Page 176 of State of Alert

I won’t ever say no to that.

I’ll have Scotty find out who you’re with.

HAHA, he’ll have the dirt.

Just getting home and no Nick. That makes me very sad.

Love you. Miss you. Will call you later.

Love you, too.

But you don’t miss me?

Did you see what I said above??

Vernon opened the back door as she sent that text, shaking her head at her husband’s foolishness and wanting to wail over how much she missed him. Ridiculous. She wasn’t a woman whowailedover a man. But that man… That man was worth wailing over.

“What time tomorrow?” Vernon asked.

“Seven thirty?”

“We’ll be ready.”

“I have a dress fitting thing in Georgetown at six.”

“It’s on the schedule.”

“There’s a schedule?”

Vernon rolled his eyes. “Good night, Sam.”

“Good night, Vernon.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

After being greeted by George, the usher, she rushed upstairs, eager to see her kids after the long day apart. Skippy ran full-tilt to greet her, nearly knocking Sam over with her enthusiasm. A quick twinge in her healing hip had her gasping with surprise, as it had been feeling pretty good lately.

Scotty came running after the dog. “Skippy! Don’t knock Mom over. We need her since Dad is away.”

“I see how it is. If Dad was here, it’d be like, ‘Knock Mom over. Who needs her anyway?’”

“I’ve never said that out loud.”

Laughing, Sam bopped him on the head and then snuck in a kiss to the cheek. “How was your day?”

“Same old boring thing. But I got an eighty-six on another algebra quiz.”

“Stop it! Are you in line for a B this quarter?”

“Don’t say it out loud, or you’ll jinx it.”

“You remind me so much of me when I was your age.”

He stopped short and looked back at her over his shoulder, his expression madly vulnerable. “I do? Really?”

She put an arm around him. “So, so much.If things were going well in school, I was always afraid to say so because I never expected it to last.”

“Yes, that. Exactly that.”

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