Chapter 16
In the morning, I woke up and noticed a small mound between my hips. "There you are, little man," I said as I rubbed the bump. "You finally decided to show yourself. We need to show your uncle Hector and Uncle Hal."
I took a shower and dressed in my Rangeman cargos and top. During the night, larger sized bras appeared in my dresser drawers. A note was sitting on top of the first one. "I figured you needed more comfortable ones. All of them should fit. Your smaller bras got packed away in the closet. I love you, Sunshine. ~D."
Vince was cooking breakfast for me. He was making all of my favourite foods. "Morning, Steph," he called over his shoulder.
"Good morning, Vince. What's for breakfast?" I asked.
"Pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, French toast, and juice. No coffee for momma," he replied.
"Look what I found this morning," I said as I exposed the small bump.
"That wasn't there a few days ago. I would have noticed when you wore the yoga pants," Vince stated.
"My little man decided to show himself. He's like his daddy," I explained.
Vince and I talked about Diesel being unmentionable. Even as a fetus, my son was displaying latent abilities. "So he decided to make himself visible now?" Vince asked.
I laughed at his assessment. "I guess. When Diesel's away on his missions, he visits me, while maintaining invisibility, to let me know he's keeping an eye on me," I stated.
"Why do you think your son concealed himself?" Vince asked.
"I don't know. We didn't realize I was pregnant. Now that we know, I think my body finally let it show," I attempted to explain. "Diesel said his mom didn't start to show until she was halfway through her pregnancy. It could be a cosmic way to protect the mothers from external dangers."
"What if you never fully show?" he wondered.
"Then I'll be the envy of all pregnant women everywhere. I'm expecting to expand any day," I replied. "In the meantime, I'm going to take full advantage of my small abdomen."
"The other men will be overly protective," Vince reminded me. I shrugged since it wouldn't be any different than what I already experienced.
"Feed me," I groaned. Vince laughed as he plated some breakfast for me.
Hector, Hal, Cal and Manny joined us for breakfast. "When did you get here?" Vince asked Cal.
"Dropped by to check on Steph after my surveillance shift with Manny. Hector made up a bed for me in the upstairs bedroom," Cal explained.
"Didn't you use the guest room, Hector?" I asked.
"No bed," he replied.
There was a bed yesterday when I got the room ready for Hector. I finished eating my delicious breakfast before checking for myself. When I walked into the guest room, I noticed a crib, a changing table and a dresser in the room. I couldn't stop the tears from falling.
My friends set up the baby's room for me. The crib mattress was still bare. It was too early to add the linens since they would only collect dust.
"What's wrong, wifey?" Manny asked as he wrapped his arms around me to pull me against his chest.
"You guys are the best friends I ever had," I cried. "When?"
"Ranger ordered the furniture and had it delivered to Rangeman. We brought it home after our shift last night," he replied.
"How did I not hear you set it up?" I wondered.
"Your room is soundproof, so we only had to close your door," he answered. "Hector and Binkie are creating a baby monitor for you."
"It's too much," I said as I cried into his shoulder. "You guys have done so much for me already. I can't stop crying."
"The hormones in your body are running close to the surface, wifey," Manny said, dismissing my tears. "Let it all out."
My knees felt weak. Manny lifted me into his arms and carried me downstairs. I felt broken, but I didn't understand why. If I couldn't have my husband here, there was only one person I needed.
"How do you know Stephanie?" Cal asked the woman at the door.
"I know she needs me. Please let me in. My name is Ronnie Walsh," I heard my friend yell at Cal.
"Put me down," I sobbed. Manny reluctantly placed me on my feet. I ran to the door and threw myself into Ronnie's arms.
"Shh. It's okay, Steph. I've got you now," Ronnie soothingly said. She gently guided me towards my couch. I sat on her lap when she took a seat. My face buried into her neck as I cried.
"Who placed the call?" Hal asked.
