I sincerely hope that this chapter doesn't have all of the technical issues that the last one did. I apologize for that. I reloaded Chapter 8, so hopefully you can actually read it now. If you still can't, or if this chapter does the same thing please send me a message. Sorry for the technical problems!
I have been on writing rampage lately, and I've gotten to the point with this story that I just can't stop! (Definitely a good 'problem' to have!) I've definitely hit my stride and I am loving all of the amazing responses from everyone. Thanks for continuing to read my story, and keep commenting!
Chapter 9
Monday rolled around and Amy got up at six to do an hour of circuits in her basement gym. Planks, free weights, squats, Russian twists, burpees, you name the torturous exercise or free weight lift and it was probably part of her circuit. She enjoyed being able to take a slow shower on a weekday morning, so she massaged conditioner into her hair and let it sit while she shaved her legs. After she'd rinsed and dried off she got out her thick shea butter lotion and massaged it into her legs and arms. To go with her plans of doing nothing on her days off she put on a pair of black Capri leggings with a loose-fitting t-shirt that exposed one shoulder.
Having done all of her laundry the day before, she grabbed her knitting and her iPad to do some reading and headed downstairs. After leaving her things next to her favorite overstuffed chair in the living room she went to the kitchen to get herself some breakfast. Just as she was putting some cut up fresh fruit in a small bowl of vanilla yogurt, Lexi finally had woken up and was walking into the kitchen.
"Hey there pretty girl, are you ready for a fun day of watching movies and being bums?" Amy asked.
Lexi giggled as she sat down at the bar on the kitchen island. "Can I pick the first movie?!"
"Absolutely!" Amy smiled as Lexi cheered. "But first, what do you want for breakfast?"
"Can I have peanut butter toast, please?"
"Sure thing." Amy dropped a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster then grabbed the peanut butter out of the pantry. "What else do you want to do today?"
"Do you think we could go out to eat for lunch?"
"What if," Amy set a plate and butter knife on the counter next to the toaster then turned to face Lexi. "a friend of mom's brings lunch to us?"
Lexi looked a little confused at first before answering. "That would be okay. What friend is it?"
This was the part Amy hadn't been looking forward to. Like any other 6-year old, Lexi was really good at asking questions. She always seemed to know exactly what questions Amy was hoping she wouldn't ask, and that Amy really didn't want to have to answer.
"Do you remember my boss, Ranger?"
"Yeah."
"Well, he's going to bring us lunch today. And he's going to stay and eat with us. Is that okay?"
"Sure." She didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that a guy was coming over, when Amy had never had a guy over before.
The toaster had just finished, Amy was carefully transferring the hot toast to the plate when Lexi spoke again a minute later.
"So is Ranger like you boyfriend or something?"
How did she do that? Talk about being a mini me. Not only did Lexi look exactly like her, but she also had Amy's innate ability to get right down to the heart of things.
"Well baby, we've gone on a couple of dates and we really like each other. But I want you to spend some time with him before we take that step."
Lexi didn't seem like she was surprised or bothered at all, "Okay. He's always seemed nice the other times I've seen him. What's he bringing for lunch?"
"He said he wanted to surprise you." At Lexi's slightly furrowed brow and look of uncertainty Amy quickly added, "I told him what you like and some of your favorites. So we'll just have to see what he bring us."
"Okay, that sounds good."
They spent the morning in a Disney princess haze. First they watched Tangled, Lexi sang the songs as she danced around the living room. They were halfway through Aladdin when Ranger started texting Amy at about ten.
R: I've called ahead to pick up our food at 11:30, I should be there a little before noon.
A: Sounds great. Lexi is looking forward to lunch, she wanted to go out for lunch today anyways before I told her you were coming.
Ranger's response was immediate. Thanks to their iPhones they could see when the text had been read and if they were responding.
R: What did she say?
A: She doesn't seem to mind at all. She asked if you were my boyfriend. I told her we hadn't figured that out yet.
R: Ouch!
A: I also told her that I wanted the two of you to spend some time together before we made that official.
R: That's a little better.
A: Would it be totally against your healthy eating mantra to ask you to pick me up a soda on your way?
R: Yes.
A: Your mean.
A: I suppose I don't need the calories anyways.
