Page 126 of Rocky Mountain Home

It wasn’t the first time Jesse had held a baby, but it wasn’t high on his want to do this instant list. He carefully tucked his hand under the kid’s head to support him properly. “I’ll just bring him to Jaxi.”

Blake was already walking away, but he tossed over his shoulder, “She’s in the shower, so you’d better not. Oh, and he needs to be changed. There are diapers in the main bathroom.”

Full-out laughter echoed from his right, and Jesse turned to find Joel being far too entertained by Blake’s orders. “Laugh it up, but you’re coming with me as backup.”

Joel lost a lot of his delight. “I don’t know how to change a diaper.”

“Bullshit. You know just as well as me. Besides, you’d better get in some practice before my kid arrives, oh Babysitter Supreme.”

“I’m nixing that name. Makes me sound like I’m a dessert at Dairy Queen,” Joel complained, but he accompanied Jesse into the bathroom.

The counter ran the length of the room, the sink off-center to the right. In all his years of living in the house, Jesse had never realized what a great baby-changing station it made. He carefully placed Justin on the quilted pad to the left of the sink, then began to unwrap his nephew.

“Find the clean diapers,” he ordered Joel.

Joel moved past him and hauled out a wicker basket from an open shelf. “Oh, look, wet wipes.”

Jesse couldn’t stop it. He snickered so hard he nearly made himself choke. “You sounded way too excited about that.”

“Asshole,” Joel muttered easily, sliding the plastic container toward him and dropping a miniature diaper beside it.

By now Jesse had managed to undo the first layers of the soft flannel. Justin flailed his arms, his face screwed up tight. His mouth opened, and a sound emerged that would’ve been suitable in a horror film.

“You need to change him fast,” Joel said.

“Brilliant suggestion, Einstein.” Jesse undid the diaper, cringing as he used a clean section of the inside to wipe away a little of the damage. “God, how can something the size of a loaf of bread produce this much shit? It’s like stinky superglue.”

Joel tugged out a wet wipe and handed it to him. “Ours is not to question why, ours is just to sniff and die.”

It took three wet wipes to get rid of the evidence, and then just as Jesse slipped a clean diaper under Justin’s hips, the kid peed.

Jesse and Joel shouted, quickly tamping down their volume when Justin’s eyes widened and his protesting cries turned to fear. They were more worried about the stream of pee shooting skyward like an out-of-control fireman’s hose, rapidly sweeping toward where they stood. Jesse barely folded up the bottom part of the diaper in time to contain the mess.

“Jesus Christ, nobody told me those things were loaded,” Jesse complained, speaking loudly to be heard over Justin’s wailing.

Joel started laughing, trying desperately to hold it back as he grabbed another diaper from the bin.

Jesse held it together long enough to wrangle a fresh diaper under his nephew and get it done up with no further mishaps. He stripped the now wet one-piece from his screaming nephew and used a couple wet wipes to wash him down. “Is there another straitjacket for the kid in one of those baskets?”

While his laughter faded to hiccupping gasps, Joel checked all of the baskets, finally handing over a pale-yellow bodysuit thing. “You’re doing awesome. I’m taking notes.”

“I should make you dress him,” Jesse threatened. “But you’re obviously nowhere near as skilled as I am. You’d end up giving the kid a complex.”

Joel leaned his back on the nearest wall, put his face in his hands and started howling all over again.

Justin howled louder, shrieks echoing off the bathroom walls.

It was like trying to stuff an octopus into a glove. Jesse moved cautiously, making sure to keep his touch feather-soft, but eventually he had all Justin’s body parts in the appropriate arm and leg slots with the buttons done up. He got Joel to find him another flannel blanket, and this part he managed to do properly, thinking back to the times Jaxi and Blake’s little girls had taught him how to swaddle their dolls.

He hadn’t realized how much easier it was when the dolls didn’t fight back.

Thankfully, as he tugged the flannel over his nephew and trapped the little guy’s hands and legs snugly in place, Justin’s crying faded to sad whimpers that grew steadily quieter until all that was left was a low complaining murmur.

Jesse got Joel to guard the kid so he could scrub his hands quickly at the sink before lifting Justin against his chest. He rocked on the spot, making soothing noises. “It’s okay, kid. I promise that nasty Uncle Joel will be way better at helping next time.”

“You’re such a dweeb,” Joel said, stopping to wash his hands as well.

“I’m a dweeb? What’re you washing your hands for? You didn’t do anything,” Jesse demanded.