I use them for fun and not for profit.

Chapter 6

The restaurant was upscale and new to Trenton. Stephanie had never been there before and was looking forward to having a great meal because early reviews on the restaurant were fabulous. Ranger was bringing Julie and Scott and he had offered to pick her up, but that seemed too weird. He and Morelli were mostly friendly, but she had worked hard to keep her private life…well, private. Even if the news of her two-year-old divorce was about to send the Burg grapevine into overdrive.

When Ranger had offered the apartment on six, her initial response had been to say no. She'd quickly reconsidered. She needed a place to hide away, because she was going to look like the injured party. Joe had already replaced her. In typical Burg tradition, church ladies would be lined up with casseroles and condolences, and trying hard to get the real story from the source. Living at RangeMan would seriously derail the sympathy train and that was a good thing.

Joe was careful with his reaction to Stephanie's announcement she was moving out the next day. He was happy to be moving forward and in a way she was happy as well. Her moving forward was a little less well defined than his. And that's why she made the decision to meet Ranger and his family at the restaurant, rather than letting him pick her up. She didn't want anyone to get the idea she was moving toward Ranger. Working at RangeMan was acceptable. So was living in the building as long as it was temporary. Other employees had done it before her and others would do it after.

Ranger had withdrawn from her completely when she'd announced her decision to marry Joe. He knew she loved him, and she knew he cared about her, but he was unwilling to make any commitment. She'd never thought of demanding a ring and a vow from him, but he wouldn't even bend his rule and afford her girlfriend status. She wouldn't be anyone's booty call, not even Ranger's. He set the no relationship rules and she'd followed them the only way she could.

She'd committed to Joe, whom she also loved. Joe was at the opposite end of the relationship see-saw. He wanted the ultimate commitment and he'd given her an ultimatum. Marriage or nothing. She'd accepted his proposal because even with her uncertainty about marriage, she was certain she wouldn't be able to withstand the loss of both the men she loved.

Ranger's absence in her life was one of the harder things she'd had to adjust to after her marriage. She fully accepted the loss of their sexual relationship, but his friendship, his acceptance of her, warts and all, well, that had been a devastating loss. She knew he kept a watchful eye on her, but he rarely spoke to her, communicating instead through Tank, Lester or Bobby. They accepted her into their ranks and for the most part treated her like a sister.

There were boundaries they didn't cross. Occasionally though, she'd seen a gleam in Lester's eye, something not at all brotherly. She was worried how the news of her divorce and subsequent move into RangeMan would change that.

A knock on her window startled her and drew her attention back to the present. She'd been driving on auto-pilot and was unnerved to find she'd pulled her little Miata into the circular drive of Jerome's. The valet was standing aside, waiting patiently for her to hit the unlock button so he could assist her from the car. She did so and looked up into the smiling and familiar face of an enormous man. He pulled her car door open and stepped back giving her room to stand.

"Good evening, Ms. Plum," he said as he held out his hand for her keys.

"Good evening," Stephanie answered. She thought she knew him, but couldn't place him. She fought and lost the battle not to stare. The huge man somehow doubled himself in two and slowly slid onto the driver's seat. It was a mystery how his Sasquatch feet were going to work the clutch and brake pedals.

"Ranger is already inside," he told her as he attempted to close the driver's door. The door bounced off his thigh and he sighed as he held the door mostly shut with his hand. Stephanie stood and watched him motor off toward the valet lot. Her little car was listing badly and she hoped he could park it before he tipped it over. He'd called her Ms. Plum and she wondered if he'd been one of her skips. Shrugging her shoulders, knowing it would come to her eventually, she walked into the restaurant.

The ambience was one of understated elegance and Stephanie was glad she'd opted for her black dress instead of the slacks and blouse she would have been more comfortable wearing. Soft strains of music emanated from the lounge and she looked in to see a tiny dance floor. It was early and the lounge was sparsely populated, the dance floor empty. Her heart skipped a beat. This was just dinner; surely she wouldn't have to dance with Ranger. It was a celebration of Julie and Scott's marriage. Oh crap, there could be dancing.

