Chapter 5

Zero and I still had Sunday to recover from our travels before we started work on Monday. I met with Tank after our celebratory lunch to sign my contract. My medical proxy was Zero unless he was unavailable. We had discussed our options and decided Ranger would follow my medical directives. Lester was an additional backup in case Ranger was gone on a mission and Zero was unavailable.

Mom requested my presence at dinner. I mentioned I was bringing company. She didn't sound pleased, but I couldn't care less. I would not attend dinner with the family without my husband. My phone chimed as Zero parked his truck in front of the house. "Grandpa says the diocese will annul my marriage to Dickie because I have proof of his infidelity," I said, reading the message.

"What does that mean?" Zero asked.

"It means that even if Dickie tries to dispute the annulment, which I know he won't, the church can still pass it through. Grandpa said Deacon Staton would process my claim. We can have our marriage blessed in the Catholic Church after he completes the annulment, if that's what you want," I replied.

"Amore mia, you know it doesn't matter to me," he stated.

"I know, but it would mean a lot to our grandparents." We knew our grandparents wanted our marriage sanctioned by the church. I wanted to do this for them. Zero readily agreed to give this gift to our family. Having Zero on board made it worthwhile to continue the process.

We entered my childhood home, following grandma when she opened the door. Zero froze when he noticed the extra company. My arm jerked back from his sudden stop. "What is he doing here?" Zero asked.

Following his line of sight, I saw Joe Morelli sitting on the couch in the living room. "Mom?" I called. She had a lot of explaining to do.

"In the kitchen, Stephanie," she replied.

I entered the kitchen and stood beside my mom. She stirred the pot of tomato sauce on the stove. The lasagna was sitting on the counter, cooling down enough to serve. "Why did you invite Joe?"

"He's your fiancé," she replied.

"Are you out of your mind?" I shouted. "Mom, I'm married."

"Don't be silly, Stephanie. Everyone knows you and Joe aren't married yet. Angie and I reserved the Polish hall for your reception," she said, ignoring my words.

I pulled the spoon from her hand and turned off the burner to prevent the sauce from burning. "Mother, look at me," I demanded. Mom was taken aback by my harshness. I held up my left hand. "I got married a week ago in Italy. Theodore Torino is my husband."

"Theo? Is he the grandson of Carina and Alfonso Torino?" she asked. I nodded. "Why the rush? Are you pregnant?"

"No, mom. I'm not pregnant. I know Teddy and I got married fast, but when you've found your soulmate, why wait?" I replied.

"Okay. Give me a minute, dear. I'll be back." She kissed my cheek before leaving the kitchen. What the hell?

Following my mom to the living room, I arrived in time to hear her say, "I'm sorry, Joseph. Inviting you for dinner was a mistake. I'll call your mother tomorrow to cancel the wedding plans."

"Why?" Joe asked.

"My youngest daughter is already married to a respected Italian. She's known him since they were infants. I'm sorry for wasting your time." Mom guided Joe to the door. "Goodbye, Joseph. I hope you can find the Burg woman of your dreams," mom said before closing and locking the door to prevent his re-entry. Who is this woman, and what did she do to my mom?

"Don't stand there with your mouth open, dear. It will attract the flies," mom said as she walked past me and pat my shoulder. "Help me serve dinner, Stephanie."

I entered the kitchen to see mom standing beside the stove, wearing a shocked expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

She dipped the spoon into the sauce for me to taste. "So good," I moaned.

"What did you add?" How did she know I added something? "You were the last person in the kitchen, dear."

"Oh. I added a dash of sea salt," I replied.

"Sea salt?" I nodded and passed her the jar I brought from the Rangeman apartment. "Huh. It tastes like your grandmother's sauce."

"We had extra in our apartment. I thought you should use it instead of the table salt for cooking your pasta sauce. It makes a difference, don't you think?"

Mom surprised me by hugging me tightly. "I noticed you removed the pot from the burner too. Does this mean you know how to cook?" she asked, hopefully.

