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Interlude Four
Dog Days
(Stephanie)
“Mommy, I’m hot,” Caleb whined, plunking down on the couch beside her, laying his head on her arm.
“I know, kiddo,” Stephanie replied, brushing his bangs off of his forehead. In truth, she was every bit as hot. It was typical late August heat in Newark and she couldn’t even find the energy to go to the “Dog Days” sales or pack the car for a trip.
The skips had been slow in coming this month and, after two days of nothing, she’d arranged with Connie that she would call in to find out if there were any skips instead of stopping by each day. With that set, she packed a bag and headed down to Newark to spend time with her son. She had this whole week with him and knew she would be down in another week to see him off for his first day of kindergarten.
Grandma Plum stepped into the room carrying a tray with a pitcher of lemonade on it and three glasses filled with ice. Setting it on the coffee table, she indicated that Stephanie should pour. As she settled into her chair and accepted the glass of lemonade from her granddaughter, Grandma Plum smiled at the pair across from her. “I still have the old sprinkler in the garage,” she said.
Stephanie perked up immediately. It had been years since she’d played in the sprinkler on a hot day, but it sounded like the perfect answer to their current state.
Looking down at her son, she saw his confused look and smiled broadly. “Let’s drink our lemonade and then at two we’ll get our swimsuits on and go out back,” she said, seeing that it was already one forty.
“But, why?” Caleb asked, puzzled.
Placing a kiss on his forehead, Stephanie simply said, “Trust me.”
“Then why do we have to wait until two?” he demanded.
“Because that’s after the hot part of the day,” Stephanie replied. Seeing the next question already forming, she added, “And our sunscreen will be much more effective after two than it would be during the hot part of the day.”
“OK,” Caleb agreed.
Stephanie smiled at him.
“So, tell me about the Morelli boy,” Grandma Plum said, a mischievous smile on her face.
Stephanie’s eyes widened as a blush crept across her face. She shot a meaningful look at Caleb before returning her eyes to her grandmother. It was then that she saw the amusement in the older woman’s eyes and let her head drop onto the back of the couch. “You’ve been talking to her again, haven’t you?” Stephanie accused, knowing that Grandma Plum understood exactly who ‘her’ was.
“Your Grandma Mazur had many interesting things to say about the goings on in Trenton,” Grandma Plum replied
Caleb was sitting up straight, looking up at his mother, “Who’s the boy and what’s been going on?” he demanded of his mother, jealous at the thought that his mother had been playing with a little boy other than him.
Letting out a sigh of resignation, Stephanie explained, “The ‘boy’ is Joseph Morelli. He was two years ahead of me in school and is now a detective on the Trenton police force. He and I have gone out a few times.” A snort from her grandmother caused Stephanie to glare at the older woman. “And there hasn’t been anything really interesting going on, just the regular skips and such.”
Caleb narrowed his eyes, studying his mother to determine the truth of her statements. “So, he’s your boyfriend?” Caleb demanded.
Stephanie felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips. It was always so cute to see Caleb fall into protective mode. Taking a minute to think over her ‘relationship’ with Joe, she couldn’t say she was completely comfortable with that term. “Not exactly,” she replied, “But we might be heading there.”
“Will I get to meet him?” Caleb asked.
Stephanie felt a tug in her heart at the mix of caution and anticipation she heard there. Caleb really had no man in his life to use as a role model. Her own family was a group of strangers to her son and she hadn’t dated while she lived in Newark. It couldn’t be good for him to have no male role model, but she had never been able to decide if telling Carlos would be a good thing or a bad one. But, then again, she hadn’t really seen Carlos. She only saw Ranger.
It was possible that there was no difference between the two, but – and, maybe, this was just wishful thinking – there seemed to be something more to Ranger, something he didn’t let people see, something she desperately wanted to see. If Caleb was going to have any man in his life it should, by rights, be Ranger. Somehow, though, she got the feeling that wasn’t, and might never be, an option.
