The Soldier's Forever Family

by Gina Wilkins

  “I, uh—”

  Maybe Adam was tempted to beg off, get a chance to regain his equilibrium—and Joanna could hardly blame him for that—but predictably, he caved when Simon gazed up at him. They were all going to have to watch that in the future. “I haven’t changed my mind.”

  “Don’t forget to tell Aunt Maddie we’re ready to go,” Simon called over his shoulder as he ran out of the room.

  “Oh, my God.” Joanna stood and raised her hands to her temples, trying to press away the dull headache that had settled there.

  “Just so you know—” Adam took a step toward her and lowered his voice with a cautious look in the direction of Simon’s room “—the kid kind of scares me.”

  Still struggling with her own emotions, she couldn’t smile at what she assumed was an attempt at humor. “I can’t believe he did that. I know it looks bad that he got away from me twice this week, but I swear I was only on the balcony and the door was open between us. I’d looked away for a few minutes. I guess I was too distracted, maybe too wrapped up in worrying about the future, but I...”

  Adam was equally serious now. “Joanna. I’m not blaming you. He’d have probably gotten away from me the same way. Who could have predicted he’d suddenly turn into an escape artist this week when apparently he’s never done this before?”

  “No, never,” she whispered, relieved that he understood. “Obviously I’ll watch him like a hawk from now on, at least until I’m certain he knows this is unacceptable behavior.”

  “For what it’s worth, I think he meant it when he promised he wouldn’t do it again. But watching him is probably a good idea for a while.”

  She shook her head slowly. “I don’t know how he found out about you. I was so sure he didn’t overhear any of our conversations...”

  Adam rubbed his neck as if she wasn’t the only one dealing with the threat of a migraine. “We weren’t giving him enough credit, I guess. Every time someone commented about how much he looked like me, or assumed we were father and son, he was paying attention. He might not know much about relationships yet, but he can put two and two together.”

  She crossed her arms tightly over her chest as she faced him. “I’m sorry,” she said, keeping her voice low. “I know you didn’t want it to be like this. You were still trying to decide whether you even wanted to tell him.”

  She couldn’t quite read his expression when he muttered, “He’d have figured it out eventually. Unless you planned to hide those pictures you took of us.”

  “No. I told him I would make a photo book of our vacation. He’d have had even more questions if I hadn’t taken shots at the fun center or on horseback.”

  “Like I said, Simon’s a smart kid.”

  “So what now?” she asked, half to herself.

  “Now...” He glanced around as Simon bounced out into the room, then finished in resignation, “Now you call your sister and we’ll go have a nice family dinner.”

  * * *

  EVEN A FIVE-YEAR-OLD had to be aware of the tension lurking beneath the very civil conversation at the table that evening, but Simon chattered as easily as ever, recapping everything he’d done during the week. They saw a few other people they’d met in passing and exchanged greetings and farewells with some of them, but there were a lot of new faces in Torchlight this evening. Joanna figured that many of the guests who’d chosen this same week for vacation had already headed back to their homes and routines. Just as she and Simon would be doing the next morning.

  Once again she saw Adam in his professional role as resort employees acknowledged him with respectful nods and genuine smiles that proved he was well-liked here. Guests greeted him with equally telling warmth. He made it clear that he was there to make their stay pleasant and trouble-free, along with the rest of the obliging and thoroughly prepared staff.

  Maddie kept looking at Joanna from across the table, as if to gauge her state of mind. She was sure Maddie, too, was still processing this newest development. She’d been visibly gobsmacked when Simon had skipped up to her in the courtyard where they’d assembled before heading to the restaurant and asked with innocent directness, “Did you know Mr. Adam is my dad, Aunt Maddie?”

  Maddie had recovered fairly well, considering, telling Simon after a moment that she’d just found out herself. And then she’d given Adam another look that silently threatened his well-being if he did anything to hurt her nephew. Which wasn’t, perhaps, the most auspicious beginning to a friendly meal, but for Simon’s sake, Maddie made an effort to be her usual vivacious self.

