Bobby and Lester are back for this chapter. Out of all the guys that work at Rangeman, I always thought Stephanie would be, aside from Tank, the closest to the two of them. And this is the type of friendship I see them having. All familiar characters belong to Janet. The mistakes are mine.

Chapter 13

"So tell us what happened," Lester said to me."These stories are always better when you're the one telling them."

"Go away," I told him.

"Not going to happen, Steph," Bobby said."We know you went to the ER yesterday. We gotta know what caused it."

"Why are you guys always in my cubby?" I asked them."It's hard not to feel claustrophobic in this little box, but it's worse with you two constantly sucking up the oxygen in here. Is Ranger not giving you enough to do? Because I can find you something if you want."

"Jesus, Steph, we're only trying to figure out what went wrong," Lester told me."We're concerned about you."

"And your concern is very touching, but I'm still not saying anything about it."

"Tank said he and Ranger worked over a snitch of yours," Bobby said."I bet that had something to do with your arm."

I blew out an exasperated breath, resigned to the fact that they weren't going to leave.

"Fine. I'll tell you, but you have to promise you won't laugh," I told them."It wasn't my finest moment."

"You should hear what happened to Bobby the first time he and I went on a capture together. It was a clusterfuck from the moment we took off after Peckerwood."

"Now see," I said,"that sounds like a good story, not at all like mine. So what happened? Who's Peckerwood?"

"Nice try," Bobby said,"but we want to hear about you first."

"Tease," I said to Lester with a glare.

"You're the first person to call me that. I don't tease, Steph. I always follow through with what I promise."

"Much to the woman's dismay," Ranger said, suddenly standing in my doorway."I'm going to have to find you an office, won't I, Babe?"

"Yes, if you want me to actually work when I come down in the morning. And if you block the only exit, I'll never get them out of here."

"We'll leave when we know what went on yesterday. Ranger wouldn't let us tag along," Bobby said, sounding disgruntled about that.

"Just give me the word and they'll disappear," Ranger told me.

"No. After all the help they've given me when you've been busy, I guess I owe them at least one embarrassing story."

"There is nothing to be embarrassed about, Babe. You located and captured your guy. You did your job."

"Tank and Lula got Dusty. I was at St. Francis."

"Now we're getting somewhere," Lester said."And why were you at St. Francis?"

"I hurt my arm and Ranger made me go."

That was the truth and, to me, also enough of an explanation.

"That's not nearly enough info for me," Bobby said to me."What caused the injury? We know you got stitches."

"I was chasing a skip, climbed up a fence to try to catch him, and then fell back down it. That's the big secret. Are you happy now?"

"It was a tall fence, Babe. And you almost had the guy."

"It was close," I said to Ranger,"but the idiot just had to take off."

"Great job, Steph," Bobby told me."Your training is paying off."

"I don't know about that," I said."I did get hurt, the guy got away, and I had to go to the ER. It definitely wasn't a flawless capture. Plus Ranger and Tank had to beat the information out of Derek Webber. But I'm pretty sure I could have taken that little weasel, Dusty, if he had stayed on my side of the chainlink."

"I have no doubt that you would have subdued Dusty if he stayed close. You weren't in a good mood when Tank and I arrived. And we didn't beat the cousin, Babe."

"What did you do then?" I asked him.

"We asked Derek very nicely to spit out an address for Dusty."

Everyone in my cubby except Ranger laughed at that one. When Ranger wanted answers, he wasn't polite about getting them.

"Let me make an educated guess," Lester said to Ranger,"you went with a flashlight to the kneecap."

"It was still daylight, Santos, we didn't need flashlights."

"A well-placed punch to his kidney?" Bobby asked.

"It is effective and takes less time than working out a bribe."

"Too bad Steph was injured," Lester said,"she could have done that finger thing on him. That hurt like a bitch."

"Shit. Why didn't I think of that?" I said out loud."I could have made you guys leave faster if I would've used that on the two of you."

"That hurts," Steph," Lester said.

"It's supposed to, Lester," I told Lester, smiling as I purposely misunderstood him."That's the whole point."

"You're getting a little bloodthirsty, aren't you, Babe?"

