With her surgery scheduled for the next morning, Ella was admitted to St. Francis. If everything went well, she'd be back at Haywood by dinner time tomorrow. Once we knew she was settled, Ranger and I both called our mothers and endured the wrath that followed. Despite what happened being an unfortunate accident, neither my mother nor Tia Marisol were very understanding. They'd both pointed out, in their own not-so-subtle ways that we were supposed to be security experts, and nothing was more important than our aunt's security.

Like we didn't feel bad enough about what happened already.

Much later, I let myself into the apartment and headed for the kitchen. Between Tia Ella's accident and an alarm call at a warehouse we monitor, I'd missed lunch and was feeling a bit hangry. I'd just put together a quick ham and cheese sandwich on wheat when Casey appeared from down the short hallway. She was dressed in a white robe and had her hair wrapped in a towel. The moment she saw me she let out a scream, put her hand over her heart then closed her eyes. "Lester, what are you doing here in the middle of the day?"

I arched a brow at her question. "Last time I checked, I live here."

Instantly, her face slid into a frown and her gaze diverted to the floor. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Damn it! I let out a sigh, placed the sandwich on the counter then rounded the island to where she stood. "Hey," I said as I reached for her. "Precious, look at me."

When she didn't move, I curled a finger beneath her chin, forcing her to look up at me. "I'm the one who should be sorry," I said, making sure to keep my voice soft. "I know you're still jumpy and I should have called out to let you know I came in."

"I was in the shower," she all but whispered. "I probably wouldn't have heard you."

"Still. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It's been a shit morning and I don't see it getting better any time soon."

Her brow knit as she stared at me. "Why? What happened?"

I glanced from her to the counter and my sandwich. "Come sit at the breakfast bar and I'll tell you while I eat."

She followed me over to the kitchen and took a seat while I picked up my sandwich. "So, I was in a core team meeting with Ranger, Tank and Bobby this morning when Zip called."

"Zip?" she asked.

"He's one of the other guys you haven't met yet," I replied as I considered just how many of the men she'd yet to meet.

"Does everyone here have such colorful nicknames?" Her pithy question pulled a grin from me. There was a little more of what I suspected was a feisty personality showing through.

"No. Most of the guys just have normal names, but some don't like their given names and prefer we call them by their nicknames."

"Like Ram?" she asked.

I gave a nod. "Ram is short for Ramsey. Which, as you already know, is his last name, but yeah, like Ram," I replied.

"Okay," she said then folded her hands in front of her on the counter. "Please, go on with your story. I'm sorry I sidetracked you."

"No problem," I replied, then took another bite and chewed. Once I swallowed, I turned back to her and continued to explain what happened to Ella.

"That's terrible," Casey said as she looked at me, her eyes wide and filled with sympathy.

"She'll be okay, which I'm more than a little thankful for," I replied. "The issue we have now is that she's going to be laid up for at least the next six to ten weeks. Maybe longer depending on how her ankle heals. Ella cooks and cleans and is pretty much the backbone of Rangeman. Without her, I'm not quite sure what we're going to do. I mean we have a part time crew that comes in on weekends, vacations, and such, but their food isn't that good. That means we'll have to arrange for catering too."

For a moment, Casey remained silent. She looked as if she was in deep thought, then once again, she lifted her gaze to mine. "Is she a good teacher?"

"Teacher?" I questioned, not quite understanding what she was asking.

"Teacher," she repeated. "Is Ella good at giving instructions? Is she patient?"

"Of course, she is. You've met her. So, you know how nice she is." I finally said now that I understood her question, even if I didn't understand exactly why she was asking it. "Why are you asking?"

"Because if she's a good teacher and she's patient, then she should be able to teach me what I need to know to do her job."

Dumbfounded, for several long seconds I stood staring at her like an idiot, before I finally found my voice. "You want to do what?"

"I want to help," she replied and this time she didn't try to hide her face from me. Instead, she held her head high and looked me in the face.

"Why?"

"Because I can cook and clean. I'm actually quite good at it. Plus, I'm not really doing anything all that productive just sitting in this apartment. Helping will not only give me something to do but will also provide me an opportunity to give back for everything Rangeman is doing for me."

My knee jerk reaction was to say no. After everything she'd been through, she needed time to rest and recuperate. She needed time to heal. Plus, between all three shifts, the male to female ratio was about twenty-five to one. "Honey, the building is mostly men and a lot of them you haven't met yet."

