I use them for fun and not for profit.

Chapter 2

Stephanie Morelli was almost always at work by 9:00 a.m., but her semi-annual dentist appointment had taken longer than she'd planned, so it was close to ten when she slipped into her chair. The early morning drive in humid weather had added extra bounce to her curls. Idly, she pushed them back from her face and dropped her bag in the bottom desk drawer. The blinking light on her phone was typical and she grabbed a pad and pen to make notes as she listened to her phone messages. As head of research for RangeMan Enterprises, she frequently dealt more with administrative duties than actual research, so she was prepared for whatever message was left, except this one.

"Babe," Ranger's voice filled her ear. He didn't call her Babe often these days; in fact, he didn't call often at all these days. It had been six years since she'd made the decision to marry Joe, and six years since her life underwent a major upheaval. Joe was surprisingly accepting of her full-time position with RangeMan, after their marriage. Joe'd made it clear he no longer wanted Stephanie to be involved with Plum Bail Bonds, and in much the same way Ranger had always taken care of her, he stepped forward and offered her legitimate employment with RangeMan.

A nine-to-five job with benefits, and almost no chance of getting shot, or rolling in garbage, seemed preferable to skip tracing. Ranger and Joe would never be friends, but Joe respected Ranger, and Joe was feeling magnanimous at the time. Stephanie had chosen him over the mercenary. She'd agreed to be his wife, and to be the mother of his children. Ranger offered Stephanie a job which paid well, and Joe encouraged her to take it.

From Stephanie's perspective the job wasn't her dream job, but as a newlywed she was still in the mode of keeping Joe happy, and although she had chosen Joe over Ranger, she still had a need to be near him. She knew when she married Joe she was still in love with both men. Ranger had made it clear she had no permanent place in his life and Joe had made it clear that he wanted to get married, and if she said no, they would be through. She loved two men and was in danger of losing both of them, so she married one and went to work for the other. She accepted the job as a researcher and after six years she was running the state of the art research facility. No one, except of course Ranger, could have imagined how RangeMan would grow or what Stephanie's position would someday entail.

She focused her attention back to the recorded voice that still caused a physical reaction deep inside her. "Can you come to my apartment? There is someone here who'd like to see you and I promised them you'd give them a tour of RangeMan." She checked the time of the message. He'd left it just five minutes previously. In a purely delaying tactic, she listened to the rest of her messages before she pushed her chair back from her desk and walked from her office.

The fifth floor at RangeMan looked similar to the way it originally had. The conference room was still in place and Ranger's office was virtually unchanged. The monitoring area had been relocated and the space given over to offices for the rest of the core team. This was command central for RangeMan and she was part of the management team. It sometimes amazed her, and sometimes frustrated her.

Being one of the guys was a status she'd worked hard to achieve, and yet there were times when it would have been nice to be singled out. There were days she knew she was doing a superior job and if she was truthful her hard work was acknowledged, but never directly by Ranger. Usually any praise for a job well done trickled down via Tank.

Likewise any specific job requests came through Tank's office. In staff meetings Ranger always treated her exactly the same as he did the other guys, and the guys taking their cue from him, accepted her willingly into their close ranks. She was their sister, the one they teased, tormented and protected fiercely. It was hard sometimes working in a mostly male organization, but the men never crossed the line from brotherly into the more grey area of an interpersonal relationship. There were two reasons for that, she knew. The older guys, who'd been with Ranger from the beginning, still saw her as Ranger's woman, despite her six-year marriage. The newer guys simply saw her as a married woman who'd never given them cause for flirtation. That was why she'd been happy to keep her personal situation quiet, but she was afraid it would all end soon.

She found herself standing in the elevator on her way to seven as her mind came back to the present. She still had her fob and she'd used it automatically. It wasn't the first time she'd been to seven since she'd started working at RangeMan, but it was the first time she'd been in the elevator on the way to the top floor, alone, and it was the first time she'd been summoned. Ranger had taken pains to avoid personal interaction between them and as in everything Ranger did, he'd been successful. Her heart was beating an unsteady rhythm and her palms were sweaty has she slid them down the sides of her black cargos. He shouldn't have this power over her after six years, but he did.

