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Disclaimer: I don't own the usual characters.
Enjoy!
Chapter 29
The next couple months go by in a blur as Stephanie and I fall into a nice pattern. We go to work each day and eat dinner together almost every night. We save Saturday night for date night. If I'm home early enough, we walk Rex through the neighborhood together. We work on the wedding details slowly, we already feel the commitment we have for each other. Friday nights, we usually spend time with our friends separately so we still have our space. We are one, but we don't have to be together twenty-four seven. I enjoy the time with the guys more than I used to. Then seeing Stephanie later makes it all the better. I'm happy I get to make her my wife in front of our friends and family. I wake up before her most mornings and take Rex for a jog. Rex leads a nice life, comfy furniture and two walks a day. We have a nice life, and I never would have imagined this for myself. I never thought I deserved a life like this let alone the angel in my bed.
We are getting married today. I know she's excited even though what we have planned is small. I feel like the luckiest man alive. After my jog with Rex, I head inside and take a shower. I grab a cup of coffee and a Greek yogurt with granola before I head over to Bobby's. I slept in the guestroom last night because Steph doesn't want to break the tradition. Bobby has my suit ready and Mercedes will head over to see Steph along with Mary Lou, Lula, and Connie. My parents are meeting up with the Plums, and they'll drive to the church together. We decided on the church Steph grew up going to because it was one of the only locations free and because of the sentiment. We're not very religious, but the church is beautiful. I get ready in no time. Bobby looks good in his suit, and Tank arrives a little later. He's fully dressed and ready. I grin at my best man. Bobby, Lester, and Hector are my other groomsmen. Stephanie chose Mercedes to be her maid of honor with Lula, Connie, and Valerie as her bridesmaids. Both Angie and Mary Alice will be the flower girls. My nephew Josue will be the ring bearer with my oldest sister Celia, carrying him. We wanted to incorporate as much of our families as possible.
"I'm getting married today!" I exclaim nervously as well as with excitement. I'm only nervous about walking down the aisle with all eyes on me. I hope I don't trip! Thankfully my Daddy will be walking me down the aisle, so I'll have him to steady me. Noon can't get here soon enough. I'm walking down the aisle so by the time I reach Carlos it will be twelve pm exactly. I'm sure it will be a little off, but I'm not very picky. Mercedes looks gorgeous as my maid of honor in her navy blue dress. The rest of my bridesmaids are wearing a little lighter blue color and they all look great. I let them pick the styles they wanted so it would make them look the best. Mary Alice and Angie are both wearing white dresses with bows in their hair. Celia, Carlos' sister, comes in with Josue, our ring bearer.
"Oh Stephanie, you look gorgeous," she gushes with a beautiful smile. The whole Manoso clan are gorgeous. I'll soon be a part of his family. Carmen, his mother comes in next, and she gushes over me as well. His whole family has loved me since they found out I saved Carlos' life."Before I know it, my dad is walking me down the aisle. I can see the tears in his eyes, but he doesn't let them fall. As soon as he's in view, my eyes lock with Carlos. We never waver our gazes until I stop and my dad places my hands in his. He kisses me on the head and takes his seat next to my mom, who is bawling. I see Carlos' mother has tears in her eyes as well. I don't know time as I look into Carlos' eyes. I barely even hear the minister as he speaks. We say our vows before his lips meet mine in a passionate kiss. I hear some catcalling going on, mostly from Lester, which makes Carlos pull back.
"I know pronounce, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Ricardo Carlos MaƱoso," Father Abrams says with a smile.
