The stupendously gifted Janet Evanovich created most of the characters I've borrowed to create this story. I have taken some liberties with them and rearranged their psyches to my idea of what could happen to them. I liberally sprinkled in some original characters of my own and voila…this story occurred.

No matter who owns the characters though, nobody is making a dime off this story.

Also, since this story was written La Nouba has left Walt Disney World as well. It closed in 2018. I had the pleasure of seeing it and it was wonderful.

Ranger exited the bedroom pushing his damp hair back along the side with his hands, "what's on the agenda tonight Babe?"

"Dinner with Jenna and Manuel at House of Blues," I said from where I sat on the couch letting my eyes run over him.

"And then," he asked.

"La Nouba," I sighed.

"But…"

"But I'm not really feeling it," I sighed.

"Why not," he dropped beside me on the couch and tilted his head forward to study me.

"Because I am on my honeymoon and I'm pregnant and so far I have a waist and I'd like to take advantage of my current form for as long as I'm able."

"Your current form," he frowned and reached for my chin with his forefinger. "Babe, I love you no matter what your form."

"I'm going to be huge Ric. You've seen my sister," I blinked at him with horrified tear-filled eyes. "She was enormous."

He sighed and tugged me into his lap and wrapped around me. "Okay, let's start with the last thing. You're not Val. You're you. You've never been like Val and you'll never be like Val and if your father hadn't sworn to me that he'd been responsible for both of you, I'd never believe it."

"Ric," I gasped up at him.

He grinned. "It's true. And whatever Val does, you do the opposite. So since Val gained about a hundred pounds with her last two babies, that means you won't gain much at all…just so she'll hate you."

"Huhn," I frowned thoughtfully.

"Second," he grinned, "no matter what your form is I'm going to love you. Do you really think I'm going to complain about having more cushion for the pushin'?"

"Oh my God," I groaned and buried my face in his chest.

"Tank assures me that I've been missing out having a skinny white girl for a wife and now's my perfect opportunity to find out what I'm missing…assuming you do actually gain real weight, which I doubt."

I sighed and relaxed against him.

"And third, I have no problem with blowing off La Nouba or La Nouba and dinner with Jenna and Manuel if that's what you want to do. Trust me, it won't break my heart to stay in and have you for dinner instead."

"Ric," I gasped and then laughed. "Okay…you win."

"What do I win," he leered at me.

"Me…for eternity in whatever form I'm in," I laughed. "But for tonight, we'll have dinner with Manny and Jenna and then come back here for dessert."

"Sounds like a plan," he grinned and kissed me. "I love you Stephanie Plum Manoso, no matter your shape…I swear it to you. And I'm sure as hell not going to get upset if you gain a couple of pounds carry my…what was it, my enormous progeny around in your tiny little womb."

I laughed, "Let's go eat."

"Let's do that," he agreed. "You're going to need your energy tonight wife."

"So are you husband," I waggled my brows at him.

He grinned and got up and let me settle to my feet. "Show me more of Disney World."

"My pleasure," I smiled.

Jenna and Manuel were already seated when we arrived. The maitre'd showed us to our table and left us with a smile.

"We already ordered some appetizers," Manuel said. "We got some sliders and some wings. Is that cool?"

"That's cool," I said perusing my menu.

Ranger leaned over and pointed out a couple of dishes, "While you still don't get heartburn."

I rolled my eyes, "fine…order me the jambalaya."

He kissed my forehead.

"Okay," Jess leaned forward, "I know I'm not core and I haven't been around long enough to really know anybody very well, but what is it about you that makes crime occur around you and reasonably sane and superiorly attractive men fall at your feet. I mean you're pretty and all," she tilted her head, "you're really very pretty…but there has to be more than that…right?"

I blinked and busted out laughing, "Yea, there's more to it than that."

"Dios mio, Cookie," Manuel groaned and collapsed back in his chair. "You are going to be the death of me."

She barely spared him a glance and rolled her eyes at me. "I mean you have this one hooked on you."