She knocked on the door firmly determined not to let her nervousness show, and she was completely disconcerted when a tall, athletic and beautiful young girl opened the door to her knock.

"Stephanie!" the girl exclaimed.

Realization dawned on Stephanie in a flood of relief-tinged emotion. The two had been friends since Edward Scrog had abducted Julie when she was ten. At the end of that nightmare she was emotionally attached to the daughter of Carlos Mañoso, and they'd stayed in touch through the years. There had been emails, and birthday cards and once Julie hit her teen years they'd become friends on Facebook.

For a brief and terrible moment she'd thought she was meeting the new woman in Ranger's life. She knew there were women, although she'd never seen even the slightest evidence of one, and if there were women it stood to reason one day there would be the woman. Why that thought bothered her when she'd given up on him years ago was a question she refused to deal with.

She stepped forward into a hug from the girl who towered over her by at least three inches. "Julie," Stephanie said. "It's so nice to see you. I didn't know you were planning a visit."

"Uhm, it was sort of unplanned," Julie said, releasing Stephanie from her arms and stepping back so Stephanie caught site of a handsome young man standing between the living room and the hallway. "This is Scott, my husband." Julie turned and stepped back to pull the man forward.

"Your husband!" Stephanie said, extending her hand to shake Scott's. "I'm surprised. I had no idea."

"You're not the only one surprised," Julie said rolling her eyes. "Come in and sit and we'll tell you all about it."

Stephanie walked into the living room and surreptitiously looked around. It was unchanged from her last visit which had occurred six months earlier when she'd accompanied Tank and Lester to an impromptu strategy meeting.

"Where's your father?"

"Ranger, er, Dad, had to leave a few minutes ago. He said his day was full, but he said you probably wouldn't mind showing us around." Stephanie had known the answer before she'd asked. It had been years since she'd spent any significant time in the apartment, but she had the innate ability to sense his presence, or his absence. Her mind roamed over her own schedule for the day. Like Ranger's, her schedule was full, but she would rearrange and make time for his daughter and her new husband.

"Julie, I'm surprised you're here and I'm surprised you're married. It seems sudden."

"It was sudden," Scott said stepping forward. "We eloped." Stephanie sat in the big leather armchair that was Ranger's favorite and listened to the couple tumble out their story.

"So you see," Julie said. "I'm going to live in Trenton and work and go to school part-time while Scott is deployed. I was hoping you could help me find a job, and a place to live."

Ranger wanted them to have a tour and Julie said he'd told them she would do it. They needed a place to live and it didn't take much imagination to realize she was the most likely candidate from the core team. It was a gender bias, but one that held true in this particular instance. Stephanie was the one most qualified to help Julie and Scott find a base of operations for their new life. She was the one most equipped to help Julie find suitable employment, and she was the one who'd be working late to finish her day's work after she'd helped Ranger solve this familial crisis.

"Things have changed a lot since you last visited, Julie. I don't know how much you remember, but I'll be happy to show you around and reacquaint you with RangeMan."

Stephanie decided to start at the top, since they were already there. She had no idea how much Julie knew about RangeMan, but she was betting, not much. In spite of their increased time together since the kidnapping, she knew Ranger would have been hesitant to talk with his daughter about his own life. He was still ridiculously secretive about it. It was simple enough to give Julie and her husband a tour, but she wondered if Ranger was really asking her to do more for his daughter.

"Julie, what kind of job are you looking for?" she asked.

"I need something part-time, because I want to attend school part-time as well. I don't really have anything particular in mind. Do you know of a job?"

"I might," Stephanie replied. "Give me a half hour to check some things out and then I'll come back and show you around the building."

