Chapter 12

Not my characters, just borrowing them for a bit.

SPOV

"Babe. At some point, we're going to have to get out of the car."

We were sitting at the curb in front of my parent's house in the Porche 911; it was 5:55pm. I'd been dreading this dinner for weeks, but I knew we needed to do this. I had to face my mother, and forever shred the box she keeps trying to put me into. I could see Grandma Mazur peeking out from behind the curtains every few seconds. I was doing some deep breathing exercises while I mentally chanted affirmations at myself. I am strong. I am confident. I am happy with the direction of my life. I love the people in my life who encourage me to fly. If my family can't or won't support me, they forfeit the opportunity to speak into my life.

"Let's go before we ruin dinner," I said, opening the door. Ranger and I were both wearing our black cargoes and Rangeman Polo shirts. In deference to Grandma's crazy tendencies, we'd left our guns in the lockbox in the turbo (well, I did at least.) I was sure Ranger still had at least one piece concealed. He slipped his arm around my waist as we made our way to the front porch. Grandma opened the door for us and pulled me into a hug.

"It's so good to see you! You mother has been ironing and drinking her "iced tea" nearly nonstop!" Grandma said. "And you brought the Cuban hottie with you!" she exclaimed, turning to Ranger. "It's nice to see you again, but it would be nicer if you'd lose the shirt."

Not many things got to Ranger, but Grandma had a knack. He reached out to shake her hand (probably to make sure it didn't "wander" anywhere it shouldn't!) then leaned into me and whispered a naughty suggestion of how I could repay him for enduring dinner. We made our way past my dad who was sitting in his recliner, watching television. Dinner was already on the table, and my mother was bringing out a huge platter of sliced ham. I looked at the place settings and my stomach filled with lead. "Mom, why are there 6 places set? Is Grandma inviting a guest?"

Dad joined us at the table, and Ranger pulled out a chair for me and sat beside me. The doorbell rang and mom dashed through the living room. A few seconds later Mom was back – with Joe Morelli behind her holding a bouquet of red roses.

"You look good, Cupcake. I was so glad when your Mom called." He sat in the empty seat across from me, beside Grandma. The bruise on his eye was fading to a nice green shade. Mom began serving ham slices to everyone, and Joe picked up the bowl of green beans. "Funny thing, she thought you were staying with me and I thought you were staying here. So, we're really interested to know where you're living." He handed me the bowl. I put a pile of beans on my plate and handed the bowl to Ranger.

"I'm not sure why it's your business, Joe. We are not together. We haven't been together for MONTHS! We are not going to get back together. I can't be any clearer."

Grandma looked like she was watching the best live-action Soap Opera, looking excitedly from me to Joe to Mom. Ranger was strong beside me, blank face in place, resting a supportive hand on my thigh.

"Oh Stephanie," Mom cut in. "Don't be so ridiculous. It's nice that Joseph is willing to take you back after the terrible scene you caused at Pino's."

"Mother. I appreciate you always telling me I'm invited for dinner. But if you continue to ignore the things that I say and insist I get back with Joe, I'll leave, and I won't be back. I am happy with my life, my job and the choices I've made. I'm very sorry you can't be."

"Honestly Stephanie. You've always been so dramatic. It's nice Ranger has looked out for you, but it's clear he cannot offer you any kind of permanent life together" she said.

"Why do you say that, Mrs. Plum?" Ranger inserted.

"I'm willing to marry you, Cupcake! Is he?" Joe challenged.

"You're right," said Ranger. "I'm not merely willing to marry Stephanie. I want to marry Stephanie, and I will whenever she will allow me to do so."

My emotions were running high, and when I opened my mouth, the answer was unexpected, most of all to me. "Soon," I said to him, placing my hand on his thigh.

"So that's settled," my Father said. I was actually surprised he was listening. "Morelli can leave. Pass the ham, Helen."

"Honestly, Frank. She's just being controversial, it's obvious she's in love with Joe," my Mother said. I rolled my eyes. I guess I'm pretty sure that's where I learned my denial skills. And at that point something inside me snapped. I was so done with people talking about me like I wasn't in the room. I should have done this years ago, but there's no time like the present.

