Dedicated to everyone who decided to follow or post a review. And I can't post until Donna chimes in! I didn't plan on Ed Mosey showing up, but he stepped into Stephanie's apartment and just took over the joint. He was so fun to write about, and except for his name, all the details about his history and ring are based in fact. I really get torn when I have to write dialog for Ranger, according to canon, (which I follow loosely) he doesn't say much, but I think bigger conversations are eluded to. Proud of myself, so far this chapter follows my story outline: gold star, smiley face, underline, underline, underline!

I don't own these characters or make any money from the use of them.

End of Chap. 28

Then we heard screams coming from the living room, apparently someone had told the girls Ranger and I were going to get married,

"Ranger and Stephanie sitting in a tree,"

they were chanting as they advanced. "K, I, S, S, I, N, G"

"First comes love," they got close to us jumping up and down.

"Then comes marriage," I turned into Ranger's embrace for protection.

"Then comes Ranger with the baby carriage." And after that embarrassing line, I broke away from Ranger and turned loose with the sink sprayer causing them to run screaming from the room. Everyone erupted into laughter.

"Ridiculous!" I yelled after them.

"Crazy girls," Ranger laughed.

"What are they thinking?" I shook my head.

Then Ranger gathered me in with his hands around my abdomen, patting a circle on my midsection, he leaned over and an absentminded thought tumbled out of his mouth,

"They're thinking they want a cousin."

Chapter 29

Stephanie's Point of View

My poor apartment had looked better. I hadn't spent much time there in over a week, I had no food in the refrigerator and there was an extra layer of dust on everything. I put Rex back on the counter and Grandma's bags in the bedroom.

Ranger had insisted on following us over to carry the suitcases and now he was in the corner of the living room with his phone to his ear. Apparently he didn't wear field gear when he visited his mother. He was wearing a light gray button-up polo and fitted charcoal denim pants. In a word, hot. I thought Grandma would use the ride over to ask me all kinds of questions about the wedding and our plans and try to get me to dish on Ranger, instead, she talked on her cell the entire time, reporting the news. She'd covered at least three zip codes with her calls. Ranger was right, by tomorrow the entire Burg, heck, half of Trenton, would know about our engagement.

Val had bagged up some left-overs and a few groceries so I put them in the refrigerator then started making up the sofa for myself.

"Um, you don't hafta do that," said Grandma, pointing to the bedding.

"Well Gram, I can't really share the bed, I might bump your hip in the middle of the night." That was the nice way to say it, actually, I couldn't share the bed with Grandma cause she sounds like a diesel engine idling when she sleeps. I needed at least one door between us.

"No, I mean, I got plans this evening," she said, raising her eyebrows and nodding her head.

"With who?" I asked. I saw Ranger's head jerk toward me and he was smiling because we both knew I sounded just like Helen Plum.

"You know him," said Grandma, "he lives in the building across the street, Edwin Mosey."

Now that was interesting, I did know Mr. Mosey, and I liked Mr. Mosey, and for an older gentleman he still looked pretty good, but for Grandma's taste, he was a bit different. In his day he would have been what Grandma called 'a real looker.' He was still pretty fit and, he still had hair, and his teeth, and well, not that it mattered, he was African American.

"How do you know Mr. Mosey?" I grilled.

"Ed and my brother went to basic training together. I called him last week to ask if he could drive Ol' Blue in the parade tomorrow, and he's coming over at any moment to discuss the details. So if you're finished here," she made a little sweeping motion with her fingers, suggesting we should leave.

"But what about….."

She cut me off,

"I can get along by myself, and if I need something, I know three people in this building, I'll be fine." She was right, the seniors seemed to have their own universal distress calls, hearing someone yell "I think the cable is out," or "I'm leaving for Bingo in five," was sure to bring a few running. She made another 'shooing' motion with her hands. I crossed my arms and walked over to Ranger, who was still on the phone. He cupped his hand over the mic and raised his eyebrows.

"I guess I need a place to stay," I said to Ranger.

"We'll figure out something," he said, with an evil glean in his eye.

I went to my room to pack a bag.

