All familiar characters are Janet's. The decisions they make and mistakes are mine.
The wide black band with thin rose gold edges, broke up the 'I' in the four-letter word tattooed between the knuckles of Cal's ring finger, concealing some of the "PAIN" he had been feeling when he'd paid to have that word permanently written into the skin on his left hand.
I've tried to show every man who works for me that they belong here, most not having had the luxury of experiencing that acceptance before finding themselves in my office being hired. But with Cal, it's been especially clear that he had never believed his pain could be left in his past because he's learned how to love in the present. Kenzie has done wonders for how he sees himself and life in general, but I know the unconditional love my wife and daughters have given Cal over the years had eased Kenzie's way in.
Stephanie crossed her arms over her chest and subjected Cal to a steely, blue-eyed stare. Only I can tell that it's all for show. If she weren't trying to maintain her image as the cool-headed Queen of the Rangeman Kingdom, I'd bet my net worth that she'd be squealing in excitement for him as loud as Olivia had when our baby spotted our dogs.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you ... or wait until you were home ..." Cal began, trying to soften whatever response she was considering.
"Was an elopement how you and Kenzie wanted to do this?" She interrupted to ask.
"Yes," he said without hesitation. "Committing ourselves to each other was what we cared about, not a party or to be the center of attention while we do it."
My wife nodded. "Were Kane and Harper your witnesses?"
He shook his head. "Just Kenzie's mom came to City Hall with us."
"That works for me. If a badass with a baby were attending, it should have been my badass and baby, so I'm okay with it being kept on a strictly need-to-know basis."
His tension eased. "Glad you approve, Steph."
"I definitely approve of Kenzie ... and I love you, Cal. You owe me a hug, and you and Kenzie owe us a celebratory dinner. If you don't feel comfortable with it being an intimate four-person wedding reception, we can have it while Julie's here and also invite Harper, Kane, and Angel as well as Raphael and Aubrey, so our focus isn't all on how happy we are for the two of you. You know how good Olive is at shredding and throwing flower petals, she would've made one hell of a flower girl."
"No doubt. For whatever you wanna do, I'll bring her some flowers to annihilate and separate ones for Julie to enjoy."
"Thank you, Uncle Cal. And Congratulations. You should have someone as cool as Kenzie looking out for - and loving - you," Julie told him.
"That's sweet stuff and all, but WTF?" Lester said. "We aren't invited to this little party?"
Steph shot him a look. "You've been here all week, so you not only knew about this ... you could've taken Cal out to celebrate anytime. He's all ours now."
"I was waiting for you guys to come home," Santos replied, trying to weasel his way out of Steph's doghouse.
"Sure you were," she said, dismissing him before she went in for a hug from Cal.
He was unsure at first, but once Steph squeezed him tighter with her arms, he lifted her off her feet and just held on for a few beats. Neither said anything, they just gave each other silent support from one supposedly unlovable person to another, proving that everyone - even their own inner voices - were wrong about them never having a life they're proud to live.
My daughter was less understanding about her Mama being occupied. Olivia, with Mo and Gunny who aren't ready to let her out of their sights, ran over and yanked on the material of Stephanie's jeans.
She pulled back to look down and grinned at our baby. "You wanna hug Uncle Cal too, don't you, Olive?"
"Or she just doesn't want to share you, Steph," Cal noted.
"Maybe, but you need a Olive-hug to make this marriage official. She's going to love having an Aunt Kenzie. Get in here too, Julie, so we can give Uncle Cal a RangeGal group hug."
"Don't you think you've put him through enough, Babe? He was already worried that you'd be pissed at him."
"I'm not mad, but he either gets another hug or a full-on party for him and Kenzie. That's the only say he gets in this matter."
Cal's eyes shot to me. "I'll take the hug," he said to me. "If that's alright with you?"
"It is and attendance at a dinner tomorrow will be expected," I told him.
"Yes, Sir," he said before I lost sight of him as he was literally surrounded by my family.
Even Gunny and Mo were climbing over each other's backs to get in on it.
