A lineup had formed as people snaked through the kitchen, and helped themselves to the cranberry chicken, jasmine rice, squash, and cranberry-apple salad with a raspberry poppyseed dressing. The dinner smelled good and I was looking forward to eating. I hadn't eaten much lunch because of nerves. I was still having to take medication to keep my stomach down, but despite the medication I had still been too sick to eat.
Ranger stepped behind me in line and leaned over and kissed me. "How did it go?" he said.
"The Rangeman team is amazing", I said with a grin. "They really cared about how I was doing and they wanted to know how they could best help me. I told them about the burns and the wheelchair, and I told them about the panic attacks and not to take it personally if I checked out, and I told them that I was suffering from PTSD. I told them that I wouldn't be wearing a uniform and why, and I said that I would try to wear Rangeman colors but I couldn't guarantee it when wash day was approaching. I told them that I hope I don't get any pushback and one person in particular told me that she would tell anyone giving me pushback to go to hell for me, and that no one within the Research department would ever take that crap. I had hoped that they would be supportive but they were all beyond supportive. They were amazing, and I feel incredibly less anxious about going into the office on Monday."
Ranger grinned. "I am so happy for you, babe. Our team is good, and I'm not surprised to hear that they were as supportive as they were."
"Nick and Dirk and Miguel and their families were also wondering about coming for a visit on the weekend. I told them that it would depend upon how I survived the flight."
"I booked our flight for Wednesday night, and I confirmed that it would be okay to leave with Davis. Since we will arrive at nine at night on Wednesday, it will allow us time to get home and spend some relaxing time with the girls before putting them to bed. I have asked for a plane that has a bed in it, so that you can stretch out rather than have your feet down for such a long period of time. The girls can snuggle you in bed as well, and they too will have a better sleep."
I smiled in relief. I hadn't been looking forward to the flight, but it sounded more manageable with knowing that I'd be able to lie down. "Thank you", I said gratefully.
Ranger kissed me again and dished up some food for me and looked pleased when I asked him to dish up a few tablespoons more. He had been trying to plump me up since Christmas, which was when I had started to lose weight. With the anxiety associated with Ranger being shot, and then the morning sickness when I got pregnant, then the lack of being able to eat full meals when I had the hysterectomy and the pneumonia, and so on, I estimated that I had lost well over twenty pounds and Ranger wasn't so happy about that. Neither were Kai and Grant, but they understood it was hard with feeling sick all the time. So did Ranger, but it didn't stop him from worrying.
When everyone was sitting down and eating, I looked up and grinned. "I have an announcement to make", I said. I waited until everybody was looking at me. "Miguel and Kate are expecting. They are three months along, and they are incredibly excited."
All the men grinned. Eduardo said, "woo hoo! I love babies."
"Since they are three months along, that makes the baby a Scottish baby."
"We'll have to come up with some quintessentially Scottish names to suggest", said my mom with a grin.
"Hamish", said Eduardo.
"Isn't there a book about Hamish the Hairy Cow?" said my dad.
"Yeah, Grandpa", said Grace. "Can you read it to us after dinner?"
My father smiled softly at her. "Absolutely. You find it, and I'll read it."
The girls grinned and gave a little bounce in their seats.
"Merida", said Jorge. "Like in 'Brave'."
"You watched 'Brave'?" I said.
"I have nieces", said Jorge. "Besides, we watched it when we were overseas. It was great stress relief."
"Hunh. A new marketing strategy for Disney."
The men laughed.
"Fergus", said someone else.
"Isn't that the name of a bull?" said Hal.
"I don't know how to pronounce it, but E-i-l-i-d-h is a popular name", said my mom. "I've seen that several times."
"So is Freya", I said. "There are all sorts of Scottish names. I think what we should do is everybody think of unusual names, the more absurd when said with an American accent, the better, and we should give the list to Miguel and Kate to 'help' them in their name selection. If everybody can work on it and send me the names, I will put it together in a document and send it to them from all of us."
"Is this going to be like when he proposed to Kate, and he told you he was going to do it while out skiing, and you suggested to him that he tell her that he would follow her through the slippery trails of life?" said Ranger.
