My Healer (Bewitched and Bewildered Book 3) (10 page)

"Let's go."

When they walked through the door, they heard a familiar voice almost instantly.

"Lord have mercy, you boys are back. I'm almost afraid to ask." Bart chuckled.

The men gather around the older man's register.

"Tonight we are after
pull-ups
," Colton said slowly.

Bart blinked. "Say again."

"Pull-ups," Colton repeated.

Bart frowned. "Yes, that's what I thought you said. Boy, do you know what pull-ups are?"

Colton nodded. "I think so. They're like diapers."

Bart eyed him carefully. "Why do you boys need diapers?"

Colton puffed out his chest. "I have a baby girl now. I didn't even have to use condoms to get one," he said, elbowing the older man in a conspiratorial way.

"Well, if you didn't use condoms, I guess you would end up with a baby. A girl you say?" Bart's face softened. "Baby girls are miracles from God boy; you better do right by her. How long have you been seeing her mama?"

Colton thought about it for a moment and looked around at the men. "About what, twelve hours, give or take?" The men all nodded.

"You sure that baby girl is yours?" Bart asked in a serious tone.

Colton nodded. "Yeah, she's mine. She even has my eyes."

"But you just met her mama?" Bart asked.

"Yes, sir." Colton nodded.

"Son, I don't think you understand how some things work." Bart frowned in concern.

"I'm not sure how everything is decided either, but I'm the luckiest bastard alive to have those two angels in my life." Colton smiled.

Bart shook his head. "I guess that's all that matters, though, I have to say, I worry about you boys."

Aiden clapped the older man on the shoulder. "Thank you for your concern, but we have the everything under control." He patted the gun on his back. Colton thought it was touching that Bart was worried about their safety.

Bart's eyes widened when he noticed the gun on Aiden's broad back. "You boys are staying out of trouble, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir." Keelan nodded.

"Right. Okay, well boys, pull-ups are near the aisle you found the feminine products on, time before last." Bart nodded to the center of the store.

"Many thanks, friend," Colton said, and they made their way to the aisle.

"Okay men, let's grab a box and go," Aiden ordered.

They turned and looked at the huge wall of boxes in front of them.

"Look! Tiny bottles and toys!" Keelan pointed to the display that held what looked to be baby items. "This isn't so scary."

"Aiden, which box?" Colton asked looking from floor to ceiling.

"Box? Which wall?" Darian pointed out that the diaper selection extended almost the full length of the store.

"The babies on this package look quite happy," Gavriel said pointing to a box on the left.

"Yeah, but so do these ones." Darian pointed to the one on the right.

Colton frowned. "They all look happy."

They all continued to stare.

"Okay, this one has stars on it. Rheia did say they were for nighttime," Keelan said, pointing out a purple box.

"Good job, Keelan!" Colton said reaching for the box. He stopped when he saw something he didn't understand. He read the box closely and put it back.

"What was wrong with that one?" Aiden asked.

"It has something called 'Cool Touch'. If the baby wets the diaper, there is this gel that turns cold, it's to alert the child that they went to the bathroom. It sounds uncomfortable; I don't want anything cold on Penny," Colton said shuddering.

"I think it's a miracle humans have survived this long," Darian whispered.

They all nodded.

"Okay, how about this one?" Darian said pointing to another purple box, but this one didn't have the 'Cool Touch' feature.

"Looks good." Colton went to pick up a box and noticed that some of them had different sizes.

He turned to the men. "These things come in sizes!"

"How do we know which size Penny takes?" Aiden asked.

Colton shrugged and looked at the size chart. The weights were useless because he didn't know how much she weighed; to him she seemed as light as a feather.

"Colton this one says for three and up. It should be okay right?" Keelan asked.

Colton frowned. "What if it doesn't fit? What if it's too tight and it hurts her? This thing will be covering baby girl's important parts; we can't get this wrong gentlemen!"

The men paled and turned to study the boxes again. Suddenly, Colton had a brilliant idea. He took the box that Keelan found and opened it up. He held a pull-up out to Keelan. "Put it on."

Keelan blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You're the smallest here; we can use your frame as a point of reference. Now put it on," Colton ordered.