R: It's bad for the baby.
A: Stop that!
R: What kind do you normally drink?
A: Don't worry about it. I really shouldn't.
R: Ok. I'll call you when I'm on my way with the food.
A: Sounds good.
R: I missed you the last two nights.
A: You're in a boring meeting aren't you?
R: Yes. Tank is trying to talk me into trading-in a few of the Rangeman fleet vehicles. Lester is boring me with the financials.
A: Shouldn't you be paying attention to that?
R: Tank already knows I'll say yes.
A: So why the meeting?
R: They're trying to get personal details about us and our date.
A: Oh, well why don't you just tell them I'm already pregnant? That'll stun them into silence for at least thirty seconds.
R: WHAT?! YOU keep telling me to stop talking about that and now you bring it up?!
A: Are you in high school? Of course I was kidding. Tell them whatever you want. Doesn't Tank already know pretty much everything anyways? He did see us at the house together. And I was wearing your clothes. That's not really that hard to figure out, is it?
R: Well, they want to know if your boobs are as nice as they seem. How good the sex was-which it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G in case you were wondering. And of course they want to know when your moving in with me.
A: Can I work from home tomorrow?
R: Why?
A: To avoid getting the third degree from Tank and Lester…and probably every other Rangeman employee. Including Ella. I know that she knows already.
R: Of course she knows. I stayed at the house all weekend. She gave me 'the look' when I got home last night. I didn't even say anything, but she told me I have to be on my best behavior with you or she's firing me.
A: Well at least I have her on my side.
R: And probably at least half of the other guys in the office.
A: Only half?
R: Some know I have really damning information on them, so they'll pick me out of fear.
A: GET BACK TO YOUR MEETING!
R: Tank already left. Now I'm all alone in my office and I'm bored. Can I come over now?
A: I'll see you around noon.
R: Fine. I'll see you later.
A: :)
Amy couldn't help but smile a ridiculously huge ear-to-ear grin. For the first time, she actually started to feel okay with the possibility of getting pregnant on her second date with her boss. After fantasizing for a few minutes about how gorgeous a cute little dark-haired boy would look running around the huge house in Princeton, she went back to her knitting.
Lexi had just started the movie The book of Life when Amy's phone signaled a new e-mail. She opened the email app and was immediately thrown by the sender. It was a government address from Florida. There was only one reason she would be getting an email from a government address in Florida. What was Troy up to? Judging by the address it was from someone at the prison where Troy was being held.
Before she could even start reading the email her phone started to ring in her hand. The caller ID said David Findlay. Her heart started to race and she felt her palms instantly start to sweat. What were the odds that she would get an email from someone who works for the Florida Department of Corrections and a phone call from her lawyer at pretty much the exact same time?
She quickly left the room and headed upstairs to avoid Lexi hearing anything. "Hello." She could feel her heart trying to beat out of her chest as she literally locked herself in her room.
"Hi Amy, It's David Findlay."
"What's going on David? I just got an email from someone who works at the prison where Troy's at?" Amy was pacing back and forth across her room.
"What did it say?"
"I don't know, I was just about to read it when you called."
"Troy finally managed to get one of his appeals to be taken seriously."
"What does that mean?"
"He could possibly be released within the next year to eighteen months if he wins this appeal. He's claiming that he was sentenced too harshly. He's been a model prisoner and has been attending AA meetings and mentoring other new prisoners. On paper he looks like he's completely changed."
Amy dropped down onto her chaise lounge like a rock. "He can't get out. I don't know what I would do if he was out. He'll want to see Lexi. But I can't, I just can't." Amy couldn't find the words or even form a full sentence. Then she started to hyperventilate.
"Slow down." David tried to calm her down and reassure her. "Amy just breath. Sit down and put your head between your knees."
"I, I, but…" Amy kept breathing but she could have sworn she was having a heart attack, or at least she was sure that what she was feeling was pretty close to a heart attack.
"He found a loop hole, Amy. But it's not a sure thing." David was talking fast now, trying to get Amy to stop having a panic attack.
"What?" Amy wasn't sure if she was talking normally or screaming the way her heart was pounding in her ears.
