"I wouldn't want you to be involved. It's this case I'm working on. Do you have a name for me Manuel? Please tell me you have a name," I stepped off the sidewalk and walked toward the SUV absently.

"I do have a name. I have the first name of Mrs. George Harding," he said triumphantly.

"What is it," I said opening my car door.

"Lois," he said smugly. "Her name is Lois."

I felt the blood run out of my face the moment he said the words, "I'm sorry Manuel…could you repeat that?"

"Lois," he said and this time he sounded concerned.

I dropped the phone and clutched at Ranger's arm. My eyes drifted up the stone walls of the mansion and over to the east end of the second floor. She was there, in the window, watching us. I felt my heart stop.

"I can't do this," I said but no sound came from my mouth. She wasn't his widow. She would have told us. How did she get Andrew? He was born before she married the Judge. He had to have known. She had to have known that the mother of that child was in her house every single day watching him grow.

Dimly I could hear Manual's voice. "Stephanie…Chica…are you okay? Stephanie…Stephanie," he called.

Then Ranger's calm deep voice telling Manual that I would have to call him back and he'd done good work crept into my consciousness. Strong arms circled me and I was guided into the passenger's seat of the truck. He took the driver's seat and we pulled away.

I didn't say anything. I couldn't speak or function. I didn't know how I was going to tell Brian that his mother had withheld this secret from them. I didn't know how to tell him that she'd stolen someone else's baby. I didn't know what I was going to do. The fact is…I love Brian. I may not be in love with him, but I do love him. He's brought growth to me as a person. And I would always love and appreciate him for that.

Ranger pulled into the restaurant parking lot and turned the engine off and sat back. "Babe…what is it?" He turned toward me and took my hand, "you have to talk to me. What is it?"

"Lois…Lois is Hamilton Pryor's first wife. I mean she is if they ever divorced."

Ranger sat back and blinked at me in shock. "Oh shit," he hissed.

"It has to be the same Lois. It has to be. How else could she have Andrew? And that's what Pryor had on them. The Judge was either married to a woman who helped him steal a child or…or…Lois is a bigamist."

"How far would she go to protect her status in Boston," he said grimly.

"And…if she enlisted Andrew's aide, how much does he know," I whispered. "I can't tell Brian this Ranger. I can't do it. Please don't make me do it. I've done enough damage to him just by…" I started to say just by loving you Ranger, but I caught myself. There was no point in rehashing that. Besides, he pretty much knew where I stood.

"Let's go inside the diner and get some food. We'll call Lester and Ram and decide how to proceed."

"Ranger…who killed Pryor," I whispered. "She hasn't done the dirty work with us. Maybe Andrew's been here in Boston all along and it's just been rumored that he was in Fiji. We need to get a hold of his travel documents," I was starting to get frantic now. That woman could not have committed murder. I couldn't accept it in my sane state.

"Babe," he said gently and squeezed my hand. "Why don't I go inside and get us a booth and call Lester and Ram and you call Dr. Addison."

I nodded. That was a good idea. That was a very good idea.

He leaned over and kissed my forehead and got out of the truck and went into the restaurant.

I sat staring at the phone for a few minutes and finally got the nerve to call Dr. Addison. He knew where I was. He knew who I was with. But that's all he knew. I had a lot to tell him.

It was a good forty minutes later when I got out of the truck with red, swollen eyes and a nose to match and went into the diner. Ram and Lester were sitting in the booth with Ranger and all three were sipping coffee.

I dropped beside Ranger, "I didn't see you guys pull in."

"You were busy," Lester said gently and reached over to squeeze my hand.

"Have you guys been discussing our problem," I asked and picked up the menu.

"Yea," Ram said uncomfortably. "We have been discussing it. I know you don't want to go back. I know you don't want to tell Brian. We all know and we all understand, but if you don't…"

"I'm running away from my problems and I'm not trusting the people I love to eventually…if not right away…see that it hurts me as much to tell them as it does them to hear it," I nodded.

"Good session," Ranger raised a brow.

"Good session," I agreed. I smiled up at the waitress. "I'll have a coke, a cheeseburger with everything and fries and what's the dessert today?"

