“I do. Of course I do, and it’s silly of me to be worried about ancient history.”
“Yes, it is silly. How could you think I’m not entirely thrilled with every single thing about our life together? Well, except for the parts where you get shot at or pistol-whipped or run off the road. I could live without that shit.”
She smiled up at him. “So could I.”
Looking down at her, he said, “I don’t like knowing you have these insecurities. What’ll we do about that?”
“They’re not insecurities so much as a desire to experience everything there is to experience with you.”
“That we can do, as long as it’s not tied to some misbegotten notion that you have to live up to some expectations that I don’t have.”
“Okay.”
He held her for another minute. “Are we good?”
“We’re great. We’re incredible.”
“Yes, we are. We’re incredible exactly the way we are, and don’t you ever forget it.”
“I won’t.” She went up on tiptoes to kiss him. “Now go run the country while I get ready for TV.”
“I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yes, you will.”
“I love you so much, Samantha. I wish I had the words to tell you how much.”
“You just did a pretty good job. And PS, I love you just as much.”
He kissed her again and then let her go. “Be careful out there today.”
“Always am. Got far too much to live for to screw up, so don’t worry.”
“That’s like telling me not to breathe.”
“Be gone with you. I have to beautify.”
His phone chimed with a text that he glanced at. “Crap, it’s from Shelby. She’s sick and not able to work today.”
“No word about why she was at the ER?”
“No, that’s all she said.”
“Well, damn, that changes the day.”
“Not really. The agents can get Scotty to and from school, and they’ll be here with him when he gets home.”
“So now we’re relying on them to babysit?”
“He hardly needs babysitting. He’s thirteen.”
“Still, how warm and fuzzy to come home to his Secret Service detail.”
“Tell you what, I’ll suggest he go to Skip and Celia’s after school, and I’ll give her a heads-up that he’ll be coming if it’s okay with them.”
“That’ll work. I’ll check in with them too. I just hope Shelby’s okay. I’ll try to get a chance to call her.”
“Sounds good. I’ll get him up, and I’ll see you later at the reception if you can make it.”
Sam would never admit that she’d forgotten all about the reception. “Good luck today.”
“Thanks, you too.” He stole one more kiss on the way out the door.
Sam headed for the shower, her mind swirling after their conversation. It never failed to amaze her how different her second marriage was from her first. She and Peter hadn’t talked about the things she and Nick covered so effortlessly. Everything was on the table with Nick, and she loved that about their marriage.
She hurried through a shower, took the time to blow-dry and straighten her hair and chose a black suit with a cranberry silk blouse under it for TV. She shoved jeans, a sweater and her trusty hiking boots into a backpack to change into later. From the bedside table, she withdrew her service weapon, which she tucked into the waistband of her skirt, as well as her badge, cuffs and notebook, which she put in the backpack.
When she got downstairs, Scotty was finishing a bowl of cereal while watching Sports Center on Nick’s iPad.
“Wow, you look nice,” he said. “Why are you all dressed up?”
“Going on TV this morning with Chief Farnsworth.”
“Oh, hey, that’s cool. How come?”
“There’s been a lot of crap flying around since the Springer investigation, and we’re going to tell our side of it. Or try to anyway.”
“That’s a good idea.”
She ran her fingers through his hair. “It was my idea.”
“It’s a good one.”
“Unless of course it blows up in our faces.”
“Don’t let that happen.”
If only it were that simple. She downed a piece of peanut butter toast, then went back upstairs to brush her teeth and check her appearance one last time. In deference to her TV appearance, she slipped on her engagement ring and the diamond key necklace. She released a deep breath. Being on TV always made her incredibly nervous, but she was glad to do anything that might help take some of the heat off the chief.
Sam went downstairs where Scotty was putting the lunch Nick had made for him into his backpack.
“Nick told you Shelby is out today, so you’ll be coming home with the agents and going to Skip’s if it’s okay with them?”
“Yeah, he said he’ll text me after he talks to them.”
“Sounds like a plan then.”
“Is Shelby okay?”
“I think so. She didn’t say what was wrong, but I’m sure she’d be happy to hear from you if you text her later.”
“I’ll do that. Are we going to Nick’s reception at the White House? He ironed my work clothes for me.”
As Sam wondered what the heck time her husband had gotten up—or if his insomnia had kept him up all night—she hugged her son. “I hope to be able to go. I’ll let you know.”
“Okay.”
“Have a good day, buddy. I love you.”
“Love you too.” He paused before he said, “Hey, Sam?”
“Yeah?”
“Last night I told Nick that at some point, when it feels right, I’d like to call him Dad. Would it be okay if I did the same with you?”
The request hit her like a ton of bricks to the chest. “You wanna call me Dad?” she asked, making light of it so she wouldn’t bawl her head off.
“Sam,” he said impatiently. “You know what I mean.”
She went to him, because how could she not? “Yes, I know what you mean, and nothing would make me happier in the entire world than for you to call me Dad. I mean Mom.”
Scotty laughed. “You’re such a dork.”
“You’re a bigger dork.”
“Doubtful.”
“We’ll continue this conversation later, my friend. I’ve got TV people waiting for me.”
“I’ve got algebra waiting for me. I’d rather be you.”
“I’d rather be me too.”
Debra, one of Scotty’s agents, came into the kitchen. “Ready to roll?”
“Ready,” he said. “See ya, Sam.”
“I’ll walk you out.”
Chapter Sixteen
After battling traffic, she arrived at the CBC studios on Connecticut Avenue, stressing out about how close she was calling it. In full uniform, the chief greeted her in the reception area.
“Was I supposed to wear the uniform?” she asked.
“No, you look great. I just thought it would be appropriate for me to wear it today.”
“And you wear it well. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.”
“I appreciate you doing this. I know it’s not something you’d do for just anyone.”
“If I have to put up with all the interest, I may as well take advantage of it when it suits my purposes.”
“Was Nick okay with it?”
“He was all for it. He agrees with me. He informed me last night that I’m famous now, and I may as well make the most of it.”
“Famous,” the chief said with a snicker. “You were infamous before he was ever vice president.”
“I know, right?”
He shook his head at her snappy comeback. “Any word on the Phillips investigation this morning?”
“Just that she was with two guys before she died, one of them Mr. Hughes from Baltimore. Lindsey is trying to identify the second profile, if he’s in the system. We’re going to dig in to the church she belonged to today, among other leads.”
“And Sergeant Gonzales?”
“Safely out of town at his parents’ place in Harper’s Ferry for the time being, where he’s about to spontaneously combust.”
“Let’s take the opportunity today to mention he’s not a suspect.”
“We’re on the same page there.”
The producer came out to get them and led them through winding corridors filled with cages and wires and all sorts of other junk that Sam wanted to stop to take a closer look at. They were deposited into a waiting room where coffee and donuts were available to guests.