She left and went directly to the first floor. Shortly after Stephanie had come to work for RangeMan, Ranger had bought the bonds office from Vinnie. Plum Bail Bonds ceased to exist, and RangeMan Bail Bonds took its place. The entire operation was moved into the empty office space on the first floor of RangeMan and Connie and Lula moved in as well. Lula became a file clerk and receptionist for the bonds business. Connie wrote bonds and ran the office. It had only taken Ranger a few weeks to notice how efficient Connie was and within the first year she was functioning as the office manager for RangeMan, doing the payroll and scheduling. Her job duties had continued to grow as had Lula's.

It was nice having her friends in the same building with her. She made time at least once during her day to stop in and visit. They still shared donuts, and Burg gossip in the morning…and they knew. Connie and Lula were the only ones she'd shared her secret with and it was a relief to open up and be herself when she was with them.

When she popped into the bonds office reception area Lula looked up from the desk. "Hey, Steph," she said. "We saved you a Boston Crème and a couple of glazed. Are you numb from your dentist appointment?"

"Nope," Stephanie said as she lifted the lid on the white donut box sitting on the corner of the desk. "I just got cleaned today. Where's Connie?"

"I'm here." Connie's voice floated through the open doorway of her office. "I'm buried behind a stack of paperwork, but come on in."

Munching on her Boston Crème, Stephanie went in and flopped in one of the two chairs facing Connie's desk. Connie hadn't been exaggerating. There was a stack of papers on her desk twelve inches high.

"Ranger's got company," Stephanie said. "His daughter Julie is visiting."

"Julie!" Lula exclaimed as she entered the office and took the chair next to Stephanie's. "That cute little girl's here for a visit?"

"She's not a little girl any longer," Stephanie said. "She's eighteen, and she's married."

"No," Lula said. "She can't be."

"She is," Stephanie said, "and she's drop dead gorgeous."

"That don't surprise me none," Lula said. "I never met her mama, but there's not one thing wrong with her daddy.

"There's plenty wrong with her daddy," Stephanie said and realized her mistake as two perfectly round mouths turned toward her. She shook her head. "I shouldn't have said that. It's ancient history. And anyway I'm here to talk about Julie." She told them Julie's story of her elopement and her need for a job.

"I don't suppose you have anything open here?" she asked Connie.

"I might," Connie said.

"Don't create a position for her," Stephanie said. "Ranger asked me to show her around and I'm doing it. Not because he asked me to, but because, in spite of their brave faces, I think those kids could use a little support. Her mother isn't happy about the marriage. I just thought if we could keep her close to RangeMan it might be a little easier for her to adjust after Scott leaves."

"We can always use basic office help around here," Connie said. "I could probably give her twenty hours a week, if she can use a photocopier and has basic computer skills."

"That's great," Stephanie said. "I'm going to go back up and give them the nickel tour, and then I'll bring them down here."

"I can't believe that little girl is married," Lula said. "She's too young."

"I don't know about that," Stephanie replied. "We've stayed in touch ever since the Scrog thing and I think she's pretty mature. She knows her own mind and there is enough of her father in her that I think she's determined to make her own way."

"Yeah, but eighteen? How many teenage marriages last?"

"Mary Lou and Lenny were both eighteen when they got married. They're happy. I was in my thirties, and…"

"Yeah, you got a point," Lula concluded. "Go up and get them kids," Lula said. "I want to see how she turned out."

Stephanie decided to take the stairs from the first floor to the seventh. It was out of character for her, but she'd recently made a resolution to get more exercise. Her Grandma Mazur and her mother both swore her good Hungarian genes, which allowed her to eat junk food and not gain weight, were about to expire. And besides getting exercise, she wanted to give herself some time to think before she began showing Julie and Scott around RangeMan.

She understood that Julie wanted to see her, and she thought maybe Ranger hadn't wanted to be the one showing his daughter around. Now that Julie's last name was Freeman, there would be people who wouldn't immediately make the connection between Julie and Ranger. The core team, of course knew of her existence, but some of the other men had no idea Ranger had a daughter. He was very secretive about his life outside RangeMan, so she knew she was not only reacquainting herself with Julie, she was doing her boss a favor.

