Note - sorry for the delay on this story, life got in the way.

Within the next hour, the last four people had arrived. Ethan and his girlfriend Sarah were adorable, always touching and constantly finishing each other's sentences. Steph was most surprised by the two guys who were dating and not because they were gay, she had friends who were gay. It was because they were polar opposites of one another. Alex looked like he could be another of the Merry Men, as did the other guys that were here, but it was Drew who she was most curious about because he looked nothing like he belonged with this group. Where most of the Merry Men were tall and muscular, Drew was average height and didn't look like he was much stronger than Steph, he didn't have bulging muscles like the other guys.

Soon, the crowd moved into the backyard, some out in the yard goofing around, while others gathered on the deck, sitting in the shade, having a drink. Steph helped carry out some snacks to nibble on while Ranger and Lester attempted to get the grill started and burgers going for lunch. It didn't take too long for Ashley to push Ranger and Lester out of the way and take over the grill. Ranger came over and held out his hand to Steph, pulling her out of her chair. He sat down and pulled her into his lap. "You give up battling with the grill?" He smirked and said, "Ashley is a chef in Manhattan. I knew if we goofed around with it, she would eventually kick us out of the way and take over." Steph looked at him and gasped. "You rat fink. I'm going to go tell her." She started to get up but didn't get far when Ranger snagged her around the waist and pulled her back down onto him and started to tickle her. She started laughing and had tears streaming down her cheeks from laughing so hard, but he didn't relent.

From across the deck, Jeanne Ellen sat watching and when Lester caught her eye, she raised an eyebrow and looked back at Ranger and Steph. Lester smiled and walked over to her. He plopped down onto her lap and she grunted. They shifted around and then she was in his arms, sitting on his lap. "So what's up with those two? I jokingly said to Steph that she had it bad for Ranger but she blew it off, saying that he only thinks of her as entertainment. What the hell does that mean?" Lester groaned and said, "He let it slip one time to her that his accountant puts all of the cars he gives her under entertainment in his budget. He's such an idiot." Jeanne Ellen stared at him and said, "What?" Lester went on to explain the whole give Steph a car and soon after it will blow up, get crushed or something else disastrous would happen to it. "Ranger didn't stop giving the cars to her, but his accountant was livid so Ranger made him rearrange his budget to cover the costs of the cars. I didn't realize he told her this information." Before Jeanne Ellen could respond, Ashley yelled that the food was ready.

They all made plates from the great selection of food and drinks were passed around and Steph was pleased to see that Ranger had a bottle of beer. She was interested to see if Ranger would drink enough to loosen up his mouth so she could find out more about him. Everyone was curious about her and once Lester got started on the Bombshell Bounty Hunter stories, she just let out a big sigh, grabbed a towel and headed down to the beach. She laid the towel out and stripping off her shirt and shorts and down to her bikini, laid down and let the sun do its job.

She wasn't there long before someone sat down next to her. Opening one of her eyes part way, she saw that it was Ranger. "Babe, you okay?" She closed her eyes again and just said, "I guess. I just wish that I could go somewhere new, meet new people and not be known as Bombshell." Ranger reached over and moved a stray curl off of her face and said, "Do you want me to kick Lester's ass for you?" She laughed and said, "No, don't kick Lester's ass. It's too nice of an ass to be harmed." Ranger was quiet and she thought she had upset him. Before she could say anything, she was being picked up and when she opened her eyes, she saw that Ranger had taken off his shirt and was racing toward the ocean with her in his arms. She screamed and laughed the entire way and when she surfaced after being tossed in the water, she noticed that most of the group was headed their way, stripping off shirts and shorts along the way.

Ranger dove in next to her and came up with his arms around her. "Babe, please tell me that you don't really think about Lester's ass." She laughed and said, "Ok, I don't think about Lester's ass." He let out a breath and leaned down to kiss her when she said, "I think about all of the Merry Men's asses." He growled and instead of kissing her, he picked her up and threw her farther out into the water. She came up spitting water, laughing and launched herself at him. "I think about your ass the most." They battled for a few minutes, before someone on the beach yelled about starting a volleyball game. Most of the guys headed back in to start the game and Steph headed back to her towel to watch. She was soon joined by most of the other women and they all admired the view from the game, and what a sight it was to see.

Steph heard someone calling her name and she shook her head to clear her thoughts of what she had been staring at for a few minutes. "Huh?" The women all laughed and Sarah said, "I understand where your mind was, it's where mine goes every time we all get together. It's a lovely sight to behold, isn't it?" The women all agreed and they all watched the game and asked questions about Steph and Ranger, trying to get out information from Steph, without it seeming like they were interrogating her.

As the afternoon progressed, some of the guys and their women ended up back in the water or up on the deck. Steph was left alone on the beach for a little while before someone sat down next to her. She looked over and saw Drew sitting next to her. "Hey, how's it going?" she asked. He looked at her and said, "How do you fit into this group? You don't seem like the military type, no offence." She laughed and said, "No offence taken, I'm far from the military type. I work with Ranger and Lester sometimes at Rangeman. I'm a BEA and Ranger was my mentor when I first started." Drew smiled and said, "So, he was Henry and you were Eliza?" Steph laughed and then started talking.