Chapter 24:
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I profit from Janet Evanovich's characters.
A/N: For those of you who watch Fox a lot, you may recognize two characters from a very popular show from that network. They are not mine, I'm just borrowing them for a while and I promise I'll return them in the same condition I received them in. Honest.
Rejoining the rest of our group in the kitchen, I grabbed a glass of orange juice and sat on Evan's lap. The men were all debating the benefits of diesel engines versus standard gas, and the girls were chatting about the decor of the wedding. "I hope you all are ready for a nice dinner tonight." I asked the girls.
"Gurl, I can't wait to try those pies Momma keeps talking about." Lula stated, licking her lips in anticipation.
"Steph? Is it okay if the girls go outside and play?" Val asked, watching the girls fidget in their seats.
"Sure. There's enough men out and about to keep an eye on them." I answered. "If it'll make you feel better, I can have one of the Merry Men watch them?"
She smiled and nodded. "I guess that will be fine." She turned to Angie, "Keep an eye on your sister. Keep her away from the horses." Angie nodded and Mary Alice frowned, pouting.
"Girls. Head on outside, I'll have one of the guys watch you." They grinned and bolted for the door. Hal followed them wearing a huge grin. Looking at my mother's nervous reaction, I soothed her fears. "Mom, it's okay. Hal will take good care of them. He's a big kid himself."
Both Bobby and Les chuckled, "Bomber, that's the first time I've ever heard someone call Hal a big kid." Bobby teased.
"Yeah, Beautiful. He's not exactly the right age to be a kid anymore."
"I know. But I trust him to take care of the girls and honestly he's really a kid trapped in a man's body. Have you seen the look on his face when we all play around with the paintball guns? It's like he's ten and trying to nail all the other neighborhood kids with a giant squirt gun." The laughter that followed was light hearted and full of life. That all ended when a knock at the back door let us know that we had visitors.
"Mack?" I heard Bear's distinct voice calling through the screen door.
"In here, Bear." I answered. "Come on in."
He entered, pulling his hat from his head, followed soon after by a prim brunette carrying a messenger bag over her shoulder. What I didn't expect was for another man in a suit to follow behind her. The guys all rose to their feet.
"Everyone. I'd like for you to meet the forensic pathologist from Washington and her partner. Dr. Temperance Brennan of the Jeffersonian Institute and FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth. They're here to investigate the body you all found."
I should have warned my family and friends, but I had completely forgot about the body. Damn! Lula's eyes widened and turned to me, as did the others in the room. I felt as if I had a spotlight focused right over me. In my defense I blurted out, "It wasn't my fault. I just found it."
Ranger almost sighed and turned to the newcomers. "Ranger Manoso. My men are the ones that retrieved the body. They're sorry if they damaged the crime scene."
"Yes. They did damage the scene. Do your men know the proper techniques for gathering evidence? They moved very important evidence." Dr. Brennan countered.
Agent Booth tried to placate the good doctor. "Bones, they know that. They did what they thought was right."
Undeterred she responded. "They were wrong." I shook my head and rolled my eyes.
"Dr. Brennan? I'm Stephanie Plum. I'm sure the men didn't want to damage the scene. I know they took photos of the body and surrounding area with their cell phones before they disturbed the body. I can have Hector bring you copies of those photos right away. Are you planning on returning to Billings or are you staying somewhere nearby?" I asked trying to change the subject.
"I assumed we were staying here." Dr. Brennan countered. "I can see plenty of acommidations for your men Mr. Manoso. Surely you have an extra tent or two?" She asked, matter of factly.
Ranger looked as if he were thinking of smiling. "I have two tents available. I also have a mobile lab I can set up if the need arises."
"Good, great!" Agent Booth laughed, slapping his hands together. "Let's see what we can do about getting us all set up." He turned to Ranger. "You sure you about having us here? I mean, it looks as if you're about to have a party or something."
"Angel and I are getting married here on Saturday." Evan piped up and grinned. He stuck his hand out to Agent Booth. "Evan Ramsey. You can call me Ram."
"Seeley Booth. You can call me Booth." He frowned for a moment and then a look of recognition graced his face. "I know you. I met you before in Falujah." Evan's eyes darted from Booth to Ranger and back again. "Yeah, you were on R&R."
Remembering, Evan relaxed and grinned."Yeah. Now I remember." Evan turned to Ranger and Tank, "You were getting ready to rejoin your unit. How'd it go?"
"Great. I'm still here." He gave a panty melting smile. Val, Mary Lou, Lula and Connie all sighed and I rolled my eyes at the feebs attempt at humor.
"Can you get Dr. Brennan all set up, Tank? I'd like to talk to Agent Booth." I asked Tank.
"Sure thing Babygirl." He turned to the doctor.
"Right this way Dr. Brennan." They exited the kitchen and allowed us to speak with Agent Booth.
