Chapter 68
RPOV
I'd promised to take Steph to the beach and that's exactly what I did. I'd organized for us to be away from Trenton for two months, assured that Tank was there to guide and advice the new leadership team that were now running things at Rangeman. Two months might seem a long time for a vacation but for what I needed to happen back in Trenton, then it seemed just right to me.
A week on Hawaii recapturing memories of our first time there allowed us both to relax. Knowing that there was no Morelli to interrupt our time allowed us to fully relax and devote all of our time and energy on each other. By the end of the week Steph had acquired a golden tan and highlights through her hair making her look even more beautiful to me.
Miami was our next stop where we added visits to shops alongside the beaches. Of course, Julie was overjoyed that she could spend time with us and whilst there had been times in the past when I felt a bit awkward knowing how to deal with a teenage girl, having Steph with me made the whole experience better. Or maybe it was me, maybe I was beginning to mellow just a little bit, not that I would admit that to anyone.
Each place we landed at was focused on the beach with enough going on around to keep us occupied. I know that we could have kept each other occupied without any help but I wanted Steph to experience the places that we went to. I was so pleased at how she seemed to absorb everything around her, appreciating the history and culture of each new place that we visited. Of course, her love of the different cuisine that were presented to her made those places even more special, especially her love for the food in my native Cuba.
Once we were back in the States our last stop was to call on Leo, Larri and Izzie. Okay it wasn't near the beach, but it was very enlightening for both Steph and me. Steph spent time with Larri as she worked through a case that her and Leo were following. An interesting case that was trying to identify a group of women who were skimming credit cards from unsuspecting men at bars. It was the type of credit card theft where they used a small device to steal card information by swiping it through a skimmer, the device captured and stored all the details stored in the card's magnetic stripe. The girls had fun touring some of the bars, talking to victims, but then it was up to me and Leo to do the distraction and catch the girls red handed.
We enjoyed the week, the company was great and I saw the mind of my Babe come to life as she applied that curious and intuitive nature. We left Washington enthused with ideas of how we would work together, taking on jobs that piqued our interest. I had Tank meet us at the airport and the conversation was focused on how his team were performing. Even Steph was interested in that which pleased me because it meant she wasn't aware of where Tank was driving. As he turned off the street and waited for the gates to open that's when I was intent on watching her face. Her emotions were so easy to read as she frowned, giving me a quick look of concern, before turning and looking at where we had arrived.
"Are we, is this?"
I continued to watch her as her eyes went wide knowing now that she recognized where we were. Tank drove along the side of the building and into the large well lit garage. I was pleased to see that my Porsche was already here with one of the companies Cayennes and another car under a cover. Steph had opened the door and was stood looking around before I even got out from the car and I had no chance of stopping her heading for the door that would lead upstairs.
I found her in the main living area, turning as she looked around. What totally threw me were the tears in her eyes as she looked over to me.
"Babe?"
Asking what had upset her, because I was totally confused with the change in her mood.
"It's just like I imagined. I love it"
And suddenly she was jumping against me, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist. Who was I to miss an opportunity like that and continued our tour of our new home by carrying her upstairs.
A week later and it felt like we hadn't been away. Steph and I were sat in the conference room on the other side of our new building. We had Tank, Santos and Bobby with us with the plan to set out the parameters of our new business venture. As this was a spinoff from our primary business, we'd agreed to keep the same name, Rangeman, and also agreed that for larger jobs or those that involved more specialist work we'd call in the expertise of existing Rangemen. It was as I was calling the meeting to a close and asking for any other business from the rest of the team that Santos looked over to Steph then me.
"Maybe this has nothing to do with what we're discussing but I wanted to let you know that while you've been away I, err, got in touch with Cassie"
I watched as Steph looked up from the papers that she was pushing into a file, not too sure what her expression was saying. That was one of the things that I hadn't always appreciated as she developed a strong sense of self. Her ability to hide her emotions from her face when she wanted to.
"Les, are you saying you're seeing her?"
"Yeah. I know there was a time when we weren't too sure of her but"
"Les, that's brilliant, you two are perfect for each other"
Okay, maybe as a girlfriend then I had no issues with who Santos saw as long as he kept her away from our business. I looked back to Steph again, just to be sure that she seemed okay with what Santos had said only to see her eyes full of mischief.
"Les. I know I felt she let me down and I won't be seeing her as my shrink any more. I actually like her so don't look so worried"
"Thanks, Beautiful, it means a lot to hear that from you"
Now to try and finish this meeting but as I looked at Bobby and Tank I'm sure I almost rolled my eyes when Tank began to speak.
"Morelli's trial ended and he got sent down for a long time. He was sent to a prison out of state so as not to be inside with anyone he'd arrested"
"My mother?"
I knew what was happening there, Frank had kept me up to date but the opportune time to raise it with Steph just hadn't happened.
"She's being held in a psychiatric institution. The prognosis isn't great Little Girl, I'm sorry. After the incident in the garage she really lost touch with reality. Your father spoke to me last week and whilst he's really upset about the whole mess, he's getting on with his life"
I watched Steph as she nodded her head. I suppose in her heart she knew that she'd lost what was left of her mother. Her land of denial had probably kept her from asking about her mother but now she was facing it. I'm sure her father would be there to support her, I knew that I would. Taking her hand I raised it to my mouth to kiss her palm and assess how she was feeling.
"I'm okay Carlos. I didn't want to think to think about what had happened to her. I knew it was likely to happen. I'll talk to my Dad and make sure he's coping on his own"
And just like that Steph was thinking about other people and how they were coping and how she could help them out.
"A package came addressed to you"
I was brought out of my thoughts to see Tank hand Steph a small package wrapped in brown paper. As he stood to pass it over that seemed to be the cue for the end of the meeting with everyone getting up and heading for the door.
"Tomorrow, same time"
Came back through the door from Bobby. I was intrigued with who would send anything to Steph and what it might be so stood behind her as she very carefully tore through the outer paper. With the paper dropped onto the table she was looking at a small black box, turning it over in her hands as though frightened to open it.
"Babe?"
I watched as she carefully took the lid off the box and then pulled away a layer of packing.
"Oh wow!"
Came from her mouth as she held up a silver chain that had a delicate pendent hanging from it. The pendent looked to made from a silver material, possibly platinum, and was the shape of an angel, her wings held high and attached to the chain. It was what was being held in the angels hands that had me raising an eyebrow. There reflecting the light was a beautiful diamond.
"Babe, is there a message to say who it is from?"
Though for some strange reason I think I already knew who had sent it. Inside the lid was a small card which I took out and held up for her to read.
"For a true angel whose light shone the way for me. Thank you. E."
After reading the card I knew that Steph would be pleased but also curious and as she said her next statement I wondered if she thought I knew anything about him.
"He's alive somewhere"
To be honest I never doubted that Ehsan was still alive. I was sure that he would have had a way to escape that building and contact with a medic to patch him up. Where he was a mystery, one that I had not pursued but I honestly hoped that he'd managed to shake himself from the darkness that had overwhelmed him. I counted myself as an extremely lucky man for having Steph in my life, she truly was my salvation.
"Do you think we'll ever see him again?"
I knew that Steph would want that to happen and maybe we could offer him a place in our makeshift family of Rangemen, he'd certainly have the skills to fit right in.
"We can invite him to our wedding"
I watched as the smile came over her face and was already turning Steph into my arms. I'd asked Steph to marry me when we were in Hawaii, okay maybe she was screaming my name at the time but she was totally focused as she replied, and I slipped a ring over her finger.
