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Realigning Destiny
By TT

Sometimes chance intervenes in our lives and causes destiny to jump the tracks. When this happens, fate steps in and realigns destiny’s course to bring us to where we need to be. But, as with the course of true love, the road of realignment doesn’t always run smooth.

Part 38: Stare

Ranger made his way to the kitchen.

After Stephanie had exited to her bathroom, he had gotten up and gone to the front of the house and used the shower in his room.

As he entered the kitchen, a sigh escaped him. There would be no way for them to sleep together as they had last night until they spoke with Charlie about the changes that would happen once Stephanie and Ranger were finished with this mission.

Before worrying about that, though, they would need to prepare him for the changes that would happen when the guys arrived. He couldn't help wondering how much of Stephanie's past life had been shared with Charlie. Probably not much from the way things seemed.

He and Bob would also need to talk to the sheriff. Both Stephanie and Bob agreed that he was good people and would be willing to work with the team Bob and Ranger were assembling. The first question he had, though, was how the sheriff would respond to the revelation about Stephanie, though, he had a niggling feeling the man already knew.

Second, they would probably have to involve several other government agencies as well. That was never an easy task. The egos involved were frequently a nightmare. But with years of experience in dealing with such things under his belt, Ranger felt confident things would run smoothly.

Stepping to the coffee maker, he started the brewing process and then headed toward the refrigerator, wanting to make something special for breakfast.

As he looked through the contents of the icebox, he thought it strange how free he felt. A part of him had always thought when he committed to someone in a relationship, he would feel trapped and limited, as he had in his marriage to Rachel. That wasn't how he felt with Stephanie, though. With her, now that he had let her know he wouldn't be leaving her side, it felt like something had clicked into place, completed a part of him he hadn't known was missing. He felt stronger because of it.

A smile broke on his face as he felt Stephanie stare at him from across the room.

Extracting the ingredients he wanted for this morning's breakfast, he turned and sent her a wolf-grin. “Babe,” he said, laughter in his voice, letting her know she'd been caught.

Stephanie blushed slightly and grinned back. “I can't help it,” she defended. “Have you seen yourself? Who wouldn't stare?”

Ranger couldn't help but laugh. Many women had appreciated his appearance over the years. Usually it bothered him. With Stephanie, though, it didn't bother him in the least. Perhaps it was because she became so flustered whenever she was caught, or maybe it was because he loved her. Whatever the reason, being ogled by Stephanie felt good and boosted his pride. “Babe,” he said again, knowing it would bother her while communicating his amusement.

Sure enough she crossed her arms in front of her chest and huffed out a frustrated breath. “Is the coffee ready?” she asked.

Grinning at the very obvious subject change, Ranger replied, “Just started it a few minutes ago. It should be almost done. I'll get started on breakfast.”

“No, Ranger,” Stephanie protested, moving toward the counter where the ingredients rested. “I'll take care of breakfast. You go sit down.”

Setting the last item he held on the counter, he reached out and placed his forefinger against her lips. “Be quiet and let me cook for you,” he said. “I want to. Besides, you can check the news and see what the weather is supposed to be for the next few days.”

Stephanie sighed in resignation. Though she did feel it was her duty to cook for Ranger since he was he guest, she appreciated the thoughtfulness of his wanting to cook and accepted it for the act of affection it was. Kissing the finger that was still resting against her lips, she grinned and took a step back. “Fine,” she agreed. “Let me get my coffee and I'll see what we can find out.”

Before she could step out of his reach, Ranger grabbed her hips and pulled her close. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her firmly on the mouth. The words that came out next he couldn't have stopped if his life depended on it. “Love you,” he told her, gazing deeply into her eyes.

He watched as something softened and shifted in her eyes before she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. As she pulled back slightly, she replied, “Love you, too.”

A huge smile broke out across his face, but before he could respond, Stephanie was out of his arms and headed toward the television to check on the news.

Turning his attention to the making of breakfast, he started humming under his breath. Suddenly it didn't seem so important that they were going to be facing a nightmare of a mission as well as a legal mess that would make the most dedicated lawyer want to run away (both publicly with the taking down of this group and privately with reinstating Stephanie among the land of the living). It was just one of the storms of life and, like all storms, it would end sooner or later. When it did end, they would be left with fair weather and sunshine.