"We knew he was going to go away for a while with the alcohol charges so we dropped the domestic. There's a new parole program that he technically qualifies for because his charges were alcohol-related but didn't involve any aggravated assault or domestic abuse charges."
"What about the vehicular manslaughter charge?!"
"That charge was a result of the alcohol and wasn't any kind of aggravated assault. I know it's ridiculous, like I said, he found a loop hole. But, there's a catch, which will work against him. Well, technically two. The email from his counselor, which you haven't read yet, states that he could be up for parole in twelve to eighteen months so he is seeking to re-establish his parental rights to Lexi to get visitation."
"NO!" Amy knew she screamed that. Troy getting his rights back would be her worst nightmare.
"But since he was never actually convicted on the domestic abuse charges, we can file and charge him now. That should throw a wrench in him trying to get his parental rights back."
"Okay, do it."
"But the statute of limitations is literally weeks away from running out. So I'm going to have to get the paperwork done and submitted soon. Which I can do, and I will get it done and get copies to you as soon as I do. But you'll probably have to come back and testify. However, I can almost guarantee he'll be convicted of the domestic charge, so that will disqualify him for the early parole."
"I'm not going to lie David, you could have started with that part so I wouldn't have had a panic attack!" Amy took a deep breath in and blew it out her mouth as she worked on calming her heart rate back down.
"Well, I will warn you that I think there's a chance he could get visitation rights, even while he's still in prison."
"What?" Amy was struggling to find her words again. "How? The reason I won on that issue was because he'd be in prison for so long and taking an infant, toddler, small child, to visit her father in prison didn't seem to be in her best interest."
"But she's older now and can better understand his situation. I don't think he'll get his rights back until he's out of prison, but he could end up getting some visitation."
"Oh my God. This is not what I was wanting to hear today."
"I know, I'm sorry. As soon as I get off the phone with you I'm drawing up and filing the domestic assault charges."
"Okay. And how long before he's served with those?"
"Probably a few days."
Amy blew out a breath. "When will I have to go to court?"
"I don't have an answer or even a guess to that. All of the evidence and your written statement from that day will have to be pulled back out and re-examined. It'll take some time."
"Will I have to go to Florida for that?"
"If it goes to trial, yes. You'll have to be deposed, but we can arrange for that to happen in Trenton."
Amy nodded, forgetting for a second he couldn't see her. "Okay. Let me know when it's all done. Call me. I keep my cell on me all day at work."
"I will call you the second it's all done, notarized, and submitted." David promised.
"Thank You."
"Your welcome Amy, I'll be in touch."
Amy flopped back on her chaise, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths in through her nose and blowing slowly out of her mouth. Why would this happen now, when she had finally decided to start dating and think about herself for once. A knock on her bedroom door reminded her she'd locked it.
"Mommy." Lexi's little voice sounded on the other side.
"I'm coming sweetie." Amy slowly got up and schooled her face to seem calm before she opened the door. "What's up…Oh Ranger, Hi."
Ranger tilted his head ever so slightly to one side as he took in her obviously upset and stressed demeanor. "I came over early for lunch because I didn't have any more meetings this morning."
Amy looked down at her watch, it was a little after eleven. "Oh okay, great!" Amy looked to Lexi who was busy checking Ranger out.
"Hey Lexi, would you mind going back down to your movie? I just need to talk to your mom for a minute, okay?" Ranger made his voice as soft as was possible for him.
"Okay." Lexi was unimpressed and unaware of the completely panicked vibes Amy was throwing off. "But your missing the movie."
"We'll be down soon, I promise." Ranger responded quickly. He watched Lexi go down the stairs and as soon as he could no longer see her he pushed Amy back into her room and quietly shut the door. He grabbed her hands in both of his, "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"
"I can't…I don't know…" Amy closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, she kept her eyes closed as she talked quickly to get as much out as she could. "I got a call from my lawyer in Florida because one of Troy's appeals is actually going to court, or at least being considered by a judge. He could be out on parole in twelve to eighteen months instead of eight to nine years. My lawyer is filing the aggravated domestic abuse charges that I dropped because he was already getting plenty of time for the drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter charges. Which would make him ineligible for the early parole program he's trying to get in to. Plus he's trying to get his parental rights back and my lawyer said he might actually win some visitation. And I just can't…" Telling Ranger made it all too real and she broke down bawling.
