The Soldier's Forever Family

by Gina Wilkins

Narrowing his eyes, Adam shook his head. “Really, Walt?”

  His friend cleared his throat with an expression that was uncharacteristically sheepish. “What can I say? She’s hot. But don’t worry. She’s way too young and hip for a beat-up old curmudgeon like me.”

  Trevor tilted his head. “Do people still say ‘hip?’”

  “Well, there you go,” Walt said with a short laugh. “I don’t even know the terms these days. I’d better content myself with just admiring the view.”

  Adam pushed himself abruptly to his feet. “I’ve got work to do. Thanks for the legal crap, Walt. Have your bookkeeper bill me.”

  “Right. I’ll charge you the usual veterans’ legal crap rate,” he replied affably.

  Leaving his buddies to fret about him if they wanted to, Adam stalked out of the office.

  * * *

  SIMON WANTED TO swim again before lunch, so Joanna settled in the same lounge chair as yesterday to watch him play with the other children. There was no sign of Cody or his parents; had they left the resort already? She hoped they’d found some relaxation on the family vacation, and that Ken and Leah learned to minimize their stress and reconnect with each other. But that was none of her business.

  She stretched out her bare legs, enjoying the feel of the sun on her skin. She imagined that anyone seeing her sitting there in her shorts and loose top with a tablet in one hand and a strawberry lemonade in the other would assume she hadn’t a care in the world.

  That person would be mistaken.

  Every time her thoughts traveled back to last night on the balcony, she almost cringed. Not only at heated kisses that should never have happened and had come too close to flaming out of control, but at a parting that should have gone better.

  Annoyed by her own vacillating, she told herself she’d play this by ear when she saw Adam, depending on how he behaved. Maybe he understood she’d been overwhelmed, tired and conflicted when she’d sent him away so grumpily. Mostly her irritation had been directed at herself, because after all that had happened in the past six years, all the lessons she should have learned, she still found Adam impossible to resist. Even though there was still a chance, considering his intense guardedness, that they were only passing through each other’s lives again.

  “Now, that is a serious expression for someone stretched out on a resort lounge chair.”

  The familiar voice made her whip her head around and then leap from the chair, her tablet falling to the chair cushion, her lemonade forgotten. “Maddie! What—?”

  “I decided I needed a vacation,” her sister said with a deceptively innocent expression.

  Maddie’s striking hair and dramatic makeup gave her a quirky and cute appearance that always made Joanna feel a bit staid in contrast. Today Maddie wore a hot-pink sleeveless top that clashed cheerfully with her crimson hair, turquoise capris and glittery platform flip-flops. Big turquoise earrings brushed her cheeks with each movement of her head.

  Joanna had never seen a more beautiful sight in her life.

  She reached out to hug her sister. “I told you not to come,” she said sternly, “but I’m so glad you did.”

  Maddie returned the hug. “I had a feeling you might need a lawyer.”

  Extricating herself with a rueful smile, Joanna tucked her hair behind her ears. “Well, I don’t think I need a lawyer, but I will always need my sister.”

  Maddie made her opinion of that statement clear with a snort. “Trust me, you need a lawyer. I met Adam’s attorney when I arrived. The guy’s a bulldog. Kinda cute—but then, I’ve always had a weakness for bulldogs.”

  “Adam’s...attorney?”

  “His name is Walt Becker. Late thirties, maybe? Ex-military type.”

  “I haven’t met him,” Joanna admitted in a low voice.

  “You will.”

  “Aunt Maddie, Aunt Maddie! I didn’t know you were coming!” A small bundle of wet boy threw himself into Maddie’s arms, flinging water everywhere. Rather than flinching, she laughed and gathered him close.

  “Hi, Si-bot. I wanted to surprise you. Have you been having fun on your vacation?”

  “So much fun.” He beamed up at her. “I’m glad you’re here, Aunt Maddie. I want to show you all the crafts I’ve made and the shells I’ve found and tell you all about Explorers Club and my new friends and...”

