Thanks for so many reviews. All mistakes are mine.

Chapter 14

Mama Morrison climbed out of her rental. She had given up on hearing from Larry and packed a small bag and had taken the bus to Trenton. She didn't have much money but figured that she had enough left on her credit card that she could rent a car for a day and then borrow Larry's. Since she had rented the room for Larry to stay in, she headed there. Why not save some money and bunk in together?

Standing in front of the desk she spoke to the older man working the evening desk.

"I rented a room for my son five days ago. His name is Larry Morrison. I haven't been able to contact him and I came to see if he's OK. I've been on a bus for hours and want to get into the room to sleep for the night."

Fred looked at Mary Margaret and while he could definitely see a resemblance, he was playing it by the book.

"Sorry ma'am, the room is signed out to Mr. Morrison and until he gives me permission to give you an access key card, I can't let you in."

Mary wasn't used to being denied.

"Listen you, take a look at the name on the credit card. That's me, you idiot, so give me a card to get in. I'm tired, I want a bath, and I need to talk to my son!"

Fred stood a little taller, and his pleasant tone became a bit more professional. "Sorry, ma'am, the room was signed out to one person, and only one person is getting in there until they, and only they, change that."

There appeared no way that this man was about to be swayed, so she slammed down her credit card grumbling, "Fine then, I want to rent a room for one night."

He took down her information, processed the credit card, spit out the pass card, and handed it to her.

"Thank you for choosing The Ladybird Inn, ma'am. Your room is 121. Here is your access card. There is free wifi and the code is on the back of the card."

Mary grabbed the card and turned on her heel. Speaking to the door she asked, "Where and what time is breakfast being served?"

Fred spoke to her back.

"That room to you left, ma'am. Breakfast will be available from 6am-9:30 am."

He watched as she marched out the door, muttering. He was under no illusions that after she left the breakfast room tomorrow, there would be considerably less to choose from on the breakfast table than when she arrived. Well, two could play that game. Fred had seen a tray of pastries that were going to be donated. He cancelled both the pick-up call and the drop off order. The only other renter had left earlier and the motel was empty except for the two Morrisons. He'd bet money that a large portion of the offerings would disappear in the morning in the oversized large handbag of a certain renter. He would leave a note for the morning clerk that they had 'one of those'.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie drove up to the house and her mom was standing at the doorway. As she stepped out of the vehicle Stephanie couldn't help but notice that her mom was looking older. It may have been only a few days ago that she was here last, but, well it appeared that Helen had not fared well. It had been a tough few days in the Plum household.

The Plum family had never been a huggy family, but Stephanie put her arms around Helen and gave her a quick hug.

"Hi mom."

Helen seemed to relax at the greeting. Deep down she had wondered if Stephanie, now that she knew, would begin to step back. She'd thought back over the years remembering times she had disciplined Stephanie for things ranging from getting her dress dirty just before the family picture, to when she had jumped off the garage roof and broke her arm. Had she really treated the girls differently?

Helen sighed at the quick sign of affection.

As they stepped back, Stephanie spoke. "I came for supper if you have enough, Mom."

Helen pursed her lips and before she could stop herself, she groused, "Stephanie, I always have enough food. You know that!"

Stephanie smiled. Nope, her mom hadn't changed that much.

She followed her mother into the house, noting that Frank was sitting in his chair with his newspaper in his hands and the tv on. Stepping closer, she kissed the top of his head. "Hi, Dad."

Frank put down his newspaper, and looked up. "Hi, pumpkin."

Stephanie followed her mom into the kitchen. She automatically walked to the cupboard and reaching up, started to take down the plates and then opened the silverware drawer and pulled out the cutlery.

Her mother was at the stove, stirring something in a pot and the roaster was on the hot pad.

Helen marched to the door and looked at her husband.

"Frank, can you carve the roast?"

Frank put down his newspaper and lumbered to his feet. Helen usually did that but she obviously felt the need to include him tonight for some reason.

The three of them moved around the kitchen, setting the kitchen, placing the bowls of mashed potatoes and the gravy on the table. Frank set the plate with the sliced roast on the last hot pad and they all sat down.

After a quick prayer, they dug in. The kitchen was silent except for the scrape of cutlery on a plate, or the creaking of the kitchen chairs. Stephanie was used to the silence at the family table but now

she noticed that when she and Ranger ate together, they talked, they discussed, and they joked. Meals at home were just that, a meal, but with Ranger, well, it was like a get-together with a best friend.

The main meal finished and Helen rose to bring out dessert. It was without a doubt Stephanie's favorite, pineapple upside-down cake. Her mouth watered at the sight. Nobody made this cake like her mom, and she appreciated it even more now as an adult.

Helen looked at Stephanie. "I was hoping that you would come visit us again soon, and just in case, I whipped it up this afternoon."

Stephanie felt the need to thank her mom and putting her hand over Helens', she squeezed.

"I missed it."

That was as far as the mushy moments went and they all dived in to enjoy the tasty treat.

Finally, the meal was done and Helen looked around. "Anybody want coffee?"

Both Frank and Stephanie looked at her. Did she want to relax after supper instead of jumping up and getting the supper dishes washed?

Frank nodded his head. "You know, Helen, I could do with a cup tonight."

Stephanie nodded her head. "Me too, Mom."

Helen bustled around getting the machine ready to perk and Stephanie looked at her dad.

"Hey dad, interesting cab day today?"

Frank couldn't help but grumble.

"Damn seniors, they think I'm doing this just to amuse myself and pass the time. Don't they know that the tips are my lodge poker money? I might have to dip into my own money soon."

He harrumphed and slumped low in his chair.

