Billy's Baby - Annie J. Rose Page 0,3
semester of my senior year in college to trek the Appalachian Trail. I’m not going to whine about a day hike.”
“Impressive. What was the worst part?”
“The mud. And the ingrown toenail I had to have surgery on. Those boots were sturdy but they were hell on my feet,” she said.
I laughed. We set a time, and I told her that I’d have bandages in my pack in case her toe acted up.
After I got off the phone, oddly preoccupied with her sexy voice, I looked forward to meeting Morgan. I asked my baby bro Tommy for a beer and went to join my other brothers at a table. It was the lull between lunch and the late afternoon, so the pub was mostly empty except for us and a couple regulars. My older brother Brendan was showing his phone screen around. He tipped it toward me and I took in a disgusting close-up of something red and slimy.
“Jesus, what is that?” I said, recoiling.
“And you used to be a Navy SEAL,” he chuckled. “Olivia’s cutting her first tooth.”
“That is not what I expect when someone shows me their phone. I thought maybe it was a picture of your hot wife or something.”
“Do I need to slap the shit out of you?” he asked. “Elise is all mine; don’t be checking her out.”
“I know. You can have her and the irritated dental tissue of your child, thanks. Anyone have a picture of diaper rash to show us?” I asked.
“Are you kidding?” Mickey asked. “If Lucas had diaper rash, we’d probably have to call 911. He’s never so much as had a mosquito bite. Karin would kill all the bugs with a flamethrower, so they know what’s good for them. His skin is perfect.”
“Olivia doesn’t have any rashes. She broke out when we used the supposedly all-natural honey-based baby wash and between Elise and Karin, they got the company to pay for the doctor visit, the prescription steroid cream, and some new hypoallergenic products. I’m surprised they didn’t pay for a spa vacation complete with margaritas. You do not mess with these moms.”
“Brandi’s more laid back,” Connor chimed in. “Lilly did have a skinned knee yesterday.”
He honest to God showed us a picture of the scrape on her knee. I shook my head. The former badass SEAL brothers now had photos of erupting teeth and bloody knees in their phones. And they loved every minute of it. I may have sighed aloud. Because for the first time, I thought I might be missing something. I adore my nieces and nephew. I was happy to be the fun uncle who spoiled them—well, okay, all their uncles spoiled them, but I was the best one. It hadn’t really occurred to me that I’d like some kids of my own one day. I had a great life. A stellar military career, a retirement spent in a tropical paradise leading hikes in some of the most beautiful landscapes I’d ever seen. Maybe that woman’s hot voice scrambled my brains because I was looking at a picture of Lilly’s scraped knee and my chest did something. It felt tight and hollow at the same time. Like I was yearning for something I didn’t have.
“Brandi gave her a popsicle. I think she may scrape her knees on purpose now to get popsicles,” Connor chuckled. “She calmed right down and then got all the sticky grape syrup on her face and in her hair because she kept taking the pop out of her mouth to look at it. She was so fascinated by how it was melting and getting smaller. She’s gonna be a scientist,” he said.
I knew not to say anything sarcastic to that. Connor was the oldest and the grumpiest of the O’Shea brothers. He adored his wife and daughter, and if anyone so much as hinted that either wasn’t perfect or that he was perhaps insane for thinking that liking a popsicle was tantamount to a successful future career in chemistry, he’d lose his shit. So I just nodded like he was absolutely right. Tommy did catch my eye and roll his, which helped. We were the last single brothers, the only two who hadn’t fallen and found themselves ensnared in happy nuclear families in their cabins in the old resort we bought to fix up and reopen.
I let my mind wander as Brendan told a story about the baby having bad gas after trying green beans. I thought about my backwoods trail and the upcoming