Well Crap
Steph's POV-
Ugh! I was so hoping that these emails were flukes. A lonely man that just had a small crush and he would quickly get over it. That maybe he would meet another woman and leave me alone. I was seriously wrong. I re-read the email once more and let out a sigh of irritation.
You are beautiful.
You are perfect.
The Perfect Mother...
I didn't get it. I didn't get the email or the words he was implying. Why would it matter what kind of mother I was? Not that I cared of what this guy's opinion of me was. Because I didn't care. Only Ranger's opinion of me counted. Not anybody else. Okay I cared what my parents thought and the Merry Men thought of me too, but Ranger's thoughts was the most the important and I knew he thought the world of me. Sometimes I wondered why he did, but as long as he loved me I didn't care. I loved him no matter what his past brought on and how he acted so we were mutual.
Okay enough of that thinking. I needed to concentrate on this email and the man behind it. This makes the fifth email I have received and the first one that was purely focused on me. Before they were always telling me what a good mother I was. How well dressed, well behaved, or how polite Ava was. He even commented on the healthy foods we were feeding her. How does he know this? That was one of my concerns. Along with Ava's safety. Now I'm worried that I now have another stalker, but Ava's safety still remains. That was the last thing I needed; another damn stalker. But I didn't what happened to me as long as my daughter was safe.
Ranger should be back tomorrow sometime. As soon as I call him, I'll know for sure. So far he has been gone for three days and we have barely had time to talk to each other. Ava went to bed this evening without talking to him. He had texted and told her that he was super busy and he would call her in the morning. She was upset but she did understand. She knew her daddy had a tough job and sometimes it took him away on trips, but he would return. She didn't like it which she had made it known, but she understood.
It was almost midnight now and Ava had been asleep for almost four hours. I had put off checking my email until now. I didn't want to receive anymore and I most certainly didn't want to read anymore of them. I also didn't want anymore damn stalkers. I wanted my life to be normal. Especially since I didn't do bounty hunting anymore. I just didn't think it was fair. Now I needed to burden Ranger once again with the fact that I had another stalker. Which meant he would bleed more money trying to keep me safe. It just wasn't fair. I hated that Ranger was going to lose money trying to keep me safe.
The Batman theme song pulled me out of my thoughts and I answered my phone. I needed to hear a soothing and familiar voice.
"Yo!" I spoke into the phone.
"Babe." Ranger replied back and I knew immediately he was tired. His voice sounded low and husky.
"Ranger, you sound tired." I said and when he let out that low chuckle I knew I was right.
"I am." He admitted.
I hated that he was so tired, but once he got home tomorrow he could take the day off and relax. Maybe even sleep a little. Then I could join him while Ava was at school. And I could get reacquainted with the love of my life.
"When you get home tomorrow you can rest, Ranger." I told him. He let out a small sigh and a bad feeling came over me. "You aren't coming home tomorrow, are you?" I asked him.
"No Babe, I'm not. Too much is going on down here that I have to be here for." He responded.
"What's going on?" I asked; concerned.
"I have been going through the files these last few days and this office is seriously behind. There is about thirty something high dollar skips that if they aren't picked up by this up coming Monday then RangeMan is going to lose that money. Most of them are very dangerous or have violent backgrounds. I want them off the streets as quickly as possible."
"How come the office is so far behind on skips?" I asked.
"They are overloaded in everything, Babe. There is about fifteen contracts for the installment of a security system that have been signed in the last month and they haven't been installed. Then the clients that were robbed are upset that I haven't shown my face in such a long time that they're threatening to break their contract."
"Can they do that?" I questioned.
"In all RangeMan contracts it is stated that if the client is not fully satisfied than yes they can break the contract. Normally if a client tried to do this I would take them to court, but in this case the judge will side with them. So I need to talk to each and every client, redo their contracts to make them happy. So I can keep their contracts."
I felt horrible. Ranger was loaded down with all this extra work and I felt as though it was kind of our fault. He rarely went to Miami anymore since he wanted to remain here with us. Maybe we should schedule more trips to both Miami and Boston on a regular basis.
"Babe, I'm really sorry. I hate being away for so long and I don't like missing Ava's first days of school." He spoke again since I had been quiet for so long.
"Ranger, I understand. You have to be there." I reassured him.
I did understand. He had a job to do and I would support him through it no matter what, but now I wasn't so sure if I should share those emails with him. After all there were just emails and there wasn't anything Ranger could do whether he was here or in Miami. I knew if I told him then he would want to rush back here and rescue me. I needed to let him put his job first. But I hated that he was going to be gone for so long.
