The Soldier's Forever Family Read online

  But it wasn’t a coworker he found in the open doorway.

  “Simon?” Adam pushed himself to his feet, looking over the boy’s head to the empty hallway behind him. “What’s up? Where’s your mom?”

  “She’s drinking tea on our balcony. I think I’m going to be in trouble.”

  Rounding his desk, Adam asked, “Why?”

  “I kind of didn’t tell her I was leaving,” Simon admitted, then bit his lip in a gesture that reminded Adam forcibly of Joanna.

  “You mean she doesn’t know where you are?”

  Simon shook his head, and his gray eyes had turned shiny silver. “I wanted to talk to you.”

  Oh, man, don’t let the kid start crying. “How did you know where to find me?”

  “I knew the offices were up here and you said you had work to do. I came up the stairs and looked in all the open doors.”

  “Yeah, okay, you can tell me what you want, Skipper, but you’ve got to let me call your mom first. She’ll be worried sick.” Adam already had his phone in his hand.

  Heaving a sigh, Simon nodded glumly.

  Joanna answered before the first ring finished. He could hear the tension in her voice. Obviously she’d already discovered the boy’s absence. Having seen how carefully she watched her son, he figured Joanna must be frantic.

  “Simon’s with me,” he said. “He just showed up in my office. He’s fine.”

  He heard her gasp. “Oh, thank God. What is he doing there?”

  “I was just about to ask him.”

  “I’ll come—”

  “No,” he said, seeing with a grimace that the kid’s tears were falling in earnest now. “I’ll bring him to you. Just give me a couple minutes to find out what’s going on, okay? I’ll call you again when we’re on our way.”

  He could tell she still wanted to rush to her son, but she conceded. “He got away so fast,” she lamented. “I took my eyes off him for only a few minutes...”

  “I know. He’s a slippery one,” Adam answered. He didn’t blame her. She was going to have to be even more vigilant in the future, of course, if Simon didn’t learn his lesson this time. “I’ll call you, JoJo.”

  After sliding the phone into his pocket, he turned his attention back to the sniffling child. He pulled a tissue from a box on his desk and held it out. “You might want to blow your nose.”

  The boy did so noisily and thoroughly, then wadded up the tissue and extended it to Adam. Taking it with two fingers, Adam tossed it into the trash, relieved to see that Simon’s tears were drying.

  “You, uh, want to sit down?” he asked, motioning toward the two cushioned straight-back chairs.

  Simon gazed up at him. “Could you sit down, too?”

  Smiling a little, Adam sank into one of the chairs. Whatever made him more approachable from the kid’s perspective. Simon climbed into the other, his little feet dangling over the edge as he made a visible effort to sit straight and tall.

  “Can I offer you anything?” Adam wasn’t sure how to begin such a serious discussion with a five-year-old, so he fell back on social niceties. “There are some sodas and bottled water in the minifridge in the credenza.”

  Shaking his head, Simon answered with equal formality, “No, thank you.”

  “Okay, then what can I do for you, Skipper? Is there a problem I can help you with?”

  He half expected a gripe about rules or bedtime or the swiftly approaching end to the vacation. Maybe some worries about the approaching move to Seattle. Some sort of guy question the son of a single mom might have for a man who’d befriended him. All reasonable potential topics the kid might want to talk about.

  So, he was stunned when Simon said in a low, uncertain voice, “I just need to ask—are you my father?”

  Adam all but reared back in shock.

  Okay, so maybe he should have let Joanna come rushing over. What had made him think he could have a discussion with Simon on his own? And what the holy hell was he supposed to say now? How could he possibly explain how Simon had come into being, and why they were both only now finding out about their relationship?

  Because the boy was still staring almost fiercely at his face, and bolting in panic didn’t seem like an option—this time, at least—he cleared his throat and stalled. “Um—what makes you ask that?”

