Chapter Ten

I slept poorly that night. I tossed and turned and couldn't stop thinking about my mom and Morelli. The worst part is that I wasn't terribly surprised by either of them. I figured Joe might try to gloss everything over and try to reconcile with me. After all, it was our pattern. I didn't think he'd drag my mother into it, though. Maybe she was the instigator for tonight's little scene. Or perhaps they egged each other on, figuring Stupid Stephanie just didn't know what she wanted. What surprised me is that neither seemed to know I moved or didn't have my home phone anymore. Morelli never called that number, but my mom did. Morelli often came over uninvited, using his key, which I never got back. I wondered if he discovered I didn't live there anymore, but he didn't have a chance to ask about it last night. Oh well. I guess it didn't matter now.

Finally, I got out of bed about an hour before my alarm was set to sound off. I wasn't going to get any more sleep. A long, hot shower and breakfast would hopefully improve my mood. It wouldn't work as well as a good night's sleep, but if I exhausted myself today, I wouldn't have any trouble falling asleep tonight.

I blow-dried my hair, swept it up in a ponytail, and then dressed in my workout clothes. I'd started wearing them to work since I had to wear them every morning anyway, and then I changed into my regular work clothes after my shower at Ella's.

I went into the kitchen to make breakfast. I had started eating yogurt with granola and blueberries, like a parfait, and often had a bagel with cream cheese or peanut butter. I figured it was okay since I spent so long every day working out and training. While my bagel was toasting, I checked my freezer to see what I had frozen. Tonight would be a leftover night. Since I lived alone, I usually had extra to freeze whenever I made something new.

I had nothing else to do at home, so I drove to Rangeman early. I parked in my usual spot and took the elevator to the fifth floor. Ranger was in his office already, looking freshly showered. He's probably already had his gruelling workout.

"Morning, Ranger," I said.

"Hey, Babe," he said, raising an eyebrow. "You're here early."

I entered his office and plopped down on his sofa. "Yeah, I didn't sleep well last night."

"Is everything okay?"

I shrugged. Ranger stood and came over, sitting next to me. He pulled me close, and I leaned against his chest, taking deep breaths to inhale the Bulgari scent. "What's wrong, Babe?"

"I went to dinner last night at my parents. My mom had invited Morelli over, and he proposed marriage right before dessert."

I could feel Ranger stiffen before he spoke softly. "What did you say?"

"I said no. He left, I yelled at my mom, and then I left. Without dessert!" I could feel Ranger chuckle against my back. "I told her I wouldn't return if she couldn't respect my choices. And I meant it. But with all that drama and turmoil, I tossed and turned all night."

Ranger rubbed my arms soothingly, and I closed my eyes. Being in his arms felt so good and relaxing. I probably could have slept last night if he was there to hold me. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Sleep, Babe. You have an hour before you need to start. You can nap here if you want."

"Will you stay with me?" I asked sleepily.

"I'll be right here," he promised.

I kicked off my shoes and swung my legs up onto the sofa. I laid my head in his lap and smiled in his direction, but I never opened my eyes. I fell asleep to the feeling of Ranger stroking my hair.

The next thing I knew, he was gently shaking me awake. "Babe. It's time to wake up."

"I don't wanna," I grumbled.

He laughed. "Well, you gotta."

I opened my eyes. Ranger was looking down at me with soft eyes. No blank face in sight. I smiled again and sat up, then twisted my body to face him. I leaned closer and kissed him. "Thank you," I whispered.

"No price, Babe." He leaned forward and kissed me gently, once, twice, three times.

My cell started ringing then, shattering the moment. I groaned. Whoever was calling had just the worst timing ever.

I grabbed my cell phone and answered, "Hello?" Ranger stood up and went back to his desk chair, turning his attention back to whatever he had been doing before I came in.

"Hi, Baby Granddaughter. Did I wake you up?"

"No, I was up. I'm just about to start work. How are you?"

"I'm fine. But you missed quite the showdown last night."

"What happened?"

"Well, after you left, your father gave your mother a piece of his mind. He yelled at her for everything she had done to you, all the times she made you feel bad, and for inviting Morelli over when she knew you didn't want to get back together with him. She was shocked. I didn't know he was even aware of all she had done to you. Then he stormed out and said he was going to the Lodge. He didn't even eat any cake."

"Wow." I didn't even know what else to say. The idea that my dad defended me and stood up to my mom was utterly foreign. He very rarely said anything at all. And he left without having dessert! That was unheard of. Even I momentarily regretted leaving before having some of that cake.

