Surviving Stephanie Chapter 34
Note: Heh. Sort of plot. Sort of not. Fluffyness abounds. Why? Because I feel like writing fluff. I am not equipped to write angst. That's another chapter away.
Disclaimer: I didn't do it. No Janets were harmed in the making of this fan fic.
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I woke up with a start. Something was wrong. Something was-- was… ringing. Fuck. Ranger and his damned Bat Phone. I buried my face back in the warm chest it had been resting on.
"Babe, it's not me."
I nearly cried. This meant I had to, like, get up and move and stuff. I was all warm and comfy, damn it. Trying to ignore the soreness of certain strategic areas I rolled away from the warm naked sex god and went in search of the cold, dead silicone, pausing long enough to retrieve Ranger's t-shirt from the floor and slip it on, followed by the pair of drawstring workout pants from my duffle.
My early morning, sleep-deprived brat-ness lasted until I saw the ID on the accursed phone. I felt my jaw drop from shock and it took me a couple tried to hit the answer button. "Mom?" I asked, not quite daring to hope, terrified it would be Ellen's voice on the other end.
"Hi, sweetheart!" Just hearing her voice was better than hot chocolate. I sank into the plush carpeting, cradling the phone. I had thought I might never hear from her again… "Sorry to call so early but I'm flying in today and I was hoping you could meet me at the airport. I have a surprise for you." Her tone was one that warned me of upcoming mayhem. My mother was nothing if not exciting.
"Surprise?" I managed to croak out.
"Actually a couple of them," she laughed. Oh gods.
"One of them isn't named Sven, is it?" I asked, suddenly wary.
"No. No Svens."
I breathed a sigh of relief. "Where have you been?" I decided to ask out of idle curiosity. I still wasn't exactly up-to-date with what the hell my family history was supposed to be.
"Where else would I be? I was at the Mabon festivals in Edinburgh."
"Did you drop by Stone Henge?"
"No. I decided to focus on Scotland this time. Wait till you see the pictures from Stirling… sweetheart, I have to go but we'll be there at a little after noon. Bring this Ranger fellow."
"How did you—" But it was useless, She'd already hung up. I looked at Ranger as he stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a towel and a barely there smile. Were phone manners contagious? With a body like that, did it matter?
Oh god. Ranger. Mother meeting Ranger. Oh hell. The sense of impending doom curled into my stomach and settled in for a long wait.
"Babe? What's wrong?"
"I—" my voice croaked and I cleared my throat to try again. "My mom is flying in. I'm supposed to bring you. It'll be noonish." Please have a business meeting.
"Your mom? Your dad know she's been gone?"
"Ellen's my stepmom." Wow, okay, maybe not everyone got the cast update… Ranger took a moment to digest this and moved his shoulders in the incremental way that served as his form of shrugging. Economy in all things after all. Except sex. Maybe he conserved energy for that especially…
"All right," he said, turning to pull something out of the closet.
"Are you sure you're not busy?"
"No," he glanced back at me.
"If you are, I'll understand. You're a busy guy. Being Bruce Wayne takes a lot of time."
"It's fine Babe."
"I don't want to impose."
Ranger let out a long breath and turned to face me, wearing a pair of the ever-popular SWAT pants. Why was he supposed to put on something else again? Clothes were so old fashioned…
"You don't want me to meet your mother." I took a moment to appreciate the beauty of his chest, and the way that the scars seemed to just be a part of him. Honestly, I hadn't even noticed them before now.
"Not especially, no." That looked like a wicked one there on his stomach…
He raised an eyebrow. I bit my lip, feeling a twinge of guilt, but not enough to seriously hamper me.
"Any reason why?"
"You carry a gun."
"Babe, you carry a gun."
"Yeah. But if I do it, it's female empowerment."
"Isn't that a double standard?"
"Yes. Please don't point it out to her. She gets all speechy."
Ranger was now in full-on smirk mode. "You're scared."
