"Well, since we don't have to worry about a distraction tonight, what would you like to do, Sunshine?"

"Honesty, I just want to relax tonight and talk with you. I know you are probably heading back to Boston tomorrow and I'm not ready to let you go yet."

Stephanie and Clinton sat on the couch facing each other. Clinton had his arm on the back of the couch and his fingers running across her shoulder. "Tell me about your family?"

Stephanie laughed, "You know my family. All the guys at Rangeman are my family."

"No, I mean your real family."

"Clinton, they are my real family. The only real family I have. If you mean those that gave me life, I have two parents, an older sister, and a grandmother still. But I don't see them."

Clinton saw the look of sadness on Stephanie's face and wished he could take it away. "Why? What happened?"

Stephanie pulled the soft blanket off the back of the couch and covered herself. She did that when she needed to feel safe and comforted. "Well, I'm nothing but a disappointment to my family and can never do anything right. My sister can never do anything wrong. Even when we do the exact same thing, I'm the screwup and she's the perfect one."

"That can't be true! How are you a screwup? I know I haven't known you long, but I don't see you ever being a screwup." Clinton was getting upset that someone had made Stephanie feel that way.

"Well, let's see. Both Valerie and I have been married before. Both of us found our husbands cheating on us. We both got divorced. She was allowed to move back home with her girls and was told she did the right thing by leaving him. She was better than that and could do so much for with her life.

When I left my ex-husband for cheating on me, I wasn't allowed to move back home, I was told that I should have stayed married to him and found a way to keep him happy. It was my fault he strayed."

"WHAT?" Clinton yelled causing Stephanie to jump. He reached for her and pulled her to him, "I'm sorry for scaring you. I just can't believe that your parents said that to you. Why the hell would you stay with someone who was sleeping around? He could have given you a disease. You did right."

"Well, my mother doesn't think I did right. She also thinks my ex-boyfriend is my last chance for happiness even though he molested my when I was six and raped me when I was sixteen."

Clinton couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wanted to go have a word with Stephanie's mother but knew he couldn't. "What does your dad say about this? Did you ever press charges for him raping you?"

"My father says nothing. He sits there are the dinner table stuffing his face while she berates me and pushes me towards what she wants. I didn't press charges because she told me I had already embarrassed her enough by having sex on the floor of the Tasty Pastry. Besides, he left for the Navy the next morning. But when he returned, I hit him with my car and broke his leg."

Clinton squeezed her to him when she said that but was still trying to wrap his head around her parents and their lack of love, compassion, and help for their daughter. He knew if he ever had a daughter that went through anything close to that, he'd likely end up in prison after he killed the guy that hurt his daughter. "What about your grandmother?"

"I don't know. Sometimes I think she's on my side and other times I'm not sure. She doesn't really correct my mother. She'll throw looks my way like she's thinking of saying something to her, but she doesn't." Stephanie took a deep breath, "So, that is why the guys are my family. They support me, protect me, and help me when I need it. They don't judge me. Enough about my family, what about yours?"

Clinton kissed the top of her head and pulled her onto his lap and covered her with her blanket. "I have an older sister as well, Clarissa. She's two years older than me. We got along great when we were growing up. She's like my best friend. If ever I need a slap upside the head or a shoulder to lean on, she's there. My father raised us alone."

Stephanie turned her head to see Clinton, "What happened to your mother?"

"She passed away when I was less than an hour old. She bled and they couldn't stop it. I never met her."

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"So, my dad was a single dad and raise Rissa and I the best he could with help from both sets of grandparents. I was more like we had five parents. We couldn't get away with anything," Clinton laughed.

"We never wanted for anything. We didn't have everything, but we had more than a lot of people. We had a loving family, a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs and food on the table. We couldn't have asked for more. Rissa is a surgeon."

"Wow, she sounds wonderful."

"She is, I'd like for you to meet her and Pop sometime."

After they talked for a little more, they both stretched out on the couch, Stephanie's back to Clinton's front. He wrapped an arm around her and held her to him as they watched TV. Stephanie felt his hand slide under the bottom of her shirt, and he was drawing circles on her stomach. She loved the feeling of being in his arms.

"What time are you leaving tomorrow?" she asked.

"I will probably bug out around noon. I have to work the day after and it's a five-hour drive. I'll need to get some rest and take care of my dogs." He didn't want to leave, but he needed to get back to his home and job.

"You have dogs? How many, what kind, and what are their names?" Stephanie asked as she flipped over to face Clinton.

Kissing her forehead, he smiled. He knew she'd like the name of one of his dogs. "Well, I have two German Shepherds. Kilo, he's four and Sunshine is one."

"You have a dog named Sunshine?"

"I do. She's brought a lot of happiness to my life and to Kilo's. He's protective of her. Won't let anyone near her unless he knows them."

"Wow," was all she could say. Lifting her face up, she gently placed a kiss on his lips. A few seconds later, she was on her back as Clinton hovered above her.

After a few minutes of kissing, she felts his hands slide under her shirt and up to her bra. Her hands went to his back and pulled his shirt from his pants. When she tried to pull it off him, he sat up and sighed.

"Steph, I want this, but I don't want just a one night with you again. I want to do things right. I didn't mean to get carried away, but being around you, I just can't help myself."

"I want more than a night as well, Clinton. I've not felt about anyone the way I feel about you. If you want to take things slow, then we need to get off the couch because if we stay here, I'm not going to be held responsible for my actions."

Clinton laughed and pulled her up. "I should probably get heading back to Rangeman for the night, Sunshine. I want to stay the night with you, but I don't think that would be a good idea."

Stephanie walked him to the door, turned off her alarm, and walked him to his truck. "Will I see you before you leave?"

"Absolutely. I'm not leaving without telling you goodbye." He reached for her and pulled her to him. "I want to take you with me. I don't know how we are going to do this, but I'm not losing you again." He tried to give her a gently kiss, but once his lips touched hers, the kiss turned into a full mouth exploration. Pulling back, he found she was breathing just as hard as he was. "I'll call you in the morning, Sunshine."

Stephanie watched his truck until the lights disappeared around the corner before she went back inside. Locking up and setting her alarm, she wasn't surprised when her phone beeped with a text message.

'Wondered when he'd leave. I'm here if you need to talk, Beautiful.'

She sent back a reply that she was fine and heading to bed and thanked Les for the concern. She thought of Clinton as she fell asleep with a smile on her face.