"Damn skippy!" Edna shouted. "Now this is the kinda homecoming a girl can get into."
She wiggled her body in-between my wife's and Julie's. I'd almost feel sorry for Cal if I weren't so happy for him.
After they broke apart, Steph's tone was more somber. "Speaking of homecomings, does Mom know when you and Dad were due back?"
"Nope. I 'accidentally' left that info out of my brief talk with her about our trip," Edna answered, gently pinching Olive's cheek until she got a smile from her great-granddaughter.
I saw Steph relax for a solid two seconds before Frank spoke up. "I told your mother I'd be back today," he said in a quiet voice, obviously not wanting to admit that he had given information to the actual enemy.
To my wife's credit, she didn't react to that unwelcome bit of news. "Ooookaaay ... so how do you want to handle that? I can tell her you're staying with me for a little while if you need time before speaking with her."
"Sorry, Babe," I told her, softening the words by tugging her and Olive close to me, "but you're not putting yourself through that."
She looked up at me as Olive decided to make a grab for a neck-hug again. I waited until she settled her active little body on the crook of my arm before I continued.
"You can show your father to Cal's old apartment and ..."
That's as far as I got before my wife nailed me in the chest with the tip of her finger and the crescent shape of a fingernail edge. "You knew Cal was off the market before we went on vacation?"
"He's been off the market for months," I pointed out. "You know he and Kenzie were engaged just before Raphael and Aubrey got married."
She dismissed my logic with a flick of her fingers, which Olivia immediately copied. I'd be concerned about living with these two if I didn't love it and them so fucking much.
"I know all that," Steph was saying. "What I didn't know is how things would change while I was gone, and no one warning me about being down a RangeUncle once we got back. My guys are leaving the Rangenest two at a time these days."
"Olivia may disagree, but I am the boss here," I reminded Steph. "If one of my men decides to move out of the building, I need to be aware of it so it can be made ready for a new occupant."
"I asked Ranger not to say anything about my leaving - or why - until after it was done, Steph," Cal told her. "I didn't want to make my wedding a thing and I knew you'd be happy for us, but ..."
"I am really happy for you," Steph said, "but I would have also respected your wishes. If you wanted to keep this low key, I would've gone along with that. I know what it's like to have people trying to hijack your life, and I'm not interested in doing that to any of you guys. But I do reserve the right to be excited when something good happens for you. So you're staying at Kenzie's?"
"Yeah," he said, "just until we find a place we both feel comfortable in. I'm not into being a 'kept' man. I plan on providing for my wife."
My wife's face scrunched up in disgust. "Why do you guys always jump to 'being kept' if you aren't consistently bagging Woolly Mammoths for your women? Did it ever occur to you that there are women like Kenzie, Harper, Aubrey, and myself, who want to provide for our men in appreciation for what you all do for us?"
That made every man in the lobby pause, not just Cal. "I guess I hadn't considered that," he admitted.
"I didn't think that concept would cross your mind while you're busy freaking out about how to be a good husband. P.S. ... just be yourself, Cal and you'll ace the husband-thing. Had your Mom lived long enough to see you now, she'd be as proud of you as I am. My point was, take your time and find a home you both love. Don't settle on a crappy place just because you feel like you can't live in 'Kenzie's house'. As I discovered since moving upstairs, Ranger loves me and wanted me and eventually our girls where he knows we'll be safe, so I started seeing Seven as our family's home, not Ranger's penthouse."
"It's always been your hideaway, Babe. Married or not, in friendship or with family."
"I figured that out when you didn't chuck me out of the window after I broke in," she told me.
"What are you saying ... you broke in here? And what window threat?" Frank asked.
"You'll likely learn all about my many talents while you're here, Dad. So I'm not going to toot my own horn about some of my more memorable ones. Instead, let's show you your current casa."
"What about mine?" Edna asked. "And I wanna hear all about how you broke into a security place." She paused. "Was this the truck story?"
"Yes," my wife answered.
"And Edna, you'll be staying in Raphael's old apartment," I told her. "New guys automatically get bumped down when family is involved."