  Joanna figured Adam was having as difficult a time as she of staying engaged in the child-centered conversation. Though he did a decent job of holding up his end, she was certain that he was thinking about tomorrow—and beyond—just as she was. She made a concentrated effort to keep the topic focused on the past week rather than the future, and Simon followed along. Perhaps he was still so intrigued by having Adam as his father that he hadn’t yet thought about what that might mean. With a child’s enviable ability to live in the moment, he probably didn’t even want to think about leaving.

  She wished she had that ability, at least for an hour or so.

  During dessert, Simon looked at Adam with a smudge of chocolate on his face. “Mom and Aunt Maddie promised to play minigolf with me after dinner. We haven’t played at night yet, and some of my friends from Explorers Club said it’s really cool when all the lights are on. You’ll come with us, won’t you? We’re going to beat Mom’s score bad, aren’t we, Aunt Maddie?”

  “That’s not really all that hard, Si-bot. Your mom is, like, the worst minigolfer ever.”

  “Right?” Laughing, Simon grinned at his mother, who merely shrugged and smiled back.

  Simon turned to Adam again. “So will you? I bet you’re good at it.”

  “You might as well say yes now and save time,” Maddie advised Adam wryly, the most sociable overture she’d made to him yet. “You know you’re going to give in.”

  Adam swept her with a glance, then glanced at Simon. “I was just trying to save your mother’s pride. Now she’ll have three other players humiliating her, rather than just two.”

  To amuse her son, Joanna feigned indignation. “Hey!”

  She was rewarded with a peal of happy laughter. She felt warmth surge through her as she eyed Simon’s glowing face. Let him have his fun tonight, she told herself. The challenges that faced them all could wait a few more hours.

  They were on their way out of the restaurant when they encountered two more familiar faces. Trevor and Walt had just entered. They paused inside the doorway when they saw the foursome headed their way.

  Walt, she noted, seemed to be focused solely on Maddie, which Joanna tended to expect from men when her sister was around. The exception, of course, was Adam, and she felt a little thrill at remembering his sincere-sounding murmur that Maddie wasn’t his type. What she found interesting at the moment was the way her sister reacted to Walt, with a slight flush of color on her cheeks, a certain look in her eyes, the restless movement of her fingers. Joanna wouldn’t have thought Walt was her sister’s type, but there was definitely something going on here. She told herself she had too many issues of her own to worry about Maddie’s love life, but she still hoped, of course, that Maddie knew what she was doing. As for Walt—well, if Maddie had decided to set her sights on him, the guy didn’t stand a chance.

  “Well, hello,” Trevor said to them all. “I hope you had a nice dinner.”

  “It was good,” Typically, Simon answered for the group. “And now we’re going to play minigolf.”

  “And who do you think will win?” Trevor asked with an encouraging smile.

  Grinning, Simon glanced up at Joanna. “Not my mom, that’s for sure.”

  She growled playfully at him while the other adults laughed.

 
Simon looked back as he said in an off-handed tone, “My dad will probably win. He’s good at everything.”

  The statement was made in an almost experimental tone, as if he were trying out the sound of the words. Perhaps he’d assumed that since Joanna, Adam and Maddie had already known of his parentage, Adam’s friends were in on the knowledge, too. He was right, of course, but it was clear that now that the subterfuge really was over, Simon saw no reason to keep it quiet. Joanna and Adam would have to accept that any decisions they made on Simon’s behalf would be done with the boy’s full awareness of his parentage.

  Trevor looked more startled than Walt at hearing Simon refer to Adam as his dad, but he merely said, “Yeah, he beats me every time we play. But here’s a hint for you. He’s not so good at the thirteenth hole. Always putts too far to the right of the windmill.”

  Simon nodded gravely, committing the advice to memory. “Okay, thanks.”

