RANGER

by Samantha Leal

  “I hope you’re going to call me as soon as you arrive.” Sarah pouted as she stepped down to the driver’s side as Ranger climbed in and slammed the door behind him. “I need regular updates! I feel left out already.”

  She stared at them both through the open window and Nicole smiled at her shyly while Ranger seemed to ignore her completely. He was too busy fiddling with the stereo and trying to find a good station.

  “You two suck,” Sarah said moodily as she stepped back and held her hand up in a wave. “All the help I give you and this is all I get in return, a wall of silence.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Nicole called to her over Ranger. “I’ll text you as soon as I can.”

  Sarah nodded and climbed the steps as Ranger revved the engine and started to pull away, back towards the gates and to the campus exit.

  “Well, wifey,” he said as he looked across at her with a wicked grin. “I guess this is it.”

  “It sure is.” Nicole smiled. “Here we go.”

  Ranger cranked up the stereo and rock music blared out around them, making the whole truck shake. Nicole looked across at him as if he was mad and he shrugged and began to drive fast as they flew through the gates and headed out onto the main roads.

  “What?” he said, laughing. “I reckon we’ve got at least half an hour. I may as well be myself for just a little bit longer.” He winked and Nicole smiled in spite of herself.

  Maybe this whole thing was going to be fun after all.

  9.

  The last time Nicole had returned home she had lasted only three days out of her planned two weeks. Since college had begun, she had done her upmost to ensure that she spent as little time there as possible. Even though she loved her parents, warts and all, she still valued her independence and had grown used to being free. As free as she could be anyway.

  As Ranger drove the truck through the city traffic and towards the other side of town, they furiously discussed their plan of attack.

  “I think it would be best if we play it coy,” Nicole said. “I mean, we obviously don’t know each other too well, we can play on our nerves at the situation and at what a big deal this is for us both.”

  Ranger smirked and reached down for his cigarettes. He placed one between his lips and looked down at her with a raised brow. She scowled.

  “We’re nowhere near yet,” he said as he reached forward and touched the GPS. “I’ve told you, I’m not used to reining myself in and so long as I’m still unknown to these folks of yours, I’m continuing as normal.”

  “But they’ll smell it,” Nicole said with irritation as she reached up and ripped the cigarette out of his mouth and threw it out the window. She crossed her arms over her chest and Ranger looked down at her half with disbelief and half with fury.

  “You didn’t fucking do that,” he said with a growl. “I swear to God woman…”

  She couldn’t help but let a smile flicker across her lips. For two people that barely knew each other, they could easily pass as an old married couple in that moment.

  “What’s my middle name?” Nicole asked him suddenly, turning her body to face him.

  Ranger scratched his neck and winced. “Jenn, Jennifer… Jenna… Genevieve?” he tried through half closed eyes.

  “Anna,” she said and rolled her eyes. “I mean come on, that must be the easiest question to ask. How can you not remember the answer?”

  He raised his shoulders in a shrug and Nicole noticed the guilty look on his face.

  “Oh my God,” she said as she reached up and slapped him lightly on the arm. “You didn’t even bother reading all of the facts I sent you, did you?”

  He looked across at her and couldn’t hide his smile.

  “Sorry,” he said as he slipped a cocktail stick between his teeth. “I didn’t have time. Anyway, it’s better if we wing it and make it up as we go along. It’ll be more fun and take the pressure off.”

  Nicole buried her head in her hands. “This is all going to go wrong. My parents are going to see straight through us.”

  “Relax,” he said as he looked across at her. “Has anyone ever told you how uptight you are?”

  Nicole felt her brow furrow and she looked away from him and out the window. He had touched a nerve she didn’t even realize was exposed.

  “It’s all going to be fine,” he said confidently. “I’m excellent with parents.”

  “Well, you’ve never met mine, so I wouldn’t count on it.”

  “Negative attitudes aren’t going to get us anywhere,” Ranger laughed. “We’re better going into this with an open mind.”

  “Do you even want me to get this money?” she barked at him. “I can’t pay you if they don’t buy it… you do realize that.”

  Ranger rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the road.

  “So uptight,” he joked again with a sigh.

  They weaved around the roads and when they had left the bustle of the city behind and started to merge into the suburbs, Nicole’s anxiety started to peak again.

  Ranger’s GPS said that they only had five minutes of drive time left, and the roads were now all familiar. Roads from her childhood, roads she was long used to travelling and hanging around. They passed a row of stores and she pointed out that it was where they used to use fake ID’s to buy beer when they were in their late teens, and then she pointed out a park that they would go and drink it in.

  “You guys sounded wild,” Ranger said deadpan.

  Nicole tutted out of the corner of her mouth and crossed her arms over her chest instinctively again. Every time he shot her down she felt the overwhelming need to hide.

  “So, what do you think they’re going to make of me?” he asked finally as they pulled towards the edge of her street. She watched as his eyes took it all in, the gated community, the tall iron gates that kept her world separate and guarded from the rest of the town around them.