  “Whoa, kiddo,” she said with a laugh. “Take a breath. I’ll see and hear it all, I promise.”

  She looked over his head to search Joanna’s face. “I hope you don’t mind that I crashed your mother-son vacation.”

  “Of course not. Simon and I both love having you here. Besides, we asked you to join us when we made our reservations, remember? You said you couldn’t get away.”

  Maddie shrugged. “Yes, well, things changed,” she said. Her expression told Joanna exactly what had been important enough to make her rearrange her schedule.

  For Simon’s sake, Joanna held on to her smile, but her mind was spinning as dread built inside her. Adam had retained an attorney. Why? Was it only a precaution? A way to protect himself and/or Simon? Did he want to spell out his rights and responsibilities as a father—or abdicate them? He still hadn’t made his wishes clear in that respect. She could understand him having doubts about his place in Simon’s life—but her pride prickled at the thought that he might not believe everything she’d told him.

  Trying to convince herself that it could be coincidence that Adam was meeting with his lawyer today, Joanna pushed her worries aside and focused on the present. Maddie joined her and Simon for lunch before his afternoon adventures. They sat around a lakeside table beneath a brightly striped umbrella, Joanna and Maddie eating salads while Simon munched fried shrimp and babbled about everything he’d done for the past four days. He spent quite a bit of time talking about the adventures at the fun center, and Joanna doubted that Maddie missed noticing how many times “Mr. Adam” was mentioned.

  “So, you had fun with Mr. Adam, hmm?” Maddie asked, confirming the suspicion.

  “Maddie.”

  While Maddie turned an innocent look toward his mother, Simon nodded enthusiastically. “He’s nice. He took me in the big go-cart and he drove really fast around the curves. It was fun. And then he helped me win lots of tickets in the arcade so I could get a cool prize. And he knows everything about shells and ocean life and stuff.”

  “Finish your lunch, Simon.” Joanna looked meaningfully at her watch. “You’re supposed to report to the van in fifteen minutes.”

  Simon crammed another fried shrimp into his mouth.

  Maddie walked with them to the guest relations building portico. Simon bounced between them, identifying his new friends for Maddie. Joanna greeted the other parents she was getting to know. Both she and Maddie kissed Simon and told him to have fun, then returned the waves he sent them through the van windows as it pulled away.

  “He’s really having a great time, Jo.” Maddie waved one last time at the van, then turned to her sister. “I can see why you didn’t cut the vacation short.”

  Joanna spread her hands. “I couldn’t,” she said simply. “He’s been looking forward to this for months. I asked him about leaving early and he almost cried. Besides, running would only postpone the inevitable.”

  “Now that Simon’s gone, we should talk about some things. You need to be prepared for whatever Adam and his lawyer throw at you. Oh. Speak of the devil, I assume.”

  Not the devil, certainly, but it was indeed Adam who blocked the path in front of them, along with Trevor and a brawny-looking companion whose slightly wrinkled light gray suit contrasted with their resort uniforms. The lawyer, no doubt. It appeared as if the men had just stepped out of Torchlight, presumably after lunching there.

  Adam’s expression was somber when he looked at Joanna and her sister, having no doubt he
ard that Maddie had positioned herself as Joanna’s attorney. Joanna met his gaze without flinching. He had some nerve to look at her like that after lunching with his own lawyer. She thought she might see veiled suspicion in Trevor’s expression, but as usual, she found it hard to focus on anyone else when Adam was around.

  The man in the suit spoke first, addressing Maddie. “Well, hello, there, Counselor. Fancy running into you again.”

  Maddie’s mocking tone matched his. “Hi, Sarge. We were just talking about you.”

  Joanna glanced at the attorney long enough to notice that he looked a bit surprised. “What makes you think I was a sergeant?”

  Maddie looked him up and down with characteristic flippancy. “Weren’t you?”

  “He was.” It was Trevor who’d spoken, and who first extended his hand to Maddie. “Trevor Farrell. You must be Joanna’s sister.”