  Twisting his fingers in his lap, the only sign of childish nerves, Simon continued to look steadily at him. “Everyone says we look alike. Everybody. And I looked at the pictures Mom took of us and they’re right. And she said she knew you before I was born, and then Aunt Maddie came and she’s been acting funny.”

  “Did, uh, did your aunt say something about me?”

  The boy shook his head. “No. But I could tell something was going on.”

  The drawback to having a kid this smart was that it wasn’t going to be easy to put things over on him in the future. In fact, it wasn’t going to be easy right now. “Maybe you should talk to your mom...”

  “My mom’s been acting funny, too. She looks kind of worried when she thinks I don’t see her. I wasn’t sure she’d want me to ask her. But you’d tell me, right? If you’re my dad, I mean.”

  Squeezing the back of his neck, Adam figured he had only a few choices for what to do. He could look the kid straight in the eyes and lie his ass off—which he wasn’t proud to admit was his first cowardly impulse. Or he could maybe figure out a way to stall until he’d had a chance to talk with Joanna, maybe send Simon off with his aunt while he and Joanna came up with an acceptable story.

  Or he could justify his son’s trust in him and answer with the truth.

  “Yes, Simon,” he said, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his knees, vividly aware that he had just changed both their lives forever with those two words. “I am.”

  Sorry, JoJo.

  Simon blinked rapidly, as if he hadn’t truly expected the answer despite his suspicions. He’d gone pale beneath the pink of his cheeks. Adam could tell the child’s clever mind was working hard to make sense of this very grown-up revelation.

  “You’re probably wondering where I’ve been the past five years.”

  Chewing his lip, Simon nodded.

  Here was the trickiest part. “It’s sort of a long story. Your mom and I did meet here, and we, um, became good friends. But I was in the army then and I had to leave to go to war. Your mom had to go back to her work in Atlanta. She didn’t know how to reach me, so I didn’t know about you until this week. It was my fault for not leaving your mom my phone number,” he added, making sure the blame fell on him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you before, Simon. But you’re really lucky to have such a great mom. She’s made sure you had a very good life.”

  “My mom is the best.” The boy’s voice was shaky, but unreserved.

  “No doubt.”

  Chewing his lip again, Simon continued to process the abbreviated explanation. “You went to war?”

  “I did.”

  “Did you get hurt?”

  “Yes, but I got better.” Obviously. Feeling foolish, Adam shifted in his chair, not sure what to say next.

  Simon had plenty more questions, which Adam understood. “How come you didn’t tell me before I asked?”

  Again, honesty seemed the best policy. “We—I wasn’t sure how to do that,” he said, again accepting full responsibility. “I didn’t want to upset you or spoil your vacation with your mom. I thought maybe we should get to know each other before we tried to figure out where to go from here. It’s a complicated situation, Simon, hard enough for us adults to deal with, never mind a kid. I wanted you to concentrate on having fun this week. You did, didn’t you?”

  “I had a lot of fun. But I wish I’d known you were my dad when we did stuff together.”

  Adam squeezed his tight neck
again. “I’m sorry, Skipper. That was my call. I just thought it was easier that way.”

  And it made him feel even guiltier to know it had been easier on him, not necessarily the boy.

  Squirming around, Simon sat on his feet sideways in the chair, gripping the armrest in both hands as he leaned forward to ask, “Do you want to be my dad?”

  Again, Adam almost drew back in instinctive self-defense, but he made himself remain still. He struggled to come up with the right words. He didn’t want to say something wrong and mess up the boy’s life any more than he already had. Questions like this were what he’d been trying all week to avoid.

  He took a deep breath. “There is no other kid in the world I’d rather have for a son than you, Simon. You’re smart as a whip. Funny and friendly and well mannered. You’re excited about learning new things, nice to kids like Cody who have extra challenges, gentle with animals. I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

  Simon had followed along intently, his young face creased with his effort to follow everything Adam was saying. “I like you, too,” he said after a pause.

  Adam couldn’t help smiling. “I’m glad.”

