Pulling myself up and my head over the bar for the fiftieth time, a groan escapes me as my arms protest the movement. Sweat is running from my temple and down my face, but it doesn't stop me from slowly lowering myself and then repeating the action for the fifty-first time. Once again, I woke up feeling the need to move and even though I had already run ten miles this morning, I was still feeling restless.

But this isn't doing its job, I still feel edgy. So when I pull myself up for the fifty-second time, I eye my boxing wraps which are hanging off a hook on the back of my front door. Maybe that will help to exhaust me.

I drop down to the ground and grab them off the hook. I am glad I was able to secure an MMA bag on the cheap. Punching something is really cathartic.

Being cooped up was never something I liked and having to stay indoors for so long, thanks to this stupid virus, really made me antsy. So home workout videos, running, boxing and kicking all have become part of my morning routine. But for the last couple of weeks, instead of just working out in the morning, I find myself working out multiple hours a day, just to get the anger and frustration out.

I haven't seen my family in three months. I haven't chased a skip in just as long. Vinnie was afraid of getting the Virus, so he shut down the Bonds office. He has money, well rather his wife does, so this all isn't a problem for him. Connie, Lula and I have been having a harder time. Luckily Rangemen throws some work my way once in a while, which keeps me from having to move in with my family. Something I want to avoid for as long as possible. I did visit them at the window a few times. Mom looked like she wanted to kill Grandma Mazur. I understand why I can only see them through the window, I don't want grandma to die, but I also need to work and earn a living.

My phone rings just as I am done wrapping my hands and I press accept on my Bluetooth headphones. Something I invested in after Mrs Neitsche, my next door neighbour, complained about me blasting Metallica every day for my workouts. "Yeah?" I answer.

"Babe." Emotion wells up within me and I throw a hard punch at the bag. "You working out again?" Worry laces his voice.

"For years you wanted me to get fit, now that I am doing that you are complaining?" I snap. I just can't help myself lately. And I am NOT on my period. This Lockdown business is turning me into a crazy person.

"Talk to me" he demands softly.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath to ward off the emotions that are threatening to spill over and out. I fear that once I open the floodgates, I won't be able to shut them again. "I can't."

"I am worried about you." And if that isn't a stab right to the heart.

"I miss you" I deflect. The relationship Ranger and I currently have is a weird one. Before the whole world went to shit, Ranger had to fly to Germany to train Soldiers at the Ramstein base. We weren't anything but friends at that point. Still, he asked me if I wanted to join him in Europe after his 'mission' was done. Not one to pass up the chance to spend time with Ranger in Europe, I agreed, but then the WHO called it a pandemic, the borders shut and the army decided they might as well make use of him while he was there. So instead of being able to fly home and go into quarantine, he had to stay put.

Since then we have been talking a lot on the phone and facetime. We even have movie nights, where we hit play at the same time and watch the movie together. Then there are our online scrabbles games, which, annoyingly, he keeps winning. This all makes us seem like two people who are dating, but we haven't clarified what this actually is.

I want to wait to bring it up, because throughout all of this, I fell in love with him even more and it has become clear to me that Joe, with whom I broke up six months before lock down, and I were never a good fit. Telling someone you love them for the first time should be done in person.

"I miss you too, but you are deflecting."

I punch the bag in quick succession, trying not to groan at the way my arms ache. Then I turn and kick the bag a couple of times, all the while Ranger is patiently waiting for me to answer, which annoys me. Why does he have to be so patient? Why does he have to be all the way over in Europe? Why the fuck do we have to lockdown?

I deliver another couple of punches to the bag. My anger and frustration comes to a head and when I follow the punches up with some kicks, I yell at the top of my lungs "ARRRRGGGGGGGG, FUCK" and with a suppressed sob, I drop to the ground.

"Talk to me Babe…"

"It's getting to me….The lockdown I mean." I finally admit. "I know it makes no sense, but I kind of miss my family, even though I don't get along with them well on any regular day. I miss being able to go and do whatever I want. Our freedoms are being taken away and yes, I realize people are dying, but this is bad. Mentally I am exhausted, physically I am too keyed up. I try to switch up what I do, but it isn't helping. The zoom calls with the Merry Men help for a little while, but when we hang up I just feel the same again. And I miss you like crazy." He is silent for the longest time, that I cannot help but cringe. "I am sorry, you probably are not having a great time over there either, I didn't mean to lay this on you."

