Chapter 18
Ranger got home a few weeks later. He missed his wife and son. His contract with the military was officially complete. They offered him a new contract for recruiting the next generation of Rangers, but he politely declined. Ranger considered joining the Ranger selection committee but decided against signing a new contract. After the latest mission, Ranger decided it was time to retire.
Stephanie was sleeping when she felt Carlos climbing into their bed. He pulled her tight to his chest and kissed the spot behind her ear. She rolled over to kiss his lips. "Welcome home, soldier," Stephanie mumbled.
"Babe, I missed you," he moaned. Stephanie lifted her leg to drape over his waist. Ranger placed his hand on her butt to pull her closer. She rocked into him a couple of times before he rolled her beneath him. He spent a few hours loving his wife.
"I have a surprise for you," Stephanie whispered.
"Oh, yeah?"
"We're having another boy. You're the first to know," she replied.
He crawled down the bed to kiss her baby bump. "Thank you, Babe," Ranger said as he kissed her. "I want to be here for this little man."
"We need to tell Julie about her brothers," Stephanie stated. "When are you visiting her?"
"She's coming here to visit. I'm sending the jet with Lester to get her," Ranger replied.
Stephanie was excited to see Julie again. She hadn't seen her for a long time. They only communicated through emails. Even when she lived in Maryland, Stephanie sent her regular messages.
Julie didn't like living with her mother. Maybe the distance would offer Julie some perspective. After she killed Scrog in self-defence, her mom and adoptive father treated her like a leper. She couldn't go anywhere without prior approval, as in a minimum of twenty-four-hour notice. Ranger assigned men to guard Julie.
Rachel and Ron did not like the invasion of privacy. The only reason for tolerating the Rangeman protection was to get money from Ranger. He paid all of Julie's expenses and private school for her half-brother and sister.
Ranger signed away his rights when Julie was an infant. He thought it was best to protect her from his enemies, but she still got targeted. With the national news coverage, anybody looking for Ricardo Carlos Manoso would learn he has a daughter. They likely knew she lived in Miami with her mother, and Ranger lived in Trenton. There wasn't much Ranger could do to change the circumstances. The damage was done, and he was vigilant to protect Julie and Stephanie.
Ricky started fussing. Stephanie rolled to the edge of the bed to get up but got stopped by Ranger. "I'll get Ricky, Babe," he said, pulling Stephanie back under the covers.
"Thanks." Stephanie watched Ranger pull on a pair of black boxers and leave the room.
"Daddy," Ricky squealed. Ricky was happy to see his father.
"Morning, Ricky," Ranger crooned. "You're getting big." Stephanie giggled as she listened to Ricky's babbling and Ranger talking to their son. She was happy Ranger connected to Ricky. Her heart was full of love for Carlos, Ricky and her unborn son.
Stephanie got out of bed to take a shower. Ranger joined her after giving Ricky to Mateo. "Does Mat have Ricky?" Stephanie asked.
"Babe," he groaned. Stephanie interpreted this to mean that Mateo had Ricky and was feeding him breakfast. When the water ran cold, they left the shower to prepare for their day.
"Who is the asshole that used all the hot water?" Hal demanded. Ranger lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, you're home. Sorry, boss." Hal immediately knew who used all of the hot water in the house. Stephanie wore her sex glow, and her hair was wet. Hal blushed deep red when he realized his mistake.
"We should get an extra water heater for the guest bedrooms. Or one of those tankless water heaters for our washroom," Stephanie suggested.
"Babe, I like your way of thinking," Ranger whispered.
Ranger and Stephanie spent the day with Ricky. They had fun chasing after him when he'd take off running. Stephanie got tired after a few minutes. "Growing our son is exhausting. I don't remember being this tired with Ricky," Stephanie moaned.
Joe Morelli moved to Pennsylvania the following month. His friend got him transferred into the Major Crimes department. He entered the station to complete his personnel file. The Human Resources woman, Paulina Scorsone, helped Joe fill out the paperwork. She found him to be attractive. "You look like my late husband," she said without thinking.
He grimaced before replying, "I'm sorry for your loss."