  “I think if you play along like I’ve coached you, we’ll be fine.”

  Ranger nodded his head and she noticed his eyes widening at the houses as he took it all in.

  Her neighborhood was very different to what she had seen over at Slate Springs. Nicole had grown up surrounded by privilege and these houses she had been surrounded by was only going to prove that to him.

  They were all modern mansions. Massive builds that had been individually designed by some popular architect back in the early 2000’s. Nicole had no memory of the house being built, but she knew it had been a labor of love for her parents and that they had put their heart and soul into it, working alongside designers and the architect for the best part of three years.

  Her first memory in the house was when she must have been around five and she was wandering around light, airy hallways. She had seen a lizard had found its way in from the lush, perfectly maintained garden out the back that looked over a private golf course. She had gone and sat down next to it, and when he mother as walked into the hallway she had screamed so loud she had jumped and frightened it away.

  Ranger kind of looked like that lizard in that moment; like he didn’t want to go any closer and he was getting ready to run.

  “Fuck me,” he snorted with disbelief. “I still don’t understand how you and my sister can be so close. She’s nothing like this. You do know that, right?”

  Nicole shot him an angry stare.

  “Why is that even relevant?” she asked waspishly. “We’re friends because we have tons of stuff in common and we have fun together. Who cares if we have different backgrounds. As far as I’m concerned, that doesn’t even come into it. It’s never been an issue until I met you. So why do you have to be so focused on it?”

  With each minute she was spending with him, she was learning not to take his shit. He looked taken a back briefly before he hit the gas. The truck lurched forward and past the tall iron gates.

  “I’m not focused on it,” he said sternly. “I just don’t have time for pampered princesses, that’s all.”

  “
Well then, that makes two of us,” she said as she rubbed her temples.

  The silence grew between them and Ranger slowed, waiting for Nicole to point him in the direction of the house. She chewed the inside of her mouth slightly before she finally pointed to the biggest, most impressive house at the end of the street.

  “Of course,” he said without any hint of amusement.

  He screeched the truck up at the foot of the driveway and took a deep breath. The good mood they had managed to create earlier in the journey had completely disappeared and Nicole felt as if she wanted to throw in the towel.

  They just didn’t get along. There was no way this was going to work.

  “Okay,” Ranger suddenly said as he turned to her and flashed her a wide smile. “Let’s chill the fuck out and do this.”

  She looked into his eyes, daring him to back down, but he wasn’t moving. The longer she looked, the more she felt herself being swallowed up whole by their intensity and depth. He really did have magical eyes. The kind of eyes that left a lasting impression you could never forget.

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  She breathed in deeply and tried to center her calm. She heard Ranger’s door open and felt him climb out. He walked around to her side and opened the door for her and held out his arm.

  She couldn’t help but smirk.

  “Don’t laugh,” he said. “I’m trying to be a gentleman.”

  “It’s very becoming of you,” she said in the poshest accent she could muster. “You’ll fit right in.”

  He squeezed her arm lightly as a warning and she smiled again.

  The steps that led up to the house still seemed like a million miles away, but they had obviously been spotted because she heard the click of the front door and within seconds her parents were both rushing toward the top of the stairs, waving manically and shouting, “Yoo hoo!”

  She felt Ranger tense briefly, but then he relaxed again. Quickly and without missing a beat he reached for his shirt sleeves and pulled them right down to cover the tattoos on his forearms.

  Nicole smiled and felt warmed inside.

  Maybe he wasn’t going to be such a nightmare after all and he was going to always be one step ahead. Maybe she had underestimated him.

  “Nicole!” her mother purred as they started to walk forwards toward them.

  Her father was smiling, his hands fixed firmly in his pockets and clearly wondering who the hell this man was who had stolen his daughter’s heart. She could see him looking over the truck, trying to gauge what kind of a person Ranger was.

  “Hi Mom,” Nicole smiled as she let her mother pull her into a hug and then she stood back coyly as she smiled at Ranger.

  “And you must be Ranger,” he mother said as she held out her hand. Ranger leaned forward and shook her hand.

  Nicole could tell that he had gripped tight and when he flashed her mother his wide, bright smile, she could see he had had a similar effect on her as he had on Nicole.

  “Good to meet you.” Ranger smiled, his voice softening just ever so slightly but not losing its sharp and sexual edge.

  “Hi there,” Nicole’s father stepped forward and thrust his hand at Ranger.

  She watched as they shook, and her father slapped him affectionately on the other shoulder and was momentarily taken aback by the muscles he was so clearly hiding beneath his shirt.

  “Wow,” he laughed. “You didn’t mention he worked out, Nic.”

  Nicole couldn’t help but shrink inside of herself. This whole situation was incredibly awkward. She suddenly had the overwhelming realization that her parents would believe they were having sex and felt her face flame red.

  They all stood there at the top of the stairs outside of the porch, all just looking at each other for a moment before anyone spoke again. Nicole didn’t know what to say or do, and when her mother eventually suggested they went inside the house, she just nodded and scuttled in after her with Ranger following closely behind.