"How long are you going to be there?" I asked.
He let out a sigh. It wasn't going to be soon I guess. "Babe, I honestly don't know. Between installing security systems, redoing contracts, and picking up skips, I have enough to keep me busy here for at least two weeks." He answered me before yawning.
"Why is the Miami office so far behind?" I asked again.
I knew it wasn't because they weren't doing their jobs. Since Diego was in charge of that office there probably wasn't much playing going on in the office. Diego was just as strict as Ranger. He was determined and single minded too.
"Diego fired one then three up and quit for no reason. Plus two more went on a mission for the government. One of those men was the company medic and since physicals were schedule at the end of last month and they weren't done, the men are having to make actual doctor's appointments which is taking longer."
"So short on staff and bad timing, pretty much." I stated.
"Yea. I'm coming home, Babe. I'm just not sure when."
"No worries, Ranger. We miss you and I know you miss us, but you'll be back soon." I told him. "Now, you need to go to sleep. You have a busy day tomorrow." I added.
He chuckled. "Babe."
"Ranger."
"I love you."
I smiled. "I love you too."
The Next Day-
"So Daddy's not coming home today?" Ava asked me.
I shook my head. "He's not coming home today."
"Why?"
"He's really busy right now trying to get the Miami office under control. They are over loaded with work and under staffed."
She went to chewing on her lip and just nodded. We were on our way to her school and I just finished telling her that Ranger wasn't coming home today. I thought she was going to be more upset, but I got the quiet Ava instead. I wasn't quite sure what to make of that. I thought she would be more upset about Ranger not coming home and have a little more to say about it. But nope, she was quiet as a mouse.
I looked over at her and smiled. She was wearing a pair of black jeans and a purple shirt that said 'Daddy's Girl'. Her hair was cascading down around her shoulders and she looked down right adorable. She looked so much like her father and I loved it.
"You okay, Ava-Baby?" I asked.
She nodded and I turned back to face the road. "I miss Daddy." She stated as we pulled up in front of her school.
I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and gave her a grin. "I know you do, but he'll be back before ya know it. I promise." I told her.
She nodded; her lower lip puckered out. "Are you ready for school?" I asked. She nodded but kept silent. If she remained like this after school, I would have to have Uncle Lester or Uncle Cal snap her out of it.
I got out of my vehicle and help Ava out. We waved to Uncle Lester and Uncle Cal and we walked inside. I went with her to her classroom and Miss Williamson was there talking to another mother.
A little girl I recognized waved to Ava and smiled. "Hi Ava." She called out.
Ava turned and smiled back. It didn't quite reach her eyes, but I doubted the other girl knew that. "Hi Katie." Ava replied back. I waved and smiled at Katie who in return did the same.
I squatted down next to Ava and gave her a hug. "You have a good day at school." I told her.
Ava nodded and kissed my cheek. "I will, Momma."
"Love you."
"Love you too, Momma." She replied. "Tell Daddy I love him." She added.
I gave her a smile and nodded. "I will, Ava-Baby."
She gave me another quick hug and ran off to join Katie. I looked around but I didn't see Nathan. I watched as Ava and Katie sat down at the same table together and began to talk. They giggled and laughed, but that sadness remained in Ava's dark brown eyes. She really was a daddy's girl.
I walked out of the classroom and walked to my vehicle. I hated that she was missing her father, but she would soon learn that adults had responsibilities that couldn't be ignored. She was smart and I knew she would learn quickly, but I really hated that she was hurting so much. I climbed into my car and drove on auto pilot back to RangeMan.
That Night-
I just put Ava to bed and I was going to check my email again. I was seriously really totally hoping for an empty inbox. Clicking on my email, my hope deflated and I knew I was screwed. I had another one from proud father.
Perfect Mother, I missed you today.
You were late. I hope you're okay.
I was going to leave you a pretty rose on your car
But it seems that you have two weird men following you.
I informed the police since no one should be following my love.
I'll keep watch for you.
This email gave me all kinds of bad vibes. I didn't like it. He informed the police because Lester and Cal were following me. He apparently didn't know who I was or who Ranger was. If he didn't know who we were than that meant trouble. I needed to call Lester.
Author's Note: I'm seriously sorry this is so short and that the next chapter is nothing but fluff. We have had a lot going on this week. I will write another chapter soon and I promise to make it longer! But review and I'll get it out faster!