I think every day should be Veteran Appreciation Day, but I can't write 365 stories a year ... so I focused on writing one specifically for today. I'm sending endless thanks to the men and women who have served. As always, thank you to my Research Department for continuing to inspire me. All familiar characters belong to Janet.
"Stephanie Plum reporting for duty, Sir!" I said into Ranger's office, giving him a salute that Lester helped me practice but still winces at.
Ranger's lips didn't tilt up at the corners or even one corner, but his eyes say he's amused. "What are you doing here, Babe?"
My eyebrows went up. "Why do you think? I may not be Batman, but I have ways of making people talk. I know what you did."
"Did you bribe the men with doughnuts or threaten them with a made-up dereliction of Stephanie-duty that I wouldn't be happy to hear?"
He may have control over his face at all times, but I don't. I grinned at him. "A master never reveals her secrets."
He knew doughnuts, even Boston Creams, wouldn't be enough to get the Merry Men to reveal one of the Man of Mystery's mysteries, so he answered his own question.
I closed us inside his office and sat in the chair across from his desk. "Seriously, Ranger, why didn't you tell me about today? This is a big deal … and a big day for you personally."
"I don't do what I do for attention."
"Duh! Everybody knows that. This isn't about publicity; this is about me being proud of you and wanting to be with you to watch a goal of yours come to life. It's important."
"To me or to you?" He asked, going stiller than usual waiting for my answer.
"Obviously, you. Helping, supporting, and employing Veterans is a priority for you and your company. But …"
I stopped there. I don't want to get into why being included in this is so important to me.
"But?" Ranger pressed.
I blew out a breath and wished I'd left my hair down so I could buy myself some time putting it into a ponytail. Unfortunately, I left myself and my face no place to hide.
"It's Veterans Day so I wanted to spend the day with my favorite Veteran."
"That's a nice sentiment, but I don't qualify since I still answer the Government's calls."
That had my eyebrows snapping together over my nose. "I thought you were officially out?" I had to ask.
I've slept better thinking the wind won't be rushing him away from me anymore.
"So did I," was all he'd say on the subject. "Why are you here, Stephanie?"
"Ella keeps your kitchens stocked and mine is currently empty?" I teased.
"Your first answer was a better one."
He stood up and came around his desk to lean against the corner of it inches from me. I know what he's doing, trying to overwhelm me with his size and presence so I'll blurt out the answer he wants. I wish I could say that knowing his angle rendered it completely ineffective, but he knows me too well.
"I love you," I said in a rush. "And I love witnessing you do what makes you the happiest."
He curled his fingers around the hand I'd just clamped over my mouth before I could embarrass myself further, and he pulled me up and into him. His lips hovered over mine until I couldn't stand it any longer. I slid my hands into his hair and closed the millimeter of space he'd left between us.
This isn't the kind of holiday that you celebrate in the typical way, but this kiss sure is. I was shaking and breathing heavily when he lifted his head.
"Those feelings are returned tenfold, Babe," he said against my mouth before standing totally upright again. "I was going to stop by your apartment on my way out of town."
I was proud of my brain for working this quickly after lip-to-lip contact with Batman. "So … I could have saved myself a trip?"
He bent his head again and pressed a lingering kiss to my mouth. "Yes. But I'll make it worth your while."
"You already did," I said under my breath as he took my hand and walked me out of his office and to the elevator.
"I really mean it," I told him in the elevator before we reached the ground floor.
"That you love me?" He teased.
"Yes, but I'm talking about being really, really proud of you. You're a good man. Seriously, if you Google 'honorable', you should be the top search result."
He didn't respond until we were walking to his Turbo. I waved to Tank and Bobby, who I bet will be following us. Lester already gave me the rundown on the core team's whereabouts today. Ranger has a ceremony-style appreciation celebration planned for all the RangeVets this evening, which I also plan to invite myself to.
"I bought property. I didn't cure cancer or end world hunger," I was told.
I cut my eyes to him as he slid behind the wheel, and then scrunched my face in warning. "I'm not letting you downplay this. I got all the details from Les … from someone," I corrected. "You only bought this property to turn it into luxury apartments for Veterans who need a safe place to reacclimate to non-war life. That's not nothing, Ranger. I can't speak for them, but I'd guess this feels like an actual lifeline to your about-to-be tenants. I wish everybody would feel as responsible for the health and happiness of our Veterans as you do."
He went quiet again, so I stopped talking. I don't want to make him uncomfortable. In Ranger's mind, he's only doing his job … taking care of those in need. When those people are men and women like himself, with the same mindset and similar training and experiences, he'll work until he has nothing left to make sure they feel appreciated and know they're being cared for.
After about twenty minutes of Porsche time, Ranger pulled into a parking lot for a sprawling apartment complex ... each building four times the size of mine. Before leaving for Rangeman, I'd dressed in its colors, which means no color except black, but I'd tried to soften the severity of it by choosing to wear it in the blouse, pencil skirt, and my favorite heels, form.
As I scanned the contemporary/modern-looking development, I started thinking that I should've worn my gym clothes instead. The side of one building to the end of the others could probably be counted in miles.
"Jesus, Ranger! If you add a post office, bank, deli, and a Target, this could be its own city!"
"That's a bit of an exaggeration, Babe."
"Yeah … no it isn't."
After we walked up to the gate and were buzzed through, I was proven right. I've only seen lobbies like this one in commercials for hotels I'll never have enough money to stay in.
