The Soldier's Forever Family

“Yes, it’s weird. And yes, he believes me. Or he says he does. He seems sort of fascinated by Simon. Maybe even intimidated by him. Like he’s not quite sure how to behave.”

Maddie supposed that all made sense. Had to have been a shock for the guy to find out suddenly that he had a kindergarten-age son. She cleared her throat before asking the next question. “I don’t suppose you’ve told Mom and Dad that Adam is—”

“No!” Joanna interrupted quickly. “And don’t you dare say anything until I’ve had a chance to talk to them.”

“You know I won’t. Trust me, I want nothing to do with that conversation.”

Henry and Gail Zielinski still hadn’t recovered from the shock of having their most responsible and previously compliant daughter return from vacation pregnant and unmarried. They’d wrung their hands and asked—within Maddie’s hearing, of course—what they’d done wrong to be the parents of not just one but two rebellious daughters.

Maddie shook her head at the memory of that conversation. To give them credit, their parents had supported Joanna’s decision to raise the child, and they’d welcomed Simon with as much warmth as their reserved personalities allowed. Still, Joanna had seemed to feel even more pressure to excel in her career and lead an exemplary life to make up for her “lapse in judgment.”

Joanna had never quite mastered Maddie’s ability to shrug off their parents’ disapproval and live the way she wanted, though Jo said she was working on that. The cross-country move ahead should help. Still, Maddie hated thinking about how much she would miss her sister and nephew.

She brought the conversation back to the present. “When are you going to talk to Adam again?”

She could almost hear her sister’s swallow. “This afternoon, I think. While Simon’s on an outing with Explorers Club.”

“What are you going to say?”

“I don’t have the foggiest.”

It wasn’t like Joanna to sound so lost. She was always so efficient and prepared. Maddie felt her own hackles rising in perhaps unjustified annoyance with the man who’d caused this distress. “And if he wants to be a part of Simon’s life in the future?”

“I’ll deal with it. Somehow. I have to go, Maddie. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“You’d better.”

After disconnecting, Maddie set down her phone. Then turned to her computer to find the first available flight to South Carolina.

* * *

JOANNA MADE IT to midafternoon before she saw Adam. While she’d appreciated having the time to prepare, she’d grown more tense as the minutes ticked past, probably because she knew it was coming and didn’t know exactly when.

Maddie had often accused her—sometimes teasingly, others more irritably—of being a control freak, and Joanna supposed that was fair. She liked her schedules, her routines, her notes and outlines and calendars. True spontaneity was a rare indulgence, especially during the past six years, when she’d lived every day with the consequences of letting her hair down once. She wouldn’t trade a moment of the challenges for the joy she’d found in her son, but for Simon’s sake, she’d been careful not to take any more risks. Sexy, enigmatic Adam Scott was an emotional hazard if she’d ever seen one.

The hour she’d just spent in the spa should have left her relaxed and loose. Though she’d enjoyed the pampering and had appreciated having some of the tension eased by the skilled masseuse, she was still on edge. The reason for her discomfort fell into step beside her only a short distance from the spa.

“Having a nice day?” Adam asked in a casual tone he might have used with any guest.

She shot him a look. “Working on it.”

When he merely gave her a bland half smile in return, she pushed her hands into the pockets of her shorts. “How’s your day going?” she asked, knowing it was an inane question, but it was also the best she could come up with.

He replied cordially enough. “Good. Busy. It’s peak time for us here. Almost every unit is occupied, and we have a few big events coming up next weekend. Two family reunions and a wedding.”

Hearing him speak so easily and familiarly about resort business made her pause and tilt her head in his direction. “How long have you worked here? You never mentioned you were even thinking about it when we met before.”

“I wasn’t considering it then. Trevor told me before I left that he makes a point of helping out vets looking for work. He encouraged me to look him up if I ever found myself in that situation. When I got out of the hosp—out of the military, I remembered what he’d said, and I thought I might as well stop by. His previous assistant manager had to move away for family reasons, so he needed someone to step in. That was a little over three years ago.”

He’d covered his verbal stumble smoothly, but she caught it. “You were in the hospital? Were you injured in Afghanistan?”

“Yeah. Obviously, I recovered.”

It was clearly not a topic he wanted to discuss, but she couldn’t resist asking, “How long were you in the hospital?”

He didn’t answer right away, and she wasn’t sure he would. But then he muttered, “Six months, counting inpatient rehab. Like I said, I got over it.”

Six months. She bit her lip as those words sank in. He hadn’t just been banged up; he’d been seriously injured. She couldn’t help wondering exactly what those injuries had been, and whether he still suffered from them.

He changed the subject with abrupt finality. “Want to get a coffee? Or maybe walk on the beach for a while? We’ve got a couple hours before Simon gets back, and I don’t have anything pressing to do in the meantime. Nothing that won’t wait until later, anyway. And you and I need to talk.”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, wishing again that she were anywhere but here, facing a conversation that was going to be difficult at best, but then she nodded. “Let’s walk.”

Staying in the open should hold back that claustrophobic feeling she’d had when Adam was in her suite yesterday. She was as aware of him now as she had been then, but at least there would be more space around them—and no flashback-inducing beds within sight.

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