“Of course. I wanna stop and get some bridal magazines and stuff too, so you can help me start planning. I think Hanna’s gonna be back, so she’ll be there.”
A couple of hours later, after watching a few episodes ofSay Yes To The Dress, Mads gets up to head home.
“Thanks for having dinner with me. I’ve missed us.”
“I’m sorry, Sis. I think we’ve got to keep our weekly sister dinners, ’cause I have missed you too.” We hug and she leaves. I head to bed. This day has been awesome but fuck if I can keep my eyes open any longer.
CHAPTER 8
Shane
The last couple of months have gone by fast in a whirl of work, wedding planning, getting the nursery ready, and Kierstie moved into my place. She agreed since I owned it and it’s a much bigger house that it made sense to move into mine. That wasn’t much of a battle. Getting her to let me and her brothers paint the nursery without her so she didn’t have to smell the fumes was. I finally called for help and had Pa explain my reasoning to her. She agreed and we planned it on the day she was out dress shopping so she wouldn’t try to sneak in and help. Yes, people, my woman is that stubborn.
She’s got the cutest baby bump, and it only makes me want to keep her pregnant as often as she’ll let me. She’s felt our little one move quite often, but I haven’t gotten that lucky. I can’t wait for the moment that I do. I think I’ve done well and have been fine with all the wedding plans. I can’t wait for next weekend when I get to make her permanently mine in front of our friends and family.
I might have had one mini freakout, though not about our wedding. I was in the nursery this morning and looking at the furniture I needed to put together. I understood most of them—the crib, the dresser, the bassinet and the changing table. That’s when it hit me. I have no idea how to change a fucking diaper. I’m gonna be a dad soon and I don’t even fucking know how to take care of my daughter and everything she’ll need. I may have started losing my shit. Kierstie’s over at the club having her wedding shower with all the women in the club, so she’s not here to help me. I call Grant in a panic. I tell him what I’m freaking out about and the asshole has the nerve to bust out laughing. Once he stops laughing and can catch his breath, he tells me to grab a pack of diapers and come over. He’ll help me. Luckily we have a closet full of diapers so I grab a pack that readsfouron them. What that means, I have no idea. Just another fucking thing I don’t know. I know I’m upgrading Kierstie’s car to an SUV and making sure we have a car seat for each vehicle. Safety’s important. She might have had to talk me down a few days ago when I was going around the house and making a list of what I needed to do to baby-proof the house. Kierstie reminded me that she won’t even be able to hold up her head when she’s first born, let alone be able to get into cabinets. I’ve got a bit more time.
I pull up in front of Grant’s and realize he’s got quite a few people here. I grab the diapers and head inside. As soon as I walk in, I see a sight I can’t quite figure out. Besides Grant, there’s Pa, Jackson, Wyatt, Jon, Rory, and Juan. On the dining room table there are what looks like four dolls. Grant walks over and takes the pack of diapers from me.
“When you called freaking the fuck out about not knowing how to change a diaper, I was having a beer with Jonah. We realized this was the perfect teaching moment. The four of you are about to become dads here shortly and I think there are a few things you probably need a little learnin’ on.” Jackson moves to the other side of the table and adds in, “They gave me and Wyatt a call. We knew where Hanna’s old dolls were so we brought them over. Y’all are about to have a crash course in changing diapers.”
Pa looks at Ror and the Js.
“You three are going to be even busier since Jane’s got twins coming. That’s double the diapers and double the blowouts. If you think you’re not going to change a diaper, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“I need to know. Kierstie’s further along and I want to be there to help with everything that I can. I’ve never even tried to change a diaper before.” I look at the dolls lined up, all without diapers on them.
Grant grabs the one closest to us and tells me and the others to get a diaper. I take one, open it, and move it under the babydoll as Grant instructs. Within a couple of minutes, I hold up the doll with the diaper intact.
“I did it! I mean, this is right, right?” I look over at Grant and Wyatt. Both are grinning.
Jackson chimes in from the other side of the table, “Shane and Ror got it. I don’t know what the fuck Jon and Juan did. Good thing they got some more months to practice. They might have to practice on their niece.”
“Hey, my daughter is not going to be a practice doll for you guys. She’s gonna be your niece.”
Grant glares at the guys and pipes in, “My goddaughter is not a test subject.”
Pa stops the stare down. “Alright, sons, you two try the diaper again. Rory, you and Shane move on to putting on a onesie and swaddling. After that, we’ll discuss burping the baby.”Was that English?
Jon asks literally just what I was thinking. “What was that, English, Pa? Onesie? What the hell is swaddling?”
All the older men chuckle.
Wyatt informs us, “A onesie is a thing babies wear, both boys and girls. They’re gonna be a savior for you. They’re easy to use once you know how and swaddling is for when they’re really young. It’s a way to wrap them in a baby blanket to keep them warm.”
Grant interrupts Wyatt and surprises all of us when he puts a bag on the table.
“I picked up a few things for her to have here if needed, so we can use them to teach you boys. Can’t have our new generation having a bunch of dads who don’t know what they’re doing.” Well, shit. I think he’s taking to the title of godfather pretty well.
We spend the next half hour learning how to put on a onesie and swaddle.
Just as we all have successfully diapered, dressed, and swaddled the baby dolls, the door opens and Samson, Saxon, Jameson, and Mick walk in. They stop and look at the four of us all holding babydolls, and of fucking course, Saxon starts laughing his ass off at the sight. The other three are trying to stifle their laughter without much luck.
Jameson collects himself enough to ask, “What in the fuck are y’all doin’?”
Glaring at my cousins and supposed friends, I say, “Listen, I’m about to be a fucking dad here soon and I realized I’ve never held a baby, let alone changed a diaper or dressed one.”
Grant throws into the conversation, “So he came for help ’cause he’s man enough to know when he needs it. He’s now ready and can help Kierstie out instead of adding to the stress when they bring the little one home.”
