Chapter 28

Oh No Not Again

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After our little spat over my safety, Carlos and I went to our room. I was still a little upset. I went into the bathroom took care of business and was going to sit on the veranda. Carlos was sitting on the bed with his face in his hands, I felt bad for my attitude and actions. I walked over to him and sat on the floor facing him, taking his hands from his face.

"Honey, I am really sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to spout off at you like that I know you care about my safety and you're worried. We have come a long way in our relationship and I don't want anything to ruin our someday, I promise to do better" I told him as I held his hands.

He looked at me smiling, picking me up, and throwing me on the bed, kissing me continuously with gentle caressing here and there, then on to some great make up sex. Lula read an article to me some time ago about make up sex, something to do with anger increasing testosterone in both men and women making the sexual urges stronger. I guess sometimes you can believe what you read, ha ha.

We laid in what I like to call sensual silence, lying wrapped within each other's arms when Carlos broke that silence. "I love you Babe, I just want you safe" He rolled me on top of him. He was massaging my head softly and playing with my hair.

An intense feeling of nostalgia came over me, bringing me back to days when I was about 10 or 11 years old. Tears started flowing as I began to think about Grandma Mazur.

"Babe, talk to me."

"Missing Grandma and drifting back to when I was a little girl." I said between tears.

He wrapped his arms tightly around me and kissed me. "Tell me about it" Carlos asked.

"I would hide out at Grandma and Grandpa Mazur's house after my mother had yelled at me about something or other. Grandma would build a fort with blankets draped over chairs and I would take a pillow and hide in the fort." I said as I recalled those days.

"Later Grandma would bring cookies and milk and would have a tea party. Grandma would ask what happened to upset my mother and I would shrug my shoulders and lay my head on her lap, where she would gently rub my head and play with my hair." I smiled picturing Grandma Mazur under the fort with me.

"I would fall asleep as Grandma would sing, 'hush little baby don't be sad, Grandma's gonna take away all the bad, then I'll slap your mother silly and you will be so happy and giddy.' This was sung to the tune of The Mockingbird Song (Hush Little Baby). I'd wake up and we would go out in the back yard, Grandpa Mazur would light a fire where we would have a S'mores party."

By this time, the tears were pouring down my face onto Carlos' chest.

"S'mores party huh, what kind of party is that?" Carlos asked with wonder. I lifted my head and turned to look at him stunned, "Batman, how do you not know what a S'mores party is?"

He gave me a raised eyebrow and smirk while I explained it to him. "I can honestly say at that age, I wasn't attending any parties of that nature Babe." I laughed as he kissed me and continued playing with my hair.

I needed to use the bathroom and my friend the beast was calling out; Carlos slapped my butt lifting me from him. "Go on Babe; go to the bathroom and come downstairs I'm sure dinner will be ready soon. I'll be downstairs."

After using the bathroom, I freshened up pulling my hair up in a clip. I put on a lounge dress one of my pieces from the after hospital collection. I went downstairs to find Manny and Kinsey playing pool, Lenny, Marylou and Amanda were on some sort of errand and the staff was putting something together out on the beach. Patricia was in the middle of setting up the table in the dining room, I think we've only eaten inside once since our arrival and that was because it was raining outside. The table looked beautiful with a long centerpiece of fresh flowers in the middle. Dimmed lighting with soft instrumental music playing in the background. It was very romantic; it was going to be a culture shock to have to leave this beautiful house and island. I wanted to stay here forever. Helena brought out light appetizers and Patricia came in with a pitcher and glasses, the pitcher was full of mineral water with oranges, lime and cucumber slices. It was so refreshing, what a great blend of flavors. Carlos, Sade, and I watched the pool game in progress that seemed a little heated and Manny was beating the pants off Kinsey. Apparently, they were playing for big money.

Lenny, Marylou, and Amanda came in through the front door along with Jackson who carried the bags to the kitchen while the others poured themselves a drink of water and sat down in the chairs watching the action at the pool table.