"Yes, mom. Teddy taught me and we cook our dinners together. Before you ask, no, I will not quit my job to become a housewife. Teddy and I are working together at Rangeman. I'm safe from the criminals on the street. Don't ask about having children either. Teddy and I aren't sure we want them," I said.

"Stephanie, I only wanted you to be happy. I'm sorry for bringing Joseph around. I thought he was your last chance to get married. I can see I was wrong. Come on, let's get dinner served before the beast in your stomach makes its appearance to consume us all," mom said. I was laughing when I carried the gravy boat with the extra sauce to the table.

"Are you okay?" Zero asked when I sat beside him.

"Yes. Mom and I finally understand each other," I replied as I looked at my mom. She winked before serving our dinner. For the first time, I had a pleasant dinner with my family. Mom was polite to Teddy and didn't hound him about producing grandchildren.

Valerie was pregnant with her fourth child. I hoped it would be the grandson my dad desired. "Come back for dinner next Saturday. Valerie and the girls will be here," mom said at the door. She hugged Zero and me before watching us walk to the truck.

"Was your mom abducted by aliens?" Zero asked as he pulled away from the curb.

"Nope. She's glad I'm married and know how to cook. I like this version of Helen Plum. I'm surprised she didn't ask you when we'll produce crotch goblins," I said, grinning.

"Crotch goblins?" Zero asked, laughing.

"Yup. Our spawn," I replied as I fought to stop the laughter from erupting.

"I don't know what's worse. Calling our children spawn or crotch goblins," he said between laughter. I heard him mutter, "crotch goblins," a few more times on the way home. He laughed every time he repeated my phrase for children.

"What's so funny, man?" Lester asked when Zero exited the truck.

"Crotch goblins," he replied before laughing more.

"It stopped being funny a few blocks ago, Zero," I said. He shook his head to disagree with me. Lester raised an eyebrow, wondering what crotch goblins were. I sighed before saying, "I called our potential children crotch goblins."

Lester thought for a minute before he joined Zero in laughter. I shook my head and pressed the button for the elevator. "When are you making me an uncle?" Lester asked. Zero stopped laughing. Sheesh, we just got married.

"Not anytime soon, Les. But you would be the second person I notify if the crotch goblins invade my body," I retorted. Zero raised an eyebrow, wondering who would be the first. "I'll be the first to know, but you'll be the first one I tell."

Zero waited until we were alone in our apartment before asking, "Do you want children?"

"Teddy, you already know my answer. I'm not opposed to having your children. But I want to wait until we've been married for at least a year before trying. We got married, and I'm working full-time for Rangeman. Two major life decisions. I don't want to get overwhelmed. Besides, we need to look for a house first," I replied.

"You don't want to live in Rangeman until we have kids?" he joked.

I lightly slapped his chest but didn't answer his silly question. Zero pulled me into his arms and kissed me. It didn't take long for us to remove our clothes and get into bed. Tears fell from my eyes as we made love. Having my mom accept my choice of husband meant more to me than I realized.

"Shhh, amore mia. Her acceptance means a lot to me too," he confessed.

During the night, he woke me a few more times. Our coupling solidified our bond. My legs were wobbling when I went to the washroom the following morning. I noticed a few hickeys on my breasts and abdomen when I looked into the mirror. Thankfully, Teddy didn't leave any on my neck. The bathroom door opened as I started the shower. I shook my head when Teddy relieved his bladder before joining me. "Do you have no shame?" I joked.

"I'm not afraid to piss in front of my wife," he retorted. I could barely use the public toilets if someone sat in the stall beside me. "Eventually, you'll get used to it." I had to take his word for it.

We went to the gym to complete our workout for the day. I finished my run on the treadmill when Ranger approached me. He tilted his head toward the sparring ring, silently asking me to join him. I shrugged and followed him inside, knowing Ranger wouldn't intentionally hurt me.

Zero caught my eye and winked as Cal spotted him in the weight room. Lester sat on the bench beside the ring, waiting for me to finish my stretches to tape my hands. He placed the protective headgear on my head and inserted my mouthguard. "Fangs, Wes," I said, the guard muffling words.

