****Alternate Ending***** This takes place after chapter 19, so I'd recommend rereading that chapter first. Enjoy!

I'd like to say that the weekend with Ben was perfect. And I guess the trip itself kind of was. Ben surprised me with an adorable ocean front vacation rental in Point Pleasant. Something nearby and simple. It was charming and cozy and pretty much the perfect escape from all the pressures and stresses of everyday life.

We spent our days sleeping late, dining out, and walking the boardwalk. It was all so relaxing and fun that I almost didn't know what to do with myself. I half expected our car to explode or bullets to start whizzing through the air just to balance out all the peace and calm. But like I said, the trip itself was pretty much perfect. It was the shit storm at the end and the aftermath that followed that really kind of tarnished the whole experience for me.

A few days after the trip, Lula sat on my couch with a bag from the Tasty Pastry. She was watching me pace while absentmindedly flicking a spring that was now poking through the upholstery.

"You gonna sit down already or what?" she asked. "If you keep moving like that, I'm worried you'll wear a hole through the floor."

I sighed. "Sorry."

"I think you need to come sit on this torn up shrink couch and tell Doc Lula what's got you in such a state."

I raised an eyebrow at her then sighed. "You're positive you wanna hear all this? I'm pretty sure it's even crazier than my usual drama."

Lula sat back in the couch obviously making herself comfortable. She pulled out a donut and took a huge bite. "Ell yesh," she said with her mouth full. "Your life puts all them daytime soaps to shame."

Ugh. She was totally right.

I leaned up against the kitchen table. "So everything pretty much started with my weekend away with Ben. He took me on a cute getaway to Point Pleasant, and everything was going great until our last evening there. We were heading back to our little rental place after a nice dinner out and a sunset walk along the surf when I noticed some lights flickering on inside."

"Someone broke into the place while you were out?" Lula interrupted.

"That was my first thought too. So before Ben had a chance to stop me, I barged through the door and managed to knock over a couple lit candles on a side table that was sitting a little too close to the entryway. They somehow caught the low-hanging drapes on fire, and without even thinking, I yanked them off the wall to try and put out the flames."

Lula grinned a little. "So that's why you're sporting the new hairstyle."

I rolled my eyes. "The ends got a little singed while I was trying to keep the flames at bay." I shrugged. "I was due for a trim anyway."

"Uh huh."

"Anyway by the time the fire was under control, I finally had a chance to take a look around. There were rose petals and candles everywhere."

"Say what?" Lula exclaimed leaning forward on the couch. "Are you…?"

I pulled the ring out from my pocket and showed it to her.

"Shee-it! That thing's huge!" She gave me a look. "Why aren't you wearing it? Bling like that's not supposed to be livin' in no pocket."

"Lula," I started, "I said yes."

She gave me a confused look. "Ain't that what you're supposed to say? I mean you two have been dating for a while now. And you love him, right?"

"I think so."

"Then what's the hang-up, girl?"

Something. It was small and barely noticeable, but something was definitely keeping me from feeling 100% sure about all of this. And I'll be damned if I knew what it was. Oddly enough, that wasn't the reason I currently had my engagement ring in my pocket.

"The long story continues: so Ben and I make it back from the trip and head over to my place only to find that it's been broken into. My door handle's busted and the whole place is a disaster. I'm sure you noticed my lovely new decorating scheme."

Lula glanced around. "Huh. I thought maybe you had Officer Hottie's dog over for a visit or something."

Bob was Morelli's dog that was a bottomless pit cleverly disguised as a shaggy, lovable golden retriever knock-off. He ate everything. So I could see the reasoning behind Lula's assumption about my trashed apartment. On any other day, it might have been the truth.

"Nope, some creep trashed the place while I was gone. Didn't touch the bathroom or bedroom, but the kitchen and living room were a total mess. We called the cops, but I've got a pretty good idea who's behind it all."

"You're thinking it's that Rocky guy, aren't you?"

I nodded. "But I have no idea why. I've left that case alone for weeks now. This is totally out of the blue. I mean seriously, what the hell?"

"What does the break-in have to do with you not wearing your ring?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think would also be worried about a break-in at my place?"

"Mmm…gotcha," Lula said nodding. "Batman dropped by."

"Bingo."

"He not too thrilled about your new little fashion accessory?"

Yeah. I'd say that was the understatement of the century.

"Ranger showed up the next morning. I filled him in on everything I knew about the break-in before we started going through the place looking for anything left behind by my mystery guest. Nothing turned up, so I started making some coffee. Then Ranger told me he had some good news. I'm not sure how much you know about the whole Rangeman situation, but it hasn't been all that good lately."

Lula nodded. "Connie told me. Said there was some bad rumors circulating about the company and some big clients had cancelled their contracts."