Soon dinner was ready, each of us ladies was escorted to the table, and the men helped each of us to our seats. Lenny was becoming comfortable with this lifestyle and I have to admit it suited him and Marylou. Seeing them both so happy made me happy.

We were served a Middle Eastern meal, a large platter with rice and the catch of the day. The fish was cut up into medium size pieces with tomatoes, onions, and zucchini, with lemon and lime slices around the edges of the platter. The aroma was wonderful; you can definitely smell the variety of spices. There were baskets of cut pita bread; Albert was pouring the wine while Patricia and Caroline were serving dinner. The meal was amazing, the fish was delicious to be honest, and I was surprised I enjoyed it since I am not very fond of fish. After I finished my serving, I asked for a little bit more, and the moaning made an appearance.

Henry laughed and said, "thank goodness, I thought this dinner was a loss" and we laughed.

I was full, not overly full but a comfortable fullness and was happy to hear that dessert was coffee and cookies. We enjoyed a variety of conversations around the table while we had our dessert. It was a nice evening.

Forty-five minutes later Carlos announced that we were all going to enjoy an evening on the beach. We made our way through the back yard to where there was a beautiful fire pit set up with blankets on the sand. Lighted tiki torches encircled the blankets and Jazz music was playing through the speakers.

As we walked closer to the blankets I noticed trays with everything we needed for our S'mores party, I stood in amazement, "Carlos did you do all this?"

"No Babe, I just facilitated it, Marylou and Amanda went shopping for the ingredients, and the staff set up everything outside. Is it ok?" He asked.

"Is it ok, are you kidding me, it's more than ok, it's a beautiful site." I replied with the excitement of a child, "I can't believe we're having an adult S'mores party" and of course the tears rolled down my face, Carlos pulled me into his chest and I thanked him with tears shedding all over his chest again. I began wiping the tears and he laughed.

We danced on the beach for a little while and each couple sat on the blankets and roasted marshmallows and putting our S'mores together. It brought me back to Grandma and Grandpa Mazur's house and I was crying happy tears. I leaned my head on Carlo's shoulder, "honey thank you for making this such a special night and re-creating some of my best memories as a child."

"Babe, I wanted to show you that even though Grandma Mazur may not be with us physically she's here in spirit and I hope that recreating this memory helps you feel her presence and brings happy thoughts to mind."

As I sat listening to him, I fell in love with him even more than ever before. I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked deeply into his eyes.

"Carlos, you don't know how happy you have made me, I truly don't deserve you." He had a serious look on his face. "No Babe, I'm the one who doesn't deserve you but know that I will do everything in my power to make you happy."

"I know you will Batman and I love you even more for that. Thank you so much for all this tonight and our trip I love you more and more every day, more than I ever thought possible."

Watching the love of my life enjoying himself not only making S'mores but also eating them as well made my heart skip a few beats with joy. I loved seeing this side of my man of mystery who has lived a dark life for so many years.

Amanda and Kinsey were dancing and Manny and Sade joined in. Carlos and Lenny were smoking cigars, I grabbed Marylou's hand "come on Mare, let's dance."

Marylou and I went back in time to when we were little girls dancing on the sand and playing in the water, we were twirling in circles, heads thrown back and giggling, I was 11 again and at that moment it was the best feeling. I think we forgot that anyone else was around, dancing and singing to our own songs, it felt like we were in our own world.

Carlos POV

Lenny and I were smoking cigars when Stephanie and Marylou got up to dance, the sight before me was the sweetest I have seen in a long time. Seeing my woman holding hands with her best friend and dancing around in circles made me smile. Her face told the story of innocence and nostalgia. I watched her transform into that 11-year-old girl with thoughts running through my mind. What was she like, was she a happy little girl, did she think about what Morelli did to her at such an early age? I wish Stephanie and I had known each other back then, I wish that I could have protected her from Morelli when she was six and again at 16. How I wish I were there for her when he left without a word except for what he wrote all over the walls in town. Did she shed tears over the humiliation, who protected her from the embarrassment she no doubt felt; was her best friend her only source of support back then? We know her mother was not; her father at the time had no clue. I could not help but feel an ache in my heart for what she experienced. Her face writes a story of a time so long ago, the hurts, the bumps; the bruises that are locked away in a box in the back of her mind.

