Before they left with the Secret Service, Nick and Sam went to the Red Room to say good night to Gloria and her daughters.
“Please let us know how we can help with the funeral and anything else you might need,” Nick said to her.
“Thank you, Mr. President.”
“Call me Nick. Please.”
Gloria’s chin wobbled as she nodded. “Nick. And Sam, I’d be happy to show you around the residence and answer any questions you may have. Let’s get that on the schedule in the next few days.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Sam said. “Thank you.”
“I was happy in this house for a long time,” Gloria said wistfully. “I hope you will be too.”
“We’ll give it all we’ve got,” Nick said.
“Don’t give it everything,” Gloria said. “We made that mistake and paid the price.” She looked up at them with shattered eyes. “Don’t let that happen to you too.”
“Come on, Mom.” Collette put her arm around her mother. “Let’s get you up to bed.”
“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Nick said. “If there’s anything at all you and your family need, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you so much, Nick,” Gloria said.
Nick gestured for Scotty to come with them as he signaled to Brant that they were ready to go. They were escorted to the limo with the usual efficiency. Again, Nick sat next to Sam, while Scotty sat facing them.
“And with that, my dad became the most powerful man on earth,” Scotty said, beaming. “So freaking awesome.”
“Glad you think so,” Nick said dryly. “Let’s hope you’re still saying that when you’re in high school being trailed by agents.”
“They don’t bother me. I barely notice them anymore.”
“Until the first time you want to kiss a girl, and you’ve got agents watching,” Sam said.
Scotty wrinkled his nose. “I’m not the one who does all the kissing around here.”
“Yet,” Sam said. “Just you wait.”
“Thanks for being there with me tonight, you guys,” Nick said.
“Duh, where else would we be when you were being sworn in as the freaking president?” Scotty said.
“That’s two freakings in two minutes,” Sam said. “The swear jar will be expecting your contributions.”
“That doesn’t even count as a swear. If it did, you’d be broke.”
“So that actually happened,” Nick said on a long sigh as the rush of adrenaline seemed to leave him all at once.
Sam smiled and placed her hand on his leg. “How lucky am I to be sleeping with the president?”
“Gross,” Scotty said.
“Nothing gross about it, my friend,” Nick said.
Scotty put his hands over his ears and closed his eyes. “Get it all out of your system while the child isn’t looking.”
Nick took advantage of the opportunity to kiss his gorgeous wife. “Thanks for holding it together in there.”
“Did I hold it together? Didn’t feel that way to me.”
“You did great.”
“It was super sexy watching you give Hanigan orders,” she said with a dramatic little shiver that made him laugh.
“I know we have a lot to talk about…”
“We’ll do that tomorrow. Right now, you should just breathe.”
Scotty, who’d become bored with hiding from the kissing, was looking at his phone. “You want to know what people are saying?”
“No,” Sam and Nick said together.
“I want him to sleep tonight,” Sam said. “Let’s worry about that in the morning too.”
“Good plan,” Nick said.
His insomnia was a bitch at the best of times. Nick wondered if he’d sleep at all over the next three years. Ugh, three years… Don’t think about it, or you’ll never sleep again.
They pulled up to their house on Ninth Street a few minutes later and were escorted up the ramp and inside. “The detail seems to have expanded,” Nick said to Brant.
“Tripled, sir.”
“Are you able to go home at some point?”
“Shortly, sir. I’ll be back in the morning, and the director will want to meet with you in the next few days. They’ll want to assign more senior agents to your details.”
“Wait, what? So you won’t be my lead agent anymore?”
“Probably not, sir.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening. I’ll take care of it.”
Brant cracked a rare smile. “If you say so, sir.”
“I say so. I’ll see you in the morning. Go home. Get some sleep.”
“Yes, sir.”
“So hot and commanding,” Sam whispered, loving the way his face flushed with embarrassment.
“Hush and get your butt in bed. I’ll be right there.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. President.”
His low growl had her laughing all the way up the stairs.
Chapter Four
After pouring himself a glass of bourbon, Nick went upstairs and saw that Scotty’s door was open. When he stopped in the doorway, he found his son shirtless in the middle of the room, wearing a pair of Washington Federals pajama pants. For the first time, Nick noticed that Scotty’s chest was filling out and taking on the contours of a young man. That was happening far too quickly. “You all set, bud?”
“I will be when I can find a T-shirt. I forgot to fold the laundry that Shelby left for me to do, so she took it back and hid it.”
Nick made a mental note to compliment Shelby on the passive-aggressive parenting. “That’s what you get for not doing what you’re told.”
“I know. I guess I’ll have to freeze my balls off as a result.”
“Your mother would tell you not to talk that way.”
“I’m not saying it in front of her.”
“I’ll take mercy on you this one time and let you borrow one of my shirts. But next time Shelby tells you to fold your clothes and put them away, get it done, okay?”
“Yes, sir, Mr. President.”
“Cut that bullshit right now.”
“Swear jar!”
“You drive me to it. Be right back.” Nick was endlessly amused by the smart, sassy boy he’d met two years ago at a state home for kids in Richmond. Bringing Scott Dunlap Cappuano into his and Sam’s life was one of the best things he’d ever done. He found one of his favorite Harvard T-shirts and took it to Scotty. “This shirt is a precious relic, and I want it back—washed, dried and folded. You got me?”
“I got you. Thanks.” Scotty put on the shirt, which was huge on him. “There’s no way I’d ever get into Harvard, so stealing this shirt would make me look like a poser.”
“Don’t say that. You can still get into Harvard if you want it badly enough. When you walk into high school next fall, you start with a clean slate. The only thing that’ll matter to Harvard or any other college is what you do during those four years. If you work really hard, anything is possible.”