"I'm not scared."
He stalked toward me, all power and grace, a hunter stalking his prey. I hated it when he made me feel like a small furry animal. I stood up, not that it helped, but at least I had a minimally better chance at escape. What I was escaping was beyond me. A lot of things were beyond me lately. I was getting used to it.
"You are."
I was. "I'm respectful," I protested, standing my ground to glare up at him. "I respect the hell out of my mom. She's like a benevolent fire-breathing dragon who is politely refraining from barbecuing my butt, but will not hesitate to get me a little crispy on the edges."
Ranger stopped in his tracks to stare at me. "You've put a lot of thought into this." My eyes narrowed dangerously and I crossed my arms.
"Fine. Just fine. You meet her and see if you don't agree. I'll enjoy seeing what fried green army guy looks like."
"She can't be that bad."
I took a step forward to slide my arms around his waist and look up into those beautiful dark eyes. "Guess you'll find out. Now finish getting dressed before I'm driven mad by lust and do something unforgivable like make you late to work. You have an empire to run, Lord Vader." He smiled and tweaked my nose before doing just that. Dressing. If society made any sense no one would ever put clothes on him.
I didn't feel up to facing a mirror so I pulled my hair into a pony tail at the base of my neck and left it at that. I watched as Ranger put on his own clothes, covering all those gorgeous rippling muscles with layers of black.
A smile touched his lips as he caught me watching him. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Just… the universe is sort of rearranging itself. It threw me for a loop." And down a staircase. And into another body. And into a world that shouldn't exist.
Ranger shrugged on the shirt and stood looking at me, his eyes intense and focused. "Is this about last night?"
"No." I shook my head. "If it was about last night, I would probably have been running the other direction. I'm just off balance after everything." Way off balance. Falling-out-of-body off balance. "Are the guys all going to be downstairs?"
Ranger nodded. "Tank and Lester live here. Bobby's married and lives two houses down."
Right. He and Tank had kind of skimmed that portion last night… Well, I guess it figured. Why not? It worked in 3 Men and a Baby… okay, so this was 4 Men and an M-16, but whatever. "Safety in numbers?"
"Something like that."
"Do I need to go get cute?"
He smiled, moving his head slightly to the left. "You're adorable." Great, my inner Care Bear was glowing with happiness. I smiled back at him.
"You are aware I'm not a teddy bear, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. His smile widened into a blinding grin.
"I'm aware." His eyes raked over me. "I'm going to end up giving you my clothes." I laughed and stuck my tongue out.
"Nah, just part of them. You can keep your suits. I don't look good in ties."
Ranger's eyes were suddenly darker. "Babe," he sighed. Note to self, must try that Britney tux shirt and fedora thing sometime.
"Come on, there's food to be had. I'm feeling all dizzy and faint."
"And I thought it was because of me," he said as we headed out the door. His hand settled on the back of my neck and I wondered about that. It beat the hell out of trying to walk with a guy draped all over you, but it felt… odd, as if he were steering me. Would he go into his driving zone?
"Maybe it is. I guess I just don't have the stamina, Higgs."
"We'll have to work on that, Eliza," he said, smirking.
"Not for twenty-four hours. I'm having a hard time not walking weird as it is. You need to gain weight or take steroids or something."
Both his brows raised at that, and he chuckled. "Trying to tell me something, Babe?" I shot him a sideways look.
"What I'm sayin' honey," I drawled, "is that you're just too much man for little ol' me. Don't know if I can handle it…"
Ranger tilted his head back and laughed.
The kitchen of the Bat Cave was, in reality, a massive affair. I had wondered why it was so huge when there wasn't a horde of French chefs involved, but looking around now, I understood. It took a lot of room to handle Tank, Lester, Bobby, and Ranger. The testosterone levels were suffocating.
