“Hmm,” Colton said. “Can’t leave you alone for even two minutes. There you go, seducing the new locals.”
“I didn’t seduce anyone,” she protested. “I was just trying to get rid of my hiccups.” She frowned. “I think my beer is flat.”
“You want another one?”
“No. I just want to go home,” she said and stood. “I’m glad you came back when you did. This was good enough for me. I won’t be wondering how the other half lives. I’d rather eat a meal I’ve prepared and watch a good TV show.” She met his gaze with a lopsided smile. “I’m getting old, aren’t I? An old mama.”
Colton shook his head. “Nah. You’re just growing up. And you’re the hot kind of mama, so keep up your guard.”
Colton wasn’t sure his evening out with Stacey had been all that successful. She’d been quiet on the way home. He was bummed that he hadn’t been able to cheer her up more. He wondered if he’d made things worse. He focused on his work at the ranch during the next couple of days and avoided the inquiring glances from the rest of his family.
As he drove home after a long day outdoors, his cell phone rang. It was Stacey. He immediately picked up. “Hey. What’s up?”
“I’m trying to find Rachel,” Stacey said. “I need her help.”
“I’m just pulling into the drive. Let me see if I can find her and I’ll call you back,” he said.
Colton strode into the house and called for his sister. “Rachel,” he called. “Rachel.”
No answer. His parents didn’t even respond.
He looked through the house and called a few more times. Sighing, he stabbed out Stacey’s cell number. “Hey,” he said. “No sign of Rachel or my parents.”
“Darn,” Stacey said. “My parents have gone to a town meeting.”
“Oh, mine must have gone to the same meeting. This place is like a ghost house,” he said and chuckled. “I think my voice may be echoing off the walls.”
“Oh, bummer,” Stacey said.
He heard the despair in her voice. “What’s wrong?”
“Rachel was my last hope since my parents are out, and my sister Delaney isn’t feeling well.”
“Last hope for what?” he asked, pacing the hallway in his house.
“Well, you know my brother Toby took in three foster kids,” she said. “He called me tonight and said the youngest is feeling bad. He has no experience with sick kids, so he asked me to come over and I said I would. But I don’t want to expose Piper to anything. I don’t want her to get sick.”
“Yeah,” Colton said. “That’s rough.”
She sighed. “I hate to leave Toby hanging. Would you mind watching her for a little while so I could help him out?”
Colton froze. The idea of taking care of a baby terrified him. He could do a lot of things, but he had no experience with babies. But he couldn’t leave Stacey in such a bind, could he? Well, darn. He inhaled. “Okay, I’ll do it, but you need to give me lots of instructions. This isn’t like roping a calf.”
“She’ll be easy. I promise. I’ll write down lots of instructions and put them in the diaper bag,” Stacey said. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”
“Yeah,” Colton said, and headed back to his car. It occurred to him that he would rather get stomped by a bull than take care of a baby.
He drove his truck the short distance to the Joneses’ ranch and pulled in front of the house. His family had celebrated with the Jones family many times. Their home was as familiar to him as his own.
But a baby wasn’t familiar to him at all.
Colton ground his teeth, then forced himself to present a better attitude. He could handle this. He’d handled far more difficult situations. Piper was just a six-month-old baby. How hard could it be, he asked himself, but he was sweating despite the freezing temperature outside.
He stomped up the porch steps and lifted his hand to knock on the door, but it swung open before his knuckles hit wood. Stacey looked up at him with a hopeful expression on her face as she held her baby on her hip. “She should go to sleep soon,” Stacey said. “She’s just a little worked up tonight.”
“Worked up,” he repeated, feeling more uneasy.
Stacey fluttered her hands. “Oh, it won’t last long,” she said. “She’ll get tired. Let me grab my coat, and I’ll be back before you know it.”
She thrust Piper into his hands. He stared at the baby, and she stared back at him. Mistrust brewed from his side, and he saw the same mistrust in the baby’s eyes. “What am I supposed to do with her?” he asked.
“Rock her, walk her. Feed her only if you’re desperate because she’s already been fed.” Stacey buttoned a peacoat and handed him a diaper bag. “This is my complete bag of tricks,” she said. “This will be a breeze. You’re going to surprise yourself. Trust me. Thank you so much,” she said, and rushed out the door.
Colton resisted the urge to renege. Barely. After Stacey was gone, he looked at Piper. She let out a little wail. Colton dived into the diaper bag, skipped everything and went straight for the bottle.
Piper sucked it down, then stared at him and gave a loud, powerful burp.
“Whoa,” Colton said, backing away from the sound. “How’d you do that?”
Piper squirmed and fussed.
Colton bobbed up and down. “Hey. Your tummy’s full. You should be better.”
Piper whined in response.
Colton grimaced. He had been hoping food would be the quick fix. It usually was for him. He patted her back and continued to walk. Piper whined and occasionally wailed. Colton had no idea how to please the baby.
Oh, wait. Maybe she had a messy diaper.
Eewww, he thought. He didn’t want to change a diaper. That was just too gross. But maybe that would turn the trick and the baby would stop fussing.
Groaning to himself, Colton went to the magic diaper bag and pulled out a diaper, a packet of wipes and a changing pad. “Okay. Okay,” he said to Piper as he set her down on the pad. “Give me a break. This is my first time.”
Piper stuck her fingers in her mouth and gazed up at him with inquisitive green eyes.
At least she wasn’t crying, he thought and lifted her gown. “Okey, doke. We can do this,” he said because some part of him remembered that he’d seen a few people talk to babies. It wasn’t as if they understood. Maybe they just liked the sound of a human voice.
Who knew?
He looked at the diaper, and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out which was the front and the back.
Piper began to squirm and make noises. They weren’t fussy, but they were getting close.
“I’m getting there,” he promised. “Just give me a little extra time.”
He pulled open the dry diaper, then carefully unfastened the baby’s dirty diaper. Colton glimpsed a hideous combination of green, yellow and brown.
“Oh, Piper. How could you?”
The baby squirmed and almost seemed to smile.
Heaven help him.
Colton pulled out a half dozen wipes and began rubbing her