The Soldier's Forever Family

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.

CHAPTER FOUR

ADAM EXTENDED A HAND, palm-up, toward the path to the beach, signaling for Joanna to lead the way. He strolled beside her, keeping a careful distance between them on the wide walkway. He didn’t try to start a serious conversation, and she was too tense to make small talk, so they trekked in silence. They had to move to one side to make way for a couple holding hands and snuggling together, seemingly oblivious to anyone and anything around them. The young woman giggled at something her companion whispered as they disappeared toward the guest quarters, and it wasn’t hard for Joanna to guess what they had in mind.

Remembering similar whispers between herself and Adam on this same path six years ago, she cleared her throat, suddenly needing a distraction. “The grounds are beautiful. I’ve noticed quite a few things that are new since my last visit.”

Adam nodded, and she thought he looked pleased by the praise. “Trevor’s about run out of room for expansion here. He’s opening a second resort on the Texas Gulf Coast next year and has plans in the works for a third in Florida.”

She would’ve liked to know the whole story of the evolution of Adam’s job here, but she supposed if he wanted to tell her more, he would. Instead, she kept the focus on his employer, which seemed safe enough. “Trevor’s young to have accomplished so much. I got the impression that he’s single?”

“He’s widowed.”

Startled, she slowed her steps. “Widowed? That’s tragic.”

“Yeah.”

“No children?”

“No.”

“Did you ever meet his wife?”

“No. It was before we met him.”

So, more than six years and Trevor hadn’t remarried, though he was probably only in his late thirties. She doubted it was from lack of opportunity. Trevor was handsome, personable, respectable and successful, the type of man most women looked for. Was he still grieving his late wife? The thought saddened her.

She was tempted to ask if Adam had ever been married. She’d have liked to know if there was a woman in his life now, though she’d seen no signs of it. Yet another great-looking guy, good job, sexy as all get-out. The only reason a man like that would be single was that he wanted to be, which must have made his instant fatherhood even more of a jolt.

She clenched her hands and moistened her lips as they stepped out of the tree-lined walkway and onto beach sand. “Will your responsibilities here increase as Trevor becomes busier with his new projects? He seems to have a great deal of faith in you. Would you want to be the senior manager at one of the resorts?”

His face expressionless, Adam shrugged. “I haven’t committed to anything at the moment.”

Before she could respond, he changed the subject again. So far, they’d been carefully civil, but still the air between them seemed charged with tension. The guarded conversation was beginning to remind her of the pinball games Simon had played that morning. Every time they encountered a topic that made Adam uncomfortable, he bounced to a new one. “You implied to Trevor that you’re making a career change, too. Are you looking for something different in Georgia or moving to a new state?”

She tasted a fresh coating of salt when she moistened her lips. “Actually...I’ve accepted an offer in Seattle. Of course, it means a big change for Simon, so I had to consider it very carefully, but I decided I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”

Adam didn’t quite stumble, but his steps faltered. His eyebrows drew together when he repeated, “Seattle?”

Was he thinking of how far Washington was from South Carolina? Was he wondering how he could get to know his son at all if they lived three thousand miles apart? Because she certainly was.

She nodded. “I’ll be working with patients and their families dealing with long-term disabilities as the result of stroke, traumatic head injuries and other catastrophic health issues. It’s always been a particular field of interest for me. I’ve been to Seattle a couple of times to observe their program, and I think it will be a good fit for me.”

His face was hard to read when he asked, “What does your family think?”

“My family has always encouraged me to pursue my career goals.” More than encouraged, actually. Her parents had been almost obsessively single-minded about making sure she and Maddie were studious and career-focused from an early age. Their mission had been easier with her than with her obstinate younger sister.

“And they aren’t opposed to you moving so far away?”

“My parents aren’t exactly the clingy type. They’ll expect regular visits home, of course, but they won’t try to stop us from going. My sister...well, my sister will miss me,” she said with a faint sigh, thinking of how much she’d miss Maddie in return.

She found it rather ironic that it was because of Adam, in a way, that she and Maddie had bonded so tightly during the past years. Maddie had stood by her during her pregnancy, helping her with doctor appointments and nursery preparation, serving as her birthing coach, spending a lot of time with her during those first few weeks of adjustment and sleep deprivation. Their mother was useless at that sort of thing, having mostly turned her own daughters over to the care of nannies during those early months of feedings and changes and colic.

“You never mentioned if you have siblings,” she said, looking up at him. Did Adam have anyone who would be excited to know about the newly discovered nephew, or parents who would be anxious to meet their five-year-old grandson?

“No. I was an only child.”

“Are your parents still living?” If so, how would he tell them about Simon?

But he shook his head again without looking at her. “They’re both gone.”

So her sense of him being alone in the world was proving correct. She wondered how long ago his parents had died, but something about his posture let her know he didn’t want to get into it at the moment. She didn’t press, though if Adam became a part of Simon’s life, he would have to tell her more about himself.

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