Page 3 of State of Affairs (First Family 1)

“What’s up?” Elijah asked.

“I have to tell you something that you can’t tell anyone. I need your word.”

“You have it.”

“President Nelson was found dead in the residence a short time ago. Sam, Scotty and I are headed to the White House so I can be sworn in.”

“Holy. Shit.” Elijah sat up on the bed. “I, um… Wow.”

Nick handed the child monitor to Elijah. “We’re going to leave the twins here with you for now. I think it would scare them if we woke them to take them with us.”

“Yes, that’s better. I’ll talk to them when they get up, and then we can figure out what’s next. But Jesus, Nick… I mean…”

“Believe me, I know. As I said to Sam and Scotty, nothing that matters will change. We’re still a family. You and the twins are still our family, and we’re going to stick together and get through this. I promise.”

The young man nodded, but Nick saw the same wariness, fear and uncertainty they were all feeling.

“Try to get some sleep. It’s going to be a crazy few days.”

“Ah, yeah, sure,” Elijah said, laughing. “Not seeing a lot of sleep in my future tonight.”

“I don’t want you to worry about anything.”

“I’ll try not to.”

“We’ll be in touch as soon as we can about what’s going on.”

“Okay.”

Nick wasn’t sure what else he could say to reassure him, so he left it at that and returned to his room, where Sam was emerging from the shower, wrapped in a towel.

“I’m hurrying.”

“Thanks, love.” Nick got in the shower and ran a razor over his face, being careful not to cut himself in his haste to get ready. His thoughts swirled a mile a minute, but he concentrated only on the task at hand. Shower, shave, get dressed, get in the car, go to the White House, take the oath. If he took this one minute and one step at a time, he could hold it together to do what needed to be done.

At least he hoped so.

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. That was the only thought in Sam’s head for the first ten minutes after The Call that changed their lives forever. Thankfully, she’d spent some time on her hair earlier in the day and needed only to give it a good brushing to make it presentable. After messing with it for a minute, she decided on a simple, elegant knot. Her hands trembled ever so slightly as she applied makeup and mascara. Dear God… Nick was going to be the president.

He’d only recently told the world of his decision not to run in the next election. Her relief had been overwhelming. She hadn’t wanted him to be president, to be subjected to the scrutiny and stress that would come with the most important job in the world. She’d been thrilled to know he would become a private citizen again in three years, when his term as vice president ended and they got back to “normal,” whatever that was anymore.

This couldn’t be happening.

Except it was, and their lives were going to be turned upside down once again. She’d believed him when he’d said nothing that mattered would change. Their marriage was solid, and they were an awesome team.

But this…

She glanced in the mirror at him in the shower, seeing the tension in his shoulders that no one else would notice. But she saw it. She saw him, and as the dizzying array of implications settled on her, the weight of it threatened to crush her.

Yes, they’d known this was possible when Nick became vice president, but David Nelson had been a healthy man in his late sixties with decades left to live, or so they’d thought. She flattened her hands on the marble vanity and hung her head, trying to relieve the tension in her neck.

Nick had said nothing that mattered would change, but they both knew everything would.

The scrutiny, the security, the criticism, the insanity… Panic bubbled up inside her. What would she do? They’d make her give up her career as a homicide detective, the job that had defined her adult life. The realization filled her with a pervasive sadness that only compounded the grief she’d been living with since she lost her beloved dad just over a month ago. What she wouldn’t give to talk this through with Skip Holland.

He’d tell her to toughen up and do for Nick what he’d always done for her—support her one thousand percent. Nick deserved nothing less from her and would get everything she had to give him, no matter what she had to sacrifice.

And then he was there, his hands on her shoulders, kneading the tension from her muscles. He kissed her neck and made her shiver. “Whatever you’re thinking, just stop. It’s you and me all the way, babe.”

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