SHADES of GRAY
Chapter 25
Ranger just shook his head, Tank, Bobby , and Lester were in the living room watching a really bad horror movie where errant, radiated, mutant, gigantic ants were eating everything in their path including the people and potato salad at a 4th of July family picnic barbeque.
"I can't look," Lester hid behind his eyes, "but look at her hooters!"
His cousin was an errant, mutant consummate playboy and would never change. They just couldn't be related Ranger thought.
"Come here," Ranger pulled Stephanie in the bedroom. She was checking on Paulo and Tiana and they must be sound asleep for how quick she came back.
"Carlos!"
Wrapping his arms around her body and burying his face in strawberry scented curls, he just sighed, "Babe." His lips trailed from her neck, ear, and cheek to their final destination, her lips.
"Hmmmmm," Stephanie was enjoying the sensations his lips were creating, then realized something, blue eyes flying open, "Carlos, your friends will know what we're doing!"
"So?"
"But."
"You're talking too much," his lips cut off her words and thoughts. "You don't need this," slipping her penguin T-shirt over her head that she was using for bed.
His palms brushed over her breasts causing her nipples to harden more and become dark rosebuds at his touch. Perfect.
His deft fingers untied the drawstring on her baggy cotton shorts, "Or these," letting gravity draw them down over her trim hips. "This is how I like my woman," Ranger growled in her ear feeling Stephanie shiver with his warm hands gliding over her nakedness.
"Mmmmm," was all that she said, her head back and curls swaying lost when a very skillful tongue found one nipple then the other. Warm breath blowing on the wetness it left. "Carlos."
Effortlessly, Ranger carried her in one stride to the middle of the waiting bed with the soft blue and white striped sheet and quilt turned down. Her blue eyes never leaving his dark, dark pools. Long fingers were trailing her nails along his muscled shoulders and tracing his spine as far as they could go.
"Babe," poised above Stephanie slipping inside melding him to his woman.
She that brings so much to him with her openness, her joy to share, showing he, a hard edged man, the softness of life. Ranger will be forever grateful of the second chance Stephanie gave him to see the days, hours, and minutes in shades of gray and colors of life bursting between them now. He saw their fireworks in the depths of her blue eyes.
Ranger had to chuckle when they were lying there with limbs entwined, "Do you care if they know now?"
"Who?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ranger was up and dressed in the morning, opening the bedroom door he was starting his day in a fit of laughter. "Babe," his hand was waving at her inside the door.
Coming up behind a broad Cuban shoulder, Stephanie heard the TV, still with low volume, and Bugs Bunny was on Saturday morning cartoons. There on the sofa bed, Bobby had an arm over Lester's chest spooning him, Lester's were hugging Tank and his head was snuggled on his shoulder. There were all covered with a soft white blanket with pink flamingos and little green and pink hearts all along the border. What was the funniest; all three had little pleasant smiles on their faces.
He snapped a couple of pictures on his cell phone tiptoeing to the sofa bed and hurried back into the bedroom closing the door so he could laugh out loud.
"That's too much," Ranger was holding his side. "I think that would be an excellent photograph for the next Rangeman newsletter. That will shut them up the next time they try and torture me," looking at his three happy friends sleeping on his cell phone.
Wiping her tears, "I really don't want to know what put the little smiles on their faces."
"I need coffee," Ranger told her still chuckling at the scene in the living room.
Paulo and Tiana followed in just as the coffee brewed. He whispered something to them and they nodded with their dark eyes wide. Watching from the dining room table, the children jumped up on the bed and on the sleeping figures.
"Augh!"
Choking on his coffee when Bobby fell off the sofa when he awoke with such a start.
"I'm up!" Lester and Tank's arms and legs had to get untangled before they could stand. Ranger couldn't help choking more on his coffee. Lester was standing there in extremely hot or not red, white, and blue Captain America boxers, Bobby was conservative in grey Scooby Do's, and Tank. Ranger couldn't look at him without laughing, He was wearing a Rolling Stone one with a great big tongue in the front. He finally couldn't take it; Ranger's head was on the table. It was the silliest thing as this time of the morning. Ella must have the time of her life doing laundry.
There was time spent in the ocean playing in the waves and collecting more seashells after breakfast. Tank grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner. Coming into the living room, Tiana was too adorable in a polka dotted sundress with small ponytails on the top of her head. Ranger couldn't take his eyes off her mother in a blue and white striped scoop neck dress with big red cherries appliquéd on the front and white thong sandals. Their group showered and changed into casual clothes, ready for the evening on the Boardwalk.
Finding a parking spot in the closest lot to the Boardwalk, Ranger parked Stephanie's blue pick-up truck. Bobby, Tank, and Lester rode the short distance in the bed. Once the admissions were paid with Ranger's black credit card, there was a feeding on the penguins at the aquarium so they started at the north end of the Boardwalk. Tiana and Paulo couldn't wait to get on the big carousel watching it go round and round. Stephanie stood between the two horses going up and down in case either of her children were scared or needed a hand to stay in their saddles. She snapped a picture of her adopted son and daughter holding hands running to take a seat on the kiddie roller coaster. Lester went for protection but got stuck in the seat behind them.
Their entire group, including Ranger, filled a large turtle as they slid around the track and rode the roller coasters. Paulo and Tiana were introduced to Point Pleasant corn dogs by their mother as the guys had to play the games and each winning a large stuffed animal.
Through out the evening, parents and children recognized the author of 'Sam the Patchwork Puppy' from the book signing on Thursday and she gladly shook hands and signed a few white dog T-shirts the children were wearing or pieces of paper that were produced. Even a popcorn box. Ranger and the Merry Men always near as her own security force with hidden weapons on their bodies.
Wandering into a small shop, a woman was making individual initial bracelets. Tiana picked a pink flower bead which the woman painted a 'T', Paulo's was a fish with a 'P', Stephanie chose a seahorse that the woman tied the leather band on her wrist after threading her bead. A pair of blue eyes and two sets of brown were on Ranger.
"Ricardo," he told the woman pointing to a flat circular black bead which she painted an elegant 'R' in light blue and tied his to the wrist he held out. Tank, Bobby, and Lester all waited for theirs when they snickered at their friend and he gave them that death glare eyeball that meant 'hold out a wrist'.
Before leaving, the children had one more bracelet made with a blue car bead with a 'G' for Grandpa. They had to appear strange standing in a circle on the Boardwalk holding their beaded wrists all together like Paulo and Tiana told them, "We all match like a big family."
Not one of the Rangemen said anything different.