Baby on Board (3 page)

was. He wanted no problems when he took custody of Bonnie. He was not

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going to give this woman the opportunity to come back into his daughter’s

life. If she walked away once, she would probably try to do it again.

Maybe pity was what she needed, but Rafe had none. He’d seen too

many young men and women join up just because their family life sucked

and they needed a place to belong. If Juno knew how to find his house,

she sure as hell could’ve contacted him. The nipple fell from Bonnie’s

mouth; she’d fallen asleep while drinking her milk. He lifted her gently

and almost immediately she burped on his shoulder and he felt something

warm run down his back.

“Eww,” Rafe said good-naturedly as he put her back in the car seat.

First things first, he would get her room together.

After he had carefully taken off his soiled shirt and threw it in the

wash, he took the car seat into the room he felt would be the perfect

nursery and put her in a corner and began to assemble the crib. He had

purchased the nicest one that Target had to offer. It had two big drawers

beneath it to hold her clothes, and there were two shelves in the closet

where he could stack diapers and boxes of diapers, and above that was a

bar to hang more clothing and her pretty little dresses. Beneath the

changing table he had bought was a drawer for baby powder, rash cream,

and other things. While she slept soundly in the car seat, he worked

tirelessly in making the room a place for his daughter to call her own.

Plans swirled in his head. His mother always liked Disney so he was

going to give Bonnie a Disney princess themed room. Rafe shook his head

at the way his life had completely turned in a matter of hours. He’d had

every intention of coming home and relaxing with a beer. Instead, he was

putting a musical Little Mermaid mobile over a crib filled with pink and

purple teddy bears. A chuckle escaped his lips at the irony.

Finally, after a couple of hours of work, everything was completed and

put away. He gently laid Bonnie in the crib and changed her diaper as she

slept. Ivy’s milk idea worked because she hardly stirred as he swapped out

the wet nappy for a dry one. Rafe covered her with a pink blanket polka-

dotted with little brown bears and looked down at his daughter. He picked

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up the receiver for the baby monitor and walked out of the room.
Just a

little longer
, he thought as he found himself going back to the crib to run

his fingers over her soft cheek. Rafe stood there, not knowing how long,

watching her sleep. But as the time passed, he went from his feet to his

knees and then finally to leaning against the crib. He reached his hand in

and even in sleep, Bonnie wrapped her soft, tiny hand around his finger as

if she knew he would protect her, and that he was her father. Rafe ended

up sleeping in that position the rest of the night.

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Baby On Board Dahlia Rose

Chapter Two

It seemed that Rafe took to fatherhood like a fish to water. Ivy

watched him run down the sidewalk with one of the newest model

running strollers. Bonnie was strapped safely within. More than one

mother stopped him to peek at the baby. In Strawberry Glen suburbia,

he’d become the most eligible single dad overnight. It made her grit her

teeth in agitation. Rafe didn’t seem to be paying it much attention,

however. If he was, he didn’t let on. She’d stopped by on Saturday

evening to find him on the floor playing with Bonnie, and Donna “Double

Ds” from two houses down was in his kitchen making a casserole.

Then again on Sunday afternoon she dropped by to see a plate of

cookies on his kitchen counter. She knew the particular pattern

immediately. She’d been on the receiving end of those cookies when she

moved in. No one but Grace Adams from down the block made salted

caramel shortbread cookies. Now it was Monday—Memorial Day—and

she planned to sit in her backyard with a good book and relax. There was

a knock on the door as she was coming down the stairs, complete with her

floppy hat and sunglasses on. Her white cotton shorts and tank top kept

her cool and put a smile on her face—she loved dressing down and didn’t

get to very often. She was always stuck wearing big, frumpy scrubs.

When she opened the door, her smile dropped just a little. Rafe stood on

her steps looking a bit frazzled, holding Bonnie with the baby bag slung

over his shoulder.

“Hi,” Ivy said slowly.

“Hey, I need a huge favor,” he began. “Can you watch Bonnie for a

few hours?”

“Um…why?” She put her hands on her hips and stared at him through

the darkened lenses of her sunglasses.

“Well, there’s a party at my house and…” he began.

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Ivy whipped off her glasses and gave him a direct stare while anger

sizzled through her. “Wait. You want to ruin my last day home from work

to take care of your daughter while you go party with your friends?”

“It’s not the right environment for her, and honestly I forgot about the

party until Brody and the caterers showed up. Next thing you know, there

is music booming and Bonnie began to fuss.” He took a deep breath. “I

told Brody yes to the party months ago when we were in Somalia. I

reconfirmed when he called just before I came home and found Bonnie on

my doorstep.”

“And plans change for your child, you moron!” Ivy pointed out.

“This has been in the works long before I was a dad,” Rafe argued.

“Why don’t you ask Donna ‘Double Ds’ or Grace or one of the many

women who have been in and out of your house to babysit for you?” she

demanded to know. He looked down uncomfortably and Ivy narrowed her

eyes. “They’re all going, aren’t they?”

He nodded. “But they kind of invited themselves.”

“So, what, I’m such a plain Jane that your friends couldn’t see me

around your pool?” Ivy sputtered. “Oh, the glam of big, fake boobs and

streaked red hair is what they want, and I’m just the woman whose house

you came to Friday night. Now you’re all Mr. Dad and the women in the

neighborhood are baking you cookies and casseroles and you’re just

eating up the attention, aren’t you, while little ol’ Ivy is only good for

babysitting?”

