Eliza Higgins and Henry Doolittle

What if fate had dealt the cards just a little bit differently?

Chapter 12

When Stephanie opened her eyes the next morning, a smile immediately came to her lips and she felt giddy inside. Ranger was behind her, an arm slung over her waist, his face buried in her curls. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this happy.

True to his word, he woke her up every two hours throughout the night to make sure she wasn't suffering any negative ramifications from a concussion. A couple of times when he woke her up, they ended up making out for fifteen or twenty minutes before falling back into a peaceful slumber. The man could win an award for kissing, not to mention self-restraint. Damn.

She listened to his soft breathing for a few minutes while contemplating whether or not she could slip out of bed quietly enough to use the bathroom without disturbing him.

When she couldn't put it off any longer, she slowly slid out from under his arm and eased herself up from the edge of the bed.

"Babe?" His voice was low and slightly husky from sleep.

She looked back over her shoulder and saw him watching her, his sexy brown eyes darkening at the sight of her in her skimpy blue boy shorts and thin white tank top. "Be right back," she said softly.

Stephanie quickly took care of business, washed her hands and face and brushed her teeth, then ran a brush through her wild curls attempting to tame them a bit.

When she walked back into the bedroom, Ranger was just coming back up the ladder to the loft. He must have decided to use the bathroom downstairs.

The night before, he'd retrieved a duffel bag from his truck and changed into a pair of running shorts before bed. That's all he was wearing now and Stephanie froze in her tracks as she took in the sight of his bare arms and chest and his incredible chiseled abs. Even his legs and feet were were gorgeous enough to make a perfectly sculpted Greek statue weep.

She hadn't gotten a good look at him the previous night because she'd changed for bed in the bathroom and he was already changed and under the covers when she came out and there was very little light in the room. Just a soft glow provided by the nightlight in the bathroom.

Now, she had a full, clear view of him and he took her breath away. "Holy guacamole," she whispered under her breath. "What's your Social Security number?" she demanded.

Ranger raise a curious eyebrow, but rattled off his number.

Stephanie recited her Social Security number to him and then gave him a sexy smile. "I think we know enough about each other now, don't you?"

Ranger barked out a laugh and headed toward her with a big grin on his face, but stopped when she held up a hand indicating he should stay where he was. He watched with curiosity as she scurried over to the night stand and grabbed her cell phone.

She opened it and pretended to punch in 911. Holding the phone to the side of her face she said, "Yes, I'd like to report that there's a man in my bedroom and I believe his body is illegal in at least 24 states."

Ranger laughed, thoroughly enjoying her playful nature. After ten years of military service, she was a breath of fresh air and then some. He stuck his thumbs in the waistband of his running shorts and pushed down, causing them to slide to the floor.

Stephanie's eyes grew wide when his erection sprang out. It was pointed right at her, sort of like spin the bottle - she wins!

She pretended to speak into the phone again. "Make that 47 states," she squealed, snapping the phone shut and tossing it on the night stand. She climbed up on the bed and got to her feet doing a happy dance, causing Ranger to laugh out loud.

"What did the police say, Babe?" he asked, playing along.

She danced over to where he was standing beside the bed and pulled her tank top over her head, tossing it on the floor behind him. "They said finders keepers, losers weepers. Unless you object, you're all mine."

"That's music to my ears," he said, grabbing her around the waist.

Stephanie wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and crashed her mouth down on his.

r/s/rs/

Four hours later they were sitting at her kitchen table drinking coffee and eating bagels with cream cheese and strawberry jam. Stephanie got up and walked over to the counter to get the coffee pot to refill their cups.

Ranger watched her with concern. "Babe, you're walking a little funny. Are you okay?"

"Ha!" she said, looking over her shoulder at him. "I'm lucky I'm walking at all, Mr. Ed. We're not repeating what we did this morning for at least another twelve hours."

Ranger looked at his watch and gave her a smug smile. "It won't be easy, but I can live with that. Listen, Sweetie and Ranger Danger were bad enough. You're not going to call me Mr. Ed in public, are you?"

Stephanie refilled their cups and placed the glass decanter back on the heating plate of the coffee maker. "It depends on how nice you are to me," she said thoughtfully. She took her seat next to him and graced him with a glowing smile.

He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss. "Babe, I planning on being nothing but nice to you."

"How nice?" she asked, running her tongue across his bottom lip.

