Shane recognized the smile on Steve's face and the tone of his voice. On the surface it was friendly enough, but Shane knew Steve well enough to know that it was simply a mask that barely concealed a very pissed-off man. The last thing Shane wanted to do at the moment was to get into another fight with Steve, but he was not sure he could avoid it.

"Hold on, Steve," Shane said, keeping his voice neutral. "I really don't think this is the time or the place to have another argument. The kids are just down the hall."

"I wasn't planning on having an argument, Donovan," Steve hissed, lowering his voice. "I'm going to talk and you're going to listen."

Shane looked down the hall and could hear the kids happily playing in the other room. Knowing he was not going to be able to walk away without some kind of scene, Shane resigned himself to another lecture.

"Okay, Steve . . . have it your way. What is it that you think I need to know?"

"Something simple enough for even you to understand." Steve's words dripped with sarcasm. "Kayla and Stephanie are my family, not yours. They don't need you or your fancy gifts or big estates."

"I'm very aware of that fact, Steve." Shane forced himself to remain calm. "Now, if you're finished, I have some business to attend to."

"No I'm not finished," Steve snapped. "I don't think you're getting it. Stay away from my wife and my daughter."

This was getting ridiculous. "Look, Steve . . . I'm sorry that you're upset, but you can't stop me from caring about Kayla and Stephanie."

"The hell I can't," Steve growled, taking another step in Shane's direction.

Shane knew the situation was rapidly getting out of control, but he was tired of being the whipping boy for Steve's jealousy. Maybe it was time Steve heard some hard truths.

"You need to understand something, Steve," Shane said. "When you were gone, I spent a lot of time with Kayla and Stephanie. We got close, and I came to care about them - a lot. You can't just demand that we forget about those nine months."

"That's exactly what you need to do." Steve's face was turning a deep red. "Forget they ever happened."

Shane was truly baffled. Was Steve so insecure about Kayla's love for him that he would explode over her having a casual conversation with Shane? But what Steve was asking was ridiculous. "I'm sorry, Steve, but I can't do that."

"It wasn't a request," Steve said.

"What are you going to do, Steve? Are you going to lock them up? Forbid Kayla from talking to me? Forbid Stephanie from ever seeing me? They aren't your property."

"This isn't about them." Steve's voice rose in volume. "This is about you. Just stay the hell out of our lives."

"What do you think I've been doing? In case you've forgotten, this is my house, not yours." Shane fought to keep his anger under control.

"I haven't forgotten anything," Steve said, emphasizing the last word. "Especially how you stepped right in to take my place when I was gone."

"Well you stepped right back in again, didn't you?" Shane took a deep breath. "Isn't it time to let this go?"

"It's a little hard to do that when I hear you offering my daughter a pony," Steve's voice rose again.

That's what was bothering him? A pony? Shane was genuinely confused. "What's wrong with wanting Stephanie to have riding lessons and a pony like her cousins?"

"You don't give a damn about whether Stephanie learns to ride," Steve snapped. "You just want another way of throwing your money around, making you look like the big hero."

Shane shook his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I just thought it would be nice for the children-"

"Yeah, right." Steve leaned in closer. "If my daughter wants or needs anything, I'll make sure she gets it. Maybe I don't have your kind of money, but I can take care of my family just fine."

Before Shane could respond, the door behind him opened and Kayla appeared with Stephanie. She stopped short when she saw Shane and Steve. Looking back and forth between them, she said, "What's going on out here?"

"Nothing, Sweetness," Steve responded, his eyes never leaving Shane. "Donovan and I were just have a little chat."

"Shane?" Kayla looked at him.

The last thing Shane wanted to do was put Kayla back in the middle of a conflict. Swallowing his anger and frustration, he nodded. "It's nothing to be concerned about, Kayla. Besides shouldn't you all be getting back to the party?"

Kayla's eyes narrowed. "You both make lousy liars. I'm not blind, so why don't one of you tell me the truth?"

Shane shifted uncomfortably and looked down the hall. As he did, he caught a glimpse of Andrew. The boy was standing in the hallway outside the children's playroom. His eyes were wide as he stared at them.

"Hey, Sport," Shane called out. He wanted to make Steve and Kayla aware of Andrew's presence. Steve and Kayla both turned towards where Andrew was standing.

Turning back to Steve and Kayla, Shane said, "If you'll excuse me, I need to check on my son."

Steve nodded curtly. "Just remember what I said."

Shane bit back his response, as Kayla glanced at Steve. She then gave Shane a small smile and an apologetic look. Yeah, I'm sorry, too, Shane thought, but he said nothing further as he walked down the hall toward Andrew.

Kneeling beside Andrew, Shane saw Steve and Kayla walking back towards the foyer and the party. Shane put a hand on Andrew's shoulder. "What are you doing out here, champ?"

"I heard your voice," Andrew said. "I wanted to see if you would come and play with me." Looking down the hall to where Steve and Shane had been standing, Andrew asked, "Were you and Uncle Steve fighting?"

Shane sighed. Andrew liked Steve and, like Kayla, should not be put in the middle of any of this conflict. "No, we weren't fighting," Shane lied. "We were just having a little talk and disagreed about something. It's nothing for you to worry about."

"Okay, Daddy," Andrew said. "Now can you come and play with me?"

Shane smiled at his son. "Of course I can, but only for a few minutes. Then it's going to be time to get you ready for bed."

Shane stood up. Andrew smiled broadly as he pulled Shane's hand and led him to the room where the children were playing. A few games with Andrew and his cousins beat digging through ISA files any day.