Chapter Thirty-Two #2
“Nope. You were calm, cool, collected, funny, touching, poignant and incredibly sexy. They loved you, and I do, too.”
“I’m glad you were able to be here while I lost my public speaking virginity.”
“I won’t always be able to come, but I wouldn’t have missed this one. Not only because it was your first time, but because of the topic.”
“Yeah, it’s a tough one.”
“I’m so damned proud of you, Samantha.” He kissed her forehead and then put his arms around her. “You’ll never know how many people you touched today by sharing a piece of yourself with the rest of the world.”
“Feels good to be able to help people. Maybe your job won’t totally suck if we can do stuff like this once in a while.”
“No, it totally sucks. Not as bad as yours, but it still sucks.” They were still laughing when Sam’s staff found them.
“You were amazing!” Lilia said, grinning widely.
“I’m already getting emails from other organizations who want you to speak to them,” Andrea said, holding up her phone.
Grimacing, Sam looked up at Nick, who beamed with pride. “Great…”
“Welcome to the big time, babe.”
Sam spent the rest of the day finishing the reports on the Hamilton investigation and attending yet another press briefing about the case.
People were riveted by the salacious details of the Hamilton’s “arrangement” with Dustin Jacoby and the sinister plot behind Taylor’s kidnapping.
For days now, it had been the lead story in every newspaper and on every TV newscast and entertainment show.
The news of Forrester’s plans to take Sam’s case to the grand jury had barely made a ripple thanks to the frenzy surrounding the Hamilton case.
Sam had heard through the grapevine that Ramsey was furious that Forrester was being a “pussy” about charging her, and he’d been whining about her getting special treatment.
It gave her a perverse thrill to hear he was pissed, but she was wise enough after what’d happened with Stahl to keep a close eye on Ramsey.
She had a feeling her troubles with him were far from over.
She got home at five thirty, an hour before her mother was due to arrive for the get-together Angela had arranged. Sam had spoken before two thousand people earlier in the day but was far more nervous about seeing her mother than she’d been about the speech.
When the Secret Service agent working the door admitted her, Scotty ran over to hug her. “I watched the play back on C-Span, and you were awesome. Were you freaking out that you couldn’t read the Teleprompter?”
“You know it. I started to sweat.”
“Well you’d never know. You were so good, Mom. Really, really good.”
Hearing him call her Mom never got old. “Aww, thanks, buddy. Means a lot coming from you.”
“I’m still mad that I had to go to school and couldn’t go with you.”
“I know. Sorry about that. It would’ve been a lot more fun with you there.”
“Of course it would’ve.”
Sam laughed at his cheeky reply and hooked her arm through his. “So come sit with me for a minute. I want to talk to you about something.”
“Whatever it is, I didn’t do it.”
“Said the future politician.”
“You think I could be a politician?”
She ran her fingers through his hair, earning a predictable scowl. “I think you, Scotty Cappuano, could be anything you want to be as long as you work hard and do well in school.”
“Why’d you have to ruin it by bringing school into it?”
Sam laughed because she’d felt exactly the same way at his age, not that she could tell him that.
“What do you want to talk to me about?”
“Remember how you asked me once about my mother and why we don’t see her?”
“Uh-huh. You said you have a complicated relationship with her.”
“Right. After what happened a couple of months ago,” she said, knowing she didn’t need to clarify what she meant, “I started to think it might be time to ‘uncomplicate’ that relationship. She wants to see me, so Ang and Trace are bringing her over in a little while.”
“Will I get to meet her?”
“Absolutely. That’s one of the main reasons she wanted to see me. She wants to meet her new grandson.”
“That’s cool. Are you… I mean… Are you weirded out about seeing her?”
Smiling at his choice of words, Sam said, “Not really. It’s time to let bygones be bygones, you know?”
“I guess. Mrs. Littlefield always used to tell us it takes far less energy to forgive than it does to hold a grudge,” he said of his former guardian at the state home in Virginia.
“Mrs. Littlefield may very well be the wisest person in the entire world.”
“She totally is. If I’m going to meet my grandmother, I probably need a shower cuz I stink after hockey practice.”
“You don’t stink, but that’s not a bad idea.”
He ran for the stairs. “Let me know when she gets here.”
Sam watched him go, bursting with pride and gratitude for every minute she got to spend with him.
Shelby emerged from the kitchen and handed Sam a glass of chardonnay. “I figured you might need this after the day you’ve had.”
“You know me so well. Thank you.”
Shelby took a seat on the sofa and curled her legs under her. “Your speech was spectacular. I loved it.”
“Thanks. It was this close to being a spectacular disaster. Freaking dyslexia.”
“Not only did you give hope to women with infertility, but you also showed people with dyslexia that they can overcome any obstacle and be successful.”
“And I showed people who puke under pressure they can overcome that, too.”
Shelby dissolved into giggles. “Thank goodness that didn’t happen.”
“Can you even imagine? Hi, I’m the second lady. Barf.”
They lost it laughing.
“I already had enough barfing for one week,” Sam said. “And for what it’s worth, you should know your guy holds up well in a crisis.”
Shelby curved a hand over her rounded abdomen. “It’s worth a lot, especially in my current condition. He said you were scary sick.”
“He was a trooper.” Sam glanced at her friend. “I hope you don’t think…”
Shelby held up a hand to stop her from going there. “It’s all good. Avery and I talked the other night, and he reminded me again that he’s engaged to the woman he loves. That’s all I needed to hear.”
“Awww, isn’t he sweet?”
Shelby waggled her brows. “He really is.”
“Barf.”
“Like you’re one to talk about being schmoopy when you’re all moon-eyed over your man.”
“I am not moon-eyed. Whatever that even means.”
Shelby batted her eyelashes and went into a series of swoons that seemed more like convulsions to Sam.
“If I ever act like that, I invite you to stab me with my own rusty steak knife.”
Shelby lost it laughing again.
“How’s he doing anyway?” Sam asked.
“Who?”
“Avery. This case with Hamilton and Jacoby was hard on him.”
“It really was,” Shelby said with a sigh. “In addition to the nightmare it’s been for the bureau, he’s so disillusioned by what they did. It’s sickening. Those poor people and Josh… Or I mean Taylor. To find out his entire life was a lie…”
“The Rollings are such good people. They’ll get him through it, and he’ll feel like a part of their family in no time.”
“Still… They’ll never get back the thirty years that were taken from them.”
“That’s true.”
Shelby made a big production out of getting up from the sofa. “I’d better get my portly self home.”
“There is nothing portly about you. In fact, you’re the most adorable pregnant woman in the history of pregnant women.”
Shelby blinked repeatedly.
“If you cry, I’ll take it back.”
“Okay. I won’t cry then. I’ll say thank you for the kind words, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll be here. Thanks for everything. You’re the glue that holds this entire operation together.”
The statement resulted in more blinking.
“Go!”
“I’m going.”
Shaking her head, Sam laughed at Shelby’s out-of-control emotions. None of her pregnancies had lasted long enough for the crazy hormones to kick in the way they had for Shelby. She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be like that, too. Maybe one of these days she’d get the chance to find out.