"Nice to the 24th power."

Stephanie grinned joyfully. "I guess I can come up with a name that will work in public."

"Thanks, Babe," he said softly. He ran his knuckles down her cheek and leaned in to give her another soft kiss. "I'm sorry if I hurt you this morning."

"You didn't hurt me, Ranger, I'm just sore and it's the best kind of sore, so stop worrying."

Ranger leaned his forehead against hers and slid his fingers into her hair, but before he could kiss her again, their intimate moment was interrupted by his cell phone.

He groaned, but leaned back in his chair and answered it. "Speak!"

"Hey Ranger. You lost?"

"No."

"Guess that means you got laid last night."

"Stifle it, Santos, if you know what's good for you."

"Sheesh, you've got it bad for this chick. When do we get to meet her?"

"Maybe some day when I'm really angry with her, I'll force her to spend time with you, Lester."

"When will that be?"

"Never."

"Damn. Possessive too," Lester said with a chuckle.

"Was there a point to this phone call?" Ranger asked impatiently.

"Just wondering when you're coming home."

Ranger looked at his watch. "I've got to stop by the bonds office to see if I have any new skips. After that, I'll be home to shower and change."

"Sounds good. We want to hear more about the bonds business. Money's good, right?"

"Damn good. You guys should think about getting into this with me."

"Cool. We'll talk about it when you get here," Lester said, disconnecting.

Ranger closed his phone and slid it into the pocket of his dress pants. "What are your plans today, Steph?"

Stephanie set her coffee cup aside and said, "I have two skips to trace today and then I'll be caught up. I'm not going to take on any more for a week or so. It'll be nice to have some free time."

"I'll help you fill that free time," Ranger said with a sexy smile.

"I was hoping you'd say that," she grinned back at him. "Listen, I have a pretty nice grill in the back yard, why don't you bring your friends over for dinner tonight and we'll cook out?"

Ranger thought it over for a minute. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. They came to town to see you and spend some time with you, and I want to get to know them. It'll be perfect."

"Okay, but the four of us can put away a lot of food. Why don't you make a list of what you need from the store and I'll pick it up."

"I don't think I need you to get anything food-wise, but you can pick up some beer and whatever else you think they'll want to drink."

"Steph, I don't want you paying to feed my friends."

"Grrr," Stephanie growled at him. "I have all kinds of food in the freezer. Are we going to have another argument about money already?"

Ranger paused, trying to think of the best way to answer that. Finally, he stood up and said, "I'm going to run by the bonds office. If Connie has any files for me, I'm going to go home and change and then I'll be back to run searches on them."

"Stephanie stood up and put her hands on her hips. "You didn't answer me!"

"I can't hear you," Ranger lied.

"You can't hear me?"

"That's right."

"You can't hear me?" she asked again with a frown.

"Not a word," he repeated with a smirk. "I'll be back with some skip files or I'll call you later." He kissed her quickly and headed to the front door.

"I'm charging my stun gun," she called after him. "And next time I won't miss!"

"I love you, too," he called over his shoulder as he let himself out.

r/s/r/s

When Ranger walked into the bonds office, Connie gave him three new files and a check for $5,000. "What's this?" he asked, holding up the check.

"For Pete Saffron," she told him. "One of the guys from the TPD stopped by and dropped off the body receipt."

"This should be made out to Stephanie," he told her.

"Stephanie? Why? I heard she was there, but I just assumed she was accompanying you."

Ranger shook his head. "Nope. I wasn't there. She took him down by herself."

"Holy crap," Connie said, her eyes wide.

"I agree. Thank god she wasn't hurt. She's amazing though."

Connie didn't miss the look of admiration on Ranger's face. And there was something else. She wondered if they were seeing each other, but didn't want to ask. She'd find out from Stephanie later.

"If you know where she banks, I'll just sign the back of this and deposit it in her account," Ranger said.

"Bank of America, 360 Hamilton Avenue," Connie told him.

"Thanks. You think they'll give me a problem about making a deposit into someone else's account?"

"Probably not, but Vinnie and I know everyone there. I'll call ahead for you."

"Thanks Connie, you're great," Ranger told her on his way out the door.

"Obviously not as great as Stephanie," she said with a grin once the door closed behind him. Damn, he was hot. Looked like Steph had snagged a winner this time.

TBC ...