“If he does become my boyfriend, then, yes, I’ll bring him to meet you,” Stephanie assured, smiling at her son. She saw emotions flicker across his face. None of them was positive. Wrapping her arm around his shoulders, Stephanie coaxed Caleb into her lap. She waited until he met her eyes. Though she was only guessing at what was bothering him, she felt she owed it to him to at least try and explain her thoughts. “Caleb, no one I date, no one I might become involved with, no one I’d become serious with will ever replace you in my heart or my life. I know I’m away a lot with my job, and I’m very proud of the way you’ve been handling it. I miss you terribly every minute I’m away, but I know that you love me. Nothing that happens in Trenton will ever take me away from you or make me love you less. If Joe turns out to be a boyfriend, or even if we get married, you’re the most important thing to me in the whole world. And if whoever ‘he’ is doesn’t like it, then they don’t need to be in our lives.”
Caleb stared at her for a moment as if processing everything she said. Finally he nodded.
“So, we’re OK?” she asked.
“Yes, Mommy,” Caleb assured as a smile broke out on his face. “But you don’t like the getting married part do you?”
A short bark of laughter escaped Stephanie as Grandma Plum chuckled quietly to herself.
“No, kiddo, I don’t like the getting married part. Once upon a time I married a man who turned out to be a real horse’s patoot. He made a very important promise to me and to God and then broke it,” Stephanie explained.
“Did you beat him up?” Caleb inquired.
“She sure did and then some,” Grandma Plum assured.
Stephanie rolled her eyes. “I got a divorce from him. Ever since then I haven’t liked the idea of being married.”
“OK,” Caleb replied, accepting her explanation. “Is it two o’clock yet?”
Pointing to the clock, Stephanie encouraged, “You tell me.”
Looking at the clock and studying it for a moment, Caleb sounded almost dejected when he replied, “Five more minutes.”
“Good job!” Stephanie enthused. “You’re getting good at reading time. But you know what?” When Caleb looked at her and shook his head, she continued, “It’s going to take us about five minutes to get changed, get our sunscreen on and get the hose and sprinkler set up in the back yard.”
“I can go get ready?” Caleb asked, his eyes bright with excitement.
“Yes,” Stephanie answered. “We both can.”
“Cool!” shouted the boy, jumping off his mother’s lap and racing up the stairs.
Grandma Plum was laughing to herself as she rose from the chair. “You were exactly the same way at his age,” she teased. “I’ll go find the sprinkler.”
Stephanie rose from her spot and placed a kiss on her grandmother’s cheek. “Thanks, Grandma,” she said softly.
“Anytime, dear,” the older lady assured.
(Ranger)
His latest time ‘in the wind’ had been profitable, but not pleasant or relaxing. Still, it provided some extremely useful contacts, helped him with his current jobs and added to his already impressive reputation on both sides of the law. In short, it had been a master stroke of information, and disinformation, management. With any luck, it would help him wrap up the first of this two current cases.
Currently he was in his office in the Rangeman Miami building. The meeting had been set here not only because he was tired of going to Washington D. C., but also because he needed to make sure he was as distant as possible from any government taint. Right now, the faintest hint that he was in any way associated with the government could kill not only his job, but either him or his men.
Spending the day in strategy and planning meetings, however, didn’t get his paperwork done for his company.
Much of the Rangeman paperwork he’d brought with him had become urgent due to his inability to tend to it in a timely manner and Ranger hated being late on anything. One of the most annoying sayings he’d heard as a child was “If you’re early you’re on time and if you’re on time you’re late.” Yet, somehow, that saying had become an ingrained part of him. He always wanted to have everything done and in place early, even when he had to wait until precisely the right moment to act. Being prepared and being ready early had saved him and those under his command more than once. If his life before the army had taught him hard lessons, his time in the army taught him even more valuable ones. Being early, being prepared, kept him from being taken by surprise. He could honestly say there were very few things in life that surprised him anymore. But, Stephanie Plum was one of them.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he thought about her latest escapade. He had heard about it from Big Dog while dropping off a skip later the same day.
