would be a mirror image
32
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.”
33
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