Ranger's Point of View

My work was piling up. Normally, I could delegate, but it was the holiday weekend and I was trying to give my staff a little time off. I'd been on my phone most of the day. Darren Dvorak was somewhere in South Carolina by now, driving up I-95, on the very road that would lead him into Trenton. What did that mean in the whole scheme of things? Not much really. We would detain him, turn him over to the FBI and he would end up a witness in an international court, although most of his testimony would be evidentiary. After that, all images of Stephanie related to his website would be destroyed.

Costa Rica was the mother ship, Darren Dvorak was just a cog in their machine. He wasn't an integral part of their operation, he was just one of many who opened the doors into bank accounts so the Costa Rican's could march in and pillage. Like a person who sells credit card and pin numbers, he was so far removed he didn't consider what he was doing criminal. Since he had re-entered the country, I was confident the South American plan was safe. Investigators at the Securities and Exchange had set up a few dummy accounts, and Costa Rica was raking in the dough, operating as usual. Still, it was time to move.

Before leaving for Newark this afternoon, I'd called a meeting with the core team and told them about my long-term career plans. Tank knew, of course, but I had to make it clear to the others. Very soon I would not be leading any more government operations. Tank would be in charge, and there would be no questioning his authority.

"And by the way, Stephanie and I are getting married." I added casually.

This last bit of news was met with slaps on the back, followed by,

"Horah!" and

"It's about time," and

"Happy for you, Boss," and

"Manuel will be very disappointed."

Tank's first official order of action was to get a squad in place in Costa Rica, asap, so when the time came we could move fast. He and a few men from Trenton and Miami were leaving Tuesday. His second official order was to remove me from the travel roster and inform me I would be staying in Trenton, manning the home front.

"We got this, Ranger," he said, holding back my argument with his hand. "Just sit this one out, stay here and finish this whole process you have started, trust me, we can handle it."

I heard a knock at Stephanie's door, so I put my phone to my chest and answered. I didn't need to look out the peep hole, Cal was in the lot and he texted me about the elderly gentleman seen crossing the street and entering the building.

When I swung the door open, he removed his hat and gave me the once over. After sizing me up, he was neither impressed with my youth nor intimidated by my muscle. He was about to step in when he saw my Seals hat in my hand and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Where'd you get that hat?"

"I'm not a Seal, if that's what you're wondering, name's Ranger, Ranger Manoso," and I put out my hand but he scowled even more.

"I'm Ed Mosey, I'm here to see Edna, so whaddaya know, Ace?" he said a bit condescending as he brushed past me. Ol boy's got a little game left in him, I thought, why not, I'll play. I admired ingenuity in children, but I especially like swagger in old men, cause like it or not, that was where I was headed, God willing, and there weren't any detours.

"Not much," I answered, "but I learn something new every day."

The old man allowed his mouth to give way to the smallest of smiles and he crossed over to Grandma and gave her a peck on the cheek. He must have been something back in his day. He still filled out the Dockers fairly well, he was wearing a navy cable-knit Polo sweater and I detected a bit of cologne. His hair had gone grey, but he had plenty of it, cut in a sensible fade. His eyes weren't missing anything as he crossed the room; I could tell he didn't suffer fools, and he'd already decided not to suffer me.

"Howdo Edie, it's been awhile, life treating you well, darlin?"

Grandma blushed, no surprise there, he was definitely a charmer.

"Oh Ed, you haven't changed a bit, you ol' flirt."

Just then, Stephanie came out of her bedroom and Grandma spoke up,

"Stephanie, this is Mr. Mosey,"

"Ed," he added quickly.

"Ed this is Stephanie, my grand-daughter, and you met her beau, Ranger." The old man quieted, took Stephanie's hand and kissed it,

"My my, I'd forgotten just how beautiful you are," he said in true astonishment, "you're a real dreamboat," he winked. "Whataya doing with this gorilla?" he nodded over to me, "I gotta car outside, we could run away."

I couldn't help but smile, his confidence was admirable.

My dreamboat blushed, and I could tell ol' Mosey liked that, all men did.

"Hello Mr. Mosey, nice to see you again," she smiled warmly. "If I remember, the last time we met, things got pretty hot," she winked. Now I was astonished, I looked at her with wide eyes, if I didn't know better I'd think she was flirting with him. She saw my glare and rolled her eyes,

"because my car was on fire," she added, and we all laughed.

