Epilogue

Steph

There are some men who enter a woman's life and screw it up forever.

And then there are some who manage to swoop in at just the right time. Not just to save her. But to teach her how to save herself. The man who did this for me was Ricardo Carlos Manoso. But everyone who wasn't his mother called him Ranger. He'd been my mentor. My friend. My lover. And more recently, he's sort of been my boyfriend. I say sort of because to put the words Ranger and boyfriend in the same sentence was like claiming you could domesticate a wild jungle cat. Still. We did have clothes in each other's closets, and we definitely spent more time in the same bed than we did apart. And there was sort of a vague understanding that that arrangement would continue for the indefinite future.

My mother hadn't always approved of my association with Ranger. She'd been deathly terrified by the idea I'd end up with him. Mostly because Ranger was Batman. A dark and mysterious superhero who lived in the shadows, wore nothing but black, and literally put his life on the line fighting crime. Not to mention that there had never been any indication that Ranger was the type to put down roots or give her grandchildren. I had a suspicion she still struggled with the idea sometimes, but at least on the outside she made an effort to be accepting. It probably helped that she'd seen with her own eyes that he was good with children. I think this went a long way, considering her hopes to one day see a grandchild out of me.

The ones who were ecstatically thrilled were Ranger's family. It had taken a couple weeks to clear up the mess involving his brother and Wally Fenetti, but as soon as it was certain there wouldn't be any charges filed, Ranger brought his brother home from the safe house he'd been staying in.

I accompanied Ranger when he went to return Marco to his mother's house. Marco was greeted with wet eyes and open arms. His mother squeezing him so tight I thought for sure I'd hear something crack. Then she released him and smacked his shoulder hard, wiping her eyes as she scolded him in Spanish. She turned those arms to Ranger with equal enthusiasm. And then she turned to me. Embracing me in a crushing hug. "Thank you. You don't know what it means to me that you would go through so much to look after my sons."

"It wasn't a problem, really."

"Says a woman who was shot." She released me, backhanding Ranger's shoulder. "Your girlfriend all of five minutes and you put her in danger."

"Stephanie doesn't need my help finding danger."

"At least he's not denying it anymore," said Celia. "I was ready to resort to drastic measures."

"That would look like what exactly?"

"Lucky you that you never have to find out."

Mama Manoso cut a half scolding eye to Celia, but I could see knowing underneath it. I'd bet a year's worth of body receipts that she'd been in on it. "Fortunately, Carlos has come to his senses. Stephanie is a wonderful, strong woman. And so beautiful. Look at this lovely dress."

I'm not really the blushing type, but hearing that kind of praise from Ranger's mother was definitely nice. "I wanted to make a better impression this time. I don't always dress in my worst clothes. Mostly just when I'm after a skip. You know. In case we end up rolling around in garbage."

I didn't think about how that would sound until after it was out of my mouth. Cripes. There goes my second impression. But judging from the glimmer of amusement in her eyes, Ranger's mother wasn't put off by a little garbage. "I'm just happy that he's finally found you. I couldn't ask for a better daughter-in-law."

"Mom, it's a bit early to start planning weddings," Ranger said.

"I don't know, man," Marco said. "If I were you I'd lock that down as fast as possible. Hell, if you don't wanna marry her maybe I will."

That got him another swat from Mama Manoso. "You will do no such thing."

"Relax, Mom. It's not like she'd let me steal her anyway. Steph's got a mean right cross."

Alicia's jaw dropped open, but their other sisters just laughed. Ranger slung an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, kissing the top of my head. Settling me in front of him with his arms around me. Such a simple gesture of affection. But the possessive public display in front of his family did more for the squishy feeling in my stomach than even the acknowledgement had. I was his. Just like he was mine.

How scary is that?

Mama Manoso wouldn't let us go home until Ranger had promised to bring me back for family dinner next Sunday. The light resistance he gave them was all for show. I could tell. Deep down, Ranger liked that his family was into me. Just like he liked that I so thoroughly enjoyed them.

