CHAPTER 1

The security keypad told me that I wasn't alone.

The tiny hairs prickling to attention on the back of my neck, and the low level electric thrill that hummed through my body told me the identity of my quest.

I left the lights off and made my way into my tiny kitchen and heaved my bundle onto the counter. I loved my mother, and I loved my mothers cooking. But half a leg of ham, a jar of pickles, a packet of fig newtons, the left over rolls from lunch, three oranges, a bag of carrots and half a pineapple upside down cake was heavy.

I suppose I should be thankful for the exercise.

'Need a hand with that Babe?'

'Thanks, but I think I've got it' I said quickly licking the icing that had accidentally gotten on to my finger as I was putting the cake into the fridge.

Honestly I have no idea how that happened.

'Okay' Ranger said flipping on a light in the lounge room.

I quickly licked clean the other fingers that the icing had some how managed to cover. Cover in a thick gooey sugary goodness.

Shaking my self out of a Homer Simpson like daydream I turned and strutted into the lounge room where another equally delicious and totally sinful treat waited. I had to shake myself out of another, yet totally different kind of daydream when I locked eyes on a very business like Ranger seated on my couch.

'Babe'

I took a heavy seat at the other end of the couch.

I could sense the lecture. A lecture that I had heard, memorised and had committed to heart.

'I need to be more aware of my surroundings. Yes I know, and I was I swear, I checked the keypad, I even had my gun. but I knew it was you' I rushed out in one breath hoping to stop the lecture before it begun. I also was hopping he hadn't checked my cookie jar.

'Babe, that's not what I was going to say'

It wasn't. huh.

'What were you going to say?

His eyes did that thing they sometimes do. Turning into big drowning pools of melting chocolate that pull you in and trap you there while he probes your soul

I sensed the mood had changed somewhere back there. The atmosphere hang heavy around us as Ranger kept my eyes locked with his.

'what I came to tell you was goodbye.'

It felt like I had just been kicked in the guts. The wind knocked out of me, my chest thorn open, my heart pulled out then stomped on.

Not ten seconds ago we were sitting here, both… I didn't know what was happening, but I did know something was happening. Damn it .

'What?' I bit out so hard the word must have had teeth marks.

'Babe, I have to go out of town for a while' Ranger said calmly

I'm glad he was calm because I sure as hell wasn't.

I was up off the couch and pacing. Working myself up into a Rhino mode the Lula would be proud of.

'What do you mean you have to go away? Are you coming back? How long will you be gone? Or is this it, the big kiss off? Huh that's it isn't it you're….'

Ranger had gotten up off the couch to stand in front of me.

Right now that was the equivalent of standing in front of a runaway train.

Taking me gently, yet forcefully by the shoulders Ranger stopped my pacing, and calmly, always calm, answered all the hysterical questions I had flung at him. Not that he had to. It's not like he owed it to me. He made that clear, that we don't owe each other anything.

Yeah sure point out that I'm still bitter about that. Like you wouldn't be.

'I have to go away on a job. I don't know how long it will take, no more than a couple of weeks. Yes I'm coming back. And there is no way that I could ever brush you off Stephanie Plum.'

'Oh' All of a sudden I was feeling sorry for being erratic and bitchy

'Now, Shut up and kiss me goodbye'