Full daylight streamed in through the bedroom windows, warming my face and making me burrow deeper into the covers. But they seemed empty without Ranger inside them, even though the smell of Bulgari lingered. I held my arm to my nose and sniffed, happy that I still smelled like him even if he wasn't with me.
And I was going to the gym. I steeled my spine and threw the covers back, dug around in my bags for some shorts and my nifty new sexy black tank top, laced up my new running shoes, and headed into the bathroom to see what could be done about my rat's nest.
Yikes! Frightening hair. Nothing to be done for it, unless I wanted to end up taking three showers today. No thanks. Okay, unless Ranger was in them. I fanned myself. It seemed I could settle on running a brush through it and pulling it into a high ponytail. Maybe I could get away without frightening anyone.
I looked in the mirror again, but closer this time. The ponytail hid most of the frizz ball that could at times be classified as curls. My skin had a very healthy glow, and that damn smile was back on my face. I brushed my teeth, flossed, and rinsed with Listerine (Eeeyuck!), but the smile still wouldn't go away! Oh well. This was as good as I was going to get today, I might as well enjoy the smile. Sex was the best make-up, ever.
Okay. Off to the gym, then.
On my way out the door, I rooted around in Ranger's refrigerator to find Rex some breakfast. Luckily, there was some Swiss cheese and a bunch of fresh grapes. Lucky hamster. I cut off a chunk of the cheese, dropping it and a grape inside Rex's cage. I was rewarded with a blur of fluff racing for the food from the soup can. He shoved the cheese in his cheek pouch, picked up the grape, and made his way back into the soup can. "Well, good morning to you, too," I said. Hamsters could be so human in the morning.
The breakfast mess had already been cleaned up, and I could hear someone bustling around in the foyer. I peeked around the corner to find Ella busy dusting off anything she could get her hands on. When she saw me standing there a smile lit her face and she rushed me.
"Ms. Plum! I had a feeling I'd be seeing you here again before too long!"
I didn't know whether to blush or not, so I just smiled. "I, um…I live here now," I said. It felt funny to say that. Hmm.
Ella beamed brighter. "It's about time Ranger found himself someone special. That boy has been alone too long." She turned her back to me and continued dusting, never breaking stride in the conversation. "Since he divorced his wife, he's been the job. Sometimes I think the only thing that keeps him going is his little girl."
This caught my attention. "Can you tell me about his daughter, Ella? Would Ranger mind? I always want to ask him, but he's so…"
"Busy."
"Yeah."
Ella smiled and turned back to me for a second. "Her name is Maria. I think she must be closer to ten years old now. The most beautiful child I have ever seen."
My eyes widened. "You've seen her?"
"One time, in a photograph. She was very small then, only four or five. But you could see her father in her," she said. "And her mother." At this, her lips seemed to thin, but she kept her comments to herself on that subject.
"Have you ever met his wife?"
"Ex-wife," Ella corrected me. "They have been divorced since I've known Ranger. He has been here eight years that I am aware of, so Maria must only have been nearly two when it happened. I have never met her. He never speaks of his ex-wife."
I made a mental note not to pry too hard on that issue. Stephanie Plum, pry? Moi? Okay, it was a given. I'd try very hard.
"Don't worry, dear," Ella said, coming to pat my shoulder. "You are far more beautiful to Ranger than his ex-wife."
Mental note. ESP extends to RangeMan employees as well. "Thanks. I was just going to the gym. Is there anything I can help you with before I leave?"
Ella wouldn't hear of it, and all but shoved me out the door. I took the elevator down to the fifth floor, and stepped out into a large foyer. I could hear voices talking and laughing beyond the hallway leading out. Probably there was a locker room. Thank God I didn't need it. That would go over well. Me sharing a locker room with the Merry Men. Unh.
The hallway off the entry room was short, and it opened onto a very large room that easily spanned the entire floor length of the building. A boxing ring sat ready and waiting to be used far to my right. Large mats of different sizes were laid out, probably for practicing karate for all I knew. There were cases and cabinets in the nearest corner. They probably held training weapons and stuff, from what I could see. Various pieces of exercise equipment lined one side of my half of the building, looking shiny bright and ready to use. Treadmills, stair climbers, and blah blah blah. I didn't know the names of any of the rest of it. Against my religion.
There were quite a few people in the gym already, and among the faces I spotted Bobby and Lester. They were climbing into the boxing ring, but they weren't wearing any protective gear. Merry Men were probably exempt from needing any. They started sparring. Circling, jabbing, kicking, twirling…it made me tired just to watch.
Probably it was best that I didn't stand and stare like a goose with my mouth open. I spied an empty-ish corner with a treadmill on it that looked safe. Probably my best bet, since I had no idea how on earth to use the stuff. Probably you just pushed 'go,' or something. It looked a lot more complicated when I walked up closer to it. Just like Ranger's damn cars, this machine looked like it could communicate with NASA.
"All I want to do is walk," I said to the machine, hands on my hips. "Not fly the space shuttle."
A chuckle behind me had me whirling around, hand clapped over my mouth. A man I didn't recognize stood in front of me, wearing black jogging pants and a tank top. He was big, and buff, and tanned. Dark wavy hair nicely topped dark eyes. Broad shoulders narrowed down to lean hips and large muscular legs.
Yum on a stick.
"Do you need some help?" he asked, flashing me white teeth in an amused smile.
I resisted the urge to run. "Nope, I'm just fine. Thanks," I said and turned back to the machine, considering it.
The chuckle came again, and the guy stepped around me to hit the power button. "This lever controls how fast you want the belt to move. This way slows it down, this speeds it up." He stood back and smiled at me, amusement curling his lips in a very Ranger-esque way.
"Who are you?"
The smile widened. "Zack Morgan. I just got back from Cuba. You must be Stephanie."
"I didn't mean to blow up that funeral home. It wasn't my fault!"
This time he really laughed, and it was a pleasant sound. "Ranger told me you'd be here. He said to play nice."
"I'm not afraid of you," I said, lifting my chin.
"I don't think it was you he was worried about."
Now I smiled. Ranger had taken to warning his men about me. Charming. In an annoying sort of way. I wasn't that bad…
Was I?
"Hey, Zack!" Lester called, walking up behind us. "You're not harassing the Bombshell already, are you? Hey, Bomber," Lester said, smiling at me. He looked at the treadmill and back at me. "You're not serious, are you?"
I gave him my best pissy look, which only got me more laughing from Zack. I was beginning to like him. He laughed a lot. And he used complete sentences.
Lester shook Zack's hand. "Good to have you back, man. The Bombshell here is our newest addition. But I think she may have a fever. Or she's lost." He raised an eyebrow at me, and I glared more. It seemed the best thing to do. Besides, there were too many nice bodies all around me. I couldn't think straight.
My spine stiffened, and I brought my chin up even higher. I'd show them. Laughing at me. How rude! I stomped up on the treadmill, but it was going a little too fast. "How do I slow this thing down? Oh, yeah! I remember. You just push this little lever, right?"
Zack's eyes widened. "No! Not that way!"
Too late. I shoved the lever forward, hard…
The last things I saw before everything faded to black were Lester and Zack's shocked faces, and the world zooming away from me at high rates of speed.