He clears his throat and then says "You have nothing to be sorry for. Whenever you need someone to listen to you rant, I am your guy. In general, I am always here for you, no matter what." My breath hitches at his statement. I open my mouth, but shut it in an instant. I almost said those three words. "You never tell me what and how you are feeling, so I am happy you did just now." He doesn't say it accusatory, just simply stating a fact. "I will speak to my CO. I will come home as soon as I can."

"NO" I shout. "No, don't make a fuss because of me."

"It won't be a fuss, Stephanie." He replies softly. "It is okay to feel the way you do. Isolation is never easy and even the toughest soldier breaks from it. Exercising is one way to combat it, but it only helps for so long. I will come home as soon as possible. In the meantime I will get the guys to check in more often and ask Bobby for a Therapist."

"Please don't" I beg, feeling embarrassed. I don't want to pile on the guys. Rangemen offices were shut down and everyone is working remotely. The last thing they need is to watch my ass too.

"Babe, they will be happy to do it. They probably are not contacting you much either because they are thinking along the same lines as you right now. I will sort it out. Leave it to me." And with that he hangs up on me. That man will never learn phone manners. With a sigh I push myself off the floor, get rid of the wraps and then strip on my way to the shower. I feel a little lighter after confessing all of that to him.

A couple of hours later, I receive a text from Ranger, with an address in Wyoming of all places, a note that says to pack a bag for a few weeks and that someone will be there to pick Rex and me up at six the next morning.


At six AM on the dot, Les pulls up in front of my house with a grin on his face. "Beautiful, it is so good to see you face to face" he announces loudly and wraps me into a bear hug. I sigh at the contact. I missed hugs. "Come on, we gotta get going. We will meet the others at a petrol station outside Trenton."

"The others?" I query and help him to put my bags into the trunk, which already has a couple of black backpacks sitting inside.

"Tank, Lula, Bobby, Hector and Zip."

"What is at this address in Wyoming?" I ask him once Rex is secured in the backseat and Les and I are buckled in and pulling away from the curb.

"Ranger's farm." My head whips around and I narrow my eyes at Les, to see if he is pulling my leg. "Don't look at me this way, beautiful. Ranger brought it a few years back. It used to be his hideout after his missions."

"Used to be?" I query.

"You came into his life." Is all Les says, as if that makes more sense. I want to ask more, but I have the feeling that he wouldn't spill the beans, so I file those questions away for when I see Ranger.

"Is it a working farm?"

"Yes. It is big enough to require a Farm Manager and several employees. Ranger's house is secluded enough for him to get his peace, while the rest of the staff live on the other side of the property."

"All I am getting from that is that we have to hike to our final destination."

At that Les laughs. "Nah. There is an access road through the farm."

"Good, cause I didn't bring hiking boots."

We don't have to stop over anywhere for the night, because we all take turns driving throughout. The guys brought enough food, so we didn't even have to go into the patrol stations when we refuelled. Toilet and Food breaks were done on abandoned stretches of road. Not my favourite thing, when you have to poop, but Lula and I made it work, while laughing the entire time, almost causing me to fall over and into my own shit. But after thirty hours on the road, we finally made it to Ranger's farm, where a man in his mid-thirties, wearing a cowboy hat, an old Metallica t-shirt, jeans and work boots, greets us. Les, Bobby and Tank are pulled into a manly hug and the rest of us receive a wide smile.

"It's been way too long, brother" The man says, addressing Tank.

"You could always get your ass to Trenton. Invitation has never been rescinded."

"Cannot leave the land behind. It would fall into disarray without me" The man replies, but his eyes and smile lost a bit of their shine. "I am Jack Gary. But everyone calls me Cowboy."

"Nice to meet you" I hold out my hand for him to shake, but then remember we are in a pandemic and probably shouldn't be doing that. Before I can take my hand back, Cowboy grabs it and shakes it firmly.

"Nice to finally meet you Stephanie." When he sees the confusion on my face, he adds with a laugh "Ranger told me about you. And I have seen pictures."

