Chapter 18
Stephanie's POV
As promised, Bobby arrived at the hospital to meet with Lester's doctor. Ranger arrived an hour later. I was surprised to see him until I remembered that Lester was Ranger's cousin. How I forgot that tidbit of information escapes me for a minute. Ranger would need to report Lester's status to his family. "Babe?" Ranger asked as he nodded to the right. I knew he wanted to have a private word with me.
"What do you want?" I asked when we moved to a private area.
"To thank you for saving Lester's life," he replied.
"I dragged Lester from the plane. For all we know, I could have cut his leg on the sharp metal as I pulled him through the hole. My actions could have caused more damage. I didn't save his life," I stated. "I should have let Tank pull him from the plane."
"Tank couldn't fit into the space, Babe. Hector couldn't pull Lester free either."
"How do you know?" I wondered.
"I spoke to Hector. He said you were the only person who could fit through the opening to pull Lester free. Dragging him across the seat to the open hatch would have caused more damage. Your only option to save Lester was to pull him through the torn side of the plane," Ranger replied. "Tank had to pry the cabin door open to pull Marco free. You barely got far enough from the plane before it caught fire. Escaping from the hatch with Lester would have wasted valuable time."
I shook my head. It wasn't that close of a call. I had concentrated on my job to get Lester out of the plane. "I'm nobody's saviour," I retorted. I wanted to check on my brother and the pilot. They had contusions and cuts deep enough for stitching, but they weren't severe enough for me to repair the damage in the field. "Lester's injury was deeper than Marco and Archer's. I did exactly what Charlie and Hawk trained me to do."
"Babe, you never disappoint," Ranger said. He hugged me and kissed my head. "You're bleeding from your arm." Ranger pulled his hand free, showing me the blood.
"How did I not notice?" I wondered.
"Adrenaline, Babe. Let's see a nurse for stitches," Ranger replied. I let him drag me to the closest triage nurse to get my arm assessed. After the nurse cleaned the abrasion, an intern stitched my arm. Tank held my hand as I felt the tug of the sutures.
"Keep the stitches dry for the next few days," the doctor announced.
I wanted to say something but remained quiet until he called me Mrs. Plum. "Mrs. Sherman, Steph or Stephanie," I quickly corrected. "Is there a phone I can use?"
"I called your family, Babe," Ranger replied. I was relieved. My mom would be devastated if she hadn't heard about my survival. "Your father expects a call when we get home tonight."
"How are we getting home?" I wondered.
"Rangeman jet," he answered. I gave an involuntary shudder. It was too soon for me to fly home.
"I'll pass," I stated.
"Me too," Tank replied as he interrupted our conversation. "Marco, Hector and Lester want to drive home. I secured a vehicle large enough to accommodate everyone. The pilot has a severe concussion and needs to remain in the hospital for a week. I'll arrange his transportation once he's released."
"Thanks, honey." I was pleased to hear he was taking care of the pilot too. Ranger's phone rang. After listening for a few seconds, he passed the phone to me. "Hello?" I noticed Tank was wearing clean clothes. Ranger must have brought a duffle for the guys.
"Thank God you're okay," dad replied. "I had to hear your voice. Ranger said you were fine, but I needed to check. Your mother is beside herself with worry."
"The last time I talked to mom, she wished I was dead. Why does she care now? Because Marco was with me?" I asked.
"Pumpkin, she was angry with Sam and me but took it out on you. She'd be devastated if you died." I felt my dad was letting me off the hook.
"She'd probably yell at me to say it was my fault. In a way, I guess it was because Tank and I eloped," I said.
"Enough, Stephanie. The plane crash was most certainly not your fault," dad snapped. I had never been at the receiving end of his anger, so it surprised me when he got terse. I heard him sigh before adding, "Pumpkin, I'm sorry for snapping at you. I'm frustrated with your mother."
"Me too, dad. I don't understand her at all. Was she always that way?" I asked.
"A judgmental bitch? No. Your mother was more like you when I met her. I'm not sure when or why that changed," he confessed.
"Mom probably changed when you moved into the centre of the Burg. Have you considered moving away from that subdivision?"
"Many times, but your mother likes where we live. She promised to behave if you bring Marco and Tank to dinner soon," dad replied. I wasn't sure if I could handle being around mom after everything she had said to me. Neither Marco nor Tank would tolerate her attitude toward me.
Against my better judgement, I heard myself say, "Sure, dad. Marco, Tank and I will come over for dinner. We're driving back to Trenton today, so it would be a few days before we can visit."
"If your mom behaves as she did the last time, we will meet for lunch or dinner at Shorty's."
"Thanks, dad. I'll call you when we get home," I promised. I ended the call and passed the phone back to Ranger. He wiped the tears off my face that I didn't realize had dropped from my eyes.
"Everything will work out as it should," Ranger quietly said. "I want you to work at Rangeman full time."
"Ranger, I appreciate your offer. I will run searches and do distractions, but I will not accept a job at Rangeman. Marco and I are starting a business together. I've got a few investors already."
"When you have your business plan together, I'd be interested in helping you finance your dream," he offered.
"Okay," I whispered as he pulled me into his arms. He kissed my cheek and hugged me tightly before letting me return to my husband's side.
