Chapter Twenty-Six
Stephanie POV
I had forgotten that Jeanne Ellen and Tank had to work tonight to bring in her skip. Once we got home, we had a quick dinner of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, though the sandwiches were worlds above the processed American cheese crap that I usually used. They made them with three different types of cheese, and I could happily eat them for the rest of my life.
During dinner, I told Tank and Jeanne Ellen about the zoo outing scheduled for the next day, and they exchanged looks. Tank cleared his throat and asked, "would you mind if Jeanne Ellen and I joined you for the zoo, Steph? You know you're supposed to avoid that kind of stuff, and I think you two and Zoë going to the zoo together would give the wrong impression."
"Sure. I don't think it was meant to be a date, anyway. Just a fun day out with Zoë." I texted Ranger to make sure it was okay with him, and he said it was fine, which was relieving.
Once dinner was finished, I assured them I'd clean up the kitchen so they could go back to Rangeman to meet with the others helping them tonight.
Once the kitchen was spotless again, I decided to bathe Zoë here since we didn't have a bathtub in the pool house. I retrieved her bath stuff and pyjamas from the pool house, then let the water run while she frolicked happily in the oversized tub. I sat on the toilet lid and made sure she was getting clean as she played, then washed her hair for her.
Back in the pool house, I read her favourite story and sang her two songs, rubbing her back while she lay there. When she was finally asleep, I tiptoed out of her room and closed the door nearly all the way.
I decided to have a long, hot shower, shaving and exfoliating my skin to be smooth. I styled my hair and painted my finger and toenails. I applied moisturizer and put on my comfiest flannel pyjamas. I went to bed early and fell asleep when my head hit the pillow.
Early Saturday morning, Zoë woke me by rubbing my face gently with her little hands. She kissed my cheeks and said, "wake up, Mama, we're going to the zoo!"
I groaned and rolled over, checking my phone screen. "Zoë, it's six am! We're not going to the zoo for a few more hours. Go back to sleep for one more hour, okay?"
"Can I sleep with you, Mama?" she asked.
"Get in." She hopped up into my bed and curled her tiny body into mine. I snuggled her and fell back asleep immediately. An hour later, Zoë was up and not going back down, so I reluctantly dragged myself from the warm comfort of my bed. I got nearly ten hours of sleep last night, and I felt more rested than I had in a while, but I already missed the coziness of my bed. I checked the weather outside and noted it was slightly overcast but not raining. I checked the weather forecast and was relieved it was not supposed to rain today, so this was probably just early morning gloominess.
I got up and made some tea. While I did that, Zoë insisted on picking out her outfit for the day, so I sipped my tea while I waited for her to emerge from her room. She wore pink cargo pants under a knee-length dress and a blue cardigan when she came out. If we were in the early aughts, she'd be sporting at least two trends with this outfit. Since she would still be warm, I shrugged my shoulders and moved into my bedroom to pick out my outfit for the day.
Twenty minutes later, I was preparing oatmeal for everyone, including Tank and Jeanne Ellen. It was starting to develop more of a chill in the mornings, and the oatmeal would help to feel warm. I made a bit of a fruit melange, too. As we ate breakfast, Jeanne Ellen asked Zoë, "are you excited for the zoo today, Squirt?"
"I can't wait to see the penguins, Auntie Gigi! Are there fishes?"
"I'm not sure, but if there are, we'll get a chance to see them," Jeanne Ellen promised.
Ranger came to the house thirty minutes later, driving a different but, I'm sure just-as-expensive Porsche. This one was an SUV; as always, it was shiny, black and new. Since we wouldn't all fit into one car, he drove me and Zoë with him and Tank and Jeanne Ellen took their car. Tank and he exchanged some sort of meaningful look before we left, but I wasn't sure what the meaning was, so I shrugged my shoulders and forgot about it. It probably wasn't any of my business anyway.
As we walked through the zoo, Zoë excitedly ran up to each enclosure to point out the animal that dwelt within. Ranger smiled at her enthusiasm and read her some facts from the little plaques in front of each exhibit. Jeanne Ellen and I mostly just chatted about our planned house-hunting excursion the next day. Her real estate agent had arranged several house tours and two open houses, so we would have another busy day. Tank was going to hang out with Zoë for the day, then when we got home, he and Jeanne Ellen were going on a date before she left for her FBI work trip next week.
