Chapter 20

"I'm fine," I lied. "Why wouldn't I be?" I just had to throw that last bit in to be mean.

Ranger just looked at me, assessing me. Finally, he quirked an eyebrow, and then asked, "Any reason you came through your door spewing pepper spray?"

Well, he had me on that one.

"I could see the door wasn't shut all the way. I was just Aware. Of. My. Surroundings. I wasn't expecting company."

"Ok," he nodded, prodding me to continue.

"Well, maybe I've got a new stalker, so I was just trying to be careful. Mrs. Bestler told me someone had been up. Was that you? She said it was a delivery man."

Ranger grinned outright at that and motioned to the counter behind him. There sat a Tasty Pastry box.

"You brought me DOUGHNUTS?" I asked, astounded.

"Peace offering, Babe," he said with a slight smile.

I let the Babe comment go. Besides, I didn't think I could stand it if I never heard him call me that again.

"Thanks," I said, opening the lid. There in all their sinful perfection were one dozen Boston Crèmes. I was a little miffed that Ranger thought I could be bought so easily, but hey, they were Boston Crèmes. And this was Ranger we were talking about. He probably had to have one of his men go in and order them, or risk a seizure or something.

"So tell me about the stalker," Ranger was back to business now.

"Not much to tell, really, just a hinky feeling I've been having. Like someone is watching me. I've thought I've seen a car a couple of times, but they always leave in a hurry once I spot them."

"Have you gotten a look at the driver? Any notes? Unexplained phone calls? Break-ins? Anything else?"

"Geesh, Ranger. Nothing like that. Just a weird feeling. I'm sure it's nothing."

He gave me an assessing stare. We both new it probably wasn't nothing. It never is, with me.

We stood, lost in our own thoughts for a few moments. Finally, Ranger turned again to leave. "Be safe; call me if you need anything."

With his hand on the knob, I blurted out, "Why?"

He turned back to me, looking almost confused. "Why? Didn't we just cover that?"

I shook my head, barely trusting my voice, "Why Deborah Fairbanks? Why wasn't I worth it, but she is?"

Ranger wouldn't meet my gaze, his eyes suddenly fixated on my floor. "What do you mean?"

"Your whole 'my life doesn't lend itself to relationships' stance. Why is she worth it, but I wasn't?" I dreaded the answer, but I needed to know.

"It's not like that, Stephanie," he said quietly.

"How is it not like that?" I demanded, finding my voice once again.

"I can't do this. It's not fair to any of us," he said, reaching for the door once again.

This time I didn't call him back. I heard the door shut and his footsteps sounding down the hall.

"I love you," I said on a sob, to the empty space surrounding me.

After Ranger left, I sat on the floor and felt sorry for myself for awhile. Then I got up, ate a couple Boston Cremes, took a shower, and settled in for a night of sappy movies on DVD. I was just dozing off when there was a knock on my door. I really wanted to just ignore it. After all, it seems like anybody important just lets themselves in, so what's the point of answering?

The knocking continued, so I got up, grabbed my gun out of the cookie jar, and stuck an eye up to the peep hole.

It was Morelli.

"Hey, Joe, what's up?" I asked, holding the door open for him. He was holding a large Pino's box and a 6 pack of Corona. He deposited his bounty on the counter, reached for a roll of paper towels, and pulled a lime out of his coat pocket.

"I got stood up tonight, so I thought I'd come see my 2nd favorite girl."

That made me snort with laughter. The thought of Joe getting stood up was pretty damn funny. Hey, wait a minute? "Second favorite girl?" I asked, as I rolled my eyes.

"Well, you did break my heart, remember, Cupcake?" He reached out and pulled a strand of my hair, and I knew that we were okay.

"Besides," he continued, "I heard some more about Pelaratti, and I thought you might have something to share, too."

While we ate, Joe explained that word on the street is that Aldo's uncle is looking for him, and not to exactly welcome him back to the Family. Seems that Aldo went against the Family's wishes, and is going to be held accountable. They probably won't kill him, but might whack off a body part or two.

"GROSS, JOE! Are you kidding me?" This is SO not dinner conversation.

Joe looked like the cat that had swallowed the canary. "Yeah, I'm just pulling your leg. He's in a world of hurt, but they'll probably just mess with him. He is the favorite nephew and all, but they want to have him where they can keep an eye on him. It seems funny that he's hiding out from them. I'm wondering what else is going on."

I filled him in on what little Tank had uncovered. Joe seemed pretty tickled that Connie and he had scooped Tank on the big news. Guess old rivalries die hard.

After awhile, Joe stood to leave. I took a long look at him, and realized how exhausted he looked. "Is everything ok, Joe?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired. I've been putting in a lot of extra hours. There's some unrest on the streets lately. Some big boys from down south have been spotted around town, and nobody is quite sure what's going on. But, you know the drill."

"Down south?" I asked, nosy as ever.

"Columbians. Looks like there might be a big move to grab up some of the drug trade left unprotected when the Slayers fled. Nothing's going on yet. We're just watching and waiting. ATF and DEA are snooping around, too. It's getting a little crowded with all the alphabet soup out there." He smiled wryly, and then added, "I better run, Lori gets off in a few. Stay safe, Cupcake."

"HA! I knew you didn't get stood up! But thanks for the pizza and the info. Tell Lori hi from me." Stood up, my ass!

Joe left after a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. I locked up, and went to bed.

Ranger watched as Joe left Steph's apartment. He hated to see the cop sniffing around her, but what right did he have to feel this way? At least, he thought, with a grin, Morelli hadn't spent the night. He'd only been there an hour or so. That fit with the whole wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am style that Ranger figured Morelli for.