A/N: Thanks to Dog in the Manger for working on multiple versions of this chapter and for patiently fixing my mistakes. To those of you who have reviewed as "Guest," I'm sorry that I can't thank you personally but I appreciate your feedback. Yes, I absolutely acknowledge that Joe may be out of character in this story. JE has given us some fabulous characters to play with… and I felt like playing a bit in this story.
I hope you all enjoy meeting Tara. There is one more chapter after this, which I hope to post next week.
I heard what sounded like a yip and out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of gray and white. Ranger crouched down to the floor, crooning in Spanish, and a Siberian husky puppy flung her paws onto his shoulders and started licking his face.
"Stephanie," said Kee, smirking a little bit at my shocked expression. "Meet Tara."
"Tara," I repeated dumbly.
"It's short for Nutaralak, the Inuit word for baby. Do you want to pet her?" Ranger asked.
I took two steps forward, and Tara obediently rolled onto her back. I sank down next to Ranger and rubbed the puppy's tummy while Ranger affectionately scratched under her chin.
"She's darling," I said hesitantly.
"But?"
"I guess I just never pictured you as a dog person."
Ranger shrugged a little and grinned. "Girls with blue eyes are my weakness," he said. When I smacked his shoulder, he laughed a little before his expression turned serious.
"Morelli has Bob, and you don't find that strange."
"Joe is an Italian-American cop who lives in the Burg. He drinks beer, cuts his own grass, and plays in a softball league on Saturdays. Guys like that have dogs."
"And guys like me?" He did that one eyebrow thing that was so endearing, but at the same time so annoying. I was pretty sure I understood the implication. Yeah Babe? You were expecting a winged dragon? Enchanted owls? What?
"You know what I mean," I answered lamely, never taking my eyes off Tara.
"Hey," he said softly. The hand that had been petting Tara now stroked gently under my chin. "You probably already get this, because you have Rex, but Kee has convinced me that having a pet is an essential component of full, well-lived life."
"Oh?"
"Something about learning to accept that another being can love you unconditionally."
I was going to ask him to explain, but Ranger's ESP kicked in once again.
"I leave her for weeks at a time. She doesn't really know if I'll be back or when. Even when I am here, she doesn't always have my full attention, yet-"
"She still loves you," I finished for him.
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" He shook his head, not really believing it himself.
"Not really," I whispered. Not really hard at all.
The grinding of the garbage disposal reminded us both that Kee was still in the kitchen.
"I thought you could take Stephanie for a hike this afternoon, explore the grounds a bit, maybe go down to the river," Kee said to Ranger, scraping the remains of my breakfast into the sink.
"Good idea," Ranger replied. "You up for that, Babe?"
He studied me for a moment, taking in the way I was dressed. Soft brown corduroys, a pale pink hoodie over a long sleeved pink t-shirt and Patagonia hiking shoes. Since Kee had chosen my clothes again today, I certainly looked ready for a walk in the woods.
Before I could answer, Tara rolled over, and tucked her head toward her front paws, wagging her tail and barking excitedly.
Ranger chuckled and scratched between her ears. "I already knew what your answer was going be, Chiquita. I was talking to Stephanie."
"But you've just gone for a run," I protested. "I'm sure you don't want to go right back out again."
"Running's good for the body, but hiking's good for the soul." He glanced up at Kee, who gave him an infinitesimal nod of approval. "Just let me grab a shower and change clothes. I'll be ready to go in ten."
As soon as Ranger disappeared from the kitchen, Kee was at my side, offering a hand to help me up.
"Are you OK, Stephanie?" he asked as he pulled me to my feet.
"I'm good. Why?"
"It can be a shock, the first time you come face to face with the other woman in your lover's life."
I wanted to protest, I really did. Kee didn't have to know about the ache in my heart when I heard Ranger say "Tara" when I was expecting him to say 'Babe." In retrospect, that seemed so silly.
"But he's not my lover-" I answered instead, an unexpected little hitch in my voice.
Kee shushed me, shushed me!, tapping his index finger to his lips. "Stephanie," he scolded, "it is more important to focus on who he is than who he is not."
I bent and scooped Tara into my arms, nuzzling her ear against my cheek. "That's just it," I said, more to her than to Kee. "I wish, I knew."
"Don't worry," he said kindly. "You'll figure it out."
Before he could say more, I changed the subject. "Better get ready for that hike. Where do you keep Tara's leash?" I asked.
"A leash? Why would she need a leash?" Kee repeated, puzzled.
"I mean, I wouldn't want her to run away. She's just a puppy-"
"She may be just a puppy, but she knows that everything she could ever want is here… a warm bed, good food, and people who adore her. She likes a little adventure in the woods now and then, but she knows that she belongs here. Why would she ever want to leave?"
I was pretty sure we were still talking about Tara.
"Ranger really wants her here," I said quietly. "He chooses for her to be here." Me? I just kept showing up at his homes uninvited.
"Do you honestly think that Carlos doesn't want you here, Stephanie?" Kee still radiated his usual Zen-like calm, but I got the idea that he was getting a tiny bit exasperated with me. "Is this about his choices or yours?"
I buried my head in Tara's fur, biting my lip in an attempt not to cry.
"I've really made a mess of this, haven't I?"
"You had a fair amount of help," he reassured me.
He crooked his finger at me, indicating that I should follow him. We left the kitchen and walked down a short hallway. Kee pushed open a door and ushered me into a large room that was bathed in sunlight and sparsely furnished with an eclectic mix of antique and modern furniture. I was realizing that the room bore an uncanny resemblance to Ranger's living room on Haywood, when Kee pointed to a bookshelf on the far wall. There, on the center shelf, sat a white porcelain vase, about eight inches tall, with a wide base and a narrowing opening at the top. Painted in bold, blue brushstrokes was a bird in flight. It was simple and startlingly beautiful.
My host tipped his head, showing me that he saw and appreciated my reaction. "This is a fifteenth century Hoi An vase that has been in my family for generations. It was one of our most prized possessions and one of the few things my parents were able to bring from Vietnam when they immigrated."
His hand at the small of my back, Kee walked me across the room until we were standing directly in front of the bookshelf.
"It was always displayed in a place of honor in our home, on a small wooden table in the entryway.
He turned the vase around, and I saw three large, intersecting cracks. When I gasped, Tara turned in my arms and licked my face.
Unfazed, Kee continued with his story. "One day when I was about eight, I ran through the house looking for my parents. I had earned the top score in my class on a science test, and I couldn't wait to share the news. In my excitement, I bumped into the table and knocked the vase to the floor, breaking it."
"It was an accident," I said. I'd certainly had my share of those.
"Of course it was," he agreed. "But my lack of malintent didn't change the outcome. One could have argued that the vase was ruined, and the only course of action was to reach for a broom and a dust pan."
"But your parents didn't see it that way."
"No, they didn't. They simply gathered up the pieces and painstakingly glued them back together. I can still picture them seated at the kitchen table, their heads bent over the shards, working as diligently as museum conservators. The vase was never less beautiful or valuable to them because it now had imperfections."
Kee tucked one finger under my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze.
"I learned two valuable lessons that night," he said. "Nothing is perfect. Everything can be fixed."
With all my heart, I hoped Kee was right.