Stephanie Michelle, you are a far far better person than I can ever be. You never hate, no matter what has happened you have overcome and you are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I promise to make your life nothing but happiness. No one will ever hurt you again I promise you that.

I could not help watching the little girl in Stephanie dance and giggle bringing a smile to my face. I am thankful that Marylou has been a constant presence in Steph's' life. My thoughts were interrupted when Lenny shared memories and ending with his final statement.

"They have been best friends their entire life, when one hurts so does the other. The bond they have is unbreakable; they have secrets from when they were little girls until now that they will never share, no matter how big or small, those secrets will go to their graves with them. You and I will never understand the bond they have. It's a beautiful friendship which you and I are truly blessed to witness."

Everything Lenny said made sense, "Len, I am envious that you've been able to be a part of their friendship for so many years." He looked at me and understood. I was brought out of my thoughts when Stephanie sat down next to me and kissed me. "A penny for your thoughts Batman" I simply kissed her back.

"Carlos, you have made this a day I will never forget."

"I aim to please Babe." He told her smirking. "Oh and you do please, trust me on that my sexy Cuban." She cooed.

I was starting to get a little tired. I told everyone I was going to go inside and sleep since we all had to wake up early in the morning for our day on the boat. Carlos helped me up and walked me inside the house. I thanked the staff for all the work they put into the S'mores party and Batman whisked me away to our bedroom with thoughts of pleasure throughout the remainder of the evening, Yeah Baby a perfect way to end the day.

Waking up to sweet soft kisses and coffee is much better than any alarm clock I've ever had. Going to bed with wet hair is never a good thing; I didn't even have to look in a mirror. Between wet hair and our bedroom activities, my hair was a disaster of epic proportions.

We took a quick shower; I braided my hair and put on a bathing suit, a strapless one piece in purple, lilac, and silver. After losing so much weight, gaining it back was fun and working out gave me a nice figure. It was fun to shop for bathing suits with my new body. I think Carlos enjoys my swimsuit collection also. He gave me a look over walking around me.

"Carlos what are you doing? You look like you're shopping for cattle." I said laughing.

"Absolutely not Babe just making sure that only the appropriate body parts are exposed, anything else is for my eyes only." He growled.

I stood with my hands on my hips and snarled, "Do I pass inspection?"

"Always Babe, always." I put on my cover up and took his hand leading him out the door.

"Come on Inspector Clouseau, we have a busy day ahead of us." We met up with Amanda and Kinsey as they were walking out of their room. Breakfast was setup outside with Manny, Marylou and Lenny already seated at the table, I didn't see Sade and I was just about to ask about her when I heard, "I'm sorry to be late."

We sat down to omelets, fruit, toast and delicious coffee. I am going to have to take a few packages of this coffee with me when we leave then I will have Olivia ship some to me when I run out. When everyone was finished with breakfast, we were ready to leave for the marina.

There were two vehicles waiting for us. Jackson and Daniel finished loading up our supplies for the day in one of the cars, we got in and drove to start a beautiful day on a boat. I was looking forward to a day out on the water. The marina was nice, all the boats and yachts lined up, various shapes and sizes, and I didn't know what type of boat we would have for the day.

Jackson and Daniel unloaded the supplies walking towards the boats I was shocked when they climbed into a beautiful luxury boat, a very big boat. I mean big, I certainly wasn't expecting a rowboat but I did not imagine this either. I understand the need for supplies.

"Is this our boat for the day?" I asked with surprise.

