All familiar characters belong to Janet.

"God, Steph," Valerie exclaimed, "I could just eat her up!"

"You and Ranger's mom would have to duke it out over that one. Right, Ranger?" She asked me.

"My mother has threatened something similar multiple times."

"Speaking of moms ..." Valerie said to my wife.

"Yeah, I know. Ours isn't happy with me. Again. But guess what? I'm okay with that. She has a beautiful - if I do say so myself - granddaughter, another legally married daughter, and the best son-in-law anyone could ask for ... no offense to Kloughn. Her actually seeing us tie the knot wouldn't change any of that."

"I think she's hurt," Valerie explained.

Steph snorted. "She wants people to believe she's hurt, but it's mostly for show. Deep down she's thrilled that what she wanted to happen ... did. Besides, if Ranger and I didn't get married at his parents' place, it would've been at the courthouse. Either way, she would've missed it."

There's more than a 50/50 percent chance that's true. Steph doesn't like to lie when one can be avoided so that tells me it had been something she'd considered. I kissed the frown off her mouth while our daughter was busy playing. Valerie was helping Olivia hold and shake the rattle she'd brought for her niece. The newest noise-maker was shaped like a microphone, but thankfully didn't work like one. I've grown accustomed to the sound of Olive's laugh, her varying cries at unexpected times, and the sweet murmurs she makes whenever Steph or I are with her, but none of those should be made a higher volume.

"Stop kissing and staring at each other that way," Valerie ordered us, "or I'll end up with another one of these."

She kissed the back of Olivia's fingers with a look in her eyes that should have Albert running scared.

"No you won't," Steph said to her sister. "You told Kloughn you'd cut his balls off if he knocked you up again."

"I did, didn't I?"

"Yup."

I can't blame Valerie for being transfixed by my daughter. If I'd known Olivia was possible, I would've taken Steph in the bed that morning hours before she ever made it into my shower.