When we got to the Arctic exhibit, Zoë was beyond the moon. This is where all her favourite animals were from, like the penguins, polar bears, walruses and seals, and a few Arctic wolves. Ranger was very patient as she realized she had an adult with her who hadn't heard her stories about all her visits to aquariums.
Tank was chatting with us as we sat on a bench discussing the wanted features of the new house. He said he would gift Jeanne Ellen a new state-of-the-art Rangeman security package, and I hugged them. I know it will be her house, but there's no doubt they're doing all this for Zoë and me to have a nice place to live.
Four hours later, I didn't think I could possibly walk one more step. I don't know what it is about zoos, but they're exhausting. Zoë was conked out, and Tank carried her back to Ranger's car, where I had installed her car seat earlier. As we drove back to the house, Ranger broke the silence and said, "I hope you had fun today, Babe. Your daughter is such a great kid."
I smiled. "I like her. I think I'll keep her."
He looked over, startled, then noticed the amused expression on my face and started chuckling quietly. "I wish I had been around my own daughter when she was this age. I missed a lot."
"You have a daughter? How old?"
"She's turning eight. She lives with her mom and stepdad in Miami," he answered.
"What's her name?"
"Julie."
"You don't get to see her often?" I asked.
"No. I gave up my parental rights to her when I was in the Army so she could have a dad who was around to take care of her. I only get to see her a few times a year now."
"I'm sorry. That has to be tough," I said sympathetically.
"Thanks. I don't tell many people about her, but something in Zoë reminds me of Julie. I think it's her spirit."
"I'll keep your secret, don't worry."
He shot me a quick smile. "Should we pick up lunch for everyone?" he asked.
"Let me text Jeanne Ellen and see if she has any plans."
Jeanne Ellen and Tank stopped at a little bistro for lunch on the way home. When I told Ranger, he stopped at a deli and went inside. I stayed in the car with the sleeping Zoë, and he came out with a large bag. When we returned to the house, I woke my daughter gently, and we went to the pool house's tiny kitchen to dish out the food. It was a mix of healthy and not-so-healthy options, and he said it was not a temple day. I wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but he also ate a bit of everything he bought us for lunch.
Zoë wanted to play with some of her toys after lunch, so Ranger and I sat on the couch and chatted while she was on the living room floor. I asked him a lot of questions, and to my surprise, he answered most of them. Jeanne Ellen had warned me he was a private man, not prone to revealing information about himself. That could still be true because I hadn't asked him any questions I wouldn't ask anyone else. Or maybe he was making an exception. I don't know, but we had a pleasant afternoon together. Tank and Jeanne Ellen had returned a while ago and came out to the pool house but left again to spend time alone. Jeanne Ellen shot me a look, and I knew she was warning me to be careful. It wasn't like anything untoward would happen with Zoë acting as an unwitting chaperone.
We were having such a good time hanging out together that when the time came to think about dinner, we went into the main house to rummage through Jeanne Ellen's refrigerator. We found a grilled chicken salad that was already prepared (thank you, Jeanne Ellen!), and after texting her to make sure it was okay to eat it, we sat down to eat. After dinner and cleaning up, I gave Zoë a bath in Jeanne Ellen's tub, and Ranger waited in the living room for us. After I dressed her in some pyjamas, she ran into the room and leapt onto Ranger's lap, hugging him. That made me feel a little funny, but I wasn't sure why, exactly. I'd have to unpack that later when I was alone.
He left when it was Zoë's bedtime, and after she was asleep, I sat on my couch with a cup of tea, thinking over the day. Why was I feeling uncomfortable about Zoë liking Ranger as much as she did?
It's not that I don't enjoy his company; I do a little too much. He's generous, even to people he doesn't know. He's kind, ridiculously good-looking, and I instinctively trusted him. But I couldn't shake the feeling that even though he might be attracted to me, he would not be someone to stick it out for the long haul. Did I want Zoë to get attached to someone who'll disappear when the next woman catches his eye? I went to bed, worried about why I thought so much about another man when my divorce from the last asshole was barely started.
A/N: I didn't research whether there was a zoo near Trenton. It probably doesn't exist, or if it does, it's probably not like the one in my story.