**Author's notes…my apologies on the delay in updates. As some of you dear readers know I broke my wrist seven weeks ago and have been struggling with the use of my hand. I am starting occupational therapy tomorrow so hopefully I can type again soon, but the pain is manageable enough that I can one handed type some. I'm going to try working on this again, but the updates will probably take longer than usual (but not two months again, I promise). So thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy us jumping back in here.**

September 21st…1730

We'd gotten home from the beach a couple hours ago. At the moment Steph is down in Ella's apartment making us dinner. It was one of the things she decided she wanted to learn to do. So I'm eagerly waiting to see what she cooks up. Hopefully it turns out. I'd hate for her to be disappointed after having such a great weekend.

I'm incredibly happy that we took the trip to the beach. Being away from Trenton has been good for both of us. We both did some soul searching and I think we grew together as a couple over the last couple days. I think not having to worry about anyone bothering us was freeing for her, which is part of the reason I asked her to go to Miami with me. I think the change of scenery would be good for us, plus she could meet my abuela and see where I was happiest. Not to mention she'd be off the grid as far as her mother and Morelli are concerned.

So, yeah, I was still worried about them crushing her progress, but I'm working on letting her have her freedom. I'm trying my best not to be overprotective, but I worry. I don't want her to be hurt again.

She spent the afternoon on the beach alone yesterday. She wanted time to think. I knew that was something I couldn't intrude on. I was proud of myself for letting her have her alone time without panicking and standing guard over the top of her, not that I hadn't thought about it, but I did have Zip and Slick on her and I had to trust them. I picked the two of them for their ability to blend and not be seen. Neither were overly huge guys even if they were as fit as the rest of the men, but Zip could outrun anyone I knew and Slick was one of the sneakiest bastards I ever met, plus they were both excellent marksmen. They'd be great shadows for her.

I didn't want to dwell on her being out there without me so I decided to try to occupy myself. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but the next thing I knew I was in the car on the way to the Home Depot over in Neptune. Tank and I had purchased all the bathroom materials there when we had done the remodel a couple years ago so I knew my way around. All in all it took a little more than a half hour to get everything I needed loaded into the SUV.

The small backyard was a fenced in, grassy lot with a couple large trees and a few bushes, nothing special, but I wanted to make it special. I wanted to do something special for her, like she did with the campout. I had this entire vision of a romantic garden dinner back here. So I unloaded all the supplies I'd picked up and hauled the tools out of the garage. Then I text the guys to check on Steph. Slick said she had only moved to flip over, which made me smile. I was hoping she'd be gone a couple hours so I could finish before she got back.

I hooked up a battery operated water fountain and planted mums and snapdragons of every color around it. I put together the bistro table and chair set and put it next to the fountain. I hung lighted paper lanterns from the trees and strung white twinkle lights around the fencing and bushes. If I would have thought of this earlier I could have laid some patio bricks or built a deck or something, but it still didn't look too shabby.

She returned while I was in the shower. I heard her in the bedroom, since the bathroom door was open. I also figured she had been hoping to shower off the sunscreen and sand when she'd come up here, so I called out to her, inviting her to join me. I laughed to myself when I heard a thud from the other room. The shower invitation never failed to fluster her. The last thing I imagined was that she'd actually join me.

She was just suddenly behind me, her arms wrapped around me so as she hugged me her breasts pressed against my back. I slipped my hands over hers, squeezing them as I asked her how the beach was. She pressed a kiss between my shoulder blades and told me it was good and that she'd been doing a lot of thinking about her future.

I don't know why that startled me. I guess I was afraid she'd reconsider the things we'd discussed the night before. I wanted her to feel free to ask me the things she didn't know about me so I talked her into the question game. I was prepared for her to ask the hard questions about my past, but she didn't go there. We both asked questions about what the other wanted in the future.

I guess I've been thinking a lot about what I wanted for our future. I was hoping she was on the same page. She clearly wasn't ready for marriage and children and neither was I, but I wanted that to be a goal to work toward. I want a life with her and I know we can make it work.

Then the next thing I know I'm asking her to give up her apartment and live with me permanently. It wasn't a planned out question and as soon as the words left my lips I knew I'd spoken too soon. I waited for her to panic, but she didn't, she agreed. I was elated, but I kept waiting for her to change her mind. I wasn't lucky enough to have things go so smoothly for me, for us.

So when she said she was thinking on the beach, I became terrified to hear her thoughts. I managed to turn around so I could look at her, but her face was pretty blank. So I tucked her against my chest and wrapped my arms around her. She caught onto my game though, so she pushed away from me and smiled. Then she assured me it wasn't that bad, she didn't think, though she wanted to ask me a couple favors.