"Yes it is ma'am" Kinsey replied with a smile. I stood mouth open, not much came out except "seriously?"

The supplies had been unloaded from the vehicles and stowed away on the boat. Jackson and Daniel walked towards us saying to enjoy our day and we began walking to our boat when I started feeling weird, the closer we got to the boat the stronger my Spidey senses were growing. I didn't like it.

I stood still.

"Babe,"

I looked straight ahead.

"Carlos something is off, we need to turn back." Lenny and Marylou were ahead of us. I screamed for them to stop and turn back. Manny ran toward them pulling them back.

"We need to turn back now, everyone run," I shouted, we turned and ran back towards the parking lot. Within minutes of reaching the end of the dock, a loud boom could be heard and the boat was a ball of fire. We were all thrown to the ground from the explosion with the men covering us with their bodies to shield us from the flying debris.

Manny, Daniel, and Jackson ran to the boat while Kinsey, Lenny, and Carlos formed a circle around us girls. People ran towards us to make sure we were ok. Ranger and Kinsey took control of the situation telling the bystanders to leave Manny ran back to us telling us to get in the car. Manny turned to Lenny "Len you know how to use a gun?" Hubs was not a happy camper. "Yeah man I do" Lenny replied, and then Manny gave Lenny a gun and ordered Lenny and Daniel to stand guard.

"Shoot anyone that looks suspicious or questionable" Manny barked as he and Jackson joined Ranger and Kinsey. Its funny how I go from Carlos to Ranger based on the situation and Carlos was now in Ranger mode.

"Stephanie dear, do you have ESP or something, how did you know?" Sade asked with a shaky voice.

"I don't know quite what it is, Ranger and the guys all call it Spidey senses, and I've learned not to ignore it." Marylou was sitting next to me she hugged me thanking me for warning her and Lenny. We sat stunned and silent in the car.

As I was watching the men, I could not help but wonder why Daniel and Jackson took on an entirely different demeanor. There is something more to them other than household staff, and damn it I was going to find out what they are hiding.

Daniel and Lenny were still standing guard while Marylou was staring at her husband.

"Look at my man out there; he's so damn sexy with that gun standing guard." Marylou said with a look of pride in her eyes. We saw police cars pull into the Marina and drove as close to us as they could. They spoke to the men and about forty-five minutes later, we were driving to the police station to give them our statements and then told we could leave.

On our way back to the house, Ranger and Manny were in badass mode and both were pissed off. We all walked inside the house relieved to be home and safe. Manny announced they were going to have a brief meeting with Trenton, Carlos, Manny, Kinsey and Jackson had the meeting in the office.

Amanda, Marylou, and Sade wanted to go the beach, when the men finished their meeting Carlos said they were heading back to the police station, I told Carlos the girls were going to the beach and asked if I could go to the station with them. I was told no.

"Len, you and Albert shadow the women, Lenny you're comfortable with the gun right?" Manny was in total leadership role.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, no worries." Lenny replied.

"Stephanie, please do not go out on your own ok? If you need to go to the beach go now or inform Henry and he'll take care of things," Carlos ordered.

"Carlos, I'll be in the house or pool. I have things to take care of. I promise I won't venture out on my own." I assured him as he kissed me and left. I didn't know how long Carlos and the rest of the men would be gone; Lenny and Albert took the girls to the beach. I waited a few minutes and used the excuse I was hungry to head to the kitchen.

Helena put a cup of coffee and a plate of various pastries in front of me. I sat enjoying my coffee and chocolate filled croissant at the breakfast counter looking at Helena and Henry. They suddenly made themselves busy. I asked Helena to call the rest of the staff to join us. Olivia, Patricia, and Caroline came in and stood with the others.

I decided to use a Ranger stare down to get them to talk. If they were real household staff, they would start getting nervous but my guess is that the staff would be cool and calm. Henry and the women stood opposite me and waited for me to speak. I waited for them to start, my plan was not working, and obviously, I needed training on this technique because I was the one fidgeting. Definitely not what I had planned, damn it.

