Page 95 of The Golden Hour

Odd.

The hospital called him in a way that made it impossible to ignore. But for the last month, he has not really mentioned his job at all. He stopped checking his phone, hoping for a call to come in. He has been wholly focused on Honey and Daisy, which is the bare minimum, but…

It’s a change.

A good change.

“I’ve been enjoying this,” Mason says quietly, his voice soft as he glances over to the crib where Daisy is taking her mid-day nap.

“What?”

A soft smile crosses his face.

“Being here with you and Daisy,” Mason murmurs. “It’s… home.”

She smirks.

“Even with the blowouts?”

Mason’s face goes green, his throat working like he’s suppressing a gag.

Honey doesn’t even resist the urge to smile, remembering two nights ago when an odd strangled gagging sound yanked her out of sleep.

When she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she saw Mason standing at the changing table. She hadn’t even heard Daisy cry, but somehow Mason had—which was still confusing the hell out of her. He was always there first when Daisy cried even though Honey was only feet from the crib.

The stench reached her nose, and Honey realized their precious little flower had produced a monster blowout.

Mason’s shoulders were up to his ears as he changed Daisy’s diaper. His entire body jerked, and he gagged almost violently to the side.

“How the fuck did you make this mess, baby girl?” Mason sputtered. “You’re only seven pounds!”

Honey just watched him for a moment, feeling a sense of petty satisfaction as he gagged and moaned about the mess while he cleaned her up.

From her angle on the bed, she could see her daughter’s face in the little bumblebee night light. And, it might have just been her imagination, but Daisy almost looked pleased with herself.

“You’re a physician,” Mason muttered to himself as he wiped her. His voice was nasally as he breathed only through his mouth. “You’ve pinched an artery to keep someone from bleeding out. You’ve seen exposed bones. You’ve seen gray matter. You’ve seen people’s insides outside of them.”

He gagged again, and Honey had to slap a hand over her mouth and nose to keep from snorting.

“It’s just a little baby’s—your precious little girl’s—diaper. It’s fine, it’s just a blowout that’s somehow travelled up to her neck, it’s okay, it’s no–bleurghhhhh⁠⁠—”

The sound of his retch was a little too loud, and Honey winced.

“Mason!” Honey hissed, pulling herself out of bed to walk over to him. He turned his head toward her, but kept his eyes on their little girl. “Keep it down. My parents are sleeping.”

“She peed and pooped on me!” Mason hissed, sounding offended.

Honey had to bite down on her lip to keep from smiling.

“Occupational hazard,” Honey said, gently nudging him out of the way. Her nose crinkled as she saw the mess all over his hands and the way he was trying very hard not to look at it. “Wow. For someone whose diet is all milk, it’s odd that her poop is green. That’s an interesting shade, too.”

Mason gagged again.

Honey didn’t even resist the smile on her face now.

“I’ve got it,” Honey told Mason. “Go wash up.”

“Sorry—” Mason’s apology was cut off when he gagged again.