Page 166 of State of Affairs (First Family 1)

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

She ran for the shower, put her hair in an elegant twist and applied enough makeup to make herself presentable, giving extra attention to covering the still-colorful bruise on her face. Out of deference to the agents all over the house, she put on a robe and headed for the closet across the hall, where almost everything had been packed except for a gorgeous black suit with a ruffle lapel that had her squealing like a girl.

Until she remembered admonishing Lindsey for the same thing. Badass cops didn’t squeal, except over gorgeous silk suits. The designer had left notes and underwear to go with the two outfits. For tomorrow, she had a black dress made of the same fabric. As she got dressed, she tried not to be too excited about the clothes, since she was preparing for a funeral, after all.

When she was dressed, she put on her black Louboutins, donned her engagement ring and diamond key necklace, spritzed on perfume and headed downstairs carrying the black-and-white plaid coat the designer had sent to complete her ensemble. Tomorrow’s coat was all black for the funeral. It was so nice to have someone taking the guesswork out of things like this for her.

Downstairs, she found Nick and Scotty dressed for the viewing and gave Nick a curious look.

“He wanted to come. I don’t see a problem with it.”

“I knew him a little,” Scotty said. “I want to pay my respects.”

“Of course you should come. I was just wondering whose idea it was. Now I know.”

Nick held her coat for her. “You look gorgeous, babe.”

“No kissing,” Scotty said. “It’s not respectful to the deceased.”

Sam laughed. “Whatever you say, buster. Where are my Littles?”

“At the park with Shelby and Noah,” Nick said. “I told them we’d be home in time to have dinner with them. The Secret Service told me this is an in-and-out thing for us.”

With Scotty having already headed for the door and out of earshot, Sam said, “That’s our favorite kind of thing.”

Nick’s laughter followed her out of the house and into The Beast. There were at least twenty other vehicles in the motorcade, which Sam thought was overkill, but no one had asked her opinion.

“I gotta say that there are some benefits to being driven places,” Sam said as she snuggled up to Nick.

He put his arm around her and held her close. “Yes, there sure are.”

Sitting across from them, Scotty rolled his eyes. “So what happens at this thing, anyway?”

Sam detected a note of uncertainty in his voice that she found endearing.

“The president is lying in state at the Capitol, which is an honor given to very few people,” Nick said.

“What does it mean to lie in state?”

“He’s being honored in the seat of the United States government, and after the VIPs come through, the Capitol will be opened to the public so they can pay their respects. After the funeral, we’ll fly him home on Air Force One, and he’ll lie in state in the South Dakota State Capitol before he’s buried in Pierre. Here’s a piece of interesting presidential trivia for you. When we get to the Capitol, the coffin will be situated in the Great Rotunda under the dome. It’ll be placed on top of what’s called a catafalque, which is a fancy word for a stand. It’s the same catafalque that was used for Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy when they died in office.”

“That’s really cool,” Scotty said. “How do you know this stuff?”

“It was in the briefing documents I received about the funeral.”

“Oh good. For a minute there, I was afraid you learned that in school a hundred years ago and actually remembered it.”

Both his parents got a good laugh out of that.

“Nope. I heard about that earlier today.”

“That’s a relief. I knew you were crazy smart, but that’d be too damned much.”

“I agree, Scotty,” Sam said, earning her a playful glare from her husband.

“When we get to the Capitol, we’ll be the first to greet the Nelson family,” Nick said. “After us will come past presidents, members of Congress, the Supreme Court justices, President Nelson’s staff and cabinet as well as visiting dignitaries from other countries. I’m hosting a breakfast reception for the VIPs and the Nelson family at the White House tomorrow before the funeral.”

“Thankfully, you don’t have to do the cooking,” Sam said.

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