Ranger offered suggestions as we sparred. Lester interjected to help counter Ranger's moves. I learned a lot from my friends. My confidence increased when feigning a move and I knocked Ranger to the mats. He grinned as he held out his hand for me to help him stand. "Proud of you, Babe," he said, pulling me into his arms. "Keep training with Tank, Bobby and Lester. You'll be ready for our match in three months."

I spit my mouth guard into the bucket held by Lester. "Thanks, Ranger. For everything," I said. I meant for more than offering me a job and his assistance today.

"No price, Babe. Ever," Ranger replied before holding the ropes apart for me to climb through the opening. I knew Ranger was silently explaining that it was necessary to push me away to find my soulmate. His secrecy would have drove me crazy and ended our friendship. Ranger was right to push me away. I see it now.

Lester helped me to the floor. He motioned for me to look around the gym. The guys were standing around with their mouths agape.

"What?" I asked.

"Steph, no one willingly spars with Ranger," Cal said. The other men nodded. I rolled my eyes and went to the floor mats to do my yoga stretches.

"Beautiful, you're killing us here," Lester groaned. I looked between my legs as I held the downward dog pose. The guys were noticeably fixing themselves while trying to look away from me. "When did you get so flexible?"

"Many years ago," I replied. "Dance and gymnastics." Lester nodded as though my words made sense before entering the locker room. I caught Ranger's eye to notice he was grinning. Ranger knew how flexible I could get. After a bark of laughter, Ranger left the gym.

Zero walked up to me as I moved into the plank position. He slapped my ass, causing me to crash to the floor. "Get a room," Manny shouted from the treadmills.

Before I could respond, Zero flipped me over his shoulder and yelled, "I've got it handled, men." The guys groaned or yelled "thanks" as Zero carried me from the gym. He didn't waste time waiting for the elevator. "You're not heavy," he said when I complained about the extra weight.

He didn't put me down until we were in the shower. "We have twenty minutes before we report for duty. Wrap your legs around me," he said after stripping off our clothes. I let him take over as he showed me his appreciation of my flexibility in the gym.

"I can't walk," I groaned as I shakily walked to our bedroom.

"It's all part of the plan, amore mia," he replied.

"What's part of the plan? Screwing me until you render my legs completely useless? I hate to tell you, Teddy. You have already succeeded," I joked.

"You aren't the only one to have trouble finding your legs, baby," Zero retorted. I pat his cheek as I passed him to enter the closet. Ella had unpacked our luggage and brought the clothes downstairs from Ranger's apartment. She offered to go to my other apartment to pack my remaining clothes. Zero's phone buzzed when I exited the bathroom after doing my hair. "Ranger wants to see us in his office before the morning meeting."

"Okay. Are you ready to head up?" I asked. "That's not what I meant," I said when Zero wiggled his eyebrows.

"I was waiting for you, amore mia," he replied. I smiled at his term of endearment. He made a point of calling me his love at least ten times per day.

When we arrived at Ranger's office, he was waiting for us by the open door. "Come in," he said. Ranger closed and locked the door behind us. He passed me an envelope with a key fob.

I gasped when I read the note from Ranger. "Babe, please accept this gift from the core team and me. We are proud to call you our friend. You are the most important person in our lives, and we want you and Theodore to accept this house as our wedding gift. Tank, Lester, Bobby and I want you to accept shares in Rangeman. Welcome to the core team."

"Steph? What's wrong?" Teddy asked me in Italian.

I quickly replied that the core team gifted us a four-bedroom home and made me a core member with Rangeman shares.

"Babe, you speak Italian?" Ranger asked.

"Yes, Ranger, I do. Whenever Zero asks a question in Italian, I habitually respond in kind," I replied.

"Welcome to the family," Ranger said. He shook Zero's hand before embracing me in his arms. "We wanted you to know how much we love you."

"Ranger, I already knew." I wanted to tell him it was too much, but I knew Ranger would get mad, so I graciously accepted the gifts. The house is Rangeman secured. It was only a few blocks away, which surprised me.

Zero and I went to the conference room to wait for the meeting to begin. "I guess that's why Ranger wanted to meet with us first," he whispered when we took our seats. Ranger must be making the announcement today.