We head out of the church hand in hand. Our honeymoon was fantastic. We spent two weeks secluded in a villa in Cabo. I spent every day showing Stephanie how much I love and worship her. Neither of us were ready to leave, but we had real life to get back to. Stephanie decided to take the Monday off, but I'm going in. I take Rex on our usual route before grabbing something for breakfast and heading to work. We have a meeting at ten, and I'm not really looking forward to it. Jeanne Ellen Burrows, an old fuck buddy, will be there. She wants to discuss her distraction work and possibly becoming an employee at RangeMan. I'm thinking no way in hell will she become an employee here, but we have to hear her out and then the core team needs to discuss. I head to my office first so I can get a little bit of paperwork done before the meeting. At nine forty-five, I grab my notebook and head to the conference room. I put my phone on silent and place it face down on the table. Tank, Lester, Bobby, and Hector enter a couple minutes later. Jeanne Ellen swings in three minutes late, already a strike against her. We don't like tardiness here at RangeMan. She gives me a seductive smile when she walks in. I guess she hadn't heard about my marriage. I'll have to inform her. We let her tell us why we should hire her. She rambles on about being such a great bounty hunter, great at distractions because of her looks, and her skills. She said the last bit with a wink in my direction. None of my men or I appreciated that. The guys are very protective of Stephanie, and they know of my past with Jeanne Ellen. They know I wouldn't do anything, but they also know Jeanne. Before we can finish up, a code black is called. We all rush to our feet, except for Jeanne, and head to the control room. A code black means three different client alarms have gone off. The men know how to react, but I watch none the less.
Ugh, the real world. I try my hardest to sleep in and ignore the streaming sunlight into the room. The last two weeks have been perfect. Only Carlos and I to keep each other company. We did so many fun things and showed how much we loved each other. It was wonderful. I was sad when he got up for work this morning, but I'm glad I have a day to myself to regroup. I get up around 8:30 and sit around drinking coffee and enjoying my breakfast. My phone starts ringing and I see it's a blocked number. Curious, I answer.
"Stephanie Plum?" a voice asks. Sounds military.
"Speaking. Who's calling?" I respond, wondering what this phone call will entail.
"My name is Sergeant Adams, I wanted to speak with you about you coming back for another deployment. We need good army nurses like you in the field," he explains with his authoritative voice. His voice makes it hard to say no, but I think about Carlos. I'd have to talk it over with him of course.
"Do you have any more details? When would I be deployed? For how long?" I question. Part of me wants to go back, but part of me doesn't want to leave.
"Not sure when you'd be leaving ma'am, but the mission is about six months long. We want to go back over and help the Iraqis, Iranians, and such after they were destroyed by their own bombs," he states, only being a little helpful. I guess this guy didn't know that our great country actually blew those bombs. That is definitely something they'd want to keep under wraps.
"I need to talk it over with my husband," I reply, "I can call you back with my answer in a couple of days." He agrees politely and gives me his contact information. I wonder if Bobby or Mercedes have gotten contacted as well. I'll call them after I talk to Carlos. I quickly dial his number.
"Captain," I say into the phone, but no one responds. Weird. "Hello?"
"Carlos Mansoso's phone, he's currently unavailable," a playful female voice purrs into the phone. I feel the blood drain from my face.
"And why isn't he available?" I question, my hands shaking. I'm scared of her answer and I can feel my heartbreaking.
"He's busy...doing me," the voice replies before she ends the call. The phone drops from my hand and tears form in my eyes. I thought we were happy. I thought he only wanted me. I curl into a ball, my arms around my stomach. I'm trying to stop the hurt from the gaping hole I feel. How could he do this to me? To us? We've been married less than three weeks. Anger starts to build where hurt was. I'm beyond pissed. How dare he break his vows.
I grab my keys and head to RangeMan. I'm fuming by the time I get there. I take the stairs instead of the elevator. I stop by the control room to see Carlos standing there. His eyes soften when he sees me.
"Babe," he says with a smile. I feel disgusted. How could he look at me like that when he was just with another woman.
"Don't Babe me. I just stopped by to tell you I'm going to be deployed again so you'll have plenty of time with your other woman," I say angrily before turning and running out the door. I bump into a woman coming off the elevator. She's fixing her lipstick. My eyes widen. She's hot. Curly blonde hair, long legs, and clothes that stick to her like glue. She gives me a smirk. I don't respond and flee downstairs. I don't let the tears fall until I'm in the car, on my way to the beach. I can't stop the big racking sobs that rip through my chest. The one person I thought I could always count on, betrayed me with some blonde bimbo. Tears stream down my face, and my wedding ring catches my eye. Looking at it only makes me more upset. I never thought Carlos was the type of man to cheat. I get to Point Pleasant and park about a mile away from where I go to sit. If the guys come looking for me, then they'll have to look a while before they find me. I find a spot and sink into the sand. I feel numb. Tears are still streaming down my face. I can't believe this.
