The Soldier's Forever Family

“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—”