"I don't want not to see you anymore, Stephie. I know you don't want to come here anymore, but maybe we can still get together sometimes?"

"Of course, Grandma. I didn't mean to imply I didn't want to see you anymore. How about we go for lunch on Saturday?"

"That sounds great, Stephie dear. I'll call you later this week, and we'll arrange the time, okay? I'll let you get to work. I love you, Baby Granddaughter."

"I love you too, Grandma. I'll talk to you later this week."

I hung up and looked at Ranger. "My dad called out my mom and told her off for interfering in my life and inviting Morelli over when she knew I had ended it."

"It's about time."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Babe."

"No, what do you mean, Ranger?"

"He hasn't ever really stood up for you, has he, Babe? In all the years of your mother putting you down and comparing you to other women's daughters, treating you like you're a child, and setting you up with any available 'Burg man as long as they could give her grandchildren, has he ever stood up for you?"

I swallowed hard. When put like that, he didn't seem much like a dad. "No," I said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Babe."

"It's okay. Just one more person who has never had my back. It doesn't hurt more than my mother not supporting me."

Ranger stood and came back to the sofa. He lifted me and held me close to him, enveloping me in a warm, tight hug. "I've always got your back, Babe. Por siempre y para siempre."

I held on tight. I had no idea what he said when he spoke in Spanish to me, but it always made me feel safe, secure and loved. "Thanks, Ranger. I've got your back, too."

He released me from the hug. "You better get down to the gym, or Tank will be angry."

"Oh, shit! See you later!" I gathered my purse and took off for the elevator to meet Tank, leaving Ranger chuckling behind me.

I made it to the gym with about one minute to spare. Tank didn't look happy, but he didn't say anything. He simply nodded toward the sparring mat so I could warm up, and then he'd spend the first hour teaching me self-defence. We had gotten into a routine, so I wasn't sweaty the whole morning and wasn't completely spent when I did my mandatory range time. We did self-defence first, then an hour in the range, then cardio and weight training for two hours. He said after a month or so, the two hours would be reduced to one to give me time to learn other skills, like getting out of restraints, lock picking, and defensive driving. He wasn't amused when I pointed out that driving the New Jersey Turnpike was all the driving training I'd ever need. We'll see.

Later, after my shower at Ella's, I went to the break room to grab some lunch. I didn't get entirely exhausted after my morning workout anymore, but I still didn't have that good, energetic feeling everyone promised would come. I grabbed some homemade chicken soup from the tureen Ella had set up on the counter, some crackers and a bottle of water.

While I was eating lunch, Lester came in. "Hi, Beautiful. Mind if I join you for lunch?"

"Not at all. You should have the soup. Ella's amazing."

He dished himself a bowlful, grabbed some water and sat down across from me.

"How would you feel about giving me another cooking lesson?" I asked. "It was fun, and I enjoyed learning another meal. Maybe you could teach me how to make something Ranger enjoys."

Lester raised an eyebrow at me. "Something Ranger enjoys? Are you planning on making him dinner, Beautiful?" he teased.

I narrowed my eyes, then smiled. "Maybe."

"It's no problem. I enjoyed our last lesson, too. How about Wednesday?"

I nodded. "Sure, that sounds great. What do you think I should learn how to cook?"

"Ranger loves Enchilado de Camarone. I could teach you that."

I stared at him blankly.

He chuckled. "Shrimp enchilados."

"He likes those?"

"He loves shrimp, though he doesn't eat it often," he confirmed. "If you want, I can also teach you how to make flan. He rarely eats dessert, but he'll make an exception for a good flan."

"Sounds ambitious," I said, a little worried.

"I promise, it sounds fancier than it is. You'll be able to do it."

He was right. On Tuesday morning, he gave me a shopping list for our next lesson, and I went to the supermarket after work to pick up everything we needed. After work on Wednesday, he followed me to my apartment building, and we went upstairs.

"Would you like a drink, Les?"

"Sure. Got any beer?"

"Yeah." I opened the fridge and checked inside. "Is Corona alright? Do you want a wedge of lime with it?"

"Sure. Thanks, Steph."

I quickly cut a lime into wedges, then placed two pieces into the bottles of Corona I took from the fridge. I handed him his, then squeezed my lime until the juice was mixed with the beer. I took a swig and then set it on the counter. "I bought everything you told me yesterday. I'm looking forward to this."

Lester smiled. "Ranger will love it when you cook this for him. Are you planning on telling him I'm giving you lessons?"

"If he asks. I'm not going to volunteer anything."