"So, Agent Booth..." I began but was stopped midway through my question.
"Booth. Please." He countered.
"Booth. Are we still going to be able to continue with my wedding?"
"Yeah. I mean, it's not like we're dealing with someone who got whacked by someone from 'the family' or anything." Connie popped off with. "It's not like what happens when we're in at home in Trenton."
"This happens a lot at home?" Booth asked, a little stunned.
"It's not my fault!" I blurted and filled him in on our professions and what life is really like at home. By the time I was done, he was slack jawed and a little in awe.
"I've heard of you! The Bombshell Bounty Hunter." He pointed to me. "And I've definately heard of you Sir," He turned to look at Ranger, extending his hand to shake Ranger's. "I've heard nothing but good things about you and your men. It's nice to finally meet you."
Ranger nodded but kept silent. "I have to say, Bones and I were almost brought in to examine the Ramos body a few years back. Glad they figured out who was behind it all."
"Beautiful was the one who helped Ranger clear his name." Les explained. "She's the one that made friends with Alexander Ramos." Booth turned and stared at me like I was covered in slime or something.
"Alexander Ramos and you are friends?" I nodded and grinned.
"He's really a sweet guy. Just needed cigarettes and some booze once and a while." I shrugged and turned to Evan. "Baby? Can we talk to Booth in the parlor?" Evan nodded and lead the three of us into the parlor.
An hour later Evan, Booth and I exited the parlor and found only Momma and Junior in the kitchen. "Mrs. Ramsey, Thank you for allowing us to remain here on the ranch to investigate." Booth stated as he watched Momma and Junior peeling potatoes.
"All guests are welcome in my home Agent Booth." She set down her paring knife and stared at him right in the eyes. "Now young man, tell me, are you hungry?" The wide grin that covered his face at that point said it all. She proceeded to make a huge plate of food for him and set him down at the table to eat.
Between bites Booth told us about Dr. Brennan. "She's kind of particular about how she does things."
"I can see that." I replied dryly, trying very hard not to roll my eyes.
"She's just not very emotional and she has a hard time accepting anything that isn't science fact."
"I am emotional and although I have a hard time accepting things that are not scientifically proven, I accept the fact that sometimes, things can not be scientifically explained all the time." Dr. Brennan explained from the doorway.
"Bones!" Booth jumped up and guided her to the table. "Hungry? I've got plenty." He offered her the remains of his plate.
"No, thank you. I'm fine." She turned to Ranger who has at some point made his way into the kitchen. "Mr. Manoso, I'd like for the lab to be set up as quickly as possible."
"My men are finishing as we speak." He replied and snagged a beer from the fridge. Motioning to Booth, "Beer?"
He shrugged and held his hand up. "Sure."
"Booth! We're on a case." Dr. Brennan objected.
"Technically, we're still waiting on the lab set up, so I can have a beer if I just have one." Grabbing the beer thrown through the air in his direction, he popped the top of the beer and took a long drink. "Ahhh. That hits the spot." He grinned and I smiled. Maybe he wasn't too bad for a Fed.
The next few hours went by in a blur, the conversation was light and the time for the dreaded dinner with the family was drawing near. A bunch of the guys helped Momma prep for the dinner, grilling the meats, cutting vegetables and aiding her with anything else she needed. I sat back and watched them sipping a glass of iced tea. Booth wandered back into the kitchen and lowered himself into the seat next to me.
"So... you and Ram huh?"
I turned to look at him. He was handsome in a rugged way similar to Evan, but not as muscular. His brown hair was cut and styled in the typical Fed fashion. His belt buckle with the word 'cocky' and his crazy socks had me smiling. If I hadn't been so in love with Evan I might have fallen for his good looks and quick humor. But since I was in love with Evan, I thought of him as a really nice guy who had the slight affliction of working for the FBI. "Yeah. Hope the situation with the wedding doesn't throw off your investigation too much."
"Naw. We'll be fine. Guess it can't hurt to have another trained professional here to help, should anything happen." He raised an eyebrow. I furrowed mine and glared at him. "What?" He stated defensively. "The guys filled me in on what's been happening with the stalker. Seems you collect them almost as much as Bones collects, well... bones."
"It's not something I'm proud of. It just happens." I shrugged as if to say, what can I do? Trying to change the subject I asked him, "Are you all set up with the lab?"
"Yeah. Bones had the comm guys set up a secure line to the Squints at the Jeffersonian. Bones is updating them right now."
"Squints?"
"Yeah." He laughed. "The nerds in the lab. There's Angela, she's the one who does the facial reconstructions and is our resident computer guru. Hodgins, he's the bug expert and loves doing the experiments. Sweets, he's our baby-faced shrink. He also does our psychological profiles. Zach, he's the biggest egghead of them all. He's Bones's protege. There's a few others, but these four are the major players, besides Bones." He knocked on the table with his knuckles. "Wanna see us in action?"