Last week she’d been after Leon Farelli, a shop lifter. He was a fairly standard skip for her – non-violent, easygoing, forgetful. The man was eighty-three and struggled to remember his name most time. It was more likely that he had simply forgotten to pay rather than that he was trying to shoplift, but, since it wasn’t the first time the man had wandered out of the store with merchandise, the owner had pressed charges.
When she went to collect Farelli to bring him in, it had been a miserably hot day. Stephanie had found him sitting in a plastic kiddie pool his back yard, fortunately wearing a pair of swim trunks. At first he seemed ready to go, at least until he discovered that Stephanie’s car didn’t have working air conditioning. When that piece of information came out, he suddenly wanted nothing to do with her or going into the police station.
He knew she worked very differently than he did, had witnessed it time and again. Even when he asked her to help lure someone out of a bar or, in the most recent case, a funeral home, she was nothing like he would expect. Hearing that she had negotiated with Farelli was almost too much. Though no one knew exactly what was said, Stephanie ended up in her bikini, in the kiddie pool, drinking lemonade with Farelli. Rumor has it that she spent an hour with him in the pool explaining why the air conditioning at the station was better than a kiddie pool on a hot day.
Somehow she had him believing it. In truth, even when he was starting out, he couldn’t image going to that much trouble to bring in a skip. She certainly had a unique way of doing things. Stephanie always managed to provide an amusing story or distraction when he needed one. Given the press of business he had right now, it was a welcome diversion.
Reaching for the next piece of paper, he shook his head at the serendipity of it. He was holding the authorization form for installing a tracker on her car.
Ranger let out a sigh. Somehow, she had become important enough to him that he was considering tracking her and knowing where she was. He already knew many of her habits and patterns, from her trips to her parents’ house for dinner to the occasional weekend with her Grandmother in Newark. Those sorts of events didn’t worry him. It was those times when she stumbled into something she shouldn’t that he had to worry about. With things coming to a head on his jobs, he needed to make sure she didn’t stumble into his work the way she did with Morelli’s. The tracker, combined with the information he got from Vinnie about which skips she got, should give him a good idea of when to expect her to end up in the middle of one of his cases – he hoped.
A smile quirked the corners of his lips. With Stephanie Plum, he knew it would be a case of when, not if, she happened upon his case. The round-about way she ended up in the middle of the Treasury case was enough to convince him of that.
Given her track record with cars, he planned on using only the older trackers, ones that Rangeman would have been obsoleting and destroying anyway. That way, should Stephanie’s car karma continue to be poor, he would be able to claim their loss as a business expense rather than writing them off as a loss. It might not seem like much, but when one is looking to expand into Boston where real estate was ridiculously expensive, every penny helped.
The only car he would insist upon giving a new tracker to would be the Buick she was currently using. Not only did she have a good track record with the Buick, but the more modern GPS trackers had a stronger signal. The signal on that car would need all the help it could get, given the amount of steel involved in the car’s construction.
Lifting his pen, he felt satisfied with his explanation as to why she needed to be tracked. As his pen met paper, he very carefully ignored the voice in his heart which taunted that he really just wanted to know where she was so he could find her to see her and touch her whenever he wanted. It whispered that he cared for her and worried over her and her safety.
His fingers gripped the pen a little tighter as he struggled against the whispers his heart was making to his mind and soul. He didn’t have time for a relationship. He was responsible for Stephanie and needed to be able to offer what protection he could. After all, she was his protégé. That and they helped each other quite a bit. She helped him lure men out of crowded establishments and stood by when he had to bring in a woman and he helped her with her skips as needed. A useful, professional relationship was all they had. When it stopped being useful to him, he would end it without regret.
The laugh that his heart gave at this last thought was so strong, that a soft ‘ha’ escaped Ranger’s lips before he knew what he was doing.
Very deliberately he placed the paper aside and reached for the next.
He had business to do and very little time in which to do it. Skimming the next paper, he pushed all other thoughts from his mind and focused on the task at-hand.
Ranger didn’t know which was worse, a heat wave along the entire East coast during the dog days of August or the fact he was stuck in Miami wearing three piece suits and attending business meetings all day.