"Ranger and I are together. Every part of our lives is intertwined: we live together, work together and make decisions together. You all seem incapable of understanding this, so I'll set the boundary for you. I won't let you push me around or make me apologize for my decisions. So, enjoy your dinner and have a good evening." I didn't even have to look at Ranger, he had my hand in his and we were on our way through the living room, out the door, and into the welcome silence of the Porche in seconds.

"Proud of you, Babe," he said as we pulled away from the curb. I guess he really was, too, because he pulled into the McDonald's Drive Thru on our way home. I arched my eyebrows in surprise. "Ella has the night off," he said as he placed an order for a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Fries and Coke and a tossed salad with a bottle of water. "Did you also need a pie?" he asked with a smirk. I nodded my head. I always needed pie.

We took the food home to the Penthouse and ate in the living room watching reruns of The Office. Ranger says Jim Halpert reminds him of Lester. I was taking notes on possible future office prank ideas.

The next morning, I woke up to an empty bed. I rolled over and looked at the clock: 5:15am. Ranger was more than likely in the gym. I wasn't always sure if he had an appointment with someone on the mats; it wasn't like there was a posted schedule for that. I decided I'd go ahead and get my workout done so I could hit the floor early today. I wasn't officially a full-time employee yet, but I did have to finalize my trip to Rangeman Boston.

I made my way downstairs to the gym and found it about half full. Ranger was noticeably absent, but then again, I knew he enjoyed running outside, especially when the weather was like this. I took a treadmill beside Cal and glanced over at the sparring ring when Lester was inside with one of the newer recruits.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"Kyle Hunter," Cal said. "New pup, fresh outta the army. Has a lot to learn."

I set a 7-mile program and was just finishing up when Tank walked over. "Can you make the Core Team Meeting today at 8?" he asked.

"Sure," I said, hopping off the treadmill. "Do I need to prepare anything?"

Tank shook his head and walked away. In deference to skipping the rest of my workout, I took the stairs to the 7th floor.

I was in the shower, just stepping under the spray to wet my hair when I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye. The glass door to the shower opened and a very sweaty, very sexy naked Ranger was suddenly in front of me. He took two steps forward, backing me into the shower wall. He leaned down to kiss me, running his tongue across my bottom lip while his hands trailed up and down my sides, skating across the wet skin. I parted my lips and his tongue swept inside. He dropped a hand between us and inserted a finger into my slick folds. My knees nearly buckled, and I whimpered. He increased the rhythm of his finger and added a second. I was right on the edge when he lifted my hips and using the leverage of the wall to steady us, lowered me deftly onto his waiting erection. I flew over the edge of the orgasm with a scream as he filled me to the hilt. He hadn't broken the kiss and set ferocious pace chasing his own pleasure. He came with a shout, grinding his hips into mine and drawing it out. He set me carefully on my feet and kissed me again, softly on the lips.

"Good morning," he said.

"It certainly is now," I said.

"Sorry I was gone when you woke up. I have a full day, so I had to get an early start. I prefer to wake up with you."

We finished showering and dried off. I wrapped my hair into a towel and made my way naked into the closet to find clothes for the day. Ranger followed me, a towel slung low across his hips. I had to concentrate of finding clothes and not tearing off the towel and jumping him again. We dressed and went to the kitchen where we found a breakfast tray sitting on the kitchen island. My cheeks flushed at the thought of Ella dropping it off while we were in the throws in the shower. I'm not exactly quiet.

"Babe."

"I know, I know. You can take the Catholic girl out of mass, but you never get the guilt out," I said.

"I'm Catholic too," Ranger said, pouring 2 mugs of coffee from the silver pot on the tray of food. "And I have no guilt about what happens between two people who love each other. I need to work on broadening your horizons." Oh boy!

We ate quickly in companionable silence and made our way down to the Control Room together. I detoured to my desk ahead of the 8:00 meeting just to get my head on straight. In the last 14 hours I'd stood up to my Mother and Morelli, told them (and by proxy the entire 'burg) that Ranger and I were living together and had possibly sort of maybe told him I would marry him. I still wasn't ready to fully explore that exchange just yet. But I figured if nothing else, it was a good thing I hadn't broken out in hives at the thought of marriage. Was I maturing again?

