Chapter Twenty-One Quinn
A fter Isla had been outfitted in formal and casual wear along with shoes and lingerie, we headed back to her house. It took Shane and I three trips to bring in all her bags. Of course, the moment Brooke saw the items she screeched at the top of her lungs. Then she and Isla began gleefully going through all the items while I ended up holding Henry.
Once they were finished, Brooke came over to me. “Nice job, Big Man.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
“While all this is nice, Isla could probably use a few more shopping trips,” she suggested.
“Brooke!” Isla shrieked in admonishment.
With a wink, Brooke replied, “Did I mention we wear the same size?”
When Shane snorted, I shot him a look. But then I couldn’t help myself, and I laughed. “If it means keeping me on your good side, I’ll be happy to send the two of you shopping.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Isla protested.
“Ugh, you’re such a goody two shoes,” Brooke groaned.
As I glanced down at Henry, he grinned up at me. “What about Little Man? Anything he needs?”
“A pony?” Brooke suggested with a grin.
“Absolutely not,” Isla remarked before I could answer.
“What about a motorized pony?” I suggested.
“He doesn’t need any more spoiling,” Isla replied while Brooke gave me a thumbs up.
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.”
He grinned before splashing water all over the front of my shirt. “What in God’s name have you been feeding him?” I questioned.
With a laugh, Brooke replied, “He just started on some cereal.”
“I’m not sure it agrees with him,” Shane mused.
As Brooke pulled Henry out of the sink, she grinned at him. “Can you imagine two big bad men being completely taken out by your shitty diaper?”
I swept my hands to my hips. “We were not taken out.”
Shane snorted. “Speak for yourself. I was gagging.”
At that moment, Isla appeared in the kitchen doorway outfitted in her dress. “What was all the commotion about?” she questioned, as if it were perfectly normal for her to look like a vision in a designer dress. She went with the first one she’d tried on–the emerald green one that made her look like even more of a fairy queen.
For a moment, I couldn’t speak. All I could do was stare at her. “ Aingeal álainn ,” I murmured.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“You’re a beautiful angel.”
Crimson dotted her cheeks as she crossed the kitchen over to me. She leaned up and bestowed a kiss on my cheeks. “Thanks, Quinn.”
“You’re welcome.”
She then turned to Brooke. “Is Henry okay?”
“Everything is fine,” Brooke reassured her. “He just dropped a shit bomb on them, and they tried to clean him up.”
“Oh goodness,” Isla mused with a smile.
“We better go before it happens again,” I teased.
Isla swept through the kitchen and over to her sister. After bestowing a kiss on Henry’s cheek, she did the same on Brooke’s. “Thanks again for making me beautiful.”
“It’s hard work, but someone has to do it,” Brooke teased. At Isla’s playful smack on the arm, Brooke said, “You really are a beautiful angel, sis. Go and have a blast.”
Isla smiled and gave Brooke a hug. As we started to open the door, I said, “Don’t wait up. Isla will probably sleep over at my house tonight.”
Brooke waggled her brows. “Bow chicka wow wow, huh?”
While Isla flushed scarlet, I merely laughed. “Goodnight, Brooke.”
“Night, Big Guy.”