Chapter Six

Before I knew what was happening, Diesel had poofed us directly into the foyer of the penthouse on the seventh floor of RangeMan. When I looked at him, he smirked and said, "I like poofing in here. He never sees it coming and hates that I can get past his security cameras."

"But the rules are still the same, right? He can't see or hear us while we're here?"

Diesel shook his head. "We're invisible observers."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was a punch in the gut that my future with Joe was such a bad one. I was an alcoholic, married to a cheater, and living in a too-small house with two kids. My husband forced me to dress and act the way he wanted me to, but he was mean to me anyway. What had happened to me? I wonder if Ranger was still my friend in Joe's future. I turned to ask Diesel that very question and he shook his head.

"Joe forbade you from socializing with any of the men from RangeMan or Connie and Lula from the bonds office. Your only friend from before your marriage was Mary Lou, but the remainder of your friends were people you met after you married him." He squeezed my shoulder, and we walked further into the apartment.

The first person we saw this time was Ranger. He appeared a little older, but he was still so devastatingly handsome that it was hard to tell just how much older he was. He was dressed in RangeMan black, striding purposefully toward the bedroom. We followed him, and I was surprised to see a hallway instead of the expected bedroom. The penthouse had been renovated. I peeked into the room Ranger entered and was startled to see a little girl's room. But Ranger always told me he didn't do stupid stuff like marriage and kids. I guess he changed his mind, but I struggled to reconcile the man I knew with this new version.

"Mija, it's time to wake up. Come on, Cariña," he said softly to a small lump under the blankets. There was a muffled grumbling, and I smiled while Ranger chuckled. "I know you don't like mornings, Elena, but you have to wake up now."

The covers were thrown off dramatically, and a girl of about seven or eight years old with wild, dark brown curly hair glared at her father. "I don't wanna," she said with a fierceness that reminded me of myself as a little girl. It looks like she takes after me with her curls and attitude, if not the rest of her looks. The rest of her was pure Ranger, from her dark skin tone, straight nose, full lips, and dark hair.

He rubbed her back gently. "If you didn't spend so much time reading at night, you wouldn't be so tired in the mornings, Mija."

She rolled her eyes but got out of bed. "Alright, I'm up," she said grumpily, and Ranger's lips twisted into that 'thinking about smiling' expression I was so familiar with.

We followed Ranger into the bedroom next door, which held a crib containing a little boy who appeared to be about a year old. "¡Buenos días, Mijo." The little boy smiled widely and slapped the top of the crib railing. He had his upper and lower baby teeth and was adorable in a soft onesie with a picture of a dump truck on the front. With Ranger's complexion and straight brown hair, I could tell he would be a heartbreaker as he grew. Ranger picked him up and kissed his cheek.

He laid the baby down on a changing table, then efficiently changed his diaper before dressing him in a tiny pair of black cargo pants, striped black and grey socks, and a black tee shirt. Once done, he carried the baby into another room off the hallway. There, another boy of about four years old was already awake, running toy trucks along the road pattern in a small area rug.

"Good morning, Mijo," Ranger greeted him.

"Hola, Papa. Hola Miguel," the boy said, and Ranger broke into a wide grin.

"Muy bueno, Mijo. That was very good."

The three of them went into a room at the far end of the hall, and just sitting up in bed with a yawn and a stretch was Stephanie, er, me. Well, Stephanie Mañoso. When she saw the three men at her door, she smiled brightly, and the baby in Ranger's arms squirmed and reached for her. She took him in her arms, kissing him on his chubby cheeks, and I exhaled. So far, it looked like this home was much happier than the Morelli house, but I needed to see more. "You dressed him in RangeMan black again, Carlos?" she said with a smile and a shake of her head.

"Morning, Babe," Ranger said, leaning down to kiss her. "I've changed Miguel, but I have to run down to a meeting with the leadership group before their teams head out for the day. I'll be back in about an hour, alright? I woke up Elena, but you know how she is."

Mrs. Mañoso grinned and replied, "I'll be sure to make sure she's still awake and upright. I have a meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Rothchild at ten, so I can get Elena off to school first. Is Wendy here yet?"

Ranger shook his head. "Should be soon." He leaned down to kiss her again, cupping her face gently as he did so. "We're still on for tonight, right?"

Mrs. Mañoso smiled. "Yes. I confirmed last night with Mom that she and Dad can still watch the kids."

"Great. See you in a while, Babe."