She drew in a deep breath and held it. "I realize it's not going to be easy for me emotionally, but I'll just keep reminding myself that nobody in this building is going to hurt me. If anything, they'll all protect me."

Everything she said was absolutely true. Still, I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing, "You've only been here twelve days," I tried to protest knowing it sounded lame even to my ears.

"So?" she challenged. "This is the best I've felt in a long time, and I know if given the chance I can do this job and feel even better. Please, Lester," she said reaching across the counter to take my hands in hers. "Please let me try."

"It's not my decision alone," I replied. "I have to talk to Ranger, Tank, and Bobby and get them on board with it."

"When can you talk to them?'

"When I'm done lunch."

"Perfect," she murmured, then let go of my hand, hopped off the bar stool and headed for the small laundry closet just off the kitchen.

"Precious, what are you doing?"

She stuck her head back around the open door to look at me. "I wanted a shower, but I didn't have any clean clothes. So, I had to do laundry and I was waiting for everything to dry. Now I can be dressed and presentable to the core team should they wish to talk to me."

My brow knit at her statement. "I thought Ella bought you plenty of clothes."

Filled laundry basket in hand, she closed the closet doors and turned back to face me. In that moment an overwhelming sense of domesticity hit me at the sight of her. There had been a time when anything close to a serious relationship or domestic bliss would send me running for the hills. Now, as I'm frozen in place watching her, all I feel is happiness. "Ella bought me a couple of dresses and a couple pair of pajamas and stuff. Honestly, it won't get me through a full week, but I have the washing machine, so I don't mind."

"You don't have more than a couple of days' worth of clothing?" I asked.

She paused her forward motion. "Yeah? So? It's no big deal."

To me it was a huge deal and something I planned to remedy my next day off. "You need more clothes than that, Precious. The next time I'm off work, I'll take you shopping."

She shook her head as her frown returned, "You don't have to do that. I'm fine with what I have."

Abandoning my glass of milk, I walked around the island to her, took the basket and set it on the sofa, then pulled her hands into mine. "It might not be a big deal to you, but it is to me. When I convinced you to come off that bridge, I made a promise to take care of you and that's damn well what I intend to do, okay?"

After a moment she sighed as if she'd accepted defeat. "Okay. We can go shopping whenever you want."

"Good." I leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "And I'll talk to the guys this afternoon and have an answer for you soon."

I was already seated at the table in the conference room on Five, when Ranger and Tank walked in, followed by Bobby a couple of seconds later.

"What's up with the impromptu meeting?" Tank asked.

"I need to talk to you about something," I replied.

"And what would that be?" Ranger asked.

"I might have a possible resolution to our Ella issue."

Tank's brows winged up as he eased his big body into the chair. "So, soon?"

"Well," I replied. "I was starving when we got back from the hospital. So, I stopped by the apartment to grab a sandwich. Of course, Casey was there, and I was telling her about what happened with Ella."

"And?" Ranger asked.

"She volunteered to fill in," I replied.

The silence that followed my statement left me feeling antsy and nervous as I looked from one to the other. "Come on guys. Say something."

"Casey wants to work for Rangeman?" Ranger asked, the hint of bewilderment in his tone the only tell of his emotions.

"She said that while Ella can't do the work, she could teach her how to do it instead."

Tank held up a hand. "Just to clarify, you didn't ask her. She volunteered."

I nodded at his question. "In fact, she practically begged me for the opportunity."

"I'm not opposed to the idea," Bobby replied. "But I think we need to confer with Doctor Cochran first. She's only been here what, about two weeks, right? I wouldn't want to do anything that might derail her recovery."

"I already called him," I replied.

"What did he say?" Ranger asked.

"He said he thought it was a spectacular idea. That, allowing her to do this would not only make her feel as if she's giving something back to those who saved her, but will give her a sense of purpose. She'll feel needed and important and right now she needs that."

Tank leaned back and the office chair groaned beneath his weight. "Is she a good cook?"

I grinned. "The best. Of course, it's not the food we're used to eating, but what she's made for me so far has been amazing. I think under Ella's guidance, she could handle the job."