"I hear you're driving Grandma in the parade tomorrow, that's very nice of you."

"You know, your great-uncle Sandor, we called him Sandy, he was a good friend of mine. We went to basic training together." My ears perked up, he must have been a former Navy man, that's why he was pissed off at me for being a poser with the Seals hat.

"Fort Benning, I remember," said Grandma, and now he had my attention. Navy didn't train at Fort Benning. I took a closer look and his ring caught my eye, I had seen it before, it was from the military.

"We returned from Korea about the same time, I even remember the day he bought that Buick. He came by my house and we musta cruised every street in this town, and it was 1954," he said, stressing the importance of the year. "They just don't make em like that any more," I suspected he wasn't talking about the car, "it will be an honor to drive you, Miss Edna."

I took that moment to step forward, "Excuse me, but I couldn't help but notice, where'd you get that ring?" I asked.

"Why, you writing a book, Einstein?" he chuckled, dismissing my question, "Didn't you just say you were leaving?" then he turned his attention back to Grandma and Stephanie. Damn, he was breakin my balls, but I knew how to get to him.

"Just thought you may have played professional baseball, or something, that's all," I let that thought trail off and I took a step toward the door.

"Ready Babe?" I smiled at Stephanie, silently counting down, three, two, one…

"Just a second!" The old man's voice boomed at my back,

"Hummph, you wanna know what team I played for, son? You wanna know if I was in the World Series," he emphasized, "and did I know Stan the Man, or the Mick, would that impress you?" he reeked of contempt, "Well, I didn't get this ring on no pansy ass baseball field. I earned this!" I nodded to myself, now I was impressed.

"You said your name was Ranger, is that your real name, or someone give it to you?" he said through squinted eyes.

I threw his own words back at him, "I earned it, Sua Sponte." He didn't looked convinced. (In their own accord, the Ranger motto).

"All right, professor," he'd lightened a bit, "just for that I'm gonna let you hold my ring," he took the gold band off his finger and dropped it in my hand.

"Now look at it and tell me what you know." It was solid and heavy like a man's class ring and there were images and lettering on both sides. Set in the top was a large smooth black onyx with a diamond set flush in the center, around the perimeter was forged 'Ranger Hall of Fame.' Not much in this world impresses me, but I knew what he'd had to do to get this hardware while Mickey Mantle and Stan Musial were tossin a ball around.

I stepped toward Stephanie and I showed her the writing.

"In their own accord, it's the Ranger motto," I pointed. She looked at me with a knowing smile. On the other side was forged the recognizable scroll.

"That looks like the patch on the jacket in your closet," she said.

It said Airborne Ranger and was flanked by 2nd and Co, a picture of a parachute cast in the center, under it read Ne Desit Virtus.

"That's second company," I pointed, "Airborne, that means he was in Korea, and a Rakassan."

"Raka," she tried.

"Rakassan," I repeated, "it's what the Japanese called the paratroopers, said they looked like umbrellas falling from the sky.

Then she read the Latin, Ne Desit Virtus.

"Let Valor Not Fail," the old man said. I looked over to him and his jaw was tight and I saw something working below the surface that I knew was best left alone.

"You probably enlisted '48 or '49, I'm guessing. You fought in Korea under the 82nd Airborne, maybe made it to Viet Nam, but you list the Second Company because it is by far more prestigious and holds a place in history as the first, last, and only all-black Ranger company in the U. S. Army.

"Angles from Hell," he smiled.

"You were the first Ranger Company to parachute in during combat, you were considered light infantry, but nothing about your load was light."

The man stood a little taller and seemed pleased, for the first time his voice was flat and took on a conversational tone,

"I started with the 505, in 1948. They were parachute infantry," he recalled.

"I jumped out of a C-119, flying boxcars they called em, during Operation Tomahawk; that was the big combat jump in Korea, almost thirty-five hundred men, but you don't wanna hear these old war stories, you're young, you got things to do," he waved us away.

Stephanie looked at him and smiled, then she gave him a peck on the cheek.

She turned to me and held up her finger, "I just have to get one more thing," then she disappeared into her bedroom.

Ed Mosey held out his palm and I returned his ring.

"Anything else you need to know, professor?" The swagger was back.