"No. I didn't make Lester bleed. I only made him squeal like a little girl."

"I didn't squeal," Lester said to me, looking offended.

"Of course, you didn't," I said, as I patted the hand closest to me reassuringly.

"Stephanie ..." Lester said, his voice losing some of its humor.

There it was. Stephanie. No nickname or abbreviation. They only introduced me as Stephanie, they never used it themselves anymore. Someone was feeling threatened.

I was just about to soothe his ego when the phone in my bag rang. I happily dug it out. Lester's manhood could wait. If it had been Ranger's 'manhood' I would have been all over it, figuratively and literally. Stop thinking dirty Ranger thoughts, Stephanie, I said to myself, and answer the phone.

"Hey, Steph," Mary Lou said, when I hit the button.

I smiled."Hi, Mary Lou. How are you?"

"Huge."

"And with no signs of popping yet," I said.

I know she has almost two months to go so no one, except Mary Lou, wanted the baby to come right now.

Ranger and the guys had gone silent as we talked. I don't know why. I didn't think they'd be at all interested in our girl talk.

"No," she sighed.

I felt her pain even though I had no experience with it. I don't know how she stood being pregnant, never mind still taking care of her other kids while she was.

"I'm afraid this one's gonna come on your wedding day just to make me miss it."

"Your baby is more important than our wedding, Mary Lou. Don't stress out over it."

Which reminded me of something I wanted to ask Ranger about tonight. It might make Mary Lou relax a little, and probably also tick Lula off.

"Oh, I'm not. I'm watching you get married if I have to super glue my lady parts shut to keep this kid in."

"Eww, gross."

She laughed."I have to be there to see if hell really is going to freeze over, since that's when you told me you'd be getting married again. I didn't see that day on my calendar, so I don't know how you'll settle on a date."

"Hah-hah. Very funny. I just found my dress and Ranger can probably pull a perfectly tailored tux out of his closet." I cut my eyes to Ranger. He gave me a sexy grin and a slight nod. I took that to mean he had it covered."Yup, the tux is taken care of. As soon as we decide on where we want this wedding to take place, we'll have a date. But it should be before you go into labor."

"I don't suppose you want to wait until after this kid's out and I get my body back to get married?"

"I would say yes, but I don't really want a long engagement. And you'll look great in whatever you have on. Just like always."

"I had a feeling you'd say that. That's actually why I called."

"You mean you didn't call just to hear the sound of my voice?" I asked her.

"I don't think I'll want to hear the sound of your voice after I tell you this."

"What?" I asked, suddenly uneasy.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ranger, Bobby, and Lester straighten up, sensing impending danger.

"Umm …"

"Just say it, Mary Lou."

"Your mom called me."

"Fuck."

"Yeah, that's what I said, too."

"What did she want?"

"To throw you a bridal shower. She said that she wasn't going to be able to help plan the wedding so instead, she wants to do something else special for you."

"Sure she does. Special for her, maybe."

"But I told her that I was already planning one, so she didn't have to worry about it."

"Were you?"

"No. You threatened me with bodily harm if I even thought about it, but I figured by saying that I was, she'd be forced to leave it to me. It seemed to work, except now I'm in charge of planning a party for someone who doesn't want one."

I couldn't help but smile. I could handle this the way I wanted to. Margaritas at Chevy's sounded pretty damn good.

"I'll think about how to work this to my advantage and then get back to you," I told Mary Lou.

"Just don't wait too long," Mary Lou said."I can't avoid your mother forever."

"I suppose she's insisting on coming?"

"Yup."

I knew if I had a couple of margaritas in me, I wouldn't care at all that she's there.

"Okay," I told her."I'll call you tomorrow with some ideas, how's that?"

"Sounds good. If she calls again, I'm going to lie through my teeth about everything, though."

"Good plan. That's what got me through ages thirteen to thirty," I told her.

I hung up and turned back to Ranger and the guys. My conversation with Mary Lou must have been more entertaining than theirs, because all six eyes were on me.

"What was that about?" Ranger asked me.

"Since my mother has no power over me now, she decided to start harassing Mary Lou about throwing me a bridal shower."