First Day Of School
(Stephanie)
Stephanie stood by the entrance of the school and watched as her son walked into the front door. Somehow she was elated and heartbroken at the same time. Her little boy was growing up. He was going to Kindergarten and things would never be the same.
She struggled to keep a smile on her face as Caleb stopped at the door, turned, smiled at her and waved before disappearing inside.
Stephanie couldn’t help but wonder how some mothers did this every day. It nearly killed her to see her little boy walk away from her into a place she couldn’t enter, into a place she couldn’t protect him. For about a year now she’d been leaving him behind to go work in Trenton and it only got harder each time. But no matter how many times she left, she knew he would be safe with Grandma Plum. Watching him walk away just about ripped her heart out, especially sending him into the unknown. What if he met a boy like little Joe Morelli or, worse, a skank like Joyce Barnhardt. They both had made her childhood miserable in different ways.
Another part of her, though, was elated. Her little boy was growing up and she knew he would be someone good, someone to be admired. He was so strong and so smart. He was friendly and made friends easily. He was going to a place where he could learn as much as he wanted, where he could grow and learn to fly. There were so many adventures and new experiences waiting for him, she couldn’t help but be excited for him.
When the second bell rang, she sighed and turned to go back to her Grandmother’s house. Her little boy was growing up.
As she headed toward home, she couldn’t help but wonder how Ranger might react if he ever did find out about Caleb. Would he be angry? Would he be detached? Somehow, even with her wild imagination, it was difficult to think of him as being happy about it. He wasn’t the type of man who appreciated such secrets being kept from him, especially ones that might affect him. Of course she couldn’t see herself telling Ranger about Caleb. A soft snort of amusement escaped her. No, she wouldn’t tell him, she enjoyed living too much. Besides their relationship was strictly professional, so it’s not like it would ever come up. Yes, he did know a few things about her personal life and family, but, despite chatting about it on stakeouts, there wasn’t anything she shared that he couldn’t find out through the Burg grapevine if he was interested. The grapevine knew nothing of her life in Newark, only what happened in Trenton.
So, if she wouldn’t tell him, how would he find out?
Stephanie knew this was a dangerous game for her to be playing, but she couldn’t seem to stop it. What-if games only seemed to complicate matters and confuse things. Still, it was too tempting a game to give up.
What was the most likely way for him to find out? Grandma Mazur?
Grandma Mazur was the only one in Trenton who knew about Caleb. She had hinted a few times that she would like to see her great-grandchild, but she, just like Grandma Plum, understood why it wouldn’t happen, why it couldn’t happen.
Still, as often as Grandma Mazur tried to insinuate herself into Stephanie’s life, she could see it happening. Some slight comment about Stephanie’s son and Ranger would be curious. Grandma Mazur would continue to spill the beans and Ranger would ask for a picture. If Stephanie didn’t produce one, then he would become suspicious. When a picture was produced one look at it and Ranger would know. Stephanie could imagine the anger and betrayal burning in his eyes.
Shaking her head she tried to think of something else, like where she could take Caleb out to lunch as a celebration for completing his first day in morning Kindergarten.
She thought they might go to Belle’s. They’d only been there twice since their Valentine’s date. It was nice to have a little spot of their own.
As Stephanie continued to think, happily, of her lunch with her son, her mind took the scene in another direction.
She and Caleb are sitting at a table near the front when the door opens and something draws Stephanie’s attention to the entrance.
She spots Ranger standing by the hostess stand, waiting to be seated.
Spying her, she watches as recognition flares in Ranger’s eyes and he heads toward her. As he approaches, he spots the top of Caleb’s head and blinks.
Stephanie can feel the panic rising in her as he reaches the table and knows her moment of reckoning is at hand.
Her eyes flick between Ranger and their son as he stops by her table. Nodding at her, he greets, “Babe.” Then, with a very slight smile, he turns to look at her dining partner.
She sees Ranger’s face freeze as Caleb blinks in wonderment.
“You look like me,” Caleb blurts out.
Ranger’s eyes move from the boy, who is obviously his son, to meet her eyes.
