Stephanie recognized his wolf grin and fell into his chest. "Nope, I think we got it all straightened out. Wanna go upstairs?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

Chapter 16

The following morning, Ranger woke up slowly. His eyes were thick with gunk and his breath could bend steel. Before forcing his eyes completely open he rolled over to face Stephanie's side of the bed and tossed his arm over expecting it to land on her waist. Instead it hit nothing but a cold, empty mattress.

As he sat up in bed he noticed the blur of activity he normally called Steph.

"What are you doing babe?" he asked.

Stephanie didn't even slow down. "Can't talk Ranger, too much to do." Then she opened a dresser drawer, grabbed an armful of clothes and carried it out of the room.

Ranger watched her carry the clothes into the room across the hall, open a drawer and toss them inside. She then turned, returned to the room he was in and begin the process once more. When she walked past the bed a third time he grabbed her arm and gave her a gentle tug onto the bed. She flopped backwards and bounced a few times before settling. Just as Ranger was leaning in for a kiss Steph screamed, "No Ric! You'll squish my hair!"

When Ranger pulled away to stare at her, she slithered loose from his grasp and off the bed.

"I spent an hour getting all the frizziness out of my hair. And I refuse to let you muck it up," she said before grabbing an armful of clothes from the closet and walking out of the room.

Ranger was too confused to speak so he merely watched her as she made the repeated trip between bedrooms. But once she started grabbing her stuff from the bathroom, Ranger couldn't keep his questions to himself any longer.

"Um, babe. Refresh my memory. Did I do or say something stupid?"

"What are you rambling about Ranger?" she asked as she carried her cosmetics into a second bathroom across the hall.

"Did I do something to make you mad Steph?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" she replied as she returned for another load of stuff.

When she stepped back into the bathroom, Ranger took the opportunity to pin her inside. With his wide, muscular body blocking her she didn't have any other option than to stop and listen.

"Steph, why are you moving out of my room?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "You didn't really expect me to sleep in the same room as you with your daughter here, did you?"

"Um, yeah I did. Why is that a problem?"

"Get serious Ranger! I refuse to act like a giant slut in front of your daughter, what kind of example would that set?" she exclaimed.

Ranger laughed. "Babe, Kat's 12 years old and she's not stupid."

Stephanie stared at him in horror. "Do you mean she knows we have… s-e-x."

Ranger laughed again. "First of all, she can read so the spelling bad word thing won't be effective with her. And secondly, she doesn't know the specific details but I'm sure she'll put two and two together."

"But I want to make a good impression." she explained.

Ranger wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "Steph, please try to calm down. She's going to love you nearly as much as I do. I don't like to hide things from her so I refuse to spend the week pretending to be someone I'm not around her. Besides, we're engaged so it's not nearly as scandalous as you're making it out to be."

Stephanie poked him in the chest with his finger. "Well, if you're sure Ranger. You know her better than I do, so I'll follow your lead."

"Perfect." he said into her hair.

"But if the tables were turned and it was my family visiting, you'd be spending the night on the couch."

Ranger laughed again than slowly slide his hands up to her sides and began tickling her. Stephanie laughed and squirmed until she didn't think she'd be able to breath.

When he finally released her she grabbed his hand and steered him towards the bed. Because of her hour-long hairdo, she insisted on being on top.

That afternoon came much too quick for Stephanie, and not near quick enough for Ranger.

"Excellent. See you guys soon." Ranger said into the phone before turning towards Stephanie. "Tank says they're about 20 minutes from the house."

Stephanie sighed nervously but Ranger had her in his arms within seconds and she immediately relaxed.

"I bet I can think of a way to help you relax." he whispered in her ear.

She swatted him on the chest and stepped out of his grasp. "We don't have time for that Ranger."

"Time for what babe? I was talking about a back rub." He laughed. "I never knew you were such a pervert Ms. Plum."

Stephanie laughed too and she nearly forgot why she was so nervous.

Twenty-five minutes later, Ranger was seated on the porch swing rubbing gentle circles on Steph's back who was seated at his feet.

Suddenly, he felt her muscles tense just before she jumped up and shouted. "They're here!"

To Be Continued…