Baby on Board (10 page)

caught on like wildfire. I had to find out who did it.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Rafe shrugged and felt his face burn with

embarrassment. A joke he had started as a kid grew into a full-fledged

nickname.

“Sorry for what?” the commander asked. “You had the gumption to

ask questions. You’re a leader, not a follower. Besides, I kind of like it. It

grew on me. That doesn’t mean I didn’t want to clock you a few times for

it. Get out of my office, Rafe. Don’t let me see you again until it’s time

for you to report for your new duties. Go enjoy your kid.”

“Yes, sir.” Rafe saluted. “One million and ten cents, sir.”

His commander’s laughter followed him out the door. He stepped into

the sunshine and sighed. His life had taken some interesting turns, but he

accepted them wholeheartedly because he knew that life was a constant

evolution.

“You look goofy standing in the sun smiling like that.” Brody’s voice

came from his right.

“Be nice to me or you won’t get to be part of the new team I’m putting

together.” Rafe clapped his friend on the back. “You went MIA after the

party.”

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Brody grinned. “Yeah, I hooked up with that chick from your

neighborhood. Grace I think is her name.”

“You’re not sure of her name?” Rafe asked dryly.

“You know my memory is shot, man,” Brody replied. “The one with

the big… assets seemed to be keen on you.”

“Oh, lucky me.” Rafe shook his head. “I have my eyes set on someone

else. She’s not what I’m looking for. Plus, I don’t think I want Bonnie

turned into a pageant child. Donna strikes me as that kind of role model.”

“How is our new little princess?” Brody asked. “I’m her uncle so I

should come by and bring her a pony or something.”

Rafe laughed. “Please don’t buy my child a pony. Other people would

say it as a joke, but your crazy ass would actually go buy one. Baby girl is

doing great. You can come by, but no parties. I can’t disrupt her schedule

like that.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. We have to find a new party central,” Brody

sighed. “To be honest, though, seeing you with Bonnie makes me feel like

I want something more, like parties aren’t enough anymore, ya know. I

think I might be past all the partying and moving on to something more

meaningful.”

Rafe gaped at his friend. “What? The Brodmeister hanging up his beer

goggles and partying ways? I need to find cover. Lightning might strike at

any moment.”

Brody punched him in the shoulder. “Ha, ha, very funny. Where you

off to now?”

“Nowhere in particular. My mom and dad have Bonnie for the day, so

I’m free,” Rafe said.

“Well, then you should buy me lunch and tell me about the new team

and who you’re looking at as prospects,” Brody announced. “Not the mess

hall. I’m not a cheap date.”

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s go.” Rafe gave Brody a friendly shove.

“You’re the cheapest date around. Who do you think you’re fooling?”

“What can I say? I’ve been misrepresented,” Brody replied.

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Their friendly banter continued as they walked toward Rafe’s

Escalade. With Brody in the passenger seat, Rafe pulled out of the parking

lot and headed to one of the restaurants close to Quantico so they could

eat and talk.

After a lunch with Brody hitting on one too many waitresses, Rafe

dropped him back off on base and impulsively took the exit toward Walter

Reed in D.C. It wasn’t a huge distance to cover from where the base was.

Yet he knew that from Strawberry Glen to work Ivy had more than an

hour commute each way. She could have been working for one of the

local hospitals that was closer and it showed dedication on her part to

work with soldiers each day. Once more, he parked his Escalade and

made his way to the hospital’s entrance. There were soldiers on crutches,

some being pushed in wheel chairs through the manicured gardens, and

some sat on benches with their families. As Rafe walked by, he saw a

toddler put her head on her father’s shoulder and kiss his cheek. The man

reached around and hugged his daughter close to him with one arm. The

other sleeve was empty. Rafe swallowed thickly as emotion clogged his

throat. This is the part many people don’t see. How war can destroy a

body, but as long as a soldier has good family support and people who

love and care for them, it will not destroy their soul.

Rafe recalled Ivy mentioning that she worked on the ward that housed

soldiers who had lost limbs while they were deployed. He read the floor

map in the lobby and crossed the wide expanse of tile toward the

elevators. He took an elevator to the third floor and walked up to the front

desk. The nurse behind the desk looked at him curiously, waiting for him

to speak.

“Good afternoon, ma’am, is Ivy St. Clair on the floor today?” Rafe

asked politely.

“Depends on who’s asking, soldier,” the nurse responded.

“I’m Sergeant Major Rafe Steele, ma’am,” he explained. “I’m her

neighbor and wanted to take her out for a bit if she was around.”

The nurse looked him up and down. “Hmm. She never mentioned you,

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but this shall be remedied. I’m Marie. Ivy’s not here today. She’s riding

with a soldier going to the White House for his purple heart.”

“I thought they usually waited until a soldier was healed before they

give him a medal?” Rafe asked.

Marie shook her head sadly. “He’s not going to heal. They found out

he has leukemia. It took his legs being blown off for the damn doctors to

figure out he had stage four cancer. The boy is not even twenty-one yet

and they don’t see him living more than six months,” she sighed.

“Anyway, the President decided to do the ceremony while he was still

alive so he could see how proud the nation was of him. Ivy rode with him

and two doctors to make sure he was comfortable. The motorcade left

here this morning. I don’t think she’s going to be coming back here this

afternoon. These kinds of things are hard on her.”

Rafe nodded. “I understand. I’ll check in on her at home tonight.”

