Page 103 of Turning Back

Her little pink lips form a smile around the nipple.

“And a kitten. And we’d need to look for a good school. Hey, you could go to our school. That would be neat.” Our kids will go to the school Bric and I went to. Of course, that was middle and high school. We’re gonna need to find a pre-school and an elementary school.

So many things to plan for now that Adley is here.

She throws the bottle aside and I lean over and pick it up, offering it to her. She throws it again.

“Done? Cool. Now we get to try baby food.” I get up and walk into the kitchen. “But first we gotta wipe that milk off your face.”

She shakes her head and squeals when I do that.

Kids.

Man, do I rock this daddy stuff, or what?

I get the spoon and the jar of tropical fruit, and take Adley over to her high chair. I really did need a video to understand this thing. That little hidden latch almost got me. But nope. I find it now, slide the tray down, put her in, and slide it back up.

So fucking good at this.

“OK,” I say, popping the lid on the jar of food. “I’m ready, Ads. I’m gonna feed you with a spoon for the first time. Are you ready?”

She spits out some drool, but it’s a happy spit. I can tell. Dads know this shit.

I dip the spoon in the jar, scoop up the goop, and head for her mouth. It’s wide open. No here-comes-the-airplane trick for me and my kid.

Mouth closes, lips smack, food gone.

“So easy,” I say, getting another spoonful. She gobbles it up. She gobbles up about ten spoonfuls, but then she starts kicking and getting cranky.

I think I smell the reason why.

“OK. It’s go time. The real deal, Ads. Don’t worry, I got this.”

I get her up on the changing table, clean her up (like a pro, I might add) and then decide it’s a good time for the bath.

“You want bubbles?”

I take her into the bathroom, holding her on my hip—really hoping she doesn’t pee on me, since she’s naked now—and start the water. Rochelle has this ring thing for Adley to sit in the tub. It’s new, I think. But when the water is the right temperature and depth, I set her in and she knows just what to do.

Splash.

Her skin is pink from the warm water. I start thinking about the hot springs and how I’ll need to lower the temperature in the pool if we want to take Adley swimming.

I picture her at my house.

Then stop.

My house is so… sterile. And not in a good way. It’s clean, yeah. But sterile as in… not homey, like this place. My condo is a place for adults. I’ll have to work on that.

“Hey,” I say, taking my attention back to Adley. There’s bubbles in the tub now and Ads is kicking her feet and laughing.

But she’s all flushed. “Is it too hot?” I ask myself, feeling the temperature. Rochelle will kill me if I burn her in the tub.

No. Seems fine.

But damn, her skin is so pink. In fact, I think it’s getting pinker as I watch. Red, almost. And right before my eyes, little dots start appearing under her neck.

Like… hives, or something.