"Really," Ranger narrowed his eyes at Manuel.

"Seriously hermano," Manuel glared at him.

Ranger laughed, "Jenna, you are really wrong about Manuel and Stephanie. They are what my daughter would call BFF. She's tighter with him than anyone but Lula and Natalie and there are days I wonder if they're not tighter than that."

"That's right," Manuel grinned.

Jenna shook her head and rolled her eyes, "honestly…I didn't mean that you were infatuated with her. I meant that you're devoted to her."

"And I am," he nodded.

"Right back at cha," I grinned.

"So what is it," she raised a brow.

"Kindness," Manuel smiled.

"A warm and loving heart," Ranger added.

"Loyalty like you wouldn't believe," Manuel added.

"Trust," Ranger smiled softly.

"Tenacity," Manuel laughed.

"Stubbornness," Ranger grinned.

"Okay…you can stop now," I grunted. "I think Jenna it would help if you knew how Manuel and I met."

"Okay, tell me," she nodded.

Manuel winced and sighed, "Go ahead."

I grinned. "Last year Ranger was bringing in bunch of skips that needed some finesse. He asked me dress up a little tarty."

"Babe, the biker thing was really way tarty," he grinned. "I still fucking love those boots."

"They were nice boots," Manuel nodded.

"They're still nice boots," he grinned at Manuel and the two of them high fived over the table.

"Eww…over-sharing," I nudged Ranger with my elbow.

"Sorry, but I'm learning from you," he grinned unrepentantly.

I shook my head, "anyway Manuel was having some trouble with his wife."

"Chica…you're skipping to the middle," Manuel said.

"But…"

"It's good. She knows who I allegedly was," he grinned.

I laughed, "all right. Ranger was in the wind and I needed some money. Vinnie, my former boss and cousin was out of town and Manuel had skipped bail."

He nodded.

"I sort of took the files to look them over and never really thought I'd bring him in because he was the infamous Manuel Forturo the alleged head of the Forturo crime family. That night when I'm about to sleep, I get an anonymous tip that I can pick him up at a certain address. I followed the lead and picked him up. That was how we met."

She nodded, "how do you go from bounty hunter and skip to BFF?"

"See, I have this way of taking information and following it to its logical conclusion even when it's not the most popular. There were crimes going on all over Trenton and everyone wanted to bring Manuel in because they were so sure that he was the baddie, but I didn't buy it. I figured out what was going on and saved him."

"And I saved her," Ranger said.

"You and two dozen of your best men, another dozen cops and half a dozen federal agents," Manuel grinned.

"Fuck off," Ranger grinned back at him.

"I was after all a dangerous criminal," Manuel shrugged.

"Allegedly," I grinned.

"Still…," Jenna frowned in confusion.

"We just sort of bonded," I shrugged. "Haven't you ever just met someone and known they were supposed to be in your life. Manuel and I are sort of like that. Even when he was off in Grand Cayman living the high life and trying to pick up…" The rest of my words were muffled against Ranger's hand.

"Thanks hermano," Manuel grinned. "I owe you one."

Ranger shrugged and removed his hand.

I sighed, "We're friends."

"Well, I'm glad," she smiled. "I've never been one of those super possessive women that needed her man to only see her. I'm fine…actually super happy that he has a female friend he's that close to."

"Why is that Cookie," he said with narrowed eyes.

"Most of my friends are guys," she grinned.

"Oh Dios mio," he sighed and flopped back. "She's going to kill me Chica."

I laughed, "If she was any less than what she is she definitely wouldn't be enough for you. You need a strong woman. A lesser meek little obedient wife would drive you crazy and you'd never last."

"Wife," Jess said wide-eyed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves! We've barely begun knocking boots. We can just recently stand to be in the same room together. I think marrying us off right now is a little quick off the mark."

"You wound me," Manuel said dramatically. "Cookie, don't you just know I'm the one for you? Can't you just feel it," he put his hand to her chest right over her heart. "Can't you feel it right here? My corazón and yours beat as one?"

