Page 106 of State of Alert

“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 sorryhe’sdealing 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’tneedto 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 anotherthing. 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.

---