When the omelets he was preparing were finished, he plated them and turned toward Stephanie to call her to the table.

She was sitting near the television and it was playing in the background, but she didn't seem to be aware of it.

The last time he had seen her stare off into space like that was last night before she announced that we were being distracted by the number of potential bomb-sites and needed to look at what wasn't targeted to find their true motive.

Not knowing if he should disturb her or not, Ranger turned the oven to warm, covered the plates and set them inside. He would just wait until she came back to him.

Pouring himself a cup of coffee, he headed over toward the couch where she was sitting. Setting his cup on the side table, he settled on the couch and carefully took the cup of coffee from Stephanie's hand, setting it beside his own.

When that move didn't seem to disturb her, he gently lifted her up and settled Stephanie in his lap.

His eyes drifted between the news playing on the television and the woman in his lap for several minutes. He did manage to catch the weather forecast. It was supposed to be sunny and dry for the rest of the week. That could be good or bad depending on how dry the grass proved to be. Having a firefight or having explosives go off in dry conditions could start fires.

Before his thoughts on that topic progressed too much further, Stephanie stirred in his lap.

“Back with me, Babe?” he asked.

Stephanie looked startled to be in his lap, but immediately relaxed against him. “How did you get over here?” she asked, looking up at him.

Ranger chuckled softly. “The normal way. I walked.” His statement was received with an eyeroll.

“That's not what I meant,” she informed.

“You were staring off into space, Babe. I thought it best to let you return on your own.”

Stephanie rewarded him with a quick kiss. “Thank you.”

When she didn't say anything else, he asked, “Are you going to tell me what you figured out?”

“I might have an idea about the target,” she informed with a bright smile.”

“And?”

“They targeted the police, but they didn't target the court houses,” she pointed out.

Ranger leaned back slightly and thought about this information. She made a good point. They had targeted police and fire stations as well as hospitals and businesses, but hadn't targeted any court houses. Could they be after a person? It wouldn't be easy for them to take someone from a courthouse, but with every available person drawn away to deal with the chaos the threats would create, the personnel at the courthouse would be reduced.

Focusing back on Stephanie, he grinned, leaned forward and kissed her soundly. “Good work, Babe,” he praised. “Bob and I will check into that today while you're at work.”

“Will you be home for dinner tonight?” she asked, climbing out of his lap as her stomach growled.

Ranger smiled at the reference to this place at home. It looked like he would be spending time working in Montana in the future. “Don't know. If we can get confirmation of this, proof that this is the target, we'll make the calls we need. So, it's possible we'll have people flying in today. Most likely tomorrow or the next day though.”

As he rose from the couch, he handed Stephanie her coffee and picked up his own. Placing a hand at the small of her back, he led her to the kitchen table and held her chair for her as she was seated.

Grabbing some oven mitts, he turned off the oven and retrieved their omelets.

He set them on the table and settled in his seat. Before continuing with his thoughts, he waited for Stephanie to try her breakfast and smiled happily as she moaned in contentment at the flavor.

Ranger caught her eye when she looked up and grinned. It was so easy sometimes to get her to blush and she looked so beautiful when she did.

“We'll need to talk to the sheriff about this,” Ranger informed.

Stephanie sighed. “Would it be OK if I did that? I owe Jed the truth and I'd rather he hear it from me.”

Ranger nodded his agreement. “What about Charlie?” he inquired. At Stephanie's puzzled look, he explained, “Most likely, some of the guys will be coming out to help with this. You already know that your secret is going to come out and be revealed. I think he'll need to be prepared.” Seeing Stephanie nod her agreement, he reached out and took her hand in his own. He was nervous about this next part, though he wasn't sure why. “I'd like it if you also spoke to him about us.” He could see her eyes warm and a soft smile appear on her face.

“Absolutely,” she agreed.

Letting go of a breath he didn't know he was holding, Ranger squeezed Stephanie's hand before returning to his breakfast.

The rest of the meal passed in a comfortable silence and, as the last dish was put away, with a shared kiss, Stephanie headed off to work. Ranger watched her leave before pulling out his cellphone and calling Bob to share this newest information with him.

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