"What ever happened between you and my dad, anyway?" I asked as I let myself into the truck.
Secretly, I had wanted to know since last night. I had gotten a frift of the story, but there were other things said.
"We talked." Ranger said, closing my door and walking around the hood to his. When he got in he added, "He heard from a client that Joe was wandering around. Your dad didn't know what to do. He wanted to tell you, but then you'd just be mad a Joe and never get the whole story. He told me to pop a cap up Morelli's ass and make him fess up."
"You came in laughing though?" I reminded him.
"Guy humor." Ranger said with a 200-watt smile.
"So..." I said looking out the window.
He was still hiding from me. The tone, the face, the story itself. I sighed. "I still want to go shopping."
"You're going to need this." He said, pulling out a body recipt for each of my skips. "You dropped them in your fight with Morelli."
I took them hastily and stuffed them into the pocket of my jacket. It was Febuary in Trenton, and still bitter outside. In a good twenty minutes, Ranger pulled up in front of Vinnies Bonds Office. We walked in together, something we had never done before. We'd walked out together.
This got a different reaction from Connie and Lula. Lula was partially hidden behind the filing cabinets, doing her job for once. Connie was twisting the lid back on for her Bananna Yellow fingernail polish. Connie was in a top and a little white skirt. Lula however, from what I could see, was wearing the pair of strechy pink sequin pants and her hair was the color of applesauce.
"Howdy?" I asked when I walked in.
Lula looked up, only her eyes visible from behind the cabinets, and Connie droped the closed polish on the floor. They looked from me, to Ranger, then to each other.
"Hey girl." Lula said shyly and picked up stack of files. She hid behind the cabinets once more.
"The rat in?" Ranger asked Connie
"Been there all day." She replied and tossed him a ring of keys.
Ranger tried the lock first, then he selected a small gold key off the ring. There must have been 15 keys on the one ring. I was sure most of them were for the desk drawers and cabinets in the supply room, and then there was one to the whole office itself, Vinnie's lair, and the bathroom.
In seconds, the door was wide open, and from what I could see from the door, Vinnie was standing half-mast in a very impossible position.
Seeing his white, hairy butt was enough to make me hurl. I shut my eyes, and I heard the door close. Ranger pressed his back against the wall and for the first time in the tree years I knew him, he was mortified. Connie and Lula were going through histerics, their faces equally red.
"I didn't think that was possible." He said through all the noise.
"Boy, you 'aint seen nothin'." Lula croaked.
"Yeah, being a ex-ho, you see everything." Connie added.
Ranger gave each of them a smug look and then hid his face. The door to Vinnies office flew open.
"What the hell's the matter with you?" He asked angrily.
We all took a few seconds to address the state he was in. You could clearly see the bulge at crotch level, that the kakhi pants failed to hide. The top two buttons on his shirt were unbuttoned and his tie was freely draped across his shoulders. The whole office burst into another round of laughter, including Ranger.
Vinnie scaned the room, looked at himself, and then stomped back into the office. He locked the door again and we were quiet until we heard a zipper being undone. Connie and Lula chuckled and Ranger looked like he was going to be sick.
"Vinnie, before you get started," He said, knocking with the back of his first two fingers. "I'm taking a vacation."
"Yeah, fine whatever. Bon voyage! Now go. I have paperwork to do." Vinnie huffed and resumed to 'work'.
Connie and Lula fell silent. They both knew I was still shareing living space with him. Lula wanted to ask questions, and Connie was silently figuring things out. Hell, I wanted answers too. Vacation? Was he serious?
"Here Connie," I said, sliding the two body recipts across the table.
"No Peter?" She asked, and filled out a check.
"In the middle of 'I love the 80's'" I explained.
"Can't go interrupting the I love the 80's man!" Lula blurted out.
Ranger had backed himself up against the wall, and his lips were curved in a small smile. He muttered something awefully close to "God forbid that."
"Anything else?" Connie asked and tore the check out of the book.
"Nope, you?" I turned to Ranger.
"Oh! I forgot. We got another skip. Really nasty one." She said and almost knocked over the trash bin when she stood up. She pulled a file off the top of the cabinet and handed it to me.
I opened it. Nasty indeed. Turner Walker. He was picked up for explosives and dual murders. "Fun." I said and made a face.
I passed the file on to Ranger, who breifly looked at it and tucked it under his arm. He shoved off the wall with his soulder and headed towards the door. I assumed I was suposed to follow. He was already out the door before I could get out of the chair.
"Vacation?" I asked his back once the door squished closed behind me.
"Can't deal with you and work Babe. None of the boys feel up for the job." He stoped and waited for me to catch up.
"You sure are putting alot of effort into saving me. Am I really that important." I asked.
Ranger was halfway through turning around when I asked that. He stoped in his tracks and backtracked. His hand rose and he lifted my chin with his thumb. "Yes." He brushed a curl out of my face and tucked it behind my ear. He stole a quick kiss before angling into the Bronco.
The ride was silent. I watched and memorized all the streets Ranger turned on and it wound down to the center of the Trenton city limits. I recognised his parents house. It was the only one with a porch. Ranger let himself in and anounced that he was home.
His mother came into the room and informed him that both he and his 'girlfriend' had clean towels in the bathroom under the sink.
"Mom. She's not exacly a girlfriend." Ranger whined and followed her into the kitchen.
