Chapter Twelve
Nick held her for a long time, long enough to clear her mind and switch gears from out there to in here. “I want to see the twins and Scotty before bed.”
“I was going to read the twins a story. You want to come up?”
She was starving, but she wouldn’t miss story time for anything. “Let’s do it.”
Alden and Aubrey were tucked into bed with books they were “reading” to each other when Sam and Nick appeared at the doorway.
He held her back for a second, not wanting to interrupt the adorableness of their little voices coming from behind one of the picture books that had come from their home.
Her heart melted at the sound of Alden attempting to read to his sister, using inflections and voices that she suspected had come from hearing their parents read the book, which was a favorite of theirs.
Only because it was getting late did Nick clear his throat to let them know they were there.
“May we join you?”
“Sam!” As usual, Aubrey’s face lit up with pleasure at the sight of Sam. “You’re home!”
Sam adored them both, and almost couldn’t recall what it had been like before they were part of her life and deeply embedded upon her heart. “I’m so sorry I’m late.”
“That’s okay.” Aubrey moved closer to Alden to make room for Sam.
Children, she had found, were endlessly forgiving toward the people they loved, and thank God for that.
Nick scooted in next to Alden. “You were doing a great job,” he said to the little guy. “You want to keep going?”
“Okay.” Alden turned the page and continued the story.
Sam wondered if he was reading or reciting it from memory. Either way, he got it pretty close to right.
His sister hung on his every word while Sam ran her fingers through the little girl’s silky blond hair.
Nick caught her eye over their heads, a smile stretching across his handsome face. This was what he’d always wanted, a family of his own, and now they had that with the twins and Scotty. Nothing made her happier than having had a hand in giving him something he’d never had before.
They’d taken a lot of flak for bringing the twins into their family—from the children’s extended family, who hadn’t wanted anything to do with them until after their parents’ murderers had been apprehended, to the politicians who’d tried to make an issue out of providing two innocent children with Secret Service protection.
It had been worth the drama to make the adorable children and their older brother, Elijah, a part of their family.
For the longest time, Sam had thought she had to give birth in order to have a family.
Now she knew better. Not everyone was meant to have children the traditional way.
Sometimes the best families are the ones we choose for ourselves.
She and Nick had chosen to adopt Scotty and they had chosen to provide a home for Alden and Aubrey when they needed a place to be after their parents were murdered.
Sam had no doubt that those two choices would be among the best ones she ever made, along with the choice to marry Nick—as if that had been an actual choice.
Since she couldn’t live without him, she’d done the only thing she could and made sure he could never get away.
Not that he wanted to. Neither of them wanted to be anywhere but right here with the three children who were now their family.
Aubrey popped her thumb in her mouth, which meant she would be asleep in minutes.
Sam continued to stroke her hair, all the while hoping she was giving the children a fraction of the love and attention they’d gotten from their late parents.
Alden yawned twice in rapid succession.
“Let’s call it a night, bud,” Nick said.
Alden turned on his side, cuddled up to Aubrey and closed his eyes.
Sam and Nick kissed both of them, shut off the bedside light, made sure the night-light was on and sneaked out of the room.
“I can’t handle the cuteness,” Nick whispered.
“I’m on overload. They’re so sweet.”
“Thank God we get to keep them.”
“Right? Let’s go see our teenager.”
Darcy, the agent on duty in the hallway, nodded to them.
Sam knocked on Scotty’s door, and when he said to come in, she opened the door and stuck her head in. “Are parents welcome at the moment?”
“Visiting hours are over, but we’ll make an exception for you.”
Smiling at his witty reply, she stepped inside and Nick followed, closing the door behind him. Privacy was a tough thing to come by in their house these days, but they worked around the constant presence of the Secret Service.
“How was your day?” Sam sat on the edge of his bed. He had the Redskins game muted on his TV while he worked on some homework in bed.
“Long and boring. How many years until I can take classes that interest me?”
“Ahhh…” Sam glanced at Nick. She’d learned to let him answer school-related inquiries since her comments undercut their goal of seeing their son through college. But first he had to conquer eighth grade.
“About six,” Nick said, always truthful, even when the truth hurt.
Scotty groaned. “I’ll never make it until then.”
