a notepad to start jotting stuff down. Maybe it was a random burglary. Maybe someone, like the Price family, wanted to vandalize the inside of the house or set it on fire or something. Maybe there was something in the house that the Price's wanted. I thought we were entering Nancy Drew territory here, but maybe there was some deep dark secret hidden somewhere in the house.
The last one actually hit me as being plausible and I got a little tingle out of my spidey sense when I thought about it. Most of the valuable stuff was gone, and it left in a pretty obvious way, since a big container had been parked on the street in front of the house for a few days. What if there was something hidden in the house somewhere? Steve had a dumpster parked in the driveway and a little sign in the yard advertising his company. It was pretty clear work was being done in the house. The house was old and maybe something was secreted away a long time ago and with the construction work, someone was afraid Steve or I would find it. The thing is, the house is already half renovated and no mysteries have been revealed. The mysterious something would have to be hidden on the ground floor or in the basement, if it existed at all. I was lost in thought, chewing on the pen cap when Ranger spoke up. "I smell something burning, Babe." I told him my theory, and you could tell he kind of wanted to roll his eyes but to his credit he didn't laugh.
"Think about it. Why break in to set a fire or vandalize the place? You could do that from the outside. The woman, whoever she was, wanted to be in the house. She didn't have a car close by, so burglary would be difficult. It's hard to carry off a TV on foot without transportation close by. I think she was looking for something. What it is, I don't know."
"Hopefully your new gossip grapevine will kick into effect and we'll get intel on the Price family. They do seem to be the likely suspects. I'll check with the office tomorrow. Those searches I ordered should be done. But for now, we're done." I gave him a questioning look. He gave me his best wolf grin and replied, "I'm done thinking about the investigation. I'm now thinking about something else I'd much rather be doing. Something we haven't done in quite awhile."
I blushed and gasped as he swept me up and over his shoulder and carried me up the stairs to the bedroom. "Your ribs!" I cried.
"They're fine. I'm motivated here, you wouldn't move fast enough." I shrieked as he tossed me on the bed and pounced on me. My shrieks quickly turned to moans as Ranger worked that magic I remembered from before. The investigation was forgotten for the rest of the night.