Chapter 16
Frank drove one of the Rangeman SUVs to Chicago from Trenton. Cal and Hal travelled with him when they learned Stephanie and Ranger planned to get married. Stephanie wanted her friends at the wedding. Lester, Bobby and Tank would use the Rangeman jet to fly to the ceremony and back home early the following morning.
Cal and Hal got along with Frank. He respected the two men who watched over his daughter when he couldn't. Frank could tell how much they loved Stephanie. "Dickie landed in Siberia," Frank stated.
"Awesome. Will his family look for him?" Cal asked.
"No. Someone sent an email to his family and work. Once the three months pass, I imagine they'd start searching," Frank replied.
Hal laughed. "Excellent. I hope he learned his lesson," Hal added. "You can't kidnap a child and get away with the crime. Jayden willingly going with Dickie didn't mean the asshole could drug and restrain him." Frank couldn't have agreed more. It was the reason for shipping him.
They discussed their work at Rangeman. Frank thought it was an excellent place for ex-military men to work. He knew how difficult finding a job could become after leaving service. Not many companies were willing to hire soldiers or ex-special ops.
Ranger had seen the problem and found a way to utilize the men's skills to protect and serve families or businesses in the area. He was proud that Stephanie was marrying a remarkable young man.
~~~
Helen lived with Angie for a few weeks until the money arrived in her account. She thanked Angie and Bella for their hospitality. Unfortunately, Helen could only find a one-bedroom apartment near Stark St. The building was close to gang territory in a rough neighbourhood. But if she arrived home before dusk, she would be safe enough.
She had called the phone company to get the old number transferred to her new home. Frank purchased a cellphone and used it as the primary way to contact him. Helen didn't have money for a mobile phone. She had to rely on the landline.
To furnish her apartment, Helen shopped at the thrift store. She bought a bed, dresser, couch, table, dishes and cutlery. The unit had an old fridge and stove that still worked. It wasn't the ideal home, but it was all that she could afford after purchasing a used car.
Helen lifted the receiver to call her mom. "Hello?" Helen asked when she didn't hear the dial tone.
"Mom?" Steve asked.
"Oh, Steve. Hello, dear, how may I help you?" Helen loved her lawyer, son-in-law, although she wished he lived closer with Valerie and the girls.
"Have you seen or talked to Valerie?" he asked.
"Not since her father and I separated," Helen confessed. "Are they in trouble?"
"I don't think so. But Valerie served me with divorce papers. Our joint bank account is empty. She took everything," Steve said. "There isn't money for me to hire a divorce lawyer."
"Borrow against the equity of your home," Helen suggested.
"It's no use. The house already had a second mortgage. Val and I had some financial strains," Steve lied. Helen couldn't believe Valerie never mentioned their cash flow problems. Valerie told her everything. Why would she keep this a secret?
"I'm sure Valerie would come home soon. Val probably took the girls on a trip," Helen said.
"Helen, Valerie packed all of their clothes and jewelry. She isn't coming back," Steve stated.
"Let me handle my daughter!" Helen snapped and hung up. Helen dialled Valerie's cellphone number.
Valerie heard her phone ring from inside her purse. She pulled the item from the interior pocket, checked the display and rolled her eyes. "Hello, mother," Valerie greeted.
"You pack up the girls and take them home this minute!" Helen demanded.
"Ah. Steve received the divorce decree. Mom, there's something you need to know about your precious son-in-law. He's been screwing the under-aged babysitter for months. Steve also siphoned money from our joint and my personal bank accounts. He was planning to leave me with two children and broke," Valerie explained as she walked through the back door to talk.
"Steve would never do that to you," Helen insisted. Helen was secretly afraid Valerie would get charged with theft. "He was probably saving money to purchase a larger home. Steve said he had to get a second mortgage to pay the bills."
"Wow. Steve did take out a second mortgage, but he had stashed the money in an offshore bank account. We weren't experiencing financial problems. When our marriage gets dissolved, I would be on the hook to repay half the debt. Could you please advise how I would pay the debt with no money?" Valerie asked, getting angrier by the minute.
"Forgive his dalliance with the babysitter. There's no need for you to take the children away from their loving father," Helen replied. Valerie laughed until her stomach hurt. Helen couldn't believe her daughter found her statement to be amusing.