"OK Henry, spill the beans," I ordered but they didn't even flinch.

"Ms. Plum what do you mean, is something bothering you?" Henry answered nonchalantly. "No Henry I'm not upset about anything. I am on an information gathering mission and I thought I would start with you first." My interrogation abilities sucked I have to admit.

"What type of information are you searching for?" Helena asked. Our stare down was 5-1 and I was losing. Yeah I am definitely getting training in the art of silent interrogation.

"You are not the typical household staff, I know there is more to all of you than you are letting on." Olivia looked at Helena, then they looked at Henry, Olivia was smiling.

"I told you all Stephanie would figure it out, she's too smart," Olivia said relieved. They continued looking at each other in silence.

"Come clean, I'll keep it to myself I promise." I assured them.

"Stephanie, you are correct we are not the average household staff, yes we manage the house and property, but there is more to us." Henry looked a little unsure as he answered me. I looked at Henry and the rest of the staff. I got up and took out additional coffee cups pouring everyone coffee and I sat at the kitchen table telling the staff to join me.

"I think most, if not all of you are former military and you were handpicked by Ranger, am I correct?" Henry nodded yes while Olivia was smiling.

"Please explain it to me, everything and for heaven's sake stop calling me Ms. Plum, Stephanie is perfectly fine" I rattled.

"Stephanie you have incredible intuition and you are right we all are former military." Henry stopped for a second deciding whether he should continue or not. I sat patiently ready for any information I could get.

"Ranger and Kinsey first came to Barbados after one of their missions. When Helena and I met them they were both broken emotionally and we took them under our wings as friends to help them. I have been on missions so I knew exactly what they were going through." Henry hesitated again and I told him to continue.

"Ranger bought a house and would use it to decompress, neither he nor Kinsey had any clue at first who or what we were. We helped them rebuild themselves. Ranger told us he wanted to hire Helena and me to manage the house. We knew he would do a search on us so we had to come clean and tell him who we were."

My thought was that at this point of the story, Ranger already knew who and what they were, nothing slips by him. I nodded for Henry to continue.

"I personally think that Ranger already had a pretty good idea about us but was waiting for us to open up to him. After about two years and many missions later, Kinsey and Ranger wanted to buy a bigger house as a retreat for others to use when coming off a mission." Henry looked at me and I knew he was waiting for some kind of clarification from me.

"Henry, I know nothing about any of Rangers' missions, only the non secure ones which aren't many. I don't want you to share any of those details, but please go on." They looked relieved and Patricia sighed in relief.

"Ranger asked us to help search for property and we found this Villa, the previous owner died and his kids wanted to unload it and take the money. Their stupidity was Ranger and Kinsey's gain, this property sits on a large parcel of land. Ranger gave us the original house that is next to this lot and also attached are three houses on this property. All the staff lives on site."

I poured more coffee and sat patiently listening to what Henry was saying.

"Jackson and Caroline are both Navy Seals and are now retired and Olivia was an MP with the National Guard. Daniel was a Major with Special Forces, Daniel and Lester know each other well. Albert was a Captain in the Rangers and a member of the Swat team. Patricia was logistics in the Marines. Helena was a medic; she and Bobby go way back. Helena still practices as a nurse when no one is visiting the house. With the exception of Patricia and Caroline, we have all served on missions."

I was amazed at the staff and how perfectly well they fit in Rangers plans; I was patiently waiting for more.

"Ranger and Kinsey made sure that this house was available for those returning from a dark mission, after they leave their location they debrief in DC and Ranger makes the arrangements to transport the team here for at least four weeks or as long as needed. When they come here, they think we are household staff, with the exception of Helena and I, Ranger handpicked everyone."

Henry paused as he smiled at me.

"We worked very well together and everyone fell in love, got married and Ranger gifted us with the houses."