"We already had one of those," Lester said."At Pino's."

"My mother won't consider that a proper shower," I told him."She wants the whole candied almonds, tiny sandwiches, and pointless games, type of shower."

"I don't know what the hell's wrong with you women," Lester said to me."Pizza, beer, and us sound like a way better time."

"You are," I told him."I've been to many of these and, aside from the food, they suck."

"So don't have one, Babe. Tell your mother that you're not interested in what she's offering."

"Mary Lou already told her that she's handling it," I said to Ranger."Mary Lou won't stand up to my mom, and I don't want to put her in the position of having to. Unfortunately, she lives in the Burg and is stuck putting up with the people living there."

"What are you going to do?" Bobby asked.

"I don't know," I said,"but my mother will be as uncomfortable as I can make her, and it's going to involve a lot of alcohol."

"Alcohol does help," Lester agreed.

"It also helps when my mother is consuming it. She can be fun if she has more than her usual tipple," I told him."She had a food fight with my Grandma Mazur once, but it was a horrible waste of Valerie's wedding cake if you ask me."

"I thought you tricked your sister and that Bozo guy at the last minute," Bobby said to me.

"It's Kloughn," I reminded him."K-l-o-u-g-h-n. And I did. The cake was from the wedding they chickened out on."

"Guess you've got bigger balls than your sister and Bozo," Lester said to me."You actually said yes to getting married and are, so far, going through with it."

"I definitely have bigger balls than Kloughn, but Valerie was only concerned about fitting into her dress since she was like twelve months pregnant at the time."

"It's physically impossible to be pregnant for twelve months, Babe."

"Not for a manatee," I said. That's just another useless fact I have to carry around in my head due to hours spent channel surfing. Though I think manatees are closer to thirteen months. Close enough."But it sure felt like she was pregnant for a year to everyone around her. Since we're sort of talking about dresses, I have to go pick up mine."

"You already have a dress?" Bobby asked."Shit. You don't waste any time, do you? I thought you were joking about it happening soon."

"Nope," I told him."Things are actually falling into place for us. Finally. As soon as we find a place we like, we're going to do this."

"And we all still get to come, right?" Lester asked.

"Yes. I'm going to make sure that the place is big enough to house you guys, and can also supply enough food to feed Tank, Hal, and Cal."

"Have you ever thought of getting married outdoors?" Ranger asked me.

"No. In our family, weddings are always in churches. I never thought about doing it someplace else. Except for maybe my parents' backyard, and that has lost its appeal. But why can't we do something different?"

And that got me thinking. Can we actually get married in a church? Ranger and I are both divorced and were raised Catholic, so I'm betting there's some religious red-tape we'd have to go through to even have a church wedding, so maybe they were out of the question anyway.

"We can do whatever you want, Babe," Ranger said, scanning my brain again."You just have to decide."

"Great. Now I have even more options."

Trenton only had a couple of churches to choose from, but there is a lot of outdoor space. And if I looked at places outside of Trenton, there's a bunch more.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Bobby asked me.

"For some people," I told him."But not me."

"And now that you can't do field work for the next week or so," Ranger told me,"you have a little extra time to search for a location."

"What about you?" I asked him."What part are you going to help me with?"

"I'm going to make the final decision when you can't decide between two places you end up liking."

"That actually works for me. I'm going to finish up a couple of things here and then head back to the store."

"I bet you found a sexy dress," Lester said to me.

"Well ... Lula likes it. What does that tell you?"

"That it's tight and shows some cleavage," Bobby told me.

"That's surprisingly accurate."

"Thought so."

"I couldn't picture you in one of those giant, ruffly things," Lester said."Do we get to see it when you get back?"

"No," Ranger told him."Since when are you guys interested in wedding dresses?"

"We're only interested in Stephanie's," Bobby told Ranger.

"That's a nice thing to say," I told him."And also a little weird."

"What's weird about it?" Bobby asked."We may kid about it, but we were all hoping you guys would stop fighting each other and eventually get to this point. Now it's actually happening and we want to be part of it."

"Are you offering to be a flower girl?" I asked him.

"No f-ing way, Steph," Bobby said to me."You know I'd do anything for you, but not that."

