Page 104 of State of Alert

After dinner, Sam and Nick supervised the kids clearing the table and loading the dishwasher. The White House staff had told them they’d clean up, but they wanted the kids to know how to take care of themselves and to have some responsibility for chores. More than anything, they didn’t want them spoiled by the staff. When their time in the White House ended, they’d go back to normal life and would have to fend for themselves.

“Anyone who quickly takes a shower and puts on pj’s can watch a little TV before bed,” Nick said.

The twins took off running. They’d recently begun taking showers rather than baths and preferred to do so privately. Their Littles were growing up quickly.

“Is your homework done?” he asked Scotty.

“Yep. Gonna go shower so I can watch TV with the twins.” With a cheeky grin, he added, “Gotta follow the rules set by POTUS.”

“That’s right.”

After Scotty left the room, Nick reached for Sam and gave her a proper kiss. “Hi there.”

“How’s it going?”

“Best thirty minutes of my day, hands down.”

She smiled. “The bar is set pretty low these days.”

“True,” he said with a chuckle. “I can never wait to get back upstairs to real life.”

“How was the rest of your day?”

“Terrible, but who cares about that now that my best girl is in my arms?”

Sam couldn’t tell him about Worthy’s call. Not now, anyway. Not when he was finally getting a break from a day of nonstop bullshit. “Any word from Andy about the situation?”

“Not yet, but he told me not to lose any sleep over it. The Armstrongs’ will is crystal clear in its directions for custody of the twins.”

“Have you talked to Eli?”

“Not since this morning, but we texted a bit. He’s trying to stay calm.”

“How’s that going?”

“Not so great, as you can imagine. I’m glad Candace is there with him.” Eli and his now-wife were thrilled to be back together after her parents had gone to extreme lengths to keep them apart for years.

“Yeah, me, too.” Sam couldn’t bear to think about any threat to their family, let alone another volley from Cleo’s parents. They’d shown little interest in the kids since their daughter’s murder and resurfaced only when they needed money, or so it seemed to her.

“How was the rest of your day?” Nick asked.

“Not terrible. We’re working the new case, making some progress.”

“Any suspects?”

“Not yet, but it’s early days. Speaking of early days, I have a seven o’clock meeting with Roni to figure out my eulogy for Tom.”

“That’s on Wednesday, right?”

“Yes, at the National Cathedral.”

“I’m hoping to attend before I leave for the West Coast.”

“Stop reminding me that you’re leaving.”

“It’s only for a couple of days.”

Sam shook her head. “Lalalala, I can’t hear you.”

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