A/N: I warned you.

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Steph’s POV

I’m exhausted. Les and I have been talking quietly about Miami and the situation there. Les doesn’t think we should fire Armando but he does want to know what’s really going on.

“My information about Armando is all over the place, Les.”

Les sighs. “Mine too, Beautiful, which is why I don’t want to fire him. I think something else is going on, especially since both of us have our instincts ringing on Miami. I’m headed straight there from here, to pick up Shane and thrash Antonio.”

“What did he do? Wait, was he the one with the petition about Ella?”

“Yup.”

I commit that name to memory. I’m going to punish him too. I start thinking of what I can do.

Les eventually leaves and I get comfortable in my bed. I’m half asleep, dreaming of Ranger, when the alarm sounds.

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A/N: The Album for Steph’s Point Pleasant rental is here.

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Patrick’s POV—Last week

0900. Time for the pulse check.

“Yo!” Diego.

“Yo!” x5.

“Roll call. Miami, present.” Miami always starts the pulse check and we move north to each branch.

“Atlanta, present.” Chase.

“Trenton, present.” Manny.

“NYC, present.” Jorge. Cool guy. I’m starting to like him.

“Boston, present.”

“Good. Turning this over to Trenton,” Diego says.

“Thanks. OK, men, here’s the deal. Everyone got their invitation to the beach, with the address and suggestions, correct?”

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Steph’s POV

The next morning, I make it clear I don’t want to talk about his op or our relationship any more this week. Ranger puts his blank face in place and nods. I know he’s confused. I’m confused, but I know two things.

One: Denial Land will see me soon, and Two: Ella’s list is important. I need to know what I want before I talk to Ranger or I might agree to everything he says. Then I’ll be angry and looking to get out of it, except I’ve never made a promise to Ranger that I’ve broken. I’d like to keep that record.

I’m finally starting to see how important Ella’s list is. She and Grandma were right. I’ve never been able to tell Dickie, Joe or Ranger what I want in a relationship, just what I don’t want. Dickie dictated the terms in our marriage. I decorated a house I hated because he felt it was the appropriate house for an up-and-coming lawyer. I agreed to start cooking lessons for the dinner parties he assumed we would have. I bit my tongue at his mother’s rude comments instead of saying something because Dickie’s balls were (and still are) owned by her.

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FYI The ‘Bastard.’ of the last chapter was Hector, not Ranger! Sorry for the confusion!

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Ranger’s POV

Romance her. Hector is an insistent ass. I’m watching Steph now and I wish I could just walk over and kiss her. She looks so cute in her polka-dot bikini. She needs to reapply the sunblock or she’s gonna burn soon.

I watch her rub the back of her neck and look around. I grin. Two minutes and she knows I’m here, but she doesn’t look for me. She turns around and heads back to her house. As she heads back, I see her looking around warily. OK, maybe she is looking for me. I watch, cautiously, prepared to duck behind a tree if necessary. Instead, my phone rings.

“You are the world’s worst stalker.”

“Fuck you.”

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Frank’s POV

There isn’t enough scotch in the world to eliminate what I’ve seen this week.

I love my wife, but looking at my mother-in-law, I dread getting older. There are just some things no man wants to see, and Edna’s chicken legs and flabby skin ranks high. Helen’s had to rub my back each night and promise me she won’t parade around in bikinis like that.

My Pumpkin is a lifesaver. She gave the master bedroom to me and her mother, which meant the attached bathroom was ours to control. I immediately locked access to it from the hallway so I could enjoy waking up and having access to my bathroom the moment I needed it. The rest of the family was forced to share the remaining two bathrooms.

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Frank’s POV

A week at the beach. Normally this would be great, but it’s a week at the beach with Edna, Kloughn, and the entire estrogen clan.

I’m taking all my scotch and cigars.

Helen has been excited ever since Pumpkin called to say she’d rented a house at Point Pleasant for a week. My wife has been packing, cooking, planning and directing her mother and Sunshine with all the fervor of a newly minted general out for his first battle. Edna has been over here daily, clogging up my bathroom and getting in the way, helping Helen pack sheets, pillows, blankets–just about half our house. Sunshine brings her girls over, all three of them, and helps her mother out by cooking and packing our cookware and dishes.

I’m almost certain Pumpkin said this place was furnished. Why do we need all this stuff?

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