Everyone familiar belongs to Janet. Sorry in advance if there are more mistakes than usual.
"Ranger? It's Stephanie ..."
Normally those words fill me with love, lust, and longing, but hearing them come out of Frank's mouth turned my blood to ice.
"Where is my wife?" I demanded, not even attempting to be polite.
"Calling the police. She wanted me to call you before she contacted the station so you wouldn't ... as she put it 'freak out'. I'm holding Olivia, who is still upset, and Gunner and Ammo's leashes. All three want to run to Stephanie. I need help here."
I knew my ladies and Frank had taken the dogs for a walk, but I wasn't expecting all hell to break loose during it. I was already heading to the stairs, barely putting one boot down on a step before moving it to the next one.
"Where are you?" I asked.
"Just around the corner from Haywood. I thought we could bring Edna back a coffee. I'm sorry I suggested it now."
"I'm leaving the building as we speak. Put Olivia on the phone for a minute and then you're going to tell me what happened in the second or two it'll take me to reach you."
"Your Daddy wants to say hi," I could hear Frank tell my baby.
"Daddy ear," Olivia told me a beat later.
"I'm on my way. Just count to four and I'll be there with you."
"Wond," she began and I decided keeping her calm was the most important thing, since I'd determined I'll clear the end of the street before Frank can tell me anything useful. "Toob. Tree."
I spotted Stephanie first. One of her knees was pressed into a twenty-something's back. She usually has no cuffs with her unless she has her shoulder bag, so that explained why Frank has our daughter. A quick scan showed that my wife appeared alright, so I kept her in my sights while I took my daughter from Frank just as she was just about to say 'Four' … or her unique take on the word.
"Dada!"
"I'm here. And now we're going to go free Mama. Take Gunny and Mo back to the building," I told Frank. "I don't wanna deal with a potential dog bite issue if I have to kill whoever my wife is pinning and someone tries to stop me."
"Shouldn't I stick …?" Frank started to ask.
"No. If I know my men, which I do since I trained almost all of them, they'll be here any second. Just take care of Mo and Gunny. Olivia and I will see to Stephanie."
He looked reluctant to leave, but me giving our dogs a signal to head back home, didn't leave my father-in-law any options except to follow their lead. Olivia had another plan in mind for herself. She fisted my shirt in both hands and it's possible that she isn't going to let go even when we all return home. She's extremely sensitive to her environment, to Steph and I in particular. Her Mama seems to be more in control than both of us at the moment I had to admit as we walked towards her.
"Sorry to scare you, Olive Pie. Mama tried really hard not to. She's okay, isn't she? I didn't cause any lasting psychological damage, did I?" Steph asked, looking to me for reassurance, after noting the death-grip our baby has on me.
"Given what little I've heard so far, you needed to worry more about yourself than our daughter. I'm impressed with how you protected Olivia, but I'd appreciate you not putting yourself in danger at the same time."
She all but snorted. "It'll take more than this idiot to endanger me. By now I'm like a superhero by association."
Before she could explain further, I heard Tank and Bobby appear behind us.
"Vince said a call was put out to the TPD from here," Brown said, "we came running instead of asking questions when Gene said Steph and Frank had left the property, and you went tearing out of the building not long after."
I didn't need to give Tank any instruction. He gently nudged Steph aside and cuffed the asshole. Having her parents, GodTank, and Uncle Bobby within reach, allowed Olivia to relax a little more. Ella may be able to get the Olive-inflicted wrinkles out of my shirt after all.
"You should have told us," Tank said to me.
"If something happens to my family, I'm not going to play phone tag before acting. My daughter needed me and I needed to see that my wife is okay."
"I'm pissed but alright," Steph told me. "And thanks for getting here so quick. My Dad isn't used to how a takedown really goes down. And thank you too."
She aimed the second thanks towards Tank for relieving her of the fucker who ruined our day, allowing her to stand up again.
"No problem," he said. "Do I need the details?"
"No," my wife told him. "I told the dispatcher what happened, now I get the joy of filling Ranger in on it."
"Good luck with that," Bobby said, moving to Tank's side after handing Olivia his keys to play with.
She accepted them, but kept the fist now around Brown's keyring tucked against my chest.
My wife kissed Olivia's cheek and then my mouth before she took a breath and surveyed that scene unfolding around us, waving to Eddie and Carl when they arrived before settling in to tell me what the fuck happened here.
"Stop stalling and just tell me, Babe. Whatever you did, I know it was because it was needed."
She exhaled, and like our daughter had done a moment ago … my wife's body released some of its tension. "You know we went for a walk …" she began.
"Yes, but a walk doesn't typically result in needing police assistance."
She rolled her eyes. "Unless I'm the one doing the walking. I told you exercise was going to kill me one day."
"Not amusing. Let's move along the telling of the story."
"Daddy can't hold his horses, can he, Olive?"
"She's alright, Steph. I'm not."
"I promise I'm fine. I just had to stop a situation and teach a kid some manners while I did." At my eyebrow starting to rise, she began explaining. "Dad and I reached the end of Haywood and he suggested we grab some coffee and maybe a pastry for Grandma at the cafe that woman," she paused to point to a striking, silver-haired woman translating what the paramedics were saying for an elderly woman holding her head, "owns. It was nice out, and our girl and furry boys seemed to be enjoying themselves, so I said sure."
"Are you purposely dragging this out?" I had to ask.
I was already piecing the incident together in my mind, but I wanted to hear her take on it in her own words.
"No. I'm just giving you the facts. When our group rounded the corner, we saw that little mothertrucker hit the woman who's currently being checked out by the paramedics and try to steal her bag. The only thing that flashed through my mind is that could've been Grandma Mazur, so I reacted like it was. I passed Olive to my Dad and took off running to give the prick the same treatment. Aideen, the café owner, heard my less-than-polite shouts for the a-hole to stop, drop, or I'd put a hole in him, and she came running. She watched over the victim while I took down the assailant. That's when I called you and then the TPD. I think that catches you up."