“You’re taking it all wrong, Ivy,” he pleaded.

“I’m sure I’m taking it just right,” she muttered. “Give me the baby.”

He took a step back. “Maybe I should just find another arrangement.”

“Listen, I might think you’re the biggest slut out there, but Bonnie is

cute and just a baby and doesn’t know her father’s predilection for

silicone breasts,” Ivy snapped. “I like her. You, on the other hand, not so

much right now.”

He handed the baby over and Ivy nuzzled Bonnie’s neck and inhaled

her baby scent. “At least you’re bathing her.”

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Rafe glowered at her. “Say what you want about me, but I would

never mistreat my child.”

“At least that’s in your favor,” she said without apology. He opened

his mouth to speak and she closed the door in his face, but then she

remembered he had the baby bag. She opened the door and snatched it

from his hands, then closed the door in his face again. Little Bonnie

gurgled and smiled up at her. “I guess we’re going to be girl pals today,

sweetie. Let’s get one of my big old quilts for the yard and we’re going to

have fun.”

Bonnie gurgled and babbled in response, making Ivy smile. She loved

children and wanted some of her own. The thought made her frown—with

her endometriosis her gynecologist had told her that getting pregnant

would be difficult. She put it out of her mind a long time ago because she

hadn’t been in a serious relationship in years. Her last boyfriend was the

type who wanted a family and ten kids. He literally said ten kids and when

she told him about her condition, she watched the light die away in his

eyes. From there, he got evasive and stopped coming home to the

apartment they shared. When she came home from work one day and

found all his stuff gone and a note saying that he had told the landlord she

would be out in three days, it didn’t come as a shock but did teach her to

never let a man put only his name on the lease. Luckily, she had savings

and Strawberry Glen was a new subdivision looking for buyers. She put

down a deposit on the house and was moved in less than a month later.

Ivy did have a difficult few weeks living out of a hotel and having to

put her stuff in storage, but it taught her a valuable lesson: men were dogs.

Meeting Rafe had proved that again as well. He was more worried about a

party than bonding with his child. Ivy admitted to herself that her feelings

were hurt as she set the baby on the spread under the tree in her yard.

They’d rather have Donna bouncing around the pool in a tiny bikini—

probably polka dot like her brain
, Ivy thought and it made her chuckle.

Not that she wanted to bounce around the pool, but it hurt that Rafe didn’t

think to invite her. She tried to shrug off the hurt. She was accustomed to

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being under men’s radars. But, God, she wished just once that someone

would see her as special.
Just once.
Rafe was handsome—Lord, was he

ever, but from today’s events she knew, just like all other men, he saw her

as just a friend.

He had dark hair that was glossy and slick even though he kept it in

the low, high and tight cut of military men. His blue-green eyes held

flecks of gold. His jaw was rugged and clean shaven and she’d never seen

such kissable lips on a man in her life. He had broad shoulders and was as

tall as all get out. Ivy knew she would have to stand on her tiptoes to kiss

him. She closed her eyes and gave into the whimsy of dreaming of their

lips meeting in passion. She tucked the errant thought away and focused

on the baby.

“Okay, little minnow, let’s enjoy our Memorial Day,” she said firmly

and sat down next to Bonnie.

She gave her a Popsicle and watched the orange drip down onto the

blanket. Ivy giggled as her little pink tongue licked and smacked at the

Popsicle. Afterwards, Ivy cleaned Bonnie up and lay with her in the

hammock as the cool breeze blew over them. Ivy dozed as they rocked

lazily until Bonnie started to fuss and she took them both inside. While

she ate a sandwich, she fed Bonnie a jar of applesauce mixed with

oatmeal. She couldn’t help but hear the low thrum of music outside her

window and voices yelling and laughing. Pushing back at the irritation

rising up in her, Ivy closed the window with a slam and turned on the A/C

to keep the house cool. Ivy didn’t want to think about the kind of fun she

was missing out on. Donna and her double Ds were probably topless by

now.

When the doorbell rang, Ivy was on the carpet in her living room

finally reading her book while Bonnie slept nearby on a blanket. She

looked up with a frown.
Ugh, what now?
Ivy got up, grumbling under her

breath about rude people ringing her doorbell. She opened the door and

Rafe was standing there yet again. This time he was wearing swim shorts,

an Army T-shirt and flip-flops. Ivy gave him a cold look, which only

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intensified when she heard a woman’s scream, a splash and then a bunch

of whistles.

“Bonnie is fine if you’re checking in. Don’t let us keep you from

your…activities,” Ivy said.

“I wanted to hang out here for little bit if I could. I’m not much in a

party mood,” Rafe said.

“Really? Donna isn’t shaking the plastic by now? Maybe she needs

another drink,” Ivy retorted.

Rafe smirked. “I thought she was a C cup. Anyway, she is not the

woman I’m thinking about right now.”

He must mean Bonnie,
she thought, yet her heart flipped in her chest.

Ivy stepped back and ushered him inside. “By all means, come in. Your

daughter is asleep.”

As he passed, she could smell the sun mixed with his aftershave on his