All familiar characters belong to Janet. For those following 'Baby Steps', I'm currently editing an update for it, which I'll be posting as soon as it's ready.

"So what should we do while the two curly-heads are taking a nap?" Julie asked me, after I carried Olive in from the car and kissed my wife goodbye.

"I could use your input if you're up to giving it?" I said, as we walked back out to the car.

"You want my opinion on something?"

"You shouldn't look surprised," I told her, noting her expression. "I value your opinion."

"Yeah, but there are very few things I can tell you that you don't already know."

"Somethings I'm more familiar with than others."

"I'm not really buying that, but you've got me curious."

"Am I right in assuming that now you don't want to do anything else before we run my errand?" I asked my daughter.

"You are. And Steph is also right."

"She'll be sorry she missed hearing you say that, especially when I'm guessing that statement involves me."

"How'd you know?"

"As you've said, there's little I don't already know."

"Did you know that Steph calls you a major tease? Like when you drop hints about secret errands, but don't share any real details about it?"

I cut my eyes to the passenger's seat and grinned at her. "Yes, I knew that too."

"Figures," she said, as I began the drive to the building owned by a friend of an Army buddy of mine.

Ten minutes later, Julie read the sign hanging above the space where I parked. "A jewelry store?"

"Yes."

"You're buying Steph something and want me to help you pick it out?"

"Yes again, but that's not the reason why we're here," I 'teased' some more.

She glanced up at me and it was like looking in a mirror at my own eyes. "Oh yeah? What are you up to?"

"Do you want the long version or a condensed one?"

"I want to know everything," she stated.

"I'm not surprised. "

"So ...?" She prompted.

"Steph and I had dinner with Kane ..."

"Poor Steph. Un-Kane's fun, but I spend half the time I'm around him worried he's going to say something that'll get him in trouble."

"You and me both," I shared with her. "But his wife, Harper, was with us and Steph kept him in line."

"More like you did. No one misbehaves around you. If Steph or I are also there, you're way worse. So how does that lead to a jewelry store visit?"

"I overheard ..."

"Honestly or electronically overheard?" She interrupted with a playful grin.

"No bugs ... only ears. Kane bought Harper a pair of earrings that Stephanie said she liked when she thought I couldn't hear her."

"So now you want to buy a pair of them for her?"

"A pair similar, but unique to Stephanie."

"And that's where I come in?" She guessed.

"Yes and no."

Her beautiful face formed a puzzled frown. "What do you mean by that?"

I unbuckled my seat belt and opened the door. "We'll go inside and I'll show you."

Like Steph, Julie is innately curious, but unlike my wife ... my daughter has far more patience waiting for answers if she's guaranteed the big picture after getting them.

After opening the shop door for Julie, I nodded a greeting to Ballard and we were immediately shown to a quiet corner of the store.

"I have your piece ready for you," the man, who reminds me of a downsized version of Tank in looks and temperament, informed me. "If you'll just excuse me for a moment, I'll go back and get it."

"Take your time. I'm also looking for earrings for my wife while we're here."

"Diamond?" He asked.

"Sapphire."

He nodded and walked us over to a case where that particular gem was prominent. "If you don't see anything you like, I have a few other options ..."

"In the back?" Julie asked him, likely picturing an entrance to a Jewel-Bat Cave behind the dark curtains.

"You are exactly right, Little Lady," he said, giving my daughter a blinding smile.

He then raised his eyebrows at me before his dark eyes briefly flicked back to Julie.

I nodded. He'd guessed correctly. Julie wasn't far behind.

"If we're looking for Steph's earrings ... what is he going back to get?"

"Ballard's retrieving something I had specifically made for you," I answered.

"Really? That's why you wanted me to come here with you?"

"Yes. If you don't like it, we can correct that immediately."

She wasn't shy in giving me a two-armed, tight-squeeze hug. "I've loved every present you've given or sent, just because they come from you."

"We'll see if the streak holds," I told her, as Ballard came back holding a four-inch square velvet box. He passed it to me and I explained my gift before letting her open it. "I know you're getting too grown up for the charm bracelet that Steph and I got you when we'd bought Olive's, so I figured a bracelet-upgrade was in order. Go ahead and open it."

She flipped the cover up with one flick of her thumb and she didn't say anything for a solid minute. It's of excellent quality, but this piece of jewelry isn't the type Rachel was concerned about me buying Julie. It's the sentiment behind it that upped the value. The bracelet is a thin chain made from white gold with a small rectangular bar making up the middle of it, similar to an ID bracelet. On the right side of the bar, the shape of Florida had been etched into the metal with a small diamond marking Miami. On the left side, New Jersey was represented with a Trenton diamond. Centered in-between both states, a heart shape had been removed from the white gold and replaced with a diamond heart three-times the size of the city dots.

I may have to go back to Trenton without Julie until she starts college at one of the two Ivy League schools she has her sights set on that coincidentally - or not - are close to me, but she will know that I love her no matter the distance between us. In the same vein, I spotted a small double-heart charm to add to Olivia's bracelet that simply stated 'My Baby Always ... Made With Love'.