If you recognize them, I can't take the credit. :)

A big thanks to Margaret for reading ahead as my beta; thank you Margaret :) And this chapter is for you. You wanted a Jason POV :) I'd also like to thank all my guest readers for their continued support here, as I can't thank you individually.

And thank you once again for all the reviews. Please keep them coming.

Smut warning.

Chapter 19—Hesitations and Trepidations

Jason Williams' (the newest Rangeman) POV

Tasha and I had three days left to our honeymoon and then we'd head back to Austin to pack. I'd already given notice and Hector had hooked me up with the real estate agent that Rangeman used. She'd been sending me pictures of houses in the vicinity of Trenton, either for sale or for rent. I knew Tasha wanted to own something but a rental would be an easier in right now. Problem was, I didn't know the area and although some of the rentals looked nice, I didn't want to be the only black family in a white neighborhood or the only upper-middle class family in the poor section.

"Tasha why don't you call your cousin and ask him about the area?" I brought up again as we sat looking at the latest batch of rental photos that Genevieve had emailed over.

"My mother was going to talk to his mother. They are the actual cousins; we're like second cousins and I only met him a handful of times. She'll make the introduction; give her a couple of days."

We didn't have a couple of days. I was starting work in two weeks and had said I was available to start as a contract worker next week if they needed me. We couldn't be living out of hotel rooms for more than a few days or our budget would be blown. I'd saved enough to give Tasha a pretty 2-carat engagement ring and a honeymoon. I had a nest egg put aside for a down payment on a house but I didn't want to use any of that for expensive living arrangements. No, we needed to find something we could move right into.

"Tash, we don't have days, can't you hurry your mother up? What if they want me to start on Monday? We just need to know what areas we can safely move to."

"Ok, ok. I'll call her again." She took out her cell and placed a call.

"Mom can you call Aunt Lee today? Actually if you can just get cousin Robert's phone number, I'll call him. We don't have to make a big deal about introductions. I can introduce myself."

I didn't hear her mother's response, but Tasha sighed, so I gathered her mother wasn't giving her an answer she liked.

"Ok, but they want Jace to start as early as next week. We have a pile of pictures but no idea about the neighborhoods they're located in. And it's not like I have anyone else to ask." "Thank you. I'll talk to you later."

"She's going to call my Aunt Lee now. She said she'd call me back after they speak. She wants to do it her way."

I respected that as long as it was done in a timely manner. We went back to the pictures and had agreed on a few places when her phone rang. She looked at the number, shook her head and answered.

"Hello?" "Oh Robert. Hi. Thanks for calling. I'm glad you remember me." "Ok. Bobby." "Um, my husband Jason just got a job in Trenton and we're looking for a place to live in the area. My mom said you work there and may be able to help us with neighborhoods. We're working with a real estate agent that Rangeman recommended..."

"No shit! Oops, I'm sorry, no way. Jace, my cousin Bobby works at Rangeman too."

"You're what Bobby?" "Hold on, why don't I put Jason on the line."

She put her hand over the phone as she handed it to me, "He's the company medic; I knew he was like a doctor or something. And he's a member of their management team. I guess you'll be answering to him in some way."

I took the phone from Tasha and shook my head to get it all straight. "Hi Bobby. I'm Jason Williams, your cousin's husband. What is Tasha telling me? You work at Rangeman?"

He answered me after a slight pause, "Uh yeah, and it's nice to meet you, Jason. I heard all about you and and how you aced Hector's interview. I just didn't put two and two together that you were my cousin's new husband. Did Hector mention that we have efficiency apartments on site? They're small. Mostly studios but if you take one for a month it might help take off the pressure of finding a place right away."

"He did but he also told me it was mostly single men who lived in them. I don't want Tasha to feel uncomfortable. And she's going to be looking for a job so she'll be in and out for a while."

"You can take mine; it's a one bedroom and I rarely use it. I bought a place in Hamilton, which is ten minutes away and I prefer staying there. And in an emergency, I can bunk with one of the other men. If it makes my cousin feel any better, there are other women in the building. Our housekeeper Ella lives on the 6th floor and Stephanie, Ranger's fiancé lives with him on seven. Tasha won't be the only woman there."

"Thank you for your generous offer but I know my wife has her heart set on a house. You mentioned Hamilton. Is that Hamilton Township? We've been eyeing this rental on the corner of Evergreen and Lander. Just wondering about the area?"

"I live about three blocks away and Tank, our second in command, lives on Lander. It's a racially mixed neighborhood; my neighbors on one side are Philipino and Jewish and on the other they're white. If you want I can check it out with Genevieve for you."

"I would really love that. I was hoping to settle everything over the next couple of days so we can fly back, pack and come east."

"Didn't Hector offer you our relocation package?"

"He did. We're going to take advantage of it."

"Then why don't you let the moving company pack for you? Fly back, pack some clothes and valuables and just come east. I'll give you my queen aerobed until your furniture arrives."

"Again that's very generous. Thank you. Can I discuss all of this with Tasha and get back to you in an hour or so? Is this your cell?"

"It is. I'm heading into work right now. I caught the second shift this week but call me anytime. I don't anticipate it being a rough night."

"Thank you. And I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon."

We said our goodbyes and then I turned to Tasha.

"Your cousin is a very nice person. He's offered to go out of his way for us and take a look at that house that topped our list. He says he and another Rangeman live close by and the area is racially-mixed."

"Feel better?" she said, breaking into a big grin.

Yeah I did.

