They're not mine, and I'm not making any money…
CHAPTER 13
Okay, dinner with Ranger's family. I can do this. First step, get out of the Bronco. Never mind, scratch that, I can't do it.
And then I was flying through the air and slung over a massive shoulder.
"TANK! Put me down!" I yelled, kicking my feet. "Do you know how long I spent getting ready?"
"Are you going to come peacefully?" he asked.
"Do I have to?"
"Yes."
"Then peaceful it is," I agreed. "Now, please put me down."
"You should have just asked nicely in the first place," teased Lester as I was lowered to the ground.
"Are you all tormenting my woman?" asked Ranger, slinging a protective arm around my shoulders.
"Your woman?" I countered, looking up at him.
"Just checking the feel of it, Babe."
"I think I like it," I said relaxing into him.
They'd effectively distracted me all the way up the path to a pleasant, two-story house. Looking around, I saw we were in a nice neighborhood just outside of Trenton, but not quite the suburbs.
Before I knew it, Bobby had the door open and the guys were in. Ranger gently steered me into the foyer, planting a small reassuring kiss in my curls as he shut the door behind us.
"If you were all as smart as you think you are, you'd run for it now," said a smiling, Ranger look-alike, entering the room.
"Running only makes it worse, man," said Tank, doing the manly hug thing with Ranger's… brother?
"Yeah Babe, this is my brother, Antonio," Ranger said, pushing me forward. "Tonio, this is Stephanie Plum."
"It's nice to meet you," I said, holding out my hand. See, I can do good manners when I try.
"No, the pleasure is all mine. I was wondering if Ric would ever bring you around."
I was about to ask what he meant by that when the decibel level in the foyer went up a couple hundred notches as a pack of kids came racing in from the opposite end. They nearly passed straight through, before they noticed Ranger and the Merry Men, which caused the noise to go up even further as they changed direction.
Before I knew what was happening, Tank had one clinging to his back, Ranger a child attached to each leg, and another was trying to monkey-bar from Bobby onto Lester.
"Ranger?" I asked cautiously. Never in a million years could I have imagined a bunch of children swarming the guys like this.
"These are my nephews and niece, Babe. I'll introduce you once we find everyone else. Get all the introductions out of the way at once."
"Okay," I said meekly. I can do this. I can do this. I just had to keep chanting.
"Come on, the girls are in the living room," Antonio said, taking my arm from Ranger and steering me through a door.
"Stephanie," I heard, before I made it two steps into the room. I immediately recognized Mira from the other day. "It's nice to see you again. Please, sit, relax," she said, steering me to a couch to sit beside her. I went even though I really didn't want to be separated from Ranger. "This should be good," she whispered into my ear, throwing a look at Ranger and the guys who had made it into the room.
An older woman was waking across the room and she stopped in front of Ranger. She spent a moment glaring at him, as if checking for obvious injury, before wrapping him in her arms. Then, when she drew away, she slapped him upside the head.
As a rapid stream of Spanish came out of her mouth, I saw Ranger cringing. After a few minutes she smacked the other guys on the arm, head, chest, etc and directed her wrath at them. I know I'd been working on Spanish with Hector, but there was no way I could keep up with what she was saying. From the looks on the guys faces, I'm not sure I would have wanted to…
"You want a recap," asked Mira, as it was dying down.
"Uh, sure."
"Basically, they're idiots, Mama was worried, they're going to drive her to an early grave, they're idiots, they could have been killed, she should kill them for not calling. That's about the gist of it."
"Thanks, I couldn't keep up."
"You speak Spanish?" she asked, surprised.
"Not well, I'm still learning," I said.
Looking up, I noticed Ranger coming towards me, holding his mother's arm. 'Here we go,' I thought.
"Babe, I'd like you to meet my mother, Gloria Manoso. Mama, this is Stephanie Plum."
"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Manoso," I said standing to shake her hand.
"None of that nonsense dear, call me Gloria," she said drawing me into a hug. Pulling away, she clapped her hands together loudly to get the attention of the room. "Everybody, this is Stephanie Plum, Stephanie, this is… everybody. I'll let Ric take you around for introductions, now I have to go check on dinner. It's about ready."
"You okay, Babe?" Ranger asked as his mother disappeared.
"Yeah. You?"
"Yeah, Babe," he said, giving me a smile. "Come on, I better introduce you before my sisters attack."
"And why would they do that?"
"Babe, they've been dying to meet you since the first 'Bombshell' story was told. You've had three little birdies telling tales for a while now," he said nodding at Tank, Lester and Bobby's retreating forms.
"Okay, then. Let's do this."
"You'll do fine, Babe."
With that, he took my hand and led me to where Mira had joined four other women. The way they quieted up as we approached let me know they'd been talking about us and I got a squirmy feeling in my stomach. Seeing my discomfort, Mira sent me a small smile from behind her sisters' heads. I sent her a weak one in return.
"You've already met Mira, Babe. She's the baby," here she glared at him, but he just continued. "Next is Elisa, her fiancé Connor won't be here tonight. You'll have to meet him some other time." That definitely implies he's bringing me back… That's good right?