"Hey! That wasn't so bad, and I think that Dirk suggested that one. I suggested that like a snowflake, she was one-of-a-kind. At least it was better than Joe's. He suggested proposing on the top of the mountain and, when she accepted, saying that it was all downhill from there." Everyone laughed.
At the end of the meal, as Ranger got me ready for bed, there was a furious banging at the door. It was so loud that we could hear it in our bedroom, and Ranger sighed. "How much do you want to bet it's Val?"
A minute or two later, Jorge sent Ranger a message. "Val is here. What do you want me to do with her?"
Ranger looked at me, and I sighed. "Bring her up", I said. "We might as well get it over with."
Ranger sighed as well and typed in the message. He finished getting me ready for bed except for taking my medication, tucked me in, then left to retrieve Val. A few minutes later, Val was in our room. I think that Ranger had read her the riot act, as she looked sullen. She moved to sit down, and Ranger yanked the chair away from behind her. "You won't be here long enough to sit", he said.
She looked at me, obviously uncomfortable, and shifted from foot to foot. "I know that you are going home soon. Grandma said that it was in a couple of days."
"Yes?"
"I need help, Steph. My life is crumbling apart."
"It happens to the best of us at times. What exactly do you want me to do about it?" I said.
"Grandma said that you are going home on a private plane."
"Yes?"
"Would there be room on the plane for me?"
"No."
"Steph! Be fair!"
I looked at her in anger. "Val, in the last week you have arranged to have my kids kidnapped twice. You have brought mob enforcers to my house and a snitch who escaped jail. Despite my anger at you for doing all that, we brokered an incredible deal for you and Steve with the mob. The main restrictions of the deal, however, were that you and Steve must stay together and you must not accept help from us. If you go back with us, how were you planning on staying together?"
"I was hoping that there would be room for Steve on the flight as well. I paid his bail, and he is now out of jail."
"No. No way in hell. Steve has tried to rape me several times and this last time was the worst. He was trying to take advantage of a person who has a limited ability to look after herself, and quite frankly that is sick. You and Steve have money. Pay for your own damn tickets."
"Be fair! You wrecked his knee. He needs a bed to lie on."
"His knee wouldn't be wrecked if he hadn't attacked Ranger. Steve is lucky. With him attacking Ranger, Ranger was within his rights to kill him. However, Ranger didn't. Steve's knee will heal."
"But all our money will be taken up paying medical bills."
"Didn't Steve get travel insurance before he came over?" Val shook her head. "That's what happens when you don't have insurance and you choose to attack someone. Don't worry. If you get a job, you'll be able to support yourself."
"At least let us stay in the castle."
"You want us to rent you a place to stay? A, that is ballsy of you to ask us to pay thousands of euros to pay for your shelter. While that is rude and disgusting, B, it is also against the rules of the settlement with the mob and I am personally not going to endanger my family just because you want a free ride."
"You're a bitch."
I sighed. "No, Val, I'm not. Do you not get that you were both about to be killed by the mob? You were in severe danger. Ranger and I were able to broker a very good deal for you and Steve, a deal that eradicated the danger you were in. There were a few caveats, but the deal was excellent. The caveats were that you have to stay together, that you have to live the rest of your life without financial or physical support from other people, whether they are friends or family, and since you will still be in the crosshairs of the mob you cannot live in an area that the mob is located. Those are simple requirements and are easy to live with. No one lost a finger or an eye. No one had to pay back the money that was given to them over the years. No one had to leave the country and no one has to live in fear for their lives. You can now have a normal life, a life like all the other people in the States. You can work hard to get ahead, and you don't have to pay fees to the mob to leave you alone. It's an excellent deal for you and because I know that we helped you as thoroughly as we did – after all, we literally saved your goddamned life and gave you the ability to prosper – I don't feel that we need to help you any longer. According to the clauses associated with the deal, there is no reason that you cannot do it alone."
"But Steph…"
"Val, do you not realize what a close call you had? Are you really so stupid not to see that this is a good deal for you?"
"No, I know that you have brokered a good deal for us."
"Then what's the problem?"
She thought for a moment and sighed. Tears came to her eyes. "I don't want to leave my family."
