Baby on Board (9 page)

neighborhood really difficult for you.”

This time it was Ivy who stepped forward. “Go ahead and try it. Do

you really think I’m afraid of you and your band of bimbettes? I own my

house, and I don’t give a fuck about anyone in this neighborhood that

would believe you over me. But I tell you this―mess with me and I will

take great delight in taking you down. Let’s see how you stand up against

this plain Jane. Try me.”

Donna’s eyes widened and she took a few steps back before turning to go

back up her porch. “Yeah, I thought so,” Ivy muttered and went on to her

house. She’d dealt with women like Donna before. They put on an act but

backed down quickly. As soon as Ivy stepped into her house and shut the

door behind her, she sighed and turned off the downstairs lights. She

would watch TV in her room until she fell asleep. But while she stared at

the screen, Ivy didn’t really see beyond what was on her mind. All she

could think about was Rafe and how it felt to be touched by him. The

thought made her nipples tighten and a sweet ache to throb between her

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legs. She wasn’t meant to have him and should put it out of her mind.
I’m

throwing my hat in the
ring
. His words echoed in her head and thrilled

her, even though she believed he saw her as just another conquest.

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Baby On Board Dahlia Rose

Chapter Five

Rafe watched as Bonnie ate her oatmeal in her high chair. His mother

was coming over to pick her up for the day since he had to go Quantico

and set up the childcare situation. His leave would be up in two more

weeks and he would be back on schedule. He had an idea about his MOS

as well. He was offered a job a few months back that would keep him at

Quantico instead of being deployed except in cases where an elite team

was needed. He would be in charge of putting the team together as well as

in charge of their training.

No matter how he kept himself busy, Rafe couldn’t stop his thoughts

from straying back to Ivy. He’d watched the detective pick her up on

Saturday night and then drop her off late, and the kiss he gave her at the

front door lasted way too long in his opinion. He wanted to rush out and

lay claim to her to send his competition on the way. He guessed that

would make the situation worse so even though ever fiber of his being

wanted him to go, he stayed inside.

Rafe was dressed in his uniform and Bonnie’s face was a mess. He

wiped the dried oatmeal off her face with a wet cloth and she gave him a

toothless grin. He looked at her gums curiously before he grinned as well.

There were two tiny, very obvious white teeth breaking through.

“Look at you. My baby has her first teeth.” Rafe chuckled and held

out his hand to her. Bonnie stuck his index finger in her mouth and this

time, instead of feeling just gums when she used him as a chew toy, he

could feel the hard ridges of teeth. He wondered if it was normal to feel

such a sense of pride. She’d hit a milestone while in his care.
Hell yeah!

“Hello. Where’s my son and my gorgeous grandbaby?” his mother’s

voice called out. He had given his parents a key to his house and she had

let herself in.

“Kitchen, Mom,” Rafe answered as he gathered up Bonnie’s dirty

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bowl and empty sippy cup.

His mom came around the corner. “There’s my pretty girl. How’s

Grandma’s baby?”

“Hello to you too, Mom,” Rafe said dryly.

She waved a hand in his direction and made a beeline for Bonnie.

“Nice to see you, Son, but you’re not as cute as my Bonnie Bunny.”

“Bonnie Bunny,” he chuckled. “Well, she could be now. Ms. Bunny

here has her first two teeth.”

The squeal that came from his mother was like that of a teenager. Rafe

didn’t know his mother could actually make such a noise. He turned to

watch while she bent to plant kisses all over Bonnie’s cheeks.

“You’re growing up too fast,” his mother said to the baby. She looked

up and her eyes were misty. “We just got her and already she’s trying to

leave the nest.”

“Mom, she’s getting teeth not going off to college,” Rafe pointed out

as he loaded up the baby bag.

“You won’t understand until she’s a teen, going out on dates and

bringing boys home,” his mother replied.

“I own guns, Mom. Boys are a no-no.” He walked over with Bonnie’s

bag and car seat. “Everything you need is in the bag, including the

Tylenol drops and her cold rings are in a Ziploc bag with one of those ice

pack thingies.”

“You sound like such a dad.” He watched tears fill his mom’s eyes

again.

“Okay, Mom, no crying.” He walked up to her and rubbed her back.

“All you need now is a woman in your life.”

Of course she would go there. Rafe rolled his eyes. His mother was

notorious for trying to fix him up with some of her friends’ daughters. His

personal life was something he tried to keep off her radar, yet he found

himself opening up to her.

“There is someone I’m interested in,” Rafe admitted.

His mother clapped her hands. “Who is she?”

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“The nurse that helped me with Bonnie that first night. Her name is

Ivy and she lives three houses down from me,” he said.

“Oh, thank God, for a minute I thought you meant the large chested

one outside watering her flower beds,” his mother said with a sigh.

“Seriously, I don’t know why women do that to themselves.”

“That would be Donna and one of the reasons Ivy thinks I’m a slut,”

Rafe explained. “Her, the parties Brody likes to throw at my place, the

way Donna keeps trying to throw herself at me… Well, everything, even

the fact that I didn’t know I had a daughter.”

“She doesn’t like Bonnie?” his mother asked indignantly.

“No, that’s not it. Bonnie has her charmed, but she thinks I’m some

kind of playboy and doesn’t take me seriously. The fire is there, but Ivy

assumes that all I want is the…usual,” he said.

