Page 9 of The Cowboy Contract
Paige now had a chicken nugget she was using to gesture. “It’s coming out the sides too.” Her head tipped, the messy bun at the top of her scalp bobbing with the movement. “Ew. And the front.”
“It’s fine.” He managed to smile, holding his breath because the slightly sour scent of baby shit would immediately instigate a gag. “No problem.”
Spinning on the heel of one boot, Leland made a hasty exit, miraculously waiting until he was out of view to shift his hold on the baby. Gripping Will’s squishy little body under the arms, he held the mess monster out at arm’s length, grimacing at the sight in front of him. “What did I do to deserve this?”
He toed off his boots at the entry before carrying the dangling baby through the house and up the stairs, skipping the nursery to go straight to his sister’s giant bathroom.
Because there weren’t enough baby wipes in the world to clean up this crime scene.
Using one elbow to flip on the light, he made a beeline for the tub, setting his nephew right in the middle of the white basin so he could just hose the whole kid down. It was a flawless plan. One he would have patted himself on the back for coming up with, except for one glaring problem.
Will couldn’t sit up on his own yet.
“You’ve really got me in a bind here, buddy. Leland used one hand to keep his nephew upright while attempting to separate the snaps at the crotch of the probably ruined onesie.
It wasn’t as easy of a task as he’d hoped. The soft fabric was stretchy, making it easy to wrestle onto a wiggly body, but difficult to achieve enough tension to force the metal fastenings apart. No matter how hard he pulled and tugged, his efforts only succeeded in stretching the already violated garment. “Who in the hell designed this thing?”
“I was just gonna stand here and watch for a few minutes, but I already feel bad.” Paige was leaned against the open doorway, arms crossed over her chest, a teasing smile curving her lips.
“You’re laughing now, but this isn’t as easy as it looks.” He continued fighting the snaps. “Shouldn’t this be Velcro or something?”
“If it was Velcro, babies would rip them off all the time.” Paige left her post at the door, coming to his side and lowering to herknees next to him. “Plus, the edges of Velcro are pretty abrasive, so would probably irritate their skin.” She reached between Will’s chunky thighs and quickly separated the series of snaps.
“You don’t have to show off.” Leland shifted his nephew around while Paige worked the desecrated onesie free. “I would have managed it eventually.”
Paige glanced at him, offering a small smile. “I know you would have. There’s not much in this world that gets the best of you.”
The complement pulled his attention to her face, fixing it on the unbearably familiar lines. He and Paige talked every day. Had for years. They saw each other multiple times a week. When something good happened, she was his first phone call, and he was hers. But most of their interactions were lighthearted and teasing. Easy and relaxed. Any praise one gave the other was filled with sarcasm and amusement.
This one wasn’t. This one was serious and sincere. And it dug into his hide. Made him wish more between them could be serious. Unfortunately, bridging the gap between the two was more difficult than he’d expected.
And more terrifying.
“I try to do the best I can.” He attempted to brush her words off. Tried to smooth the rough edges of his feelings for her before they cut him any deeper.
“I know you do.” Paige freed one of Will’s arms, managing to dodge it as the baby flailed. “You’ve been that way ever since your parents almost lost their ranch.”
That was a rough time. One of the hardest he’d ever been through. The fear of what might happen was unbearable. Theonly way he knew how to handle it was to dig in and do everything he could to make sure his family kept what they’d worked so hard to build. It was a lesson that had stuck with him ever since.
Hard work might not always save you, but it could sure as hell come close.
Unless, of course, the hole you’re in is one you dug over decades of being in love with your best friend. There didn’t seem to be any amount of hard work that would get him out of that one.
Paige finished stripping the ruined onesie off Will and held it up. “You think this is salvageable?”
“I think we’re not going to find out.” Leland tipped his head at the trash can. “Chuck it. I’ll buy him a new one.”
“I’ve spent all day doing laundry, so I’m not going to argue.” Paige straightened, tossing the stained outfit into the can before coming back. “You want to man the faucet or the mess?”
“Since I’m already elbows deep in the mess, I’ll stick with it.” He lifted Will up to make sure none of the water would touch him until Paige had the temperature right. “We should probably hurry, though. If we’re gone for too long, Rosemary will start dismantling the house out from underneath us.”
Paige pulled the sprayer portion of the faucet loose and twisted on the knobs. “Rosemary’s drawing pictures on my tablet, so we should have at least fifteen minutes before demolition starts.” After fiddling with the temperature, Paige held one hand under the tap, expression assessing. “I think we’re good.” She turned to him, cringing a little. “Ready?”
“As ready as I’m going to get.” Leland moved Will closer, letting his chubby body dangle in front of Paige as they worked together to strip off the diaper partially containing the explosion. As it fell away, they both made similar gagging sounds.
Paige tested the water one more time before lifting the spray to start washing away the mustard-tinted mess. “How is it all the way inside his belly button?”
“Based on what I’ve seen him accomplish, you’re lucky it’s not in your belly button too.” He was so focused on the task, his brain didn’t have time to censor his thoughts before they jumped through his lips. “Then I’d have to strip you down next.”