I smiled at him before flicking my eyes to Lester.

"Don't even look in this direction," Lester told me."I'll give you away, or not, or stand up beside Ranger, but flowers will not enter the picture."

"I knew you guys would say something to that effect," I told them."Maybe on the day of the wedding, if I tell you that there is something suspicious hiding in the flowers, I can trick you into carrying them down the aisle for me.

"I'm leaving," Lester said,"before I end up a bridesmaid."

"Is that possible?" I asked."We have gotten a lot closer in recent months."

Busting their balls was fun. Now I know how Ranger amused himself before I came along.

"Not a chance."

"Bobby?"

"I'm leaving, too," Bobby said, shaking his head."There's no talking to you when you get like this."

"Like what?" I asked."You said you wanted to be part of the wedding. I'm only trying to accommodate you guys."

"Your mother is probably going to be relieved that she's not included, Babe, if you plan on terrorizing everyone," Ranger said after Bobby and Lester left, coming into my cubby and leaning against my desk.

"Maybe she will be, but she'd never admit it."

"I'm heading out," Ranger said,"do you need anyone with you today?"

"No. I'm not doing anything but picking up my dress and coming back here. I'm not going to risk ripping my arm open. I absolutely refuse to get stitches again. One time is plenty."

Ranger put a hand on my chair and wheeled me to him. He wrapped my ponytail in his hand and held my head while he kissed me. I don't know why he felt the need to hold me, the days of trying to avoid his lips were long gone. And I showed him that by curling my fingers into his gun belt - to make sure he wasn't going anywhere - and enjoyed the fact that his mouth was on me again.

"Now we know why she was trying to get rid of us," I heard Lester say a minute or five later.

"Yeah, she wanted a chance to take advantage of the boss," Bobby said back."Maybe he's the one that needs bodyguards."

Ranger took his time letting me go, but he did pull back and I glared at Bobby and Lester because they were the cause of it.

"Don't give me that look," Bobby said to me."I have orders from Tank to send Ranger downstairs."

"He was too big of a coward to try to separate your lips himself," Lester told us.

"I'll be sure to mention to Tank that you said that," Ranger said to Lester."You know how much he appreciates office gossip."

"Shit. I think being a flower girl is preferable to a one-on-one with Tank."

"Look, Babe. You have even more decisions."

"Gee, thanks, but as much as I like thinking up ways of torturing Lester, I don't really need a flower boy."

Ranger smiled, kissed me again - only a quick one this time - and stood.

"Call me when you get back," Ranger told me.

"Sure," I said, and studied Ranger's ass like it was a suspect in a police lineup as he walked out.

I sighed when he disappeared around the corner, much to Lester and Bobby's amusement. Ranger really had to find them something to do in between takedowns so they'd quit bugging me.

Bobby reached over and brushed his thumb along the corner of my mouth.

"You had a little drool leaking out right there." He laughed as I smacked his hand away.

"Liar," I said, though it was possible I'd been drooling.

I've seen Ranger's backside, both in clothes and out of them, and it should inspire a little drool, if not a truckload of it.

"I used to think that Ranger was the one always after you," Bobby said,"but I'm getting the distinct impression that it was the other way around."

I suppose in a sense that was true. I did hide out in Ranger's apartment every chance I got, called him for backup probably more than I should have, and kissed him back every time I was alone with him. I was a crappy girlfriend to Morelli, but I made the perfect one for Ranger.

"If you guys are this bad now," Lester said,"I hate to see the honeymoon phase of your relationship. You'll kill each other."

"Jealous much?" I asked, in an annoyingly sweet tone."And weren't you guys on your way out, too? Unless you prefer to stay and do some searches for me. Ranger told me not come to work today, but I didn't listen and now my arm is starting to hurt. It would be really nice of you to take over my workload so I can make it to the store and back before I have to take more pain pills."

I refuse to take any pain reliever stronger than aspirin, and I was getting used to the steady pounding of my arm, so I was laying it on awful thick, but the fake whining could get me an extra set of typing fingers.

"You're exaggerating to try to make us feel sorry for you," Lester said.

"Is it working?" I asked them.