“What would you like to be studying?” Sam asked.
“Sports management. I think I’d like to be an agent. They make bank, and they get to hang out with all the coolest athletes. What could be a better job than that?”
“I can’t think of anything cooler,” Nick said.
“It’s way cooler than being vice president,” Scotty said, his eyes brimming with amusement.
“Dude,” Nick said, “being the dog catcher is cooler than being VP.”
Scotty lost it laughing. “And you don’t have to have Secret Service if you’re the dog catcher. And hello? Dogs.”
“That’s the job I want next,” Nick said.
“We need a dog around here,” Scotty said. “Kids shouldn’t grow up without a dog.”
“Says who?” Sam asked. The last thing they needed was someone else to take care of.
“I saw it on Instagram.”
“Change the Wi-Fi password,” Sam said to Nick, who grunted out a laugh. “The kid has access to too many ideas.”
“Stop trying to change the subject and the Wi-Fi password. We need a dog.”
Sam shook her head. “We do not need a dog. We can barely remember to feed you and the twins every day. A dog would starve to death in this house.”
“It would not. I’d take care of it.”
Sam hooted with laughter. “Famous last words uttered by kids everywhere before the dog shows up. Once the dog is in residence, no one wants to take care of it.”
“I would,” Scotty said, completely serious now. “I’d never let my dog go hungry or not take care of it. Ever.”
Sam believed him. He wasn’t your average thirteen-year-old.
He’d been through a lot, seen too much, and would probably be the best kind of dog owner.
“The management will take it under advisement.” When his eyes lit up with excitement, she quickly added, “That is not a yes. It’s a we’ll-think-about-it. ”
“That’s better than a no.”
“Another half hour and then lights out,” Sam said, when she leaned in to kiss his forehead.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Night, pal,” Nick said.
“Night.”
“We love you,” Sam said on her way out the door.
“Love you, too.”
In the hallway, they headed for their own room.
“Did you tell him we’ll think about getting a dog?” Nick asked.
“I think I did.”
“What’re you smoking?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
He cracked up laughing. “Be careful. My wife is a cop. If she catches you, she’ll bust your ass.”
“She’s got to catch me first.” Sam pulled off her clothes and changed into the sweats that were hanging on a hook on the back of the bathroom door. “Ah, much better. What did Shelby leave for dinner? I’m starving.”
“Roast beef and potatoes.”
“Yum. Feed me.”
“Right this way.” He led her downstairs to the kitchen and got her plate out of the oven, uncovered it and served it to her with a bow and a flourish.
“Sexiest waiter in town.” She never got tired of looking at his handsome face, chiseled body and sexy ass.
“Stop objectifying me and eat your dinner.”
He poured two glasses of red wine and brought them to the table, sitting across from her while she devoured the tasty dinner. Thank God for Shelby Faircloth, who made sure none of them starved to death.
“So, how bad is it?”
Sam knew exactly what he was asking and noticed the torment he’d managed to keep hidden until they were alone.
“It’s early days yet, but I can tell you she was manually strangled in her bed.
There was no sign of forced entry, so we’re running with the theory that she knew the perp and let him—or her—in. ”
With his elbows propped on the table, Nick ran his fingers through his hair repeatedly until it was standing on end. “Are you seeing any link to Nelson?”
“Nothing yet. I’m hoping something pops from the building security video and/or the autopsy. Hopefully, we’ll know more tomorrow.”
“As you could see when you came home, the press is going wild over this story. The speculation alone is going to drive Nelson from office. ‘How could it not be him’ one of the pundits said. People are asking what he’d have to gain by killing her, which is a good point.
The damage was done when news of the affair came out. ”
“I need to dig into how that leaked. I doubt that either of them would’ve told anyone.
Who would want to bring this kind of attention down on themselves, especially him.
What would be his motive in killing her after the whole world found out about them and the possibility that the affair had led to a baby? ”
“It wouldn’t make any sense.”
“Which is why I like the jealous lover possibility better.”
“You mean she had someone else?”
“I haven’t seen any sign of another man yet, but we’re still looking into her movements over the last few weeks. Her cell phone is missing, so that’s making everything more difficult. Archie has her laptop in the lab, and now it’s a waiting game to see what he and Lindsey find.”