"Hell no!" Keelan began to back away and bumped into Darian, who shrugged before securing the witch's arms.

"Sorry Kee, but this is for Penny."

Keelan began to thrash around.

Colton knelt down and undid the sticky tabs. "Quit moving Keelan, you're making this difficult."

"Damn right I am!" Keelan said turning crimson.

Colton managed to get the diaper between Keelan's legs and fastened. The pull-up actually stretched quite far.
 

"Oh my goodness!" they heard a female's voice gasp. They turned to see one of the pretty female cashiers standing at the end of the aisle. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, I don't judge lifestyles, I ... oh dear!" she rambled. Blushing, she hurried away. The men looked at each other and realized what the scene she witnessed might look like to someone else.

"Oh Gods! She thinks we're into fetish play and Keelan is our baby," Darian whispered, horrified.

Keelan collapsed to his knees. "That was my mate," he groaned.

Colton dropped to the floor beside Keelan. "I'm so sorry, I'll go explain."

Keelan shook his head. "I'll do it." He stood and looked down before removing the pull-up. "They're quite comfortable, I'd go with the one that has princesses on it for Penny." He dropped the pull-up and sprinted to the front of the store.

Colton wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole. He had just humiliated his fellow unit brother in front of his mate! Aiden, Colton and Darian glanced at each other. Colton was about to follow Keelan when he heard a wheezing sound. They all turned to find Gavriel on the floor, his arms wrapped around his stomach, his entire body was trembling and shaking.

"Has he been poisoned?" Aiden demanded. He dropped to his knees and turned his second in command over to his side. The vampire that they now knew to be the Dark Prince was laughing so hard he had tears running down his face. His eyes were bulging slightly and he couldn't seem to breathe. Aiden whacked him on the back a few times. Gavriel simply rolled onto his side and began to laugh out loud.

"Oh Gods! Never in all my years!" Gavriel laughed uproariously.

Aiden sat back on his heels and looked up at Colton. Colton looked at Darian. Then Darian's mouth twitched. That was all it took. Colton wiped his eyes. "Can you imagine what we must have looked like?" he asked. His question brought a round of fresh laughter.
 

Gavriel reached for Aiden and made cooing sounds. "Change me, daddy, I am wet," he joked.

"Perverts!"
 

The men froze and looked down the aisle. Ethel the judgmental, older woman they had encountered on their previous trip to the Duck In, scowled at them, before shuffling to the front of the store, calling for Bart. It was another couple of minutes before any of them could breathe again.

Colton looked up at the fluorescent lights grinning. Before Rheia and Penny, before any of the mates, they had never laughed like this. They heard the sounds of footsteps before Bart appeared over them frowning.

"Ok boys, get on up. I say this because, obviously, you have a baby in the house now. Drugs, like that wacky tobacco, don't do a body good. Ya'll need to stay away from it," he warned.
 

The men fought to hide their smiles as they stood and brushed each other off.

"I can assure you, we do not indulge in that disgusting vice," Aiden said, walking alongside Bart.

Colton grabbed the opened box, then grabbed a second one for good measure. While Aiden convinced Bart they weren't drug addicts, Colton went to the register where Keelan stood with a pretty brunette. She blushed when he approached.
 

"I'm sorry for thinking y'all were up to no good." She smiled at him shyly.

"And I'm sorry for embarrassing you. We're normally not quite so exuberant. I was very lucky that Keelan was willing to help me. I've never shopped for my daughter before," Colton said, trying to place the blame for the entire episode on his shoulders.

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "He didn't exactly look willing," she chided.

Colton looked at her nametag. Anne. "No, he didn't, did he Anne? But he's an amazing sport and didn't get mad at me at all for humiliating him. I couldn't ask for a better friend." Colton nodded to Keelan who nodded back.

Anne rang up his boxes. "How old is your daughter?"

Colton smiled. "She's four. Her mother thinks that the recent excitement we had caused tonight's little accident, so we're getting these to be on the safe side."

Anne nodded and told him the total. "Backsliding happens a lot with toddlers, especially after a stressful event. My little cousin almost got hit by a car; he wet the bed for a solid month after that."
 