"No," Bobby said."And that's our cue to leave."

"I remember someone not that long ago not only refusing to help me," Lester told me, trying to generate some sympathy of his own,"but also ratting me out to the bosses."

"And I happen to remember helping both of you out countless times before that," I said them.

"I guess we're even then," Bobby said."Are you up for Shorty's next week? You can invite your grandmother if you want. She's almost as much fun as you are."

"She'll be happy to hear that. I'll check with Ranger and if he doesn't have plans, we'll be there. Or at least I'll be there."

"Trust me, Steph, if you're going," Lester said to me,"Ranger's going."

"We are capable of doing things separately," I told him.

"But that's the best part of watching the two of you," Bobby said."You actually want to spend your free time with each other."

"Isn't that the idea?" I asked him."To like hanging out with the person you're going to marry?"

"Yeah, I'm assuming that's how it starts out," Lester said."But usually you end up resenting the person after a while. That's what happened with my folks. They finally put us all out of our misery and split up when I was ten."

"Oh, poor Little Lester," I said, being completely sincere.

That would explain the no-relationship policy that put Ranger's old one to shame.

"Steph, there is nothing little about me," Lester said."And it's water under the bridge. We're all cool now so you don't have to feel sorry for me."

"I don't. I just think it's a sucky thing for a child to have to go through."

"Unfortunately," Bobby added,"a lot of kids have to go through it. A few people I know who were in bad relationships did, too. But you and Ranger seem to get closer, and like each other more, the longer you're together."

"You almost make me believe it's possible to settle on only one person."

"Almost?" I said to him.

"Yeah. I'm not ready to give up the variety yet. Unless you're thinking of ditching Ranger. If you can get him relationship-trained, I bet you can do the same for me."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," I told Lester.

"And Lester thanks you for it," Bobby said."I'm gonna get him out of here before Ranger comes back and kicks his ass again."

"I promise to learn my lesson someday," Lester said to us.

"Somehow I doubt it," I told him."Now go and let me get back to work."

"You actually want to work?" Bobby asked.

"No. I want to leave, but I made a stink about being fine and able to work today. Now I have to get most of my stuff done before I can take off or Ranger will say I told you so. And I hate when he gets to do that."

"Fine. We'll go. But seriously, Steph, if you don't feel well, don't stay here out of stubbornness," Bobby said to me."You have to take good care of yourself. That's also part of being good at your job. Knowing how much your body can physically take is as much a safety precaution as your gun."

"I get what you're saying, and I promise not to push myself. And be careful out there," I told them."Don't underestimate who you're going after."

"We won't, Steph. Don't worry."

"It's one of the things I'm great at."

"You're good at many things, Steph," Lester said."And we'll help you with the rest."

"Thanks, Lester. I'm going to hold you to that. You guys are annoying as hell, but you know that I love you all, right?"

"Yes," Bobby said to me.

"And that's a ditto from everyone here," Lester said.

I got a 'ditto'. Really, what more do I need?

I clocked in another hour before I shut everything down and pushed back from my desk. I waved goodbye to Manuel and Woody at the monitors when their eyes flicked to me briefly as I emerged from my cubby.

"I'll be back in an hour," I told them.

They nodded and went back to the screens. I was hoping that was enough to keep them from wasting time tracking me. Sometimes the guys took it upon themselves to keep tabs on me without Ranger even speaking to them. But every time I got irritated with them, I think back to the time I was kidnapped by Petiak and the terror I'd felt when I realized that Ranger and the guys had no clue where I was. I'd take a bug over a blowtorch any day.

I drove the same route I took to get to Derek Webber's house and pulled up to the little shop where my dress was waiting for me.

"Hi," Katie said as I walked in."You made it back."

"Yeah. I wasn't willing to risk someone breaking into the store and stealing it."

She laughed."I don't think that will happen."

"If you knew me," I told her,"you'd know that it is possible."

"I think I'll stop envying you then," she told me."I don't want, or need, that kind of luck."

I must have looked puzzled at her envying me for any reason - she hasn't even seen Ranger - but she was nice enough to explain it to me.

