Chapter Twenty-One
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
A ubrey picked Descendants 3 for TV time, much to Alden’s dismay. He was into all things Star Wars these days and wanted to watch it on repeat. He cuddled up to Nick while Aubrey snuggled with Sam, and Skippy landed on Scotty.
Sam glanced over at Nick, who smiled at her. She loved seeing him happily ensconced in the family he’d wanted his whole life. No one deserved a happy family more than he did. The thought of anything threatening his hard-earned happiness put her into fight mode.
Hearing more about Nicoletta’s past had been enlightening, but it didn’t change anything for Sam. She was still the same grifter she’d been before Sam knew about how she’d been treated by her mother when she’d gotten pregnant as a teenager. Having witnessed Nick’s devastation more than once as his mother had breezed in and out of his life, she couldn’t bear to see him leveled by her again.
She recalled him rushing to Cleveland after a doctor had called him, at Nicoletta’s request, to say she’d fallen down a flight of stairs. He’d been so full of hope that his mother wanted her only child with her, but that hadn’t been her ultimate goal. Nick had come home believing she’d thrown herself down the stairs as a ploy to get him there so she could hit him up for money.
The outrage of that incident and many others was a reminder of why they needed to keep their distance from Nicoletta and her madness. Sam picked over the conversation with Worthy, looking for deeper motivations on his part. Was he hoping for access to Nicoletta’s famous son? She wouldn’t put anything past Nicoletta or anyone who associated with her.
Tomorrow, she’d take a deeper look at Worthy. She wanted to know who he was and what he was about.
The twins fell asleep watching the movie, as they usually did after a long, busy day. Nick and Scotty carried them to bed, and Sam helped to tuck them in before going to spend a few minutes with Scotty.
“I’m so proud of your algebra quiz grade.”
“Thanks. I was shocked but pleased.”
“Hard work pays off.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Does it, though?”
Sam laughed. “Don’t get me in trouble with Dad.”
“You do that all on your own. You don’t need my help.”
“That’s true.”
His face lost all hint of amusement. “This thing with the Joint Chiefs getting arrested. How bad will it be for him?”
“I don’t know. I’m hoping it’ll be a distraction more than anything.”
“We talked about it in school today.”
That shocked her. “They talked about it right in front of you?”
“We do current events in social studies every day. Mr. Estes and I have talked about how Dad and his administration might come up from time to time and that I’m allowed to excuse myself and go to the library if the conversation makes me uncomfortable.”
“Oh. Wow. I didn’t know that. ”
He shrugged. “It’s usually no big deal. But today… That was the first time I wanted to go to the library.”
“Did you?”
“Nah, I stuck it out, but it was hard to hear that some people think the Joint Chiefs were heroes for sacrificing themselves and their careers to try to do something for the good of the country.”
“They’re not heroes. They’re criminals.”
“That’s what you and I believe, but other people, who don’t know Dad the way we do… it’s given them doubts about him.”
“I hate that you had to sit there and listen to that.”
“I could’ve left if I wanted to.”
“Which would only draw more attention to you.”
“Yeah, that was a concern.”
“Scotty…”
“It’s okay, Mom. Don’t give me that I’m-gonna-cry face. I’m fine. There are far more perks of being the first son than there are negatives.”
“You have to let me hug you.”
“If you must.”
“I must.” She put her arms around him and held him close. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”
“I’m sorry he’s dealing with it.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
“Don’t tell him about this, okay? He’s got enough on his mind without worrying about me.”
“He’d want to know.”
“He doesn’t need to know. It happened, I’m fine, we’re moving on.”
Sam pulled back so she could see his face and brushed the hair back from his forehead. “Will you promise to tell me if it becomes untenable?”
“I assume that means intolerable?”
“Roughly translated.”
“I’ll tell you. ”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Please don’t suffer in silence over what goes on with us. Neither of us would ever want that.”
“I know.”
Sam kissed his cheek. “We love you more than anything.”
“Love you just as much.”
“Don’t stay up too late.”
“I won’t.”
Sam gave Skippy a scratch between the ears that earned her a loving gaze from the dog. “Night.”
“Night.”
Sam walked to their suite at the end of the hall, feeling weighted down by what Scotty had told her. How had it not occurred to her—or Nick—that they’d be discussed in his classes from time to time? Should she speak to the teacher about that? Could she ask him not to talk about the current president while the man’s son was in the room? Would that even be appropriate? She had no idea, and who could she ask? Who else did she know who was in this situation?
Only Nick could relate, and Scotty didn’t want to upset him when he had enough things on his mind. But Scotty wasn’t just another thing . He was their beloved son, and it was up to them to make sure he was well cared for.
