Janet Evanovich owns most of these characters. I'm just borrowing them.

Time Out

Ch29

Since the excitement was over, Lester and Hector left the next day. I was sad to see them go, but knew the Trenton office was running shorthanded with them gone. They had dismantled all the extra equipment so I was left with my original security system. Ranger and I took them down to St. Louis to the airport and then went out for a nice dinner and to the movies afterwards. Ranger reserved us a room in a very nice hotel near the Arch. We visited the Arch the next morning and then returned to Jacksonville in the afternoon and walked into a disaster zone.

Steve and his guys had gutted the kitchen that morning and there was dust and debris coating the entire downstairs. The noise was deafening. I saw Ranger's eyes narrow and knew he wouldn't be able to maintain his calm, cool zone for long.

"How about Chicago?" I impulsively suggested.

Ranger blinked and looked at me. "Babe?"

"I've never been to Chicago. It's only about four hours away. Let's drive up there for a few days and see some sights. My road trip plan may have gone out the window, but I'd still like to visit some new places if I get the chance. You can be my travel buddy for this little trip instead of Rex." I finished with a grin.

"Babe, I'll be your travel buddy anytime. I've been to Chicago, but just for business. I think there's supposed to be some good museums there. How long do you need to get ready?"

An hour later, we were on the road. Steve would be watching Rex while we were away. He actually thanked us for leaving. He had been scrambling to get things arranged so that he could turn the water back on at the end of the day. With us gone, he could leave the water turned off for the whole house. He promised to have the worst of the mess cleaned up before we got back.

"Is it always that bad, Babe?" Ranger asked after we got on the road.

"Pretty much, yes. I told Steve when he and his guys started that I refused to move out of the house. Whatever they did, at the end of the day I had to have hot water, a functioning toilet, and a reasonably clean bedroom. I know it's been harder for them to try to accomodate me and I'm sure they're thrilled we're out of the house.

Soon we were zipping around Springfield and merging onto I-55. With our return from St. Louis this afternoon and now our trip to Chicago, this was turning into a long day. Ranger and I chatted for awhile before I passed out. We made a stop in Bloomington for gas, and I reached out my hand for the keys. We stared at each other for a moment, with me silently telling him that he'd done all the driving so far that day and now it was my turn, before he handed them over. I think that was another shared ESP moment, because I'm pretty sure he silently told me that I could have my way this time.

After filling the gas tank and stocking up on snacks, we were back on the road. Ranger declined to take a nap, but at least he could relax from all the driving. While I was busy packing my bags earlier, Ranger made us reservations at the Hilton on South Michigan Avenue because it overlooked the lake and appeared to be close to several of the museums. By the time we made it to the hotel, I was beat. We had gotten mildly lost and I could tell Ranger was itching to take over the wheel. It wasn't my fault. He said he knew how to get there so I followed his directions and then he refused to turn on the GPS unit because he didn't like the annoying little voice. We didn't exactly argue, but it was a tiny bit tense for a short time.

Once we reached our room, I was almost regretting suggesting this trip. I quickly did my thing in the bathroom and crawled into the king size bed. A few minutes later, Ranger slipped in behind me. We laid there quietly for a while, neither of us sleeping. I rolled over and told him, "I'm sorry-" at the same time he said, "Babe-"

I leaned over to kiss him softly on the mouth. He deepened the kiss and soon our tongues were dueling urgently. My clothes disappeared and Ranger started kissing his way down my body. Quickly, the tension changed between us and Ranger applied his skills to have us relaxing into a pile of goo in the bed. "I love you, Babe." he whispered in my hair as I drifted off to sleep.

"Love you too, Batman." I murmurred.

/

I woke to the feeling of Ranger's magic mouth and fingers doing interesting things. He stopped and I whimpered. "Wake up, Babe. We have things to do."

"If I wake up, will you start doing what you were doing again?" I mumbled into my pillow.

