Chapter Nine: Two weeks later South Miami Beach

South Miami Beach was a whole new world for the Plum family. It was Point Pleasant meets Rodeo Drive and the sky was the limit. Manoso's was a small hotel on the beach, and if we got up early enough (or stayed up late enough) we were subjected to stunning sunrise colors flooding our ocean front rooms.

Between lunch at Taquiza, drinks (mine were all virgin, of course) at Sweet Liberty and dancing the night away at Mango's, Rachel and Julie showed us all there was to love. And the beach… the warm ocean- it was like being in heaven.

My parents, Grandma, Val, Albert, the kids and I were absorbed into the fantasy and thankfully, if they noticed or thought it was strange that all of us were heavily guarded, they didn't mention it. My family had not been told anything about the kidnapping and the Manoso family knew to say nothing. My family also knew nothing about the less than cordial welcome my baby news received from the Manoso tribe.

How was such a huge rift kept hidden, you ask?

The day before my family arrived, Tank sat down with all the various and sundry members of Ranger's family and they were advised to stick with the story that Julius was away and not to mention anything about what was really going on and why everyone was together at the hotel. Tank went on to tell the group that the Plum family was to be treated with all due respect and that cutting remarks about me or the baby would not be tolerated. There was to be nothing distracting the team- which included Ranger- from the task at hand.

Ranger and I stayed at RangeMan, and Julie and her family joined us in the other large apartment after Rachel told all the Manoso ladies what she thought of their attack.

"How could you be so cruel to Stephanie? She is the reason my daughter is alive today. And Carlos loves her, she brings out the best in him. How do you not see it?" All of the Manoso women had reflected on their behavior and all murmured about needed to apologize at some point, Rachel shared with us.

"We just need to move forward, we have a mission to organize. My hurt feelings can wait till later." Or forever. I wanted to pretend the whole debacle never happened.

To her credit, Celia did try to speak to her brother when she next saw him, but Ranger told her it had to wait. The mission was the priority.

It was a fragile peace.

Ranger and I took to walking hand in hand on the beach each morning, just in time to see the sunrise. I know, me, Stephanie Plum, up before dawn- Crazy!

But it was so quiet and peaceful and it helped to ground us for the day ahead - it never failed to remind me of our amazing experience in Hawaii. We needed the reminders of better days. Our search for Julius was not going well.

Now after two weeks, we finally had a good lead on where his brother was being held. Gabriela Rose and Diesel had arrived two days ago and along with Silvio, were working to pin down the details so the rescue could be staged.

Ranger had been working non-stop and had been struggling with the lack of progress and yesterday I dragged him out of RangeMan. "You can't keep standing over people as they search, Carlos. It is unnerving. Let them do what they do best" Ranger relented and we joined both families for beach volleyball and a barbecue. Young Jose Almonte, one of the guys down from Boston, got the winning point for the Plum side. (Yes, we filled out our ranks with RangeMen and no, it is NOT cheating. The Manoso girls could go to the Olympics the way they play.)

The truth is, Ranger had team members from all the RangeMan offices in Miami for planning and extraction. Robert and Amanda Kinsey had arrived just that morning. Robert would be going in with Ranger, Tank and Hal from the Trenton office. The rest of the team were a mix from the other offices. I knew Lester was really pissed he had to stay behind in Trenton, but it was, as Tank told him yet again, "your turn to run the house."

This morning, I was really trying not to let my nervousness show, and failing miserably.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Babe." This was his "Please don't ask me impossible questions" Babe.

"Carlos, you said we need to plan the wedding and I can't really get anything done without knowing when you will be back."

"I wanted to talk to you about that. Except for Julius, our families are here, and I have all your girls arriving here in the next couple of days…"

"You invited my friends? Without saying anything?"

"I just thought Lula, Connie and Mary Lou might like a long weekend at the beach before the holidays." Ranger smiled at me. "Your family seems to really be enjoying the beach hotel experience. And an additional buffer between the families seems like a good idea."

"I just don't believe you- that was so sweet."

"Speaking of sweet, Sally Sweet is coming down, also."

I froze. This was more than just the girls down for the weekend.

"Carlos, what are you not telling me?" I felt my heart racing.

"Babe… Stephanie… I love you. These last two weeks have shown me we are already a family. And I would like to make it official. I would like to marry you now, before we leave." He went down on one knee there on the sand. "Stephanie Michelle Plum, will you marry me?"

I threw my arms around his neck "YES! YES! Carlos, I do want to marry you."

And then we stopped talking and started kissing and soon enough I had sand in all sorts of interesting places. SO WORTH IT!

At breakfast the next morning, I pulled Grandma aside and asked if she would stand up with me at my wedding. She confessed she had never been a bridesmaid and would be honored. Her smile warmed my soul. Then she took me to her room and gave me a ring box.

"This is the ring I had made for your Grandfather Harry, and we had a happy life together. I would like you to give it to Carlos. Harry would have liked him." The band had a layer of platinum and one of gold- I had never seen anything like it.

"Oh Grandma." The tears slipped from my eyes. "I hope it fits- we won't have time to size it."

"Well, let's go see." Ranger just came in with his friend Tank. Neither of them looked like they had slept.

Grandma headed straight over and told Ranger about her gift. He tried the ring on his left ring finger. The platinum band slid on and would not require modification. "Babe, it is perfect."

"It is fate." Grandma beamed. "You two will be so happy together."

"Lula, Connie, it is so good to see you!" I hug the girls as my two RangeMan guys, Luis Fernandez and Armando Gonzalez, grab the luggage. They are both from the Miami office and so young. "I am surprised you could both come."

"Vinnie has decided to retire and close the Plum Bail Bonds. Since the law changed, cash bonds are really rare. Now the judge can only set cash bail if there's a risk of the defendant not showing up for court and it has to be set so the defendant can afford it so nobody really needs to be bonded. Business has really fallen off for us." Connie smiled at me. "Vinnie and Lucille are going on a world cruise at the end of the month, plus Lula and I will get a year of severance pay when we finish closing the office- Harry wants to reward all our hard work after all these years, so we don't need to look for new jobs right away. Which makes this the perfect time to join you here in Miami."

"So, Girlfriend, are you really marrying Ranger?" Lula asked as Armando helped her into the RangeMan SUV after Connie.

"Yes, I am. On the beach with just close family and friends."

"Mary Lou and Valerie are as we speak at Claudio Milano Couture with Sally Sweet to look for dresses. I loved the hand-painted lace dress detailed with Swarovski Crystals in baby and dark blue shades- you just have to see it. Rachel is bringing Julie so you can all tell me what you think. Julie is going to be a bridesmaid and Val's girls will be flower girls"

"And your mom?"

"Mom has been really great. She and Ranger's mom get along really well. In fact, she went with Ranger's mom and abuela- there is a cousin, Marian, the who was married to Sybo from the Trenton office- she has a small boutique that caters to women of a certain age. And mom won't be able to see prices, so she will be able to pick the dress that suits her the best." I opted not to tell the girls about the issue I had with Ranger's mother and sisters. The fact that they were pulling out all the stops for my mother in a way that she has never experienced is going a long way to healing the rift.

"And what about Grandma?"

"Girls, that is the best part. I told her I wanted her to be my Matron of Honor and she got so emotional. She said she had never been in a wedding party outside of her own weddings."

"Oh, Steph, that is amazing."

"We found a beautiful dress for her this morning." Connie and Lula didn't need to shop for dresses. They confessed that Ranger gave them a heads up in time for them to shop before leaving Trenton. "He was pretty sure you would say yes."

OMG- I am marrying Ranger in the morning!