Once again, thank you for reading. Janet is so very lucky to own these amazing characters. I wonder, would she barter for one or more of them.

Chapter 2

Stephanie sat on Ranger's lap.

She had literally come from the airport and her bags were still in the trunk. She felt grungy from her flight and just wanted to relax and take a long, long bubble bath.

She thought of Ranger's oversized jet tub on seven and in spite of everyone in the room watching, she started to wriggle with the thought of soaking in that giant bubble-filled cavity.

The men watched her with amusement but they kept their remarks to themselves. She had always telegraphed her emotions and it was not hard to sense that soon they might be losing both the Bomber and the boss.

Ranger whispered in her ear and immediately a deep blush inched its' way up her face. She stopped wriggling in embarrassment.

Ranger spoke.

"Babe. We want to discuss a situation. Rangeman is providing security for the Forbes Women's Summit in New York next month in May. This is the very first time that we have been successful in securing the contract and we are excited to be providing security for this important event."

He looked at her. She had straightened up after leaning unconsciously back against his chest. Her eyes had instantly lit up and he could sense her become excited.

This was a huge event and she had hoped that she might be accepted to attend this year. Just in case, she had kept those days open on her calendar.

She had sent in her application with the requisite deposit. She had been cautioned that it was a very exclusive affair and not to be discouraged if her application was rejected for a few years. She was making a name for herself in the business world but the names of attendees and presenters was almost enough to take ones' breath away. This year she had heard that among others, Dr Cori Bargmann, of the Rockefeller University, Cherie Blair of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, Denise Morrison of Campbell Soup Company, and Dr. Faraz Farzin from Lumosity, were but a few who were presenting.

It was all about entrepreneurship and innovation, and new ideas, and the strength and ability to move ones' dream forward.

Stephanie had her hopes set on attending.

Ranger spoke again.

"Babe, as I said, we have been contracted to provide security, but we asked that you be allowed to attend the Summit. We would like a woman inside, as the saying goes."

He looked at her and he could see a myriad of emotions cross her face. She was excited to attend, but at the same time he could see the disappointment that she apparently was not accepted to attend on her own merits. He could also see a flash of annoyance that they had tried to plan her life again without asking her.

Ranger looked at the men. He could sense their sadness as they realized how she was feeling.

Les was quick to speak up.

"Beautiful, you were accepted to attend the Summit on your own merit. If you check your bank account, your cheque cleared before we even made the request. I expect that the email should be showing up in your in-box any day. We hoped we were not overstepping our bounds but the fact that you had already mentioned in passing to Ranger of your hopes to attend this year gave us the encouragement to ask on your behalf. Rangeman will be covering your cost for the conference and we will reimburse you for the deposit if you accept."

The relief on Stephanie's face was instantaneous and the tension in the room evaporated immediately.

She looked at Les and her eyes narrowed. Had he looked into her banking information?

Les shook his head and he quickly spoke.

"No Beautiful. I did not look. They advised us that you were already on the accepted list. In fact, they forwarded a little note that they were excited that you wanted to attend."

Stephanie sat up even straighter. Her eyes were now showing excitement and curiosity.

"Okay, so why would you need eyes inside, if I may be so bold as to ask?"

The men looked at each other before answering, clearing their throats.

Tank spoke up this time.

"Little Girl, we like to be prepared, but at the same time, we have heard whispers from some of our sources that there might be some kind of disruption at the Summit. We are trying to pursue more leads, but at the present time, it is a general sense of caution that we are employing. As we get more details, we will be keeping you appraised. Your job is to attend the Summit and take all the time you need to have and soak in the experience of who will be attending and who will be presenting. Your reputation is starting to gain some very worthwhile and important attention in the business world. Your assent in business is garnering a lot of attention."

Tank looked like he had exhausted his entire vocabulary for the day and he sat back.

Bobby now took over and spoke up.

"We have the utmost confidence that your spidey sense will pick up anything we need to diffuse and keep the distractions down at the Summit. Above all else, you are a woman and you will have intimate knowledge of the inner workings of dealing with this many females in one area. We are not looking for tension per se, but sometimes it is useful to know if there is uneasiness coming from a certain area that we are not familiar with and can attempt to head it off before it becomes a problem."

Stephanie pondered her next question.

"So, it sounds like you do your job providing general security, and I filter through the different venues and look for something that might be elusive or understated, am I correct?"

All four men nodded their heads.

Stephanie smiled and relaxed. She could do this, and it was going to be fun. She could just sense it and could now plan accordingly.

She stood up and looked at Ranger.

"I need to go shopping, Ranger. I need to do a lot of shopping. Nothing in my closet will suffice for what this week will include. Now that I know I am attending, I need to seriously upgrade my wardrobe."

He smiled and opened a drawer, taking out an envelope and handed it to Stephanie. She looked puzzled and peeked in the envelope.

Inside was a Black American Express card with her name on it. Sitting behind the card was a stack of hundred dollar bills.

Stephanie looked at Ranger and shook her head.

"I was not looking for a handout, Ranger. I was just stating that I will need to fit time in my schedule for a shopping trip."

He smiled and looked at the envelope that she had placed on the top of the desk.

"Babe, the contract is very lucrative to Rangeman and there was a stated budget for apparel. We all have our tux's and during the days we will be dressed in our Rangeman uniforms, so you could use this since we asked you for your help."

Ranger handed the envelope back to Stephanie and she grudgingly accepted it. At first glance it looked to be a lot of cash along with the card.

Ranger added.