"Only flattering ones I hope" I retort.

The others introduce themselves as well and then Cowboy gets into the car with Bobby and Les, while I hop into the car with Tank and Lula. Zip and Hector follow us in their own car.

"He served with you guys didn't he?" I ask as soon as I am buckled back in.

"Yeah." Tank, a man of many words.

"Why Cowboy?"

At that Tank chuckles. "Our drill Sergeant wasn't very original. I got Tank, because of my seize. Cowboy got his because he turned up to boot camp with Cowboy boots, a Cowboy hat and a southern drawl."

Our convoy winds its way around the farm, on a road with many potholes. "That's where the staff lives" Tank explains when a wooden house comes into view, situated right in front of the forest. The two story structure still has its natural wooden colour, red tile roofing and a wraparound porch. A few chairs on the porch and there are flower beds in the middle of the circular driveway, which are in full bloom.

We drive right past the nice looking house and a red barn, which is located just a short walk from the house. The road, if you can call it that, leads through the forest and up a hill.

"Wow" Lula and I exclaim at the same time.

"Batman has been holding out on us, White Girl" Lula says, as we both stare at the giant Farm house built out of natural stone. The two storey house with black roof tiles sits in a clearing on top of a hill, surrounded by greenery, with a view of the surrounding land.

"The housekeeper was here yesterday, so it's all clean and the fridge is full." Cowboy comments, when Tank opens the front door. The short hallway leads to a big living room with three couches next to the fireplace to the right, which has a massive TV mounted above it. To the left are shelves filled with books and a comfortable looking lounge chair. The whole wall opposite to where we are standing are floor to ceiling windows, which lead out to the wraparound porch, which has outdoor furniture and an outdoor kitchen set up.

"Kitchen and dining area are through there" Cowboy points to the left, obviously explaining it for those of us who haven't been here "And the bedrooms are down the hall there." He adds and points to the right. "Since Tank, Bobby and Les have their designated rooms, they can show you the available ones."

I am about to follow Tank and Les down the hallway, when Cowboy touches my arm. "Follow me." I shoot him a questioning look, but I do as he asks, because I am way too tired to argue with anyone right now. The few hours of sleep I did get, weren't very comfortable.

Cowboy leads me from the living rooms up a black iron, spiral staircase, down a small hallway and through an open door. This looks to be the Master suite. "I don't think I should be here." I comment, but despite my words I step further into the room.

The whole room is painted white and has a gray carpet. Sky windows high up let in natural daylight. The bed is pushed against the far wall under the pitched roof, and is lined with a black bedspread. In the large dormer area, which faces the back of the house and also has floor to ceiling windows, an L-shaped couch was placed facing towards me and when I round the corner I discover a TV is mounted to the opposite wall. When I turn around, I find pictures hanging on the walls separating the bedroom area from the walk-in closet and shower on the other side.

"You should be up here" Cowboy remarks and walks over to the pictures. "There is no question about it." He adds, points at a picture and then turns away again. "I am going to get your stuff." Before I can offer to help him, he disappears down the stairs, leaving me to properly look at the picture. My breath hitches when I get closer. Ranger and I dressed to the nines. Him in a Tux with a black shirt, top button undone. I am dressed in a purple turtle neck gown that is cinched under my boobs and has a flowy skirt that goes all the way down to the floor. His arm is wrapped around my waist, while I, totally un-lady -like, am bent over mid laugh. It is a good picture, one I have never seen before. What makes it so great is the look on his face. The way he looks at me with the biggest smile and pure love. Looking at this makes my heart ache for him even more.

I take a deep breath and step away and walk through the walk-in closet that has his and her sides and then into the bathroom. It is lucky that Ranger does not have any neighbours or he would constantly be flashing people with the floor to ceiling windows on every wall.

The roof is flat in here. A white tub sits opposite to where I am standing, the walk-in shower is to my left, which thankfully has frosted windows, and the floating vanity unit is on the wall to my right. Apart from the tub and the sinks, everything else has black tiles.

The whole suite is beautiful and I cannot wait to take a bath and a long ass nap.