"Henry, what is your background in all of this?" I asked because he didn't mention it.

"I retired as a Major from Special Forces, I specialized in Psy Ops and decided I wanted to work in the psychological field and became a counselor. We all have our own way to help the individuals or teams coming here to decompress."

I was not surprised at his answer he has therapist mannerisms.

"The house is monitored, there is a small office that looks like a guest house, it serves as a mini Rangeman, and Ranger spared no expense. This and the other homes are all equipped to handle a threat. We all appreciate Ranger and Kinsey's generosity. Ranger takes care of us well and in turn we take care of him."

I couldn't help but smile, it's just like Ranger to take care of loyal friends, and I again urged Henry to continue.

"Ranger was a hard case, he was very dark, emotionally torn, and tight as a drum, and nothing would take that darkness away. He would be so broken from not knowing if he would come out alive. Then a few years ago, he came to decompress and we noticed a change, he had softened a little."

My heart ached when Henry explained how dark and broken Ranger was and I wished that I had been here to help him through it or just hold him.

"After one mission Ranger, Kinsey, Manny, and Lester came out here to decompress; they were playing cards and drinking. They kept talking about the Bombshell Bounty Hunter, the woman Ranger had fallen for. They played twenty questions, that's the only way to get Ranger to talk, well that and Tequila."

I laughed at his statement because he was so accurate and Henry laughed with me as he continued.

"We knew by question ten Ranger was hooked and had fallen for this Bombshell, the men wouldn't let up on Ranger, the more tequila, the more he talked. So in some form or other, we all go back a long way. Kinsey never hid his feelings about Amanda, but as stubborn as Ranger is, we knew he would hide his feelings. We had no idea you were equally stubborn. Sorry Stephanie."

I laughed and told him it was OK.

"When we heard about all the stalker stories, kidnappings, car bombs and apartment bombings, in addition to Julies kidnapping. Someone trying to ruin the business, how you helped him with those and cleared him from murder charges by getting involved with some mob guy, we knew Ranger had met his match."

Wow, they really did know everything that had taken place.

"When Ranger told Helena and me of his plans regarding this trip, he said to be prepared for mishaps. Ranger also shared with us your cancer scare and that you survived. We knew we had to make this trip special for you."

I had tears falling listening intently; Helena took my hand and looked at me.

"Stephanie, I hope you understand our cover up. As far as everyone else is concerned we are household staff, only Trenton knows we are Rangeman employees," I smiled at Helena.

"I won't share any of this with anyone. Thank you all for having our backs, oh and by the way all the stories about me are true, Oh Lester may embellish a little but all true. I do feel 100% better knowing we are safe." I tried to reassure them that I was glad they had opened up to me.

"Oh Stephanie, this house is as safe as Trenton" Caroline stated.

"You've been to Trenton?" I asked surprised.

"Yes Stephanie, for training. Working surveillance and apprehensions with the guys" Henry added.

"As far as the stories regarding your mishaps, we've been around to witness them." Helena said with a smile.

Henry took my hands in his and looked at me with seriousness.

"Stephanie, we were called to help with the incident surrounding Kinsey and Amanda's wedding, Ranger insisted we familiarize ourselves with you and all that surrounds you. We knew you were important to Ranger."

I was still curious and had a few more questions to ask "Why was it important for you to know what trouble I always get into?"

Caroline and Olivia looked at Henry, Olivia answered for them.

"He wanted us to be familiar with you in case of any major threats, Ranger would send you here. We all know how you hate being under lock-down, so Ranger felt you'd handle it better in Barbados."

"Yeah, I don't handle lockdown well at all." I truthfully told her. They all laughed, "Yeah we know."

Marylou came to the kitchen, "Steph, what are you doing?"

"Nothing Mare, just talking about Thanksgiving, I'll be with you soon." Marylou left and I sat for a minute.

"I want to thank you all for sharing this with me and as I said earlier, I promise it will stay with me. Oh by the way do we have tequila?"