Back in the old days, when he'd been her best friend, he would have said, "Thanks for helping, Babe." Now he wouldn't even acknowledge her help. She thought of his voicemail this morning and wondered if he'd even realized he'd used the endearment. Six years was a long time to carry a grudge because she'd chosen to marry Joe, especially when he'd made it clear there was no room in his life for her on a permanent basis.

And yet, here she was six years later, still in his employ. And he knew as well as she, her job was vital to the running of the behemoth RangeMan had become. Ranger had remodeled the building on Haywood and expanded RangeMan into bail bonds, surveillance, security and most recently a small, but potentially lucrative private investigating service. And although it was just a whispered rumor there was talk of RangeMan going nationwide.

She was breathing heavily as she reached the door to the seventh floor. She leaned against the cool cement-block wall for a moment, catching her breath before she leaned back and pointed the fob at the door. The electronic locks clicked and she pulled the stairwell door open. The fob would also open the apartment door, but she knocked and waited for Julie to answer.

Julie and Scott stood in the foyer ready for their tour of the building that housed her father's life, or at least the part of his life he'd opened for public display. Stephanie led them down the stairs to the sixth floor.

"This is where Ella and Luis live," she told the young couple. "A couple of years ago this floor was remodeled and two more apartments were added."

"I think we are staying in one of them until Scott leaves in two days," Julie said. "I don't think my dad wanted to give up his apartment for one more night."

"They are very nice," Stephanie said. "Small, but efficient, and Ella takes care of them and whomever is staying here. They are mostly used for short-term occupancy, when someone from RangeMan comes in from another office, but that won't be happening much anymore. We've brought all the remote offices into the Trenton office." The door to Ella's apartment opened and the plump grandmotherly woman stopped in surprise as she saw them.

"Good morning, Ella," Stephanie said. "I'm giving Scott and Julie a tour. Could you open one of the apartments for us? I don't have a key."

"Certainly," Ella replied. She unlocked the door and showed them the apartment. "It's small, but very nice," she said.

"I think Julie and Scott are going to be staying here for the next couple of nights," Stephanie told Ella. "I'll help them get their stuff moved down from Ranger's place in a little while, but first I'm giving them the grand tour." Ella promised to have the apartment ready for them in short time, but Stephanie thought it already looked fine.

They walked down to the fifth floor and entered the area that used to be the command center. There was a conference room and a small break room, just as there had always been. The other half of the floor was filled with offices and several cubicles. Ranger's office was central and it was flanked on either side by Tank and Lester's offices, and it was conspicuously empty. Bobby had a small office which he rarely used, preferring to spend time in the infirmary. Her office was tucked into the far corner diagonal to the break room. She liked her small space and its proximity to the elevator. She had a good view of everyone coming and going on the floor.

Next they visited the fourth floor. "This floor used to be apartments much like the one you saw on six," Stephanie told them. "Your father bought the entire block of townhouses across the street from this building a couple of years ago. He tore down two of them because they were in disrepair, but the other three have been remodeled. One building is small apartments and the other two are condos with three units in each building."

"I had no idea Dad was into real estate," Julie said.

"He's not," Stephanie told her. "He is into his employees. He bought the townhouses and has had them rehabbed and most of them have been bought by employees. I don't know if you noticed when you arrived yesterday, but the houses that had to be torn down are now parking for RangeMan employees and fleet vehicles."

They toured the monitoring stations and Stephanie introduced them to the men manning the screens only as Julie and Scott Freeman. She made no mention of their relationship to Ranger. She saw speculation in Vince's eyes and she knew he'd made the connection. It wouldn't be long and everyone would know exactly who Julie was.

"RangeMan seems like a good place to work," Julie said. Stephanie smiled at her. Julie was almost transparent in her desire to work for her father. She hoped the reality of working, literally, on the ground floor of RangeMan would satisfy her.

"Come on," Stephanie told them. "I'll show you the call center on three and the business offices on two, and then…well, let's just say the best is yet to come."