  Adam spoke then. “Fancy seeing you here again, Walt. I don’t remember you hanging around the resort this much before.”

  Walt smiled faintly but didn’t look away from Maddie. “Yes, well, something here just keeps drawing me back.”

  Maddie tossed her head. “Must be the food. Try the cedar-plank salmon. It’s especially tame tonight. Unlikely to cause you any problems later.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he murmured.

  Joanna noted Maddie trailed a fingertip teasingly down Walt’s arm as he passed her into the dining room, and she was pretty sure she saw more in her sister’s expression than Maddie intended to reveal. What was it with Adam and his friend that they had such a powerful effect on the Zielinski sisters? And would either of them come out of this week with their hearts intact?

  * * *

  FLUSHED WITH LINGERING excitement from the rowdy game of minigolf—which had come down to a fiercely competitive battle between Adam and Maddie during the last three holes, with Adam winning by only one stroke—Simon made it clear to Joanna that he didn’t want the evening to come to an end. The resort grounds were bustling on this Saturday evening with music and lights and chattering guests. Simon tried to take in everything.

  Still, eventually it was time to call it quits. Simon’s steps lagged as they approached the Seafoam Lodge. The four of them paused in the courtyard, and he gazed at Adam. “Are you coming up?”

  Joanna and Maddie exchanged glances, and Maddie spoke quickly before Adam could say anything. “Hey, Si-bot, how about if you and I head on in and get you ready for bed while your mom and, um, your dad make some plans? I’ll read you a story, okay? Remember the book we started the other night? You fell asleep before we could finish, and I’d like to know how the story ends.”

  With a grateful look at her sister, Joanna nodded encouragingly to Simon. “Go with Aunt Maddie, Simon. I know we have a lot to talk about still, but we’ll have plenty of time for that tomorrow, okay?”

  A six-hour-plus drive faced them the next day, and she had little doubt the trip would be filled with talk of Adam rather than their usual songs and car games and whimsical stories. At least Maddie would be riding with them to deflect some of the more problematic questions. She’d caught a one-way flight to join them, renting a car from the airport to get to the resort. Normally Maddie could be counted on to provide nonstop entertainment and amusement. But would she, too, have a man on her mind when they left?

  Simon’s lower lip protruded, but he was probably afraid to push his luck too far after his great escape earlier. “I’ll see you before we leave tomorrow, won’t I?” he asked Adam.

  Adam rested a hand gently on the boy’s shoulder. Joanna thought his voice sounded a little huskier than usual when he said, “Of course you will.”

  “And will you come see us when we move to Seattle? And can we come back and see you here?”

  Joanna noted sadly that Simon seemed to accept that he and his newly found father would live separate lives in different states. Perhaps he understood because he had friends at school whose parents were no longer together. One of Simon’s best friends, Liam, spent every other week at his dad’s house, and Simon had mentioned that on a few occasions. She was sure Simon, too, would grow accustomed to whatever arrangements she and Adam made for him, though none of them would have been what she’d have wanted for her son.

  “I won’t disappear from your life, Simon,” Adam promised.

  Perhaps only Joanna understood exactly how much that guarantee cost him. He’d just made the type of commitment he’d spent his adult life avoiding, and because of the honorable man he was, he would make every effort to keep it. Which meant that Adam Scott was now a permanent part of her life, too. In addition to the difficulties she would face in learning to share her son, in preventing him from being hurt—even inadvertently—by a man who had no idea how to be a father, she was afraid she was going to have to protect herself just as vigilantly. She was much too vulnerable where Adam was concerned. And she was well aware that he’d made no commitment to her.

  “Say good night, Simon,” she said quietly, moving aside to let an attractive couple walking hand in hand pass.

  His sweet features were illuminated by the soft lighting around the fountain and koi pond when he gazed upward. “Good night, Dad.”

  Adam froze. Joanna wasn’t even sure he was breathing.

