The Soldier's Forever Family

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.