As I stepped across the threshold with Ranger, movement ceased. Conversations fell dead. I felt like I'd just walked onstage for my senior dance solo and I hadn't practiced. I pasted a smile on my face and focused on what looked deliciously like…
"Chocolate chip muffins?"
"Fresh from the bakery," Lester said, grinning and holding out the tray. Hey, I had said I'd try to eat more anyway.
"Rock on." I grabbed one and turned to Ranger. "Want one?"
He shocked me by nodding and I handed him one without even being able to think up a comment, so I disguised my momentary speechlessness by taking a bite of chocolaty muffin goodness. Apparently I wasn't the only one shocked because Tank, Lester, and Bobby were all doing pretty good interpretations of Rambo Guppies.
"No 'body-is-a-temple' speeches?" I asked after a second. Ranger shook his head and took a bite.
He ate it. I waited for a second. I figured it might be like a vampire eating garlic. Maybe he was going to choke and have some weird allergic reaction. He took another bite.
I laughed at myself and put my attention back on devouring my own muffin.
"So, anybody wanna chase a Bender?" I asked.
Tank choked on a piece of bacon. Bobby stared at me. Les looked horrified. Ranger smirked.
"Chickens," I sulked, snagging another muffin. I stopped to look at it thoughtfully. "Vinnie didn't call to fire me yet."
"He won't fire you," Lester was grinning deviously. I blinked at him and glanced to Ranger who had taken the seat next to me. Lester was on my other side and Tank and Bobby were across from us.
"Won't as in, doesn't feel like it, or won't as in he knows better?"
"Yep," Bobby said. And that was apparently all anyone had to say on that.
I thought about that for a minute. I decided I'd think about it tomorrow. I was going to have to reserve an entire day for thinking eventually. The table was pretty quiet, I realized with a start.
"You know, tall dark and silent really doesn't work this early in the morning guys. Please, talk or grumble or something. Mutter in discontent."
Bobby snorted. "Don't like the quiet?"
I glanced around. "Quiet is fine. But you guys are too big to be this quiet. It's unnerving."
"Hear that, we're unnerving, Ric," Les was obviously amused.
"A good thing you're such a good dancer, then," I reminded him. Just to see what might happen. His eyes shifted to me and I saw it took him a minute to access the memory. I watched in glee as a flicker of fear showed in his eyes.
"Reminds me, I was going ask if you ever salsa? You definitely have the rhythm for it," I stepped in. Wonder if Ranger saw what I saw? Or maybe he already knew? I glanced at Tank who was curiously intent on his omelet. Ranger was looking opaque. Unreadable. Eh, coin toss on that one.
"Hell yes," Lester said with a grin. "You weren't so bad yourself… You a dancer?"
"I lived for dancing for a really long time," I told him honestly. "I haven't had the time lately though."
"There's a really great place down on Kent. You and Ric should check it out."
"You dance?" I asked Ranger. Why not? I was going to have to get over my shock at anything beyond the limited knowledge of the books.
"A little," Ranger said with a shrug. Great, I was going to have to drag him on the dance floor. Well, no one could be perfect. Maybe I could con Lester into going with me some day.
A few more minutes of conversation, which eventually turned to take down strategy for a particularly nasty skip and I excused myself to go get dressed. I showered, worked some gel in my hair, and pulled on another ¾ length top and a pair of khaki carpenters and stood staring at the duffle bag.
If I took it down with me, that meant I was dying to leave. If I left it here I was being presumptuous. Well, I could always say I forgot it or come get it later or something. Now that was settled I headed downstairs. Time to get the circus back on track.
Ranger dropped me off at my apartment with a searing kiss and an assurance that he'd be by at noon. Then he pressed a set of keys into my hand, told me to check the lot, and was gone. I wasted no time in dashing across the apartment too look out the window. I scanned quickly for something shiny and black. There it was, gleaming in the morning sunlight like a sex dream in metal form.
A Porsche 911.