"Sure." I perked up. Maybe I could find out more about this poor girl by hanging out and watching them in action. I followed him to the backside of one of the smaller barns to find a HUGE tent set up with all kinds of power cables and comm lines running into it. Booth pulled back the flap and allowed me to enter. I saw Dr. Brennan standing in front of a large computer screen talking to someone.
"Angela. I'd like for you to digitally recreate the crime scene based on my sketches and the cell phone photos. Hodgins, based on the entomogolical evidence, I'd like to get a timeline determine when the victim died. Zach, I'd like for you to work with Dr. Hodgins, pay close attention to any ."
I accidentally bumped into a table and Booth kept from falling over and breaking something. Dr. Brennan focused her attention on me. "Ms. Plum. I'd like for you to meet my staff." She turned the monitor around to face me and I gave a small finger wave.
"Hi."
I watched as three faces crammed the screen trying to get a better look at me. I heard one of the men chuckle and say, "So, you're the one who got the weird sense that something was wrong and noticed the body, huh?"
"Hodgins." Dr. Brennan admonished. "To say that Ms. Plum relies on some type of extra sensory perception, is false and improbable. No scientific evidence has proven it otherwise."
I shook my head. "I beg to differ, Dr. Brennan. No offense. But I have what the guys call my Spidey Sense. I can feel when something is off or wrong. I can sense when Evan or Ranger are near by and I'm almost always right."
"Spidey sense? Dude, she's amazing! Are you sure you're really getting married to that Ram guy?" The man I assumed was Hodgins asked.
"Hey!" Booth cut in. "She's spoken for Hodgins."
Just at that moment, Ranger and Evan walked into the tent. Ranger raised his eyebrow at me and asked, "Babe?"
"Booth was showing me the lab." I explained.
I heard a sharp intake of breath from the woman I knew to be Angela. I could hear her under her breath, "Good Lord! Fly me to Montana to find a hunk like one of them." Hodgins elbowed her and she grinned. "What?"
We exited the tent and allowed Dr. Brennan to finish with her staff, as Booth and Ranger talked. Evan and I wandered back to the house and up to our room. "Baby? Are we always going to have a crazy life?" I asked laying down on the bed, facing the ceiling in my favorite thinking position.
"I hope not, Angel. I hope not." He flopped down into the recliner and sighed. "I'm thinking the dinner may go better than we thought, so long as we don't have a meteor strike the house or something along those lines." He teased, watching for a reaction from me.
Throwing a pillow in his general direction, I groaned and hid my eyes with my arm. "I just wish the wedding would get here already. I'm tired of waiting to be your wife." I lamented. "I was ready months ago."
"I know Angel. I know." He crawled out of the recliner and stalked over to the bed. "I think laying down before dinner will do us a world of good. Don't you think?" He asked as he nuzzled my neck.
The grin that covered my face was priceless. It flowed from ear to ear. "I think if we do what you're thinking, we'll never get any sleep Mr. Ramsey."
"Who said anything about sleeping?" I laughed and enjoyed being with the man that I love.
Evan and I arrived back downstairs, after freshening up in the showers. I was quite sure that I was unable to get rid of that tell-tale glow on my face, but at that point I didn't care. We followed our noses to the kitchen and found the counters fully loaded with food, the fridge fully stocked with beer and wine and a lovely glass of lemonade for me. Joining us for our "family" were Dr. Brennan and Booth.
We filled our plates and sat around the long kitchen table as well as extra tables brought in from the yard. It was an enjoyable time, even my grandmother was on her best behavior. She had already talked to Dr. Brennan and Booth earlier in the day and I had thankfully missed it. Apparently, Grandma and Dr. Brennan hit it off and were talking like old friends when I watched them across the table. Booth and most of the boys were chatting about their deployments, Ranger, Evan and my father were quiet, watching the interactions of all the people around us. Lula, Connie, Val, Mary Lou and the girls were discussing the merits of different kinds of facials. My mother, Momma and Pop were deep in a discussion about who knows what, and the remaining people sitting around the kitchen were listening to the conversations around them, soaking it in.
Tapping my glass with my knife, I stood on my feet waiting for everyone's attention. After a moment all eyes were focused on me and I took a deep breath to calm myself. "I'd like to thank everyone for being here to help Evan and I to celebrate our wedding. We thought tonight's dinner would be a great opportunity for everyone to meet and mingle a little. I know some of you have not been introduced, but in the next few days I'd like for you to all get to know each other." I glanced over to my parents who watched in silence. "I'd like to make a few announcements while I have your attention. Tomorrow morning, Ella and Louis are due in. There will be what's called a 'Cleaning Party' during the late morning and early afternoon. A quick final fitting for the dresses will be overseen by Ella. The Hen Party, as Connie calls it, will begin at 6 pm. All ladies are expected to attend. Any questions are to be directed to Lester, since he's the Man of Honor." Turning to Evan, I winked and continued. "As for the Stag Party, you'll have to ask Cal. He's the best man and I'm guessing the one in charge."
