Baby on Board (6 page)

Chapter Three

“Mom, I’m bringing a surprise over,” Rafe said into the phone. He

was packing up Bonnie’s baby bag while he held the phone between his

shoulder and ear.

“Well, that’s nice sweetheart. Is it another potted plant?” his mother

asked.

“Better,” Rafe said with a grin.

“Thank God, because I was going to go postal if you brought me

another piece of vegetation,” his mother said.

That was Frieda Steele for you. She never minced words even when

his father was on Capitol Hill. If his mother had something to say, she

would say it and be damned who didn’t like it.

Rafe laughed. “I’m on my way over, Mom. Is dad there?”

“He’s in his shed playing with those fishing lures,” she replied.

“Okay, just don’t let him on that river right now, Mom. He needs to

see the surprise too,” Rafe explained.

“What in the world are you bringing here, Rafe?” He could tell his

mother’s interest was piqued.

“You’ll see. Bye, Mom.”

He walked over to where Bonnie was playing in her playpen and he

bent to pick her up. They’d already been to a pediatrician and his lawyer

that morning. Bonnie was in perfect health and right on schedule in her

growth. The doctor took a sample from him and the baby to run in the lab

for a paternity test. At the lawyer’s they started the process of him gaining

full custody of Bonnie. Mr. Sneed would find Bonnie’s mother and when

they were ready for the court case, all would be well in place.

“Time to go meet your grandparents,” Rafe gave her little chubby

cheeks a kiss and the baby squealed. It thrilled him at how sweet his

daughter was, how she accepted his love and gave it in return. Each day

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since he found her on his doorstep, he fell more in love with her.

Rafe strapped her into her car seat while she regaled him with a stream

of baby talk and giggles. He chuckled. Who knew he could actually make

a baby girl laugh? He took her outside to his Escalade and made sure she

was secure before he got into the driver’s seat and looked at a small bag

sitting on the passenger seat. It was an impulse purchase he’d made. He

grabbed one of the stickers from the bag and got out of the car. He

smoothed the sticker on the rear window and stepped back to look at it.

Baby
on Board.
Feeling a sense of satisfaction, he climbed back into the

SUV and pulled out of his driveway. He also bought one for the Humvee

he drove on base. He was proud and wanted everyone to know he was a

dad.

As he drove to his parents’ lake house, his mind shifted to Ivy and the

kiss they shared. He did it, and hell, it shook him down to the very fiber of

his being. He’d never had a gut reaction of desire for any women like he

did for her. Yet nothing seemed to go right when he was around her. She

had this impression of him that she would not let go of. It bothered him,

yet he couldn’t blame her either. He thought back to the various parties at

his house and how out of control they sometimes got. He thought about

Donna and the way she spoke to Ivy. He should’ve opened his mouth and

given the fake double D’s a dressing down. Instead, he scolded Ivy for

defending herself. That was a mistake. He would make it up to her tonight

when he got home. He made a mental note to grab some steaks and other

items from the market on his way home. He and Bonnie would have

dinner with Ivy and maybe they could start over. Rafe wanted more with

Ivy than just friendship.

It was a forty-five minute drive before he pulled into the driveway.

The sun reflected like diamonds off the lake and it was simply gorgeous.

It reminded him of when they lived in D.C. and would come up to this

house for summer vacations and holidays. At Christmas time when the

water froze and it snowed, it looked like a winter wonderland. Bonnie

would grow up seeing all of it and her memories would be a mirror image

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Baby On Board Dahlia Rose

of his. He took her out of the car seat, choosing to leave it in the car and

carry her up to the door in his arms. He couldn’t reach his keys so he rang

the doorbell and waited for his mother to answer. When she opened the

door, her eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed.

“Rafe Steele, whose child did you steal? My God, is this the PTSD

they keep talking about? Have you flipped out and stolen someone’s

child?” she demanded.

Rafe couldn’t help but laugh. “Mom, seriously? This is Bonnie and

she’s my daughter and your granddaughter.”

“How… Wait, when…” His mother stepped back so he could enter.

“Frank, come down here!”

“I came home a few days ago and she was on my doorstep with a note.

I think her mom was a girl I met in Vegas,” Rafe explained. He never lied

to his parents even if the news was not the best for them to hear. “It was a

wild weekend and she never contacted me, but look at her eyes, Mom, and

her face. Bonnie is mine.”

“Give her to me,” his mother said gently and reached out to take the

baby. She held her close and shut her eyes for a moment before looking at

the baby again. “Yes, she is one of us, isn’t she?”

“Hey, what’s the hubbub?” Rafe looked up at his father coming down

the stairs. He was wearing a pair of cargo shorts, a plaid T-shirt and of

course his fishing hat. Rafe swore he slept in it and his mother affirmed

that she had to take it off his head a few times in bed when he’d fallen

asleep.

“We’ve got a granddaughter, Frank. Look at her.” His mother’s voice

shook and he knew she was on the brink of tears. His parents wouldn’t

care how Bonnie came into the world. They would love her because she

was a part of them.

His father stood next to his mother and looked at the baby in

amazement. “Rafe, you’ve been hiding this little darling from us?”

“I just found out about her a few days ago, Dad,” Rafe explained. “But

I had to take care of a few things before I could bring her over.”

