Page 19 of Honor Me (Men of Inked 6)
We sat in comfortable silence, feeding the babies and enjoying the quiet time. Frisco had always been one of my favorite friends of Joe’s. He quickly became my friend, and especially once he hooked up with Georgia. I knew he’d always have my back. I think I liked him the most out of the Neon Cowboy guys because he wasn’t a perverted sicko like Tank and Bear, although they had their moments when I loved them too.
“What’s that smell?” Frisco’s nose wrinkled.
“Lu.”
“Oh my God. How does something so horrid come from someone so beautiful and tiny?” His lips angled down and his face turned a funny shade of green. Big, bad military man couldn’t take the smell of baby poop.
“Just be happy it’s not climbing out of her diaper and soaking through her onesie.”
“What?” He looked at me with wide, confused eyes.
“You’ll learn someday, Frisco.” I placed Ro in her carrier and snapped her in before placing her on the coffee table in front of Frisco. “I’ll change her, just finish giving Ro her bottle.” I held the half-full bottle in front of him.
We swapped bottles and I lifted Lu from his arms, instantly hit by the stench. “Will she do the same thing?”
“No.” I chuckled and glanced down at Ro. “She’s more of an afternoon pooper. We still have a few hours until she clears a room.”
“Thank God.” He scooted forward to get closer to Ro.
“Men are such lightweights,” I whispered to Lu when I carried her into the den, which we’d set up as a makeshift nursery so I wouldn’t have to run up and down the stairs all day. “A little poop and they freak out. Not Daddy, though, he’s like a pro.” I smiled down at her as I set her on the changing table. She blew raspberries and grabbed her toes.
After I unsnapped her onesie and exposed the dirty diaper, I held my breath. “I wish I could keep you like this forever.”
Someday she’d grow up, far too fast, and I’d have to deal with her teenage years. I couldn’t imagine her old enough to have a boyfriend. Joe would probably be the one crapping his pants when his daughters started to date. It would be payback time for all the ladies he wooed in his youth.
“You’re such a pretty girl,” Frisco said in the cutest baby voice to Ro. “Just like your mommy.”
I couldn’t stop the smile on my face from growing wider. Frisco made me blush. He probably didn’t know I could hear him, and I’d never embarrass him in that way, but it was nice to know that even after three kids had ravaged my body, I still had it.
After I cleaned up Lu, we headed back into the living room to find Frisco cradling Ro in his arms. “Couldn’t help yourself, could you?”
“They need to bottle this scent. It’s intoxicating.” His nose rested on the top of her head as he gently rocked her back and forth in his arms.
“You’re so ready to be a dad. Be careful, once you get the baby bug, it doesn’t go away.”
He exhaled and his shoulders relaxed. “I could do this.” Just as he went to kiss her cheek, the little princess let out the biggest burp. Frisco gagged, probably getting a whiff of the baby formula that had already soured in her belly. “Maybe I need a little more time,” he said, backing away from her and taking a deep breath of fresh air.
“You still have time.” I giggled and placed Lu on the rug in the middle of the room.
“I better get outside. City would have my balls if he knew I was in here playing house.”
“Probably right.”
Ro looked like a newborn in his giant arms when he stood. He rocked back and forth on his feet, gently patting her back before he set her down next to her sister. “Thanks for a nice morning, Sunshine.”
“Thanks for the help,” I told him, before taking a seat next to the girls on the floor.
“Holler if you need me. Text if you hear or see anything, and I’ll be inside before you know it.”
I gave him thumbs up. When he walked outside and the door closed, I collapsed onto my back next to the girls and stared up at the ceiling. All I wanted to do was climb into a warm bath and relax. But mommy duties superseded everything else. Maybe in five years when the twins started school, I’d have a moment to myself again. Maybe.
* * *
Frisco stayed outside until late afternoon. I kept peeking through the curtains to check on him, but I’d barely catch a glimpse before he’d disappear again.
“Everything okay in here?” he asked after I let him through the sliding glass doors that lined the back of the house.
“Everything is quiet and calm.”
“Good.” He nodded and wiped the sweat from his brow.
I quickly grabbed a towel for him and a glass of water. “Sit down for a bit. You deserve a break.”
He took the water and downed it before I had even had a chance to move. “Where are the girls?”
“Sleeping.” I handed him the towel and took the glass from his hands to refill it.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said.”
With my back to him, I stared down at the water with my eyebrows furrowed. I couldn’t remember what I’d said to him earlier. I was still half asleep and worn out.
“I think I’m ready to be a dad.”
I whipped around, almost spilling the water in the process. “You are?” I couldn’t stop my eyes from being as big as saucers.
“I am. Now to convince Georgia.”
I tried not to jump up and down. I already knew she was ready. She had talked about it to me many times, but she worried Frisco wasn’t ready. She didn’t want to rush their relationship, especially since they were newlyweds.
“I’m sure she’ll be on board. Talk to her about it. She may surprise you.”
His face brightened. “You think?”
“I do!” I screeched and had to tell myself not to run to my phone and text Georgia the good news. Soon he’d be back outside and I could drop the bombshell on her.
“I think it’s time we start a family of our own.” His smile grew large and his shoulders went backward, puffing out his chest. “I’m ready for it.”
The baby smell had gotten to him.
It gets everyone.
Spanks for the Memories
Joe
Frisco texted me every hour with a status update. Everything had been quiet on the home front, and nothing out of the ordinary had caught his eye. When I pulled into the driveway, he was waiting for me outside.
“Everything okay?”
He nodded and absently rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, everything is fine.”
“Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost, then?”
He dragged his eyes to mine. “I realized something today.”
“And that is?” I twirled the key ring in my fingers, trying to keep my anxiety under control.
“I want a family. Spending time with Suzy and the girls has made me realize that I want that too.”
I trapped the keys in my fist and laughed. “You scared the fuck out of me.” I punched him in the arm and shook my head. “You can be a prick sometimes.”
“I’m being serious. I didn’t think I was ready for kids, but now, I’m not so sure.”
“You better be sure, brother. There’s no return policy on a kid.”
“I know.” He hung his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m going to talk it over with G and see what she says.”
“Suzy’s probably already told her you want them.”
“What?”
“You know Suzy. She can’t keep a secret. If you told her how you feel, I’m sure Georgia is already expecting the conversation.”
“Fuck! I forgot she can’t keep a secret.”
“Yep.” I laughed and glanced over his shoulder, noticing Suzy waving at me through the window.
“You’re going to be a good father, Frisco.” I grabbed his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “There are very few men that I can say that about, but I’ve known you long enough to know that any kid would be lucky to have
you as a dad.”
The unsure look on his face changed; his lips that had been set in a firm line curved into a big smile. “That means a lot coming from you, man.”
“Now go the fuck home so I can spend some time with my wife.”
He nodded and punched me in the chest. “Don’t make another baby.”
“Fuck you. I’m all about the practice.” I laughed, pretending to pound into someone.
“I’d have thought you’d have figured out how to fuck by now.” He shrugged and waved at me over his shoulder.
I flipped him off, but he didn’t see. When he pulled away, I took a final glance around the yard, grabbed the baby gates out of the trunk and headed inside.
Suzy greeted me with the biggest smile and not much else. “I missed you today.” The sheer, pink nightie she had on didn’t leave much to the imagination.
