Almost There
Chapter One
The winter season had arrived early in Trenton, the crisp air descending over the city just after the leaves had changed from green to golden yellow. Sitting in an expensive, shiny black SUV, Stephanie swallowed a mouthful of Butterscotch Krimpet, and Lula worked on a bag of Doritos, the crumbs falling between her breasts.
Stephanie and Lula had been sitting across from a nearly dilapidated house for three hours, waiting for an FTA to arrive home. Both women were quiet while polishing off their snacks, asses numb from sitting for so long.
"I have to pee," Lula said around a mouthful of Doritos.
Stephanie moved her head in the direction of a run down, vacant, industrial sized building across the street. "Go behind that building."
"Hunh," Lula mumbled, eyeballing the structure. "I ain't going behind that spooky building to do my business. There's no telling what's behind that building."
Lula crumbled up the Doritos bag and threw it out the car window.
"Hey, you're littering."
Sucking her teeth, Lula cut her eyes to Stephanie. "Take a good look at this neighborhood, girlfriend. These are not the type of folks who care about litter."
Stephanie glanced down the street. Lula was right; the road was cluttered with empty beer cans and other garbage bin favorites. The sun was setting on the horizon and Stephanie did not want to get caught in the area after dark.
"It's getting dark," Stephanie said. "I have to get home. Tonight is date night."
"Look at you, Miss Suzy Homemaker, rushing home to be with your hot and sexy fiancé. You'll be walking bowlegged tomorrow."
Stephanie rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face contradicted the action. She was no Suzy Homemaker, but her personal life had definitely changed. Engaged just a little over three months, Stephanie and Ranger had made a pact to spend as much quality time together as possible. If they were going to be happily married, they'd have to make small sacrifices to maintain balance within their crazy world.
Admiring the gleaming engagement ring on her finger, Stephanie said to Lula, "I hardly recognize myself these days. But I really like the direction my life is going. And I don't want to screw it up."
"You snagged a winner, girl. It takes a special woman to make a man like Ranger settle down. I can't wait to watch you walk down the aisle."
Stephanie let out a small sigh and glanced at Lula. "I don't know if I'll be walking down an aisle. This is the second marriage I've been through; I don't want to deal with all the stress of planning another traditional wedding."
"What about Ranger?" Lula asked. "He's also been married before. Does he have a preference?"
"Ranger and I haven't discussed wedding plans yet. We've only been engaged three months."
"Well, you better start thinking about that big day," Lula said. "You're not getting any younger. And you need to stop eating all those snack cakes. You won't be able to fit into a wedding dress if you keep eating all that junk."
Stephanie glanced down at Lula's size 16 ass stuffed into a pair of skin tight jeans, a hot pink spandex top under a puffy jacket completing the ensemble.
"Maybe we should work on a diet together," Stephanie suggested.
"My ass," Lula retorted. "The men I date appreciate a voluptuous woman. But women like you have to stay slim all the time. And guess what? That metabolism of yours is going to disappear after you have your first baby."
"Let me set a wedding date first, and then I'll worry my diminishing metabolism."
"Whatever," Lula said. "All this talk about metabolism has got me hungry. Let's get out of here. It doesn't look like Tate Peadry is going to show up any time soon."
"He's probably been tipped off that we're here," Stephanie agreed, turning over the engine of the SUV. She put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb.
Apprehending FTA's was not high on Stephanie's list of priorities these days. Paying bills had become less of a struggle now that Ranger was in the picture. The percent she collected from the capture of an FTA was extra money that usually went directly into her savings account.
Stephanie paid her own credit card bills, as well as any other extra expenses she acquired. And Ranger took care of the rest. If she wanted to splurge on a pair of shoes or a nice dress, the money came out of her account. Working made Stephanie feel like she was carrying a small part of the load. Ranger worked his ass off every day, and Stephanie didn't want to spend his hard earned money on frivolous expenses.
Hanging a left on Stark, Stephanie saw Tate Peadry pass her SUV, going in the opposite direction, driving a rusted out pick-up truck.
"Son-of-a bitch!" Lula said, glaring at Tate.
Tate stared at Stephanie and Lula, recognizing the bounty hunters immediately. He raised his middle finger and sped by them, a cocky smile plastered on his face.
"Did he just flip us the bird?" Lula asked incredulously.
"Yep, that's what he did," Stephanie said. She stared at Tate's truck in the rear view mirror, watching the hooptie disappear down the street.
"I suppose we should go after him."
.
"You don't want to waste precious gas," Lula said. "You have a wedding to pay for. This is not the time to be wasteful."
"You're right," Stephanie agreed, stepping on the gas and continuing down Stark Street.
"And I don't want to be late for date night."
Forty minutes later, Stephanie walked into the apartment to find Ranger sitting on a bar stool at the kitchen counter. He looked up from reading his mail and smiled at Stephanie.
"Babe."
"Sorry I'm late. I had to drop Lula off at the bonds office."
"I just got in," Ranger said, folding up a utility bill and tucking it back inside an envelope. "Our reservation is set for 8:30. We have time."
Dropping her shoulder bag on the counter, Stephanie leaned against Ranger for a kiss. Ranger slipped in a little tongue, pulling his fiancé between his knees. Stephanie hooked her arms around Rangers neck, deepening the kiss, before finally coming up for air.
"Are you trying to get me all worked up before our hot date?"
"The hot part will come after the date, babe."
Stephanie scooted from Ranger's arms, sauntering toward the bedroom. "Promise?"
"Promise," Ranger said to Stephanie, his eyes locking on her ass.
In the past few months, Ranger had made every effort to make time for date night, despite his hectic schedule. Tank had agreed to take the helm at Rangeman every other weekend, allowing Ranger a couple of days to relax with Stephanie. There had been a time when a free weekend would not have been a priority for Ranger, but so far, he had stuck to their pact. They had recently tried a couple of new restaurants, visited a local museum, and attended a couple of Broadway plays in New York City.
And occasionally, with the promise of hot and heavy monkey sex, Ranger would even take Stephanie to see a chick flick. Tonight, they'd compromised on dinner at a local steak house and an action flick. Action flicks seemed to always amplify Ranger's libido, so Stephanie had no problem agreeing to his movie choice. She had been promised a hot night. And Ranger never made a promise he didn't keep.