Food Steps echo up the stairs and just when I step back into the bedroom, Cowboy returns with my bags. "You didn't have to do this, I could have brought them up myself."

"I figured you needed a moment to look around" He winks. "We are having dinner all together in a few hours, Tank said he will come and get you if you want a nap."

"That man can read minds" I grumble, making Cowboy laugh. I hesitate for a second, but I have been so deprived of physical contact for the last few months, I say fuck it and pull Cowboy in a hug. "Thank you."

"You are welcome" He awkwardly pats my back before we pull apart. "I will see you later." And with that he disappears.

I don't hesitate to close the door, strip down to my birthday suit and take a bath.


Hours later I am laughing so much, my stomach hurts. "So there he stands, Butt naked with his gun in hand and cowboy hat on, giving the poor old lady an eye full."

"In my defence she looked shifty as hell." Cowboy grumbles, making me laugh even harder.

"Dude, you could have given her a heart attack." Tom, One of the Ranch hands, shakes his head and takes a sip of his beer. "Fancy explaining that to the CO… 'Sorry mate, I know you said no local casualties, but the cleaning lady for our AirBnB just dropped by unannounced and had a heart attack'."

Lula slides to the floor laughing and clutching her stomach. I am wiping the tears off the corners of my eyes and the guys all have easy smiles on their lips. It has been a good evening so far, with even better food. Food grown, bred and harvested here on the farm. And man do they know how to cook. We set up a long table outside on the porch and it was nice watching the sun set and the stars appear.

I found out that all of the people working here were either armed forces or worked in Intelligence in one capacity or another. Tom used to be a Captain on a submarine; Charlie, next to him, was a Navy Seal and I am pretty sure that Rodriguez, who everyone calls Ken due to his good looks, used to be in the CIA. While everyone around the table let it slip through their stories about what they used to do, Ken kept it pretty vague.

There are a few others working on the farm, but they live in town and didn't stick around for dinner.

Cowboy's phone beeps and he glances down onto it with a smile, before pocketing it again and then launches into another story from boot camp, making us laugh again. Half way through, headlights appear in the distance. They come closer, but no one seems to pay any mind to them, which can only mean that it is someone they know. Or all of these Ex Soldiers would be grabbing their guns right about now.

The Black SUV stops in front of the house and when the door opens and a familiar face steps out, I don't hesitate and jump up so quickly, that my chair falls over with a thud. I run down the steps and jump right into Ranger's waiting arms. My arms go around his neck, my legs around his waist and he catches me without us toppling over. As soon as his arms come around me, relief floods my body and I can relax for the first time in months. "You are here" I whisper, causing him to chuckle.

"I am, Babe."

I don't know how long we stand there like this, but at some point I realize it has gone quiet around us. Embarrassed, I try to slide down, but he isn't having it. With me in his arms, he walks up the steps and sits down in the chair I vacated and someone righted after it fell over. A whole bunch of 'Welcome home' s are uttered from the others, a beer gets pushed into Ranger's hands and conversation starts up again around us.

No one exists for me at that moment, but him. I draw my head back to look at him properly. He looks tired, but still handsome as ever. "I cannot believe you are here so soon."

"I told you I would come home" His deep voice is like balm on my soul. It is weird to say, but with him here, I feel whole again.

"You did" I smile.

Eventually we migrate from the Front Porch to the back of the house and sit around the fire pit. Everyone talks amongst themselves, alcohol is flowing, stories are told and I find myself cuddled next to Ranger the whole night. I try multiple times to give him his space so he can catch up with everyone else, but he isn't having it. He always comes to sit beside me, whenever I move somewhere else.

Eventually my eyes won't stay open anymore and I lean on Ranger with my eyes closed. I listen to the quiet conversation around me, the night life out in the woods and the crackling of the fire with a smile on my face. I am sure there is a country song about a night like this.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I become aware of is Ranger taking off my shoes and jeans and tucking me into bed. "Good night, Babe."

"G'night" Is all I manage, before drifting back off.


The next morning, I get woken by the sun shining through one of the many windows in Ranger's Suite. I try to stretch the sleep away, but the arm around my waist just tightens. "Not yet." Ranger murmurs and kisses my shoulder.