"I did," I heard my dad say as he entered the house. I have no idea how he knew to call. Diesel and I were going to tell him about the baby, but we forgot. Before I could ask, he said, "Diesel told me about my grandson. I assumed you would be feeling overwhelmed today."
"Thank you, Daddy," I managed to cry out.
"Okay, men, if you don't need to be here, leave," Dad ordered.
"I'm driving her to work today, sir," Hal stated.
"Hal can stay. Thank you for watching my daughter, men. It's my turn now," he said. The men cleared the room to give us privacy. Hal sat on the chair, waiting for me to be ready to leave. We still had another hour before we had to start our shift.
"Talk to me, Steph," Ronnie gently said.
"It's all happening so fast. I felt dizzy and nauseous a few days ago. My doctor says I'm already halfway through the pregnancy. I finally started showing today, and then my friends set up the nursery," I said before bursting into tears again.
"You're overwhelmed by everything changing so fast. I bet it doesn't help that Diesel got called away again," Ronnie wisely stated.
"He's been away for half of the pregnancy already. I know we didn't know until recently, but it's still hard. My little man is more like his daddy than me. It's going to be a challenge to raise him. I'm scared," I finally admitted, feeling brave from Ronnie's support.
"Pumpkin, the day you were born, I was always scared. I knew from the moment I laid my eyes on you that you were special. Your ability to sense danger has mostly kept you from harm. I have complete faith in you. The cosmos wouldn't have gifted you with this child if you couldn't handle him. Stephanie, you have your Rangeman family to help. Let them assist in any way they can," Dad said, making me feel more confident.
"Thank you, Daddy. I'm feeling better. I love you," I said as I moved from Ronnie's lap to his.
"I love you more than my own life, Pumpkin. I'll be here to help too," he promised as he tightly hugged me. "I'm proud of you," he whispered. The scent of cinnamon and Christmas cookies filled my nostrils. I could almost hear Diesel guiding me to offer my dad a job.
"Hal, did Ranger find someone to work the front desk permanently?" I asked.
"Nope. We're still working two-hour shifts staffing the desk," he replied, knowing what I was planning.
"What do you think, Daddy? Would you do your favourite daughter a favour and work at Rangeman?" I asked.
Ronnie started laughing. "Was this part of your plan, Stephanie?" she joked.
"Nope. A little voice told me to ask," I replied as Diesel's scent dissipated. He didn't steal my bra, but he did touch my abdomen.
"I'm in town for a few days. Frank offered me a room," Ronnie informed us.
"We have lots of space here. You're welcome to one of the rooms upstairs," I offered.
Ronnie and dad exchanged a silent conversation before she agreed, "Thank you, Steph."
"Help yourself to breakfast. Vince cooked enough to feed an army," I joked. I hugged Ronnie before leaving with Hal and dad.
"Are you having another child after this one?" Dad asked on our trip to Rangeman.
"If he displays Diesel's powers, then no. The process to have more children without powers is too invasive. Diesel and I don't want our other children to feel inferior," I answered honestly.
"When will you know?" Dad wondered.
"Dad, I'm five months pregnant and barely showing. It's safe to say my son is unmentionable like his father."
"That's a huge responsibility for a little boy," he said through a whistle. Tell me about it.
I wasn't surprised Ranger hired dad on the spot. He was happy to have another skilled member on his team. "Ready, sir?" Ranger asked as he pointed at the elevator. Dad was required to complete the same entrance tests I did.
Curiosity had me follow them to the gym. Dad removed his shirt, exposing sculpted abs. I whistled and yelled, "My dad has a sexy bod!" He shook his head and mumbled.
Dad sparred with Ranger for several minutes before he punched Ranger in the sweet spot on his chin, knocking him out cold. My jaw wasn't the only one to drop.
I checked the time. Dad knocked him out in five minutes flat.
"You've been boxing again," I said as I approached him.
"I never stopped, Pumpkin," he replied.
"Are you ready for the gun range?" I asked.
"Lead the way," he answered. I wrapped my arm around his back and felt the gun in the back of his pants. "I'm always carrying at least two weapons," he explained as he lifted his left pant leg.