Before she could fully form the image of her dancing with Ranger, the maître d' made his way toward her.

"Ms. Morelli?" he asked. At her nod he continued, "Your party has already arrived and was just seated. Let me escort you to them." She followed the waiter into the dining room and saw Ranger, Scott and Julie seated at an inconspicuous table. Ranger's back was to the wall and he had a clear view of the room. Some things never changed.

As she approached the table Scott and Ranger stood. In a preemptive strike, Scott pulled her chair out for her before Ranger or the maître d' had a chance. Stephanie smiled at Scott. He was so genuine, and so young, and so much in love with his young wife. It was easy to see.

"Stephanie, you look beautiful," Julie told her.

"Thank you, Julie, but I should be telling you that." Julie's face was glowing with excitement and Stephanie found she was looking forward to the evening. The young couple had stepped forward to proclaim their love and start their married life on their own terms, in spite of parental disapproval, and Stephanie was quietly rooting for them. She didn't think it was appropriate to place herself in a position between Julie and her parents, but she was glad she'd helped them get settled.

The conversation died out as the waiter approached the table. After orders were taken, Julie leaned across the table toward Stephanie. "I need to go to the ladies' room. Will you come with me?"

Stephanie smiled and the two made their way across the restaurant. As they walked into the ladies' room they were faced with their reflections from an antique mirror placed above a Victorian fainting couch. Stephanie used the opportunity to make a quick comparison. She felt old standing next to Julie, although Julie looked well beyond her eighteen years in the midnight blue dress and matching stilettos. Her only jewelry was the small, but sparkling Tiffany set diamond ring and matching wedding band. She'd inherited her father's skin tone. Her eyes were dark brown and almond-shaped and gave her an exotic look.

Stephanie looked at her own reflection in comparison. The time bomb that would explode her Hungarian fat-fighting gene hadn't blown up yet, even though her mother insisted the countdown was nearing t minus zero. Stephanie had tried unsuccessfully to curb her appetite for junk food, so she'd started working out, a little. It was still unusual to see her at the gym at RangeMan, but it happened occasionally. Her face was mostly unlined and her hair still a rich brown and wildly curly. She knew she was aging and at times she felt a new twinge or ache, but for the most part she felt and looked good.

The days when RangeMan used her for a distraction job were long gone. She'd thought they'd probably used one of Lester's nubile dates, but now she wondered if they'd quit using her because of Joe. It would be fun to do a distraction again. Maybe she'd say something to Tank or Lester.

She slanted her gaze back to Julie. This girl would be perfect for those sorts of jobs, but she knew Ranger would never allow it. As they made their way back to the table, Stephanie watched Julie. Her body was lithe, with subtle curves in the right places. She moved with a grace that was unconscious and eyes, both masculine and feminine, watched as she walked across the small elegant dining room at Jerome's.

The restaurant was upscale and quiet and a perfect place for a father-daughter reunion of sorts. Stephanie hoped she could facilitate good conversation between Scott, Julie and Ranger. Ranger was not a casual conversationalist, so Stephanie was a little worried. She thought the evening had to go well, because she knew it was important to Julie that her husband and father form some sort of bond before Scott left to go to a war zone. It was perhaps more important than Julie and Ranger forming a bond, Stephanie thought.

Ranger loved his daughter, she had no doubt, but Ranger was not big on showing emotions. Physically they were very much alike, both of them stunning and head-turningly attractive. She thought they might have a similar emotional make up as well. Julie had to be at least a little melancholy because her husband of just a few days was leaving in the morning, and she was starting a new life. Her face was as carefully emotionless as her father's.