He handed Anne his money and turned to Keelan. They both knew his poor baby girl had had nothing but stress in the past twenty-four hours.

Keelan cleared his throat. "Anne is a nurse. She just graduated at the top of her class."
 

"Congratulations," Colton said.

She blushed again. "Thank you, here's your change." She handed him his change and his receipt.

"Maybe we'll see you around," Colton said.

"I'd like that," Keelan chimed in, making her blush again.

Keelan was still waving when they walked out of the store. When everyone had climbed into the SUV and the doors closed, the men sighed as one.

"Is it just me, or do these store runs seem to be getting more and more complicated?" Darian asked.

Aiden reached back and handed him a bag. "I couldn't agree more."

Colton eyed the bag. "What's this?"

Aiden started the car. "Penny's donuts. Bart seemed especially concerned when I told him I was getting them for your daughter because she had excelled in our training drills, he kept looking from my gun to your box of pull-ups. I wonder what he was thinking?"

Gavriel shook his head. "No telling, humans are odd creatures."

Darian nodded. "You can say that again."

Colton looked out the window. He couldn't wait to get back to his own, confusing human.

CHAPTER SIX

Colton walked into his bedroom to find Rheia reading Penny a bedtime story. They looked up and they both smiled at him. Colton knew his world had narrowed and now revolved around these two beautiful angels.

"Did you find them okay?" Rheia asked.

Colton smiled and shut the door behind him. "Yes, though I may have to end up paying for Keelan's therapy sessions. I accidentally embarrassed him in front of his newly found mate," he confessed.

"Poor Keelan." Rheia shook her head and looked down at Penny. "Did you need my help?"

Penny shook her head and got out of bed. She walked over to him and held her hand out. He stared down at her and realized she was waiting for a pull-up. He reached into the box he open and pulled one out. "I chose the ones with the princesses on them." Penny nodded. Colton leaned in, "I decided against that 'cool' feature, it looked uncomfortable." Penny nodded emphatically. Colton felt like he conquered the world. He handed her the pull-up and she went to the bathroom.
 

"Thank you for going," Rheia said softly leaning against the headboard. He noticed she had changed into a tee-shirt and he could see the outline of her breasts against the soft material. He went to his dresser and stacked the boxes up beside it.
 

"It was no problem, that's what mates do, support each other." When he looked back, he noticed the blanket had slipped down even further. He shifted from foot to foot trying to alleviate the pain his jeans were causing him. She wasn't even trying and he was as hard as nails.

The sound of the bathroom door had him turning and he watched Penny race across the room, her tiny bare feet creating a rapid staccato as she ran. Without even stopping, she jumped on the bed and wiggled in close to Rheia.

Colton let out a relieved breath. The appearance of his baby girl had helped his growing jeans problem. He frowned as a thought struck him. What if he and his mate had to wait until Penny was grown to have sex? He quickly looked over to the bed; both Rheia and Penny were yawning and settling in for the night. He stood there frozen. If he got into bed as a man, what if he woke up with morning wood next to Penny. Colton brought a hand to his mouth feeling ill.

"Colton, are you alright? You don't look well." Rheia asked leaning up on one elbow.

"Yup!" he answered quickly his voice cracking. The look she gave him, clearly communicated that she didn't believe him.

"Really. I'm going to go change." He turned to the bathroom.

"Into a wolf again?" she asked.

Ab-so-fucking-lutely as a wolf!

"I think we'll all be more comfortable that way, more room." He gave her his most charming smile. She rolled her eyes not buying a bit of it. His mate was starting to read him already. Feeling buoyant, he went into the bathroom and shifted. Rheia reached over and turned off the lamp on the nightstand.

He jumped up and settled in next to Penny. Immediately she rolled over and practically put him in a stranglehold, but he didn't dare move. She looked so peaceful. He crossed his front paws and rested his head on them.
 

He felt a hand gently stroke his fur and opened one eye. Rheia was smiling at him as she lazily petted his fur.

"Thank you. Thank you for not pressuring me, for being amazing with Penny and putting her needs first." Her head disappeared as she got comfortable for the night.