Disclaimer: Anything recognizable is owned by JE. I'm just borrowing them for a little while, but do I have to give Ranger back?

Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. I had been working on an original piece and a small publishing company signed me into contract with them. I had to finish my first novel for publication. The good news is that my novel has been released. If anyone is interested in it, I will put the links in my profile.

A/N: Thank you for all of the kind words (PMs and reviews that you guys have left me. I appreciate all of them more than you could ever know.

Chapter 6

Poor Mary Lou, I thought as I opened the door, allowing Mikey to enter Pino's ahead of me. Friday nights were probably not the best time for someone to start a waitressing job, especially at the most popular pizza place in the 'Burg.

Tommy and Danny were at my Mom's house. They were going to spend the night since Mary Lou had to work late tonight. I had planned on going over there to help her with the boys, but Mikey had asked if he could hang out with me tonight. I'm pretty sure he didn't want people to think that he needed a babysitter. I also think that he was hoping that I would take him by Rangeman again. Mary Lou said that he spent most of the week talking about Ranger, Les, and Hal.

Pino's was packed with people. Mary Lou was quickly crossing the room with a pizza and what looked to be a pitcher of soda. She was so busy that she didn't notice that we had entered the restaurant.

"Hey, Bomber." I heard a deep voice say from behind me. I turned to see Bobby, Manny, and Binkie. They were all dressed in their Rangeman uniforms.

"Hey guys! What are you doing here? I thought all of you preferred Shorty's. Wait a minute! Are you guys tracking me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

Hal held up his hands in mock surrender. "I swear were not tracking you. We heard Lester and Bobby saying that Mary Lou was starting work tonight and we wanted to come to Pino's to show support."

"Really, guys? That's sweet." I smiled.

"Yeah, I used to work at a pizza place in high school and Friday nights could be brutal." Binkie added. "But the tips usually made it worth it."

"The table at the back of the restaurant is about to be open. Let's go grab it." Manny said, leading the way. It always amazes me how regardless of how packed a room can be, the crowd always instantly parts when Ranger or one of his Merry Men walk through it.

As we walked to the back of the room, we passed Mary Lou, who told us that she would be back to take our drink order in a few minutes.

"Is Mr. Ranger or Mr. Les coming?" Mikey asked as we sat down.

"Ranger had to fly to Miami yesterday. He had some things to things to take care of for his office down there. He should be back by Monday." I explained. "I'm not sure about Les."

"Les, Hal, and a few of the other guys plan on coming by later. We take our dinner breaks in shifts, so someone is always on duty and available in case one of the Rangeman clients need to contact us." Binkie explained to Mikey.

They were up to something, I could feel it. "Mikey, tell me what you want to drink. I'll order it while you go wash your hands."

"Awww, Aunt Steph." Mikey started to complain.

"Come on, Mikey. I need to wash my hands too." Manny said, standing up and winking at me. "I can't have Wifey getting mad at me for not having clean hands."

"How would your wife know?" Mikey asked, confused.

"Wifey is the nickname I use for your Aunt Steph." He explained. "I was sick in the hospital and you Aunt Steph pretended to be my wife so that the doctor would tell her how I was doing."

"But you're okay?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah, but I might not be if I don't go wash my hands. I can't have your Aunt Steph mad at me." Manny laughed as they made their way towards the bathroom through the crowd.

"Okay, spill it! I know you're up to something." I said, cross my arms as I slightly leaned back in my chair. Bobby and Binkie's glanced at each other, before slamming their blank faces across their face.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Binkie replied.

"If you think I believe that then you would probably believe that Ranger and I are secretly engaged and I'm pregnant with his love child." I said sarcastically, as I rolled my eyes.

A blinding smile broke across Bobby and Binkie's faces.

"It's about time the two of you got together." Bobby said, excitedly. "I've been telling him for months to get his act together or I and every other man at Rangeman was going to start asking you out.

My eyes darted back and forth between the two men. As I opened my mouth to say some, but was distracted by a loud crash. I turned around in my seat to see Mary Lou standing with an empty pitcher of soda that she had just dumped over someone's head.