She raised a brow in surprise, "its Chocolate fudge cake," she grinned. "Its cake layered with vanilla bean ice cream and then drizzled with hot fudge sauce topped with whipped cream and a cherry."

"Okay…when I finish my lunch…give me one of those," I nodded resolutely.

"And you guys," she raised a brow at Lester and Ram.

"I'll have what she's having," Lester grinned.

"Make that three," Ram smiled.

"And you sir," she smiled at Ranger and licked her lips. I guess she was still hoping he'd call.

"Chef Salad, lite Italian dressing, coffee…black," he said quickly.

"Okay," she shook her head and walked away.

"You could live a little," I shook my head.

"What…by calling her or eating stuff that will clog my arteries?"

"Yea," I sighed.

"I'll help you with dessert," he sighed.

"Touch my dessert and you'll pull back a nub," I glared.

"I wouldn't try it Ranger," Lester said with a nod. "Her hand to hand has gotten pretty exceptional. I'd say she can handle herself in just about any circumstance these days."

"Noted," he said with a small smile.

We didn't discuss the case again until I was shoveling chocolate into my mouth.

"So…we'll go back to the mansion and you and I will go and talk to Lois first," he said sticking his finger in my plate and licking off the fudge.

"You're on dangerous ground Manoso," I raised a brow at him.

He grinned, "I like living dangerously."

"You were warned," I said seriously.

"Does that sound like the plan we should follow," he asked.

"Yes…it does. In any case…she's going to be in trouble with the law. I mean…if she's a bigamist or if Beverly presses charges or…"

"Yea," he sighed.

The waitress brought the check to the table. I saw her phone number scrawled at the bottom of the ticket and smiled.

"Er…bring us another one of those," Ranger motioned to the dessert I was making disappear.

"Sure thing honey," she said taking the check back and disappearing behind the counter again.

"You could tap that," I grinned licking my lips.

"I'm not that desperate," he said watching my tongue try to get the last bit of fudge stuck to my cheek.

"You sure about that boss," Lester said with a raised brow.

Ranger just looked at him. Lester didn't really back down. He did shut up though.

"She's cute," I glanced back at her making the dessert and licked my spoon. "I have a feeling she's…adventurous in bed. She's given you her phone number twice. Who knows what she'll offer you next?"

He grimaced, "you're not funny. Besides, I'm injured. I can't do that."

"Right," I rolled my eyes.

"What does that mean," he raised a brow.

I leaned forward to whisper, "Men are never too sick or too injured for sex. Unless their dicks are involved in the disease or…forgive me industrial accident," I shrugged and watched the three of them wince and Lester and Ram's hands went to their crotches protectively, "you…men still want sex."

"We're not that bad," Ram said.

"Okay," I tapped my spoon on my nose. "You have a fever of 103. Sex or no sex," I raised a brow.

"Sex," he shrugged.

"You just broke you leg and your arm and you're laid up in the hospital. The gorgeous nurse offers to make you all better…sex or no sex…Lester?"

"Sex," he sighed.

I could see his imagination continuing the story I'd started and shook my head and turned to Ranger. "You've been in a combat jungle for six weeks and you haven't sleep in four days. You're home and you're clean and you find a woman in your bed…sex or no sex?"

"Who's the woman," he said dipping his finger again.

"You're going to die," I glared.

"Who's the woman," he grinned.

"Let's say it's Stephanie," Ram suggested.

"Sex," Ranger said meeting my eyes.

"See…you can do that."

"Just not with her," he said seriously.

The waitress sashayed back to the table and put the dessert down in front of Ranger and the new check. Her number was still at the bottom. She winked at him and walked away. The boys were absolutely silent.

"What," I turned to them.

Ram, Lester and Ranger were staring at the dessert. Two white creamy breasts rose from the plate with cherry nipples and beneath it she'd written in chocolate 'call me and we'll eat these off each other'.

"I told you she was adventurous," I grinned and dug my spoon into one of the breasts."

Ranger's eyebrow went up. "I'm not interested."

"She wants you," I grinned.

"Not with Lester's dick," he said seriously.

I grinned, "Okay…I hear you."

"I doubt you do," he shook his head and picked up his spoon and quickly destroyed the other breast.