I pointed to Cal directly and gave him a stern look, "I know you all are going hunting, but make sure you get him back in one piece, sober and able to say 'I Do' Saturday morning."
Cal grinned, his flaming skull tattoo flashing brightly, "Sure thing, Bomber."
"Ladies, we're bunking in the house." The sighs of relief were palpable. "Which means... you men, have been banished to the bunk houses and tents. Sorry!" I grinned at the half-assed apology. "Anyway, I'd like for us to have fun and enjoy our time together. Thanks for listening." A round of cheers and clapping followed my little speech.
The male Core members stood as soon as I seated myself, perplexed as to what they had to say, I waited in silence. Evan held his hand up to silence the crowd. "The Core members of Rangeman would like to add a little something." He turned to me and gave me his lopsided grin. "We'd like to invite all of you to join us tomorrow morning for a morning run. Those of us at Rangeman, regularly run as part of our exercise routine, but thought it would be fun to add our friends and family as well. It's voluntary, of course..."
Les' head perked up, his lips ready to say something, when Tank's massive hand slapped him on the back of his head and growled, "Santos, for you it's mandatory." Les's face fell and he sported a pouty lip as he rubbed the back of his head, amid a sea of laughter.
"What time?" My father asked, shocking my mother.
"0500, Sir." Tank answered. "We typically run from the house to the front gate and back." He turned to me and winked, "Unless you're Babygirl. She does it twice." The looks of shock and disbelief on my family and friend's faces was priceless.
"What?" Lula scoffed. "You mean to tell me White Gurl here runs? At 5 in the morning?" Tank grinned and nodded. She seemed to think there was some type of catch. "Lemme guess, there's donuts waiting for her when she's done, right?"
"Nope. I do it sugar free most mornings." I grinned and stuck my tongue out at her.
"Well, wonders never cease!" my mother exclaimed.
"Mother!" I pouted. So I have a bad reputation when it comes to exercise. So sue me! "I found out I like running. So who's going to join us?"
Val looked as if I was asking her to cut off and arm or a leg. Connie just looked at me like I was crazy for even asking her to get up at such an ungodly hour. Lula was just stunned that I had asked her to exercise, and Mary Lou grinned. She raised her hand first. "Good. Mare, you're gonna love it." Soon after, a few other hands raised, including Booth and Dr. Brennan.
"I hope you'll let Bones and I join." Booth asked, brushing a stray lock of hair from his eyes.
"Always welcome." Ranger answered. "We'll have someone on standby with the quad for anyone who feels they have hit their limit. No need to push yourselves too far. It's just for fun." I grinned and couldn't wait to see who actually woke up that early to run with us. It would be very enlightening, very enlightening, indeed.
The rest of the night was calm and fun. After supper, the adults remained in the kitchen and chatted more, while the girls and Hal found a spot in front of the TV to watch cartoons. I wandered out of the room, to lean against the door frame watching them giggle and laugh at the silly characters. Evan slid his arms around my middle and rested his head on the top of my head. "You're right. He really is just like a kid." A wide grin nearly split my face in two and I nodded.
"Can we adopt him? He's just so cute and goofy." I asked, teasing Evan.
"I don't know. He's an awfully big responsibility. You have to walk him, feed him and clean up after him." He teased right back.
"Forget it then. There's no way I can afford to feed him. He's worse than me!" I replied with a laugh.
"Sorry, Angel. No one, beats you. You out eat us all, and still manage to look hot." I blushed and slugged him on the arm, gently mind you, his muscles are rock hard, and it hurts my hand if I hit too hard.
"Flatterer."
"Damn Skippy!' He chuckled as he nibbled on my ear. Mary Alice turned to see us and she made a gagging face.
"Ewww! Auntie Steph and Uncle Evan are being gross!" I looked down to see Angie and Mary Alice looking at us, totally disgusted, while Hal had a warm smile on his lips.
A/N: Okay, so who figured out that the forensic pathologist and the FBI guy were from the show BONES? I know, I know. I was a bit obvious. Anyway, I couldn't wait to include them into the story, I just love them. LOL!
I know, I haven't mentioned the stalker in a while, but he's ready to reappear. Do you have an idea of who it could be? Any idea of who it should be? Let me know. Leave me your guess in a review. I'd love to see who you think it is.
BTW: I do not own nor do I profit from the character from the hit TV show BONES. Although, I wouldn't mind being in the middle of a Ranger and Booth sandwich. *Hmmm... sounds dreamy!*