SPOV

Taking a deep breath I began, from the night he came to say goodbye. "The night you came to tell me you were going to be 'in the wind' I was three months pregnant." I felt him tense, but continued on. I had to get all this out.

"Nobody knew. Not even Joe. We were in an off stage when I found out and I kept wishing for it to be wrong, to go away. Of course it didn't and a couple weeks later I was clearly showing." I pulled away from him, needing to see his face. Thankfully the emotion was clear; surprise, pain, and confusion.

"My mother and Joe threw a fit. My mother because, well it's my mother. And Joe because I was still going after skips. Anyway, it was easier to quit my job than listen to Joe rant, and I'll never admit this to him, but he was right. It wasn't safe for me to be chasing FTA's while pregnant."

"I was almost five months along when I finally quit to sit at home and be a housewife." I stopped, feeling the anxiety wash over me. Those months where I sat around were the most miserable months of my life. Ranger was quiet and part of me wanted him to say something while the other was thankful he was just letting me speak.

"Steph…" He leaned forward, elbows resting on his legs, head in his hands.

Before he could continue I added "I hated it Ranger. I'm not cut out to be a housewife, sit around and wait for my husband to get home from work. I did it for two months, and then" my voice choked up, "Grandma died."

I stood up, my nerves were on overdrive and my heart was racing. I'm pretty sure I was about to have a panic attack, never talking about the rest to anyone before. But I was going to do this, Ranger deserved to know everything that happened.

"I was 7 months pregnant when she passed away. You had been gone for 4 months and I felt like I had no one to turn to, no one to talk to, to understand what I was going through. Grandma kept telling mom it wasn't right to make me stay home. I was a free spirit and should be out exploring the world. When she passed away a part of me broke inside."

I turned to stare out the window, not really taking in anything in particular, just remembering how I felt that night on the drive home. I shut down all my emotions, and let the hollowness inside me seep through my words. "The day we buried Grandma I told myself I wasn't going to sit at home anymore. It didn't matter that I was having Joe's baby, I didn't want to marry him, be with him. It broke my heart for our unborn daughter, that she would have to grow up with her parents separated, but he was suffocating me. Tank had come to the hospital the day Grandma died and said I could come back to work for Rangeman. I hadn't told anyone yet but I accepted his offer."

"I keep getting off track… I'm sorry." Shaking my head I turned around, surprised when Ranger was standing right behind me. He didn't look mad, in fact, he didn't look upset at all. He looked sad; it was a look I was used to seeing the last few months. He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, brushing his finger down my neck.

I took a step back, "Please, I need to finish telling you what happened and if I let you touch me I'll break into a thousand pieces."

"I'm listening." He put his hands in his pocket, a sign that he wouldn't touch me until I said it was okay.

"Joe had to go into work, after the burial, so I was driving myself home. It was rainy and I was crying, and I shouldn't have been driving." I swallowed down the lump in my throat. "There was a man, drunk, that fell asleep at the wheel. I didn't see him cross the line in the road and he hit me head on."

Ranger tensed and I could tell he was pissed. "I woke up in the hospital…." I couldn't hold back the sob any longer and through my tears I finished, "the baby died."

His strong arms caught me as my legs gave out and he carried me over to the couch. He whispered soft words in Spanish while rubbing my back until I quieted. I don't know how long we sat that way but it was the first time since I had lost both my daughter and grandmother that I truly felt loved and safe.

RPOV

Stephanie had fallen asleep, still on my lap, and I tried to process everything she had just told me. She was pregnant when I left? How did I not know this? I understood why Tank wouldn't tell me what happened between her and the cop. This was definitely her story to tell.

She had to have been in so much pain, losing her grandmother and daughter in the same week. I clenched my jaw thinking of how Joe probably blamed her. I could tell she blamed herself by how ashamed she looked when she said she was driving.

If only I had just come home… I could have been here for her. Tank was there for her though. I was thankful for my friend for not only taking care of my company, but taking care of my babe as well. Obviously her work at Rangeman was helping her through this terrible process.

My eyes were gritty, only getting a few hours sleep the night before, so I picked up Stephanie and crawled next to her in bed. "I'm here now babe." I whispered placing a kiss on her temple.

