Steph reached over and poked his shoulder. "Hey, be nice!"
"Always babe." He reached over and grabbed her hand placing it on the console between their seats. Their fingers remained intertwined until they stopped for gas.
Starting Over
Chapter 10
The remainder of the drive to the coast went smoothly. Mary Lou called Stephanie's cell phone when they passed a sign declaring "Welcome to The Outer Banks".
"Thank God we're finally here." Mary Lou yelled over a pair of screaming boys.
Stephanie tried to suppress a laugh, "Not having fun Lou?"
"Oh you just wait Steph, in a few more months you'll know exactly how much fun I'm having."
Stephanie clicked the phone off as soon as the realization of what Mary Lou had said registered with her.
"So how much further until we reach the house?"
Ranger glanced in her direction, "Tired of me already?"
"No, I just need to pee again."
Ranger tossed his head back in laughter. "We're almost there, maybe another 10 minutes or so."
Stephanie settled for his answer and tried to be patient while filling her time with the sights around her. The area was really a small quaint little town. Of course there were the occasional tourist traps, but mostly it was small local shops. She rolled the window down slightly and took in the salty air. The sun was just beginning to set and the remaining sunlight hung over the town like a blanket.
As Ranger began driving further and further through the town, Stephanie soon realized they were leaving the town they had just entered.
"So where are we going?"
"The town is called Carova Beach. It's on the northern tip of North Carolina and right next to the Virginia coast."
Just as he finished speaking Stephanie looked up to see the paved road coming to an end. He downshifted the SUV then slowly crossed over onto sand. After a rough turn the cars were now headed up the coast, the literal coast. Stephanie could see other tire tracks in the sand but she was still slightly confused.
"Um, Ranger. Want to explain why we are driving on the beach?"
"It's the only way to get to where we're going." He said, as if that was enough of an explanation.
Two minutes later Ranger turned the SUV away from the water and once again headed into the mainland. A few manmade roads were visible, all of which were still consisted only of sand. It was as if they were driving on a huge sand dune.
Another minute passed and a house came slowly into sight. Calling it a house wasn't really doing it justice, if anything it was more like a mansion. As they grew closer to it, Stephanie counted three stories and an unlimited number of gables. The house was sitting right on top of a dune where it stood majestically overlooking the nearly abandoned beach.
When they finally reached the driveway to the house Ranger maneuvered the SUV into one side of the open air garage, leaving just enough space for Lenny to park the second SUV. "Come on babe, at least look inside the house before you go all speechless on me."
Stephanie laughed softly then bounded out of the car meeting an equally surprised Mary Lou.
"I had no idea we would be staying in a castle!" exclaimed Mary Lou.
Ranger laughed and Lenny rolled his eyes as both men busied themselves with unlatching the now forgotten kids in the back of the SUV. Lenny grabbed the baby and handed him over to Ranger, in order to be able to free the remaining two children. Ranger carried the baby gently while offering the small child his thumb who happily grabbed the giant finger and quickly began nibbling away. Mary Lou and Stephanie were snapped back into reality as Ranger approached them with the cooing baby.
"Oh sorry Ranger, you can give him to me." Mary Lou said while reaching for the child.
"That's ok, he seems satisfied at the moment. Here, take the keys and let's get a look inside this place." Ranger said as he extended the keys to Mary Lou.
Mary Lou didn't hesitate. Once she had the keys, her and Steph ran to the front door. Once inside the house, each woman took off running in different directions. Ranger, Lenny and the boys followed shortly after them.
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When Stephanie returned to main room on the first floor she smiled at the sight before her. Ranger was sitting in the floor with his legs stretched in front of him as a giggling baby boy playfully explored Ranger's face. Tiny fingers ran over Ranger's smooth face caressing the different textures. Small, slime covered fingers poked Ranger's eyes and ears, and just when the baby started to stuff them up his nose, Ranger laughed and pulled them away.
Stephanie walked to the couple in the floor and kicked Ranger's leg slightly to get his attention.
"You really are something you know that?" Stephanie teased.
"And what does that mean?" Ranger replied while he scrunched his face in a successful effort to get the baby to laugh.
"Well, we know women fall all over you, men want to be your best friend, and now you seem to have some magical pull over children as well."
Ranger laughed then glanced up at Stephanie. "I've always loved kids. They are the only group of people that actually seem to understand me."
Stephanie was about to ask for an explanation when Lenny, Mary Lou and the boys bounded into the room.
