Chapter 31

A few men disassembled Jace's crib to make it easier to transport. They carried a few pieces at a time to pack into the back of the SUV. "We have a crib at Rangeman," I argued.

"Boss moved it to your office, wifey," Manny said as he grabbed the last suitcase from my hand.

We lived at Rangeman for six months. I have no clue how Jace would react living away from his uncles. He loved the attention. I enjoyed the break from chasing after him constantly. Okay, I'll be honest, I'll miss their help keeping Jace entertained.

The men doted on Olivia. She's a happy child. Sure, the formula gave her colic for a few months, but the men were patient as they helped keep her calm.

Livie was supposed to have two godfathers, but I gave her a godmother as well. Tenessa, Hector and Manny were her godparents. Her christening was on the same day as Ric's christening. Tenessa and I figured it would be easier to gather once than try to book a second day.

Ranger and Tenessa married a few months ago. I have never seen Carlos as content. He found his life partner in Tenessa. I couldn't be happier for them. Now we need to find women for the Merry Men. Tenessa was on board, but the men were difficult.

Lory and Curt are 18 years old. Jace is 18 months old, and Livie is now six months old. I'm not discussing my age since 40 is approaching faster than I want.

Today is my birthday. We are finally moving back into our home. Ranger replicated my half of the house. I wasn't surprised.

Tenessa loved my home so much that she wanted our halves to be mirror images. I think she liked the idea of confusing the men. I admit it was amusing.

Michael and I converted the basement apartment into guest rooms. We knew our Rangeman friends would be spending the night frequently. Tenessa and Ranger copied our idea.

After unpacking our suitcases, we ordered pizza for our helpers. I was exhausted that I excused myself.

A few hours later, Tenessa entered my bedroom to check on me. "Sweetie, are you alright?" she asked as she brushed my hair from my face.

"Not really," I admitted. "I feel lightheaded. My lower back hurts."

"Is there a chance you might be pregnant?" Ness asked.

"Anything is possible. Michael had a vasectomy a few weeks after Livie was born," I replied. "If I'm pregnant, it would have happened within a few months after I had Livie."

"Do you mind if I examine you?" she asked.

"Go for it," I answered.

She lifted the blanket before screaming, "Bobby. Come here now!"

More than Bobby's footfalls sounded on the stairs. "Ness?" Bobby asked.

"Get me some towels. I think Steph had a miscarriage. I'm not leaving her side," she insisted. "Carlos, call for an ambulance." I listened as Tenessa continued barking orders. It didn't take long for me to pass out.

When I woke up, I could hear the beeping of the monitors. "Where am I?" I wondered.

"Hospital," Michael replied. "You had a miscarriage, Anie. It was incomplete. They evacuated your uterus before removing it."

Tenessa laid on the bed beside me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and whispered, "Jasmine couldn't stop the bleeding." I nodded when I read between the lines. Even if Michael wanted to reverse the vasectomy, we couldn't have more children.

Jasmine entered my room and asked, "How are you feeling Steph?"

"Groggy. Sore," I answered.

"I'm sorry, Steph. You and Michael can't have more children. The bleeding wouldn't stop. I had to remove your uterus," she quietly said.

"You did what was necessary. Michael and I already decided Livie was our last child," I explained.

Jasmine looked relieved. She gave me aftercare instructions. "No climbing stairs. No lifting more than a couple of pounds. No exercise or sex. Get plenty of rest," she explained.

"What's the recovery time? When can I go home?" I asked.

"Four to six weeks. We're keeping you overnight. You can go home tomorrow," Jasmine replied.

I wanted to go home now. If I couldn't climb the stairs, I would need to stay on the main floor. "Our sofa pulls out into a bed," Michael reminded me.

"I'll organize a team to watch the babies," Tank added.

My emotions were close to the surface. I couldn't stop myself from crying. "We'll bring them to you," Binkie promised.

"Thank you, Binkie. You sensed what I needed to hear."

Every Rangeman employee must have visited, including the contract workers. Each man made sure I was alright before kissing my forehead.

"We should have the hospital install a revolving door," I joked.

"Funny, wifey," Manny stated. "You're looking a bit flushed. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, hubby. I think my hormones are a little messed up," I replied.

"When are you coming back to work?" he asked.

"It depends how long it takes to recover. Jasmine said recovery takes between four and six weeks. If I take it easy, I imagine I could return after four weeks," I reasoned.