And it all worked out. Bobby was able to look at the house the next morning and we had our deposit and first and last month's rent taken care of by Rangeman. All we had to do was say our goodbyes in Austin and move east.

I couldn't have been happier that all the ducks fell into place when they did. I'd gotten a call from Hector while we were waiting at MIA for our flight to Austin. It wasn't a tech job but he wanted me to pair up with Ranger's fiancé on something. He thought since we both had 'highly evolved intuition', as he called it, maybe we could make heads or tails out of a job that had been eluding them. I never expected Rangeman to want to use my intuition on a job, but they were paying well and it was only a few days ahead of schedule, so I agreed.

Stephanie's POV

Hector called me again to let me know that he'd worked it out with Jason. Carlos and I were back in the office on Tuesday and he'd already reserved a conference room for Jason and I.

"I get the feeling Hector thinks we'll click," I told Carlos as I hung up my phone.

"It's worth a try and in the meantime you're safe here with me. We should be at the resort in the next ten minutes and I'll try to keep your mind off of all things scary once we get there."

And I knew he would too.

True to his word we arrived at the resort exactly ten minutes after he gave me his ETA. The man was accurate to a fault. Well, actually Carlos had no faults except for his boring eating habits and annoying one-word sentences. Come to think of it his pinpoint accuracy ranked up there with them. Oh well, he was hot and I loved him anyway.

We parked in front and went in to get our room keys and a map of the resort. Our accommodations were located beach side. We had our own private entrance, deck, pool, sitting area and an en suite bedroom with a large jacuzzi. Carlos was right; it was very similar to what we had in Hawaii.

I eyed the jacuzzi with sudden interest. I remembered all the wonderful ways he'd pleasured me in Hawaii and the time or two in the jacuzzi with jets on low came to mind. God, I was such a slut.

"Carlos would you like to relax in the jacuzzi for a while? We just spent four hours on the road."

"I know what you want Babe and don't you know by now that you can ask me for anything?"

There was no way I could ask him for jacuzzi sex. That was almost as bad as taking out a vibrator and handing it to him. Wrong message. He was an amazing lover and didn't need any props. Just happened that an accidental one made me feel really good, especially combined with his mouth and...

"Babe?" He was smiling at me. His ESP was probably working overtime. I was caught in the act.

He pulled me to him and then he kissed me. Desire washed over me again. Who needed a jacuzzi when I had Carlos. He deepened the kiss and ran his tongue over my lips seeking entrance. I let him in and our tongues danced together, mimicking what another part of my body would like to be doing with him. In seconds my tank was gone and then his mouth was on my breast. His tongue rolled my nipple into the shape he wanted it before he bit it, just hard enough to sting. And then his mouth was over it again, making it all better.

God, I think I just ruined another pair of panties. Good thing they'd be off anyway. And speaking of which, somehow the rest of my clothes disappeared as we made it over to the bed.

He pushed me down and then he was on top of me. The heat between us was amazing. It always has been. I'd never connected with anyone the way I connected with Carlos. His mouth was on my breast again and my body was whirring out of control.

"Carlos, I need you now."

"Shhh Babe, just enjoy."

Problem was I really wanted him where I wanted him. He was making me crazy and my entire body was trembling with desire.

"Carlos, I can't take anymore, I need you now," I demanded as he licked and kissed his way down my body, stopping at every pulse point to liven them up a bit.

And then he was where I needed him to be. God, yes. His tongue touched my bud as he lapped up my juices and I couldn't hold back. I shuttered in release and then he was inside of me. He instinctively knew just the angle to thrust to hit both spots simultaneously and he had me over the edge again.

Carlos pumped into me several more times before we both exploded together in orgasm. I've been told it's uncommon, but for us it happens a lot. Unable to form words, we simply lay together until the world came back to normal.

"Hungry Babe?" Carlos asked since my stomach spoke first.

"Mmmmm."

"Did you find a restaurant that fit my criteria?"

I hadn't. "Sorry Carlos, I was too hung up on Anthony's ruined dick and then Hector called. I can look now?"

"Let's get cleaned up and ask at the desk. I bet they can direct us to the perfect place."

We did. And they did.

It was right down the road. Candle lit, intimate and romantic. We were led to a table in the back. How does he do that? Carlos took his place against the wall so he could scan for bad guys and then he pulled me next to him so we were catty corner to each other. He took my hand in his and kissed it before turning to me.

"Have you given any more thought to a date for our wedding?"

"July is fine?"

"July is not a date Babe. If we want to send out invitations and give Ella time to prepare we need to agree on a date. I was thinking a Saturday late afternoon might be nice. We can cover the pool with a dance floor and dance into the night."

"Dance on the pool? What if the floor shifts and someone falls in?"

"It's done all the time Babe. They put down steel trusses and stabilizers then cover it with an acrylic platform. We can change the lighting to create a romantic ambiance. People will remember that they danced the night away on our pool. And no one will fall in."

"If you say so. So you want me to pick a date?"

"I do," he said handing me his iPhone with the calendar accessed.

Eenie, meanie, minie, moe, I said to myself, looking absently at the four Saturday's in front of me.

"How about the 26th?" I asked, going for the last Saturday in the month.

"It's your pick Babe, be definite."

"Ok, the 19th."

"You sure?"

No. "Make that the 26th. It'll give Ella the most time," I said, but in reality it would give me the most time.

I had no reason to be squeamish. I loved Carlos and I knew Carlos loved me. Everything clicked together perfectly, yet I had this unrealistic fear. I could probably blame it on Dickie and Joe, but that wouldn't be entirely true. It was all me.