"Ranger this place is great! I can't believe you own this! We counted at least 9 different bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. And that kitchen is huge!" Mary Lou was nearly beside her self with joy.
"Thanks, I'm just glad it finally came on the market. My daughter and I noticed it about 3 years ago when we were walking along the beach one night. We both fell in love with it. I tried to get the owner to sale, but he wouldn't budge. Then as luck would have it, I called my realtor last week to let her know I wanted to purchase a house in this area. She said the owner had finally decided to sale, so I jumped on the deal." explained Ranger.
"Well there's only one problem." interrupted Stephanie.
Ranger just stared at her until she explained.
"There's no furniture and only one set of mattresses in one of the bedrooms. So where exactly are we going to sleep?"
"I ordered the mattresses the other day so we would at least have one set. I figured you, Mary Lou and the baby could take it tonight."
"But what about you, Lenny and the boys?" questioned Mary Lou.
"Well, I planned a little surprise." Ranger handed the baby off to Mary Lou, then stood and looked over at Mikey and Sean, both of which were spitting images of Lenny. "How would you guys like to camp out on the beach tonight?"
The 8 and 10 year olds both jumped up and started screaming at the same time. They each did their own version of a happy dance around the room.
Lenny laughed at the excitement of his boys. "Looks like they're up for it."
Ranger returned his laugh, "That's a good thing, because if they didn't go for it, I wasn't real sure what to do." He glanced back at Mary Lou and Stephanie. "All the plumbing and electricity should be on, so we have water and power. I had someone pick up some groceries ahead of time so the fridge and cabinets are full. I thought tomorrow we could go shopping and you ladies could help me get this place furnished."
Mary Lou and Stephanie looked at one another, then began mimicking the boys' happy dance and singing, "We are going shoooopping… We are going shooooopping."
Lenny and Ranger rolled their eyes in unison and then headed to the car to get the luggage.
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Two hours later the tent was pitched and loaded with junk food and Mikey, Sean, and Lenny were already setting around the nearby campfire roasting marshmallows. Ranger was in the house tucking the ladies in for the evening and making sure all his guests needs were taken care of.
"Are you sure you two are going to be ok sleeping here?" questioned Ranger.
"Ranger, stop worrying. Mary Lou and I use to have sleepovers all the time when we were kids. It'll be just like old times."
Mary Lou held her youngest son, Alex in her arms as she fed him a bottle. Stephanie rose from the bed and looped her arm inside of Rangers. She walked him to the front door then stopped and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks for inviting them Ranger. I know I don't always do a good job of showing it, but I really do appreciate everything you do for me."
Ranger slid his arms around her waist and pulled Steph's warm body to his. "I meant what I said Stephanie. I'm not going to let anything prevent me from making you mine. I've not been pressuring you, but that's probably going to stop soon. I love you and I have all intentions of keeping you." He slowly brought his right hand around until it rested on her puffy belly. "I promise to do whatever it takes to make sure you and this baby are cared for and happy for the rest of your life."
Stephanie let her defenses down long enough to drop her head to Ranger's chest. She listened to his heart beating as she tried to thinking of something to say.
"Ranger, you take my breath away and I don't know what to say to you. How do I respond to such a declaration as what you just gave me?"
"Just be honest with me and yourself Steph, tell me what you want."
Stephanie thought for a minute and once again her defenses returned. "I'm scared."
Ranger sighed then dropped his head until his chin rested against Stephanie's hair. "I know babe. I'm trying to help with that, but apparently it's just going to take time."
When Ranger finally pushed Stephanie away he grabbed the sides of her head and leaned in for a soft, gentle kiss. His lips barely touched hers, but the power from it melted Stephanie all the way to her toes. He broke the touch then whispered. "If you or Mary Lou need anything tonight just give me a buzz. I put one of the walkie-talkies next to the mattress."
Stephanie stood in the open doorway watching Ranger walk towards the ocean. She smiled as Mikey offered him gooey marshmallow. And to Steph's surprise, Ranger picked the sticky snack from the limb and ate it as if it was the best thing he had ever tasted.
She closed the door and headed back to the second floor bedroom where Mary Lou and Alex waited for her. She plopped onto the bed then rolled onto her side so she could face the pair.
"Ok Steph, spit it out. Tell me what the crap is going on."
"What are you talking about Lou?"
"Give it up girl, this is me you are talking to. I know you love him, I know you want him, so tell me Steph. Why are you sharing this mattress with me instead of Ranger?"
To Be Continued…