The Core Meeting went very similarly to the last one I attended months ago. I was surprised to hear the team envisioned me helping primarily in both the bond enforcement department and in sales & client relations. The salary was generous but fair, and I was excited to get started. I signed the contract and Hector immediately presented me with a new Employee Badge, relieving me of my Contractor badge.

I spent the rest of the morning going over sales procedures and packages with Lester. It was interesting, and I was looking forward to learning more. After a quick lunch in the breakroom, Hal asked me if I would ride with him to pick-up a skip. Rangeman Policy was that no one ever went out without a partner. I was surprised, however, to see Binkie and Junior waiting for us in the garage. Hal quickly explained.

"Most of our skips are high bonds, which means more violent offenders. There are several criteria in play, but a lot of them require 4-man teams, per Rangeman policy," he said.

"Got it. Where's the file?" I asked, as I strapped on a Kevlar vest. I was the new man on deck, so I climbed into the backseat without asking. Binkie and Junior both looked like they wanted to object. I pretended not to notice. Hal slid into the driver's seat.

"Let's move!" he barked.

We rolled out of the garage and easily found our man hanging out on lower Stark Street. We made the apprehension without fanfare and I elected to stay in the car with Junior while Binkie and Hal escorted him inside the police station. Almost immediately when they entered, the back door opened, and Morelli stuck his head out and looked around. Junior shook his head and sighed.

"That guy is such a prick," he said conversationally. "Though I don't blame him for beating himself up. He knows he lost something incredible. I can't tell you how glad the guys were when you finally kicked his ass."

"Thanks, Junior. I appreciate the vote of confidence." I really did. These guys seemed to like me more than my own Mother did. I was grateful for about the 100,000th time they were part of my life.

Binkie and Hal returned before Morelli plucked up the courage to come over to the SUV, and I was grateful not to have a repeat of Pino's. We made our way back to the office and I retreated to my desk. Vinnie had finally sent me the emails and I'd had Silvio in Miami helping me run some reverse IP searches to see if it turned anything up. I looked over the email from Silvio. While the emails had left breadcrumbs, Silvio didn't see any patterns that raised a red flag. As much as I hated to admit it, I agreed with Vinnie. The messages definitely sounded like they were written by a woman. I felt like I was looking at all the right pieces, but just not putting them in the right places.

My phone rang, and I blew out a sigh as I answered.

"Yo Plum!" It was Rodriguez. "I was doing a follow up on some of the searches we ran while you were in Atlanta, and I ran across some activity on one of Jeanne Ellen's Credit Cards."

"Yes! That's great. Can you send it to me?" I was so excited.

"Already in your inbox, Bombshell. Good luck!"

I quickly opened the email from Rodriguez and saw the list of transactions, moving along the Jersey turnpike and into Pennsylvania. The transactions from yesterday were all at gas stations about 300 miles apart. The 3 latest transactions today were all in the same town in a 20-mile radius: Wal-Mart, another gas station, and a local gun shop. Dollars to donuts she was there! But why had she been so caviler and used the credit card? She wasn't that dumb. Either way, I had to check it out. I opened my desk drawer to grab my shoulder bag and stopped abruptly. No way I could run off and chase this down on my own; that wasn't how Rangeman operated. I signed and went to Tank's office. I explained the situation and was told there would be a team for me to brief in the Conference Room in 15 minutes.

I walked out of his office and saw Ranger in the door of his own office. "Steph," he said. "Could you join me in here for a moment, please?" He was wearing his blank face, so I knew this wasn't a sexy invitation. Too bad. I was still feeling the after-effects from the shower this morning.

I walked over and followed him into the office and stopped short. Sitting in the club chair across from Ranger's desk was Les Sebring. He stood up politely to greet me, and I saw a flash of blonde hair behind him. I stepped around him quickly to see none other than Jeanne Ellen Burrows.

What the hell?!