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!"
Chapter 17
"Stop fidgeting." Ranger said as he stood beside Stephanie in the driveway.
As soon as the car came to a stop all four doors jerked open at the same time. Tank jumped out of the driver's seat, a small black haired woman got out of the passenger side and two young girls exited from the rear doors.
Ranger stepped forward to greet the guests. One of the young girls rushed passed him yelling, "Move it! I've got to pee!"
Stephanie stepped to the side just in time to prevent being knocked over by the running adolescent.
The black haired woman was next in line. Her mouth was spewing something that sounded a lot like Italian profanities at about 90 miles per hour. When she stepped in front of Ranger she stopped talking briefly, gave him a peck on the cheek, said "It's great seeing you Ric," then just as quickly started yelling Italian once again.
She brushed past Stephanie without speaking and nearly ran into the house.
When Stephanie whirled back around toward Ranger he was busy doing a complicated, manly handshake with Tank. When they were finished Tank walked up to Steph and proceeded to squeeze the daylights out of her. He finally put her down when she smacked him on the back as an indication that she needed air. Before he entered the house, he turned around and said in her direction, "Sorry about my wife. She's Italian and hormonal."
"I heard that Thomas!" yelled a thick Italian accent from inside the house.
Stephanie laughed as she watched Tank pale a few shades before sulking through the front door.
When she put her attention back on Ranger she saw the other girl wrapped around his body. Ranger had lifted her up into a bear hug and was swaying her from side to side. The sight caused Stephanie's heart to skip.
Ranger finally placed her back on the ground then turned toward Steph.
"Kat, this is Steph. Babe, this is my daughter." he said in way of an introduction.
Not knowing exactly what to do, Stephanie took a few steps toward the young girl and extended her hand. They shook awkwardly until Ranger laughed.
"Don't worry, things will get more comfortable soon. We just need to get to know each other." He said.
Stephanie shook her head in agreement as Ranger walked up beside her and snaked an arm around her waist. She instinctively leaned into him for support.
Kat smiled at their embrace then turned around to face the house. With her back turned she said, "I can't believe you bought this one dad."
Ranger smiled, "I know you liked it and I'd do anything to make my little girl happy."
Kat turned around quickly as tears began to pool in her eyes. She sent a death glare towards Ranger and yelled "I'm NOT a little girl," at the top of her lungs. She turned quickly and ran inside the house leaving Ranger and Steph alone once again on the front porch.
Stephanie stood frozen, too scared to speak. Ranger gave her a gentle squeeze and said, "Well, that went well."
He too was apparently in shock.
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Ranger grabbed Steph's hand and pulled her slowly towards the door. Even with it closed they could hear the impending chaos from inside. With one last kiss to Steph's neck Ranger sighed deeply then turned the knob.
As they stepped inside they found Tank and his wife standing toe-to-toe yelling at one another. Neither of the girls were anywhere in sight.
"Do they do this a lot?" Stephanie whispered to Ranger.
"Only three or four times a day" was his answer.
Ranger closed the door with a little more force than was necessary and startled the couple into silence. A silence that was very short-lived, because when Tank's wife noticed Ranger was in the room she placed her hands on her hips and marched directly towards him.
"Ranger, what did you say to her!" she screamed.
"Who?" Ranger asked with a bewildered look on his face.
"Who? Who? He asks. Kat of course! Or didn't you notice that she just ran into the house crying her eyes out."
"Well of course I noticed, but all I did was call her 'my little girl'."
The spunky Italian rolled her eyes at Ranger then dramatically tossed her arms into the air. She gave Stephanie a quick glance, then once again started screaming Italian obscenities.
Stephanie eyed her as she walked circles around the room. Every few seconds she would turn to Tank and point then she would alternate and point at Ranger. Finally, she eyed Stephanie but instead of pointing she walked up to her and gently placed her hands on Steph's cheeks. The crazed woman smiled softly at Stephanie and for the first time since getting out of the car, she didn't speak. The two women eyed one another for what felt like an eternity. Neither spoke but somehow they both seemed to understand completely what the other was thinking.
Tank's wife released Steph's face and turned towards the men. "You two, go out and pick up some dinner."
Tank moaned, "Can't we just fix something here, I'm beat."
Stephanie watched intently as his wife crossed her arms and glared at him from across the room. When she spoke again, her Italian accent was even thicker than before. "I need to not see your face for awhile."
Tank began to speak then quickly thought better of it. Instead he reached into his pocket and pulled out the car keys. He tossed them to Ranger as he started heading towards the door. "You drive," was the only thing Tank said before leaving as his wife had demanded.
When the men were finally gone, the Italian turned to Stephanie.
"Sorry about that. Sometimes I just want to kill him. Anyway, my name's Anna and you must be Stephanie."