  “What a beautiful home,” Ranger said as he placed both of their bags down by the inside of the front door.

  “Oh, thank you, Ranger,” her mother said, beaming. “I’m sure Nicole has told you all about it, but this place was a bit of a passion project for her dad and I.”

  Nicole shot a nervous glance at Ranger, but he didn’t waver.

  “I can imagine.” He smiled warmly. “It’s incredible. You must be very proud.”

  He certainly did know how to charm older women, that was for sure. Nicole could only wonder why he couldn’t have been more courteous with her.

  Her father walked back through into the open hallway with a crystal carafe of scotch and two iced glasses.

  “You a scotch man, Ranger?” he asked as he set them down on a silver tray at the large circular table in the middle of the hallway.

  “I’m an anything man,” Ranger said with a wry smile.

  Nicole didn’t know how her father was going to take the joke, but his face moved from stony to amused in a split second and he roared with laughter.

  “I like this kid,” he said as he turned to Nicole’s mom. “He’s got substance.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Ranger said with a nod of his head.

  “Come on, let’s head on through to the den, I want to show you my entertainment suite.”

  Her dad patted Ranger on the back and started to lead him down the hallway and off into another part of the house.

  Nicole breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at her mom who was grinning from ear to ear.

  “He’s very handsome, sweetheart,” she gushed. “He looks like a real man’s man. When he was in college, was he in a fraternity?”

  Nicole had to avert her gaze so that she could smile. “You know what mom, I don’t think he was,” she laughed.

  Her mother and her wandered to the kitchen and Nicole took in the sights and sounds of her family home. She did enjoy the house and its surroundings; it was such a shame that every time she went back there some drama seemed to unfold. She just had to hope that this time Ranger would be the person to calm the flames and put them all on their best behavior.

  “You know your dad and I are really pleased,” her mom said as she opened the refrigerator and pulled out an ice-cold bottle of white wine. “We were worried that maybe you would finish up college and suddenly decide you wanted to travel the world. But now that you have Ranger, it seems as if things are quite serious. I can’t imagine you wanting to go too far?”

  Nicole nodded. “Yes, things are very serious,” she lied. “And no, I have no intention of disappearing and letting him go. This is it for me. I’m so happy. He’s really amazing, mom. I can’t wait for you to get to know him.”

  And I’m kind of looking forward to getting to know him myself, she thought.

  An hour later, Nicole had gone up to her bedroom leaving Ranger and her dad alone in the den, discussing what she had no idea. She flopped down on her bed and pulled her pillow over her face.

  She still loved her room and being back in it always brought back a rush of memories of being a teenager. Of how happy and excited she would get over school dances, and of how she dreamed of a world where she could do what she wanted.

  This was the first step towards making that happen.

  It seemed like so far her parents had taken in all they had told them and been happy to believe it. It made sense. What reason did they have to doubt them?

  She sat up and looked around the room. When she had left for college she had ripped all her old posters down and put them in the trash, so now her room was just as mature as she was. It was all neutral whites and greys with a smattering of fox fur on the edge of the bed. She had always had a good eye for detail, and all her accessories were coordinated and were unique and quirky. She had collected things over so many years that she had become attached to them and couldn’t bring herself to move them over to her college dorm, for fear of them being broken or damaged.

  She stood up and wandered around the room, tou
ching her knickknacks and letting the memories come flooding back. It had been such a long time since she had been in that bedroom that she suddenly realized how much she’d missed it.

  She heard footsteps coming along the hallway toward her room and turned to stare at the door. She heard her dad shout, “That’s right!” from somewhere else in the house, and then there was a knock.

  “Come in,” she called as she reached up to brush her hair through with her fingers.

  The door slowly opened, and Ranger stood there grinning.

  “I’m a hit,” he said as he slipped in and closed the door behind him. “I told you we had nothing to worry about.”

  His whole demeanor had changed from when they had been in the car and she could see that he was at ease and relaxed.

  He crossed the room and flopped down on her bed, dropping her bag to the floor and letting out a huge sigh.

  Nicole found herself watching him and the way his shirt was riding up slightly, exposing his tanned and perfectly muscular abs. He raised his arms behind his head and yawned.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “I’m beat,” he said. “I haven’t been to bed since Wednesday.”

  “What the hell,” she said as she walked over to him and sat down next to him on the bed.

  “Yeah, stuff’s been pretty rough at the club.”

  She looked at the bags that were forming underneath his eyes and had the overwhelming urge to look after him. She didn’t know where the affection had suddenly come from, but she reached out and let her fingertips graze his arm.

  “I really do appreciate this, you know,” she whispered, just in case her parents were listening up at the door with a glass pressed to the wall.

  He looked up at her and there were those eyes again, trapping her there, holding her prisoner. She felt her breath catch in her throat.

  “It’s no problem,” he said genuinely.

  They sat in silence for a moment and just looked at each other.

  Nicole had never had a man in her bedroom at her family home before, and now she had this man… Ranger, in there. None of it was even real.