Elisa was a slightly taller version of Mira. While they looked very similar, Mira had a more chic style, while Elisa seemed to have an earthy, boho thing going on.
"It's nice to finally meet you," she said taking my hand.
"You know, everyone's been saying that. It makes me wonder what the guys have been telling you."
"Don't worry," said the woman beside Elisa, "it's been mostly good. I'm Maria, Tonio's wife."
Shaking her hand, I noticed she did look different from the other women in the group. She had the same Latino coloring, but not the same facial features as the Manoso sisters.
"And beside her is Adalia," said Ranger, pointing to a woman who had that Burg mother vibe. The one that lets you know you're not getting away with anything no matter how hard you try…
"It's nice to meet yo-," she was saying, but was cut off by a loud 'MOM' from another room. "Duty calls," she said with an impressive eye roll, and she was gone.
"And last, but not least, this beautiful lady is Celia," Ranger said, indicating a small, but very, very pregnant woman.
"Thank-you, Ric, I was starting to feel like an oversized balloon. It's good to meet you Stephanie," she said, reaching up to take my hand. "I'd stand, but gravity has me down here…"
"You just stay there, I still have to do a few more introductions before dinner," said Ranger.
He steered me away from the group and I gave them a finger wave, wondering what was next.
"Almost done Babe," Ranger said, squeezing my hand.
He led me down some stairs to a finished basement where we found Lester, Bobby, Tank, Antonio and three other men.
"Babe, this is my father, Manuel," Ranger said, indicating an older version of himself and Antonio. "Papa, this is Stephanie Plum."
"It's wonderful to finally meet you," Ranger's father said, "the boys didn't do you justice."
"Thank you, Mr. Manoso," I replied, blushing slightly.
"Manuel, please," he said.
"Manuel," I agreed.
"And these are my brother's in law, Ben and Teodoro," Ranger said. "Ben is married to Celia and Teo is married to Adalia."
"It's nice to meet you both," I repeated for what felt like the thousandth time. Thank God, I grew up in the Burg, or I'd never keep all these people straight.
Right about then, the screaming kids came rushing into the basement, two boys chasing the little girl and a toddler following as best he could.
"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy," screamed the little girl, climbing up Teo, "they have a spider! Make Pedro stop chasing me, please. Please Daddy!"
"Pedro, what have I told you about teasing your sister?" Teo asked.
"Not to," replied one little boy.
"Good, now knock it off, or you won't get any of Abuela's dessert."
"Yes, Papa."
By then, the little girl had climbed down from her father and was tugging on Ranger's pant leg. When she had his attention, she made a motion for him to pick her up. She put her mouth to his ear and in a child's whisper said, "Uncle Ric, who's that lady?"
"Sweetheart, this is Stephanie. Babe, this little angel is Pilar and the little devil that was chasing her, is her twin brother Pedro."
"We're six," said Pilar proudly.
"But I'm 17 minutes older," said Pedro
"I'm this many," announced the little guy beside Pedro, holding up four fingers.
"That's Diego, Babe, he's Teo and Adalia's youngest and his brother's partner in crime. Huh Sweetheart?" he asked Pilar.
She just nodded from the safety of Ranger's arms.
"And last is Nathanial, but we call him Nat. He's Ben and Celia's, and he's about to be a big brother, right buddy?" Nat just nodded up at Ranger and smiled. "That's all the kids that are up walking. Tonio, has a daughter, but she's probably napping somewhere. How old's Alva now?"
"Six months last week," said Antonio, smiling.
At that point we heard someone yell "Dinner" down the stairs, so Ranger took my hand and led me up to a large dining room. I ended up sitting between Ranger and Gloria, but as long as I didn't get separated from Ranger, I figured I'd be okay.
Before I knew what was happening, Gloria was dishing large amounts of what looked to be some sort of stir-fry onto everyone's plates. I was trying to figure out what all was in it when Ranger squeezed my arm and gave me a look that asked if it would be okay. I just nodded, it looked okay, and I hadn't been sick for almost a week. In fact, dinner smelled delicious.
And it was, I had to work not to moan with the first few bites. From the corner of my eye I saw Ranger looking at me with that half smile of his. There are times his ESP isn't so great.
"So, Stephanie," said Adalia, who was sitting across the table, "Ric and the guys, never said how you all met."
"Well, I met Ranger when I started bounty hunting and needed some help. Connie, who manages my cousin's bonds office, set up a meeting. And I met the guys on a job with Ranger."
"And I didn't think she was any fun back then," teased Lester. "Little did I know…"
"So, does that mean the stories the guys tell are true?" asked Ben.
"What have they been telling you?" I asked, warily.
"Did you really blow up Ric's Boxter?" queried Antonio.
"It wasn't my fault," I stated. They had to start with one my more painful escapades. The guys just laughed, but Ranger's family looked curious, so I had to tell them my version of the story. And that's how most of dinner went, with someone asking if a story was true and me giving the slightly less spectacular version than the guys told. All in all though, Ranger's family just seemed awed that there was any truth, and to be honest, I understood the feeling.