"Not nearly enough, but we'll have time for more when Olivia is napping."
"But I …"
I shook my head once in the negative. "You scared the shit out of me, knowing my wife and daughter could have needed me and I wasn't there. You will answer any and all questions until I make peace with that feeling."
She curled her arms around us and held me and our baby tight. "I swore to you that I won't dive into anything I'm not prepared for or can't handle, and I meant it. I know I should've just checked on the lady and let the cops take her statement and track him down themselves, but I knew I could take him."
"And you did," I said into her curls. "Proud of you, Babe."
"Thank you. Would you like a distraction from your panic?" She asked, watching the ambulance leave and this Aideen woman now turning to talk to Eddie and Carl.
"A distraction may be needed," I said.
I wasn't kidding, my adrenaline hadn't leveled off yet. I could feel another spike of it as she hinted at more information I likely didn't want to hear. I reminded myself who I am and what I've survived, kissed Olivia's temple, and braced myself for whatever was coming next.
"The assault isn't even the weirdest part of the day. My Dad does do a lot for Grandma, but I just figured out that all the food/coffee runs he's been doing lately … have to do with Aideen. That's the café she owns," she told me, pointing to a small building a few down from where we're standing.
"He was advised to learn to love himself before he directs it at anyone else."
"Yeah, and I was 'advised' to steer clear of you entirely. Clearly, we Plums don't take advice very well."
"You didn't spend forty years letting someone dictate your every move, Babe."
"No, it was only thirty years for me."
"That isn't funny. For eighteen of those years, you had no way of getting out or getting help. Your parents were legally in control of you."
"In a lot of ways, my Dad didn't have a way out either. I'm not saying this isn't scaring the crap out of me, not only because of what my Mom will do if she hears about him moving on, but I want my Dad to be happy. And if this woman isn't who she appears to be, I'm afraid I'm going to butt in and have the same problem I just thought we'd solved. She did rush out to help when she saw something going on, but maybe anyone would have if there's no time to think about it."
"Do you think Frank used you and Olivia as an excuse to see this woman? Who I will be running a few searches on so don't be upset or angry when Frank tells you I did."
"I was worried he'd do that, but as I watched him … I honestly believe he wanted to see how she interacted with us. I got the impression it was a sorta test for her, not me. Possibly even an unconscious one. If she wasn't nice to us, he'd let his interest in her die out. Or maybe that's just what I was hoping I was seeing."
"Your instincts are good, Steph. If you felt Frank was being cautious, then I'd say he was. He isn't the same man he was when he first came to live here."
"I know, but it's gonna take some time for me to completely believe I'm not just a means to an end with my parents, that at least one of them cares what I think or about how I'm being treated."
"You deserved that all along, Babe. But better late than never in Frank's case."
"Yeah. At least I know now his disinterest was because he was numbing himself and his feelings, not anything directly involving Val or I or what we may have done."
"Mama needs a hug," I whispered to Olivia.
She reached out for Steph and my wife and I both breathed easier. We've weathered another storm together and are stronger for it.
"Thanks, Olive-Pie. You and Daddy are the best huggers," she said, following Eddie's movements as he put the asshole in the back of his squad car.
"Complimentary coffee anytime you want it, honey!" Aideen shouted over at Steph before she was allowed to leave the scene and get back to her restaurant.
My wife waved in acknowledgement and then looked at Eddie, who flashed her a 'wait a minute' finger. He slammed the door of his squad car shut and headed for us.
"I swear I told you everything," Steph began.
"I know you did. I'm here for the kid. Work can wait a minute. Come say 'Hi' to Uncle Eddie, Olive," he said, holding out his arms to her.
She kept her head tipped against her Mama's but tapped the top of it.
Eddie sighed. "Alright. I'm not supposed to get undressed on duty, but you're worth breaking the rules for. The badge has to stay on though."
He put his cop hat on Olivia's head and then stole her for a hug.
"See, Olive," Steph was saying. "I was telling the truth. You are a good hugger. Uncle Eddie agrees."
That got Eddie into a Manoso-chokehold as my daughter tightened her arms around him.
"She's like her Mama," Eddie told me. "She doesn't know her own strength."
"It's a strategy," I replied. "They let their victims underestimate them, and that's when they go in for the kill."
He thought about that. "Funny, but pretty damn accurate." He squeezed our baby one more time and then sighed. "I have to get back to the station, but I'm doing this again soon. Shirley and I have both been fully vaccinated so we're planning on getting an invite over."
"Consider it an open one," Steph said. "Unless Shirley's going to spend the night talking about Burg crap."
"I know she's a bit … much, but you've gotta give her a break this time. There hasn't been this much going on since you and Edna torched the funeral home."
My wife regained her hold on our baby and narrowed her eyes at Gazarra. "No more hugs for you."
"Until next week when we show up at Rangeman."
"It's not wise to threaten to infiltrate a security firm," I reminded him.
"You wouldn't hurt Olive's Uncle," Eddie hedged.
"Before you get too cocky, you may want to have a word with GodTank, Uncle Bobby, Uncle Lester, Uncle Hal, Uncle Woody …"
"I get it. You can stop. I'm sure Shirley will be calling before you need the TPD again … "
"I miss hanging out with you too, Eddie," Steph said to him, correctly interpreting what he didn't say. "Life will be back to normal soon, at least as close as we'll ever come to normal."
"I'm holding you to that," he said, and then he was walking back to his squad car.
"This has been a weird day," Steph said to me.
"That it has. And it's not even over yet."