"You wearing your uniform tomorrow?" I was curious.

"I can still fit it," he said with pride.

"I'll make it a point to avoid you, then," I said with a smirk.

"Why's that, Ace?" he asked, cocking his head.

"Cause I'd hate to have to salute you."

The man's shell finally broke and he rumbled with laughter. It was a private joke in the Army that men would travel out of their way to avoid having to give a salute to someone they didn't like. He shook my hand and pulled me in close, and said in a low voice,

"You better keep that dolly under lock and key, son. When the other boys find out she blushes like that you're in for a whole heap of trouble."

I didn't like that he'd honed in on my weakness. But I shook my head like I wasn't concerned. What he didn't know was I had my own running tally; I was up to 78, the number of times I'd made her blush since I'd known her, not just her cheeks, but the really good full face flush, reaching the tips of her ears was a bonus. I should stop counting, I guess, now that we were engaged, but I couldn't help myself, it was a personal challenge, one of my private little victories.

When Stephanie returned I took the bag from her hand and followed her out the door. The old man called after me, in his low barking voice, leaning heavy on his southern drawl,

"I'll be wearing my uniform at the parade tomorrow, I'll be sure to find you, boy."

I smiled and shook my head and Stephanie was surprised when I pulled her into the elevator instead of the stairwell.

"What was all that?" pointing back to her door, "Why was he giving you such a hard time?" she shook her head in wonder.

"He thinks I'm a fraud, doesn't like that I'm called Ranger. I don't care that he thinks that, hell, after what he's seen, he's earned it, there's nothing left that can scare him. The men who wear that ring all have one thing in common."

"Bravery," she guessed.

"Nope,"

"Valor,"

"Un ah,"
"Then what?"

"One set of solid brass cajones."

She chuckled and I pulled her into me, glad the elevator was slow. I brushed the curls from her face and traced her ear with my finger. The old timer had expressed the thought that crossed my mind every time I saw her, especially after I'd been away, 'I'd forgotten just how beautiful you are.' I pulled her closer.

"Do you know what I'm in the mood for Babe?"

She gave me a suspicious smile, then I leaned over and whispered in her ear. She rolled her eyes at my first suggestion,

"followed by…" I leaned in again and whispered some more,

she laughed that one off with a giggle,

"And then I could…" this time I went to her other ear so I could brush across her nipples,

she was seriously considering my third proposal,

"but you know we haven't tried…." I was back to the first ear and my hand had found it's way to her ass and the damn elevator was about to ding.

As I whispered my intentions in explicit detail, she got very still and stifled her laughter, and I saw her cheek glowing red next to my lips and my heart danced into the end zone as I mumbled under my breath,

"Seventy-nine."

Stephanie's Point of View

I left my car in the lot and slipped into Ranger's Porsche. Once we were out of the parking lot he turned to me and took my hand.

"We should probably talk about how long you want to keep your apartment."

"I hadn't really given it much thought," I shrugged, but then I remembered his mother saying she'd mailed something to his 'house,' and it made me curious.

"What are all the options?" I eyed him suspiciously.

"Now Babe," his voice and face were serious, but I detected a bit of sarcasm. "I told you if you wanted to find the Bat Cave, you were gonna have to work a little harder, and a GPS wasn't gonna get you there."

I was already agitated from everything he'd told me in the elevator, so when we came to the stoplight on Hamilton, I gave him my best doe-in-the-headlights look, batted my eyelashes, licked my lips and walked my fingers up his left thigh.

"I'm not afraid of a little hard work, but just how hard are we talkin?" I felt his quad muscle tighten as he applied pressure to the accelerator. He was looking straight ahead, trying to stay focused on the road. I unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned over till my lips were up to his ear,

"You know what kind of work I'm capable of doing." He took the next corner, tires squealing a bit, and I felt the force of the turn pulling me back toward my seat.

"Miss Plum, I think I've forgotten, could you refresh my memory?"

My lips were touching the inner ridge of his ear,

"You know, I'm really good with tools," and I raked my fingers from his knee back toward the valley then across the magic mountain growing under his zipper. I heard him inhale, then he closed his eye for just a second and shifted in his seat and I heard the pitch of the engine rise.

