The Soldier's Forever Family

Joanna shook her head, sitting up straighter in her chair, her gaze still locked on Adam’s. “If your friends are worried that I’ll try to use you for money, they’re wrong. I’ve been taking care of my son quite well on my own. Make whatever arrangements you want to for Simon, but I don’t want a dime from you for myself.”

“I’m well aware of how much responsibility you’ve handled for the past six years. And I fully intend to pay my part,” he retorted, stinging as usual at her heavy emphasis on the words “my son.” Even though he supposed he understood the reason for it. “I’m no deadbeat.”

“I would never call you that,” she answered evenly, though her eyes still glittered.

“No one’s throwing around insults,” Walt interjected. “We’re just getting some of the legalities out of the way. It’s always best to have everything on paper, in terms everyone understands and agrees on—child support figures, discussion of medical and educational expenses, visitation arrangements, that sort of thing.”

Adam thought his saw Joanna’s face pale at the mention of visitation. Considering that in a few weeks, they could hardly live farther apart, he couldn’t blame her for wondering how many more changes lay in store for her and the boy.

And that, he decided, pushing himself to his feet, was where this meeting concluded. He looked at Walt. “I have to get back to work. Joanna, Walt will work up a support agreement for me and send it to you to look over—and Maddie, of course,” he added with a nod to her rather combative younger sister.

“Adam, wait. We haven’t even talked about—”

“I’m done for now, Walt.” He moved toward the door without looking back. “I’ll call you with some figures when I get a break later.”

Maybe no one else in the room considered him the outsider in this conversation. And it was likely no one was actually attacking him—not even feisty Maddie. Maybe he was just feeling beleaguered, guilty, even a little trapped, and he only imagined he saw those accusations in their eyes as he left. He closed the door to the conference room a bit too forcefully behind him, already pulling out his phone to start checking his to-do list. He needed to concentrate on his work for now. At least he knew what he was doing there.

* * *

RATHER SUBDUED AFTER the tense meeting, Joanna went to meet Simon at the bus, saying she would take him back to the lodge to rest before dinner. Maddie assured her sister she could entertain herself quite contentedly for a couple of hours in such a beautiful place before they met up again for dinner later. She headed straight for the lakeside bar, thinking a cool, fruity drink was in order. Her smile broadened when she saw the man sitting alone at the bar, his attention divided between the phone in his hand and the bottle of beer on the teak surface in front of him.

She slid onto the empty stool at his right side. “I’ll have a strawberry daiquiri,” she said to the instantly attentive bartender.

Walt turned to face her, setting his phone on the bar. “Counselor.”

“Sarge.”

His steady gaze made her heart beat a little faster. No one would call Walt Becker classically handsome, but something deep inside her was drawn to him, anyway. She’d never been interested in pretty boys, and this battle-worn vet was neither pretty nor a boy.

“Have you come with terms for me to present to my client?” he asked.

“Actually, I’m off the clock at the moment, and I rarely talk business when I’m trying to relax,” she replied lightly, nodding a thank-you to the bartender when he placed a frosty glass in front of her. “What about you?”

“Just enjoying a cold beer and checking my email before heading back to the office. Hard to leave this place on a perfect afternoon,” he added.

Enjoying the feel of the breeze against her cheeks, she smiled. “No kidding. A day like this makes you want to stretch out in a hammock and pretend to be independently wealthy, doesn’t it?”

He chuckled. “I suppose it does. Can’t remember the last time I spent an afternoon in a hammock.”

She took a slow sip of her icy drink, then looked at him through her lashes as she murmured, “Maybe it’s time for you to indulge yourself again.”

She was gratified to see his throat work as he swallowed hard. “So...are you staying for the rest of the week with your sister and nephew?”

“Yes. I’ll drive back with them Sunday morning. I figured I might as well combine vacation with family issues.”

“Family issues. That’s one way to put it, I guess.”

She shrugged. “Like I said. Off the clock. So, tell me, Walt. Is there a Mrs. Sarge?”

He hesitated only a beat before replying. “Used to be. Now she’s Mrs. Plastic Surgeon.”

Delighted by his dry humor, she grinned. “I won’t say I’m sorry to hear that.”

He frowned at her, obviously taken aback by her directness. “How old are you, Maddie?”

She tapped her glass. “Old enough to drink this legally. Why?”

“I’ve got a few years on you.”