"I think I can handle that," he whispered against my breast right before he rolled me over and started tickling me. I shrieked and tried to wiggle away. "Are you awake yet? I want an attentive audience for this."

"I'm awake! I'm awake! And now you have to let me up. Right now. I'll be right back," I promised as I jumped out of bed and sprinted to the bathroom. After finishing my business, I washed my hands and brushed my teeth. I dashed back into the bedroom and took a flying leap at the bed. I landed with a hard bounce next to Ranger. "Okay, now you may continue." I said with a grin. Ranger dropped a kiss on my nose before continuing south.

A while later we were showered and ready for a day of sightseeing. We indulged in room service breakfast while we planned the day. One step outside had me insisting we go back upstairs to the room for more clothes. Lake Michigan was beautiful and being right downtown was nice, but the wind whipping off the lake and through the tall buildings was absolutely frigid. The second time we stepped outside, I no longer looked cute, but I was much warmer.

We started the day at the Field Museum. It was an easy but freezing walk from the hotel. Several hours later, we decided to move on. I don't think it's possible to visit that museum and see and appreciate all it has to offer. Ranger took my picture in front of Sue, the giant T. Rex skeleton in the entry hall, before we headed back out into the cold. We decided to check out Adler Planetarium next. By the time we finished there, the day was done and the sights were closing. Over the next three days we visited Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institute, Museum of Science and Industry, Navy Pier, and I did a lot of window shopping. Our evenings were spent sampling the wide variety of restaurants in the area. I called Steve the day before we left Chicago and he assured me my house would be habitable by the time we returned.

/

We were back in Jacksonville by mid-afternoon. Steve kept his word and the house was a little cleaner and much quieter than when we left. I was still missing a kitchen, but the new tile had been laid and the lighting fixtures were up. Steve had set my microwave and coffeepot on a little table in the front hallway. We'd have to use water from the sink in the original bathroom. The old fridge was plugged in in the mudroom at the back of the house. It wasn't ideal, but definitely workable.

I was impressed that Ranger had ignored the lure of work for the past few days while we were in Chicago. Within an hour of getting back to Jacksonville, he was entrenched in the study with his laptop. Since the demolition was done, I figured it'd be safe to do some cleaning and have it stay clean for a few days. I changed into grubby clothes and got out my cleaning gear to tackle the fine layer of dust that coated everything downstairs. For dinner, Ranger fixed himself a salad and I nuked a frozen dinner. After we cleaned up the remains of our meal as best as possible, Ranger took my hand and led me into the living room.

"Stephanie," he started once we were seated on the sofa. "I enjoy being here with you, but I also really need to get back to Trenton. There's only so much I can do by laptop. Tank has been running things for approaching a year now and he's reaching his limit. There are also things that only I can sign off on. Now that the Jane problem has been resolved and you are safe, it's time for me to go."

I figured this was coming. Ranger is not good at being on the sidelines. Ranger needs to be actively involved in his business. He actually stayed longer than I thought he would. Despite knowing how he is, I was still breathless at the thought of him leaving. The past weeks with him have been some of the best in my life. Spending every night with him has been wonderful. I guess I was silent too long, because Ranger gently grasped my chin and turned my face towards his.

"Babe?"

"I'm okay. You stayed longer than I thought you would." My smile was a little shaky, despite my best efforts.

"Stephanie, I'm not breaking this off with you. I like what we've got going. I can come visit you or you can fly out to Trenton and stay with me. This can work."

"I know, Ranger. I've gotten used to seeing you all the time now. We can do the long distance thing. And it won't be forever. The end is in sight on the house renovation and once it's done I can put it on the market and plan my return to Trenton." We sat in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. I broke the silence, blurting out, "It's just that I love you. I mean I've loved you for a long time, but you being here with me has made me realize my feelings run even deeper than I'd thought. It'll be hard when you go, even if we fly back and forth to visit." I blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears from falling.