"Now, the location of the Bat Cave, Mr. Manoso?" My finger was drawing circles, like a bulls-eye, on the bulge in his pants.

"Oh, you're getting warmer, much warmer. Definitely on target."

It was just too tempting, and my girlie business was already wet and warm and tingly with everything he had whispered in my ear. We were a few blocks from Heywood but I wanted to give him a preview, I eased down his zipper, careful of the flesh pressing up from underneath, and I slid my hand inside, around him, and stroked him up and down.

"I think you've got the job, but I'm going to need proof of your other skills."

He squealed into the parking garage and we came to an abrupt halt in the furthest spot from the stairwell, he set the parking brake and he was reaching for me, but I sprang from his car and ran for the elevator, laughing, while he untangled himself from his seatbelt and zipped up his wonder wand. The elevator seemed to take forever coming up from the basement, my heart jolted as I heard his car door open, and I considered running up the stairwell, but just then the elevator dinged and I slid in, surprised to find Tank and Bobby. I hid behind the men but Ranger popped in just as the doors were closing. He acknowledged Tank and Bobby, but we otherwise rode in silence, his eyes piercing me. The men got off on the fourth floor and I was about to follow but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back through the closing doors,

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Um, I have some work to do? " I said feebly.

"Yes, you certainly do, but not that kind of work," he whispered.

The round number seven was lit and as soon as the elevator started to move he pressed my body against the wall and started attacking my neck, somewhere between the fourth and seventh floor the door dinged open, and someone cleared their throat, but didn't get in, neither of us bothered to break away and look. We continued to his penthouse and when the sliding doors finally parted he hoisted me up under my ass and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He stumbled into the entry hall and kicked his front door closed, then he dropping his keys on the table, turned around and put me down, trapping me in the hallway between the closed door and himself. He didn't speak, his look was dark and his eyes were smoldering and he loomed over me and started unbuttoning his shirt, and I swallowed, wondering just what exactly I had started.

"What are you doing?" I teased.

"I have to continue your interview."

The living room was dimly lit by the light of the street lamp filtering in through the curtains and the under-cabinet lighting softly radiating from the kitchen. He looked down to find the last button and I attempted to slip by him but he planted his hand on the wall.

"Oh no, you're gonna finish this, you should know better than to run from me, I will always find you," he assured.

He kicked off his shoes and was standing in just his pants and he reached down and took the flats off my feet and tossed them into the din of the living room. The silhouette of his erection was frightful, I reached for his waistband but he shook his head and began pulling my blue scooped-neck tee shirt up, then he unzipped my crop pants and pulled them down over my hips so they fell to my ankles, I stepped aside and I peeled my shirt up and over my head and now I was just standing in front of him in a pink lacy bra and tap pants. He growled with approval, then he picked me up and slung me over his shoulder like a caveman, slapped me hard on the ass, and carried me into his living room, dropping me on his sofa before clicking on a smooth jazz station. He slipped behind the granite counter separating the kitchen, opened the frig and chugged some orange juice.

"C'mere!" he demanded.

I sashayed my ass into the kitchen and before I knew it he had my panties off and I was sitting perched on the counter on the very spot where I had stood looking for the TastyCakes a few days earlier. He slid his pants down his thighs and I gripped both hands around the edge of the granite while he forcefully pushed he way into me.

"I've been thinking about doing that all day," he reached one hand behind me and I felt the clasp release, I slid the straps down my shoulders, the bra fell to the floor, my tatas jiggled to attention and I swear I heard him sigh.

My ass was just teetering on the edge and at first his hands were holding me on the outside of my thighs, but then he lifted one leg at a time and my calves were up over his shoulders. He was going so deep it felt like he was hammering the back of my spine. I leaned my head back until it rested against the upper cabinets for a little added stability. He was thrusting in to me at a good, hard pace and we were getting hot and sweaty. My legs started slipping down his biceps, until they came to rest on the crooks of his elbows,

"Don't let me fall,"

"Never," he said, then I lifted my hands off the counter and clasped them around his neck and pulled myself toward him so I could whisper in his ear.

"How am I doing?"

"Fantastic!"

"Do you see how hard I'm working?"

"Very much so."

"Am I close to finding the Bat Cave?"

"Hah, hah, hah."

"Damn."