"Oh Jeez," she groaned.

"And she let you grope her right at the table," Ranger grinned. "Smooth move," he said proudly.

Manuel laughed and Jenna blushed furiously and sputtered.

"You're not helping anything Ricardo," I glared at him. "And you," I glared at Manuel. "If she is your heart, then why aren't you treating her with more respect? I swear to God, even I don't let Ranger grope me at the dinner table at Disney World."

He sighed, "I am sorry, Cookie. I shouldn't have done that. I just get so impassioned to make you understand and..."

"I know," she sighed and leaned against his arm.

I rolled my eyes at Manuel and he grinned. The girl was hooked. Manuel was a gentleman most of the time. He was a good man down deep, but he had an evil streak in him. He loved to tease. He loved to get one over on people, especially people he cared about. It might be a while before Jenna figured out he was full of shit, but she would figure it out.

The waitress brought the appetizers and took our food order. She hurried off and got our drinks, my water and Ranger's beer and left us alone again.

"What about the rest of it," Jenna asked as she put a couple of wings on her appetizer plate.

"The rest of it," Ranger frowned.

"You know…the criminals who just fall in my path," I shrugged. "That's a little more complicated."

She studied me for a moment, "you're like…bruja?"

I blinked at her and laughed, "No, I'm not a witch, but you're not far off. There is magic, but it's innate and not spells."

"Gotcha," she nodded. "Like with me and the dogs."

I raised a brow.

"I talk to them," she shrugged. "They talk to me. We…understand each other."

"That's a pretty cool skill to have," Ranger frowned.

"Yea, well…"

"Then why do they not keep their mouths off the evidence," Manuel glared at her.

"Because you pissed me off and I told them not to bother until I got tired of torturing you," she shrugged. "It will stop when we go back." She raised her head and winked at me.

Maybe she understood him already. I couldn't help the grin that stretched my face so I looked down at my plate as though terribly interested in the couple of wings and one pork slider that was on it.

Manuel muttered to himself in Spanish for a while mixed with the occasional English word. The gist of it was that Jenna was crazy and that was what he deserved for not leading a more pure life. I couldn't disagree.

By the time we left them and headed back to our resort as they went to join everyone else to see La Nouba, I felt I'd gotten to know Jenna pretty well. She was going to fit in perfectly in our dysfunctional little family. She was just crazy enough and weird enough to be part of us. It was a huge relief on my part. After all she was with one of my best friends in the universe.

Ranger waited till we were walking down the hall from the elevator before he said anything else. "That was good. I like her."

"Me too," I admitted. "I was a little worried at first when she seemed to just buy into everything he said, but by the time we were into the appetizers, I knew she had his number. They'll be fine."

"Yea," he laughed. "I think he's in for a wild ride."

"He likes wild rides," I assured him.

"I don't know that I'm comfortable with you knowing that much about him."

I just laughed.

"Feel better?"

"Tons," I agreed.

"You didn't eat much."

"You ate enough for both of us," I grinned.

"Seriously, am I the one getting the pregnancy hormones? I ate dessert Babe…chocolate! I ate chocolate!"

"It was good though, right?"

"Yea," he grumbled.

"Maybe it's the way the universe is keeping me from getting fat so I'll appeal to you all the way through the pregnancy. I mean if Gabe and Padma are right, we'll be horny at least till the third trimester."

"You mean you'll be horny and I'll be pleading for mercy if Gabe is right," he raised a brow and opened our door.

"Same thing," I shrugged and waited till he got through the door and locked it before sliding my hands up under his shirt to touch his skin. "God, I love your skin. You have the smoothest sexiest skin on the planet." I pushed his shirt up and nuzzled into his chest, "Oh yea…pure sex on a stick."

"Yep, it's going to be completely humiliating the day I have to call uncle," he groaned as my fingers fumbled with his pants.

"Yea, but until then you'll have a great time," I grinned up at him.

After that, there wasn't much talking.