Great reviews again. I can't tell you what great and creative thinking you guys have done where Angel is concerned. So many people talking to me on this saga, and I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every peep from every person.

On a bummer note, the publisher's team is now on my book. Target publishing month is MARCH! I could croak before that book comes out! (Knocking on wood now, I don't really want to croak, my second book is almost finished. Guess I should just be grateful and roll with it. But still, grrr. Was hopeful for an Xmas or New Years release for all of us. On a happy note for you guys, I got time for fanfiction now. Haha!) They did tell me it could be ready sooner. Fingers crossed.

Alix33 is coming up behind me and cleaning up my punctuation. Thanks girl!

Chapter 16

Our conference call with Fenton and his associates went well. Lester and Tank would take a team to assess his business in a week. He wasn't put off by the fact that I couldn't make this initial trip, and the men would give me a detailed report upon their return. He had even mentioned trying to get away to fly back with them.

We were well known now in the personal security business among the rich and famous. Rangeman had a team based out of Lester's Boston office that travelled doing events all over the country. Lester's next project was going to be the opening of a Los Angeles branch with a focus in that area. That was the security business that Fenton wanted, not the kind back in the middle east watching sweaty oil rig workers backs, and dodging bullets. He was sure that the American name alone would draw business in London after a merger.

Lester was a smooth talking dynamo in that arena. The guy was half-Cuban with lighter skin and hair than mine, six foot-two inches of solid muscle, green eyes, and was a very good-looking man. When he put on an Armani suit, Italian shoes, and walked in a room, cracking his boyish smile, he attracted attention. That's why I had my doubts about his love for Sylvia Martin. He was planning to move to L.A., and already had a boy-toy rep with the West coast Diva population as a popular one-night stand. Tank joked that we should just go ahead and insure his cock, and put him on the list of services Rangeman offered. Lester was definitely the right man for Fenton to talk to about that side of the business.

We were all having lunch before it was time for Stephanie's appointment with Dr. Ortiz. Someone buzzed from the security gate, and I thought it might be Sylvia, and buzzed them through. I was headed to the door when the bell rang, and I opened it. My fourteen year old daughter, Julie, blasted through the entrance and started asking questions. "Aunt Grace said Stephanie was here. She's really here? How come you didn't call and tell me? I'd have totally come right away. I'm here now though. Mom said I could stay a couple days. I got this dumb orientation thing next week before high school. I need some fun. Can we have some fun?" She chucked a big bag into the living room and it landed with a thud, kind of like Lester's big athletic shoe last night. I thought, I'm not sure if Steph is ready for this, for that matter, not sure if I am.

I said, "We have a lot going on, but can make time for a little fun. You hungry? We're having lunch."

"Yeah, I can eat. Where is she?"

I sighed. I was much closer to Julie than I'd ever been. The kid was hyper. We made time to run together. She was on the school track team at school, and played soccer. Frank and even some of our other men liked going to her games. She was up in the air about whether she liked us all there. She said that nobody watched the game when we came, especially the soccer moms. "Can you give your old man a hug before you go ambushing anyone else in the house, Tank and Lester are here too. I'm sorry I didn't call you, baby. Steph is a little different. She'd been having a rough time when I ran into her again. We're all trying to help her now. You might need to tone it down a bit..."

A voice behind me said, "Is that Julie?"

Then squeals erupted and there were hugs, followed by more squeals, then some dancing, and more hugging. Well, so much for my concerns. At this point, I was a little confused at this scene, and would have much appreciated a hug myself…

Julie turned around and looked at me giggling. "Dad…? You want a group hug?"

"Excuse me? Did I say that out loud?"

She nodded and pulled Stephanie over with her, and put her arms around me. I wrapped mine around them both, and felt Stephanie stiffen for a moment, then slowly relax. Then Julie let go and blasted into the kitchen. I looked down at Stephanie and grinned. "Shall we follow. She'll hit me with another fifty questions when she sees Angel." Suddenly, I heard another squeal coming from that direction. Stephanie kind of chuckled and put her hand over her mouth.