"You're getting married. You look absolutely beautiful in this dress, and that ring is amazing. That alone would make anyone jealous, but you seem to be really happy to be marrying the guy you're engaged to. You would be surprised at how many people I see who come in here and talk about agreeing to get married only for the status, or money, it'll provide them."

"I know a woman exactly like that. And I use the word woman loosely," I told Katie, thinking about Joyce's marriage merry-go-round."A year ago you couldn't have convinced me to get married again, but my guy is very persuasive."

"He sounds perfect."

"He definitely is that ... and more."

She sighed. I completely understood. Not everyone gets to have a Ranger in their lives.

She boxed my dress up, explaining that the dress could be safely stored in it after the wedding. She also supplied a clothing bag so I could hang it up when I got back to the apartment. Lula had been right, this is a fancy store. No detail was overlooked. I paid for it without hyperventilating too much and walked back to my car. This is actually happening, I said to myself. I'm getting married soon. Who knew I'd ever be this excited about attending a wedding? Especially if it happened to be my own. I put the stuff in the backseat of my car and slid behind the wheel.

I was driving on Olden when I happened to see a guy coming out of the store attached to a gas station on my left. He looked to be in his late twenties or very early thirties, wearing baggy jeans and a T-shirt with the faded image of a band that had been popular ten years ago. That in itself wouldn't have normally raised any red flags, except for his taste in music, but the fact that he was in one hell of a hurry made my trouble detector take notice. And seeing the sunlight reflecting off of a nasty looking gun that was hanging loosely at his side helped to reinforce my gut instinct. I didn't know if he had used it inside the building, but I was willing to tail him at a safe distance in case he had. I pressed the button that would connect me to the control room.

"Rangeman. Woody speaking."

"Woody ..."

"Steph? What happened?"

"Jeez, you could at least give me a second to speak before jumping to the conclusion that something has happened."

"That was more than a second," Woody said,"so you can tell me what's wrong now."

"Has there been anything called in on Olden?"

"No. Why?"

"I just saw a man leaving the mobile station and he looked like he was in fact leaving the scene of a crime. And while the gun in his hand wasn't smoking, it looked like he wasn't against using it."

I gave Woody the plate number and listened while he talked to Manuel. Good. The police can handle this. All I had to do was keep an eye on the black Escort in front of me.

Woody got back on the line."Okay, the TPD have been notified. Where are you?"

"About three cars behind him," I told Woody.

"Steph ..."

But whatever Woody was going to say was cut off when I heard someone speaking to him in the background.

He didn't leave me hanging.

"The owner of the store was just found shot in his office," Woody told me.

"Damn," I said."I was hoping I was wrong."

"You're seldom wrong, Steph. And Ranger's not gonna want you to get involved in this."

"I'm not going to approach the guy," I told Woody."I'll just keep an eye on his vehicle until the police get him. I'll be careful." And I hung up.

No doubt I'll pay for that later. Woody was scheduled for one of my training sessions - a kickboxing lesson, I think - when I get cleared to resume them. I did do forty minutes on the treadmill this morning, but I refused to run. What good is having an injury if you couldn't use it to get out of doing something you despise? Everything else has been interesting, if not fun, but I still hated running.

The Trenton PD was on the ball today. In under ten minutes, they had shown up, pulled the Escort over, and had the suspect cuffed. It's probably a record for them.

I pulled over behind the last squad car when I spotted Eddie Gazarra in the mix.

"Hey, Eddie." I said, interrupting his conversation with an officer I hadn't seen before.

"How did I know I'd see you here?" Eddie said to me when officer no-name left.

"I saw the guy leaving the station and he seemed fishy."

"He should. The guy he shot was executed. The man was found face down with a bullet to the back of his head."

"Ouch," I said.

"I doubt he felt anything," Eddie told me.

"Do we have a motive?"

He laughed."We?"

I blew out an impatient sigh."Okay, do you have a motive?"

"Looks like a drug deal gone bad."

I shook my head at how senseless this death was. I'd much rather have no money than no life. But I knew this wouldn't be the last murder committed because of greed.

I told Eddie what I saw and headed back to my car. I wasn't surprised to see Joe park behind me. Not only does he get most of the homicide cases, I'm sure my name had been mentioned in connection with this one.