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Baby On Board Dahlia Rose

“Let’s go into the family room,” his mother suggested.

“What kind of things?” his father asked. “Give me that baby, Frieda.

Don’t make me fight you for her.”

“As if you could take me,” his mother said with humor in her voice.

“Go to Grandpa, Bonnie, let him give you some love too.”

Rafe shook his head at their banter. He was accustomed to it, but it

never ceased to make him smile. He sat down on the couch while his

father lowered himself onto the carpet with the baby.

“I took her to the doctor to make sure she was okay and then went to

Richard Sneed to start paperwork so I can have full custody of her,” Rafe

explained. “The mother—her name is Juno—just left her on my doorstep.

She could’ve called me when she was pregnant. I would have made sure

she was taken care of. But to leave the baby on the doorstep like that…”

His mother shook her head. “Honey, young people don’t think

sometimes. She was probably very scared and must have been in some

kind of emotional state to do that. We should be thankful she at least

thought to give the baby to you and fate made sure you were home in time

that night to find her. It had to be a hard journey to leave Vegas or where

ever she lived to drop the baby off at your door. She was bringing Bonnie

to safety and that was the right thing. She looks like she was well cared

for at least.”

“How are you making out as a new daddy?” his father asked. He was

holding Bonnie’s arms and letting her bounce on his thighs. She squealed

and his dad chuckled. “You like that, huh? Is Grandpa’s lap a fun

horsey?”

“The first night I was out of my depth and panicked as hell,” Rafe

said. “I ran over to my neighbor’s house. She is a nurse at Walter Reed

and she helped me get myself together. She even went with me to buy

supplies for my house. Bonnie has her own room and everything. I’ve

learned to make bottles, change diapers, give her a bath, and rock her to

sleep. I never knew that I could feel so fulfilled from caring for a small

child. I love being a dad and it scares me to death her mother could come

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back and try to take her from me.”

“That’s not going to happen. Even if she does, the courts look at the

father’s rights too,” his mother said firmly. “I’m sure Richard will take

care of everything.”

“Yeah, he said he could have temporary custody papers in front of a

judge by the end of the week,” Rafe answered. “He said the situation is

pretty straight forward with the mother abandoning her. We didn’t get to

base today, but tomorrow I’m taking her there to get her added onto my

medical and stuff.”

“It sounds like you’ve got it all covered then,” his mother said and

then laughed when Bonnie bit his father on the fingers. “I hope you can

stay a while so we can get to know our grandbaby.”

“I sure can,” Rafe said with a smile.

“What will you do now, Son?” his father asked. “You’re a single dad

with a new baby. Are you still going to leave for deployments?”

“I doubt I will have to go back again, Dad,” Rafe answered. “I did my

time in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now that I have her I will have to rethink

special ops missions. I know I could be killed anywhere, but I’m not

going to put myself in danger and leave her unless it’s necessary. I have

enough rank that I can ask for a new MOS at Quantico. I just have to think

about what that is.”

“You’ll make the right choice,” his father said and patted him on the

knee. “You always do.”

The rest of the afternoon was spent as his parents’ house. His dad took

Bonnie out to the water so she could see the lake and they had lunch on

the deck and then a stroll around the neighborhood. His parents were

thrilled with Bonnie and fell in love with her just as he had. When it was

time to head home, they kissed her reluctantly, not wanting her to leave.

He promised his mother she could stop over any time and take Bonnie for

the day. He would have to figure out daycare while on leave because

when he started going back to base, Bonnie would need to be taken care

of. His parents, of course, promised to help as much as they could; they

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Baby On Board Dahlia Rose

were going to be hands-on grandparents just as they were parents. He

never had a nanny or was left to wonder if his parents cared. Where they

went so did he, and that was how close knit they were.

It was after six when he drove back into the Strawberry Glen

neighborhood. As he passed Ivy’s house, he noticed she was home.

Bonnie was asleep in the car seat when he took her out of the vehicle and

got her inside. While she napped, he would get the stuff together for

dinner and then take it over to Ivy’s house when the baby woke up. He

was looking forward to spending the evening with her and hopefully he’d

have the opportunity to kiss her again. Bonnie slept longer than he

expected and it was around seven-thirty when she woke up. He fed and

changed her and then packed up the food and supplies in two different

bags. It was ten ’til eight when he finally left his house and walked the

few feet to Ivy’s door.

He rang the doorbell and she took longer than expected to answer.

Rafe frowned, hoping she didn’t have a long day and was already in bed.

He certainly did not want to disturb her if that was the case. But when she

opened the door he got a different surprise. Ivy was not in her pajamas but

a sleek midnight blue dress and strappy heels. Her hair was curled and

pinned up, leaving a few tendrils loose around her face. The dress

accentuated her every curve and it was a halter top which meant her back

was probably exposed. She left him speechless for a minute and then he

frowned. She was dressed up and it obviously was not for him.

“Hey, what’s up?” she asked.

“I was going to cook you those steaks I promised. I assumed you’d be

home and in for the night,” Rafe snapped and winced.
Why did it come out

like that? Because
she’s
not dressed up for you, you dolt,
he berated

himself.

“You know what they say about assumptions,” she replied. “I’m

heading out.”

“On a date?” Rafe asked.