Once dinner was over, Gloria headed into the kitchen to get dessert. Ranger was drawing circles on my back with his fingers as we watched Lester and Bobby goofing off… And that's when it happened, the question I had been dreading.
Pilar climbed into Ranger's lap and asked, "Uncle Ric, is Stephanie your girlfriend?"
It's really amazing how quickly a room can go silent. Gloria had just emerged from the kitchen so every eye was on us.
"Yeah, Sweetheart, she is," Ranger said calmly, addressing only Pilar.
"Ewww, you're gonna get cooties," said Pedro, who was sitting beside Ranger.
"I hope so," Ranger replied with a smile.
Pedro just looked at Ranger like he was crazy, before going to sit with Tank, who was obviously much saner than his uncle.
Gathering my courage, I looked up to see Ranger casting his eyes around his family, assessing the situation. Doing the same, I saw a bunch of smiles as everyone reacted to the news. Suddenly, everyone was talking again. Gloria, seemed to realize she was still holding dessert, and started passing out serving of flan. When she sat one in front of me, I think she said something, but it was all I could do to swing panicked eyes to Ranger.
"This way," he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me from my seat.
We barely made it to a small bathroom, before I lost dinner as Ranger held my hair and rubbed my back.
"Thank you," I croaked, sitting up when I was done.
"Here," he said, handing me a glass of water. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I guess I just got sneak-attacked by a super sugary dessert."
"Babe, only you," he said, leaning in to kiss me, but pulled away a few inches from my mouth. "We need to find you a toothbrush."
I just groaned and dropped my head to his shoulder while he dug through a drawer. I didn't sit up until he poked me in the shoulder and handed me a new toothbrush.
"Can I have my kiss now?" I asked once my mouth was all fresh and minty.
"Yeah, Babe," he said, leaning in and kissing me. It started out sweet, but somehow I ended up straddling Ranger's lap with his hand up my sweater. Then there was a knock on the door.
"Is everything alright?" someone asked from outside.
"Umm, yeah, fine…" I stammered, pulling away from Ranger, blushing.
"We'll be out in a minute," Ranger called, more composed than me. Instead of blushing, he was shaking slightly with silent laughter. I just smacked him on the chest before resting my head there.
"I can't believe we were making out in your parents house."
"Neither can I. Come on, lets get out of here."
We found the family sitting in the living room. They stopped talking as Ranger sat down on a couch and pulled me to sit beside him.
"Is everything okay, Stephanie?" asked Gloria.
"Yeah, just a touch of 'morning sickness.' And here I thought the nausea was over," I said, not thinking.
"Morning sickness?" asked Adalia.
"Your pregnant?" said Elisa.
"Ummmm," I had no idea what to say. Ranger and I hadn't really gotten around to talking about the whole 'I'm pregnant' thing in relation to us being together.
"Ricardo, was this something you were planning on telling us," asked Gloria.
And here is where things get sticky, I thought. Looking around, I saw the guys sitting back to enjoy the show, waiting to see how Ranger and I would handle this. Jerks.
"Congratulations, Ricky," said Antonio, standing and clapping Ranger on the back. It was pretty obvious he was trying to defuse the situation. I didn't know how to tell him that he wasn't helping.
"Uh, not quite," Ranger said, quietly.
"What?" asked Antonio.
"I'm not the father," said Ranger. He suddenly looked like he wanted to break something, so I thought it would be a good time for me to chime in.
"The father and I had an on-again-off-again relationship for the past two years, but it's over now for good. It was over before I realized I was pregnant. There's been something between Ranger and I for quite a while now and we thought we owed it to ourselves to explore it." I didn't feel like offering any more of the story for explanation, so I didn't. They could ask about anything that was important to them.
I'm not sure what I expected. I know my mother and sister would have started throwing questions and a few accusations. There was no way they would have reacted like Gloria did. She completely shocked me, by pulling me once again into her arms.
"Well, dear, I still think some congratulations are in order. I hope you and Ric's explorations go well."
Shit, I was tearing up. Can I blame it on pregnancy? I was completely touched by the woman. I was living with her son, but pregnant by another man and she was being supportive.
"I hope so too," I sniffed.
"I think they will," she whispered in my ear. "Between you and me, I haven't seen Ric this relaxed in years. You're good for him. Thank you."
I just gave her a weak smile before lifting my eyes to the rest of Ranger's family. I sighed in relief when I realized they all shared the same sentiments.
"Proud of you, Babe," Ranger said, coming behind me and wrapping me in his arms.
We stayed like that the rest of the evening. His family congratulated me and us, and then they let the situation go without beating it to death. The rest of the night was spent talking, laughing and playing with the kids. My pregnancy was only brought up again when Celia got some cramps and joked about what I had to look forward to. I think I'm really going to like these people.
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A/N: Thanks to everyone who's been reading, I hope you liked it. This chapter was a lot of fun to write. Let me know how I did with the Manoso Family! Please Review!!!!