I hadn't bothered with a jacket today. First off, because it rubbed against the bandage, and also today was a good ten degrees warmer than yesterday. Jersey might actually get a summer after all, which would be extremely helpful if we decided to get married outside.

The first thing Joe asked about was my arm. The dead guy took a backseat to me, I guess.

"What happened to you now?" Joe said when he reached me.

"A fence decided to attack me when I was chasing a skip," I told Joe.

I wasn't repeating the story again.

"Stitches?"

"Yeah. Occupational hazard."

"I bet."

He took a walk around my Cayenne Turbo, checking out the rims and whatever else guys look at when they first meet a car they could potentially be in love with.

I stiffened when I saw his eyes stop on the back window of the car.

"What's in the box?" He asked me.

He wasn't snooping. The freakin' box was hard to miss it. The store had ivory-colored boxes and Katie made sure to add extra ribbon to the outside, to make it look prettier, I guess. It was a nice idea even if it was going to cause me a few uncomfortable moments now.

"A dress," I said to him.

It was the truth after all.

"Anything like the little black one you wore that night you called me just so I could take it off of you?"

"No. And you're not allowed to think about that anymore."

He grinned at me."Like you don't picture me naked from time-to-time."

"No, Joe. I don't," I said, completely serious."We're friends, I think. And that's it. And for your information, I don't picture Tank, Lester, or Bobby - who are also my friends - naked, either. "

"Way to get my mind off of sex, Cupcake."

"I'll use what I can."

"Why are you acting so mysterious about the dress? Is Manoso taking you to a Bail Bonds Ball or something? If I didn't know better, I'd swear he's rubbing off on you."

"He is," I said to Joe,"but the box isn't part of that."

"So ...?"

"You really want to know?" I asked him.

"Yeah, now I do," Morelli told me.

And I suddenly remembered exactly why we could never live together longer than a couple of days. He always had to keep pushing me. Not physically, but verbally until I wanted to smack him for doing it or myself for putting up with it.

"Okay, it's my wedding dress. You couldn't just leave it alone, could you?"

"I wish to hell I had," he said, his mouth no longer grinning.

"Joe, you know I'm marrying Ranger."

"On some level I did, but I honestly thought one of you would have backed out by now."

"Nope," I told him. Seeing as how Ranger was suggesting places to have our wedding, I felt confident answering for both of us."We're in this together."

"So it really was me you didn't want to marry, wasn't it?"

"It's not like that. We weren't good for each other, Joe, even though we loved each other."

"Do you still love me?" Joe asked, staring right into my eyes.

I didn't hesitate with my answer."Not in that way, Joe. Not anymore. And probably not ever in the way you wanted me to."

"Jeez, Steph, don't hold back."

"It's better for you if I don't," I told him."I am marrying Ranger."

"I know."

"And I want you to find someone to make you as happy as Ranger makes me."

"What if she's set on marrying someone else?"

"Joe ..."

"I understand, Cupcake. I'm not going to cause any trouble. But do me a favor ..."

"What?" I asked him.

"Don't send me a wedding invitation," Joe said to me.

I smiled at his attempt at minimizing his feelings. The least I can do for him is play along.

"Who said you were going to get one?"

"I know you, Steph. And you would have sent one and pissed Ranger off when he found out you did."

"Ranger would be okay with it," I told him.

I was ninety percent sure I was right about that. As long as Joe wasn't doing anything to me, Ranger was okay with Morelli sharing the same planet as us.

"He wouldn't be upset that I was there?" Morelli asked.

"Nope."

I was up to ninety five percent certain now.

"Asshole," Joe said under his breath.

"Morelli ..."

"What? He could at least have the decency to be jealous."

"He doesn't have a reason to be."

"And you're saying I did?"

"Yeah, but I didn't know it back then."

"Too bad I knew," Joe said."That's why I was always such a dick when his name was brought up."

"That was a long time ago, Joe."

"It sure seems like it. And I can't change things now, can I?"

"No."

"So I guess all that's left to do is hope that you'll be happy with him."

"I will."

"But I meant what I said, if he ever hurts you, I will hunt him down if it's the last thing I do."