The coldness in Ranger’s eyes chills her to the bone. “Yes, you do,” he replies, his voice sounding calm, but Stephanie can feel the chill in it.
“Mommy why do I look like him?” is the demand Caleb makes.
Her mouth drops open as her brain searches for an answer she knows she won’t find.
Reaching out, Ranger grasps her wrist in an iron grip and turns to his child. “A very good question ,” Ranger tells the boy. “Would you mind if I speak to your mommy for a moment?”
“No,” Caleb replies. “Just stay where I can see you,” he admonishes, his posture, face and eyes betraying a fierce protectiveness.
Ranger offers a smile in return. “We’ll be right there at the next table,” he assures before tugging Stephanie out of her set.
Sitting her at the table and taking the chair next to him, he stares at her, a look in his eyes he can’t describe and isn’t sure she wants to understand.
“Why are you in my life?” Ranger demanded. Without giving her a chance to respond, he continues firing questions at her, “Who are you working for? Did you think to play me? Con me? You’ll get nothing from me.”
The next thing she knew Caleb was standing next to her, glaring at her in anger. “He’s my father? You kept me away from him! Why didn’t you let me have a daddy like everyone else? I hate you!”
Stephanie startled back to the present when the crosswalk signal started blaring.
She couldn’t remember ever being so thankful for the recent change that put audible signals at the crosswalks in order to assist blind people in knowing when to cross.
Jogging across the street, she hurried to her grandmother’s house. “Grandma! I’m home!” she called out.
Grandma Plum came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands, a concerned look on her face. Walking over to where Stephanie stood, she reached out and took both of her granddaughter’s hands, frowning in concern. “What is it, honey? Is Caleb all right?”
Stephanie took a deep breath, only to choke on the fear and distress her daymare had caused.
She allowed herself to be led to the couch where she took a seat. And slowly got her breathing under control. She quietly reminded herself that it was just her imagination, that Caleb was OK, that things were fine.
Eventually, she felt in control enough to address a worried looking Grandma Plum. “Caleb’s fine,” Stephanie assured. “He was really excited to be going to school and I think he’s going to have a great time there.
“Good,” Grandma Plum beamed. “He’s such a smart little boy. I know he’ll thrive in a learning environment.” Her expression grew more serious as she continued, “But that doesn’t explain your distress.
Taking a deep breath, Stephanie slowly released it. “I started thinking about school and parents. Then I thought of Caleb’s father and how he might find out,” she was unable to look her grandmother in the eye as she whispered, “It was horrible.”
“How so?” Grandma Plum inquired gently.
“Caleb’s father was cruel and then Caleb shouted at me, he hated me,” Stephanie admitted her voice small.
“Oh, honey,” Grandma Plum soothed, wrapping Stephanie in a hug. “You know that boy loves you and nothing you could ever do or say will change that. We’ve dealt with the father issue with him. And if, by some chance, you do ever find the boy’s father, things will work themselves out for the best.”
Stephanie hugged her grandmother tightly and rested her head on the older woman’s shoulder. “Thanks, Grandma.”
(Ranger)
As he began reviewing the details of the job in Trenton one more time, his phone rang.
Turning to face his desk once more, he saw it was an outside line. “Manoso,” he greeted.
“You could learn some phone manners,” a female voice chided.
“Rachel,” Ranger responded, his eyes moving to the time. He and his ex-wife hadn’t spoken since their divorce, at least, not until a year ago. He didn’t like thinking about Rachel or his daughter, Julie. They were reminders of a dark time in his life. They were reminders of his failure as a man, even while he was achieving success as a soldier. No one liked to be reminded of his or her failures.
The sound of a sigh came across the phone. “It’s the first day of school,” she said.
His eyes grazed the face of his watch. She had called three minutes early. They had agreed that he would call at eight. “It’s seven fifty seven,” he replied, wanting to point out that he had abided by the rules she set.
About two years ago, Julie, his daughter, had found her adoption papers and wanted to know more about her biological father. Despite Rachel’s reluctance, she had agreed and contacted him.
