Southern Pleasure (Southern Heart 1)

“Is she hurt?” Evan asks. I don’t take my eyes of Lexi, but I can hear the strain in his voice.

“No, she’s not hurt. She’s just not happy. She’s got shit up her back and, apparently, she’s not a fan of bath time. This is all new to her too. We just have to give her some time. She can sense you’re tense, Evan,” I tell him.

“Hell yeah, I am. I had no idea what to do. If you hadn’t come back when you did, I don’t know. . . .” He trails off.

“Let me get her cleaned up. Why don’t you go get me a fresh diaper and some clean clothes?”

Evan doesn’t say anything else, but I hear the door close, so I know he’s gone. “All right, little miss, you need to calm down. We just need to get you clean, and then we’ll get you all snuggled back up.” I begin to sing “Girl Crush” by Little Big Town. It’s the song that was playing on the radio when I got here and the first thing that popped into my head. Regardless of the words, it soothes her, and her wailing cries turn to a soft whimper. I keep singing, and by the time I have her all cleaned up, she’s quiet as a mouse, except for some leftover hiccups from getting herself so worked up.

Picking her up, I lay her against my chest as I slip the hooded towel over her head. I’m soaked, but she’s clean, so that’s all that matters. I wrap the towel around her and stand. Opening the bathroom door, I find Evan sitting on his bed, a pile of clothes and a diaper beside him.

“Kinley, I panicked,” he says softly. “What would I have done if you hadn’t shown up?”

“Evan, you have to remember Lexi takes her cues from you. She can tell if you’re stressed or worked up about something. You have to stay calm for her. This is not going to be the last time this type of thing happens.”

He lies back on the bed and throws his arm over his eyes. I give him time to process what I just said and tend to Lexi. “All right, Miss Lexi, now that you’re all clean, let’s get you dressed.” I lay her on the bed and unwrap the towel from her body. I make quick work of getting the diaper on her to avoid another accident. Next is her onesie, and finally, the little purple sleeper.

“Look at me, Daddy,” I say, holding her up in my arms.

Evan sits up and takes her in. “Good as new,” I say with a smile. “Now, you two head downstairs while I clean up the mess in the bathroom. If it’s okay with you, I’m going to go ahead and put her tub in the spare bathroom and make sure all of her bath stuff is moved in there as well. I don’t know why I didn’t already have that done.”

“I can do that,” Evan says.

“Nope, I got it. You two go relax,” I say as I hand Lexi over to him.

Evan holds her close. I watch as he breathes her in. When he realizes he’s busted, he just winks at me and walks out of the bedroom.

I’m sitting on the couch holding my little girl and she’s happy, clean and content. “I’m sorry I freaked out on you. Daddy’s new to all this and it’s going to take me some time.” She just watches me like I’m the most fascinating thing she’s ever seen.

The feeling’s mutual.

“Come in,” I yell when there’s a knock on the door.

“Uncle Aaron’s here,” Aaron says as he comes into the room. “What’s going on, man?”

“Oh, you know, this little cutie just had a massive explosion in her diaper. I freaked the hell out. Luckily, Kinley came in and saved the day.”

“Ouch! Where is my little sister?” he asks, looking toward the kitchen.

“She’s upstairs. She said she was going to clean up the bathroom. I offered, but she gave me strict instructions to come down here and relax. Apparently, the baby can tell when I’m stressed and that’s why I couldn’t get her to calm down,” I explain.

“Sounds like a logical reason. Listen, don’t beat yourself up about it. You’re learning as you go. You’re going to nail this daddy gig.” He grins.

“Now you sound like Kinley.”

“Who sounds like me?”

I look up to see her enter the room and my mouth goes dry. Kinley is standing at the bottom of the steps, wearing what looks like one of my t-shirts and nothing else.

“What are you wearing?” Aaron questions her.

“Oh, my clothes were soaked from Lex’s bath. I hope you don’t mind, Evan. I grabbed one of your shirts out of your closet.”

Mind? Hell no, I don’t mind. She looks hot as hell in my shirt. “Evan?” she says my name again and I realize I’m still staring at her.

“Yeah, no of course. That’s fine.” My voice cracks. Shit, nothing like giving myself away.

“Aaron, I’m glad you’re here. I’m going to go upstairs and lay down for a few hours, so Evan can get a good night’s sleep,” she says.