Page 85 of Dust to Dust

Leaning over to Brooke, I whispered, “I’ll look into one.”

“Thanks, Big Guy.”

Isla eyed the antique clock above the mantle. “Can you watch Henry while Brooke does my hair and makeup?”

I nodded. “Then we’ll need to go to my house, so I can get dressed and we can meet Callum.”

“I won’t take long,” Isla said as she and Brooke started for the stairs.

Brooke grunted. “You act like covering up your neck is nothing at all.”

“It only needs touching up from earlier.”

They continued bickering up the stairs. Henry grew restless in my arms, so I put him down on his ocean playmat. Shane and I pulled out our phones and checked in on business.

Isla and Brooke hadn’t been upstairs very long when a truly foul smell permeated the air. Shane and I exchanged a glance before looking at Henry who was on his playmat. After picking him up, I turned him in my arms.

When I brought his butt to my face, I recoiled. “I think he’s had a blow-out.”

Shane furrowed his blond brows. “Do you know how to change a nappy?”

I rolled my eyes. “Aye, mate, I do.”

He held up his hands. “It was a fair question since I’ve never seen you around a wain.”

Grimacing, I replied, “Truthfully, the last nappy I changed was Eamon’s.”

Shane’s dark eyes bulged. “Jaysus, it’s been that long?”

“Aye. Now shut yer trap and get me a nappy.” After glancing around the room, I spotted his diaper bag. “Grab that for me.”

Once Shane obliged, I got out the wipes and a nappy. After unsnapping his onesie, I fought my gag reflex. Green shit oozed out of the sides of his nappy and down his legs.

When I pulled up the bottom of the onesie, Shane gagged. “That shite is toxic,” he muttered.

After undoing the nappy, I slid it off his bum. That’s when I noticed shit had seeped all the way up his back and into his dark hair.

“Oh fuck,” I muttered.

“Better hose him off,” Shane suggested.

“Good point.” But then I realized there was only a half bath downstairs. All the bathrooms with tubs were upstairs. I didn’t want to risk potentially dribbling shit along the staircase. “Kitchen.”

As I started down the hall, Shane hurried ahead of me to turn on the sink. After adjusting the water temperature, he nodded. I eased Henry down into the water. Apparently, he didn’t appreciate sink baths because he began to scream bloody murder.

“Shh, it’s all right, Little Man.”

As Shane and I worked to get the shit out of his hair, Henry continued to howl as big fat tears streaked down his cheeks.

“What the hell are you doing to my kid?” Brooke demanded from the doorway.

Shane and I whirled around to look at her while Henry was still screaming in the sink. “He shit himself,” I replied while Shane bobbed his head.

Brooke merely rolled her eyes before coming over to us. Henry reached out his arms to his mother. “Can you grab a towel out of the dryer?” she asked.

Since time was of the essence and Shane had no fucking idea where the laundry room was, I hurried out of the kitchen to grab one. When I returned, Henry was happily smacking at the water in the sink as Brooke finished hosing him off.

When Henry caught my eye, I teasingly murmured, “Traitor.”

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