Ranger had, at first, been very reluctant to have anything to do with Julie. It was a part of his life he had put behind him. It would also be much safer for Julie, Rachel and the rest of their family if he stayed away as much as possible. They were in no way prepared to deal with the darkness in which he dwelled.
Still, after much negotiation and many trips to the lawyers, it was finally agreed that Ranger would meet with Julie at least once a year and would contact her on the phone on days mutually agreed upon by Rachel and Ranger. One of those days was the first day of school. Ranger was expected to give her an encouraging talk before the day began and a second call later in the day to see how it went. They had agreed upon eight o’clock for both calls. From Rachel’s perspective, those times ensured he would reach Julie. From Ranger’s perspective, it meant he didn’t have to speak with the child too long. He hated the predictability of these calls. Any sort of pattern in his life provided an opening for his enemies to strike. He didn’t want to make Julie a target.
“Yes,” Rachel responded, her voice tight. “But she’s very excited.”
“Put her on,” Ranger commanded.
“Ranger?” a child’s voice asked.
“Hello, Julie. Are you excited about school?” he asked, forcing a smile onto his face. Even if he wasn’t truly happy about this situation, by speaking with a smile, he knew he would at least sound as if he was.
“Yes!” she exclaimed. “I’m going to be in Mrs. Monroe’s class this year. She’s just the coolest teacher ever. Everyone says so. She lets the kids have fun and, if we’re really good, she’ll let us have huge party.”
“That’s terrific,” Ranger responded, unhappy with the softening he felt in his heart toward the girl. “Does she challenge her students to learn?” he asked, mentally checking off another of his prepared questions.
“Yeah, she’s the toughest. All the honor students have her, but she makes learning so much fun you don’t even realize you’re doing it,” Julie bubbled. “I heard that two years ago she even dressed up in costume for some of the stories we’ll be studying. But last year’s class wasn’t well enough behaved, but I know this year we’re going to be an awesome class and get to do all the cool stuff.”
“That’s wonderful,” Ranger replied. He was just about to ask his next question when Julie interrupted him.
“Oh! My bus is almost here. I gotta go. Bye!” she shouted.
Ranger winced as the receiver clattered against the wall and onto the floor.
“Sorry about dropping the phone,” Ron, Rachel’s husband, apologized. “I wasn’t expecting it to be thrown at me. So you’ll call tonight?”
“Eight o’clock,” Ranger confirmed.
“Talk to you then,” Ron replied.
Ranger hung up and turned his chair to face the window once more. He needed to gather his thoughts.
He didn’t necessarily like the way the contact with Julie made him feel. There was too much at stake, too much riding on his being on top of things for feelings to get in the way. Besides, he wasn’t cut out for being a father or a family man.
Keep telling yourself that, a small voice taunted him from the vicinity of his heart. You just need the right woman.
Ranger blew out a breath. There was no room in his life for anything like that, not now and, probably, not ever. It wouldn’t matter what sort of woman he met, none of them would accept the insanity of his life. And he didn’t want to change. He needed to push himself. He had skills and connections that placed him in the realm of the elite in what he did. People paid him what they did because they knew they couldn’t find better.
Concerns about home and family could distract him and easily cause him to loose a step at the wrong moment, not to mention the huge weakness they presented. He couldn’t remember how many times he’d used a person’s family against them in everything from a business deal to information gathering to other things.. It was one of the reasons why he made sure he had no such weakness.
His watch alarm beeped.
Unconsciously, he reached over and turned it off. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and slowly released it, allowing all thought and worry to seep out of him as he breathed out.
His mind clear once more, he turned to face his desk and began making notes on what needed to happen in Trenton before he got back.
Glancing out his window at the Miami morning, Ranger couldn’t help but wonder when he would be getting back to Trenton. It wasn’t that the meetings here weren’t important. They were, at least for one of his jobs. But the other job was moving and he needed to get back in order to ensure everything moved along according to plan before things moved into a critical stage.
Mid-September
(Stephanie)
Stephanie sat at the table in the apartment kitchen, head cradled in her hands and let out a sigh. Closing her eyes, she prayed things would look different when she opened them again.
