The Problem with Someday
Disclaimer: This a Stephanie Plum FanFiction Story. All recognizable characters belong to the fabulous Janet Evanovich. I am just borrowing her amazing characters for a while. I'm grateful she allows us to play with her characters.
Summary: Ranger sees Morelli buying an engagement ring. What will the man of mystery do? Follow his heart or concede the fight. Mainly canon compliant. Takes place after Hard Eight.
This story is in response to a reader request from the Facebook group Janet Evanovich Fan Fiction.
Warning: Adult language and smut.
Chapter One
Ranger looked up from his desk. The hulking form of his second in command, Tank, was filling the doorway. Tank looked uncharacteristically nervous and unsure. Ranger just looked at him and waited. He and Tank had been in some difficult spots together over the years and Ranger trusted Tank to have his back. Unease tingled at the base of his spine. Years of serving and working together told Ranger whatever Tank was about to tell him, it wasn't good.
"Um, boss you should probably come look at something." Tank stammered.
Ranger's eyebrow went up in a silent question, but Tank didn't elaborate. Ranger got up and followed Tank to the bank of screens on the control room floor that monitored the various businesses that had RangeMan security systems.
"Show him." Tank instructed Hal.
Hal couldn't meet Ranger's eyes and fumbled around until a live video feed came up on the screen.
Ranger felt his entire body flash hot then cold, but he kept his arms crossed over his chest and he kept his expression neutral. Or at least he hoped he did. He figured he hadn't hit anything or fainted so he was doing pretty well.
There on the screen was Joe Morelli picking out an engagement ring at Rizzo's Jewelry Emporium. Morelli was Stephanie Plum's on-again, off-again cop boyfriend. Ranger absently wondered if he would end up being her on-again, off-again fiancé.
Ranger was clenching his jaw so hard he was a little afraid he might crack his teeth. Stephanie was a complication in his life that he hadn't seen coming. There were moments when he really wished he'd never stepped into that diner and met her, but mostly he thanked the universe every day that she had come into his life, even if she did try his patience and terrify him with regularity.
Stephanie Plum had gone to work for her idiot cousin Vinnie at Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. She had no experience as a bounty hunter, background in law enforcement, or the military. She'd been a lingerie buyer for cripes sakes. Still, she had luck, intuition, and tenacity in spades. Her methods might be a little unorthodox, but she was a pretty good bounty hunter.
Ranger had met her when Vinnie's office manager, Connie Rossoli, had called in a favor. She wanted Ranger to show Stephanie the ropes and make sure she didn't get killed until their regular guy healed up from a busted appendix. Ranger had agreed because Connie's family had mob ties that were useful. He figured it would be an easy favor. He'd been wrong.
Ranger had walked into that diner not knowing what to expect, but Stephanie Plum had not been it. She was stunning with those gorgeous blue eyes that reminded him of the ocean, a generous mouth that he immediately wanted to put to good use, and that riot of dark, untamed curls, but that wasn't what had drawn him to her. It was the lightness about her, the inherent goodness that years later still hadn't dimmed. She was one of those rare people that could be fierce and resilient. Despite everything that had happened, she was still optimistic and kind.
Ranger had been instantly attracted to her but over time that had turned into so much more. Into something Ranger couldn't really name or explain. She'd wormed her way past all his defenses, and Ranger was a little afraid she might have also taken his heart. Somewhere in the back of Ranger's mind he thought that someday things in his life would normalize and there would be a place for Stephanie. That was the problem with someday. It never came or when it did, it didn't look like you imagined. He thought Stephanie would be there, waiting. He'd been wrong about that too.
But none of that mattered. Ranger didn't do relationships and a woman like Stephanie Plum deserved a whole lot better than him. His relationship with her was complicated. He'd been her mentor, occasional employer, and friend. He'd also been her lover for one amazing night that was seared into his brain and branded on his body.
He'd made some half-hearted deal with her, that if he helped her bring in Eddie DeChooch, some geriatric mob enforcer, she would spend the night with him. The whole night. By that time the attraction between the two of them had been boiling for months, but Ranger didn't do relationships and Stephanie didn't do casual sex.
