Chapter Six
Shelby, who was on the sofa with the baby asleep on her chest, smiled when she saw Sam. “Hey there. Come meet our Maisie Rae.”
Sam sat on the footstool in front of them and leaned in for a closer look at the sleeping angel. She tried to ignore the too-familiar pang of longing. Why was it so easy for some people to have babies, but impossible for her? “She’s gorgeous.”
“We’re pretty smitten, even if she has her days and nights mixed up.”
“That’s happened with all my nieces and nephews. Fortunately, they eventually figure it out.”
“Noah did, so I’m hopeful for her, too.”
“Where is my little pal?”
“Sleeping over with my sister Ginger to give us a minute with Miss Maisie. He was so excited to meet her earlier that we feared he’d be up all night if he was here.”
Avery handed Sam his phone. “Pictures.”
Sam scrolled through the photos of Noah holding his baby sister and then one of the four of them together. “Beautiful.” She was deeply moved by the pure love on Noah’s little face as he gazed at his new sister.
She handed the phone back to Avery. “How’re you feeling, Shelby?”
“Like I got hit by a bus, but glad it’s over and that she’s finally here.”
“We’re so happy she’s here.”
“Imagine that she’ll be able to tell everyone for the rest of her life that she came home to the White House after she was born.”
“I love that,” Sam said, smiling.
“Would you like to hold her?”
“Oh, um, if you’re sure it’s okay. She’s so little.”
“It’s okay.”
Shelby carefully transferred the sleeping baby to Sam’s arms. “Don’t worry if she wakes up. It’s almost time for a feeding.”
Sam held the tiny bundle close to her chest, gazing down at her perfect little face. “Good Lord, she’s beautiful.”
“We think so, too,” Shelby said with a giggle.
Avery went to the sofa to sit next to his wife and held her hand while Sam gazed at the baby in awe.
“What an angel.”
“You should hear the lungs on her,” Avery said.
“She’s a steel magnolia, like her mama,” Sam said.
Avery smiled at Shelby. “God help me.”
Shelby rested her head on his shoulder, seeming almost back to her old self after the horrifying home invasion she and Noah had endured.
As Sam studied the newborn, her eyes filled with tears of happiness tinged with the usual sadness. “Welcome to the family, Miss Maisie Rae Hill. We love you already.” She kissed the baby’s soft cheek and returned her to her mother. “I’ll let you guys get some rest. I just wanted to check on you and see our new little love.”
Shelby glanced at Avery. “We’d like you and Nick to be her godparents, if you’re willing.”
“Of course we’re willing and honored to be asked.”
“Home to the White House with the president and first lady as her godparents,” Shelby said, sounding awestruck. “What a way to start a life.”
“We do what we can for our people.” Sam stood and leaned over to kiss Shelby’s cheek. “I’ll check in tomorrow, Tinker Bell. Congratulations again. You make the prettiest babies.”
“Thank you for everything. Being able to hide out here after what happened has been such a blessing to us.”
“Our home is your home. Always.”
Avery walked Sam to the door. “I’ll check in tomorrow.”
“Sounds good, and congrats, Dad.”
“Thanks for everything. I’m working on getting us out of here.”
“Don’t stress about it. We’re not.” Sam gave him a kiss on the cheek and left him to head back downstairs, stopping halfway down when a wave of emotion overwhelmed her. She sat on one of the red-carpeted steps to give herself a minute to get it together before she rejoined Nick.
With her head in her hands, she let the emotion take over.
Just for a minute.
The baby fever didn’t strike as often since Scotty and the twins had come into her life. However, as strong as she was the rest of the time, any time a newborn was placed into her arms, she was reminded of what she would never have. She’d made peace with that fact of her life, but it still hurt sometimes. Along with the joy of a new little person to love came the pain of her previous losses and the reality that she would never carry a baby she and Nick created together.
When his arm encircled her shoulders and his familiar scent filled her senses, she leaned into him. “I’m okay.”
“I know.”
