Page 92 of This Feeling

“Fine, I’ll just throw this away in the dumpster out back,” she said, holding up the small trash can.

“What in the hell is going on here?”

The three of us turned to see my father standing in the middle of the toy store, his expression confused but slightly amused.

“We were changing Winnie’s diaper,” I said, as if it was totally obvious.

“I saw…and I really wish I had my phone to record all of that,” he said with a wave of his hands toward the counter, where Winnie was still smiling away.

“Mayor Browning, you don’t feel like taking a trip out back to the dumpster, do you?” Brystol asked, holding up the trash can. It was then I noticed she still had the clip on her nose.

With a shake of his head, my father replied, “No, thank you, Brystol. Been there, done that.”

“She had a bad poop,” I explained. “And we had to change her outfit and all.”

My father nodded. “That explains the dramatics. But care to tell me why you have Liam and Hope’s child?”

“I can answer that one,” Declan said. “Liam didn’t have anyone to watch Winnie while he ran up to The Muddled Moose, so we offered to do it.”

My father’s eyes twinkled as he nodded again. “That was very kind of you.”

“What brings you to the toy store, Dad?” I asked, finished with dressing Winnie and lifting her onto my hip.

He let out a soft laugh. “Well, I was on my way to visityouwhen Mrs. Clemens walked out of the toy store, laughing so hard she ran into me. She informed me of the circus going on in here, so I thought I’d check it out for myself.”

“Circus?” I asked.

“Oh my God, I had a customer and didn’t know it?” Brystol cried, running to the front of the store and throwing open the door. “Mrs. Clemens? Mrs. Clemens! I have the toy you ordered!”

Declan leaned against the counter. “Should we tell her she’s still holding the trash can with the diaper and wipes inside?”

“And ruin the fun?” my father replied with a chuckle.

“Dad, we’re going to take Winnie to a little gym Brystol told us about. Would you like to join us?”

Turning back to me, my father’s eyes lit up. “I’d love to! We should call your sister and have her bring Mandy.”

“That’s a great idea,” I said as Winnie started to reach for Declan.

“Son, the child’s reaching for you. Take her.”

Declan looked terrified. “Me? Why is she reaching forme?”

I handed Winnie over, and he awkwardly took her, holding her slightly away from his body in his big hands. When she looked up at him and smiled, my heart melted.

“Because a girl knows a good-looking man when she sees one.” I giggled watching him with Winnie.

Declan

Exhausted.

It was the only word my tired brain could come up with to describe how I felt after our day with Winnie. The only break Harper and I got was when we arrived at Harper’s parents’ house, and Patty, her mother, immediately took Winnie from Harper’s hands. I swear we didn’t see the two of them for at least thirty minutes.

Harper took Winnie out of the car seat and held her while I removed it from the back of Harper’s car. “As tired as I am, I had a lot of fun today.”

I chuckled. “I did, too, but I’m exhausted. I feel bad for Liam and Hope. I’m sure the chemo is taking every bit of her energy, and Liam must be wiped out from caring for them both and trying to run The Muddled Moose.”

Harper’s smile slipped away. “Yeah, I was thinking about that as well. I wonder if we should offer to take Winnie more often?”

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