"Could you work from home?" he asked, hoping I could offer some remote assistance.

"Unfortunately, I can't. I'm not even permitted to hold my babies without assistance," I replied, sadness noticeably colouring my tone.

"Wow. That must be tough. Tank posted a schedule at Rangeman. He had to stop Hector, Lester and Binkie from filling it with their names," he said with a laugh. Manny removed a page from his back pocket. "Take a look."

I read the schedule the men organized. It must be the original before Tank changed the names.

Hector signed up for the 0700 to 1500 shift. Lester wanted 1500 to 2300; Binkie took the 2300 to 0700 timeframe.

"It doesn't give anyone else a chance to help," I stated the obvious.

"Nope, but I think that was the point." Manny opened his email to show me the new schedule. "Read this one."

More men volunteered to help during the daytime hours. However, I noticed Hector, Binkie, and Lester signed up for the long night shifts. Why was I not surprised?

After three weeks of limited movement, I was going crazy. I wanted to pick up my children. Cuddling my children as I lay on the bed was not satisfying. I want to hold them on my lap. Livie was getting impatient. She wanted me to hold her in my arms constantly. Jace, however, was a trooper. He was surprisingly gentle for a toddler.

Tenessa sat beside me on the couch. "Is Liv still frustrated?" she asked. "Julie said you're begging to hold your children."

"Unfortunately. I'm not sure what I can do. My abdomen doesn't feel tender anymore. The small incisions from the laparoscopic procedure have healed. I know I can hold them without experiencing too much pain, but nobody listens," I snapped.

"Do you mind if I check?" Ness asked as she pointed to my abdomen.

"Nope. If it means I can hold my baby, then go for it," I replied.

She gently palpated my abdomen, watching my reactions for any pain or discomfort. Nothing hurts. I feel fine.

"When's your follow-up appointment?" Tenessa asked.

"Next week," I admitted. "Jasmine scheduled it for the day after the four-week mark."

"I know it's difficult, but you still can't lift Liv or Jace. There's no reason you can't hold them in your arms. I'll be right back," she said.

A few minutes later, she was carrying Livie towards me. "Are you excited, Liv? Momma's going to hold you in her lap. You can't bounce, okay?" she asked Livie. My daughter giggled as she reached out towards me.

Tenessa sat beside me with Livie squirming in her arms. "Hi, Livie. Come to momma," I called as she leaned for me to grab her. Her little arms wrapped around my neck. "Thank you, Ness," I whispered.

"No problem, Steph. I'll stay here to make sure Liv doesn't squirm too much," she stated.

too much," she stated.

Holding Livie in my arms felt right. I really missed feeling her arms wrapped around my neck. "Where's Liv?" Vince asked as he entered the room.

"Shhh. She's sleeping," I whispered.

"It's about time too. Liv was exhausted, but she kept fighting sleep," Vince admitted.

"Livie needed her momma," I stated. I held my daughter until my arms were too sore to continue. Tenessa carefully lifted her from my arms before passing her to Vince.

"Ma ma ma ma," I heard Jace say as he beelined towards me. He climbed onto Tenessa's lap before leaning into me. Jace pulled back to kiss my face. I smiled when he held my face between his little hands. With extreme caution, he leaned forward to kiss my forehead.

"Awe, that was adorable," Julie said as she entered the room. "Jace has been watching his uncles. I got a picture too."

I felt Jace slump against my chest. Michael lifted Jace from my arms. Jace fussed a little from losing contact with me, but he quickly settled. "Do you feel better?" Tenessa asked.

"One hundred percent. Thank you, Ness," I responded.

"Ric is sharing the crib with Liv. Our adoption hearing is in a few hours."

"Good luck," I whispered as she hugged me.

Julie was smiling when she returned later in the evening. "It's official," she singsonged. "Tenessa's my mom."

"I'm happy for you, Jules," I said. I was genuinely happy for her family.

"Thanks, mama. I have to tell Curt." Julie hugged me before walking through the door connection our units.

I was getting ready for bed when my phone rang. It wasn't a number I recognized, but I answered it anyway. "Hello," I said while connecting the call.

"Aunt Steph?" a shy voice asked.

"Um," I said unsure how to respond. I've never met Angie or Mary Alice. I couldn't understand why they were calling me out of the blue.

"I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Angie," she confidently stated.

