Ranger rose to his feet and wrapped Stephanie into a giant bear hug. With his face buried in her hair he mumbled, "Don't worry about the payback, you're definitely going to get what's coming to you."
Chapter 20
Ranger and Stephanie were busy laughing as they walked hand-in-hand across the parking lot of the doctor's office. Stephanie gripped the ultrasound picture in one hand and Ranger's hand in the other. As she giggled over the details of the photo, Ranger's never passive eyes scanned the lot for trouble. And this time, trouble was exactly what he found. As he held the truck door open for Stephanie, Ranger caught sight of a familiar face. Halfway across the lot, nearly hidden by the shade of a nearby tree sat the familiar Tacoma truck of Joseph Morelli. Ranger tensed, but regained his composure before he slid into place next Stephanie.
Slowly Ranger steered the truck onto the highway. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he spotted the Tacoma maneuvering into the same lane a few cars back. Morelli didn't make any sudden movements, instead he remained patiently in line, waiting for his turn.
"Can we stop by mom and dads?" Stephanie asked, bringing Ranger out of his momentary trance.
"Sure babe." He said as he glanced at her then back to the rearview mirror.
Two blocks from Stephanie's parent's house, Joe made his move. As Ranger slowed the truck for a stop sign he noticed Morelli flash his headlights before turning down a street a few blocks back. Ranger immediately responded by taking out his cell phone and punching in a text message.
'Pino's in 5'. Was all he needed to say.
"Something wrong?" Stephanie questioned as she eyed Ranger's cell phone.
Ranger reached over and gently stroked her hair as he pulled the truck to a stop in front of her parents house. "Nope, just something I need to take care of. Can I drop you off and meet you back in 15?"
"Sure Ric. I'm sure mom will still be Ooh'ing and Ahh'ing over the ultrasound when you get back." And with a quick kiss to his cheek she slide out the door.
Ranger sighed as he watched her make the lone walk toward the house. When she was safely inside, he tossed a wave to Frank and once again set the vehicle in motion.
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Joe was leaning against the door of his truck when Ranger pulled into Pino's parking lot.
"Manaso."
"Morelli."
"Want to do this here or inside?" Joe asked.
"Inside, I could use a beer." Ranger answered.
"Fair enough." Joe said as he made his way into Pino's.
All eyes turned as the two men made their way to the back of the resturant. Ranger sat down with a smirk. "I think their waiting to see who punches who first."
Joe smiled, "You planning on hitting me?"
Ranger shifted his eyes to the man across the table, "That depends on why you wanted to talk to me."
Joe's smile widened. "I guess that's reasonable."
After ordering a couple of beers from the waitress, Ranger leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, waiting for Joe to get started.
"You aren't going to make this easy for me are you?" Joe said as he watched Ranger strike a defensive pose.
"Do you know of any reasons why I should?" Ranger countered.
Joe took a long swig of beer and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Nope, no reason. Hell, I'm surprised you even agreed to meet me."
Ranger sipped his beer as well. "I guess you could say I was curious. If you had wanted to talk to Steph you would have made sure she saw you today, but you didn't. I assumed that meant you wanted to talk to me alone."
"You assumed correctly." Joe paused to take another gulp of beer. "You've got to understand this isn't easy for me."
"What exactly isn't easy for you?" Ranger asked.
Joe laughed. "Doing the last thing I ever thought I'd have to do… ask you for help."
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"What's the matter with you?" Stephanie said to a pacing Ranger.
"Nothing, why do you ask?" Ranger answered while slyly falling into place on the couch.
"Because you've done nothing but pace since we got home. Plus I didn't think you would ever shut up at mom and dads."
"Don't you want me to talk to your parents babe?" Ranger teased.
Stephanie crossed her arms and stood brazenly in front of him. "Don't get cute with me. You're up to something, I just know it. "
Ranger sighed deeply then tried to answer. "I guess I should explain before it's too late."
"To late for what?" Stephanie asked.
Just as Ranger was about to tell her the doorbell chimed. Ranger ran his hands through his hair then turned to make his way to the door. He shouted his response across his shoulder as he gripped the handle. "Too late to explain why he's here." Ranger said as he opened the door to reveal Joe.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Stephanie yelled at the sight of her ex-husband.
Joe looked at Ranger for help. "Don't look at me pal, this was your idea." Ranger said as he clapped Joe on the back.
"Um. Steph, sorry to surprise you like this. I figured someone would have warned you I was stopping by." Joe said as he shot a stinging glance toward Ranger.
Stephanie frowned and crossed her arms. "You knew he was coming here Ric?"
"Steph sit down." Ranger said as he made his way to her.
"Sit down? Sit down? First you invite Joe over here and now you're telling me what to do?" Stephanie screamed.
Ranger sighed then fell onto the couch. "It was just a thought babe. Feel free to keep standing all day if that's what your heart desires."
"Hormones?" Joe asked Ranger, ignoring the glare from Stephanie.
"They've really done a number on me. One minute she's fine and the next minute she's…." Ranger pointed in Steph's direction as if to explain what he couldn't put into words.
