The Cowboy's Unexpected Baby. Stephanie Dees

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       Chapter Three

      Three days later, thanks to Abby’s expert tutelage, Garrett had the diaper changing down. He could change a diaper like a champ, he thought. It was the rest of his life that was going down the tubes.

      This week had been the longest of his life and it was only Thursday afternoon. Rather than go home to his tiny empty cabin, he’d gone to the home where he’d grown up, where his brothers still lived, hoping a visit would take his mind off of all the unknowns.

      He stuffed Charlotte’s legs back into the leg holes of her sleeper and zipped it. Sliding one hand under her head and the other under her bum, he lifted her up. “Time!”

      Devin’s head jerked up from where he was snapping the twins into their pajamas. “What? Not possible. You’re still an amateur.”

      Garrett’s sister-in-law Lacey looked up from the book she was reading. “I think he has an advantage since he only has one baby, honey.”

      With a laugh, Garrett plopped Charlotte into one of the bouncy seats Lacey and Devin had for the twins and turned on the vibrating gizmo. “The zippered outfits that Jules gave me were a game changer.”

      “Zippers?” Devin narrowed his eyes. “Mine are wearing pants!”

      Garrett raised his eyebrows and made a zipping sound as he reached for his mug.

      “Don’t encourage him, Garrett, because the next thing that happens is he’ll be headed into town to get new clothes for Phoebe and Eli so he can beat your time.” Lacey closed her book as Phoebe started to fuss, but she paused to drop a kiss on Devin’s head. “I’ll get the bottles.”

      “She does know me well.” Devin buckled Eli into the other seat, lifted Phoebe to his shoulder and stood, bouncing. “Well, you seem to be taking all this in stride.”

      Garrett nearly spit his cold coffee out. “Really? Because I feel like I’m slowly sinking in quicksand while the rest of my world is falling apart and struggling is only dragging me in deeper.”

      “That seems kind of dramatic.” Devin took the bottle Lacey handed him and settled on the sofa with Phoebe as Lacey picked Eli up to feed him. “Like what?”

      “Like, I need to talk to Charlotte’s mom and I can’t get her to respond to my texts or calls. Like, just about the time I open a file and really start working, it’s time for feeding or diapering or bouncing or she needs her pacifier.”

      His voice was climbing. “She only sleeps in thirty-minute snatches. I have her seventy-two-hour hearing tomorrow in family court—when the judge will decide if she needs to be in foster care—and the most efficient assistant in history is one more poop explosion away from quitting. And if she quits, Wynn will kill me and I can’t let that happen because I have a baby now.” He ran out of breath about the time he ran out of words and at the exact time that he realized his brother and Lacey were both staring at him, eyes wide.

      He sighed and stabbed his fingers into his hair as he muttered, “Sorry.”

      “Don’t be sorry, Garrett. We’re your family. Who else are you going to tell?” Lacey, beside Devin on the sofa, elbowed her husband, who cleared his throat.

      “Yeah, babies are hard. What can we do to help?”

      Garrett let his head fall back against the leather seat of the recliner. “You guys have your hands full with your own kids. I’ve seen Lacey making cookies in the middle of the night to sell at the farm stand and I know how slim your margin is. I’ll figure it out.”

      “There’s always day care, right? Where does Wynn take A.J.?” Devin asked.

      “To Community Church, but they have to be six weeks old to go there. And who knows if I’ll have her then, or if they’ll even have a space for Charlotte when the time comes.”

      Lacey lifted a sleeping Eli to her shoulder and stood. “Give yourself some grace, Garrett. Even people who have time to plan are overwhelmed with the reality of what it’s like to have a baby.”

      He nodded, his gaze going to Charlotte asleep in the bouncy seat. She was so little, the size of one of his hands, and just so dependent on him for everything.

      Yeah. Overwhelming was a good word for it.

      His brother Devin said, “I bet one of the church ladies would be willing to babysit.”

      “Normally, yes, but they’re all in Branson, Missouri for ten days. Some kind of quilting conference and then they’re hitting a bunch of shows. Their timing is terrible.” Garrett heard the words he’d just said and wanted to gobble them back. “That was a joke.”

      Eli’s pacifier popped out and Lacey bent her knees and snagged it before it could hit the floor. “Ooh, I know—what about the new social worker, the one who kept Charlotte a couple of days ago while you were in court? Has she started her job yet?”

      “You mean Abby?” A smile started at the corner of his mouth. She’d saved his skin that first day and he’d thought of her often since then. She didn’t even know him, but her quick humor and totally unfounded confidence in his ability had made Garrett feel more in control.

      “See? Right there. There’s the look I was telling you about.” Devin pointed at Garrett. “He makes that face every time she comes up in conversation.”

      Lacey studied Garrett’s expression with a squinty eye. “Hmm. I see what you mean. Very curious.”

      “You guys are hilarious.” Garrett started tossing stuff back into Charlotte’s diaper bag. “I’m leaving.”

      Lacey smiled, clearly amused, but her voice was kind. “Garrett, you’re always the first one to step in and help when we need it—when anyone needs it. It’s all right to ask for help yourself.”

      He much preferred being the one doing the helping, but maybe Lacey was right. In any case, he didn’t have СКАЧАТЬ