"It's okay," she stated. Paulina rubbed her hand down her stomach. She felt the need to explain. "Cameron was a soldier. He got caught in the line of fire between two enemy factions. I found out a week after he left that I was pregnant with our son. We have a three-year-old daughter."
Paulina passed him the photo on her desk. The man could pass as Joe's brother. Cameron's hair colour was a few shades lighter, but their build, height and eye colour were the same. "Handsome man," Joe said before returning the photo. Joe did look similar to the man, but Cameron's nose was large.
"Do you have children?" Paulina asked.
He thought about his daughter with Connie. Since he gave up rights to her, he replied, "No. I can't have children."
"I'm sorry. Do you want children?"
"Yes," Joe sadly replied.
"I know we just met, but would you like to join me for dinner at 6 pm?" Paulina wanted to know more about the more attractive version of Cameron.
"I'd love to," he answered. Paulina wrote her address and phone number on the back of her business card.
He tucked the card into his wallet so it didn't get lost. Joe vowed to be honest about his medical condition. If he wanted to have a relationship with any woman, she would need to know about his past.
How he lived his life over the past few years was embarrassing. He let the wrong head direct his behaviour. Stephanie got hurt in the process, and he ruined his chance to have children. If he had known that his prostate would get removed, he never would have given up rights to his daughter.
Joe had a better understanding of why Manoso gave his daughter to another man to raise. At the time, it was the best decision. As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20.
He drove to the apartment he rented until it was time to meet Paulina for dinner. The house in Trenton got listed for sale. His mom wanted him to rent it to a family, but he didn't care to have the responsibility of upkeep if something broke. Bob, his dog, was living with his brother Anthony. Joe took a shower and shaved to look fresh for his date with Paulina. He was excited to spend time with a woman. It's been months since he talked to a potential girlfriend.
Joe drove to a townhome in a clean subdivision. All of the front lawns got perfectly mowed, and the windows were dirt-free. It reminded him of the Burg in Trenton. He smiled and parked on the road in front of Paulina's house.
When he knocked on the door, Paulina answered the door. A cute little girl stood behind her mother. "Hi," she quietly said.
"Hello, my name is Joe."
"Me, Towie," the little girl said. Her brown eyes were bright with excitement.
Joe raised an eyebrow and asked, "Carlie?"
"No, Towie," she replied, shaking her head.
"Tawny," Paulina whispered.
"Hi, Tawny. I'm happy to meet you," Joe said as he squatted to look her in the eye. Tawny smiled brightly.
"Come, mommy. I hungry," Tawny announced. She pulled on her mom's hand to guide her to the dining room.
"Hop in your seat, Tawny. I'll get your dinner," she announced.
Tawny climbed onto a step stool to climb into her seat. She pulled the straps over her lap and clicked it into place. "You have her trained well," Joe commented.
"She's independent. Thankfully, she hasn't figured out how to get out," Paulina replied. Joe was surprised that Paulina served diced ham with macaroni and cheese. "It's Tawny's favourite."
"I love macaroni and cheese," Joe stated. He took a bite and moaned. "This has to be the best macaroni and cheese I have ever eaten."
"Thank you. It's my grandmother's recipe," Paulina said, blushing.
After dinner, Tawny washed her hands and face before changing for bed. She put her pyjama shirt on backwards, but Paulina fixed it before she came back downstairs. Tawny sat on Joe's lap to watch Bubble Guppies.
Before the show finished, Tawny fell asleep in Joe's arms. He was used to carrying his niece and nephews to bed, so it was second nature to take Tawny to her room. Paulina guided him to Tawny's bedroom. She pulled back the blankets for Joe to lay Tawny in the bed. He kissed Tawny's forehead before following Paulina down the stairs.
They talked about their lives. Morelli was honest about why he couldn't have children. Paulina didn't seem to be surprised. "I heard rumours," she confessed.
"You heard rumours," Joe groaned. "What did you hear?"
"Shoptalk said you strung a few women along while you dated a woman another man wanted to claim," she replied. "Why did you cheat on your girlfriend?"
