Free His Best Mistake by Kristi Gold

said, “I think someone needs a diaper. Do you mind getting her bag for me?”
    “Not necessary.” Kevin walked to an armoire in the corner and opened the doors to shelves stocked with everything a baby could ever need, and then some.
    He pulled a diaper from the top of one stack, a plastic tub of baby wipes and a pink changing pad that he laid on the daybed. “Give her to me and I’ll do it.”
    Shock prevented Leah from moving for a moment. “Are you sure?”
    He patted the bed and smiled. “Yeah. I’ve been practicing.”
    “On one of your nieces or nephews?”
    He seemed suddenly ill at ease. “Actually, on Sally Sweetness, one of my niece’s dolls.”
    She wouldn’t necessarily qualify that as solid experience unless the doll magically squirmed. But Kevin looked so determined, Leah didn’t have the heart to refuse him.
    She laid Carly on the pad and pulled the little pink and white bloomers from her bottom. The baby glanced at her before turning her complete attention to Kevin, who’d seated himself on the edge of the mattress. “I might not be as fast as your mom, kiddo,” he began as he removed the diaper. “So you’re gonna have to be patient with your old dad.”
    Leah kept a reasonable distance, allowing Kevin to proceed at his own pace. After all, diaper-changing wasn’t major surgery. Like a pro, Kevin had the baby cleaned and rediapered in a matter of moments, and all the while Carly simply stared at him, smiling.
    Leah couldn’t suppress her own smile, or the urge to applaud. “Good job. And now that you’ve passed that test, the big one comes a little later.”
    “Are you going to grade me on bottle preparation?”
    “No. You’re going to give your daughter a bath.”
    Kevin looked back at her and frowned. “How hard could that be?”

CHAPTER FIVE
    B ABIES SHOULDN’T only come with manuals, they should also come with handles. Kevin made that decision once he realized his soaked, squirming daughter would eventually have to come out of the water. Luckily, the tub Leah had brought fitted securely in the kitchen sink, which meant he didn’t have to grab her from a kneeling position. That didn’t make the task any less daunting. “What if I drop her?” This coming from a guy who played wide receiver in his high-school football tenure. Man, he needed to get a grip. Literally.
    Leah opened a pink towel against her chest. “You won’t drop her. Just hold her securely like I showed you, and then hand her to me. It’s not that difficult.”
    Carly grinned as though she was enjoying his predicament. But then she’d been grinning at him since she’d arrived. That smile had more value than any journalism award. “Okay. Here goes, kiddo. Try not to move too much.”
    Slowly he clasped Carly by the waist, carefully lifted her up and handed her off to Leah before one drop of water reached the tile floor.
    “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Leah asked.
    Bad, no. Scary, yeah. Not that he would admit just how anxious he’d been. “Piece of cake.”
    Leah bundled Carly up into a tight towel cocoon. “I know it’s unnerving, but you’ll get the hang of it.”
    Damn, if she hadn’t read his mind. “I guess so, but someone ought to develop some sort of lifting device, just in case.” Or the aforementioned handles.
    “I’ll be sure to do that in my spare time. Right now I need to get Carly ready for bed,” she called out as she walked from the kitchen and into the hallway.
    Kevin followed her into the nursery, and once there, Leah laid the baby in the crib and grabbed a diaper and powder from the armoire before returning to the baby. “You’re going to have to find her night clothes. They’re in a blue suitcase somewhere in my bedroom. I should’ve unpacked instead of napping with your daughter.”
    Kevin had insisted she take that nap on the daybed in the nursery. In another time and place, he would’ve asked her to nap with him, minus the nap. “You needed some rest. Besides,