Without a second thought I ran out of the apartment, took the stairs two at a time, and made a bee line for the object of my immediate lust. I had been expecting a CR-V, but I wasn't going to argue with this. Sorry Janet.
It wasn't until I unlocked it and slid behind the wheel I realized I had a serious, serious problem. A sinking feeling of dread washed over me. The Porsche was a clutch. I, Alyssa Chase, had never learned how to drive a clutch.
Okay, I had options here. I could call Ranger and ask for another car. Something less flashy. Something I wouldn't worry about destroying. Yeah, that sounded good... I flipped open the phone and dialed.
"Yo."
"Yo back. A Porsche? I can't accept a Porsche. I refuse to be responsible for destroying a- another one."
"Babe. The guys have a bet going."
"They can re-do the bet."
"Think of it as a challenge." Disconnect. Screw you and your Bournettes, Bat Man. Fine, you want this Porsche destroyed, so be it. Of course, it's probably not going to die the way you thought it would.
I scrolled through the phone book until I found the name I was looking for, hit Send, and waited. The phone picked up on the second ring.
"Hey, cutie."
I grimaced, but let it slide. I'd have to lecture Mac about stupid nicknames when I wasn't asking him for favors. "I need some help."
"This is going to be good isn't it?" Grr I could hear him smiling.
"I'm not sure. Probably it's going to be really, really tedious. And it's an odd request…" I took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "I need you to teach me to drive a clutch."
"Why?"
"Because Ranger loaned me a Porsche. He won't unloan it, either, because he seems to find it entertaining. Apparently the Merry Men have a bet going on about how it's going to go to car heaven, but it's not going anywhere and neither am I because, as I mentioned, I can't drive it."
"Does Ric know this?" Mac was laughing now. Monkey.
"No. It's embarrassing. I mean, normal people can generally drive something like this, right? I'll owe you."
"Yeah," he was still chuckling. "You're going to owe me. You're running up a tab, sweetheart."
"I'll figure something out. Just please, please help me?"
"You're lucky Kev can handle things around here this morning. I'll be there in fifteen."
"You are awesome, Mac."
"Remind me of that in an hour or two." And he was gone.
Good bye. Did it physically hurt them to say 'Good bye?' Was it against some secret sacred commando book of etiquette?
Fifteen minutes later Mac rolled into the lot in a blood red Ferrari. I wasn't big on Italian sports cars- I just didn't like them aesthetically- but I had to admit it was pretty sexy in an ugly sort of way. I grinned as he walked over.
"Show off," I said, pointing at the car.
"Always." He looked past me to the little 911. "So you've never driven a clutch before? Nothing at all?"
"Nope. I'm all about the automatic."
Mac sighed. "This is going to be a long morning. Hop in."
I angled in and Mac folded himself into it and then took me over the general theory and procedures. He showed me where the gears were. It sounded so simple.
Yeah, so did Riverdance.
"Christ. This car is not for beginners," Mac said through gritted teeth the third time I ground the gears. I looked at him helplessly.
"I could borrow my parents' car but it's a clutch too. And I am not going to drive a 1950's blue brontosaurus Buick."
Mac rolled his eyes but didn't suggest it either. "Just relax. You're rushing yourself."
It was almost noon before I had pretty much gotten the hang of it. I was pretty sure the gear thingy was a grisly mess though. Probably I was destroying the transmission.
"You'll be fine," he reassured me. His brown eyes were still amused despite my attempts at having multiple nervous breakdowns. I was glad he found me entertaining or I'd probably never have been seen again.
"I still can't stop on a hill."
"A lot of people can't. It's tricky."
I smiled and gave him a quick hug. "I really can't thank you enough."
He grinned. "Beats the hell out of spending the morning with a bunch of weight lifters anyway."
"You are a weightlifter."
"Exactly," he grinned. "We don't do so well in groups. So when you going to be back in?"
"Tomorrow hopefully. If you promise to go a little easy on me."