She had no idea how long they sat there before he helped her up and kept his arm around her as they made their way down the rest of the stairs and into their suite.
After he closed the door, she turned to him. “How’d you know?”
“You weren’t back for our date, so I went looking for you.”
“I’m glad you did.” She wiped the last of the tears off her face. “I’m really fine. I swear.”
“I know you are, but that doesn’t mean you don’t feel a little sad every time we welcome another baby into our lives.”
“I have nothing at all to be sad about.”
“Sure you do.”
She shook her head. “I’m so, so satisfied with our amazing family. We can’t take a vacation without nonstop chaos. Can you think of any other two people who have less business bringing a baby into their lives than we do?”
“We’d find a way to make it work, but like you, I’m more than satisfied with the family we have.”
“I’m so incredibly blessed, which is why I get so mad with myself any time this happens.”
Nick hugged her. “Don’t be mad with my favorite person. She’s the best mom ever.”
Sam laughed even as she dealt with more tears. “No, she isn’t.”
“Our kids think you’re the coolest person on earth.”
“They do not. You’re the president. That makes you the coolest.”
“No, Sam, they think you are. Scotty even said so after we got home earlier. ‘How cool is Mom with the lowdown on study guides?’”
“He said that?”
“He did, and he’s right. You’re the mom he knows he can count on to help him with anything, even things he should be doing on his own.”
Sam shuddered. “No one should have to do Beowulf on their own.”
She loved his laugh and how his mountain of worries seemed to fall away for a while when they were alone together. Sometimes she felt guilty for being a somewhat crappy first lady—okay, she felt guilty about that all the time. But the one area where she truly shined was in giving him respite from the never-ending storm that came with being president.
That was her superpower.
“Take me to bed, Mr. President. I’ve got an early wakeup.”
“There’s nowhere I’d rather take you, my love.”
They changed their clothes, brushed their teeth and crawled into bed a few minutes later, meeting in the middle as they always did, arms and legs intertwined, her head on his chest.
“Ah,” he said on a sigh. “That’s what I’ve needed all damned day.”
“It was a long, damned day from vacation ending abruptly to now.”
“Sure was, even if I had a nice day with the kids.”
“I’m sorry I missed it. I hate missing stuff with them.”
“They know that.”
Sam’s phone chimed with a text. She groaned. “I’m afraid to look.”
Nick reached for the phone on her bedside table. “It’s Lilia asking for a minute tomorrow to go over the schedule for Tuesday.”
Sam took the phone from him and texted her back. The only minute I have tomorrow is first thing. Can you do 6?
I’ll be there.
So sorry for the early hour.
No worries at all. See you then.
Sam adjusted her alarm to five fifteen and put the phone back on the table. “Just lost forty-five minutes of sleep.”
“Thanks for taking one for the team.”
“Anything for you.”
He ran his fingers through her hair in a soothing motion that helped to relax her into sleep. Tomorrow would be there soon enough, and the craziness would begin anew. For now, though, they were just a husband and a wife, settling in for the night, not the most powerful couple in the world.
Sam enteredher office in the East Wing at one minute before six the next morning, still half asleep and groggy. She carried the to-go cup of coffee that Nick had made for her while she was in the shower. Ten cups wouldn’t be enough to jumpstart this Monday morning. Of course Lilia was there waiting for her, looking fresh, pretty and put together, as always. Today, she wore a black suit with a teal silk blouse.
“How do you do that at the butt crack of dawn?”
Lilia knit her brows. “Do what?”
Sam flopped into one of the chairs in front of Lilia’s desk. “Look so freaking perfect with every pearl in place at this ungodly hour.”
Lilia laughed. “I took a shower and got dressed.”
“I did the same thing, and you’ll note there’s a big difference between how you look and how I look.” Sam wore jeans, a sweatshirt and running shoes in anticipation of a long day. “Elegance meets roadkill. I still say we need to have you play me for the next three years—except in the bedroom, of course.”
