Ranger and Stephanie still belong to Janet. Olivia, Kane, and the mistakes, are mine.

"What's up?" Steph said, kissing Olive's cheek before passing her to me so she could concentrate on reading Kane, who should be home with his new wife instead of standing in my office.

While he appeared not to have a care in the fucking world, my gut told me this isn't a social call. To Insane Kane ... only a handful of things are worth getting upset over. A fight in a bar that required police intervention, wouldn't have been one of them except the guy trying to throw a few punches was the same asshole who attempted to ambush, rob, and then beat the shit out of, Kane's younger brother over a winning hand in a less-than-legal game of high stakes poker.

He shrugged at her question. "While Range Man here was smoothing the cop's feathers over that fist-to-face conversation I had in Atlantic City, you were trying to calm me down by giving me the highlights of what you two have been up to here ... so I came to you. I thought I'd be nice and not disturb the cops again for what's essentially a 'family' matter."

"Lucky us," I said, as Olivia stuck her tongue out at him.

"Did you teach her to do that?" He asked me, glancing at the vocal bundle of dress in my arms.

Steph swears she can see the beginnings of a tooth, but so far our daughter's mouth remains all smiling gums.

"No," I told him, "but she does mimic her mother often."

"Very funny," my wife said while staring at Kane. "What happened?"

"My old lady's ..."

Steph held up her hand to stop him and looked over at me. "If you ever call me that, I'll hurt you."

I spoke into Olive's fingers as they reached out to grab my lips again. She seemed intent on explaining to me why faces are so interesting to her, so I kept my eyes on her to encourage communication as I answered her mother.

"I know better, Babe. Kane's good at shooting things or blowing them up, but he still has a lot to learn about women."

"I do alright," he stated, puffing out his chest.

"Did alright. Past tense," I reminded him.

It took him longer, but he finally figured out what I had discovered with Stephanie ... once you find that one person who can love you completely - the good, the bad, and all the ugly - you don't fuck it up.