Stephanie was drawn to Julie. She had been since they met under the worst of circumstances when the girl was just ten years old. She made an unspoken promise to watch out for her, to be her friend, because she thought Julie was going to need a friend in the future.

Renewing her determination that the evening go well, she took control of the pre-dinner conversation. "So, tell me how you two met," Stephanie said, directing her question to Scott.

"She tutored me," he said.

"You mean you tutored her," Stephanie corrected. Scott was three years older than Julie.

"No," Julie said. "I tutored him." Her dark eyes were dancing with merriment, but her face was unsmiling. Stephanie was amazed at the resemblance to her father's face. The corners of Julie's mouth tilted slightly, in the same way Ranger's did when he was trying to hold back a smile.

"I was a freshman," Julie continued, "and Scott was a senior. We were in the same calculus class."

"You took calculus as a freshman?" Stephanie questioned.

Julie shrugged, "I'm gifted." She said it matter-of-factly, the way someone else would say I'm tall. It was intrinsically a part of her, also like her father. "Scott was struggling and I helped him."

"She did," Scott agreed. He looked at his wife with a mixture of pride and tenderness and Stephanie felt her heart contract.

"I'm not much of a mathematician," Scott said. "I wouldn't have passed if it wasn't for Julie."

"We spent a lot of time together after school, sometimes in the library, but usually at my house. And then one day he asked me out."

"Her mother wouldn't let Julie date me," Scott said, "because she thought I was too old for Julie. She did let us spend time together at their house. We never really dated, but we've been together for almost four years."

Stephanie thought about what she was hearing. She had sympathy for Rachel, Ranger's ex-wife. Scott might have been too old for Julie, when he was seventeen and Julie was fourteen. She remembered her first time with an eighteen-year-old Morelli. Stephanie and Julie were different, though, because when Helen Plum told Stephanie she couldn't do something, Stephanie did it anyway. She'd mastered an escape plan from her second-story bedroom. Stephanie was amazed at the way Julie and Scott had accepted the parental edict and worked within its confines.

"After high school I went to college in Miami for a couple of years, but it wasn't for me," Scott said. "I decided to join the Army. I want to be Special Forces and I was accepted into Ranger school, but I decided to put it off until after my first deployment."

Ranger had never been a social talker, but Stephanie noted he leaned forward with interest when Scott started talking about his decision to leave college and join the Army.

"So Scott and I decided to get married," Julie said. "Mom wanted me to stay in Miami and go to college. I want to go to college, but I wanted to be married to Scott more."

"It's not a choice, though," Scott said hurriedly. "I mean she can do both, and she will."

"We know he's going to a war zone," Julie said, "and we decided to get married before he left."

"What's your estimated length of deployment?" Ranger asked.

"Twelve months, sir," Scott replied. "It's really just an estimate though. It could be as long as fifteen or even eighteen months. When I come home I'll go to Fort Benning, to start Ranger school."

The waiter arrived with their meal and there was a temporary lull in the conversation, but the ice had finally been broken. Ranger and Scott discussed the military and then Ranger talked to both Julie and Scott and told them a little about the organization of RangeMan. When the waiter came to remove the dinnerware and ask about dessert there was an easiness about the group that had been missing before the meal.

Stephanie waited for Julie or Scott to ask for a dessert menu, because she knew Ranger wouldn't. She looked toward him and was taken aback to see he was smiling at her. He'd read her thoughts. He knew she wanted dessert.

The smile still in place, Ranger shifted his gaze to his daughter. "Ella has a surprise for you waiting at my apartment. Wedding cake, and champagne to toast the bride and groom. Something we couldn't do with our meal tonight as you haven't reached the legal drinking age, Julie."

Julie clapped her hands in delight. "Stephanie, will you come, too?"

Stephanie hesitated. This was a family celebration and she'd served her function. She'd facilitated the conversation and thought they could get along fine without her. But it was wedding cake. "Of course," she said in response to Julie's question. Her eyes widened as she was treated to the full-on Ranger smile, the first one directed her way in years. The rat bastard. She didn't know why, but she knew she'd been played. He had an agenda of some sort.