They all laughed and Henry replied, "Oh no, it's not allowed in the house."

"Let me guess, whoever brings it in the house gets shipped to a 'Stan' country right?" I asked laughing.

"Yep you got it, Helena and Olivia replied laughing. I hugged them all and walked out to join Marylou.

Helena's POV

She is a very smart intuitive woman. After hearing the stories, we expected someone who was clueless. She is not at all, she is 100% adorable, beautiful inside and out and a loving person. When you meet her and she lets you in, you can't help but protect her.

Ranger did well with Stephanie; she is totally into him and loves him for himself and not all of this. She makes him happy; he is not the same broken man we met those years ago.

Stephanie is exactly who and what Ranger needs in his life.

Stephanie's POV

I went in search of the rest of the group. Sade was lying in the hammock. Marylou and Lenny were on the beach, I stood watching them. I am so thankful that Carlos arranged for them to join us. It makes my heart happy seeing them in this setting. I lay on the lounger next to Amanda.

Patricia brought out some snacks and my favorite sangria. Sade climbed out of the hammock and took a lounger.

"Hey Stephanie, have you thought about what type of wedding you want?" Amanda asked sipping her drink.

"No, I wanted to get married here but Carlos wants to have a ceremony and reception. I know I don't want a VFW hall wedding that's for sure." I didn't even have to think hard about that decision.

"Listen, when we get home from this trip, I'll set up a meeting with Harry, he's the wedding coordinator I hired to take care of ours. Even though we skipped, he did a fantastic job."

"Amanda, you planned a wedding and then eloped?" Sade asked with curiosity.

"Yes unfortunately one of Kinsey and Ranger's old Army buddies suffered from P.T.S.D. and hurt a lot of people. On more than one occasion he almost killed Steph. After it was all over, Kinsey and I decided to elope. I know it wasn't the right thing to do but it was the best for us at the time."

We were relaxing and chatting. I have already spoken to Marylou and I wanted to have Amanda be a part of the wedding also. I know that Kinsey would be a groomsman.

"Amanda, would you agree to be a part of my wedding?" I asked hoping she would say yes.

"Stephanie, yes, I would love to share your special day."

"Great, I don't want to have a huge bridal party; Mare is my matron of honor. Sade, I know this is too much to ask, you can decline if you like. Would you sing at the wedding, a song at the ceremony and a couple at the reception? Honestly if you don't want to, feel free to say no. I don't…." she interrupted me.

"Stephanie, my dear, I would love to sing and celebrate with you and Carlos. It would be my pleasure."

"Thank you, I can't wait to tell Carlos." Marylou and Lenny joined us and I wanted the girls' point of view on something. "Hey ladies, I need your help."

Suddenly Lenny tugged at his shorts, pulling the waist away from his stomach and looked down his shorts. "Uh, um, Steph, I just checked, yep still have my guy parts, they didn't get eaten by an unknown fish."

We all started laughing as Lenny climbed onto the hammock.

"Lenny that my friend was the funniest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth in all the years I've known you." I said in the midst of my laughter. I was still laughing when I directed my attention to the girls.

"I want a small bridal party. Mare will be my Matron of Honor, Amanda my Bridesmaid and Julie will be Jr. Bridesmaid, with one flower girl, that's it."

"Yeah so what's the problem?" Lenny replied in a high-pitched voice. Who was this man?

"Lenny, shut up this doesn't concern you." Marylou scolded her husband who was cracking himself up. I was still laughing when I explained the problem.

"Well here's the dilemma. I know Lula will expect to be a bridesmaid and I don't want to hurt her feelings. I don't know what to do." I explained sadly.

"She can park cars," Lenny added again cracking himself up.

"Lenny, I swear if you don't stop, you'll be sleeping in one of the other rooms for the rest of the trip." Marylou sounded like she was punishing one of her boys. Sade was hysterical, I could not stop laughing and Amanda was right with me laughing but Marylou was fuming a little.

