Baby on Board by Dahlia Rose Read Free Book Online Page A

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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    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