Page 201 of State of Alert

“Did I mention I also met Iron Man?”

“No way! I love RDJ.”

“He’s pretty cool.”

“I’m definitely quitting my job to travel with you if you’re going to get to meet all the cool people.”

“No, you’re not. You’d be bored senseless within a week.”

“Being bored is starting to look pretty good to me lately.”

“I’m sure it is, but soon enough, you’ll be back into another case, and you’ll remember why you were put on this earth.”

“I was put on this earth to love you and our kids.”

“And to catch murderers.”

“But mostly to love you.”

He pulled her in close to him. “I won’t argue with that.”

After a peaceful,restful Easter weekend at Camp David, they dressed in their Easter finery to greet hundreds of people on the South Lawn for the annual Easter Egg Roll. Nick had told them the night before that the tradition of kids using large spoons to roll eggs across the South Lawn dated back more than one hundred forty years to President Rutherford B. Hayes, who instituted the event after kids were banned from rolling eggs on the grounds of the Capitol.

“Is that another fact on file you’ve retained from high school?” Scotty had asked him.

“No, smart aleck, it was in the briefing documents for the event.”

“Oh phew, because if you remembered stuff like that from school, I was going to quit while I’m ahead.”

“No one is quitting school around here,” Nick said.

The Easter Egg Roll was about so much more than eggs, Sam discovered. There were local marching bands, crafts, healthy snacks, stories, games, photos with the White House backdrop and other family-friendly activities.

All the kids in their lives were there—including Sam’s nieces and nephews, Gonzo, Christina and their son, Alex, Shelby, Avery, Noah and baby Maisie, Andy and his family, Derek, Roni and Maeve, Leo, Stacy, Brock and Brayden, as well as much of the White House staff and their families.

Vernon brought his wife, daughters and grandchildren over to meet Sam and Nick.

“Thank you so much for sharing him with me,” Sam said as she shook hands with each family member.

“He loves working with you,” Vernon’s wife, Evelyn, said.

She also met Jimmy’s pregnant wife, Liz, and family members of other staffers they’d gotten to know since moving to the White House.

“This is amazing,” Angela said as she kept watch over Jack and Ella, running wild with the other kids. “Thank you for including us.”

“Of course we did. How was Easter?”

“We got through it. What was it like being back at Camp David?”

“We got through it.”

“I don’t think I could do it.”

“It wasn’t easy, but it’s a great respite away from this place for Nick, so we’re trying to give it new mojo.”

“I get that. Spence wouldn’t want to be the reason it was ruined for you guys.”

“He didn’t ruin it. We had a nice time, all things considered.”

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