Lester's POV
I waited for the doctor to check the stitches on my leg. "Whoever did these stitches did an excellent job," Dr. Masseo stated. He checked the contusions on my shoulder and abdomen before touching the bump on my head. Dr. Masseo put the CAT scan films on the light board to view. I wanted to go home. Stephanie wasn't the only person who hated hospitals.
"What's the verdict?" I asked.
After a few seconds, he replied, "Everything looks good. You may experience mild headaches from hitting your head. If you get nauseous or dizzy, come back immediately."
"I'll keep an eye on him," Bobby said from the foot of the bed. I was glad my friend, the Rangeman medic, was available to convince Dr. Masseo to discharge me.
"Good. Get this prescription filled," Dr. Masseo said, ripping a page off the pad. I raised an eyebrow. The doctor noticed my expression and smiled. "You need antibiotics, and I prescribed a mild pain medication in case you need it."
"Thank you, Dr. Masseo," Bobby said. "I'll get this filled in the hospital drug store." Bobby left the room to get the prescriptions. He knew I wanted to get out of here.
A few seconds later, Beautiful entered my room. "What happened?" I asked, pointing to the bandage on her arm.
"Oh, this? I got a little cut on my arm from pulling you out of the plane," she replied. Her cheeks turned slightly pink as she answered. "I have to take antibiotics."
"Me too," I said. "Make sure you use protection with Tank." I wiggled my eyebrows. Stephanie's face turned a deeper shade of red. It was too much fun teasing my best friend. "I've changed my mind."
"What?" she asked, confused. Beautiful tugged on the hem of her shirt as she looked at me.
I smirked and replied, "I would love to see a mini version of you running around Rangeman."
"Not going to happen, Lester," she stated. Stephanie grabbed the gauze and tape off the bedside table to dress my leg. A nurse walked into the pod but immediately left when she saw Stephanie fix the final piece of tape to my leg.
"Awe, man. I'm looking forward to being an uncle," I groaned. I knew the idea of having children frightened her, but I thought she'd be a great mother.
Stephanie laughed as she held her stomach. It took several minutes to settle down before she could talk. "I'm not opposed to having Tank's child. We'll make that decision together. What I mean is that you may not see a mini version of me running around in Rangeman. Marco and I are starting our own business. I could run the searches for Rangeman, but not in the building.
"What are you hoping to do?" I asked. Stephanie explained her goals. She laid out a viable business plan without having it on paper. "I'm interested. When we get home, I'd like to hear more about the business."
"Sure. Ranger also offered to help with the start-up financing," she said. Beautiful mentioned that Hector and his partner, Emilio, were investors. With everything she had planned for the multipurpose business, we could use her company for Rangeman group building exercises. She blushed, making me wonder what sexy thought crossed her mind.
"We could get the guys to take Yoga or Zumba as a group building exercise," I suggested. Beautiful's face turned a deeper shade of red.
"I'm not sure my hormones can handle a room filled with hot, sexy, and sweat covered men," she mumbled, barely loud enough for me to hear. "I can barely handle seeing you men in the gym without shirts."
"We don't have a problem having you check out the merchandise," I joked.
"As long as she comes home to me, I don't have an issue either," Tank added as he pulled back the curtain. I raised an eyebrow, wondering why Tank was here. "You've been sprung. I've got a car delivered from Enterprise. We can leave after you change." Tank passed me a duffle containing a change of clothes.
"Thanks," I said before asking them to leave the pod. I tossed the hospital gown on the bed and carefully pulled the cargos up my legs without catching the bandage Stephanie replaced.
Stephanie looped her arm through mine as we left the emergency room pod. She supported my weight the best she could without causing strain on her injured arm. I let her fuss over me as we got into the car.
Beautiful insisted I take the front passenger seat beside Tank. He'd drive for six hours before we stopped for food. Bobby would take over for the next six hours, followed by Hector, Marco and Stephanie. I offered to take a turn, but Bobby banned me from driving because of my head injury. Tank would take over driving the final few hours to get home.
Bobby and I got dropped off at Rangeman. Stephanie promised to visit Rangeman the following day after catching up on sleep. I kissed her cheek and thanked her for being my hero. She giggled and insisted she was nobody's rescuer. I beg to differ, but I wasn't going to argue with her either.
Hector, Bobby and I talked about the business Beautiful was launching with her brother. "We should draft a contract between Rangeman and her company for the Martial arts classes," Bobby suggested. "We don't have enough room in our gym to accommodate more than two groups practicing at a time."
I nodded, because he was right. We used the ring for sparring, but there was only one other designated area for the men to practice their craft. "They plan to rent four rooms in the Gemini Fitness club," Hector added. "Two of the rooms are for Zumba and Yoga. Angelita wants the other rooms reserved for Martial Arts."
"Maybe Beautiful can get work on her belts," I said.
Hector grinned before saying, "She has blue belts in Karate, Taekwondo, Aikido, Judo and Krav Maga. Marco is a licensed instructor." I was impressed. My best friend, Beautiful, was becoming a badass. "Even injured, she kicked my ass." I've been itching to spar with her since I watched her fight Ranger. Bobby kindly reminded I was on restricted duty for two weeks.