  With a sudden frown, Simon tilted his head. “Do I still have to call you ‘Mr. Adam?’”

  “You, uh...you can call me whatever you want.”

  “Will you still call me Skipper? I like it when you do.”

  “Then, sure. Skipper it is.” Feeling as if he’d just run through a minefield, Adam looked purposefully at his watch. “I know you’re going to have a lot more questions, and your mom and I will try to answer them all. But for now, we’d better get back to her. It’s close to dinnertime.”

  Simon crawled out of the chair. His swallow was audible in the quiet office. “Mom’s going to be really mad at me.”

  At you and me both, kid. But all Adam said was, “Yeah, probably. And you have to admit you deserve it, Skipper. You should have asked permission before coming here.”

  “But I needed to talk to you. And I didn’t know if Mom would say yes.”

  Turning off the office light, Adam ushered the boy into the hallway. “Do me a favor, okay? Promise me and promise your mom you won’t ever slip out again without letting an adult know where you’re going. It isn’t safe. And it’s wrong to worry your mom that way. She doesn’t deserve that.”

  Simon gave a sigh. “I promise. It just felt easier to go by myself. I won’t do it again.”

  Oh, crap. Hearing the matter-of-fact justification in Simon’s innocent voice somehow made it feel even worse. He really hoped the boy hadn’t inherited more than gray eyes and a cowlick from Adam. Or from Adam’s own restless, walk-away dad.

  That was hardly the legacy Adam had wanted to leave his son.

  * * *

  “I STILL CAN’T imagine what on earth Simon was thinking to slip off like that,” Maddie said, running a hand through her hair in bewilderment. “He’s never done anything like this at home, even with Rose.”

  “I’m hoping it’s a vacation aberration,” Joanna murmured, making herself stand still when she wanted very badly to pace the suite.

  Why had Simon felt the need to sneak out and track down Adam? Was it only that he wanted to spend more time with his new friend? Had there been something in particular he wanted to tell or show Adam? She’d checked a few minutes ago and the treasured starfish was still safely in Simon’s room, so it hadn’t been that. Maybe he’d forgotten to tell Adam something earlier and had impulsively dashed off to rectify that omission. Or maybe he’d been worried that Adam would disappear again and had wanted to make sure he was still joining them for dinner.

  Whatever the reason, she was going to have to make very sure this was the last time he pulled this stunt, which would require some sort of consequence.

  “And he went straight to Adam,” Maddie said. “Are you sure he didn’t overhear you say something?”

  “Pretty sure.” But Joanna rubbed her arms nervously anyway. She should have known by now never to put anything over on her son.

  A tap on her door made her whirl in that direction. She rushed to open it.

  Simon and Adam stood side by side, and the identically apprehensive looks on their so-similar faces made her heart leap into her throat. Simon scuffed his toe nervously on the hall carpet. She had the distinct feeling that Adam had to restrain himself from doing the same.

  “You, young man, are in trouble,” she informed the smaller of the two, ignoring the larger for now.

  She didn’t miss seeing Adam give Simon a nudge.

  Simon wet his lips. “I’m very sorry I worried you, Mommy. I shouldn’t have left the suite without your permission and I promise I’ll never, ever do it again.”

  He must have practiced that speech, probably with Adam’s assistance, all the way from the guest relations building.

  Adam cleared his throat.

  “Oh.” Simon looked meltingly up at her before quoting, “You’re the greatest mom in the world and you don’t deserve to be treated that way.”

  Maddie gave a muffled snicker, then turned hastily away when Joanna shot her a look.

  “I accept your apology and I’ll trust your word,” she said to her son after shooting another hard look at Adam. Obviously he’d coached Simon on what to say. But was there a coded message in there from him, as well? “But there will still be a penalty. Your screen time is cut in half for the next week. And you’re getting off very easily with that, considering how badly you scared me.”

  Simon blinked as if in surprise that the punishment wasn’t more severe. It probably should have been, but limiting his already regulated time on the computer had been the first thing that had popped into her mind. With Adam standing there watching, it was a wonder she could think at all.