When we entered the gun range, he removed the two guns and three knives from his clothes. I guess some things you learn in special ops remain with you for a lifetime. Mom always hated having guns in the house, but dad still carried them. I'm surprised grandma never caught on.
"Your grandmother knew. It's why she insisted on carrying that old 45," Dad surprised me by adding. I had nothing to say, so I remained quiet.
Ram queued the targets for dad to hit. He never missed a shot. His time was on point. I wonder how many times he visits the range without mom finding out. Ranger tapped my shoulder and smiled when I turned around. He's an attractive man, but more so when he smiles. "His style is identical to yours," Ranger observed. "Tell him he passed."
I paid closer attention to dad hitting the following two targets and agreed. Either the same person taught us, or daddy was my teacher when I was little. Perhaps I blocked the memory?
"Like father, like daughter," Ram said when my dad finished his set. I could tell Ram's words made my dad proud.
"Taught her everything I know. We used BB guns or paintballs, but the process was similar," Dad surprised me by announcing. I remember shooting the paintball guns with Eddie and Carl, but I didn't recall the BB gun.
"Are you sure, Dad? I only remember going to the paintball course with Eddie and Carl," I stated.
"You were probably too young to remember. It was before the garage incident," Dad stated. "Your mother wouldn't let me take you to my buddy's range anymore because it was turning you into a tomboy." I suddenly remembered hanging around dad all the time, but mom didn't want me to be more of a tomboy than I already was.
"So you're saying I didn't have natural abilities?" I wondered.
"Not at all. You had that in spades," Dad answered with pride. "I'm proud of you, Pumpkin."
"Thank you, daddy. I'm proud of you too. You passed the entrance requirements," I informed him. "I'll explain your duties at the front desk."
He followed me to the main floor reception desk. It would be fun to see how people react when they see him. Dad caught on extremely fast. He was helping me run a few searches on potential Rangeman recruits. His instincts were on point. I purposely handed him the file of an ex-military man who believed women should never be in the workforce. The remaining files were men and women I had already rejected.
After entering the man's name into the search program, he moved the file to the reject pile. "What did you see?" I asked innocently.
"Nothing, but I had a feeling he wouldn't like working with women," Dad replied. "He applied to Rangeman Boston. The Boston office employs more women. We can't have a misogynist working at Rangeman."
Ranger came to the reception desk a few hours later. I was still sitting beside dad, assisting him as he maneuvered the search programs. "How is training, Babe?" Ranger asked.
"Dad's doing quite well. He caught on quite fast," I said when dad mumbled something about me giving him the dud files.
"What's wrong, Dad?" I asked.
"Don't bother pretending that you didn't give me your reject files," he replied.
"I purposely gave you my reject files because I wanted to be sure I didn't miss anything," I confessed.
Ranger tilted his head back and laughed. "Only you, Babe," Ranger said before walking away.
Dad and I were eating lunch in my Rangeman apartment. "What happened to mom?" I asked out of the blue.
"Moved in with Angie Morelli after Joe's death," he replied.
"Val and the girls?" I asked.
"Living at the house with the clown. I'm living with your godfather, Joe Juniak," he answered before I had the chance to ask.
"Where does Ronnie fit into all of this?" I wondered.
"Her fiancé, Raoul, is my godson," he said with a shrug. "I'm filing for divorce."
"I'm sorry, daddy." I was sincerely sorry. It must be emotionally exhausting to end a marriage after thirty-five years.
"It was a long time coming. I never realized the depth of the emotional abuse Helen caused until you returned with Diesel. The five-year-old little girl I remembered was back, and I want her to stay," he shared. If Helen gets the chance, she will hurt you again."
"Not to mention she'll flip when she hears where you're working and that I'm pregnant. What will the Burg think?" I joked.
"Who cares? The Burg ruined your mother. They can pick up the pieces," he replied. "She's not the same woman I married. I'm over it."