Finally finished with her prayer, she cracked open one eye, let out a sigh of resignation and opened her other eye as she slumped back in her chair.
The numbers in her checking account hadn’t changed.
With regard to skips, things were slowing down. They weren’t desperate yet, but there had been fewer and fewer skips over the past few weeks and those who did skip were usually at the lower end of even her range.
What was more, she wasn’t even being asked to help Ranger out anymore. Sure it wasn’t big money that he gave her for her help, it wasn’t even like she had to do all that much for the most part, but every little bit helped.
When it had first started, she had realized she would need to put off getting another car for a while. That was, OK, though. As much as she hated driving the Buick, at least it got her to Newark to see her son without forcing her onto the train or to take a bus.
Now, though, it was other decisions she was going to need to make. It wasn’t quite down to “food or rent”, but it was getting there.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of her savings passbook. There was still money in there, but that was Caleb’s money. The account had already taken a huge hit when she paid for tuition. Even with the financial aid she received, it had been a hefty sum. The fact that he would need clothes and money throughout the year was another concern. She could probably get him through this year, but she needed to start saving for next year as well.
She needed work.
Closing her checkbook, she put it and the savings passbook in her purse. She walked over to the couch and flopped down on it.
If everything fell completely apart…
She rubbed her face with both hands. She had no idea what she would do.
Her first instinct was to go to Caleb, to return to Newark and live there.
But, since coming back to Trenton, she had reconnected with the rest of her family, not to mention Mary Lou, Lula and Connie. Plus, if she went back to Newark, where would that leave her with Joe? With Carlos?
A sigh escaped her at that last thought.
Carlos didn’t exist for her, not really. He was a vague memory, a dream she had at night. Ranger was the reality and she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to get close to Ranger. She knew she didn’t want Ranger near her son. A few times, she was certain she’d caught glimpses of Carlos. It was those few glimpses she was holding onto, those brief flashes of humanity that fed her hope that Caleb’s father would one day accept them.
Stephanie didn’t like to think on it too closely, she didn’t want to deal with the disappointment when it didn’t work.
Still, that left her with a question of what to do if she had to find another job. She was fairly certain that her family would not look favorably up on her moving back with Grandma Plum. The lines were still drawn in that battle and only the fact that she was her father’s favorite kept there from being shouting matches at home. Instead, the topic was never raised and no one ever asked what she did in Newark or even when she went.
Staying in Trenton wasn’t nearly as tempting. She always felt like an adult in Newark. In Trenton she felt like she was constantly living under the shadow of her childhood. Not an easy thing to do. Not to mention the fact that she would be away from Caleb.
Of course, she could bring Caleb here to Trenton, but there were a lot of arguments against that, the first and foremost being she had no idea how Ranger would react to discovering not only that they had a son together, but also that she had hidden it from him. She could always argue that she didn’t know who the father was and that there was no proof, but she knew that would never fly. One only had to look at them to know the truth of their relationship. She would still probably insist on a paternity test, but already knew the answers they would get. There couldn’t be that many men in the world with mocha latte skin who looked like Ranger and gave their name as Carlos.
Then there was the teasing and taunting he would receive, the microscope both of their lives would be under and the possible rejection by her family.
Right now Caleb was safe. He was loved and he was happy. She couldn’t undo that. There was no way she would force him to leave such a place.
Of course, if she got a job even further away, she wouldn’t have a choice. Being away from him so much was driving her crazy. If she could, she would live in Newark, but there was no way she would bring the insanity that had infected her life to come near him.
Glancing at the clock, she noticed it was nearly six o’clock.
She blew out a long, slow breath of air and rose from her seat. She would eat with her parents tonight and save a little money there. What was a little damage to her psyche when it might help her save more money for her son?
(Ranger)
One of his jobs required him to begin getting in touch with various, less than savory, organizations in New Jersey. He had started at this shortly after opening Rangeman Trenton. He would be seen at the same places, have his men drop the right word about his abilities and character at the right time.