  Adam prodded Simon again.

  “Um, okay, Mom,” the boy said. “I won’t do it again.”

  That settled, Adam turned to Joanna’s sister. “Maddie, would you mind very much if Simon and I talk with Joanna? In private?”

  Maddie’s eyebrows shot up. She glanced quickly at Joanna. “Okay with you?”

  Though her stomach was starting to cramp with worry again, Joanna smiled and nodded. “I’ll call you in a bit.”

  Maddie bent to kiss Simon’s cheek on her way past, then poked a finger into Adam’s chest. “Do not hurt them,” she murmured just loudly enough for Joanna to overhear, though Simon probably hadn’t caught the words.

  “I’m doing my best, Maddie,” he said in return.

  Joanna’s hands were unsteady when she closed the door behind her sister. She didn’t even try to smile when she turned back to Adam. The look on his face—apology? defensiveness? regret?—made her knees go weak, so that she leaned back against the door. “What’s going on?”

  Simon rushed forward, skidding to a stop in front of her. “It’s my fault, Mom. I made him tell me. Mr. Ad—I mean, um—he said we should wait for you, but I wanted to know. And he told me.”

  Her heart froze in her chest as she looked from Simon to Adam and back again. “He told you...what, exactly, Simon?”

  His mouth curved into a smile he couldn’t seem to hold back, despite the gravity of the exchange. “He told me he’s my dad.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  GRATEFUL FOR THE door against her back, Joanna stared in shock and disbelief at Adam. After all his dithering, all their convoluted discussions and attempted negotiations, all her warnings that she wanted to protect her son, he had simply told Simon everything? Without her even being there?

  She directed her barely-above-a-whisper question to Simon. “He told you that?”

  “I keep saying the kid’s a genius.” Adam’s murmur was rueful, but still carried a hint of what might have been pride. “He figured it out. He came to me to ask. I was honest with him, Joanna. What els
e could I have done?”

  As dismayed and unprepared as Joanna felt, she could only imagine the emotions Adam must have felt when Simon had shown up out of the blue and demanded the truth from him. And while she wished that the life-changing conversation had happened differently, that she’d had more involvement, more control over the details, she could hardly fault Adam for not lying, could she? Though she’d been willing to prevaricate to protect Simon, she had never intended to lie outright.

  Too dazed for an immediate response, Joanna moved stiffly to a chair, sank into it and took her son’s hands. She focused on his face, trying to decipher his thoughts. His emotions. He gazed artlessly back at her. As far as she could tell, he didn’t look traumatized, but this had to be a big adjustment for him. Her own world had just tilted on its axis.

  She really hadn’t been ready for this, despite the preparation she’d thought she made during the past week. “I know this is a lot of information for you to process. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

  “That’s okay, Mom.” He smiled reassuringly at her, almost as if she was the one in need of moral support. “Mr.—uh, he explained it to me. How you thought we should get to know each other first. I understand.”

  “You do?” She shook her head slowly. How had her child gone from five to fifteen all of a sudden?

  It hadn’t escaped her notice that Simon couldn’t seem to figure out what to call Adam now.

  “Sure,” he said with a giggle that was all little boy again. “It would be weird if we didn’t know each other, wouldn’t it?”

  She stroked his arm, her eyes prickling with tears as love flooded through her. All she wanted was to do the right thing for her son, to make sure he was happy and safe, secure in the knowledge that he was loved. “Yes, sweetie. I guess it would be weird.”

  He rubbed his tummy. “Can we have dinner now? I’m really hungry.”

  And that was that? Utterly baffled, she looked at Adam, who’d listened intently, looking almost as perplexed as she felt. “Um, yes, of course. Go wash your face and hands and we’ll eat.”

  “Okay.” Simon started to dash toward his room, then paused to eye Adam. “You’re eating with us, right? You haven’t changed your mind?”