"Mom. Listen to me!" Valerie said, cutting off her mother's rant. "I got papers from Steve's lawyer. He signed over his parental rights to Angie and Mary Alice. Does that sound like a loving father? Because in my books, that makes him a selfish asshole. Goodbye, mother." Valerie ended the call and turned off her phone.
Blaze listened to the one-sided conversation between Valerie and her mother. Judging by Valerie's replies, the mother wanted Valerie to go home. He found Angie and Mary Alice to be intelligent children. Angie kept her nose in a book while Mary Alice helped her cousin, Jayden, manage the animals.
Valerie walked back towards the house. She jumped when she noticed Blaze sitting on the deck. "How much did you hear?" Valerie quietly asked.
"Every word you said when you exited the house," he confessed. Blaze reached for Valerie's hand and pulled her onto his lap. He told Valerie about his father leaving the mother with two children and no home. It wouldn't be fair to the girls if she decided to go back to her husband.
"Blaze, I'm not going back to Steve. Our marriage was great until I took a part-time job while the girls were in school. I hired a local teen to watch the girls after school. It didn't occur to me that Steve would fall in love with Brittany," Valerie said. She couldn't understand why she felt a connection with Blaze. But sitting on his lap with his arms wrapped around her felt right. "Blaze, thank you for getting your older sister, Jan, as my divorce attorney. I can't thank Jan enough for her help."
"She wanted to help you. My name is Benjamin Blaze," he whispered. "Please call me Ben."
"Okay, Ben. I should check on the girls," Valerie said as she stood up.
"I'm not going anywhere, Val. Whenever you're ready to give us a chance, let me know. I have never met another woman like you," Blaze confessed. "It's like we've known each other all of our lives." She kissed his cheek before going inside.
Valerie found Stephanie in the living room talking to the three girls. Stephanie looked at her sister and realized she needed to talk. "Please excuse us, girls. We'll be back soon," Stephanie kissed each girl on the forehead. "In here," Stephanie said, leading Valerie into her bedroom. She closed the door before asking Valerie what was wrong.
"I was thinking about the time you told me about Rick, Carlos," Valerie quickly corrected. "You described an invisible connection that transcended distance. When Carlos enters the room, you feel the tingles in the back of your neck."
"Val, do you have the same connection with Ben?" Stephanie asked. Valerie shrugged, finding the words difficult to say. "Okay. Um… I'll ask a question, and you nod if I'm right. Do you gravitate towards him without thinking?" Valerie nodded. "Are you seeking his comfort?" Valerie nodded. "Do you get the tingling sensation in your body?" Valerie shook her head. Stephanie observed her sister for a few minutes before asking, "Do you feel at peace whenever he's around?"
Valerie nodded. "Mom called, and I had to find a place to talk. At first, I started towards the stairs but found myself outside. The second I stepped over the threshold, I felt calm and emotionally stronger. I didn't know Ben was outside until I walked towards the house," Valerie replied. Her face blushed slightly.
"I know that look, Val. Did Ben confess his feelings?" Stephanie asked.
"Not in so many words. Ben said to let him know when I'm ready to move on," Valerie replied. "Steph, I'm moving to Trenton with the girls. Ben lives in Miami. He's Julie's bodyguard. I don't want to move to Miami, and it not work out for us."
"Val, Ben was Julie's bodyguard for the trip. Her full-time security team is in Miami. They're using vacation time while Julie is here. I'm sure Carlos could transfer Ben to the Trenton branch," Stephanie stated.
A glimmer of hope shone in Valerie's brown eyes. "Really?" she asked. Stephanie nodded.
"Yes, Val. Carlos would transfer him if that's what you both want," Stephanie said as she hugged Valerie.
Ranger raised an eyebrow when the women walked down the stairs. Stephanie nodded her head, silently answering the question he asked. He waited until Stephanie and Valerie rejoined the children in the living room before exiting the house.
Taking a seat beside Blaze, he asked, "Have you submitted a request to transfer?"
"Not yet. The Trenton branch is fully staffed," Blaze replied.
"I have a man wishing to work in Miami to be close to family. We could complete a direct trade," Ranger suggested.
Blaze turned to look at Ranger. He couldn't detect deceit on the man's face. "If it's possible, then I'd like to take you up on the offer."
Ranger nodded before removing his phone from the back pocket. He talked briefly to Tank to make sure Colin still wanted to transfer. "Make it happen immediately," Ranger said before hanging up. "Colin will stay in Trenton until we return."
"Thank you, sir," Blaze said.