"You don't have to. You can talk to us on the phone, we can come and visit you, Albert can bring the kids to see you and, since Angie and Mary Alice are both driving age, they can drive the little ones to see you as well. For that matter, if you picked a place close to Trenton, they could come for weekends. The other point is that, if you put your foot down with Steve, you can have the kids move in and you can be a mother again. You are only losing your family if you want that."
"Steve doesn't want his kids. Now that I have to stay with him, I also have to give up my kids."
"Tell Steve that it isn't going to work that way. Yes, you are tied to him – but he is just as tied to you. You have to work to make him happy if you want a happy home life – but you are not powerless. He has to work to make you happy if he wants a happy home life as well. You both bring something to the table and you are both going to have to make compromises to make it work. However, don't forget that you hold quite a bit of power."
"How's that?"
"The million dollars is in your name and Steve doesn't have access to it."
"But Steve has the MBA and can get a good job and earn more."
"That's very true, but you also can earn money. Right now, the million is yours and Steve has no money. You have all the power in the relationship. I don't know how you want to split up paying for the expenses. That will be something that you and Steve have to work out. However, it is definitely doable."
"I want a new diamond ring if I am having to settle down with him."
"That is something that you have to work out with Steve. I don't know if he will want to spend the money on a diamond ring right now. He may prefer to wait until your tenth anniversary or something like that."
"I don't understand why the mob wants to kill me. I didn't snitch on the leader of the mob in California."
"Yes, but you are tied to Steve, which means that you get treated the same."
"But I divorced him."
"Yes, but you are together now. It is only through making decisions together that you will thrive and prosper."
"That's not fair."
"That's what being a partner is all about. You chose to be his partner, Val. You chose it when you took his calls – and then when you asked him for help. If you had just stayed in jail, you wouldn't have been linked to Steve and Steve wouldn't have come to Scotland and joined up with you."
"But I didn't want to get together with him again. Can you tell the members of the mob that we aren't together?"
"No", I said. "You staying together was one of the conditions on you being released."
"Why?"
"Because we are giving you a fighting chance at survival. You believe that you need someone to support you. We are making sure that there is someone there to support you for the rest of your life. It will certainly make your life easier. At the same time, we're getting you the hell away from me and my family. It is a win-win solution for everyone."
"I don't understand. Why did the mob offer such a good deal to us?"
I sighed. "Val, sometimes it just pays to accept the circumstances."
"I need to understand."
I looked at her and wondered if I should tell her the truth, that being married to her was Steve's punishment. But then I decided to be nice. "Ranger and I have worked extensively with Harry. He owns the bonds office and we have been working with him for years. Because of that, he wanted to help us and he understood our difficulties in that you are family, while at the same time he had a job to do. Guido is his family. Getting you out of a mob location and settling in a small town – in other words, having you disappear – was his way of getting around the need to eliminate you, while us tying you to Steve was our way of making sure that Steve would look after you. Asking that you do it without help was our way of looking after ourselves. The mob has given a lot of money to Steve over the years, and I have given a lot of money to you at the same time as Mom and Dad have given a lot of money and support to you as well. We are not willing to do that any longer and this is our way of protecting ourselves. As I said, it's a win-win."
"Were Mom and Dad part of the decision process?"
"They were. Ranger and the different enforcers and I created the plan, and then we ran it by Mom and Dad to make sure we weren't being unfair to you. They agreed with the plan, and then we pulled you into the meeting, and you accepted the terms."
Val's face crinkled. "Mom and Dad agreed to send me away?"
"Mom and Dad agreed to keep you safe", I said gently. "Remember – this was the best agreement that we could come up with. The other option was death, and Mom and Dad were very upset at that thought."
"Were you upset at the thought?"
I sighed. "You're my sister." I smiled slightly. "Doesn't mean that I am willing to break the terms of the agreement and put my family in danger for you. However, it does mean that I am glad that you aren't being eliminated."
Minutes later, Ranger escorted Val out of the castle. When he returned, he looked at me. Tears were trickling down my cheeks. "You okay, babe?" he said. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled me in for a hug.
"Yeah. For some reason, I feel like I just said goodbye to her, and I started to think about the good times that we had growing up. There was a lot of bad, but there was a lot of good as well."
"Very rarely is something purely black or white. Most issues are a little gray."
I sighed. "I know. I think I got through to her tonight."
"I think you did as well."
I took a deep breath and let it out. "Thank God."
