Juked by M.E. Carter Read Free Book Online Page B

he grunts again.
    Quincy shakes her head in humorous disbelief. “I swear this kid has the constitution of a grown man.”
    I bark a laugh as Quincy holds her nose and says, “Ohmygod, Chance, what did they feed you at day care?”
    “Come on,” I say, pushing past her and pulling her cart to drag it behind me. “Let’s go over to that bench and get him cleaned up. There is no way anyone wants you to let that smell permeate through the store.”
    She follows me over to the same bench we sat on before and unstraps the baby from the carrier while I spread the changing pad out on the bench and pull out a diaper and some wipes.
    “How old is he now?” I ask as she sets him down gently and undresses him from the waist down. He looks up at me, and I’m sure he’s trying to figure out why I look upside down. He smiles and reaches for my face when I lean down to talk to him and keep him distracted from the mess his fingers could be getting in down below.
    “Four and a half months,” she says as she grabs him by the ankles and hauls his butt up in the air to wipe him off. “I can’t believe it’s been that long. He’s grown so much in that time.”
    “He really has,” I agree, wiggling my fingers at him to keep him entertained. “If it weren’t for the fact we had been in this situation before, I never would have recognized him.”
    She cocks an eyebrow at me as she quickly slaps a new diaper on him. “But you would have recognized me?”
    I chuckle. “Well, not necessarily without the baby strapped to you. But you guys do seem to make a lot of noise on that baby aisle. It’s hard not to notice you.”
    She laughs, never slowing from redressing the baby and wrapping the dirty diaper in a plastic bag. Smart woman. My sister used to always forget those bags. The diaper bag would always stink because she’d forget the diaper was in it, too. “I guess we are loud. It’s genetic, I guess. My dad always used to say he was from a big Polish family and Polacks are naturally loud.”
    I scoop up the baby as she uses an extra baby wipe to clean her hands and puts things away, sitting him on my lap facing me. “Really? You’re from a big Polish family?” I say to her in my best baby voice while looking at him, making him smile a big toothless grin at me. “I have a big Mexican family, so you can’t beat us in the loud department.”
    “That’s right. How many kids are there in your family? Five or six?”
    “Six of us total. Three girls, three boys, and all the spouses and kids.”
    “That’s crazy,” she says, sitting down after depositing the diaper bag in her cart. “It’s hard enough having one. I can’t imagine having six kids. Your mother must be a saint.”
    I smile, thinking about my loud, overbearing mother. “Pretty close to it. But boy, her wooden spoon sure could pack a punch if we got out of line.”
    We sit and chat for a while, neither of us really having anywhere we need to be. If I’m honest, I’m enjoying holding a baby again. My youngest nephew is three, and I kind of miss baby snuggles.
    Not many men admit it, but we’re big suckers when it comes to babies. We’re just not necessarily comfortable with them, nor does it mean we want any of our own. They’re just fun to play with.
    “So what kind of job do you have that you can grocery shop overnight and still make it through the day?” I stand Chance up on my thighs, sending an over-exaggerated smile his way, causing him to wobble in delight as I support him.
    “I’m pretty sure the only reason I make it through the day is because of the Starbucks next door,” she says, watching the baby as he bounces and wiggles and drools everywhere. “I’m a hairdresser, so I’m on my feet all day.”
    “That sounds pretty brutal, being on your feet all day on such little sleep.”
    “It’s probably better than sitting behind a desk. At least it’s harder to fall asleep when you’re standing up.”
    “Good point.” Chance reaches