"I always go easy on you, powderpuff." He smirked, brown eyes shining with glee.
"Grrr, MacLeod."
He laughed outright and tweaked my nose. I stuck my tongue out at him to prove I was more mature. "You're a brat," he said with mock severity.
I opened my mouth to say something when a black Mercedes pulled in. Ranger got out, wearing black trousers and looking generally much more Wall St. than Stark St. He was wearing a blazer though. I was willing to bet money there was a gun under it.
"Mac," Ranger said, with a small nod.
"Ric." Mac mirrored Ranger's motion. I had a weird moment of what I thought might have been vertigo. If it hadn't been for Mac's lighter skin tone and slightly bulkier arms, I would have sworn they were brothers. They definitely were what Grandmary would have called cut from the same cloth.
"Ready, Babe?"
I eyed the two men and had a quick inner debate. I should go change but they looked like they might have something interesting to say to one another… Then again they were them and I knew they were both armed to the proverbial teeth, so maybe it was better to get out of the line of fire.
"I need to run upstairs and change. Be back in five." And I scampered. Their voices were already audible by the time I got to the door and it sounded like they might be rising in volume a little. Probably it would be a goodidea to change in record time.
My hair had air dried into soft waves so I left it alone and dealt with finding a nicer skirt or pants that were not obviously falling off me. It took a while but I managed it, with an army green skirt, brown knee-boots and a white turtleneck, because someone had managed to leave a gigantic hickey on my neck.
I was going to have to talk to him about that. I was not a fire hydrant. I didn't like having marks on me. At least not in places where they interfered with my fashion sense. By the time I was finished Mac was already gone and Ranger was sitting in the Mercedes looking stormy. Uh-oh.
"Is there something going on between you and MacLeod?"
I took a moment to process this one. "He teaches me self-defense? He just came by to check up on me." And help me figure out how to drive a stick-shift, which you can't know about. "He's a friend, Ranger."
"That's what you said about me."
"You were. You just got perks. Actually, you kind of took perks… not that I minded. But that was your modus opporendi. And by the way, you have got to be like the worst opportunist in history."
Ranger actually turned away from the road to look at me. "Care to explain that?"
"Oh come on!" I rolled my eyes at his totally alien brain. "I was all powerless against your wicked charms and you didn't do anything."
"You would have been happier with Morelli."
"You said you were an opportunist."
"I also told you I stay morally right."
I sighed and gave up. "Kissing me when I'm with a guy is not morally right. It's morally gray. Besides, I'm not with Morelli. I'm in the Bat Cave. And so far it's pretty much with the happiness."
"You're different now, Babe." I couldn't argue that logic. Not for the reasons he thought I couldn't probably. "And you haven't been in that long."
I shrugged that off. "Live for the moment, Higgs."
"What about the future?"
I bit my lip and looked out the window. It was hard to think about a future you might not have. I was so far off the books now that the only survival rule I had left was avoiding Pino's like it was the Black Death. "You never answered my question, you know."
"About?"
"Def cons. What is a Def Con and why is it numbered?"
"Later, Babe."
I glanced at him but let him slide into his Zone while I played with the radio. I needed mindless pop music drabble and I needed it now.
The airport was crowded but people seemed to instinctively know to get out of Ranger's way. In fact they were getting out of both our ways and shooting sidelong glances. I looked again at Ranger's Wall St. wear and then at my own outfit. Maybe they thought he was my bodyguard. Whatever the reason, it made navigating to the McDonald's area a breeze.
"Shouldn't we be waiting somewhere—"
"This is where we always meet. This or Burger King," I explained and forced myself to quell a moment of panic. What about here? That was the rule for at home, what about here?
"Moonbeam!"