  “Maddie Zielinski,” she confirmed, shaking his hand. “So that means you’re the infamous Adam,” she said then, looking at the final member of the trio.

  Drawing his gaze from Joanna, Adam turned to her sister. “Adam Scott, though I don’t know about the infamous part. Hello, Maddie.”

  She studied him. “Wow. The resemblance to Simon really is incredible.”

  He ignored her comment, instead motioning from Walter to Joanna. “That leaves only you two who haven’t met, I guess. Joanna, this is my friend Walt Becker.”

  “Friend?” Joanna murmured as she shook the man’s big hand.

  “Friend,” he repeated. His brown eyes were warm and smiling, but she didn’t make the mistake of assuming he was innocuous. She had no doubt he was as tough as he appeared.

  Adam made an impatient move. “We need to talk, Joanna.”

  Maddie took her sister’s arm. “My schedule is open today,” she said.

  Adam flicked her an annoyed glance. “I was talking to your sister.”

  “I’m speaking for my sister,” Maddie retorted, undaunted.

  “Maddie,” Joanna said, “I appreciate your support, but I speak for myself.”

  “So does Adam,” Walt murmured. “Doesn’t mean he’d turn down advice from a concerned friend, right, bro?”

  “Tell you what.” Trevor said quickly, glancing around at other guests in the area, some of whom were eying the tense-looking group curiously. “I have some things to attend to now, but my personal conference room is available if you’d like to take this conversation inside.”

  “I’ve got one more hour free before I have to get back to the office,” Walt commented. “Wouldn’t hurt to chat for a few minutes.”

  “Let’s do this,” Maddie declared, tossing back her hair. “Where’s the conference room?”

  Walt gestured with his right hand toward the guest relations building entrance. “I know the way.”

  The two of them headed in that direction side by side on the narrow walkway. Joanna noted that Maddie had an extra spring in her step; there was nothing her sister loved more than a spirited argument.

  Adam frowned at Joanna. “Do you really want to do this?”

  “No,” she replied candidly. “I have no idea why we’re having this meeting. But then, I’m not the one who retained a lawyer.”

  His left eyebrow rose skeptically. “That’s not what your sister seems to think.”

  “My sister is family. She came to see if I needed her, not because I asked her for professional help.”

  “And Walt is my friend. My version of family,” Adam responded evenly. “He volunteered to help me with any legal steps I need to take now that I know about Simon.”

  “To protect your interests, you mean,” she said, remembering the assessing way Trevor had eyed her and Maddie.

  Adam shrugged, which only irked her more.

  “Fine.” She turned to follow the others. “Let’s do this.”

  “Joanna—”

  She looked over her shoulder. “What?”

  Adam hesitated, then sighed. “Nothing.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck as he moved to walk with her, the only outward sign that he was no happier than she was.

  * * *

  THE ROOM TREVOR had referred to as his personal conference room was larger than needed for a spur-of-the-moment meeting of four people, but at least it was comfortable and private. Trevor’s assistant, Tamar, brought in coffee and a pitcher of water and left them in privacy. Maddie drew a tablet computer from the multicolored shoulder bag she’d carried tucked beneath one arm while Walt set his briefcase on the table and pulled out a legal pad and pen.

  Joanna sat beside her sister, chewing her lip and looking stressed. Sprawled in a chair next to Walt at the table that would have easily accommodated ten, Adam made no effort to set her at ease. This meeting hadn’t been his idea. The knowledge that it hadn’t been Joanna’s, either, crossed his mind, but he shrugged it away. She hadn’t called off her sister, and Maddie was obviously itching for battle. Her watermelon-colored nails tapped impatiently on the glossy cherry table as she waited for Walt to start, her greenish-blue eyes locked on the other attorney’s face in challenge.

  Walt let the moment stretch out a bit, probably for dramatic impact, then picked up his pen, holding it poised over his pad.

  “I think you should know the steps my friend has already taken on the boy’s behalf this morning,” he said. He’d asked Adam quietly when they’d settled in their seats if he was free to reveal the legal arrangements they’d made for Simon’s future, and Adam had given his consent with a shrug.

