The Soldier's Forever Family

“Lettered olives?”

He picked up the shell he’d found on the beach that morning, a smooth, mottled cream-and-tan cylinder. “Mr. Adam said it’s a lettered olive shell, and he said it’s from a snail, but that’s all I know. The video I just watched didn’t talk about lettered olives. Can we learn more about it?”

Mr. Adam. She felt a wry smile twist her lips in response to the name. “Yes, but we’re not going to spend all of this beautiful morning on the computer.”

Which Simon would happily do if she let him. He loved surfing kids’ sites and watching educational videos, many of them geared to children several years ahead of him in school. Though he would start kindergarten in the fall, he was already reading at a third-grade level and was several grades ahead in math.

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sp; While doing her best to promote her gifted child’s intellectual development, Joanna made sure he stayed physically and socially active, which was another reason she’d signed him up for the day camp program. She also needed some time on her own to rest and prepare for an upcoming job change that was exciting but would involve a major upheaval in their lives. She’d promised that she would take advantage of at least a few of those free hours just to pamper herself. She’d put in too many long hours during the past year, spending every spare moment with her son, and she craved the downtime she’d arranged for these precious vacation days.

She grimaced as it occurred to her that she’d rationalized her holiday fling with Adam in much the same way six years ago, considering it a reward to herself after the grueling months of preparation for her doctoral defense. She’d booked the trip a few months earlier with her then-boyfriend, Tim. They’d planned it as their first getaway together, a step forward in a relationship that had seemed promising at the time. They’d broken up a few weeks before leaving, when Tim admitted he wanted to see other women and she’d realized that didn’t bother her as much as it should have. Rather than cancel her reservations, she had decided to celebrate both her degree and her newfound independence in her own way. And she’d made the most of that heady freedom with Adam.

Things were much different now, of course. She’d been young and completely independent then. Now there was Simon, and nothing was more important to her than being a good mother to him.

She just wished she knew what she was going to say to his father.

* * *

MADDIE ZIELINSKI HAD a hard time focusing on her work Monday. Her thoughts were with her sister and the trepidation she’d heard in Joanna’s voice that morning. Understandable. If there was one thing Maddie could say for certain about her older sister, it was that Joanna adored her son. For that matter, so did Maddie.

As unplanned as he’d been for Joanna, as unsettling as the circumstances of his conception had been to their parents, little Simon had brought Maddie’s immediate family closer than they’d ever been. And she hated the thought of some stranger—even if he was technically his father—coming from out of the blue to disrupt the comfortable rapport they’d developed.

Would Adam want to insert himself into the boy’s life now that he’d learned of his existence? She conceded reluctantly that she could understand if he did, but how did they know if this would be a good thing for Simon? The child had been sheltered and cherished his whole life, given every advantage Joanna could provide for him, raised with love and encouragement and judicious guidance. They knew nothing about Adam.

Maddie had no doubt he was personable, good-looking, reasonably intelligent—how else could he have charmed her usually straight-laced sister into bed within a few hours of meeting her?—but for all they knew, he could be a real piece of work beneath a slick facade. Regrettably, Maddie had more experience with the type than Joanna. Joanna might have met a few players in academia, but as a defense attorney, Maddie encountered them every day. She’d gotten involved with some real jerks in her personal life, too. Fallen for a few before she’d decided she’d rather be single and sane than hooked up and stressed out. She might be the younger sister, but when it came to the dating game, she considered herself more worldly and realistic than her sister.

Despite Joanna’s assertion that she could handle this, Maddie wondered if maybe she owed it to both her and Simon to make sure their best interests were protected. She wouldn’t call herself an objective party, of course, since her full loyalty was squarely with her sister and nephew. Maybe Adam was a decent guy—maybe he’d be a great role model for young Simon—but being naturally cynical and experience-hardened, she felt compelled to find out for herself if he could be trusted.

CHAPTER TWO

“ADAM? YOU WITH ME, bro?”

Frowning, Adam realized he’d been lost in his own thoughts during his meeting with Trevor Farrell, owner of the Wind Shadow Resort. Despite his efforts to pay attention, he’d heard maybe every other sentence Trevor had spoken during the past half hour. Shaking his head in apology, he murmured, “Sorry, Trev. Got a lot on my mind today.”

It wasn’t like him to be distracted, so he wasn’t surprised when his employer asked, “Is everything okay?”

Adam started to brush off the question, then hesitated. Trevor would surely run into Joanna and Simon at some point during their stay. Would he remember her from that long-ago weekend? Considering Trevor’s phenomenal memory, it was entirely possible.

“Do you remember when we met six years ago?”

Trevor lifted an eyebrow. “Of course.”

Adam had won an all-expense-paid, long-weekend visit to the then-new resort in a raffle to benefit a veterans’ charity group. Somehow Trevor had found out Adam was headed overseas for a tough deployment soon afterward, and he’d gone out of his way to greet him. He’d encouraged Adam to let him know if there was anything he could do to make the vacation more enjoyable. Having served a four-year hitch himself before opening the first in a planned chain of American beach resorts, Trevor was an enthusiastic supporter of the military. He’d encouraged Adam to look him up if he needed anything when he got out. Though Adam hadn’t really expected to take advantage of that offer at the time, he’d somewhat impulsively headed this way when he’d been looking for a job after his honorable discharge. Trevor had hired him on the spot.

Adam had thought he’d stay long enough to build a little nest egg and get used to civilian life again, then move on to the next adventure. Somehow, he’d ended up as Trevor’s unofficial second-in-command instead. And in the midst of that development, he and Trevor had become friends.

“Do you also remember the woman I met while I was here?”

A fleeting smile tugged at Trevor’s lips. “Her name was Joanna, and she was...memorable. I could tell you were mesmerized by her, and it was no wonder.”

Mesmerized. That was one way to put it, though hardly a comfortable description for Adam. Always respectful of his privacy, Trevor had never asked about Joanna during the past three years, nor had Adam mentioned her. But it seemed she’d made an impression on both of them.

He leaned forward in his chair, bracing his forearms on his thighs. “She’s here. She’s staying at the resort.”

After a moment of silence, Trevor tapped a few keys on his computer. “Joanna Zielinski,” he read from the screen. “She and a companion have a third-floor, ocean-view suite in Seafoam Lodge until the end of the week.” He looked up, meeting Adam’s eyes. “Awkward.”

“Her companion is her son. Simon. He’s five years, three months old.”