Her alarm went off at 6am, once again. This time when I turned it off my babe was still curled into my side, eyes puffy from all the crying she had done the night before. I leaned down and kissed each eyelid, gaining me a small smile from her. "Morning Babe"

"Morning" she replied, stretching her arms over her head. I saw her glance at the clock and reluctantly throw the covers off. "I have a 730 meeting this morning."

Grabbing her wrist I pulled her back over to me. We stared at each other for a few minutes, neither sure how the other was going to react. I brushed my lips across hers and let out a groan as she opened her mouth to me. 8 months was too long to not feel her lips on mine.

Our tongues danced and I tangled my hands in her hair trying to pull her closer. She gently pushed me away, breathlessly saying "I'm going to be late if I don't get in the shower right now." Quickly she jumped from the bed and ran into the bathroom, locking the door. As if that would keep me out.

A wicked thought crossed my mind as I debated climbing into the shower with her and I felt my pants grow tight with the thought. It had been too long since I'd allowed myself release. God knows I hadn't had sex with anyone since the one night I had shared with Stephanie. The last thing I wanted to do was push things too far with her though.

Clearly she had gone through something traumatic and I didn't want to ruin the positive things she had going for her. Getting up I straightened her bed and started toward the kitchen changing my X rated thoughts to coffee. I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard an unmistakable moan come from the bathroom.

Damn that woman and her shower massager I thought, adjusting myself again. I stood, glued to the floor looking between the bathroom and kitchen. The least I could do was give her a hand right?

I made quick work of the lock on her bathroom door, stripped my clothes off, and quietly stepped into the shower behind her. She had one leg on the bathtub edge and shower massager doing its work between her legs. It was the hottest thing I had ever seen and for a moment I thought about working myself while just watching her.

SPOV

He probably thought he was being quiet but I heard him the minute the bathroom door opened. My instinct was the turn everything off and jump out of the shower, but I had been waiting for a moment with Ranger for years now. My relationship with Joe was always getting in the way and now that I wasn't with him anymore I was going to give Ranger free access.

He stepped into the shower behind me and I waited for him to come closer. I didn't know what to do when he didn't. The shower massager was still going but no longer was I paying attention to the sensation it was creating. Deciding to make the first move I turned it off and looked over my shoulder. My breath caught in my throat as I saw Ranger stroking himself, one hand braced on the tile, head hanging.

He was bigger than I remembered and I couldn't stop staring at his hand moving up and down his long shaft. The muscles in his forearm were twitching and I could see his abs contracting with each stroke.

He lifted his head, brown eyes burning into mine and sped up his movements. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and a sudden passion to take him in my mouth overwhelmed me. Dropping to my knees he stilled his movement and grabbed my arms "No."

He pulled me up and his lips crashed over mine, hands roaming my body. "I want to hear you cum babe, that's it. We don't have time for more."

Before I could argue two of his fingers parted my slick lips and slipped into me. Throwing my head back I moaned at the contact praying it wouldn't be long. He used quick hard thrusts and rubbed his thumb over my clit. His mouth moved down to my neck and he sucked at my sensitive spot below my ear. "Come on Steph, let me hear you scream." His knee parted my legs more, giving him better access and he used the opportunity to add a third finger.

"Shit!" I screamed, clutching his shoulders. I could feel the slow burn of an orgasm building and kept waiting for it to spill over. He applied more pressure with this thumb and I whimpered, begging him for release. His fingers were pounding into me and I closed my eyes pleading with my body to let me cum.

"I can't" I whined

He continued to caress my body with his kisses "Just relax" he slowed the circles on my clit and removed a finger, stroking me slowly. God he felt so good. I could feel his fingers sliding in and out of me, my walls clenching around them each time, but never allowing me to fully unleash. It became painfully uncomfortable as I was so close but not able to fly over the edge.

"Please, just stop." Embarrassed I stepped away from him so he couldn't see the tears. "I can't anymore. It just doesn't work the same. Not since the accident."

He lifted my chin and I saw the compassion in his eyes, "I shouldn't have rushed things. I'm sorry."

"No, it's not your fault." I smiled at him, "It felt… amazing. I just can't… you know" He chuckled and pulled me into him.

"We'll just have to keep working on that then." He smacked my ass and pushed me out of the shower. "Now go get dressed before your late for work and get in trouble with the boss."

I laughed "I think he might understand."