Her adorable chief of staff turned bright red. “Stop it. No one in this world could play you better than you.”
“Oh, please. Anyone could, and we all know it.”
“What would Mr. President say?”
“He’s biased.”
“Yes, he is, and his opinion is the only one that matters in this debate.” Lilia handed over a printed sheet. “That’s the schedule for tomorrow, beginning with your tea with Courtney Hutchinson, the prime minister’s wife.”
“Do I have to drink tea? I hate it.”
Lilia’s lips quivered with amusement. “We can have some coffee brought in for you.”
“Make it decaf, or I’ll be awake all night.”
Lilia made a note. “You got it.”
“What am I supposed to talk to her about?”
“I made a list of potential topics, including family, children, your favorite causes and hers.”
“How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Anticipate what I’m going to ask you and be ready with an answer.”
“That’s my job. We’ve worked together for a while now, and I’d like to think I understand what you need. Most of the time, anyway.”
“All the time. You get me. It makes a huge difference, and I’m not sure I tell you often enough how much it means to me to have you and Roni and the others making me look good when I’m barely ever here.”
“We enjoy making you look good. Speaking of that, Roni would like to schedule some time on an upcoming weekend for a photo shoot to use for upcoming social media needs.” Lilia handed over another sheet of paper with a long list of pending dates, holidays, religious occasions and other important things that would need commentary from the first lady. “Our thought is to take maybe half a day, six to ten different outfits, with hair and makeup on standby to change things up here and there. That’ll cover us for the next couple of months. And before you can balk, we’d do all the work. You’d just have to show up and smile.”
“God, that feels so fake.”
“It’s not fake. It’s you doing your best to manage two very demanding jobs.”
“What if they found out I phoned it in ahead of time and wasn’t here for any of those events?”
“That’ll remain between us and the presidential photographer. We’re all under ironclad NDAs, Sam. What goes on here stays here.”
“In a perfect world, that’s true. In the world I live in, I’m antsy about it.”
“If I didn’t believe this was a good idea, I’d never ask you to do it.”
“I know. I guess I’m still a bit raw after having people throw tomatoes at me in Dewey.”
Lilia’s normally pleasant demeanor instantly hardened. “That was an outrage.”
“Yes, it was, but it’s also proof that a lot of people don’t approve of us, and I’m constantly afraid of doing anything to make things more difficult for Nick.”
“I’d never presume to speak for him, but if I had to guess, I think he’d probably tell you to do whatever works for you and not to worry about how it affects him.”
“You’re right. He would say that. Okay, let’s set up the Saturday photo shoot.”
“How would you feel about including the children?”
“That’d be up to them. I’ll ask if they’d like to be part of it.”
“Let me know what they say. Now, back to the state visit…”
They went over the rest of the details for the next day, which would unfold with military-like precision. Everything was planned down to the minute.
“It’s impressive,” Sam said when they were done.
“What is?”
“How you all put these things together like it’s no big deal.”
“We find it impressive that you know how to capture murderers.”
“That’s easy compared to this.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that. I’ll be right there with you tomorrow to keep things running smoothly, so just relax and try to enjoy an excuse to get dressed up and dance with your handsome husband.”
“I’ll be able to do that thanks to your amazing work—and Shelby’s. Thank you again for filling in for her.”
“It is entirely my pleasure.”
“Nick proposed to me at the first Canadian state dinner we attended.” Sam smiled at the memory of his Rose Garden proposal. “He said, ‘At least you can’t say I never promised you a rose garden.’”
“I love that, and look at you now, proprietor of the most famous rose garden in the world.”
“Life is funny that way.” She glanced at the gorgeous watch Nick had given her as an anniversary gift and saw it was after six thirty. “I need to get to work. Thank you for everything, and I’ll make sure I’m back in plenty of time to be presentable for tea tomorrow.”
“I’ll see you then. If you have any questions beforehand, just give me a call.”
“Thanks for coming in early—and do not say it was your pleasure, because that’s a lie.”
