Page 32 of Clean Out of Luck

“I’m ready!” Ashlyn says as she comes back into the living room. Her hair is down around her shoulders, and she’s wearing a sundress and somehow even put a little makeup on—all in the span of three minutes.

“That was fast,” I comment as Margie grabs my bottom lip with both hands.

“If you didn’t mean it, you shouldn’t have offered to watch the kids,” she shoots back.

I turn to glare at my little brother, and he just smiles back. But I can’t disappoint Ashlyn, especially now. She looks so hopeful at the thought of a date.

“We’ll be fine!” I assure her. “Where are the bottles?”

She hurries over to me and bends down to give me an awkward hug. “You’re the best brother-in-law ever. The bottles are in the fridge!”

“I’m the only brother-in-law you have,” I call after her as she heads to the front door.

“Carson! I’m going on a date with or without you!” she says as she grabs her purse off the rack by the door.

The front door swings shut after her.

Carson stands up slowly and stretches. “Thanks for this, Wade. Sorry I backed you into a corner on this one. Ashlyn was up most of the night with Margie because she’s teething, and she refused to be put down today.”

I raise my eyebrows at that. “Well, maybe you should get up with the baby tonight, then.”

He nods. “The problem is she hears the baby first.”

“Then get her a sound machine, and you sleep on the couch,” I tell him as I stand up with the baby. “Stop making excuses and take care of your wife.”

Carson grimaces. “You’re still parenting me.”

“Yeah, and I’ll keep doing it too,” I fire back.

“I probably deserve that.”

“You do,” I assure him.

He stands up and grabs his coat. “I’ll apologize at dinner. Just don’t tell Mom. She’ll come home and lecture me.” He grimaces and slips his shoes on.

Mom and Dad are working on an Alaskan cruise line at the moment. They’ve always been in the cruising industry, and it was one of the things that precipitated our move to Serendipity Springs. With them traveling so much for work, it made sense to live close to Grandma and Grandpa. “I’ll video call her and tell her all your faults while she sees me being a good uncle babysitting the kids.”

“You would.” Carson rolls his eyes on his way out the door.

Oliver walks over to sit on top of my foot. He looks up at me with big blue eyes. The same ones Carson and I have. “Let’s do airplane.”

He’s completely forgotten about the rough play with the elephant and that he nearly broke the TV, marching the toy across the screen. He’s moved on to bigger and better things—like being flown in the air like an airplane.

“Okay, but we have to put your sister in the bouncer first.”

Oliver jumps up and runs across the living room to grab her wheeled seat and pushes it back so fast that it tips over. “Okay. I’m ready.”

“Hang on, bud.” I set the bouncer seat upright and put little Margie in it. She grins up at me as she slaps her hands against the attached toys.

I lay down on the floor and grab Oliver’s hands, resting my feet against his chest. Then I roll back and launch him into the air.

He shrieks with laughter and asks to do it again and again.

We pause for snacks when the baby gets hungry.

I sit on the couch, feeding Margie her bottle and watching Oliver build a tower taller than he is with blocks.

I want this someday. But that someday is feeling like a never.

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