I was still nervous so I stalled by telling her to wash up since we didn't have the never ending hot water the apartment did. She rolled her eyes at me, she knew it was a stall. So she handed me the shower gel and held her arms out and told me to wash her while she talked. I didn't know how she thought I'd retain anything she said while I soaped up her tits, but whatever. I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.

I started rubbing the shower gel over her shoulders and arms as she started talking about the things she's been thinking about by asking me if she could keep working for my company. I thought she meant until she was better, but she said no, until she figured out what she wanted to be when she grew up. That stopped me in my tracks. She said there was no way she could go back to bounty hunting alone. It was too dangerous for everyone. I wasn't sure if she'd change her mind, but I told her she had a job at RangeMan for as long as she wanted it.

She smiled happily and gave me her back to wash. So I obliged again, rubbing from her neck down across her ass cheeks. Sadly I was achingly hard and she was still speaking to me. "I was also wondering if you'd consider couples therapy. I've never had a healthy relationship before, but I want one with you."

I pressed myself against her back and spoke into her ear, telling her that I was thinking of asking her the exact same thing. I nibbled her earlobe and slipped my hands around her torso, rubbing the soap over her breasts and stomach. Her head dropped back onto my shoulder and her body rubbed back against mine. Finally I wasn't the only one turned on by that shower. I moved lower, slipping my fingers through her folds, spreading the soap over her while purposely avoiding her hot spot. She was panting at me by the time I moved my hands down her legs, washing her thoroughly.

I pulled the shower massage off the wall and started on her back, rinsing all the soap away, from her neck all the way to her toes, then I worked up her front until only her center was still soapy. I turned the water pressure down and used my fingers to help wash away the suds. I could tell she was enjoying the sensation of the water and my fingers touching her there and so was I.

I knew this was something she enjoyed, but I'd never witnessed it before. I wanted to change that. I sat on the bench and lifted her right foot to the bench next to me, so she was spread open in front of me. Then I turned up the water pressure and moved the spray across her clit. Her hand covered mine, moving my wrist back and forth so the water hit her like she wanted. Her hips were moving and I could tell she was close to coming so I moved my free hand to her opening and pushed my fingers inside her. It only took a few thrusts before she was clenching my fingers and moaning in pleasure.

I pulled her down onto my lap and told her how sexy she was. I seriously want to watch her get off like that every day for the rest of my life. It's so beautiful the way she looks and moans, the way her body moves and shudders is like an erotic art form. She slipped a hand along each side of my face and kissed me, hard and deep, filling me with even more desire. I don't think she truly knows how much power she has over me. I'd do anything she asked in that moment, but she didn't ask for anything. Instead she gave.

She slipped off my lap, onto her knees, and took me in her mouth. With the way she licked and sucked my cock it didn't take long before I was coming myself. Somehow I mustered the energy to move us to the bed where we collapsed in a heap and slept until well past sunset.

I took care of warming dinner and pouring the sparkling cider into wine glasses while she tried to tame her curls and get dressed. She came down with her hair tied up in a ponytail, wearing jeans and a pink sweater that belted around her waist with matching pink heels. Under the sweater she was wearing what looked to be a white lace tank top, I wondered if there was anything under it. She smiled and told me if I was good I'd find out later. "Babe, I'm always good," I whispered in her ear making her giggle.

I pulled her out the back door and plugged in the extension cord. Everything lit up like I planned and looked so much better in the dark. She just stared and said, "Wow. It's beautiful." Then she wanted to know how I made it happen.

I just smiled and told her, "I am Batman." She laughed back before kissing me.

I seated her and ran inside for the plates. We ate dinner and spoke about our friends and work, keeping things light. After dinner I pulled her in my arms and started to hum the tune of Moonlight Sonata. She murmured that she had liked that one since she heard it my car years ago. I honestly didn't think she'd remember something like that. She told me she remembered every moment we'd spent together. I did too. Then she told me she was glad that she'd have a lifetime of moments with me and promised to never forget any of them. I echoed her words before telling her I loved her. She kissed my lips and said, "I love you, too, Ranger. I want to terminate the lease on my apartment this week." I pulled her closer and kissed her again. Nothing in this world could have made me happier than getting her out of that deathtrap and moved in with me. "I was thinking that someday I'd really like to be Stephanie Manoso," she whispered to me. And with those words she proved me wrong, those were the words that made me the happiest man on Earth.

"I really like the sound of that, Babe," I told her. We just stood there surrounded by the twinkle lights, smiling at one another. I finally broke the moment by pulling her inside the house.

I started a fire and we cuddled on the couch in front of it. No words were spoken, we just held each other until she dosed in my arms. I could have carried her upstairs, but instead I snuggled into her body and dosed too. Why end a perfect night?

I think we were both sad to see the weekend come to an end, but we returned stronger and more deeply in love than when we left. I had a feeling we'd need that love to pull through what still lay ahead.