"Hi, Angie. How can I help you?" I asked.

"Mary Alice and I are in Florida. There's been, um, I," she tried to say between sobs.

"Sweetie, are you okay? Where are you?" I asked as I waved my arms to get Hector's attention. He waited for my instruction. I pointed to the phone and mouthed 'trace' for him to locate the caller.

"We, um, can you," she kept trying to say the words, but couldn't get past the tears.

Another girl grabbed the phone. "Aunt Steph. I'm Mary Alice. We're in Miami at the airport. Can you pick us up?" she asked.

"Of course. Why are you here?" I wondered.

Her breath hitched as she tried to say, "It's mom." She didn't need to say another word. I heard her whisper, "Nobody wants us." My heart broke for these little girls.

I wondered how they got my phone number. "Grandpa Plum gave me your cell number," Angie stated. Dad was visiting his ex-Army buddies in Washington. Tabitha travelled with him, making neither available.

"I would love to pick you up myself, but I can't. If I described a close friend of mine, would you go with him?" I asked.

"Is he scary?" Mary Alice asked.

"No. Vince is your cousin. He has brown wavy hair, brown eyes, tall. Do you know how Brad Pitt and Selena Gomez look?" I asked.

"Yes," I heard them reply.

"Vince looks like Brad Pitt, but Italian. His wife, Celia, looks like Selena Gomez, but taller and darker," I explained.

I passed my phone to Vince. "Hi, Angie, I'm Vince Manero. I'm wearing black jeans and a black shirt with Rangeman embroidered above my heart. I have a heart-shaped tattoo on my right wrist. The initials inside the heart are CM and VM. When I approach you, ask me how many children your Aunt Stephanie has. I'm leaving right away. Wait by the baggage claim belt and stay together. Steph will give you the correct answer. Stay by baggage claim. I'm on my way with Celia."

Vince passed me the phone and ran from the house with Celia on his heels. I waited until their car drove away before asking, "Do you have me on speakerphone?"

"No. Angie and I are listening through earbuds," Mary Alice answered.

"Good. Keep this information to yourself. I have four children. The older two, Mallory, and Curtis are my eighteen-year-old twins. Jace is nineteen months, Olivia is seven months. When you ask Vince how many children I have, give him the answer. Ask a follow-up question about age or nicknames that are Lory, Curt, Jay and Liv." I repeated the information several times until I was confident they remembered the details.

"Thanks, Aunt Steph. I think we have it memorized," Angie stated. "I think Vince is here now. We'll see you soon. Bye."

The girls arrived around 45 minutes later. Angie and Mary Alice looked worse for wear. I could tell they've been crying. Their eyes were red and puffy. "Come here," I said as I pulled them close. They buried their faces into my shoulder and cried some more.

"Mary Alice, grab my hand," Celia quietly commanded. Mary Alice unwrapped her arms from my waist to grab Celia's hand. Angie held my hand as Celia, and I led the girls to the couch.

"What happened to your mother?" I quietly asked.

"Grandma was drinking a lot. Mom jumped into the car to stop her from driving drunk. The car jumped the curb and smashed into Giovanni's deli," Angie said between sobs.

"They died," Mary Alice cried.

"I'm so sorry," I said. "Where's the baby?"

"Lisa is with her dad, Albert. He gave us this envelope," Angie replied as she pulled a thick envelope from her pocket. I stifled my anger as I read the legal document. Albert relinquished his adoptive rights to Angie and Mary Alice. My nieces were officially wards of the state.

"Michael!" I shouted. He ran into the room to see what was wrong. I passed him the papers and stated, "We need to contact TPD and CPS."

"The girls are staying here," he stated.

"No," Vince intervened. "They are coming home with Celia and me."

"What do you say, girls? Will you come home with us?" Celia asked.

Neither Angie nor Mary Alice knew what to decide. "Girls, I had surgery a few weeks ago. I'm supposed to be resting to heal. Go home with your cousin while I make some phone calls. You can always come back tomorrow," I reasoned.

"Okay," they agreed.

"What about school?" Angie asked.

"Tia Steph has some important phone calls to make first. I'm a teacher. I'll help you keep up with your courses," Celia replied. I gave my nieces another hug before they left with Vince.

The phone rang a few times before a sleepy voice answered, "Hello, Gazarra speaking."

"Hi, Eddie. It's Stephanie."