Nope, never mind. Apparently my mother would be the same no matter which universe you stuck her in. I laughed and looked around Ranger to watch my mom come toward us. She was dressed in a linen pant suit with her brown hair swept up into a French twist, but was looking a little mussed. Even so, she was gorgeous. Mom had those fluke genetics that meant even at 45 she still looked somewhere in her early 30s. Both my parents were like that. I was praying I'd gotten it passed on to me.
She brushed past Ranger and engulfed me in a warm hug and a slight fog of lavender, her fragrance of choice when traveling. As I looked over her shoulder I realized that there was someone tall, lean, and well-dressed trailing her. At least he didn't look like a Sven.
Mom pulled away to look at me, her eyes searching and determined. It was a look I would imagine people having while scouting out enemy terrain for a prolonged siege.
I cleared my throat and gestured to Ranger. "Mom, this is Ranger. Ranger, my mom, Lydia Morgan." Mom gave me a meaningful look. I tried not to wince. I could almost feel the flames starting to burn.
"Call me Rhianna," she said with a charming smile to Ranger. "I've been looking forward to meeting you." And barbecuing him for lunch… Ranger flambé, anyone?
Mom pulled Mr. Designer Suit forward and her smile widened. I cringed. I knew that smile. I felt a surge of pity for Designer Suit. He looked at Mom and I knew I was right.
"Moonbeam, Ranger, this is Derek St. George."
Ranger was looking at me. I could just see the question marks flying through his head. Maybe I was getting ESP, too. I smiled at the unfortunate Designer Derek and shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Derek."
"You look so much like your mother, Moonbeam."
Oh, hell Janet. Please tell me that of all the things you could have let transfer over from my life, you didn't just do this to me… I take it back. I'll live by your rules. Oh, please don't have done what I think you did.
"Thanks," I smiled and avoided looking at Ranger. Mom however was fascinated. She was eyeing him like he was lunch. And not in a friendly lunch way either. More in a "I shall eat your soul and enjoy it" way.
"I'm starving," she said. "Where is a decent restaurant in this place?"
"Let me go get the rental car sorted out and we can head out," Derek suggested. He was eyeing her uneasily now as well. Maybe he was brighter than most guys were.
My mom was a great mother, a great writer, and a wonderful friend. She wasn't much on maternal instincts, but when they did kick in they were in full rampaging rhino mode. I looked at Ranger and quickly back at her. I prayed he had the sense not to make any sudden moves. Life would be hell if she decided to hate him.
"So, how old are you, Ranger?" her voice was warm enough to be polite, cool enough to seem not that interested. He looked at her a moment before answering.
I had the sudden feeling I was watching a battle of wits.
"Thirty-two."
"Where are you from?"
"Grew up in Jersey, lived in Miami for a while."
"What do you do for a living?"
"He started his own company," I jumped in. "He's in security."
"RangeMan, correct?" she asked, waiting for my nod before she turned back to Ranger. "Could you excuse us for a moment, please? Ladies room," she explained, taking a hold of my arm and pulling me toward the bathrooms.
When we were safely ensconced in the male-free zone, Mom turned on me. Her blue eyes were steely. "You know what he is. What his company is."
I considered asking how she knew but decided against it. It was probably too much to hope for that RangeMan or various subsidiaries had never run afoul of an Eco group or an animal rights organization. "Yeah, mom, I know."
She took a deep breath and I saw her fighting for relaxation. I could almost tell you how long each chakra point took to scrub clear of negativity. "Moonbeam you are a grown woman," she said slowly with a slightly rehearsed air. "I won't tell you who to play with or what to do. You were born with an amazon spirit and an old soul. I trust your judgment in this."
"But if it blows up in my face, I'll still let you say 'I told you so,'" I offered. Mom's eyes met mine for a shocked moment and then she laughed.
"Brighid help me, I'm doing it, aren't I?" she sighed, still smiling faintly. "Well, I guess I'll do it properly then. Get it out of the way. He's too old for you. You are twenty-two, he's thirty-two!" I blinked and tried to accept that one. Well, I guess I was getting my twenties back… "He's got an unhealthy past, and he's dangerous." She paused then and her face softened as she took my hand.