He angled into the 911 beside me and put a hand on my thigh. Surging away from the curb and toward the expressway. You'd think I'd get accustom to the intimate feel of the close interior, or the feel of his hands on me, but it didn't seem to be something that ever got old. In fact, if anything it was even better now. The alarm bells were gone. Along with most of the fear. Don't get me wrong, being with Ranger was still like chasing a doomsday orgasm. But knowing that I didn't have to be afraid that each encounter might be our last went a long way to easing my nerves.

"You're family is really nice."

"They like you. To the point that I'm pretty sure if we have a disagreement they're gonna side with you."

"You think so?"

"Trust me. They don't have any qualms with telling me when I'm wrong."

"It seemed like you and Marco were on better terms."

"A little. We came to an understanding while we were dealing with the Fenetti fallout."

"Meaning?"

His mouth twitched. Ranger thought I was amusing. "You were right. He wasn't every inch the screw-up I thought he was. He's made his mistakes. We all have. But underneath it, he was trying to do right."

"I think the two of you have a lot more in common than either of you wanted to admit."

"True. Could be why he's rubbed me wrong for so many years. I didn't particularly like the man I used to be. I was egocentric. Close minded. Impulsive. All the things that our grandmother and the army trained out of me and Marco seemed to have in spades. In a lot of ways, I saw him as my 'There but for the grace of God go I.'"

"And now?"

"Now I see that the damage I've earned isn't all that different from the damage he's earned. It's just that I've been fortunate enough to have people in my life that saw through it anyway and refused to give up on me. No matter how many times I tried to push them away."

"We're not talking about Tank, are we?"

The smile won.

"Speaking of, how's Tank handling the whole Marco thing?"

"Let's just say that some wounds take longer to heal than others."

Oh boy.

We were driving through the streets of Trenton, heading back to Rangeman, when I saw something that caught my eye. "Holy cats! Stop the car, I just saw my mail tamperer in that alley."

"Babe, you're not exactly dressed for a pounce and grab."

That was a good point. An excellent point. I hadn't been thinking about my outstanding skip when I'd chosen the brown floral cotton dress. It was sweet, and a little sexy. The kind of dress I wore to family parties and the occasional mass. Tackling a skip in a garbage filled alley wasn't likely to work out well for the dress. Trouble was, I'd been after Carl Shultz for three weeks now and I'd seen him a grand total of twice. I didn't want to take the chance I'd never see him again.

Ranger read all that like I'd said it out loud. "You want to go after him anyway, don't you."

"You wouldn't mind?"

"I never mind, Babe. I actually love watching you in action. I'll even be willing to buy you a new dress if this one takes a fatal blow."

"Are you sure? What about transporting him? There's no extra seat in the 911."

"I'll call a fleet car. They'll even take him in for you."

I couldn't help the smile. I moved to get out of the car and Ranger grabbed my wrist, holding me back. In an instant his mouth was on mine. Numbing my brain and sending a jet of lava straight down to my doo-dah. He was smiling when he broke the kiss. The sing of metal in my ear when he offered up a pair of cuffs. "Go get him, tiger."

I took the cuffs and grinned. Biting my bottom lip. Ranger's eyes scanned me thoroughly as I angled out of his Porsche.

A thought crossed my mind. One that made the warm happy glow burn all the brighter in my chest.

And they lived adventurously ever after.

The End

Thanks for joining me for PLUM CRAZY, my last planned contemporary Plum story!

Don't be sad, though. I promised a little surprise a while back. And it's time to deliver.

I've actually been working on a new little bundle of joy in the form of an AU. The question?

What would have happened if that second test had turned up positive?

That's right! It's a Plum baby!

I'll start posting PROOF POSITIVE next Monday.

Now, I'll likely only post once a week. I know! I'm sorry!

But I really have to finish CLUELESS!

But good things come to those who wait, and I'll tell you. This Plum story is actually my favorite. :)

In the meantime, if you haven't checked out my original titles yet you really should.

They're all wrapped up in HEA goodness.

:D