I wanted to hear this conversation so I followed. Standing on the outside of the door, I could hear a lot. "Ricardo, don't lie to your mother."
Oh boy. Robbie ambled down the steps and raised an eyebrow when he saw me ducked with my head pressed against the door. "Shh...Ranger's getting yelled at."
Robbie smiled and tippy toed across the foyer and joined me. I fell to the floor and pushed my back against the door. Ranger had taken a long pause, so I filled Rob in.
"This sounds like fun!" He whispered when I was done.
"Remember me telling you about the Bombshell Bounty Hunter?" Ranger finally said.
"Don't tell me she works for that worm Vinnie!" She exclaimed and I heard china scrape.
"Yeah. Thats he I met her. I work with Steph. We're not dating or any..." He said.
"Dont try to sell me that bull, Ricardo! You clearly like her enough to bring her here."
"Madre, this was the safest place I could think of. She's being chased again." Ranger sighed
"You have a home don't you?" She questioned.
"Yes. My place was ransacked. Stephanie's being stalked by a Slayer. She's scared. I'm scared for her." Me and Rob exchanged glances.
I hadn't known. He never acted frightened or upset. He never mentioned a Batcave break-in. I stood up and almost felt the need to go in and throw my arms over his shoulder, and then the feeling to run and hide and never come out.
"You're not mad I brought her here are you?" Ranger asked quietly.
"No Ric. I was just shocked. You haven't had a steady girlfriend since Diana." She said, and I heard packaging open.
"Want any help with dinner?" He asked.
"I got it hijo. Go watch a Tv or something. I'm making Chicken and rice. It won't take long." She shoved Ranger out the door.
I scrambled over to the couch and sat down. Robbie leaned on the arm and started a conversation. He acted like we had been there talking the entire time when Ranger came into the room.
"You have yourself a prize there Ric." He said as he passed Ranger.
Ranger sat down on the couch next to me. He put his head between his knees as far as he possibly could. His hands ran though his hair and stopped once they touched fingertip to fingertip.
He had done this for me when I felt ill.
"You alright?" I asked and scooted closer to him.
"Fine Babe. Its just a headache. Get them all the time when I deal with my mother." He got up and headed for the stairs.
I reluctantly followed him. Joe and my Mother got headache's when they were worried, mostly about me. I long ago realized that I was the reason for all sorts of pain.
I let myself into our room. It felt weird calling it that. Just like saying "I've been sleeping with Ranger." Which in reality, thats what I had been doing. Falling asleep by his side. "Our room." I repeated in my head.
I shuffeled over to my side of the bed and found all my hardware on the sidetable. My gun and pepper spray next to my cell phone which I had purposly left behind today. Just out of curiosity, I picked it up. 15 missed calls. Twelve of which were from Morelli. The other three were from my Mother. I listened to my voice mail.
"Cupcake, please answer your damn phone. I want to talk to you." Joe's first message started. He went on to explain how much he loved me and how he missed me.
I turned the volume up a bit and threw the phone on the bed. I could still hear him, but now I didn't have to waste energy to listen to him lie. The next few calls were similar, mor begging and pleading. Ranger walked in halfway through call number 3, when Joe began to tell me things he'd do to me once I came back to him. Things that usually got me excited, but now made me sick.
Calls 5, 6 and 7 were calls about what happened at the station. The harassment he endured. How he wasn't sure what I was talking about.
Calls 8 and 9 consisted of more pleading. Call 10 was suposedly the truth:
"I know I hurt you Steph. I wasn't cheating on you cupcake I promise." His voice came over the other line smoothly. "I don't know where you heard it, but I honestly wasn't. I did get a call from Carver and he offered my 3 grand to turn you in but I swear I didn't. Come on Cupcake, call me please."
The other 4 were similar to 10. I sat opposite Ranger indian-style on the bed. Once Joe was finally done, my mother came through. I stopped the message and turned the phone off. "I don't know what to believe anymore." I said openly.
I twisted and stared out the window. I never realized the view before now. The sun was low in the sky, disapearing behind the tall buildings of Trenton. The sky just above my head was a deep orange and it spread across the sky. Around the sun were rings of yellow and gold. I was taken back alittle. Enought not to notice Ranger move behind me and wrap his arms around my waist.
I snuggled into his arms. He had clearly just showered, because the smell of Bulgai was stronger than ever. I closed my eyes and couldn't help a moan escape my throat. Ranger chuckeled behind me and pulled me on my side with him.
Thats how Ranger's mother found them when they didn't come down when she anounced dinner.
Stephanie's head was pillowed on Ranger upper arm. One of her arms hung over the bedside and the other was draped lazily over her belly. Ranger's other arm followed Steph's and grasped hers at the wrist. Their feet were on their own respective sides.
She smiled to see her son so happy. Ever since the divorce, she almost never saw Ric smile. He kept to himself more than ever.
Until Stephanie. She remembered the first night he'd told her about Steph. She, just like Stephanie's mother, demanded Ranger eat atleast one meal a week. He showed up late one night and said he was doing survelince with her and lost trak of time. He smiled the entire evening and actually ate the cherry pie she baked.
She pulled a sheet out from underneith them and flung it over them. Bending over, she kissed Ranger on the cheek. "Dinners ready." She whispered and he nodded his head gently.
With a smile, she exited the room and shut the door behind her.