They'd both known the so-called deal was just an excuse. Ranger was telling her he wanted to sleep with her and putting the ball in Stephanie's court. She could take the deal or not. He would have helped her either way, no strings attached. She'd known that. Turns out, Stephanie didn't need assistance with the capture of DeChooch. She had managed that all by herself in classic Stephanie Plum style.
Stephanie had called Ranger to transport him to the station so DeChooch could save face. They'd both known Stephanie had called because she was saying yes. Ranger had given her plenty of time to back-out and made it clear he wouldn't hold her to it. But Stephanie hadn't wanted to back out and she'd made that abundantly clear.
They'd spent one incredible night together. A night that was supposed to get her out of Ranger's system, but instead had lit a fire in his blood that raged and threatened to consume him.
The next morning when Ranger woke up still in her bed, his arms wrapped around her, with a feeling of contentment and dare he say love, Ranger had panicked. He'd leapt out of bed, and thrown on his clothes in record time. His hands had been shaking so badly he could barely buckle his belt and his t-shirt was on inside out. Thank fuck it had been dark or the gig would have been up. Ranger had left that gorgeous woman lying in her bed looking confused and more than a little hurt.
When she'd tried to talk to him about it, he'd doubled down on being a dumb-fuck and he'd given her some pitiful speech about no price for what they gave each other. Not financial. Not emotional. Not ever. Then he'd sent her back to Morelli. Ranger managed to not actually groan out loud at that little gem of a memory.
He told himself he was glad when she went back to Morelli. Morelli seemed to be a decent enough guy, and he was a good cop. Stephanie had known him for years and his family was from the Burg. They seemed like a perfect match. Certainly, their families seemed to think so.
The truth was Ranger was jealous. He tried to pretend like it didn't bother him, but he was pretty sure he had ground his molars into dust a time or two. He couldn't stand it when Morelli touched her, but Ranger knew he didn't have any right to say anything. He'd given up that right when he'd walked out on her. So, he kept his mouth shut and vented his frustration elsewhere.
What he should have done was leave her and the cop to it, but he kept finding reasons to be around her, drawing her into his orbit. A stolen kiss, help on a job, any excuse to touch her. To just spend time with her. He'd probably made it worse than it needed to be by hedging around how he felt. He'd finally gotten the courage to tell her he loved her and then immediately fucked it up by adding a qualifier. Ranger had really pulled out all the stops on the stupid train with the 'there are all kinds of love' speech and 'this kind doesn't come with a ring'.
Their relationship had been strained after the DeChooch deal, and almost non-existent after his stupid, ill-timed and ill-advised speech about love. No one would ever accuse Ranger of being good with words. Some of the light had gone out of Stephanie's eyes, and she was far more reserved around him than she had been. She mostly avoided anything that would result in a repeat sexual encounter. People might say Stephanie lacked good judgement and common sense, but when it came to him, she seemed to have his number.
Things had been on-again with the cop for several months and as time passed, Ranger had seen less of Stephanie. Morelli thought Ranger was a loose cannon and RangeMan was full of rent-a-thugs. Maybe there was some truth to that, but Ranger tried not to do anything to get crosswise with Morelli or the Trenton PD so he had respected the boundaries that Stephanie had set.
Morelli had some pretty traditional ideas about marriage and family, and Stephanie had been taking on less bounty hunter work and more clerical temp work. No doubt trying to please Morelli. Morelli had made it abundantly clear he hated Stephanie's job. His lack of support and outright ridicule had finally worn her down. Ranger always thought Stephanie was too much of a free spirit to tie herself down like that, but maybe he'd been wrong. It looked like things were working, because there Morelli was picking out an engagement ring in real-life technicolor.
"What do you want to do boss?" Tank was eyeing him.
Ranger gave a negative shake of his head. "Nothing besides making sure Rizzo's doesn't get robbed."
Ranger turned and forced himself to walk at a measured pace to the elevator. He used his fob to take him to seven. His body felt like it was being stung by a thousand fire ants and he could hear the blood roaring in his ears.