He would absolutely hate having her make anything of it with the teacher. She was sure of that. He didn’t want to be treated differently because of who his parents were. It was bad enough that he went to school surrounded by Secret Service agents.
Ugh, what to do?
She would mention it to Vernon tomorrow and get his take. Depending on what he said, she’d take it to Nick—or not. Scotty was right. Nick had enough on his mind without worry about being the cause of angst for their son in his social studies class .
Wearing gym shorts and the “I love you more” T-shirt Sam had given him for their anniversary, Nick was seated in front of the TV, watching the latest discussions about the charges pending against the former Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Goldstein must’ve had his reasons to risk everything,” one white-haired pundit said. “He worked closely with the president and had seen him in action. Clearly, he didn’t like what he saw and took the courageous step of trying to do something about it. We should all be thankful to him.”
“Right,” Nick said. “He tried to cause a constitutional crisis, but let’s show him our gratitude.”
Sam sat next to him and reached for his hand.
“I don’t agree,” a younger woman with red hair said. “What Goldstein did was treasonous. When President Nelson died, the Constitution worked the way the founders intended with the elevation of the vice president to the presidency. The number one role of the VP is to be ready to assume command should the president die in office. Where were all the doubts about Cappuano when he was the VP, sitting a heartbeat from the Oval Office?”
“That’s a good question,” the middle-aged male host said. “The Senate confirmed him as VP, and that was the time for people to raise their concerns. Mike, what kind of time is Goldstein looking at on these charges, especially with his coconspirators accepting plea deals to testify against him?”
“It could be as much as life in prison, but the government will have a difficult path to get a jury to convict. Goldstein and the others were careful not to leave paper trails of their discussions. A lot of this case is he-said, she-said testimony from people with knowledge of conversations that fall under the hearsay rules.”
“Awesome,” Nick said. “So all this and they’re going to have trouble proving he did what we all know he did.”
Sam reached for the remote and shut off the TV. “That’s enough of that. ”
He sat back against the sofa, glass of bourbon in hand.
Sam had noticed that the bourbon had become an every-night thing lately, rather than the occasional indulgence it used to be. “What can I do for you?”
He wrapped his hand around hers. “I’m okay.”
“This whole thing is an outrage, and lots of people see it that way. More so than approve of what they did.”
“It’s hard to know for sure which way the wind is blowing.” He glanced at her. “Trevor wants us to do that big interview, like, yesterday. Do you think we could squeeze it into Wednesday before I leave on the trip?”
“As in the day after tomorrow?”
“I know it’s ridiculous to even ask, but we have to get me out there to fight back, and I fight best when my own personal Wonder Woman is next to me.”
She leaned her head on his sturdy shoulder. “Well, when you butter me up that way… I’ll make it work. Whatever you need, whenever you need it.”
“Trevor is talking to several big names to see who can make it happen fast.”
“Let me know when and where, and I’ll be there.”
“It’ll probably happen here, since that’s easier logistically.”
“Okay.” Sam yawned. “Are we ready to be done with this day?”
“So ready.”
He stood and offered her a hand up.
Sam wrapped her arms around him and held on tight, sensing he needed all the love and comfort he could get.
He dropped his head to her shoulder and held her just as tightly.
She pressed her lips to his neck. “Remember what we always say. They can’t touch us unless we let them.”
“Keep reminding me, will you?”
“Any time you need to hear it.”
“That could be a lot. ”
“I’m here for it. All of it. Anything for you.”
“How lucky am I to have the amazing Samantha Holland Cappuano as my wife?”
“Soooo lucky.”
His huff of laughter made her smile. Whatever she could do to give him some relief from the stress.
Sam changed into a tank and pajama pants and joined him to brush her teeth at side-by-side sinks, thankful that she got to begin and end every day with him. No matter what those days brought—and it was always something crazy for both of them—having this time together when the day was done made it all bearable.
She crawled into bed and straight into his warm embrace. With her head on his bare chest and his arms tight around her, she exhaled, letting go of the stress, aggravation and anxiety that accompanied her days.
“Are you really okay or are you just saying it?” she asked him after a long period of silence.
“I really am. I keep telling myself that none of this is my fault. I just need to keep showing up, doing the job and powering through while the circus swirls around me. Any time it gets to be too much, I picture you and the kids and our life together, and that calms me. All I have to do to feel better is think of you and us.”
“I love that, and it’s the same for me. When my day is going sideways, I take a little mental side trip to visit you and instantly feel better. I used to do that during the years after we first met. I’d think about one perfect night with the most amazing man and wish for everything I have now.”
“Ugh, all those years we missed out on infuriate me.”
“We’ve got the rest of our lives to make up for lost time.”
She needed to tell him about the call from Worthy and Scotty’s problems in social studies class, but that stuff would keep for now.
He’d had more than enough for one day—and so had she.