Amanda managed to compose herself, "what about having her as a hostess." I looked at her confused.

"Hostess, what would a hostess do?"

"Yeah, there are plenty of things she can do." Amanda replied excitedly, Marylou and Sade agreed with Amanda.

"I still think parking cars is perfect for her," Lenny said with an OH SHIT look on his face as Marylou got up and turned the hammock upside down causing him to fall out.

"Just because you played body guard today, I can still whoop your ass." Marylou told her husband sternly. The rest of us were dying laughing I have never seen Lenny be this goofy. Then the men walked in, Lenny got up running to them hugging Carlos.

"Oh thank God you're back, they're talking wedding things and don't want to listen to my suggestions." I swear I have never seen Lenny this funny. I was laughing as he was cracking himself up.

"Please take him away from here. I swear Lenny if you say one more thing about Lula parking cars, you will sleep alone." Marylou ordered.

"Lula parking cars, Oh I have to hear this" Carlos said smiling.

"Come on, let's go have a few beers and I'll tell you all about it." Lenny told the guys. Carlos kissed me and walked off to join the others. I could not stop laughing and soon all four of us were laughing at Lenny's antics.

"I don't know what came over him," Marylou said in hysterics as her and l lay back down on the lounger.

"Anyway Steph, if you like the idea of a hostess, we can talk to Harry he can provide ideas and she will feel included." Amanda finished the subject that she had previously started before Lenny took over. My sides hurt from laughing.

"Amanda, that sounds great." I answered and got up to go look for Carlos to find out what happened during their second visit to the police station. I walked into the game room as Carlos was taking his turn at pool. I waited until he cleared the table winning the game.

"Hi Babe, did you ladies plan the wedding and solve the world's problems?"

I laughed; no doubt, Lenny got a little carried away with his version of the story. "Yep, all is well in the world" I answered.

"Honey, do you have a few minutes?" I asked Carlos.

"As many minutes as you need Babe." He replied with one of his famous smiles.

"How did it go at the station, do they have any ideas?"

"No nothing yet Babe, we should find out in a few days. In the meantime, let's enjoy the remainder of the trip. Tell me about the plans you made for the wedding."

"We didn't really make any plans, other than asking Marylou and Amanda to be a part of the wedding party and I asked Sade if she would sing and they all said yes. Amanda will set up a meeting with her wedding coordinator Harry to help with our wedding. Oh and Lenny thinks Lula should park cars at the wedding."

"Babe, I like the idea."

I don't know why they were picking on Lula. "Stop it Carlos, that's not nice."

"Steph, since our plans for the day were cut short, we decided to go out to dinner and dancing, nothing fancy, just casual, are you up for that?"

"Yeah, that sounds good, after what happened today, we need to have a fun night" I answered.

Carlos said he was going tell the staff not to worry about dinner and he headed to the kitchen. I was going to upstairs when I realized I forgot to ask how casual, I ran back to the kitchen where Carlos and Manny were talking to the entire staff.

When I walked in, I saw Jackson motion for everyone to change the subject, Henry turned to look at me and smiled. "It's ok she knows." Jackson asked how I found out.

"Stephanie has what we call Spidey sense, when she gets something in her mind; she does not stop until she has answers." Carlos answered

"She's a smart one," Henry added to what Carlos said.

I tapped my finger on my head "there's no grass growing up here." I laughed then asked the question that I came in to ask and went upstairs to get ready.

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A/N: It has been a while, I've missed this baby, between writers block and losing about 4 chapters, I was in quandary. Thank you to those who have been asking about this story, I appreciate it.

To the readers, if I could share the before and after, I probably would lose you, Susan Peters you do such an amazing job turning my rambling into something worth reading. I really appreciate you being on my team. I cannot wait until we get the chance to meet.

So who do you think is behind the boat bombing? Did you think that there was something more to the household staff?