A few parties and introductions were made, business relationships developed, he slowly got his foot in the door.
He was now viewed as a trustworthy neutral party by all the various organizations. If they needed to speak to each other, he was the one who arranged the meeting and ensured security. He took a flat fee from all groups involved so that he didn’t favor one over the other.
His neutrality combined with being one of very few trustworthy men in an untrusting business, had brought him into more deals, and therefore more information, than he would have ever thought possible.
Nothing he did was illegal – precisely. A good portion of it was legally gray. Being hired by gun runners, drug dealers and more to secure meeting sights, etc was enough to put him on several agency’s watch lists. Of course, those same agencies would gladly accept the information he “accidentally” overheard at such meetings – something most of them would need court orders to do.
Most recently, he’d been getting closer to the Ramos family. They were in a dangerous state of flux right now and there wasn’t a whole lot of mental stability at the top anymore. They were becoming vulnerable.
The fallout from a mistake in that group could splash all over the East coast and endanger innocent lives as well as the guilty.
Still, he needed to get and remain close to the Ramos family if he wanted to move his case along. While his current job wouldn’t be served by the destruction of the Ramos empire, shaking it up and distracting them for a while might be a good move.
Unfortunately, Homer might just beat him to such a distraction. And it would be one that Ranger was sure he couldn’t control. That wouldn’t be good for anyone and something he couldn’t prepare for, at least not as well as he would like.
Still, this was all in the long-term at this point. It would take months to get everything put in place so that he could make the necessary moves to complete the job. Of course, it would take months afterward to finish wrapping everything up as well.
Forcing aside thoughts of work, he contemplated the redecoration of his apartment at Haywood. He had actually asked Ella to have something done with it when he headed down to Miami earlier.
When he got back, he had to admit that he was well pleased with the results.
His previous decorations and furniture were nice, but with the success of his business, he wanted better quality throughout. Ella was working with a decorator and slowly redoing all of the apartments as well as the working areas of the building.
Rangeman was beginning to look like the successful, elite business it was.
And his apartment was the most peaceful place he had ever seen or visited. He could step in there tense and overwrought from the day and feel the concerns, cares and stresses fall away.
He’d have to look into giving Ella a raise.
The corner of his mouth quirked as he wondered how Stephanie would react to his company and his apartment. He’d seen her apartment a time or two when he dropped her off or picked her up for a job. He’d seen better equipped survival shacks.
If he had to guess, he would say that the furniture was bought used and left there by the previous tenant. It just didn’t fit Stephanie.
Of course, he couldn’t help but wonder why she didn’t buy better furniture.
Granted, she probably spent a lot of money on cars, replacing cars and insurance, but she must have something left.
His first thought was to investigate her financial situation and find out where her money went. If she was being bribed, gambled or had other problems, then she would be a risk to him.
On the other hand, searching that sort of information was very personal and if Stephanie ever found out she could be justifiably angry. Not that he would ever give her a chance to find out, but…
But what?
She could be a potential threat to his job, to his safety.
But he didn’t believe that. Stephanie Plum was just about the most genuine person he’d ever met. She was what she appeared to be.
And she’s a friend, that same small, annoying voice said. Each time his thoughts wandered toward Stephanie Plum, that little voice from his heart piped up, trying to make out more of a connection than there was.
He refused to listen to that voice with regard to Stephanie Plum, regardless of the fact that same instinct had saved his life, and the lives of his men, more than once. It was never wrong in the field. But it had to be about Stephanie Plum.
At most, he would take a tumble with her to get the itch of her out of his system, to silence the little voice and finally, finally, stop dreaming of her.
Then again, Stephanie had finally stopped the dreams about the redhead from Newark. So it wasn’t all bad.
Thankfully, Stephanie and the redhead were the only two women to affect him this way. If more women had this affect, he’d never leave bed. Of course, he thought with a wicked grin, he would make sure he was never alone in bed either.
Ranger allowed himself to relax in his car. His eyes were still alert, watching to make sure he wasn’t being followed, but he allowed the tension of the meeting to leave him.
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