"Yeah, well the good news was that Ranger's mysterious business partner showed up and saved the day with some security program modifications and upgrades along with a stack of new clients in the area who were all very eager to try out the innovative software and systems. Ranger thinks everything should be back up and running like it used to in just a few weeks."

"Wow. Good for Batman. Got any idea who his partner is?"

"Superman?" We both chuckled a little. And then I remembered where this whole story was going.

Lula saw me frown. "When did he notice?" she asked.

Probably the moment he set foot in the door. He's never been one to miss a whole lot. Thinking back now, he was probably waiting for me to say something about it the entire time he was here. He's always waiting for me to make that first move.

"He didn't say anything about it until he was getting ready to leave. He was almost out the door when he turned and said that it looked like he wasn't the only one with big news."

"Uh oh."

"Yeah, uh oh. To be honest, with the whole break-in situation, I'd almost forgotten about the weekend with Ben. And the ring."

"Really?" Lula asked. Ok, maybe not really. A ring like that's kind of hard to forget. "What did he say?"

I gave her a look. "Lula, it's Ranger. He could probably teach a course on how to effectively use the one-word sentence."

"So, what? He said 'babe' then left?"

"Something like that." Except it was nothing like that. Ranger had said a lot more than just "babe," but I wasn't sure I was ready to share that whole conversation yet. Probably not even with my best friend Mary Lou. It was all still too raw and painful. And it was the reason the ring was currently in my pocket instead of on my hand. I couldn't bear to look at it. I felt the tears start to well up in my eyes again.

Lula reached into the Tasty Pastry bag and handed me a donut. "Shit. Looks like you're gonna need this. Think this could be one of them breakthroughs people have at them therapy sessions?"

I took the donut. "More like a break-down," I thought. "Thanks for this," I said taking the donut and simultaneously dabbing under my eyes.

"No biggie. But I'm still not seein' what you're all worked up about. Honey, you're gettin' hitched!"

I polished off the donut. "Yeah," I sighed. "Hitched."

"You probably just got too many hormones goin' on right now. Maybe a little bit of that cold feet stuff too. Give it a day or so, then you'll probably be goin' all bridezilla on everyone. Don't worry, I got a feeling you'll make a great bridezilla."

"Thanks," I said not really sure if I should be flattered or offended.

Lula glanced at her phone. "I got me a hair appointment here soon. You want the rest of these?" she asked handing me the bag of donuts.

"Couldn't hurt."

"Don't go getting' all hung up on Ranger, Steph. He's probably just coming to terms with you movin' on and all. Kinda weird that he didn't see it coming though. What do you think's up with that?"

I had a few guesses, but I kept them to myself.

Lula gave me a hug. "See ya, Steph. Give me a call if you need to talk some more."

"Thanks." I glanced at her hair. "You changing the color or the style today?"

Lula winked. "Both. I'm feeling like bein' blond again. Ya know, cuz blonds have more fun. Maybe you should try it sometime. Just for kicks."

I gave her a weak smile. "Something to keep in mind."

"Later, girl," Lula said as she sauntered back to the elevator.

I closed the door and sighed. The therapy session with Lula hadn't been as successful as I'd been hoping at cheering me up. Probably because this recent snowball of problems I was having was in a class all its own. And I had a feeling it would take something a lot stronger than my usual sugar therapy to get through it.

As I went back to taking inventory on all my broken furniture and appliances, I kept hearing snippets of things replaying in my mind.

Wake up, Stephanie…

I've been right here…

You're making a choice…

I can't just stand by…

If you want me gone, I'll go…

That was it. He was gone. And this time I knew it was different. This time I knew he wouldn't be coming back.

Although the words weren't expressed as such, I'd basically been given an ultimatum. And I hate ultimatums. Especially when they make me feel backed into a corner with no way out. Ranger's no fool. He knew exactly what he was saying. But for whatever reason, I felt like he'd expected an entirely different response.

That's what was making everything so difficult. At that moment I watched him go somewhere I'd never seen him go before. Somewhere dark and terrifying. Somewhere sad. And I'd desperately wanted to take back everything I'd said. But I couldn't. We both knew I'd already made my choice.

"Damn," I muttered wiping my eyes again. Everything was such a mess. Suddenly my phone rang. I answered it without even looking at the caller ID.

"Stephanie Plum, it's your mother. Do you have something newsworthy that I should know about?"

Gosh. How did news travel so fast around here? It was almost scary.

"Mind if Ben and I come over later? I'll fill you in on all the details then."

There was some silence on the other end, and I knew my mother was weighing her options. She wanted the details now, but if I hung up on her in a huff, she might have to get everything secondhand. I heard her sigh in resignation.

"Dinner's at 6:00 PM. Don't you dare be late."

"Got it."

"And Stephanie?"

"Yeah, Mom."

"Congratulations, sweetheart."

The call ended, and I was once again left all alone. With nothing but my thoughts and growing guilt to keep me company.