  While Adam listened without comment, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, Walt quickly summed up the changes Adam had made to his survivor’s benefits, naming Simon as his heir. Watching the women on the other side of the table, Adam noticed that Maddie hid her reactions, but Joanna wasn’t as able to mask her own shock.

  “You did all that this morning?” she demanded of Adam.

  He lifted one shoulder slightly. “Over the past couple of days. I figured those were things I should take care of immediately—just in case anything happened. It’s not like I have any other close relatives to worry about.”

  “I suggested he wait until after taking a paternity test before signing the papers,” Walt said, making Adam suspect he was deliberately drawing the Zielinski sisters’ ire toward himself. “He isn’t opposed to a test, but he said saw no need to wait for results. He realizes that anything we’ve done today can be changed if the test results are...unexpected.”

  Joanna shot a quick glance at Adam, who, in turn, frowned at Walt.

  Maddie’s eyes sparked green fire. “You’re suggesting my sister doesn’t know who the father of her son is? Or that she would try to deceive Adam for any reason?”

  So, despite her posturing, Maddie wasn’t such an objective advocate, after all. It had to be different for her when her sister was the client.

  “I’m not suggesting anything,” Walt countered, looking rather pleased with her heated reaction. “Just offering my legal expertise to my friend. It’s up to him whether to follow my advice, of course.”

  Quickly centering herself, Maddie spoke more brusquely. “You’ll keep all those documents on file in your office?”

  “Of course.” Walt slid a card across the table. “My number. Feel free to call it any time.”

  Adam turned a narrow-eyed look at his friend. Walt gave him a bland smile in return. Either he was deliberately trying to rattle Maddie, or he was letting his attraction outweigh his judgment, despite his earlier protestations that he and Maddie were an unlikely match. Adam supposed he couldn’t fault his friend for that; if he himself hadn’t been dazzled by sexual attraction six years ago, none of them would even be here now.

  He cleared his throat, deciding it was time for him to take a more active role in this discussion. “So,” he said, turni
ng to face both sisters, “now that you’ve heard about the arrangements I made this morning, I think it’s obvious why I asked for Walt’s assistance. But what about you, Joanna? Why did you feel the need to bring in your attorney without first talking to me?”

  “Joanna didn’t bring me in,” Maddie said before Joanna could reply. “She didn’t even know I was coming. She called me and told me she’d been accidentally reunited with Simon’s biological father, but she did not ask me to come, nor did she ask for any legal advice.”

  “And yet you introduced yourself to me as Ms. Zielinski’s attorney,” Walt murmured.

  Adam could tell that Walt was getting under Maddie’s skin. She eyed him narrowly. “Yes, I did. And if she needs me in that capacity, I’m here for her.”

  Looking at Joanna’s somber expression, Adam wondered if she was beginning to feel as superfluous here as he was. What were they doing, anyway? She hadn’t asked him for anything, and he hadn’t made any requests in return. Why were they suddenly facing each other across a conference table while these two lawyers argued back and forth?

  “Let’s cut to the chase,” he said, losing patience. “What do you want from me, Joanna?”

  Walt cleared his throat and placed his right hand on Adam’s arm in implied warning.

  Joanna’s eyes had gone wide. “Nothing!” she said flatly. “I don’t want anything at all from you.”

  “Jo,” Maddie muttered, giving her sister a frown as if to make it clear that she, too, was tired of being ignored. “Don’t be too—”

  Joanna shook her head, sitting up straighter in her chair, her gaze still locked on Adam’s. “If your friends are worried that I’ll try to use you for money, they’re wrong. I’ve been taking care of my son quite well on my own. Make whatever arrangements you want to for Simon, but I don’t want a dime from you for myself.”

  “I’m well aware of how much responsibility you’ve handled for the past six years. And I fully intend to pay my part,” he retorted, stinging as usual at her heavy emphasis on the words “my son.” Even though he supposed he understood the reason for it. “I’m no deadbeat.”