Chapter Seven

Stephanie POV

Jeanne Ellen was right; she was a way better teacher than my mom was. At home, I only ever made very basic things. If we needed anything more than that, well hell, I live in New York City. I could get any type of food from any ethnic background I wanted.

While Jeanne Ellen and I made dinner, Zoë found their three cats dozing in the living room and started petting them. She kept up a running chatter as she stroked their fur softly. I knew they probably didn't have much contact with small children, but she was being gentle and not running around them and they didn't seem scared or nervous around her.

When Tank came in, we were just finishing up the cooking and we all sat down to a delicious meal of salmon, risotto and salad. I had always burned salmon when I tried to cook it before, but she showed me a way of poaching it, which honestly had never occurred to me. Whenever my mom tried to teach me to cook, it was frustrating because everything had to be 'just so', and if I made a mistake, she berated me over it. Eventually, I would resist even going into the kitchen when she was there, and I developed some sort of mental block over trying again. Now that I had Zoë, I had to make her food, but I kept it simple. Richard wanted fancier food, but he seemed content with whatever the deli had on offer, or we'd order in.

Zoë moaned over her dinner, while Jeanne Ellen and I swapped smirks at each other. I tended to do the same thing when I was exceptionally hungry, or if I loved a dish more than usual. It was just one more way in which my daughter took after me, though her moaning was over food that would not usually elicit the same reaction in me.

I gave her a bath a little while after dinner ended, then tucked her into bed. After two stories, she finally asked, "Mama, how come Daddy isn't here?"

I smiled gently and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Daddy has to work, Zo-zo, so we came here by ourselves."

"Oh. Okay." She sighed.

"Sleep well, Zo-zo," I said softly as I stood up. I turned on a nightlight for her, then kept the door cracked a little as I left her room.

I went into the bar area and cracked open a bottle of white wine from the little fridge and poured a glass. As I sat on the sofa sipping my wine, I reflected a little over the past few days. Before too long, tears were coursing down my cheeks silently. There was a short knock on the door and my sister poked her head in, her expression turning sympathetic when she spotted the tears.

She had a bottle of wine in her hand, but when she saw I had one open already, she set it down and poured a glass from the open bottle. She sat next to me on the couch and pulled me closer, draping her arm across my shoulder and snuggling in.

"Where's Tank?" I asked.

"He has an apprehension with Ranger, a big bond. When it's big, the bosses usually tag along with the others to make sure everything goes smoothly. I left him a note that I'd be over here when he gets home."

"Oh. I hope it goes okay."

"It should be fine. They're more than capable of handling themselves." She took a sip of the wine and added, "so. It's all hitting you now, or you're finally allowing yourself to break down?"

"A little of both, I guess," I admitted ruefully. "I wanted to keep it together for Zoë's sake, but now that we're out of that apartment and she's fast asleep, I feel like I can breathe. And I'm nervous. I've been with Richard since college. Except for my time in the dorm, which really doesn't count, I've never been by myself."

"You're not by yourself now," she pointed out. "You have Zoë, and you have me and Tank. You even have your family if you want them there."

"I know I have to tell Mom, but I am dreading that. I can't really tell her until I tell Richard it's definitely over, and I can't tell him until I have my ducks in a row and a lawyer on my side."

"Well, then accept the offer from Rangeman. That's one big duck down. Maybe we can even meet with him tomorrow. He can get started doing whatever it is he has to do, then you can inform The Dick it's over. Second big duck. Then you can tell the family. Even if Helen and Val aren't supportive, you know Dad will be."

I smiled as I listened to my sister. I loved her more than anyone else, except my daughter, and to think but for a twist of fate, I might never have known her. We first met when she was eight and I was seven and she joined our household. The dirty details were hidden from me as a kid, but she was the result of an affair my dad had with her mother after he returned from a deployment when my sister Valerie was a few months old. Her mother told my dad she was pregnant, and my dad arranged to pay her child support. I guess he and my mom must've worked it out because she knew about the baby from early on. Jeanne Ellen's mother died when she was eight and as the father listed on the birth certificate, the authorities contacted my dad, who agreed to bring her home. My mom acted nicely in public, but behind closed doors she barely acknowledged her existence. Jeanne Ellen and I became fast friends, and before long she was the person I was closest to, and the fine distinction between half-sister and sister was erased. My mom's hostility grew to envelop me too, and Valerie's and my mom's good relationship was cemented when Valerie became a sneering, hateful witch to her younger sisters and a perfect saint in the eyes of my mother.

Along with my Grandma Mazur, my dad was a rock of non-judgemental support. When that "young Morelli hoodlum" took my innocence at the age of six in his garage with a game of choo-choo, my dad was there to wipe my tears while my mom wanted to ground me. My dad was there when my virginity was stolen at sixteen by that same Morelli boy behind the pastry case at my summer job. He cheered when I ran down Joe Morelli three years later with his Buick, breaking his leg in two places.

