Chapter Six
Scotty chose to go to school because, he said, that’s what his gramps would want him to do.
“He was always telling me that there was nothing more important than a good education,” Scotty said over his usual bowl of cereal.
“I’m going to try to take school more seriously for him. You think that would make him happy?”
Holding a cup of coffee as she leaned against the counter, Sam smiled as she nodded. “That would make him very happy. He wanted to see you reach your full potential.”
“He was always saying the sky was the limit for me.”
“He believed that.”
“Are you sure you don’t need me here today?”
“I always need you here, but I’ll be okay until you get home. You’re going to miss school for the funeral, so it’s a good idea to go today so you don’t get too far behind.”
He polished off the cereal, downed a glass of OJ and then stood to put the dishes in the sink. “How old do I have to be before I can have coffee?”
Sam handed him her mug, enjoying the surprise that lit up his expressive face.
He took a sip. “It’s kinda bitter.”
“It’s an acquired taste. Have some more.”
He took a second bigger taste. “Not bad.”
“Go brush your teeth.”
As he dashed out of the kitchen, he passed Nick, who was coming in. “Mom let me have coffee.”
Nick raised a brow in Sam’s direction. “Did she now?”
“He had two sips. No biggie.”
“Don’t get him addicted to a morning boost or he’ll be a bear like you are until you get your fix.”
“A bear?”
“A gorgeous, sexy, delightful bear.” He kissed her forehead and then her lips. “But a bear nonetheless.”
“Only you can insult and compliment me all in the same breath.”
“It’s my special gift.” Resting his hands on her hips, he gazed down at her. “How’d you sleep?”
“Surprisingly well thanks to you and your special bedtime remedy.”
“It fixes a world of hurts.”
She put her mug on the counter and wrapped her arms around him. “Yes, it certainly does.”
“What do you need today?”
“You, right here with me.”
“Nowhere else I’d rather be every day, but especially today.”
“We’re meeting with the department rep at ten and then the funeral home. We probably ought to have Brant and Debra at the meeting with the rep so they know what we’ll be doing and when.”
“I’ll let them know. Anything else you want or need, tell me.”
Scotty returned to the kitchen, backpack on his shoulder, and came to a stop when he saw them wrapped up in each other. “There’s a child in the room.”
Nick smiled at Sam as he released her. “Nothing to see here.”
“I suppose some kissing is to be expected after her loss, but let’s keep it respectable. Alden and Aubrey are too young to be exposed to such goings-on.”
“Go to school.” Sam tried not to crack up. That would only encourage him.
He grabbed the lunch Shelby had made for him the night before and tucked it into his backpack. “Later, peeps.”
“Have a good day, and if it turns into a rough day, call us,” Nick said.
“I will. You take care of her.” Scotty nodded to his mother.
“I’m on it. Don’t worry.”
Scotty was almost to the door when he turned back. “Hey, Mom? Do you think I could maybe say something about Gramps at the funeral?”
“I think that would be awesome.”
“Okay. I’ll work on it.” He was out the door like a shot, talking to the agents who would accompany him to school.
“I can’t believe he didn’t take the chance to stay home,” Nick said.
“He said Gramps would want him to go, and you’ll be glad to hear he’s going to start taking school more seriously, also because Gramps would want that.”
Feigning shock, Nick rested his hand on his heart. “Don’t mess with me about this. It’s too important.”
Sam laughed. “It’s true. He said it.”
“I need a minute to process this development.”
“Don’t start calling Harvard quite yet. We still have to get him through high school math.”
“True.” He checked his watch. “Let’s go rouse our littles so they’re ready when Shelby gets here.”
Bringing a second cup of coffee with her, Sam went ahead of him up the stairs to the bedroom Aubrey and Alden were sharing.
Sam sat on the bed next to Aubrey. “Good morning.”
The little girl looked up at her with big eyes. “Is Mommy here?” Then she seemed to remember what’d happened.
Every time they asked for their late parents, Sam’s heart broke all over again for them.
“Sorry.” Aubrey hugged her stuffed bear a little tighter. “I forgot.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. That’s apt to happen for a while.”
“I heard somebody say that your daddy died, too.”
“He did.”
“Are you sad?”
“I am.”
Aubrey sat up and held out her chubby little arms to Sam, who leaned into her embrace, closing her eyes against the rush of emotion.
Nick cleared his throat and turned his focus on Alden, who was watching them with the wise, knowing way that made him seem older than his years.
He had witnessed the horror at his home the night his parents were killed.
