I need to check you over and you need to eat
breakfast and take your medicine for me,” Ivy said with a smile.
Jon nodded and his brother pushed the hospital table with his breakfast
tray on it over the bed so he could eat. While he did, she checked his
vitals and looked at his arm for any signs of infection. When Jon was first
flown in from Landstuhl Military Hospital in Germany, the wound was
jagged. The surgeons at Walter Reed fixed it up so he could be fitted for a
prosthesis when he was in a better frame of mind. They had to heal him
mentally first before the long task of rehabilitation could begin.
Ivy finished her exam and made notes in the charts, then she smiled at
Jon. “Time for your medication, sir.”
Jon grinned at her and took the small paper cup. “I like when you call
me that.”
He swallowed the pills with a sip of water and finished his breakfast.
She was pleased to see he ate it all and pulled a Snickers candy bar from
the pocket of her uniform.
“A special treat for later, okay?” she said and put it on the table.
“All right!” Jon said. “You rock, Ivy.”
“So you keep telling me,” she said with humor in her voice. “I’ll let
you guys get back to your visit.”
28
Baby On Board Dahlia Rose
“Hey, Jon, why don’t you try out that iPad. I need to speak to Ivy for a
minute,” his brother said.
The injured soldier nodded and started using his fingers to play on the
touch screen while his brother followed her to the door. They both stepped
outside and she faced him.
“What can I do for you, Detective?” she asked with a smile.
“I’ve been coming here for months. Don’t you think you should call
me Reese?” he teased.
“Okay. Reese it is,” Ivy said.
Reese grinned. “See, that wasn’t so bad. Okay, here goes. Are you
seeing anyone? Any toes I might be stepping on if I ask you out?”
Ivy thought of Rafe but pushed him out of her mind quickly. He had
his type and she wasn’t it apparently. She looked up at the tall, very sexy
man who was asking her out and felt a thrill. Why not? Why shouldn’t she
take the plunge and see where it led.
“No, I’m single,” Ivy affirmed.
“How about me, you and some dinner and a little dancing?” Reese
asked. “Tonight, maybe? I know this little club that had the greatest
calamari and a hardwood dance floor.”
“Are you trying to tell me you’re smooth on your feet?” Ivy teased.
He winked at her. “Come to dinner and find out what else is smooth
about me.”
Ivy laughed. “Why, Detective Alvater, I do believe you’re being a
flirt.”
“I am. Is it working?” Reese asked.
“Yes, I think it is,” Ivy smiled shyly at him. “I get off at five, maybe
six, because I like to check in on Jon before I go.”
“How about I pick you up at eight?” Reese suggested.
She nodded and scribbled her address on a note pad she kept in her
pocket. She handed it to him. “That sounds perfect. This is my address
and I’ll see you then.”
“Ivy,” he called her name as she was walking away.
29
Baby On Board Dahlia Rose
“Thanks for what you’re doing for Jon, and I can’t wait to see you
tonight,” Reese said.
A slow smile spread across her face. She was actually looking forward
to it herself. “Me too.”
Back up at the desk, she handed Marie the chart and the nurse gave
her a raised eyebrow and nothing more.
“Fine. He asked me out, okay?”
Marie chortled with glee. “I need to go to Vegas and use my ESP
powers.”
“You’re a nut,” Ivy said as she picked up another chart.
“But I’m a nut with ESP,” Marie called behind her as she walked
away.
Ivy grinned and sashayed down the hall. She had a date with a really nice
guy—the first in a long time. But why was the kiss that she and Rafe
shared still at the forefront of her mind? He wanted to prove a point that
night and that was it. She would go out and have fun with Reese. He
obviously saw something in