“And is that all you want?”
“It’s the most important thing.”
“That’s not what I asked,” Maddie said gently.
Her throat aching, Joanna spread her hands. “What else could I expect? Adam and I still hardly know each other. And he’s not the forever-after type, anyway.”
Maddie merely looked at her.
With a heavy sigh, Joanna picked up the wineglass again, mostly to have something to do with her hands. She took a sip she didn’t taste, then said quietly, “Adam is a great guy, Maddie—you only have to see him with his friends, his coworkers and the guests here to see that. He’s been kind to Simon and completely honest with me. But he has a lot of issues. Trust. Commitment. A painful childhood with a dysfunctional family. Probably some lingering effects from the war, being seriously wounded.”
She hoped she wasn’t revealing too much, but she wanted her sister to understand that Adam had reasons for his actions, or at least believed he did.
Maddie looked thoughtful. “I didn’t know he’d been wounded. I guess that’s one of the bond
s he has with Walt.”
“Speaking of Walt...”
Reacting with a wan smile to having the interrogation turned back on her, Maddie shrugged. “He’s definitely intriguing.”
“Not your usual type, though.”
“We both know where my usual type has gotten me,” Maddie murmured without taking offense. “I’ve decided it’s time to explore new possibilities. And a new type.”
“After only a couple of days? That sounds reckless and impulsive even from you, Maddie.”
“You’re one to talk.” Maddie shrugged. “We’re discussing you here, not me. You said Adam has issues. You’ve got a few yourself. You worry too much, especially when it comes to Simon. You try to control too much, to avoid any complications or messiness in your life. The one time you let loose, you got your heart bruised and ended up with an unplanned pregnancy. And as overjoyed as you are to have Simon in your life, you’ve been trying to make up for that lapse in judgment ever since. Face it, Jo, you’re scared to take another risk.”
“Scared to take risks?” Joanna lifted her chin at the accusations that struck entirely too close to home. “I’m preparing to move more than twenty-five hundred miles away from all my friends and family, take my son and resettle in a city I’ve only visited a handful of times to start a job that’s going to be the biggest challenge of my professional life. Frankly, I find that all rather terrifying—but I’m going to do it anyway.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that,” Maddie conceded. “And I still hate that you’re moving, by the way. But it’s not the type of risk I was talking about. You know you’ll both be fine in Seattle, that you’ll love the job and you’ll be good at it. If it doesn’t work out, you know you can quickly find another position. Good therapists are always in demand. But there’s more to life than work, you know. And sometimes you have to take a few chances and break a few rules to get what you want outside an office.”
Joanna sighed and set down the wineglass again, with a thump this time. There was no use discussing this. As close as they’d become, she and Maddie were still quite different. For one thing, any risks Joanna took affected someone else as much or more than herself, something Maddie didn’t have to worry about.
“I’m going to bed. We should head out pretty early tomorrow. We have a long drive ahead of us.”
Maddie moved obligingly toward the door, saying over her shoulder, “Get some rest, Jo. And maybe give a little thought to what’s best for you for a change, rather than everybody else.”
Locking the door behind her sister, Joanna thought wearily that what was best for her right now was to go to bed. To lose herself in sleep before facing tomorrow. Preferably dreamless sleep.
* * *
THEY HAD BREAKFAST outdoors at the coffee shop. Because it was the last day, Joanna let Simon order anything he wanted. She warned him with a smile that tomorrow morning would mean a return to fruit, yogurt and granola, but he merely grinned and crammed a huge bite of chocolate pastry into his mouth, washing it down with chocolate milk.
Sipping coffee and picking unenthusiastically at an egg white omelet, Maddie shuddered from across the table. “That’s disgusting, Si-bot. How can you handle all that sugar this early in the morning?”
“It’s never too early for chocolate,” Simon replied matter-of-factly.
“Spoken like a true chocolate aficionado.” Adam dropped into the empty chair at the table for four, giving Simon a pat on the shoulder as he spoke.
Simon’s face lit up with a smile that made Joanna’s heart ache. She wondered how Adam reacted to seeing his arrival greeted with such delight. “Hi, Mr.—I mean, good morning, Dad.”
Maybe Adam’s smile was a little softer than usual when he replied, “Morning, Skipper.”
He glanced toward Joanna, and while his smile remained, his eyes darkened a bit. “Good morning, Joanna. Maddie. All packed up for the drive home?”
“Packed, but not yet loaded into the car,” Joanna answered. “I might have to leave a few things behind to make room for Simon’s shells and souvenirs.”