"I know you are a master shopper, Babe, but I don't think that Macy's will fit the requirement this time. In the envelope are a couple of cards that Ella obtained. Names and numbers are written on the back and you should contact them as soon as possible to schedule an appointment."

Stephanie looked at her watch. It was late in the afternoon and she wanted to get home and unpack. Her tub with its' jets would have to do. She could call the numbers and fit them into her schedule.

Stephanie stood up, gave a kiss to Ranger, then a hug to Tank, Les and Bobby and made her way out the door. They could hear her exclaim as she waited for the elevator.

"Holy moley, there's ten thousand dollars in cash in this envelope! How much do they think I will spend?"

The men laughed as she entered the elevator and the door closed. They figured she was about to learn about the cost of high fashion, and soon.

~~~o0o~~~

In another state, there was a meeting. The leader looked over the assembled flock. "The Brotherhood and the Sisterhood are committed to the cause. It is dedication at the highest level that allows us to co-ordinate with our fellow brethren. We are confident that our cause is just and we will be successful in our mission."

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie sat in her tub. Bubbles were perched on top of one another and reached well over her shoulders the entire length of the tub.

She heard the front door open and keys drop into the dish by the door.

She heard rustling in the kitchen and listening carefully she could hear soft footsteps coming down the hallway. She smiled as the door opened.

Ranger stepped in. In one hand was a silver tray with fruits and a small bowl of yogurt in the middle. In the other was a bottle of red wine and two tall wine glasses balanced between his fingers. They softly clinked as he walked in.

Placing the treats on the small table which he pulled to the side of the tub, he swiftly disrobed and slid in behind his Babe. They both sighed in contentment at the same time.

They clinked the glasses of wine and took a small sip. Ranger reached over and picked up a long sliver of pineapple and dipping it in the yogurt gently moved it to her lips to take a bite. Stephanie opened her mouth and took a small bite, moaning in enjoyment.

Ranger shifted.

He accepted a slice of melon also dipped in yogurt. A drop of juice meandered its way down the side of his face and she reached up and gently with a finger gathered it up, then put her finger in her mouth and sucked it pulling it out with a slight pop.

Ranger shifted again.

The plate was empty and the wine finished, they stood up and stepped out. Each grabbed a large bath sheet and lovingly patted their partner dry, taking care of sensitive areas. They tucked the bath sheets around each other like togas and slowly made their way into the bedroom.

Ranger unwrapped his Roman beauty and guided her backwards to the bed. He reached under her and grasping her by her cheeks he lifted her gently on the bed. Stephanie had also worked the knot on Ranger's towel loose and it joined its' mate on the floor.

The coupling was gentle and slow. It had been a few weeks since they had last been together and they felt no need to rush.

Stephanie lay curled up with her head on Rangers chest and he was playing with one of her curls. They would talk and catch up later what they had been doing and seeing and working at, but now it was time to just revel in each others' company.

Stephanie fell asleep, murmuring her little happy sounds. She felt safe and secure in his arms. She was with the man she loved and she was happy. They looked and acted like a completely established couple.

Ranger looked down at his Babe. He was finding it increasingly difficult to watch her leave each time on another plane, or in a car. He was wondering how much farther they were willing to take this relationship. While he was not all that excited to put his name to a paper making their union legal, he was hoping that at least in their eyes, they were together through thick and thin.

He thought of the last time he had almost lost her. Gerry Keepner had been tried and convicted of killing the three agents and a number of females unlucky enough to have come in contact with him. He had been sentenced to death and was currently in Kentucky on death row. Unfortunately Gerry had hired a very, very good lawyer and the appeals would take years to exhaust.

He thought of Tank and Lula living their lives with their twin boys growing bigger and stronger every day. He had spent some time at their house and the boys never played strange with him, wanting to climb all over him and willing to sit for a minute on his lap.

Tank had brought the boys to Rangeman a number of times and work ground to an instant halt as soon as the monitoring station could see them pull up in the garage. Hands were willing to hold babies and eyes were constantly checking on them as they crawled everywhere.

The men had learned their lessons fast. James Pierre was the instigator with Thomas Ricardo right behind him. JP was making up for the fact that he was the baby brother and appeared to lead the charge in getting into mischief.

Everyone could remember the day that as they watched TR pulling down a whole in-box of papers and forgot to watch what JP was doing. He had crawled over and had pulled out the main power cord linking all the monitors together, plunging the entire network into blackness.

Hector had raced up the stairs in a panic and spent the next two hours bringing up the units one by one, starting with the main monitoring system. He had scowled his expletives and Tank had been ready to cover the boys ears from any ensuing words coming out of Hector's mouth in disgust. At least they would have been muttered in Spanish.

There had been an immediate meeting after Tank and the babies left. The battery back-up power source had failed at its most in-opportune time.

Now, when they visited, two men were tasked to watch over the boys. So far, they had not created another incident.

Daddy Tank had been embarrassed that he too had lost track. He prided himself on paying attention to detail but his sons were certainly shaping up to be a handful.

As the boys were locked into their car seats, he had glanced at Ranger standing by watching. He detected a tiny smile and before they knew it they were both doubled over with laughter.

It would be an interesting time in the Sherman house and neither of them even wanted to attempt to envision what the next eighteen years or so would turn out to be.

Ranger watched as Tank drove out of the garage. He had not been there when Julie had been born. He never watched her first smile, her first words, her first steps or her first day of school. He was the biological parent sending a cheque each month, seeing his daughter if and when he was in town.

He wondered if he would ever experience the feeling of real fatherhood. He wondered if he would ever want to experience the feeling of real fatherhood.