"Steph?" Jeanne Ellen broke into my thoughts. I looked up, questioningly. "What were you thinking about just now?"

"I was thinking about you, and Dad, and Grandma Mazur."

Before I could expound on my thoughts, there was a brief knock on the door and Tank came in.

Jeanne Ellen got up to kiss her husband. "Hey Lover, how did it go?" she asked.

"Smoothly. One more criminal back in the justice system," Tank replied. He poured himself a glass of wine and sat on the couch next to his wife and pulled her against him. "Steph, how are you? You gonna be okay?"

I shrugged. "I have to be, but right now I'm not."

"You will be. We'll help you get through it, stronger than ever."

"Thanks. And Jeanne Ellen told me about the offer to use your company lawyer. She's talked me into accepting the offer. So, thank you for that too."

Tank grinned. "Steph, that's great. I know you're probably uncomfortable with it, but I am really pleased that you're going to work with Mr. Manoso. He's a great lawyer and he'll mop the floor with Dick. I think he's going to be more difficult than you know."

"Why do you say that?"

He let out a tiny sigh. "Because we did a deep dive background check this morning after Jeanne Ellen told me what had happened. There's a lot of information there that I think is probably going to be news to you."

I closed my eyes. And the hits just keep on coming. "What kind of information?"

Tank replied, "I'd rather just show you the file. After I printed it, I left it on my desk at work. I wasn't sure how to bring it up and I didn't think about bringing it back here. Can you wait until tomorrow? Did Jeanne Ellen ask you about running searches for us while you're here? Are you able to do that?"

I nodded. "I can wait until tomorrow. And yes, Jeanne Ellen asked me. It sounds great, I'd love to help. Do you want me to come down tomorrow and learn how to use your search programs?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but you don't need to come along when I go in, since I get there around five thirty am. You can come in around nine am if that works for you."

"Okay, I'll be there at nine. I'll get the directions from Jeanne Ellen. But right now, I have to get to sleep. I'm exhausted." I set my glass down on the counter and gave a little finger wave to Tank and my sister, wishing them a good night. I poked my head into Zoë's room to check on her, made a quick detour to the bathroom to pee, wash my face and brush my teeth, then went to bed.

Jeanne Ellen POV

After Steph went into the bathroom, I smiled at my husband and said, "I need to talk to you. Let's go home."

We walked home arm-in-arm and I started telling him my plan to get Steph to move back to Trenton. "She needs a job that pays as well as her job in New York does," I explained. "But the good thing about New Jersey is that the cost of living is lower, and she has family support here." We reached our kitchen and I sat down on the stool in front of the island.

Tank snorted as he pulled two mugs down from the cabinet for our evening cup of cocoa. "Besides you and your dad, what family support does she have here? I didn't think her mom or other sister treated her any better than they did you." He filled the kettle, moved it to the back stove burner and turned on the gas.

"No, other than me and Dad, she doesn't have much else. But that's more than she has in New York. So, I have a question for you. Is there any way there's a full-time option for her at Rangeman?"

Tank looked thoughtful. "Well, maybe. There are a few ideas we've been tossing around, but we haven't made any final decisions. I'll be able to determine her work ethic and suitability for this type of work this week. If I think she could be a good fit, I could bring it up after this week, but you have to promise not to mention it to her until then. It's a decision for the core team and it won't work if she doesn't fit in."

I nodded. "I won't mention it at all. But I am going to work on her, subtly of course." I smirked. "Even if she doesn't work at Rangeman, I think she'd be better off here. And I'd love to spend more time with her and the Squirt."

The next morning, when Steph and Zoë came into the kitchen for breakfast, I had it all ready for them. I had made oatmeal, which I know is Zoë's favourite, and I added fresh cut fruit, toast, and coffee.

I discussed logistics with Steph over breakfast. "I have one skip I want to get today. I know where he'll be at around lunchtime, and it shouldn't take longer than a couple of hours. Tank is going to come with me. I can hang out with Squirt this morning while you're at Rangeman. I'll drop her off there, then you and Zoë can have lunch and hang out until we're done, and I'll come get her and meet you back here at the end of the workday. Sound like a plan?"

Steph nodded. "That sounds great, Gigi, thank you so much for everything. You're a lifesaver."

I gave her the keys to the extra car we had. Tank had the option to use a company car and while he normally didn't, he decided he would for the next two weeks while Steph was here so she'd have something to drive. If she ends up staying, she'll need to get a car, but luckily, she hasn't let her license lapse since she's been living in New York without a car. Getting around without a car isn't as easy in Trenton as it is in New York, especially with a kid, and I wanted to make it super easy on her to decide she'd have a better life here.