Chapter 16

I was utterly speechless. Somebody knock me over with a feather, Miss Pouty Lips in the flesh.

She walked toward me. "You must be Stephanie," she said in an upbeat tone.

She stuck out her hand for me to shake and thirty years of Burg upbringing forced me to take it in mine. I went through the motions on automatic pilot. I cleared my throat and mentally shook myself, "Yes, I'm Stephanie Plum."

"I've heard a lot about you," she continued, "from Tank of course. You know Carlos, he only reveals the bare essentials."

Huh, I don't know Carlos at all and Ranger not much better. "I have to say I know very little about you," I choked out, attempting civility.

"Well, maybe we can correct that." She smiled and her eyes were twinkling and I swear I wanted to hate her. I swear it! But there was this friendliness and exuberance about her that made her just… likable.

Damn. I really wanted to hate her.

I heard the front door open and bags were being dropped on the floor. Ranger's voice called out, "Tank?" My stomach clenched. No. This was not happening. I wasn't ready to see him.

Tank surprised me by calling out an answer from behind me. He must have come into the kitchen while I was distracted.

"Yo, Ranger," he said as he walked passed me and through the doorway into the living room and out of view.

I heard Ranger say to Tank, "I thought you said you weren't using the cabin this weekend and I could work up here for a few days."

"I lied," Tank responded.

I walked into the living room behind Tank and Ranger did a double take. We stared at each other for a few long moments before Ranger looked at Tank.

"What the fuck, Tank?" Ranger asked.

"Well, Carmen and I thought it was time you and Steph had a heart to heart. So, Carmen," he turned to Carmen who had joined us in the living room, "let's go."

Tank walked to the doorway and scooped up both sets of car keys.

"Wait. Hold it right there. I'm not spending a minute alone here with him," I said pointing a thumb at Ranger, "while he's married to her." I stuck my other thumb out at Carmen.

Ranger pressed his lips together, his jaw clenched. I guess he was the only one that hadn't talked to Hal. I'm glad he was the last to know that I knew.

Tank walked over to me, kissed the top of my head and said, "Yes, you are Steph. Ranger needs to explain some things that you need to hear."

"Tank, don't make me do this. I'm not up for it," I whispered up at Tank, my eyes filling.

Tank smiled and said softly "Steph, you need to hear this. If you hear him out and you still choose Lester," I saw Ranger's eyes narrow at that. Tank continued, "or one of the other guys, I'm behind you one hundred percent. But do me a favor, listen and then decide."

I took a fortifying breath and blinked back my tears and nodded. Not like I had much choice, Tank was bigger, stronger, and apparently way more devious than me.

"Tank, I don't appreciate being strong-armed," Ranger said, his tone deadly.

Tank walked up to Ranger and said in a low voice that still carried across to where I stood, "You're a stubborn jackass and if you don't do this now, you deserve what you get."

Tank walked back to the front door and laughed, "Sorry about this man, you can shoot me later if you have to, but it needed to be done." He tossed one set of keys to Carmen and walked out.

Carmen waved goodbye and followed him.

Ranger and I stood there in silence as I heard both vehicles start up and drive away. Perfect, stuck in the middle of nowhere with the last person on earth that I want to speak to.

"Carmen seems nice," I said, proud of my steady voice but unable to meet Ranger's eyes.

"She is."

There was a stretch of uncomfortable silence.

"What's going on with you and Lester?" Ranger asked quietly.

Oh, this is so not gonna be about me. "Nothing that's your business."

He stared at me and I rolled my eyes.

"He spent the night last night." So there.

Ranger's mouth tightened.

"Listen," I said, my temper flaring, "cut the jealous, macho bullshit. You're married. It's none of your business who sleeps in my bed."

Ranger looked like he was losing grip on his control; he clenched his fists and gritted, "Lester is a player. If he took advantage…" He took a deep breath, jaw clenched, "I'll kill him."