The therapist had told Sam it was hard to tell what he would remember later, but it was possible the memories of the awful night that had changed his life forever would never fade completely.
Sam and Nick worked together to get the children washed and dressed for school.
As they trooped down the stairs to see to breakfast, the front door opened and the Secret Service admitted Freddie and Elin. At first, Sam was so shocked to see them that she didn’t immediately react. “What are you doing here?” She greeted her partner and his wife with hugs.
Freddie held Sam for a long moment. “You know what we’re doing here.”
“You didn’t have to come home.”
“Yes, we did.” He released her but kept his hands on her shoulders. “What can we do?”
“Since you defied my orders and came home when I told you not to, will you be part of the honor guard with the rest of the squad?”
“Of course I will. What else?”
“I don’t know yet. Can I get back to you?”
“We’re here for whatever you need.”
“We’re so sorry, Sam.” Elin’s eyes were bright with unshed tears. “For the rest of my life, I’ll never forget him getting us pole-dancing lessons as a bachelor party gift.”
Sam laughed at the memory. “Trust me, neither will I.”
“He was the best,” Freddie said.
“Yes, he was. I’m sorry your honeymoon was interrupted. He would’ve hated to be the cause of that.”
“We wouldn’t have been able to enjoy it,” Freddie said. “There’s talk of a candlelight vigil at HQ tonight.”
“Is there?” Sam asked, touched by the gesture.
Freddie nodded. “People remember what happened to him, Sam. They’ve never forgotten.”
“That’s good to know. Hopefully, we’ll get some new leads to follow.”
“I hear the tip line has been doing robust business. We’ll dig into that as soon as we give him the send-off he deserves.”
“Yes, we will.” Her father’s death had relit the fire inside her that had burned for justice on his behalf.
In the four years since he’d been shot, she’d investigated countless leads that had led nowhere.
Skip had somewhat calmly accepted his fate, but Sam had seethed with outrage.
While her father contended with his new reality, the person who’d put him in a wheelchair remained free.
The sheer unfairness of that was almost more than she could bear at times.
“There’s a massive scrum of reporters at the gate,” Freddie said. “Just so you’re aware.”
“Ugh,” Sam said. “What do they want from us? We gave them a statement.”
“You know that’s never enough where you guys are concerned.”
Shelby came bustling in with Noah strapped to her chest. “Sorry we’re running late. Someone was cranky this morning.”
“Avery?” Sam asked.
Alden and Aubrey went dashing over to see Noah, who along with Scotty had become their favorite part of living there.
Shelby laughed. “Nope, not Avery. This little man didn’t want to cooperate with his mama. It might’ve been the first time, but I suspect it won’t be the last.” She corralled the children into the kitchen. “Let’s get some grub into those bellies so we can head to school.”
“We’re going home to sleep for a bit,” Freddie said, “but we’ll be back later to check on you.”
Sam hugged him again. “Thank you for this. It shall be remembered forever.”
“Skip will be, too.”
Because she didn’t trust herself to speak, she nodded and saw them out. “I can’t believe they came home.”
“I can,” Nick said. “He’d never let you go through this without him. You’d do the same for him.”
“Yeah, I guess I would. I’m going to run up and take a shower while I can.”
“Take your time. I’ll help Shelby.”
“Maybe you should take the kids to school this morning so Shelby doesn’t have to deal with the reporters by herself?”
“Good call.” He gave her a quick kiss. “I’m on it.”
While he went to alert Brant that he’d be taking the kids to school, Sam dashed upstairs to prepare for another long, emotional day.
The outpouring was nothing short of astonishing. Food, flowers, cards, people… Five minutes at her dad’s house and Sam could see they were overrun and in need of the kind of assistance only one person could provide. Sam placed a call to her White House chief of staff, Lilia Van Nostrand.
“Sam.” In recent weeks, Lilia had finally conceded to calling Sam by her given name whenever possible. “I was about to call you. I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am for your loss. Are you doing all right?”
“I’m muddling through. It’s a shock, but in many ways, it’s also a relief. Seeing him so diminished every day for the last four years was far more painful than I realized until it was over.”
“That’s a very interesting perspective. What can I do for you?”
“We’re being slammed with kindness. I could use someone to manage it all for us.”
“Say no more. I’ll be there within the half hour.
“There’s a meeting with the department rep at ten to go over what’s going to happen. Can you attend that, too?”
“I’m at your disposal and honored to help in any way that I can.”
“Thank you so much, Lilia.”
“I’ll see you soon.”