"Honestly? I don't know. Stephanie and I should never have dated. We had an unhealthy relationship that stretched back to when we were children. I did things that I must admit I'm not proud of doing. To this day, I don't know why she kept dating me," Joe confessed.
"You must have given her a reason to return. It could be that she felt you were safe or comfortable," Paulina suggested.
"Nah. Her mother guilted her into giving me another chance. I loved her, but not enough to commit to her. Since my surgery, I haven't got the libido."
"Italian Stallion," she joked.
Joe dropped his head into his hands. "I can't believe you heard that all the way here," he mumbled.
"Nico Torino has a big mouth. Is there anything else I should know?" Paulina asked, raising an eyebrow.
Taking a deep breath, Joe confessed to everything. He said how desperate he was to have a child with Stephanie. It was stupid, misguided and not well planned. There were too many moving parts he didn't consider. The most pressing issue was that he wasn't intimate with Stephanie for several months. "Hearing myself say it out loud, I realize how stupid I was."
"We all make mistakes, Joe. It's what we learn and how we change the trajectory that makes all the difference," Paulina offered. "Did you learn your lesson?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, I learned it the hard way."
"Sometimes that's the only way to learn," she said as she yawned.
"I should go. Thank you for dinner, Paulina. I'll understand if you keep your distance," Joe quietly stated.
"Joe, I'm no saint. Before I met Cameron, I was very promiscuous. I didn't think twice about who I screwed. Cameron helped me realize everybody deserves a second chance to be a better person. If you let me, I'd like to be your second chance. My children need a father, and you can't sire children. I watched how you interacted with Tawny. You'll make an amazing father. I'm not expecting flowers, jewelry or anything else. All I need is a man to love my children as though they were his," she explained. "Think about everything I've said. We'll talk in a week."
He kissed Paulina's forehead. "Thank you," he whispered before he left the house.
Joe thought about what Paulina shared and everything he said. They were alike in a lot of ways. She found a man who showed her the correct path to take. He wanted to let Paulina be that woman to help, but he was afraid to hurt her kids. Joe wanted to hope.
Stephanie's phone rang. The exchange was a Pennsylvania number. "Hello," she answered.
"Hi, Stephanie. It's Joe. Can we please talk?" Joe asked.
She pointed at Mateo, then Ricky, using gestures to ask for him to watch her son. Mateo nodded. Ranger grabbed Stephanie's hand to guide her to the home office. "Sure," she replied.
"Is Manoso there? He needs to hear what I have to say," he added.
"He's here. I'll put you on speakerphone," Stephanie replied as Ranger closed the office door behind them. "How are you?"
"Beating myself up," he replied. "I'm sorry for everything I did to you. I blamed you and Manoso for my life tanking. I've treated you like a possession, a pawn in my elaborate game. I only wanted you to keep you away from Manoso. From the day you two met, I could tell how you felt for each other. I wanted someone to look at me the way Manoso looked at you, Stephanie. My apology isn't good enough to say how bad I feel."
"Joe, you received retribution for your actions. Karma hit you hard. I accept your apology," Stephanie said.
"I also accept your apology," Ranger stated.
"Thank you," he quietly said. "Um."
"Joe, did you meet someone?" Stephanie asked. When he didn't respond, Stephanie said, "Joe. We've known each other for most of our lives. If you meet someone willing to give you a chance at love and a family, I think you should go for it. Regardless of our history, I want you to be happy. You deserve to find a woman to love. Give yourself a break. Take the relationship slow and let it happen naturally. Joe, I forgive you."
Joe thought for a few minutes before he stated, "Thank you, Stephanie. I didn't realize how important it was for me to hear you say those words. I'm not sure I deserve your forgiveness, but I appreciate that you have."
"Can you do me a favour?" Stephanie asked.
"Anything," he answered.
"Don't blow it."
Joe chuckled. "Got it. Take care, Stephanie, Ranger," he said before disconnecting the call.
"Babe?"
"I have no idea what happened," Stephanie said, raising her arms.
"He found his Babe," Ranger suggested.
Stephanie agreed, "I think he did."