"He's not, and he didn't. But you don't have a lot of room to talk. Have you known Carmen the entire time we were… whatever we were?" I was yelling now, my Jersey girl don't mess with me 'tude in full force. "Were you dating her when you were kissing me? When you slept in my bed?"

Ranger raised an eyebrow smugly, "Don't you think you're being slightly hypocritical? You were with Morelli, in one way or another, almost that entire time."

"Yeah, well, I wasn't hiding that fact." I was standing, hands on hips, "And another thing. I can't believe you kissed me the other night!"

He shrugged, "You kissed me, too."

"I'm not married and I didn't know you were either." I was yelling and he was just staring at me, calmly.

"This is bullshit," I said, turning my back on Ranger. "I don't want to talk to you right now. I don't even want to look at you." I walked back through the kitchen and out the door.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I walked for about an hour, taking well marked paths. The last thing I needed was to get lost out here and have to wait for Ranger to come rescue me. I finally headed back to the cabin. Not because I was ready to talk to Ranger, but because I was starving. I'd never gotten lunch.

I found Ranger sitting at the breakfast bar when I walked into the house. In front of him sat a half-finished sandwich and next to it there was another, untouched.

As I stood there staring at him, Ranger slid the sandwich toward me. "Peace offering," he said.

"It's gonna take more than a sandwich," I answered.

"That's the best I could do given the resources. Too far to walk to Tasty Pastry… it's peanut butter and olive."

My stomach grumbled and I decided I'd eat it even if the spawn of Satan had made it. I sat down at the breakfast bar, one seat away from Ranger.

"So, when are they coming back?" I asked.

"Tank called to say that they'd be back when we worked things out."

"Hope Tank left us a lot of food," I muttered under my breath. "Why don't you call one of the guys to come get us?"

"Tank took the sat phone, it was in the car, there's no cell reception up here and he disabled the landline so we can only receive calls."

"We could go to one of the neighbors. I think I saw some people in a cabin about a mile from here."

"We can do that, but…" he sighed, "maybe we ought to take advantage of the time… to talk."

He swiveled his chair to watch me and started, "Stephanie…"

I interrupted him, "No, Ranger. I want to say something first. I want you know why I'm angry. I'm angry with you because you lied to me, for the last six months and for who knows how long before that. I'm angry because I thought I knew you, at least I thought I knew your character and I guess I didn't. I'm upset because if nothing else, I thought we were friends. Now, I don't even know who you are and… I guess I never did."

Ranger put his hand to his forehead, rubbing it in frustration. "Babe," he blew out a sigh, "I don't know how things got this screwed up with you and me, but I know that it's all my fault. Will you let me try to explain now, what I should have told you months ago?"

I swallowed and nodded.

Ranger looked down and began, his voice a little unsteady. "When I found you in that cupboard at Stiva's, I swear I thought you were dead. My life was shit for those few seconds and I," he took a deep breath, "freaked. It scared the shit out of me. I've worked hard to keep my life devoid of entanglements."

I snorted, I couldn't help it. What was a wife if not a big entanglement, I wondered.

Ranger continued, ignoring me, "I have always kept myself emotionally distant. Even from my family and my daughter. It is a protection for them, yeah, but it's also because that way I've always felt like I could go into any situation and not worry about what might happen to me. My family would miss me, but they'd go on and I didn't feel like I had to live for them or anyone else.

"That day, I realized that somehow, I hadn't managed to keep that distance with you. I realized that losing you would kill me and I was afraid what losing me might do to you. I was completely thrown and I decided then that I should keep my distance from you."

"So, you went out and got married because you didn't want to get too close to me? That is just about the stupidest thing I've ever heard," I said, swiping at the tears that were rolling down my cheeks.

I slid off my stool and went to the kitchen sink to get a paper towel to wipe my face. "What did you do, marry the first person you met?" I was standing with my back to him, I hated that I was crying.

"No, Steph. I went to Miami to get some distance from you… so I could think."

I sniffled and turned around, "Okay, so how did you end up married?"

Ranger swallowed and looked down, avoiding my eyes, "My mother made me do it."