“Well, first, Brody is the slut and I’ve told you those parties would

give people the wrong idea,” his mother said primly. “But that’s beside

the point. Boys will be boys and Brody has no intention of growing up.

But since when do you let any kind of stigma stop you? I recall when that

whole scandal on Capitol Hill almost got the better of us. You stood

beside your father and said my dad is innocent of all these charges and we

were proved right. Do the same with Ivy and fight for her if you care.

Keep the double Ds away from you and all should be well.”

Rafe laughed out loud. “That’s what Ivy calls her too.”

His mother grinned. “I like her already. Maybe I’ll have to visit her

sometime.”

“Mom, don’t,” Rafe warned. “I don’t want you taking muffins and my

baby pictures to her house to scope her out.”

His mother batted her eyes at him innocently. “Whatever do you

mean?”

“Uh-huh.” Rafe shook his head. “Come on, let’s get Bonnie in your

car and you on your way. I have an appointment for the daycare and I

don’t want to be late.”

“Come on, sweet baby girl,” his mother crooned and took Bonnie

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Baby On Board Dahlia Rose

from her high chair. “We’re going to go get Grandpa and then go do some

shopping and have lunch.”

“Mom, don’t buy—”

“I’m going to spoil my granddaughter and you can’t say a word,” she

said, interrupting him.

He held up his hands. “I stand corrected. I might be gone all day on

base, so I’ll pick her up around six.”

“It’s fine. I’ll bring her home.” His mother kissed his cheek. “Have a

good day, dear.”

They walked out together to his driveway. Rafe noticed Donna was

still in her front yard. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know she had been

waiting for him to come out. It doesn’t take that long to water plants and

when she saw him she began bending over to tend the plants. Making sure

her ass was facing him, Rafe cast a glance at his mother who rolled her

eyes.

Donna then straightened up and waved. “Good morning, Rafe. I didn’t

see you there.”

Yeah, sure you didn’t,
he thought. “Hi, Donna. Enjoy the day.”

“Uh-huh, and diamonds are made of glass,” his mother murmured.

Rafe grinned at his mother’s comment while he got Bonnie’s car seat

installed safely in her car.

“Are you going to be home for lunch?” Donna called. “I have this

amazing chicken salad we could share.”

Donna beamed a smile that he knew probably had made many a man

fall to their knees. He was not one of them; his sights were set elsewhere.

Rafe made a mental note to put her off once and for all. With Donna

always trying to work her way into his life, Ivy would never see him

differently.

“I’m sorry, but no. You enjoy your lunch though,” Rafe said.

He watched his mother pull out of the driveway with Bonnie before

getting into his own vehicle and driving out of the subdivision. Driving

along, the radio was set to one of his favorite channels and as the music

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played he thought about Ivy. One of the first things he wanted to do was

take her out on a date. His mother wouldn’t mind babysitting for an

evening. He wanted to romance Ivy and show her there was more than

just physical attraction between them. Even though just thinking about her

made his cock ache in his pants. Rafe smiled. He was going to show her

exactly how it felt to be loved by him in every possible way and very

soon. He maneuvered his way through traffic and turned onto the long

road that led to Quantico Base. There was a line that moved slowly up to

the gates and when he got through the checkpoint it was smooth sailing to

the daycare. He was given the grand tour and by the time it was over he

felt sure the ladies who ran the daycare would take good care of Bonnie.

Even so, he planned to run a check on all their names for his own peace of

mind. He left the daycare and drove to his next appointment that would

change his military employment status. He found a parking space in front

of the building where his commander’s office was housed.

Rafe knocked and when he was given the command to enter, he

stepped inside and saluted. “Good morning, sir.”

Colonel Craig, known in the ranks as “Big C” and one of the toughest

leaders in the military, looked up and snorted. “Stop that, Rafe. If I had a

dime for every time I’ve been saluted over the years, I would be a

millionaire and retired.”

Rafe chuckled. “You know you’re not leaving the Army until they

carry you out in a box draped with a flag.”

Colonel Craig grinned. “Got that right. Now, about this new unit… I

actually thought you would say no. You like to be out in the fray with the

boys.”

“I was planning on it, sir, but plans change. I found out I had a

daughter and became a single dad in only a matter of weeks,” Rafe

explained. “I have to be around for her and with this MOS change, it

would be best for her. It’s not just about me anymore.”

Colonel Craig nodded. “I understand, Rafe. My wife was home with

our three kids through every deployment and stuck with me each move. I

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saw it was hard on her and our boys having to pick up and start a new life

in a new city, trying to make new friends. It was like they were serving

their time in the military too. But we stuck it out and now we’ve been

settled down in Maryland for years now. Still, I look back with some

regret. Being a single parent has to be worse, so if you want the job

leading the elite unit, it’s yours. We’ll push through the paperwork to

brass ASAP. Then you get to pick your team.”

Rafe nodded in approval. “Thank you, sir, I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t, Rafe.” Colonel Craig chuckled. “I’ve known you

for over ten years now. Hell, even when you were wet behind the ears, I

could see back then the kind of soldier you would be. Any man who could

start the entire platoon calling me ‘Big C’ has to have some balls.” The

commander laughed. “You think I didn’t know it was you? That name