We walked through the doorway and Julie was bent over looking at Angel who was sitting on Tank's massive thigh holding a spoon, and accepting bites from a jar of baby food, and nibbles off his plate. She slowly stood up, looking at me, and blinking. "Dad, did you make me a sister?"

"No, but Stephanie and I are going to adopt her. She's an orphan."

She looked at the baby and me again. "Wow, she sure looks like you. She even looks a little like I did in my baby pictures."

Angel was smiling at her, and reached out to grab a handful of her long hair. "I repeat, I didn't make her. Her name is Angel and she's deaf. She can't hear you, but can feel your vibrations, smell you, and she loves food like her adoptive mother here."

Stephanie gave me an elbow in the ribs and Julie laughed. "I remember Stephanie on a meatball sub and donut. You wiggle in your chair like you've got a wedgie when she eats those." Tank, Lester, and Lula burst out laughing. They knew very well, I didn't have a wedgie, I had a hard-on. She moans while eating those the way she does when she's underneath me, and we're making love. For me, it's hard to separate the two. I like watching her do both.

I grinned at a blushing Stephanie, then at Julie. "Eat, kid. Then you can play with Angel. Stephanie and I have to go out for a couple of hours."

"Cool, so does this mean that you two are getting married? You're a couple now?"

Stephanie and I both said at the same time, "No!"

She just shrugged, said hello to Betina, grabbed a plate from her, and began talking to Lester about sports. I mumbled, "Phew..." Then there was another buzz from the front gate. I pushed the button to let them in and headed to the front door...again.

This time it was Sylvia when I opened the door. "Sorry to come unannounced, Ranger. I have a small amount of news for you. Do you have a few minutes?"

"Come in. Actually, Stephanie, and I have to leave for an appointment, but Lester is here. As well as my partner from Trenton, and my daughter. You may as well stay and have lunch with them. You can fill Lester in, and he can relay your news if you're not here when we get back."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I should have called."

"No problem, I assure you. I was expecting to hear from you." She came in and headed to the kitchen. I looked at Stephanie. "You ready to go, Babe?"

"Yes, I just want to say goodbye to Angel. Are you sure that woman won't take her?"

"No, she's not here for that reason. She's trying to help." I winked at her. "And, she's sweet on Lester." She rolled her eyes, making me chuckle. This was good, Julie was better than a therapist for bringing out the old Stephanie.

This time when Stephanie came out of her session with Dr. Ortiz, her eyes were red, and she was sniffling, and the doctor was smiling. Great sign, she's talking. "You okay, Babe?"

She nodded, so I thanked Dr. Ortiz, and put my hand out to Stephanie. She looked at it a minute, and then surprised me by reaching out and taking it.

"We'll stop on the way home and get your vitamins and drinks."

"Okay. Angel needs some diapers and she's eating good, but I want to get some more formula for her."

I nodded. "No problem. We'll go to a department store, and you can get whatever you both need."

She mumbled something about wanting to see me buying diapers, and I said, "Don't be a smartass, Ms. Plum. I bought Julie diapers and I changed a few."

She smiled and shrugged. Then I thought for a minute, "Are you a Plum again? I didn't think to ask."

Her face changed and she looked down. "I never legally changed my name, and the marriage was annulled, so yes."

I was sincere when I said, "I'm sorry that didn't work out for you..."

She shook her head. "Please, I don't want to talk about it."

"I understand. Lets go run our errands"

She let go of my hand and looked up at me. Her eyes had changed and they were now angry. "You understand nothing, Ranger. You..., the perfect bounty hunting machine, with your standards, your money, your expensive cars and your big shiny house. You even have luxury soap and sheets. How nice it must be to simply change zip codes when you have a problem." Her voice was getting louder as she spoke. "Do you understand desperation, Ranger? How about real heartache and despair? Have your choices ever been the devil or the deep blue sea?"