After we washed our hands, Lester walked me through making the shrimp enchiladas. He taught me how to clean and peel the shrimp, make the sauce, then cook the shrimp. He put on the rice since I didn't need to learn how to make rice again, and by the time the rice was done, so was the sauce and shrimp. We sat at the kitchen counter to eat together, and I couldn't stop moaning at the delicious flavours. "Les, this is so good! And I can't believe how easy it was to make. Thank you so much for teaching me. It's been a completely different experience learning from you."

"You've been picking it up pretty easily so far, Beautiful. I know you've always said you're so bad at cooking you can burn water, but I haven't gotten that impression."

"I don't know what to say. I swear I've burned water before. Maybe trying to learn from my mom stressed me out and made learning from her impossible."

"When are you planning on making this feast for Ranger?" he asked.

I shrugged. "No specific timeline in mind. I just wanted to know how to make something from his childhood."

"Are you in love with him?"

Wow, that was direct. I squirmed a little. "Uhm…I don't know." Head over heels.

He pinned me with his gaze. "Come on, Beautiful. You can tell me. I'll keep it to myself."

I sighed. "Les, I don't know. I think I do. But your cousin has said, many times, he doesn't do relationships. So, even if I did, there's no point. He's chosen his lifestyle, which doesn't include room for me."

He laughed and started shaking his head. "You and he are quite a pair. Beautiful, that man is so utterly head over heels in love with you. It's pathetic."

I smiled wistfully. "I know he loves me. But it's not enough to allow for a relationship between us."

"Have you ever told him you love him? Up until recently, you've been in an on-and-off relationship with another man. A man with whom you have a history going back decades. I know you don't intend to get back together with Morelli, but you've said that before and still gone back. You've only been broken up a couple of weeks. Why would Ranger put himself out there when there's a possibility you'd stay with or return to the cop?"

I felt like Les had just stabbed me through the heart with a dagger. He was right. Ranger might be my personal Batman, but he was, after all, just a man. And aren't I doing the same thing, protecting my heart by not putting myself out there?

Les must've sensed my changing mood. "I'm sorry, Steph. I didn't mean to upset you, but I can see I've given you some things to think about. Do you want to postpone the flan lesson until next week?"

I swallowed hard and nodded. "Sorry, Les. Thank you for teaching me how to make the shrimp thing." We stood, and I kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

He laid his hand on my cheek. "Don't get too down on yourself. You've both made mistakes. I don't think it's too late to fix it."

After he left, I went to the kitchen and washed the dishes. While I cleaned, I started thinking about the past few days' events. The shopping trip with Lula, the disastrous dinner at my mom's house, Morelli proposing. Oh my god, I completely forgot! Lula and I were supposed to go to my parents' house for Thanksgiving, but obviously, I wasn't going there now. I should call Lula and let her know. I felt terrible, though. She didn't have a family and wouldn't have any Thanksgiving if we didn't go to my mom's house.

I could invite her here, but I'd also have to ask other people. Two people for Thanksgiving is just kind of sad. I kept thinking. I bet several Merry Men don't have families nearby to invite them to a Thanksgiving Dinner. But I'm new to cooking. Wouldn't a huge dinner be a bit too much to handle for a beginner?

Finally, after thinking about it for several more minutes, I decided to check in with some of the Rangemen I'm most familiar with at work tomorrow. Maybe those who didn't already have plans or weren't going to be working would like to come over. I'd have to swear Lula to secrecy on my new apartment, though. And it'd give both of us a chance to wear our new dresses. When I declared I wasn't returning to my mother's house, I forgot about Thanksgiving dinner and wearing our fancy new dresses. Hopefully, we'd still have the chance to wear them.

The next day at work, I talked with several of the Merry Men. Virtually none of them had plans to enjoy the holiday meal somewhere else, and when I spoke with Ranger, he offered me the use of the conference room on the second floor to host the dinner. That way, the men on duty could cycle through on their breaks and eat when they could, and the men not working that day could come and enjoy dinner, too. I thought it a wonderful idea, and Ella offered to help me since there'd be so many more people to cook for this way. I agreed to meet with Ella on the morning of Thanksgiving and cook together. She would go shopping for all the food beforehand. Ranger said I could invite anyone I wanted, but Lula was the only person I wanted to ask. Grandma would want to stay at my mother's and have dinner with the rest of the family.

When I called Lula, she was excited to come. "Are you kidding? Being surrounded by all those hot men and wearing my new dress and shoes? I can't wait, White Girl!"