"Touch me there again and I'll break your arm." Mary Lou yelled, at a table four college aged boys.

"Come on, you look like someone that would enjoy that kind of attention. When was the last time you got laid?" The obnoxious boy laughed.

I didn't have to look at Bobby and Binkie to know that they were about to intervene on Mary Lou's behalf. Before they could make it over there, I saw Hal stalk over the table. I hadn't realized that he had arrived. Mary Lou started to pick up slices of pizza and ice that fell on the floor during the altercation, but Hal stopped her before turning to the table of boys. I'm not sure what he said, but all four turned white as a sheet. The next thing I knew all four boys were on their hands and knees cleaning up the mess on the floor. Once the boys were finished, Jeff, the night manager and Hal escorted them out of the restaurant. The entire restaurant erupted in applause. Hal walked over to check on Mary Lou and blushed when she gave him a hug as a thank – you for coming to her rescue.

"Why was everyone cheering?" Mikey asked, as he returned to the table with Manny. "Hi, Hal!"

"What exactly did you see?" I asked carefully, as Hal pulled a chair up to our table and sat down.

"Nothing." Manny said, taking the seat next to me. Then he leaned over and whispered. "I walked out of the bathroom and saw Mary Lou dump the pitcher on soda on those boys heads so I made Mikey go back into the bathroom until it was over.

"So he didn't see anything?" I asked Manny, glancing over to see that Mikey was already in a deep conversation about football with the rest of the guys.

"No, and luckily he didn't question me." Manny said, obviously relieved. "No kid should see his mom harassed by a bunch of immature college kids."

The rest of the meal went without incident. Jeff even allowed Mary Lou take a break to eat with us, despite being very busy. He thought that she deserved it after dealing with those guys.

It was almost midnight by the time Mary Lou picked up Mikey, who had fell asleep on my couch watching G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra. Mary Lou was obviously exhausted.

"I had forgotten how hard waitressing can be. Sam and Trina Cooper were in there with kids. It didn't matter what I did, she sent their entire meal back three times. She even said that I was incompetent. And I know I had their order right. I wrote it down exactly how she ordered it. I swear she was doing it because her son, Jackson was in Tommy's class last year and she's mad that Tommy got the award for best student. She's so vindictive." Mary Lou growled, as she ushered a sleepy Mikey out the door.

The next morning, I barely had my eyes open as I walked through the living room to the kitchen, in desperate need of coffee. I was blindly shoveling scoops coffee grounds into the filter when I heard chorus of men clearing their throats, causing me to scream. I turned to see Tank, Bobby, Les, and Hal standing behind me in kitchen.

"Sorry, Bomber." Bobby said, with a grin.

"Do you know what time it is? One of these days, I might actually have bullets in my gun and shoot one of you." I growled. It was nine in the morning. I normally slept until at least ten the morning.

"You walked right passed us." Les said. "Hal even said good morning to you, but you ignored him."

I blushed.

"We came to talk to you about something. We were talking to Ranger on a conference call this morning. We've decided that we need someone to help with scheduling our appointments and greeting clients when they visit the building." Les began.

"Do you think Mary Lou would be interested in working for Rangeman?" Bobby finished.

Before I could answer, Tank added, "We thought that we would run it by you to see if you thought that she would be interested in working for Rangeman. We would be willing to work with her on a schedule. We could come in during the school year after she drops the boys off at school, and the boys could come to Rangeman after school. Ella said that she would keep an eye on them for a couple of hours after school. She was so excited by the idea of kids around; she started pulling out her cookie recipes."

"I think it's a great idea, but you'll have to ask her." I said with a smile. "Why don't you guys go pick up donuts and I'll meet you at Mary Lou's in about an hour."

"We don't eat donuts." Hal said, looking confused.

"They're not for you; the donuts are for me, Mary Lou, and the kids. I need breakfast and the donuts will keep the boy distracted while you talk to Mary Lou." I said with a laugh, as I grabbed my phone to call Mary Lou to warn her she was about to have company.