Marie smiled. “I bet you will, Sergeant Major. Ivy’s been holding

out.”

Rafe grinned. “You could be my spy and let me know exactly what

she thinks of me.”

Marie tapped her chin thoughtfully. “What will that get me?”

“What do you want?” Rafe countered.

“I’ll have to think about that.” Marie smiled wide. “I like keeping

favors in my pocket.”

“Uh-oh,” Rafe said. “That sounds ominous.”

Marie batted her eyes at him innocently. “Why is that? Maybe you’d

like to know that Mr. Cop also came by today looking for Ivy and plans to

go by her house as well.”

“Really?” Rafe gritted his teeth.

“Yes, he is, and he has a big thing for Ivy. No pun intended.” Marie

chuckled at her own joke.

“I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship, Marie,” Rafe said and

stuck his hand out.

Marie took it and shook firmly. “See you later, Sergeant Major.”

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Rafe strode back to the elevators and punched the down button with

more force than necessary. There was no way he was going to let that cop

get the best of him and take Ivy away. Rafe went straight home and

planned to be there when Ivy showed up.

It was a little after seven when Rafe finished cleaning up the kitchen

and living room and decided to go outside and sit on Ivy’s porch to wait

until she came home. His mother had called while he was cleaning and

said she would be late in bringing Bonnie home. He was sitting on Ivy’s

steps playing a game on his phone when he saw the sleek sports car the

detective drove show up in front of her house. Reese got out from behind

the wheel and stretched before looking curiously to where Rafe sat. He

closed the door of his car and moved around it easily, making his way

toward Rafe. Rafe stood up to his full height and waited.

“Hey. You’re Ivy’s neighbor with the baby, right?” Reese’s voice was

friendly.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Rafe replied. “And you’re the cop.”

Reese nodded. “Yep. Are you waiting for her to come home?”

“Yeah, and your being here isn’t helping,” Rafe said bluntly.

A dark look passed over Reese’s face. “Excuse me?”

“You’re excused. Go home.” Rafe shoved his beret into his pocket.

“Ivy is mine. She was before you decided to get brave and ask her out.”

Reese gave a bark of humorless laughter and stepped closer. “Listen,

soldier boy, do you really think you can run me off?”

“It wouldn’t be too difficult,” Rafe replied. “I’m telling you to stand

down, son, before I take you down myself. Ivy and I have a very strong

connection and I don’t need you in her face making her confused about

what she wants.”

“She didn’t seem too confused when I was kissing her…or touching

her for that matter,” Reese smirked.

Rafe saw red and grabbed Reese by the collar. “You keep your hands

off her.”

“Why should I? She likes it when I touch her nice and slo—”

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That was as far as he got before Rafe gave in to the impulse and

punched Reese square in the face. He vaguely heard the squeal of car tires

and a door slam while he and Reese struggled for the upper hand.

“What in the hell is going on here?” Ivy shrieked.

Both men stopped cold and looked at her. Rafe glanced over to see

Reese wiping blood from his lip. Rafe straightened his uniform as Ivy

stood in front of them with her hands on her hips. Looking around, he saw

that their little scrap had gotten the attention of a few neighbors, including

Donna and Grace who were watching the show from their patio furniture.

The look on Ivy’s face made him swallow
. Uh-oh, she is pissed.

“Ivy, I came to see if you were okay,” Rafe began.

“I did too and this fool—”

“Who are you calling a fool, asshole? You should just leave well

enough alone and stand down,” Rafe yelled.

“What am I, one of your soldiers? Who says stuff like that in the real

world?” Reese scoffed.

“Shut it, both of you!” Ivy yelled and took a deep breath. “So you

came to check on me and ended up fighting in my front yard for all of the

neighbors to see?”

“He threw the first punch,” Reese announced, “after telling me you

belong to him, and I had to make it known that you are mine.”

“I am not your toy truck in a sand box. I belong to myself and no one

else.” Ivy seethed. “I cannot believe you two grown men are acting like

children. I just spent the day with a boy who will not see his freaking

twenty-sixth birthday, let alone thirtieth. He accepted a medal with all the

honor, strength and pride that I’ve ever seen in one person. And here the

two of you are, staking claim to me like you think this is the old west.”

She glared at both of them. “I won’t have it, I tell you. Go away both of

you and leave me alone.”

“Ivy…” Reese said softly.

“Baby doll…” Rafe said.

The look she gave them made Rafe shut his mouth with a snap. “I said

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go or I will be the one kicking your collective asses up and down this

street. Now get your car out of my driveway before I, with the mood I’m

in, monster truck my little car over its hood in a hot minute.”

Reese moved to go back to his car. “This isn’t over, soldier boy.”

“Bring it, cop,” Rafe snarled.

Ivy pulled her own hair in frustration. “Get off my property, both of

you.”

“He said that you let him touch you and you liked it,” Rafe said

harshly. “Is that true? Are you sleeping with him?”

“Reese, how could you say…” Ivy shook her head. “You know what?

Never mind. Go home. And you, Rafe, it’s none of your damn business

who is touching me.”

Without looking back at either of them, she stormed into the house

and slammed the door. Reese threw Rafe a dirty look as he got into his car

and drove away.

Donna came running up with her eyes wide. “Oh, my God, Rafe, are

you okay? Come back to my place and I’ll get you some ice. I mean, how

could Ivy let him try to hurt you like that?”

Rafe held up his hand and gave her a cold look. “Enough with your