"Babe, don't cry. It's not that bad. You made it all those months while I was out of the country and we didn't talk once during that time. Now we'll see each other frequently."

I nodded and he leaned in to place a series of tiny kisses around my ear and along my jaw before landing on my mouth. "Let's go to bed, Steph. We'll talk more about this tomorrow." He picked me up bridal style and carried me up to the bedroom. By the time we got to the bedroom, I was ready to go into Denial Land about Ranger's departure. To loosely quote Scarlett O'Hara, "Tomorrow is another day."

/

I woke up in a much better mood. Amazing what a little sleep can do to help process feelings. Ranger's never one to sit around after making a decision. The next morning he informed me he had a flight scheduled for the following day. I was okay with that. It wasn't that I was devastated last night either, but I guess it just hit me wrong last night. We spent the rest of the day together, hanging out. Late in the day, my cell phone rang.

"Stephanie, this is Detective Wayne. I just wanted to let you know that Jane Holmes made bail and has been released."

Shit. "Is there a restraining order or anything keeping her from my house?"

"No, but she's been told to leave you and your house alone and basically verbally threatened that we'll cart her back to jail if she causes any more trouble. It may help you out that she knows the gold isn't in your house anymore."

"Eh well, I guess we can thank God for small favors. Do you really think she'll leave me alone?"

"Her husband is mortified by the whole thing. His law practice is already suffering a hit from his wife's actions. I think he'll do his best to rein her in. Her Price relatives aren't giving her any support either. They may not like that you got what they think should be their money, but they aren't willing to steep to Jane's level to do anything about it."

"That was a nice diversion, Detective, but you didn't answer the question."

"I don't know, Stephanie, what she'll do. Sorry."

After I got off the phone, I told Ranger everything the detective said. His blank face was in place, but the look in his eyes told me he wasn't happy. We decided to go out for an early dinner at Muggsy's and then make it an early night. Ranger parked in a public lot adjacent to the restaurant. I had just polished off my appetizer of fried pickles and was about to dig into my entree of pork chops when a loud boom split the air and the dishes rattled on the table. I raised my eyes to meet Ranger's and he lifted an eyebrow.

"What are the odds?" I asked.

"I wouldn't take the bet, Babe. Let's go check it out." We followed a small crowd of our fellow diners outside. The parking lot was aglow with the light of a burning car. To be more specific, the parking lot was aglow with the light of my burning car.

"Damn it!" I shrieked. "I've had that car less than a year! I bought it brand spankin' new! Arrgghh!" The wail of sirens told me that the fire trucks and police would be here any second.

Ranger wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his chin on my head. "No one was hurt Babe. Cars can be replaced." Yeah, yeah. He's said that before. It doesn't make it any less painful and annoying.

"That bitch is going down. It was Jane. You know it was Jane."

"Knowing and proving are two different things."

I whipped out my cell phone and called Detective Wayne. When he answered I tried to keep my voice even as I said, "Evil Bitch Jane just blew up my car. I want her bail revoked."

"Did you see her do it?"

"No, but who else would blow up my car in this town? I haven't pissed off anyone else here."

"Where are you? I'll be over in a few minutes."

Ranger kneaded my shoulders and neck while we waited for Detective Wayne to show up. The fire was quickly put out and the arson investigator was called in. The street cops did crowd and traffic control. Exploding cars aren't common in this town at all. The number of Looky Lou's in the area was growing rapidly as word spread about the incident.

I saw Detective Wayne shoving through the crowd of onlookers to get to the line of police tape that one of the street cops had been very enthusiastic about rolling out. Wayne shook his head as looked at the carcass of my poor dead Explorer. "You know, if I hadn't read all about you on the internet and talked to Detective Morelli, I'd never believe this. I was hoping you'd get back to Trenton before you destroyed another car. Do you have any idea what you're doing to our crime statistics, lady?"

"It wasn't my fault!"