The three of them looked back and forth at each other. "It's not like we have a whole lot of options here. I mean, we could talk to the company who provides the supplemental cleaning crew about getting a full-time crew. But if Casey is willing to do it under Ella's guidance, I think I'd rather we take that option."

"I'm with Tank," Bobby replied. "The supplemental crew is good for keeping the place clean on Ella's days off, but their food choices are only adequate. I really don't want to waste time trying to find a good caterer. If Doctor Cochran is okay with it, then I say we let Casey try."

"Agreed," Ranger said as Tank nodded.

Perfect.

"Bring her down with you in the morning and we'll get her to sign the hiring paperwork so we can get her on the payroll."

Tank frowned. "She's not going to have any ID or social security information."

"We can have Hector get working on tracking down her info," Bobby replied. "Though I don't know if Mennonites have birth certificates."

"If we get her birth date, where she was born, and with what church she was associated, we might be able to do something," Ranger said. "We have a lot of contacts. We should be able to come up with something for her."

"I'll get the information you need from her," I replied as I pushed up from my chair, eager to make my way back upstairs to tell her. She was going to be so excited.

I entered the code, pushed open the door and remembering what happened earlier, immediately called out for her. "Casey?"

She appeared in the doorway to her bedroom, an expression of hope and anticipation on her face. "Well? What did they say?"

"Looks like you get to be our new cook and housekeeper while Ella is recovering."

Her eyes lit bright with joy. "Really?"

"Really," I replied. "Ranger wants me to bring you down to Five in the morning to sign all the paperwork, so we can put you on the payroll."

A look of shock crossed her face. "I'm getting paid?"

"Of course, you're getting paid. It's a lot of work. We would never ask you to do this for free."

"I get paid," she repeated, her voice just a bit softer as the grin returned to her face. Then she did the one thing I don't think either of us expected. In one quick movement, she launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck as she planted a kiss on my lips.

The contact was like a jolt of electricity. Not expecting the move, I stiffened in response, but it only took a second for me to realize what she'd done, and I relaxed into her. Slowly, I lifted my arms to wrap them around her torso, pulling her closer to me as I deepened the kiss.

It was her turn to stiffen, and realizing what I'd done, I was about to release her when she whimpered and parted her lips, granting me access.

She tasted like pineapple and something distinctly Casey. It was intoxicating, addicting, and had me deepening the kiss even more. The feel of her body, soft and malleable against me had parts of my anatomy coming to attention.

This shouldn't be happening right now, or at least so soon. I needed to have better control, yet, having her pliant and willing in my arms only served to stoke the fire burning deep in my belly. God, I wanted her in ways I hadn't thought possible. The moment I felt her fingers thread through my hair, I nearly lost it.

Damn, if I didn't put a stop to this, it was going to continue to spiral out of control. That wouldn't be good for either of us. Not when it was so soon in her recovery, or the fragile relationship we were building.

When I had no choice but to let us come up for air, I pulled back and watched with regret as her eyes opened and she suddenly realized what we'd done. She stepped back, out of my grasp and I let her go without a fight. Her hand shot to her mouth, and she ever so slowly began to shake her head. "I-I'm…I'm so sorry, Lester. I shouldn't have done that."

I shot her a grin. "I'm not sorry you did, but I shouldn't have taken it further. Especially considering everything you've been through."

She gently touched her lips with her fingers as she stared at me. "Is it wrong that I liked it?"

My grin widened. "Not at all."

"So, if I wanted to kiss you again sometime?" she asked. Her question was bold, but her voice was timid as she looked up at me with a guarded expression. Like maybe she was preparing herself for me to say no.

As if that would ever happen. "I will happily kiss you anytime you want." I reached for her hand, taking it in mine as I slowly closed the distance between us. "In fact, when you're ready, I'll show you all the pleasures you've been missing. Just remember, the ball's in your court, Precious. You call the shots, okay?"

The guarded expression was gone when she looked up at me again. Instead, her eyes sparkled with happiness and dare I say hope. "Okay," she replied, then a small grin tipped her lips. "So, if I wanted you to kiss me again right now?"

"All you have to do is ask," I replied even as my heart sped up.

Her voice was firm, but soft when she asked. "Lester, will you kiss me like that again?"

I stepped into her embrace, slid one hand around her waist and cupped her chin with the other as I stared down into her beautiful green eyes. "You're wish, is my command."