She flashed her dentures at me, and I became more alarmed about that 'raincheck' she'd threatened me with before we left the ship.
Steph freed Olive from my hold and let her guide the tour. "Olive, can you show Grandpa Plum and Grandma Mazur to Uncle Cal's place? You remember where it is, don't you?"
Our baby thought about it and then ran to the elevator. She's still too short to reach the buttons so our group quickly moved with Mo and Gunny towards my daughter and the elevator. The lobby had returned to business as usual once the initial 'welcome homes' and 'congratulations' were handled, so I didn't pause in following my family until Gene called me after a brief conversation with whoever had called just as the elevator had opened.
"Hey, Boss! Mrs. Plum's on the line asking to speak to Stephanie!"
Once again, everyone paused for an uncomfortable beat.
"I'll take it," both Steph and Edna said in unison.
I shook my head once. "You take the girls and the dogs and show Edna and Frank their apartments, Babe. I'll handle this."
"But ..."
"No. You've dealt with everything else, let me handle this my way. You can consider it a way of 'taking care' of me. Happy and peaceful is not what I'll be feeling if I know you're listening to her crap again."
"Let Dad do this," Julie added. "He's the opposite of most people. He actually gets zen when he has to defuse an explosive situation, but I've seen him when he's worried about you, or me and Olive. Those are the only times I've ever seen Dad stressing."
My wife's gaze cut to me after it left Julie's beautiful face. "Did you pay Jules to say that?"
"No," my daughter and I both answered.
"Okay, then. We'll be on four when you're done."
"I always know where you are," I assured her.
She blew me a kiss with Olive's hand and then glanced at Julie again. I heard her say before the elevator closed ... "Your Dad is the only one who can get away with saying that. If a boy ever tries that out on you ... run."
I loved her so much in that moment. She takes every opportunity given to her to keep our girls safe.
"Line 2," Gene told me, when I'd reached the front desk.
I hit the appropriate button. "I'm afraid my wife is busy at the moment, Mrs. Plum. How can I help you?"
A hesitation, but not a long enough one. "I'm not surprised Stephanie had you speak for her. She creates a scene and then has someone else clean it up for her."
I appreciated my daughter's faith in me, but I could feel my rage rise up until I forcefully beat it back. Saying something negative about my wife is the equivalent of someone trying to pull a gun on me. It doesn't make me happy and my need to take them out moves to the forefront of my brain.
"You're projecting again, Helen. You're forgetting that you can't brag about being in control of everyone's lives, and then turn around and blame someone else for an outcome you don't like. Either you're the mastermind or you're the victim, you can't be both. Frank left because of you and what you chose to say and what you decided to withhold. I can order you a mirror if you'd like to confront who's to blame for you being alone right now."
I can tell she hadn't expected to hear that. It hadn't dawned on her that she can't cry victory and foul at the same time. As expected, what Helen didn't like ... she flat-out ignored.
"Valerie said her father and grandmother aren't at her house," Mrs. Plum said after a moment. "Since they have nowhere else to go, that means Stephanie has them."
"If by 'has them' you mean they are guests here at Rangeman, then yes ... Frank and Edna are staying with us."
I could feel her blood pressure rising even as she tried not to let her hatred of me show.
"I would like to speak to my husband now."
"I'm sure you would."
"I'll stay on the line while you go get him," she told me.
"I don't take orders from you, Mrs. Plum. If you want to speak with Frank, you're going to do it in person ..."
She cut me off. "I'll leave now. Tell him that I'm coming and to be waiting outside for me."
"Once again, I don't take orders from anyone, least of all you. And you didn't let me finish. You can speak to your husband," I said slowly so she can't claim to misunderstand what I've said, "but it'll be in my building with a marriage counselor and psychologist, plus a psychiatrist, in the room with the two of you. You aren't going to be left alone to corner or bully Frank into doing what you want him to."
She was shocked silent, but regained her indignation fast. "You can't be serious?!"
"I wouldn't joke about this. My father-in-law's life depends on it."