Then she stomped on the elevator and smacked the down button hard, and didn't bother to wait for me. I turned around, and Dr. Ortiz was still standing there with her arms crossed. I said, "So, I'm guessing that the fact that she's expressing anger, is a good sign?" She just nodded and smiled.

I pressed the call button for the elevator and looked at her again. "One more question? Should I still be worried about a missing carving knife, and locking my bedroom door at night?"

She actually laughed at that. "You might eventually expect some payback, but I don't think she wants you dead, Mr. Manoso. You can rest at night in peace." I raised an eyebrow at her choice of words. Damn, lady. Like that makes me feel better…

Sylvia had relayed to Lester that her office had contacted Newark. As I'd expected, there had been no report of a missing infant around the time that Stephanie had found Angel. She had managed to get us quickly approved for foster care with the information that I'd given her before. Now, she was just waiting for a call from us regarding a full name for the birth certificate, and after that, her name would be changed in their system from baby Doe with a number attached, and re-entered so that she could be approved for treatment for her deafness. What it boiled down to, was that the system didn't have time to be that picky when there was a child with special needs involved, and a potential adoptive parent with means that wanted to take the child.

I was almost asleep that night, when there was a light rap on my door. "Come in."

It was Stephanie holding a very tearful Angel. She said, "Were you asleep? She doesn't cry much. I think she feels bad."

I got up and walked over to them and put my arms out. Angel looked at me with tiny pleading eyes. I took her and held her to me, gently patting her back. "She looks like she's in pain."

"We've been feeding her a lot of new foods suddenly. Do you think that could be the problem?"

I had taken Stephanie out for dinner after shopping when she was over her anger spell, and more like herself. I nodded, "Could be. Do you know what the others ate for dinner?"

"I think Lula said Mexican, chips and salsa, big burritos, and fried ice cream."

I groaned. I'd already read up on this. Re-fried beans, and cows milk, were definitely not a good mix for a baby's developing stomach. Hell, they weren't good for any belly. I sat down in a bedside chair and held her on her stomach with my hand while I kept patting, and rubbing her back with the other. She whimpered and cried, until eventually, a big 'poot' erupted from her backside and she began to quiet.

Stephanie snickered. "That's it? She just needed to fart?"

I grinned and nodded. "That's likely what the rest are doing in their sleep right now. She just needed a little help. Time for the rest of us to get some shut-eye." I carried Angel to the bed and got in, placing her on my chest. Stephanie just stood there like a statue.

"Babe, Angel is here. We're going to sleep." She nodded uncomfortably, and tip-toed over to the bed and got in. Then she pulled the cover up, and rolled on her side. I looked at her. "We need to give her a name for the birth certificate. If she's going to be mine, I would like her last name to be Manoso. We could give her both mine and yours."

She said, "We could just make her middle name Plum, like other fruit and flower names."

I smiled, still rubbing Angel's back and she settled into my chest dozing. "Fruit and flower names?"

She smiled back. "You know like, Apple, Cherry, Lilly... Just, Angel Plum Manoso."

"I like it." Then I said what I'd been wanting to say to her since I'd brought her to Miami. "Babe, I'm sorry I hurt you, and I promise that I will never touch you in anger again."

This melancholy look came over her face. "When… When I was with those men, those strangers, I got through it because I thought of you, your touch. Then you took that away from me. Those memories were like a safety net for me, and you ruined them. I don't know if I could have continued after..."

I gently touched the side of her face. "Go to sleep, Babe. You'll never have to go back there, and I promise that I'll never hurt you like that again."

She'd suddenly looked so tired and closed her eyes, falling immediately into a deep sleep. I ran my hand down the tiny sleeping form on my chest and sighed. I was surprised to realize that I felt more relaxed, and content at this very moment, than I'd felt in a very long time. I followed her lead and closed my eyes, quickly drifting off.

TBC -