Page 27 of The Way We Collide

I cannothandle a poopy diaper.

“I’ll ask Rave to take a video of you handling it.” Garrett’s on my case. “I can always use a good laugh.”

“You got this, Hen.” Jack is being team captain as always, keeping me motivated. “If I did it, you can do it. Call me if you need help. Don’t call this guy.”

“Like I’d ask Sasquatch for help,” I growl.

“That’s Daddy Bear to you,” Garrett replies.

“When are you retiring?” Logan puts his hands in his back pockets. “You’d be a great addition to the show. Our ratings always spike when you drop in for a chat.”

My chest tenses, and I guess my grip on Haddy does as well. Her little eyes blink faster.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” I try to keep it light, but my body is tight and a hint of defensiveness enters my tone. “I’m not like you guys. I don’t have any plans to retire any time soon.”

Jack’s voice is a low calm. “There’s plenty to do around here if you change your mind.”

“I won’t change my mind.” My voice rises, and Garrett’s brow does, too.

He has that look on his face like he’s holding a goldfish in his mouth, and by goldfish I mean some kind of dunk on me he’s ready to spew. Probably something about making me another pillow with these new words cross-stitched on it.

He never gets the chance to say it, though, because Haddy scrunches up her little face and starts crying.Loud.

“Shit…” I hiss under my breath.

Her little face is red, and I’m looking all over the place for Raven.

“It’s okay… It’s okay…” I’m using the same high-pitched voice I’ve seen people use when babies start screaming. I even bounce as I walk. “Don’t cry…”

“Real smooth, bro.” Garrett shakes his head. “You scared her.”

I leave my brothers standing around, having a good laugh at my expense, but I’ve got to find Raven. Haddy lets out another,louder yell, and she even has a little round tear caught on her bottom eyelashes.

My stomach twists. Where the fuck did Raven go? She was just standing over here with Dylan and Liv and Rachel…

I’m about to give up and ask my annoying giant brother for help when Raven bursts through the double doors leading to the kitchen.

“Oh, no!” She has an aqua-colored rubber pacifier in her hand, and the first thing she does is pop it in our daughter’s mouth. “Sorry, I lost track of time.”

She takes her from me, and I follow her into the kitchen, where Dylan has one of those small, vanilla ice cream cups she uses on her spicy dare nights. It’s the kind with the paper top and the small wooden paddle for a spoon.

“Did Daddy pinch you?” Dylan dips a tiny bite of ice cream and slips it into her mouth.

My daughter stops crying right away, and my shoulders drop. “I could’ve given her ice cream.”

“Oh,” Liv makes a worried face. “I’m not sure she should have ice cream yet…”

“It’s okay,” Raven jumps in quickly. “She can eat whatever she wants. I’m not one of those moms.”

“No, I just mean… You’re supposed to wait until she’s a year old for cow’s milk.” Liv’s nose wrinkles like she’s sorry for telling us this.

“Right. I didn’t think of that…” Raven’s eyes widen, and I grab my phone, doing a quick Google search.

“It says here, ice cream is safe for babies at six months, but you should really wait until she’s a year…”

“It’s Aunt Dylan’s fault!” Dylan takes the ice cream cup from Raven. “Sorry, I’m the worst.”

“It’s okay. She’s had a lot of stimulation today.” Raven turns to me. “I should take her to the house. Want to walk me back?”

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