"Kage," Ranger said to the man who greeted us. As they shook hands that morphed into a one-armed guy-hug, I noted he's about an inch shorter than Ranger but built like Tank. "This is Stephanie Plum. Steph, Kage will be acting as my eyes for this property."
"I'm sorry to hear that," I told the mini-Tank. "Ranger sees everything, all the freakin' time. You're going to be exhausted."
He bared his teeth at me in what I'm almost positive is a smile. "I've been in worse shape."
Ranger reached out and squeezed Kage's shoulder. "And you've done a good job bouncing back every time. That's why you're the one I wanted to oversee things here."
I watched Kage double in size under Ranger's praise. "Thanks. I couldn't have done it without you."
Ranger refused to acknowledge my 'See? I told you that you're amazing' smile, but I know he felt it being aimed at him.
"You did the work," he told Kage. "It was my honor to assist where I could."
This is the biggest difference between Ranger and Morelli, aside from Ranger being a Superhero on top of an amazing human and Morelli just being a super big prick. Batman tries to deflect and redirect praise while Joe manufactures it solely for himself.
"You want me to show you around?" Kage asked. "I mean, I know you handled the renovations …"
"But this is Stephanie's first time seeing the buildings," Ranger told him. "She's not wearing boots, so let's keep it to the highlights."
Now that's insulting. "I've chased down bad guys, and ran from a few of them, in heels higher than these. I want the grand tour, Kage," I told the man. "Don't leave anything or anyone out."
If I can't walk tomorrow, I can't think of a better cause.
Ranger isn't just supplying temporary housing for Vets who need a place to regroup. He's created a home and a understanding community for men and women from all branches of the military for however long they need one. Whether it's for only a week or forever.
And no detail was overlooked. The buildings were divided by a Zen-like courtyard, basketball court, plus a pool so the compound looked more like an expansive vacation villa rather than just a bunch of generic condominiums. Separating the men and women's floors is a gym that any Strong Man would be jealous of, plus a laundromat that I really need to take pictures of to show Dillon. I wouldn't be terrified to do my laundry here. I don't care who calls me crazy, there are trolls living in my apartment building's basement.
I noticed that another barrier between living quarters is something similar to what I'd joked about when we got here. Instead of a small kitchen like Ranger has on the fifth floor of Rangeman, he recreated a casual café. As I looked around, I decided it's a combo between a work kitchen and a Starbucks.
"I can feel Ella's influence all over this food court," I whispered to Ranger.
"I told her to instruct the contractor to make whatever she envisioned a reality. This is the outcome."
"Wow. Ella has nerves of steel. I would've freaked if you put that much faith in me."
"I have more than faith in you, Babe."
"Anyway …" I said to avoid doing or saying anything that could become a story later. "Remind me to tell Ella when we get back to Rangeman that I'm calling this place 'Crisis Averted Café'."
"It's a fitting title since the Boss has an entire medical and psychological staff on call for any 'crisis' that might come up," Kage informed me.
"No one gets hurt or harassed on my property unless I order it," was Ranger's reply.
Can't argue with that one, so Kage and I didn't. Instead, he asked if I'd like a tour of one of the apartments.
"Ah, I don't want to intrude …" I began but he interrupted my attempt at a polite refusal.
"The places are similar," Kage told me. "Ranger left the colors and superficial crap up to the individual, but the bones of the apartments are nearly identical. I was going to offer you a look at mine. You won't be 'intruding'."
I'm pretty sure he was teasing me, but I focused on Ranger. "Is that okay by you?"
He lifted a shoulder. "It's Kage's place. He's allowed to invite people over."
"That's not what I was asking. Am I going to make you uncomfortable again by uncovering how little you cared about anything except making everyone here feel like they've come home?"
Silence again, which made me even more curious to see inside one of the apartments that's just one of at least a hundred that will be housing Veterans starting today.
"Jesus," I breathed out five minutes and one elevator ride later. "This place is amazing. It's ten times better and bigger than my apartment."
Ranger finally allowed a smile to escape. "Steph, the boxes my boots come in would be more secure living spaces than your apartment. Ten times better than an outdated rat trap isn't much of a compliment."
Kage tried hard not to laugh, but he's freer with his expressions than Ranger and I can clearly tell we're entertaining him.
"It's okay to laugh," I told the guy. "Ranger's not wrong."
Ranger slid an arm around me and hugged me to him, kissing the top of my head. I curled my arms around his waist and felt myself relax completely. I don't always feel comfortable in certain areas of Ranger's life or career, but days like these … I feel like the only place I belong is right beside him.
He kept my hand tucked into his as we left Kage's apartment and headed straight into the chaos that everyone experiences on moving day. I leaned into his arm as he spoke to his new tenants, and I only removed my free hand from our linked ones to shake the hands of the men and women he introduced me to.
"Should I be saying something more … I don't know … personal than 'Thank you for your service?'" I asked Ranger when it was just the two of us again. "It doesn't feel like it comes close to encompassing everything they've gone through to make it to you … to this place."
"We're good at telling when someone means what they say and what's only an automated statement. Just be yourself and don't be shy about visiting. Treat this building as you would Rangeman."
That I can definitely do.
"Alright. You'd better warn Shorty then that I'm about to put in a huge order. We're going to celebrate your Military Metropolis and welcome the extended Rangefamily moving into it today."