  She knew the feeling.

  His voice was rough when he finally grated out, “Good night, Skipper.”

  Simon threw his arms around Adam’s waist, giving him a big hug. Adam didn’t even hesitate before drawing the boy in, returning the hug warmly. Joanna was gratified that he didn’t make Simon’s spontaneously affectionate gesture seem awkward.

  Maddie hustled Simon inside the building without further delay, throwing a sympathetic look at Joanna over her shoulder as they left. Joanna gave herself a few beats to compose her expression before turning to Adam.

  His face was stark in the lamplight. His hand gripped the back of his neck, the sure sign that he was stressed. She didn’t know whether she wanted most to comfort him or to give him permission to make a run for it.

  Goodness, she was tired. Not so much from all the activity of the day, which she was fairly accustomed to as the mother of an active five-year-old. This weariness was mostly mental and emotional, though it seemed to spread throughout her limbs.

  She toyed with the thin gold bracelet on her right wrist as she looked at Adam. “So, are you sorry you came back today?”

  “I have to admit it didn’t turn out the way I expected,” he said with a dry smile. “I honestly never imagined Simon would take things into his own hands the way he did.”

  “How could you have?” She pushed her hair behind one ear and asked starkly, “Did you consider staying away until after we’d left?”

  “The thought might have crossed my mind,” he admitted with a gusty exhalation.

  Even though the answer didn’t surprise her, it still stung. “Then why did you come back?”

  He gestured with one hand, indicating in that one sweeping motion the landscaped grounds, the few guests within sight, the buildings and pools and courts and ocean. “This is where I belong,” he said simply. “For now, anyway.”

  It was still far from a commitment to his job, but like his assurance to Simon earlier, it was as close as she’d heard from him. Maybe he was ready to accept more permanence in his life. Maybe he was learning to battle his old demons successfully and make decisions based on what he wanted, not what he was willing to settle for. It was a philosophy she advocated to her patients, one she’d had to learn for herself in order to find happiness and fulfillment. Adam seemed to be moving in that direction, and she wanted the best for him.

  Maybe someday, she thought with a pang, he’d be ready for even more commitment. A wife, maybe more children. He had plenty of time to consider those things. As for herself—well, may
be her close-to-perfect son and her exciting new career path would be enough. At least for now.

  “We could go back to my place,” he suggested. “Talk some more.”

  She hesitated, then grimaced, remembering kisses that left her mentally staggering and almost incoherent. “You know what happens every time we end up alone together.”

  His eyes glinted. “I meant just to talk. But...yeah, I know.”

  Joanna was sorely tempted, but she made herself stay strong. “I don’t think that’s a good idea tonight.”

  “My brain gets that.” He reached out to run the back of one hand along her cheek. “Other parts of me are a little slower to catch up. Being this close to you always seems to do that to me.”

  A smile played on her lips despite herself. She covered his hand with hers. It would be so easy to lose herself in his arms, let the world slip away in a haze of desire and pleasure. It wouldn’t solve anything, but oh, it would be so good!

  He brushed his smiling lips against her own. Once. Twice. And then neither was smiling as he drew her back into the shadows and the kiss deepened. Heated. Came so very close to melting any last ounce of willpower she had. Every inch of her yearned for him. Every cell responded to him. And that response made her groan into his mouth as she tried to find the strength to resist him. To resist her own traitorous body.

  She wished very much that she could forget her better judgment for just one night. But she couldn’t. Not while she was so defenseless against him.

  She put a hand on Adam’s shoulder, applying just enough pressure to let him know she needed him to give her some space. Which he did immediately, though with reluctance.

  She stiffened her knees as she frowned up at him. “What do you want from me, Adam?”

  He exhaled hard and moved as if to reach up to his neck. Perhaps realizing what the gesture told her, he dropped the arm to his side again. “I’m not asking you for anything. I’m not denying I’m attracted to you, but then, that’s always been the case.”