Page 26 of Over the Top

“Double jerk,” he responded automatically with the insult they’d used all the time as kids.

Chas smiled fondly.

God, it felt good to be back with someone who’d known him forever. Someone with whom he didn’t have to pretend to be or not be anything. He could just relax and be himself for a change.

They drove on and off for the next several hours, taking breaks to let Poppy out of the car seat, change her diaper, feed her or themselves, and to refresh her entertainment options. He had to give Chas credit. The guy was creative and good at guessing what would occupy her.

But by about four in the afternoon, Poppy and his aches and pains were simultaneously about done with cars. He would love to cross over into Canada, but without any ID for Poppy, he wasn’t willing to risk it. Instead, he found a small town in the middle of the Adirondack Mountains and snagged a room at a national hotel chain. The clerk at the counter went on at length about how lucky they were to get a room, but there’d been a cancellation. With the fall colors peaking, everything was booked, apparently.

The only room they could get had a single king bed, so Gunner reluctantly asked for a crib. They ate at the buffet-style restaurant next door, but Gunner was glad to get back to the room. Far too many people had taken note of the two men and a baby eating together for his comfort.

Once back in the room, though, Chas announced, “You’re up, Daddy Number One.”

“Me? Up?” he echoed in alarm.

“It’s your turn to give her a bath and get her ready for bed.”

“I have no idea what to do—”

“And you won’t until you try it. Just dive in and give it a go. Encourage her to play and move around in the tub. It’ll tire her out. Help her go to sleep. You’re in the Navy, right? You can do water.”

Scowling darkly, he took Poppy under her armpits and carried her into the bathroom at arm’s length in front of him. She seemed to think it was a game and kicked her feet joyfully. Which, as it turned out, made putting her down and taking off her shoes an ordeal in its own right.

“What temperature should the water be?” he called out.

“Warm but not hot,” Chas called back. “Comfortable for you will be comfortable for her. She’s a human being, after all.”

Gunner heard the TV go on in the other room. The bastard was enjoying abandoning him with Poppy. Fine. He could do this. How hard could it be to give a little kid a bath?

After chasing her around the bathroom a couple of times before getting her out of her clothes, he finally scooped her up and plopped her the tub. She settled in and played with a couple of floaty toys he now understood Chas buying. Gunner sat on the toilet and watched her play. Okay. This wasn’t so bad—

Whoosh.

The little squirt had swung her arm across the surface and sent a sheet of water arcing all over him. She giggled tentatively, as if unsure of his reaction. Remembering Chas laughing last night at the antic, he forced a smile onto his face.

Whoosh. A bigger wave smacked him. Resigned to getting soaked, he reached into the water and threw a little water back at her. That earned him a squeal of laughter. He did it again. Her joy was contagious, and before long he was sitting beside the tub, his arm hanging over the edge, making balloons of washcloths, submerging them, and blowing all the air out of them in cascades of tickly bubbles under Poppy’s feet. She howled with laughter.

Chas eventually called in, “You’d better let her wind down a little or you’ll never get her down to sleep. My kindergarteners never go down for nap time right after recess. Try shampooing her hair. That knocked her out last night.”

Shampoo. Right. He grabbed the bottle of baby wash and dumped out a big handful of it. Suds wenteverywhere. Which, of course, Poppy thought was fantastic. It took him several minutes of emptying the tub and running more water to corral the suds, but eventually, he got the mess under control, the kid rinsed off, and the tub emptied.

He picked her up—who knew a human being could be so slippery?—and got her wrapped in a towel without dropping her on her head. He mimicked Chas’s drying her hair last night and stepped out into the bedroom.

Chas held out a white rectangle without saying a word.Diaper.

Oh God.

He took it without comment, laid Poppy on the floor, and unfolded the bath towel. She flipped over and took off crawling like a shot, and he had to dive after her. He happened to glance up and caught the unholy amusement on Chas’s face.

“Not a word,” he bit out.

Chas made a zipping motion across his lips and threw away an imaginary key.

Scowling, Gunner unfolded the diaper, chased down Poppy again, and eventually got the thing taped around her lower torso. Whether it was on backward or not, he had no idea.

A hand appeared in front of his face with the bunny onesie dangling from it. He snatched the thing out of Chas’s hand and wrestled it onto Poppy, who, to her credit, was relatively cooperative with his awkward efforts. She was so tiny and soft. And she felt so breakable. He snapped the last snap and scooped her up in his arms as an odd burst of protectiveness filled his gut. He just wanted to wrap her up and keep her safe from harm.

He glanced up and was shocked at the warmth glowing in Chas’s eyes.

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