He'd never been so glad to get inside his apartment in his life. His breathing was shallow and his skin felt clammy. Ranger was pretty sure he was on the verge of a panic attack. He'd been shot, tortured, and waterboarded and exactly none of those things had affected him like watching Morelli buy Stephanie a ring.
Ranger leaned back against the door and closed his eyes, breathing in, holding it, and breathing out. This was a good thing. Stephanie deserved to be happy. She deserved to have a husband and a decent man to father her children. Ranger was none of those things, so why did he desperately want to jump in his Porsche and whisk Stephanie away before Morelli could propose to her. Before it was too late and there was no turning back.
Ranger realized he'd never really contemplated his life without Stephanie in it, and now that he did, it felt bleak. Ranger stalked over to the bar and pulled out a tumbler and splashed a healthy amount of whiskey in the glass. He threw it back in one swallow. The liquid fire streaked down his throat and burned his belly. He refilled the glass and did it again. His gut was churning and his chest ached. What the fuck was he going to do?
Be happy for her that's what. He'd wish her well and get on with his life with one less complication dogging his steps. Rage unexpected and potent boiled through him. How the hell had he let this happen? Ranger threw the glass against the wall with violent force taking momentary satisfaction as it shattered into a thousand shards, just like his heart.
Ranger took a few calming breaths. He could fix this. He could make things right. Ranger grabbed his keys from the silver dish by the door and headed for the garage.
The growl of the Porsche soothed him as he roared out of the lot. The big engine quickly eating up the miles. Stephanie's tracker put her at some brokerage firm downtown. With a little luck he could get there before she got off of work.
Ranger ducked into a parking space near the office building and waited. A few minutes after five he saw Stephanie come out. She looked tired. Her head was down and the usual bounce in her step was missing. His heart gave a little stab as he watched her walk his way.
Ranger got out of the Porsche and met her on the sidewalk. Her eyes flitted up to his face, and he saw wariness pass over her features.
"Babe."
Ranger wasn't really sure what to say beyond that. It wasn't like he had a grand plan when he'd jumped in the car. He didn't know what he wanted or what he could offer, all he knew was he didn't want her to marry Morelli. He was well aware he probably looked like an idiot standing on the sidewalk staring at her. About the only thing he seemed to be missing was the boom box to hold over his head.
Stephanie let out a weary sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. He recognized it as the protective gesture it was. "Ranger." Her voice was neutral.
"I was hoping we could talk." Ranger started.
"Then talk." Stephanie glanced at her phone, checking the time.
"How about dinner? Maybe we could drive out to the beach?"
Stephanie narrowed her eyes at him. "Why. What do you want?"
Ok, so that felt like a kick to the gut.
"I'm not doing distractions anymore." Stephanie gestured towards the office building.
"No, it's not about work. I don't want anything, I just…." What? Wanted to beg her not to marry Morelli? What exactly was he supposed to say? It wasn't like he had much to offer her.
Stephanie's phone rang. "Hey mom. Yes. No, I'm on my way. I promise I won't be late. Yeah, I'll see you at six." Stephanie hung up.
"Look, I've got to go or I'm going to be late." Stephanie walked past Ranger.
He reached for her, and she flinched away from him. "I think you've said everything I needed to hear." With that Stephanie walked off.
"I miss you." Ranger said to her retreating back.
Apparently, she didn't miss him. Maybe she wanted Morelli to propose to her, he hadn't thought of that. He'd been so caught up in his own reaction, he hadn't stopped to consider what Stephanie wanted. That pretty much marked him as the selfish bastard he was. No wonder she had left him standing on the street staring after her.
It wasn't like Stephanie and Morelli hadn't been circling each other and talking about marriage for years. Maybe they both had reached a place in their lives where they were ready to settle down. It was entirely possible the only one not happy about this engagement might be him, and he had no right to interfere. It was selfish to mess this up for her, just because he had feelings that he didn't know what to do with.
If Stephanie said yes, he'd know that is what she wanted, and he would suck it up and be happy for her, or at least try to be. Ranger realized he hadn't been much of a friend, and maybe he should work on that because it was entirely possible that is all he would ever be from now on.