I was thinking that if he threatened Ranger, it may very well be the last thing he did.

"You can find a new hobby, Joe, besides threatening Ranger," I said."He hasn't done, and will never do, anything to hurt me. I know it's hard to believe, but Ranger really does love me."

"Cupcake, it's not hard to believe at all," Joe said softly."Falling in love with you happens to the best of us."

"Damn it, Joe. Can't you just pick a personality and stick with it? Either be kind or be a jerk. This back and forth thing is hard to keep up with."

"I can be kind?" He said."No one has ever called me that before."

"You do have your moments," I said."So don't ruin this one by turning into an ass again."

"I won't, Steph. I do want to be friends if that's all you're offering for now."

From the wrinkling at the corners of his eyes, I knew he was kidding. At least I hope he was kidding. He said he was letting me go and I really wanted to believe he had.

"Forever, Morelli," I told him, but there was no heat in my words, just fact.

He continued like I hadn't interrupted."Friends is still better than nothing at all."

Ranger chose that moment to drive up.

"Calvary's here," Joe said, looking past me to Ranger's truck.

Ranger came over and slipped an arm around me."You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?"

"I wasn't part of the trouble," I told him, letting myself rest against his body,"I just witnessed it. Did Woody tattle on me?"

"That's what I pay him for, Babe."

"And you seriously want to marry him?" Joe asked, watching the two of us.

"I make up for the surveillance in other ways, Morelli," Ranger said to him.

"Spare me the details," Joe said."I'm going to go to work now."

"It should be an easy day for you," Ranger told him."You have a body and Stephanie caught your guy for you."

"Your welcome," I said to Joe.

"I wasn't going to say thank you, Cupcake. I don't want you around dangerous people like these two guys."

"Joe,dangerouspeople are everywhere now. The best I can do is learn how to protect myself if I come into contact with them."

"If I remember correctly, that has never worked for you."

"I've made a lot of progress in that department," I told Morelli."And I did keep myself out of this. I didn't interfere, I only reported it and let you guys have all the glory."

"That did surprise me," Joe said to me.

"I've changed, Joe. I'm not the same woman I was a year ago."

"I see that. And although I think you can do better than, Manoso," Joe said, causing Ranger to smile,"I do want the best for you."

"Well," I said,"I got him. No offense. You're a great guy and you'll find a person who'll appreciate you."

"I won't argue the fact that I already found her."

"Good," Ranger said,"because I don't want to have to kill a cop in front of half the police force."

Ranger could probably get away with, too.

"You'd better be good to her," Morelli told Ranger.

"Joe ..."

"Don't worry. I'm leaving," Joe said."You can save your threats to the boys, Cupcake."

"Happy to hear it," I told him.

The ass smiled at me before jogging over to Eddie.

"I voluntarily spent time with him why?" I said to Ranger.

"I've been asking myself that for years, Babe."

"What answer did you come up with?"

"That I wasn't available so you lowered your standards considerably."

"You would say that," I told him.

"Are you disagreeing with me?" He asked.

I turned in his arms so I could see his face."Nope. And I'm happy that you became available."

"I won't be for long," he said."A very lucky woman said yes to my proposal."

"She is lucky," I said."But so are you."

"I am, Babe. And I'm glad that you finally understand that."

"It sometimes takes a while, but I do eventually figure out the important stuff."

Ranger bent his head and gave me a fast but still body-tingling kiss. I even forgot that Joe was still around until Ranger walked me back to my car. Joe smiled when I caught his eye, but it seemed forced and also a little sad.

As Ranger closed my door and returned to his truck, I thought back to my relationship with both of them, and I was sure that Joe will realize the same thing I did. If he was honest about what he really wants in life, he'll find the right person to share it with.

Luckily the cop car in front of me had already left so I could also leave. In my rearview mirror I saw that Ranger was waiting for me to pull out so he could follow me back to Rangeman. I smiled to myself. Ranger either wanted to make sure I got home safely or he was trying to keep any remaining trouble that might find me at bay. I loved him even more for probably wanting to do both. I know that Joe will be just as content as I am now, it just might take him a little longer to figure out what, and who, will make him that way.