Stephanie stood before them dumbfounded. "Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on? And so help me God if the explanation even remotely mentions my hormones both of you will be kicked out of this apartment faster than you can say Tastycake."
Joe sat down in a side chair across from Ranger and tried to explain. "I asked Ranger if I could come by and talk to you today."
"And you felt you needed his permission why?" Stephanie asked.
Joe sighed, "Come on Steph, be serious. The odds of me walking in and back out of this building without prior permission is pretty slim."
Satisfied with his answer, Stephanie flopped onto the couch next to Ranger.
"I also explained to Ranger earlier today what I wanted to discuss with you so you can rest assured that I'm doing nothing underhanded."
"True." Ranger added.
"Enough hub-bubbing, get to the point Joe." Steph said.
"Sheesh, you aren't going to make this easy either are you?" Joe laughed then fought to turn serious. "While you were gone I did a lot of thinking and I think I might even have grown up a bit too."
Stephanie snorted.
"Yeah I know, it's not easy to believe." Joe agreed. "But while you were gone I started to really miss you. And before you say anything, I'm not trying to win you back or anything crazy like that. I've accepted that you are with Ranger now."
"Who are you and what have you done with Joseph Morelli?" Stephanie interrupted.
"Believe it or not, it's really me Steph. After you left it finally hit me that I'm going to be a father." Joe stared at her bulging belly. "It also hit me just how much I fucked everything up. If it wasn't for me and my stupidity we would still be married and preparing to raise our child together. Instead I screwed up the best thing that ever happened to me. Now, I'm just asking for a chance to make up for at least some of what I broke."
"How Joe? I don't need you to fix anything. I'm perfectly fine." Stephanie said then gripped Ranger's knee and gave him a quick squeeze.
"I know you're fine but I'm not. My father was a bum. I've spent my entire life trying to prove that I'm a better man than he was, but lately I've not even come close." Joe slide forward in the chair so he could lean closer to Stephanie. "I need to make things right with us, for the sake of my sanity but more importantly for the sake of this child. I want to be a part of his or her life. I know it's asking a lot from you. I know it means that in some ways you will have to accept me back in your life, but I'm here begging you Stephanie. Please don't keep me out of my own child's life."
If it hadn't been for the pleading look in his eyes, Stephanie might have laughed. "Joe! Do you seriously believe I would keep your own kid from you?"
"Well the thought did cross my mind. I was an ass to you before." Joe explained.
"Well, just because you're an ass doesn't mean I'm going to be one too." Stephanie leaned forward and took Joe's hand in hers. "I did a lot of thinking too while I was gone. You have a right to be in this baby's life and I would never try to prevent that from happening. I'm not sure how this will work, but between the three of us we will get through it." When she finished speaking she glanced at Ranger to make sure he knew he was the third she spoke of.
"Thank you Steph. Thank you for making this so easy on me. You could have kicked my ass for days about this." Joe smiled.
"Oh, I will still probably do that." Stephanie returned the grin.
"I want to go to the doctor's with you." Joe stated flatly.
"That can be arranged but you have to understand that Ranger will be there as well. He's going to be my husband and he will be with me throughout all of this."
"Like I said earlier, I accept that you and him are together. I've made a lot of mistakes and I'm trying really hard to make up for them."
"If anyone can, it's you Joe. And by the way, you are already a better man than your father." Stephanie said.
Joe's face softened as he listened to her words. "Thanks. You don't know what it means to hear you say that."
Suddenly Ranger rose from the couch and disappeared into the kitchen. Moments later he returned carrying several sheets of paper. He stopped directly in front of Joe and shoved them in his direction. "Here are the dates of all of her doctor appointments up until a month before her due date. At that time, she'll start going weekly so we'll get you those dates and times when we have them." Ranger shifted the pages to the next sheet. "This is a schedule of the Lamaze classes. I'll speak to the instructor and ensure there won't be any problems with both of us attending. And this last sheet is a list of baby names Stephanie has been throwing around."
Joe grabbed the papers and immediately began reading them. Stephanie appeared to be shell-shocked.
Ranger smiled at her expression, and reading her mind he answered her thoughts. "Every time you mentioned a name you liked I put it in my phone. The night before last I transcribed all those notes into a formal list. I grabbed the schedule from the waiting room at the doctor's office and the nurse gave me a list of your appointments when we left today."
"Smartass." Stephanie whined. Outwardly, she called him names but inside she was counting her blessing that he had come into her life.
Joe gathered up the papers, hugged Stephanie then shook hands with Ranger as he headed out the door.
"Was that really Joe?" Stephanie questioned once he left.
Ranger laughed while he wrapped his arms around her. With his head leaning on her shoulder he whispered, "It really was."
Stephanie turned in his arms until she was facing him. "Thank you." She said before placing feather-light kisses across his neck.
"For what?" He asked.
"For being you. And for taking care of me and for not beating up my ex-husband."
Ranger tilted his head back and laughed. "Anytime babe but as much as I'd like to keep discussing this, I believe I owe you some payback."
Stephanie shivered in his arms, took a deep breath, then prepared to get exactly what she deserved.
To Be Continued…