"Don't hurt her," Ranger threatened before leaving Blaze outside alone.
Blaze couldn't believe his luck. He offered to accompany Julie to Chicago to give Parker and Johnny a vacation. Meeting Valerie and the girls were unexpected. The attraction and connection he felt towards the short Italian-Hungarian woman were beyond anything he had experienced before. Valerie was everything he had ever wanted in a woman wrapped up in a five-foot-five curvy package.
Later that night, Frank arrived with Cal and Hal. Stephanie ran out the door and launched herself into Cal's arms. She kissed his tattooed forehead before he put her down. "I'm so happy to see you," Stephanie said. "It's a full house tonight. We have extra beds in the basement for you guys."
"You still have our bedroom?" Cal asked. Stephanie squinted at her friend. Cal laughed as he raised his hands. "No need to get angry, Angel."
"Uncle Hal, Uncle Cal," Jayden screamed from the house. He ran outside to hug his uncles. "Hey, grandpa." Jayden grabbed Frank's hand to pull him inside. "I have to introduce you to Batman and Shadow."
"Batman? Shadow?" Hal asked.
"Dog and cat," Mary Alice replied as Hal entered the house. "I'm Mary Alice. Stephie is my aunt."
Hal squatted to get to her level. He looked into blue eyes the same shade as Stephanie and Jayden's eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am. My name is Hal. The tall guy with the tattoo is Cal. We're like brothers to your aunt."
"Does that make you my uncle?" Mary Alice asked, tilting her head to the side.
"He isn't our uncle," Angie replied. "Mom and Aunt Stephie don't have a brother."
"Angie, there's more to being an uncle than DNA. Uncle Cal and Uncle Hal are my mom's best friends from high school. They chose to be a part of our family. Mom considers them as her brothers. Family is whatever we choose to make it," Jayden said.
"Mom! Do you mind if we call Cal and Hal our uncles?" Mary Alice screamed over her shoulder.
Valerie approached the men standing inside the foyer. She noticed Blaze had joined the group. "Nope. As long as they don't mind, it doesn't bother me," Valerie stated.
"Yay. I want to have lots of uncles," Mary Alice chanted.
"If your mom marries Blaze, you'll have more uncles than you could ever want," Jayden joked.
Angie and Mary Alice grinned. "I've always wanted a big family," Valerie added. She hugged her girls and told them to get ready for dinner. "Hi, I'm Valerie." Cal and Hal introduced themselves to Stephanie's older sister. "If you'll excuse Steph and me, we're going to help grandma Rosa cook."
Rosa spent hours in the kitchen preparing traditional Cuban foods. She cooked enough to feed an Army. Valerie and Stephanie helped her make Rosa Vieja, Lechon Asado, Tamal Cubano, Arroz Imperial cooked with vegetables and a garden salad.
"Roll the tamales," Rosa instructed. Stephanie translated for Valerie.
"This smells amazing," Valerie said as she scooped the filling into the corn husk. Rosa smiled at the pretty woman. She noticed that Ben kept watching Valerie.
Rosa mentioned the visible attraction of the two to Stephanie, who in turn said, "The relationship will happen when Valerie is ready."
"Good. Ben makes her happy. She looks happier now," Rosa observed.
"I agree. Ben's one of the good men," Stephanie replied. "The girls like him too."
"It's important for the children to be comfortable with the new men," Rosa said. She placed the tamales into the boiling water to cook. Rosa made the sauce while the women set the table.
Valerie saw her dad enter the kitchen. She passed the cutlery to Stephanie and hugged Frank. "Thank you, daddy," Valerie whispered.
"Is everything settled?" he asked.
"Yes. My lawyer discovered Steve took out a second mortgage on the house and stashed the cash. She got the money back to the bank and froze all of his assets. I can't access my account either, but it doesn't matter," Valerie said.
"You still have access to money," Frank reminded her.
"And I can't thank you enough for it. Jan knows we took the money he stashed. She said I should remain silent because he can't prove I have the money," Valerie stated.
"Wise woman. I see you found an admirer," Frank added, pointing his chin towards the man standing in the other room.
"Ben. He's a nice man," Valerie said. "I want to stand on my own two feet before jumping into another relationship."
The dining room table strained from the weight of the food. Blaze sat between Valerie and Mary Alice. Angie sat beside Julie and Jayden across the table. Stephanie looked around the table at her friends and family. Carlos squeezed her thigh. "Proud of you, babe," he whispered.