As time passed and I became more comfortable in my new job at Rangeman, I started going out on client calls more often with Hector, Lester, and Woody. Hector did most of the installations, and Lester and Woody were the faces of Rangeman. Both had easygoing, charming personalities and could always be counted on to put clients at ease. I still did some of the searches, but Ranger said he'd prefer me to take on more of a public role if I was okay with it. It got me out of my office chair and into some fabulous, Ella-curated outfits, so I was pleased with the change.

Working out had become easier. I no longer wanted to throw up after running on the treadmill, and something had clicked when I was working on self-defence with Tank. I had started to be able to get out of many of the holds he put me in, and though I wasn't close to taking him down yet, I had pinned one of the smaller men. Okay, it only happened once, and it's hard to say who was more surprised, but it had happened.

I still dreaded going to the range for my mandatory shooting time, but Ram, the Rangemaster, had been pleased with my improvements since my first time. I nearly always kept my eyes open now, and he could tell when I was getting cranky and tired because that was when I started aiming for the crotches of the little paper men.

Finally, Thanksgiving morning arrived. I set my alarm for four-thirty and quickly showered, dressed, and drove to Rangeman. I fobbed up to the sixth floor and quietly knocked on Ella's door. It felt like the middle of the night, but I was willing to bet that the gym was full of men pumping iron, sparring, and getting sweaty.

"Good morning, Ella," I said when she opened the door with a smile.

"Good morning, dear. Come on in. I thought we'd work in the industrial kitchen next door this morning. We'll have more room to work."

She led me to the large, stainless steel and white kitchen next door to her apartment. It was gleaming, and she had stocked the oversized sub-zero fridge with all the food we'd need today. We were going to make three turkeys. When I asked her if that was too much, she simply smiled and said, "My dear, these men can put away a lot of food. But if anything is left over, I can turn it into a delicious soup."

Ella was extremely patient, showing me anything I wasn't sure of. Thanks to my recent lessons in the kitchen, though, I could do most of the prep without instruction. I stuffed and dressed one of the turkeys to Ella's specifications and felt very proud of myself when I compared it to the two Ella did and didn't see a difference.

While the turkeys were baking in the ovens, Ella taught me how to make pie. We made several varieties: the standard pumpkin and apple, but we also made a rhubarb pie, lemon meringue, and a sinfully decadent chocolate pie. I could probably have eaten nothing but pie today and be blissfully happy.

Finally, at two o'clock, everything was ready. Ella had a large trolley she used to push meals downstairs, and we filled it with the turkeys, all the sides, the pies, and the dishes and cutlery on the bottom shelf. We laid out everything on the big conference table, and Ella showed me how she set it so everything would flow correctly and minimize bottlenecks when the men came through to fill their plates. Lula arrived while we were laying everything out, and she helped us set up the drinks and cups.

Finally, when everything was ready, I hugged Ella and said, "Thank you. This looks wonderful. Will you and Luis stay here to enjoy it with us?"

She smiled and nodded. "I'm going to change, and then we'll be down afterward. You did a wonderful job, Stephanie."

I went to the fifth floor and told the control room that dinner would be ready in five minutes, then I went to Ranger's office. "Hi, Ranger. You'll be joining us for Thanksgiving dinner, won't you?"

"I wouldn't miss it, Babe."

"Can I change and freshen up in your apartment?"

"Always. I thought you preferred Ella's?"

"I just didn't want to intrude on you." I shrugged. It was more like I was protecting myself from getting too close since his apartment always made me feel warm and secure, and it made me want to hunker down and never leave. But I couldn't tell him that.

After changing into my new dress, I returned to the conference room to meet everyone. I filled my plate with turkey, ham, stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce.

Lula, Ella, Luis, and I ate dinner together, chatting happily while several Merry Men came in, filled their plates, and filled the tables near us.

Ella told everyone how much work I did preparing everything, which completely embarrassed me, but they all offered me hugs and wished me Happy Thanksgiving.

I couldn't decide which kind of pie to eat, though. It was an agonizing decision until Lula pointed out we could have small pieces of all of them. So, that's what we did. By the end of dessert, I was so stuffed I thought I'd have to be rolled out of the room like Violet in the Willy Wonka movie.

Ranger was taking a monitor shift to relieve two employees, but he came in briefly to grab a plate and kiss my forehead. He had minimal amounts of most of the food, including a tiny sliver of apple pie.

Overall, it was a fabulous day, and I didn't feel like I missed out on anything by not going to my parents' house for Thanksgiving.