Lilia laughed again. “Okay, I won’t say it, even though it was. Have a wonderful day.”
“You do the same.”
Sam left the East Wing and walked to the foyer to meet up with Vernon and Jimmy for the ride to work.
LeRoy, one of the butlers, was waiting with the coat she’d given him before she went to meet with Lilia. He held it for her.
“Thank you, LeRoy.”
“My pleasure, ma’am. You have a nice day now.”
“You, too.”
As she stepped into the chilly morning, where the sun was just starting to make its appearance, she was thankful for the warm, cozy SUV that awaited her. “Morning, fellas.”
“Good morning.” Vernon’s morning-person peppiness would’ve irritated her if she didn’t like him so much. “How are you on this fine day?”
“Just ducky after a six o’clock meeting with my chief of staff.”
“Ouch.” Vernon and Jimmy knew of her disdain for mornings.
“You said it. Big doings around here this week. Apparently, I’m expected to be the first lady for a few hours.”
Jimmy coughed to cover a laugh.
If they ever wrote a memoir about her, she’d be so screwed.
On the way to HQ, she perused the headlines in the copy of the Washington Star that Vernon always had waiting for her. Most days, she didn’t bother looking at news that stressed her out, especially when it was critical of Nick. Today, she wanted to know what was being said about the Forrester murder.
The banner headline read U.S. Attorney Forrester Remembered for Ethical Approach to Job. She read Darren’s story about Forrester’s tenure as the local and federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital. He’d interviewed more than twenty people who’d worked closely with him, including Faith Miller, several other Assistant USAs and Chief Farnsworth.
“Tom was an outstanding prosecutor who was able to see things from every point of view,” the chief had said. “He was a tremendous supporter of law enforcement and of my department. We’ll miss him tremendously.”
A second story discussed how rare the murder of a U.S. Attorney was. “Federal prosecutors risk tremendous exposure in their roles,” AG Cox said. “We’ve been fortunate as a nation to lose only a few of them to violence. The loss of Tom Forrester is heartbreaking on so many levels, as he was a longtime friend and close colleague. I’ve made the full resources of the Justice Department available to our partners at the Metro PD to ensure his killer is quickly brought to justice. In addition, we’ve ramped up security for all the hardworking U.S. Attorneys who help to keep our country safe by putting criminals in jail where they belong.”
Tough talk from the AG, Sam thought, and his comments put added pressure on her and her team to quickly identify a suspect. She was also intrigued to learn that Cox called Forrester a longtime friend. Why hadn’t he told her that?
She sent a text to Darren. Nice job on the Forrester story. He was one of the good guys.
Glad you liked it. Any scoops for me?
Haven’t even had coffee yet. Stand down.
Hope springs eternal.
Amused by Darren, she took a call from Freddie. “Morning.”
“Hey, how’s it going?”
“As well as it ever does at this hour. I’ll be there in a few.”
“I wanted to let you know I did the deep dive on Forrester’s relationship with Cox and discovered they go way back. Like, all the way to Yale Law School. They worked together as young prosecutors in New York for six years after graduation and then in corporate law before they moved back to the public sector around the same time. Cox was the managing partner at a corporate law firm before he was tapped by Nelson to be his AG. Forrester was a partner at the same firm when he left to become U.S. Attorney.”
“Very interesting.”
“I thought so, too. I wondered why he didn’t mention to us that he’s been close to Forrester for twenty-five years.”
“That’s a very good question. Also, it seems unusual to have an AG taken from the corporate ranks with only six years’ experience in the trenches. Aren’t they usually career prosecutors?”
“I think, like many things in this town, the political implications often take precedence over experience.”
“True. Good work, Freddie.”
“Thanks. See you soon.”
Sam closed her phone and sat back to pick over the facts of the case thus far. Whenever she suspected there was more to a story, there usually was. Cox had held back with them yesterday, despite vowing to do whatever he could to find Forrester’s killer. She would find out why he’d done that, even if it meant tangling with her husband’s AG.