There was a small group of diners waiting for their cars to be brought up by the valet. As they stood waiting their turn Julie stood next to Stephanie and said softly, "Ranger told me you're moving into the other apartment on six. We'll be neighbors."

"I am," Stephanie said, "but just temporarily. I'm looking for something bigger and more permanent. Ranger likes to keep at least one apartment open for emergencies."

"And that's a good thing," Julie said. "Because you were the emergency that apartment was waiting for. I'm sorry, Stephanie," Julie hesitated before she continued. "About your divorce, I mean."

"It's okay. Joe and I are very good friends. We divorced a couple of years ago, but we decided to keep it quiet for a while. It's time to let people know."

"Are you going to be Stephanie Plum again?" Julie asked.

"I'm not sure," Stephanie said. It was a good question. Should she take back her maiden name? She hadn't kept Orr after her first marital fiasco. She'd kept Morelli at the time of the divorce to maintain the fiction of her marriage, but now there would be a new Mrs. Joe Morelli. Maybe it was time to reclaim her old self. After all, she was going be working as a bounty hunter soon, with a new and hot, albeit young, partner. She'd call her brother-in-law, Albert, in the morning and get the process started.

Julie was looking from her to Ranger and Stephanie felt uneasy. She hoped the girl wasn't doing any mental matchmaking. Stephanie looked to Scott to find him looking speculatively between her and Ranger as well.

Julie had been confiding in her husband. That was plain to see. Her disappointment at the age of twelve upon hearing of Stephanie's marriage to Joe had come through loud and clear in the Facebook messages they'd exchanged. Now, there was a glimmer of hope in Julie's eyes. There was never going to be anything between her and Ranger, but Julie still held some hope apparently.

Stephanie casually let her gaze drift toward Ranger. His face, typically devoid of all emotion, gave nothing away. She wondered if he was aware of the undercurrents and then decided she didn't give a damn. Ranger could have had her, years ago. After the Scrog shooting they were poised to really begin a relationship, but he'd pulled back, and finally, she'd realized it would never happen with Ranger. He cared about her, but he would never compromise on his no-relationship rule.

He'd stayed true to his word. There had never been anyone he'd been involved with long term. She'd heard rumblings from time to time. Men were just as gossipy as women, and the men of RangeMan sometimes hinted Ranger was seeing someone. Most of it was speculation, because their boss' private life was just that, private. And that line of thinking brought her back to the place she'd been when she arrived at the restaurant. She shook her head and with effort brought her thoughts from the past into the now. She saw her little red car making its way toward her and watched as it came to a halt and the big, familiar man unfolded himself from her car.

"Stephanie," Ranger put a hand out and held her back as she started moving toward her car. "Would you mind if Scott and Julie took your car back to RangeMan? I have a business matter I need to discuss with you. We could do it on the way back to RangeMan."

"Uhm," Stephanie was momentarily speechless and distrustful. Was this his agenda? He said he needed to discuss business. "That would be fine," she replied.

"Great," Scott said. "Your car looks fun to drive." He and Julie moved toward the Miata and the large man who was standing next to the open door with the keys in his hand.

Stephanie turned to Ranger. "Who is that guy? He looks so familiar, but I can't place him."

"That's Eddie," Ranger said. "He used to be the bouncer at Shorty's."

"Ohhh," Stephanie said. "I remember him. It's been forever since I ate at Shorty's."

"You just did," Ranger said. "He owns this place."

"Shorty owns Jerome's?" she questioned. "What happened to Shorty's?"

"Nothing. It's still there. He found a partner and he's expanding."

Eddie approached Ranger and Stephanie. "I'll be right back with your car, boss."

A/N: I thought the ending of this chapter was little abrupt, so I decided to post twice today. Chapter 7 will soon be posted.