Stephanie couldn't help but laugh. He had been grumbling about the same thing for literally years.

Helen put the carafe, a sugar bowl and milk container set on the table with spoons and everyone grabbed a cup and put in their own combination of sugar and milk before the coffee was poured.

There was silence for only a minute when Stephanie spoke.

"Thanks for the phone call Mom about Grandma's surgery. We'll be there before she goes up."

She looked at her parents. Did they want to know what she had found out about her first family?

"We, and I mean RangeMan has found out a bunch of information. Unfortunately, Ranger feels I might still be in danger so I bet if one of you peeked out the front window, you'd see a black SUV parked down the street watching the house. I agreed to the shadow although I did try to convince my very over-protective husband that I am capable of looking after myself."

She paused as if for effect. Frank stood up with a bit of a groan and stepped out of the kitchen to the living room window. He came back and sat down.

"Yup, they're there. Should I take out some cake for the guys?"

Stephanie shook her head. "Nah, they're probably under orders from Ranger since he believes that if they eat something, they aren't doing their job. I don't want them to be called to the mats."

She took a breath and started.

"Mom, this goes no further, but I suspect that you especially don't want any of this to ever come to light, but we have someone at RangeMan. He's supposedly the brother of my birth father and he's under the thumb, literally of his mother.

I talked to him once, and I have a ton more questions, but he said that I look like the girl you saw, and her name really was Michelle. He says that I have the same blue eyes and curly hair."

She stopped.

"I have never seen someone so afraid of their parent before in my life and I just can't imagine growing up in a household where there is no love communicated."

She looked at Helen.

"Over the past few days, I tried to once again decide if you really loved Val more than me since she appeared to get everything she wanted and I had to really want something before I got it. Yeah, she was older and I respect that. I've talked over the years to a bunch of my friends with older siblings and we all thought that we were being picked on. I finally came to the conclusion though that I really am stronger for it, and I know what I want to do in life because of that. I'm not trying to diss Val but she has meandered her way all through life, and even today, she has no real direction. She's never fought for anything in her life and it shows."

Helen looked away. She had mentally wondered if Stephanie would think she didn't love her youngest the same. She had talked to Edna many years ago who had reiterated that they were both her children and they were vastly different in personality. Edna had stepped in when she saw that there was an issue, and it had smoothed over, but there was a reason that Stephanie was closer to Grandma Edna and Grandpa Harry than Valerie. When it looked like little Stephanie had begun to question why they were being treated differently, Edna had offered Stephanie time away, at the beach, horseback riding academy, soccer camps, and activities that someone with a lot of energy needed to experience.

Stephanie had never played with dolls and even as a youngster, Edna had wondered if she would ever want to be a mom. Valerie, on the other hand, had carried around a doll from a very young age, and was happiest as could be when she was dressing her dolls, or putting them to bed, or rocking them, or reading them stories. She had no use for outside sports, or playing in the mud, or getting wet running through the puddles after the rain. She liked to wear dresses and hated any kind of sporting activities.

Frank spoke up from his side of the table. He was holding both hands on his cup as if he was cold.

"What else did you learn, pumpkin?"

Stephanie nodded at her dad. "Well, I learned that this Michelle ran away the same night as she gave me to you. She stole away in the dead of night and they never could track her down."

Stephanie sighed.

"And that's where the trail ends. Dead cold, and I hope that it is not literal. Emotionally I want to track her down in some small town, healthy, happy and at peace with herself. At the same time, I'm also trying not to dwell on the fact that she might really be dead. The man said that she had almost died giving birth to me and hadn't been able to get medical attention after she came home. It sounds like my birth father beat her pretty bad to get her to tell him where I was."

Franks' hands tightened on the cup and his knuckles turned white. He had seen how the young girl was walking and the fact that she looked so sad and scared. Could he have done more?

Stephanie put her hand on Frank's arm.

"I can see you beating yourself up over this Dad. I think you did the best and only thing you could, other than flag down a policeman, and I'm not sure that that would have helped."

Frank looked up at her, reached over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I will remember that moment for the rest of my life, but in the heat of the moment, I want to believe that it turned out the best for you and certainly for us."

The doorbell rang. Frank stood up, motioned everyone to stay where they were and headed to the entranceway. He looked through the peephole and opened the door.

Ranger and Frank appeared in the kitchen doorway and Stephanie stood up.

"Is there a problem?"

Ranger shook his head. "No, Babe, I finished my paperwork and decided to pick you up. One of the men will bring back your vehicle."

Stephanie stepped to his side and lifted her chin to accept a tender kiss on the lips. She tucked herself into Rangers' side and smiled. Looking back at her parents she spoke.

"Thanks for supper, and I'll keep you up to date with what I find out."

She added. "We'll be at the hospital before Grandma goes up. I know she'll be happy to get it over with, but I want to see her before anyway."

Helen headed to the closet to get her jacket. She handed Frank his and he put it on.

"I want to see her this evening before she goes to sleep."

Ranger walked Stephanie out the door and to the car. Her vehicle was already gone.

Ranger opened the passenger door of the Turbo and Stephanie slid in. By the time she had put on her seatbelt, he was already behind the wheel and turning the car ignition on. He put on his own belt.

"Want to go for a drive, Babe, or do you want to go home?"

Stephanie smiled. She loved that term, home. The past year had been a newlyweds' fantasy, private time when they needed it, quick access to work because of the business they owned downstairs.

Stephanie looked side-long at her husband. "You know that little hill we discovered that overlooks Trenton? How about a quick drive there, to see the lights?"

Ranger smiled to himself and as he pulled away from the house, his hand reached over and clasped Stephanie's hand.

"Sure Babe, let's go see the lights!"