"I wasn't getting up" I laugh and turn around in his embrace, so that I am face to face with him. "I was just trying to stretch."

"Shhhhh…." he grumbles with his eyes still closed but a smile on his face.

"Hangover?" I ask, with a grin.

"Nope" is his answer, making me grin even wider.

"Liar." I retort with a chuckle.

"When did you become such a morning person?" He pulls me closer before I can answer and kisses me softly on the lips. I am stupefied. "Don't over think this." Ranger adds when he pulls away. How can I not? He is kissing me like… like we are something. But we haven't had that talk yet. We talked about so many things over the last three months, but not this. "Don't over think it." He repeats and then kisses me again. A little less soft this time.

Ranger rolls on top of me, giving me some of his weight, and traces his tongue along my lips. My heart speeds up even more and just as he is pulling away, I snap out of it and draw him back down. Our tongues duel like there is no tomorrow, we grind against each other, trying to get closer. Groans and moans fill the air, until we have to come up to take a breath.

We pull apart with laboured breaths and swollen lips. When he glances down at me with a wide smile, my heart skips a beat or two. "Now you can get up. Run?" I am too out of it to provide any kind of coherent answer, so I just nod instead.

A few more lingering kisses in bed later, we finally manage to get up. Ranger keeps touching and kissing me while we get dressed and I am very close to say 'fuck it, let's do a different kind of cardio', but an hour later we finally make it outside.

We start off easy and slowly increase our pace. I have so many questions for him, but those can wait until later. Instead I just enjoy our surroundings. Running out here in the fresh air, compared to the dirty air in Trenton, is exhausting me quicker and eventually I fall behind. Ranger slows down to keep pace with me and soon enough we are just walking.

He grabs my hand and interlaces our fingers then pulls me off the path, deeper into the woods. "I wanna show you something." Not even ten minutes later we come upon a lake with water so clear that you can see to the bottom.

"Wow." I gape at the beauty in front of me. Except for a small trail along the shore and what I assume is an anchored raft in the middle of the lake, the lake and its surrounding looks untouched.

"This is mine. When I bought this place and employed Cowboy, we made sure to leave large patches of the land to fend for itself, including the lake. It has done wonders for wildlife, plants and trees."

"It is so pretty."

"Let's get in"

"Are you crazy? I won't ever be able to get back into my clothes." Getting Lycra back on when you are wet is not fun.

"Come on, it will be fine" He laughs and starts stripping. Ranger seems more carefree this morning. There is a lightness about him that I haven't seen before.

"You go ahead, I will wait out here" I tell him, while looking around for a good place to park my ass.

"Nope, not gonna happen" he announces and picks me up and throws me over his shoulder.

"NO, RANGER NOOOO" I hit him in the back with my fists.

"If I let you down, are you going to get undressed?"

I sigh and hang over his shoulder like an overcooked noodle. "Fine." He leaves me no room to escape, while I undress. With every piece of clothing that comes off my body, his eyes grow more hungry and the bulge in his boxes becomes larger.

"You are a tease" He grumbles, once my shorts are off, then picks me up and walks right into the cold lake.

"ARGGGG" I squirm, but he won't let me go. "You are fucking mean." I growl, only to have him chuckle at me. When we are neck deep, he loosens his hold on me and I turn so I can wrap my legs around him.

"Beautiful" is all he says before his lips claim mine again. It is slow and sexy and the butterflies in my stomach are just going crazy. But before it gets out of hand, I pull away once again breathless.

"I love you."

I gape at him for a few seconds, before my brain rewinds and replays what he just said. He just uttered three little words I never thought I would hear him say to me. A grin takes over my lip. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He nods. "I thought about this a lot Babe. Us, I mean. The last few months, talking to you, it became clear that no matter what, I cannot live without you. And I don't want to fight this anymore. I am done running away from my feelings and I hope you are too."

I swallow hard while tears gather in my eyes. Cliché, I know, but what he just said hit me right in the feels. "Fuck." I mutter and wipe away the tears that fall down my cheeks.

"Babe?" Ranger's face turns worried.

"I…this" I wave towards my face "...I am relieved and happy. I have been holding back on saying this to you for the last two months. I think that Someday you promised me, has already started. I love you too and I am done running."