"But I see why you like him. He has a good heart. You always had a thing about knights," she ended with a resigned air.
"Well, at least it wasn't cowboys."
"They're the same thing, darling."
It was my turn to feel resigned. "I kind of thought that."
"You could do worse," she laughed, pulling me into a hug. "Are you meaning to keep him?" she asked as we headed back out to face the testosterone bearing throngs again.
"I'm not really sure. Maybe, maybe not."
"Good idea. Stay open."
"And Derek?"
Mom pursed her lips. "I haven't decided. I just might."
Oh, poor, poor Derek.
When we reached the table, Ranger suggested some healthy joint. Mom gave him an actual smile and looked delighted.
"Scotland has not yet discovered tofu," she said mournfully. I glanced at Derek. He looked like he'd rather not discover it either. Well, he might as well find out everything now.
"Sounds good to me," I seconded.
Ranger's brow lifted but he didn't comment. I was going to be facing the Cuban inquisition again. I just knew it.
We were almost out of the parking lot, Derek and Mom following us in a hybrid Civic. Who knew New Jersey had even been alerted of hybrids?
"Moonbeam?"
"I don't want to talk about it. Ask my mother."
"Babe."
"Babe-ing me is not going to work. Beating me with a Louisville Slugger wouldn't work. Drawing and quartering wouldn't work."
Silence for a few moments. "Since when do you eat health food?"
"It's not that bad. I just don't like a steady diet of it."
Shut up and drive now, Ranger. I have no answers. I am the seat. I am the landscape. No answers here…
We were almost through dessert when he finally brought it up. I was pretty sure he'd only put it off to drive me nuts. He'd done a good job of it. I had almost convinced myself he wouldn't ask.
"Rhianna, why do you keep calling her Moonbeam?"
Mom gave me a long-suffering look before she looked back at Ranger. "She didn't tell you?"
"She insists I ask you," Ranger's lips quirked in a smile. Aw, isn't she a precious thing? Let's humor her… Bat-stard.
Mom smiled back at him, all charm. "Then I'll let you in on her little secret. Her full name."
Oh hell. I bit down on the lingering teenage urge to shriek the word 'Mom' at the top of my lungs. My hand clenched in my napkin.
"Moonbeam Chalcedony Stephanie Alyssa Plum. I hate the name Stephanie. It was her father's idea." Mom's tone left no doubt as to her opinion for any idea originating with Dad. "He wanted something 'normal' to call her. She's been using it to appease him her entire life."
Funny, I remembered there being no Stephanie part to that name and it ended in Chase. And she had said I used Alyssa to appease Dad. Uh-huh. Like being named Moonbeam wasn't going to get me laughed out of kindergarten…
"Moonbeam?" Ranger tested the word out. If looks could have killed he would have been one dead bloody Sex God.
I bit my lip and focused on my sorbet. I wasn't speaking to either of them. I spent the rest of the evening talking about international antiques with Derek. Or rather, asking him questions and letting him answer.
"Come by the new store!" Mom urged as she hugged me goodnight. "I'll be here for the next couple months getting set up. Then I've got the book tour coming up. You should come with me."
"Maybe. If you swear on the Book of the Dead never to do that again," I said quietly.
"It's your name, sweetheart. I gave it to you for a reason. It's not as if I'm handing out your Wiccaning name."
I shook my head. My mom and I could inhabit any number of universes and still not be on quite the same plane of existence.
The ride back to… wherever we were heading back to… was quiet for a while.
"There's a full moon out tonight, Babe."
I tried to hold it in. I really, really did, but I was tired and sulky.
"RANGER!" I shrieked, throwing my head back against the seat in a paroxysm of left-over teenage hysteria.
My only answer was his laughter. At least someone was amused. I was going to kill him. Maybe it was good that he was going to die laughing.