"The one and only."
Anna smiled, "I can't believe it took this long for us to meet. I've heard all about you."
"Oh?"
Anna laughed, "Don't worry. It was all good of course. Tom adores you, he has for years."
"I wish I could say that I know all about you as well, but…" Stephanie let her words trail off.
"No worries dear. I've known Ric for a long time and I know how secretive he can be. Tom is a lot like him in many ways. So, let's not fret over it now. We have a ton of time to get to know one another. But first, we have some business to take care of." Anna said as she nodded towards the stairs.
Stephanie followed closely behind Anna as they made their way to Kat's bedroom. The door was cracked slightly and they could both make out the sounds of sniffs.
Anna pushed the door open carefully revealing Kat and the other young girl embracing on the bed. Tears were still rolling down Kat's face.
"Stephanie, let me introduce you to my daughter. This is Samantha." Anna said.
The girls parted and Samantha rose from the bed to shake Stephanie's hand.
"Hi." she said firmly. "You can call me Sam. Everyone does."
"Well nice to meet you Sam." Stephanie replied.
"We'll talk more later," Anna said, "but right now we need to find out what's going on with Ms. Kat."
Anna took a seat on the bed next to Kat and slowly began stroking the girl's knee.
Kat sniffed twice before speaking, "Everyone still thinks of me as a little kid."
"That's a pretty broad generalization. I don't think you're a little kid and I don't think Stephanie does either."
Stephanie nodded in agreement.
"So why don't you be more specific and tell us who thinks of you that way, and why it matters." Anna asked.
Kat shrugged her shoulders, unwilling to give the answers.
Sam spoke up. "Come on Kat. Just tell them."
Finally Kat looked up and said, "Jason Myers."
"And who is Jason Myers?" asked Anna.
"He's.. he's…" Kat said before breaking down into tears once again.
Sam finished for her. "Jason Myers is a sophomore that Kat's crazy about."
Anna smiled, "Ohhhh…. an upperclassman. I've always had a thing for older men too honey."
"You have?" Kat asked between sobs.
"Oh yeah. My first boyfriend was 17. I was only 15 at the time but back then that age difference was huge."
"What happened?" Kat asked.
"Well we dated for 6 months. Went to movies together, hung out at the mall until one day he decides that I'm too immature for him."
"He broke up with you?" Kat sounded astonished.
"Yup. Broke up with me one day and asked out Patty Mahoney the very next day. I was so devastated that I cried for a solid week." Anna explained.
"What did you do?"
"Well, after I finished crying I decided to make him regret breaking up with me. I put on my best jeans and my cutest top and called up all of my girlfriends. We headed down to the mall and waited for him to show up. When we saw him come around the corner we all just started laughing like we had just heard the funniest joke ever. Then when he looked in my direction it happened."
"What?" Kat asked excitedly.
"I just smiled at him, turned, and walked away." said Anna.
"And then he started liking you again?"
"Heavens no. I was too busy trying to hurry away that I ran right into someone."
"Who? Who did you run into?" asked Sam, also getting into the story.
"I ran into the cutest, funniest, most charming boy in the entire school."
"So what happened?" Kat asked, no longer crying.
"Well, after we picked ourselves up off the floor he asked me to go to the movies with him."
"What did you say?" Sam asked, her eyes huge with anticipation.
"Well, I said yes of course. So we went to the movies. Then he asked me on another date, then another, and another. Two years later he asked me to go to his senior prom, then two years after that he asked me to marry him."
"Awwwww." said Sam, Kat and Stephanie all in unison.
"So what happened to that other fella?" Stephanie asked.
Anna laughed. "Last I heard he was fat, balding and living with 4 cats."
Stephanie smiled. "So the 'one that got away' wasn't such a catch after all?"
"Nope. And I thank God everyday that he had enough sense to dump me all those years ago."
"Thanks Anna." Kat said as she reached across the bed to give the woman a hug.
"You're welcome sweetie. Are you feeling better now?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm ok. And Stephanie I'm sorry I was so ugly downstairs. I usually don't behave like a brat." Kat said.
"Don't worry about it. I know first hand that guys can be dopes so you have nothing to apologize for. I'm just glad you're feeling better now."
"I am. But I am kinda hungry."
"Your dad and Tank have gone to pick up some dinner. Why don't we all change into our swimsuits and we'll eat outside by the pool." said Stephanie.
"Great idea!" yelled Sam.
When Stephanie and Anna were out in the hall Stephanie stopped and asked, "Was there really an older guy?"
Anna smiled, "Oh yes. There was an older guy. Everything I said was true except for the answer I gave you."
"So what really happen to him?" Stephanie asked.
Anna paused then smiled, "I just sent him out with my husband to pick up dinner."
To Be Continued…