Ranger swept Amy into his arms and sat down on the edge of the bed with her on his lap. He didn't say anything at first, just held her tight and rubbed a hand up and down her back with his face pressed into her hair.
"What do you need me to do?" He finally spoke once her crying had calmed down to a quiet occasional sob. "I can hire a team of lawyers and throw everything they can find at him."
"My lawyer is pretty good, he's the one who dealt with everything from the beginning so he's familiar with my case and Troy's history. I don't think more lawyers is the answer."
"More lawyers is always the answer." Ranger said as he dug his phone out of his pocket with one hand, the other holding Amy firmly against his chest. Before she'd even realized what he was doing Ranger had his phone to his ear. "Yo, it's Ranger. I need you to call a lawyer in Florida," he looked down at Amy and asked his name, she told him knowing that he would back down from this. "David Findlay. He handling my girlfriend's case. I won't go into the details now, but I need this taken care of. As in done and over with, yesterday." He pushed the end button and stuffed his phone back in his pocket.
"I know you won't listen, but you really don't have to do that." Amy whispered.
"Shush," he leaned down and lightly pressed his lips to hers. "This is not going to happen. He won't be getting out and he definitely won't be getting visitation."
"I hope that's all true. But Thank You Ranger, so much."
"I'll always do anything I can for you, and for Lexi."
A few more tears fell before Amy finally sucked in a deep breath, "We should probably get downstairs before Lexi eats all our lunch."
"There's like six or seven entrees in that bag, there's no way she could eat all of it." Ranger teased as he stood up after Amy had got off of his lap.
"You've never seen her at a Chinese buffet, that girl can pack it away." Amy teased as she started down the stairs first.
"So Lexi, your mom told me how much you like Chinese food," Ranger was standing at the island in the kitchen pulling Chinese take out boxes out of the bags on the counter. "I brought you plenty of choices, sesame chicken, Mongolian beef, pot stickers, crab rangoons, fried rice, garlic chicken, lo mein noodles, hot and sour soup, sweet and sour pork, general chicken, beef and vegetables and pepper chicken. Oh and some really yummy seasoned green beans."
"Yummmmm!" Lexi's eyes were huge as she watched Ranger open and line up all of the boxes.
"Sweetie, where are your plates, utensils, bowls?"
"Oh, let me…"
"Nope," Ranger interrupted her. "Just tell me, or point. You two sit down, I'm here to take care of my girls."
Lexi's grin grew even bigger and she smiled knowingly at her mom. Amy knew that Ranger had just single-handedly won Lexi over in about two minutes. He'd brought not only her favorite food but her own personal Chinese buffet and insisted on waiting on her like the little princess she thinks she is. Judging by the smile on his face he knew he'd won her over.
"Plates and bowls in the cabinet to the right of the sink. Silverware is in the drawer right in front of you."
"Okay. You two ladies just pick what you want." Ranger quickly grabbed all of Amy's large tablespoons out of the drawer along with a few forks then got the plates and bowls out of the cabinet. "I'm serving, so Lexi, what can I get you?"
Ranger filled her plate up with food and got her a small bowl of soup. Amy couldn't help but smile as she told him what she wanted and he graciously filled her plate with food and ladled some soup into her bowl as well. After filling up his own plate with noticeably less food than he'd put on either Amy's or Lexi's he started to sit down next to Amy. He suddenly popped back up and went to the fridge. Amy couldn't disguise the look of total surprise when he put a can of Mountain Dew in front of her.
"How did you know?"
"Oh c'mon, you should know by now that I can find out anything." He winked then sat down and started on his food.
Over lunch Ranger chatted up a storm with Lexi, and he quickly discovered that she was a carbon copy of her mother. She had beautiful blue eyes that were constantly assessing his expressions and gestures, which he'd noticed over the last couple of years but especially the last couple of weeks was something that Amy did as well. Her long chestnut brown hair, that was identical in color to Amy's, fell almost to her waist. And she talked cheerfully about school and her dance classes. Over that short hour, Ranger realized that he was absolutely, one hundred percent, head over heels in love with Amy. Lexi was the icing on the cake.
