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  “Lawson Klein is not the only detractor your mom faces. And, no—it is not only because of the Lawson Kleins in the world.” She sighed and shook her head. “I can’t keep dividing my attention.”

  Jonah was puzzled.

  “I miss her, Jonah,” Jameson said. “I don’t want to be apart from her for long periods if I don’t have to. Sometimes, we will have to be. I just…”

  Jonah smiled. He marveled at his mother’s marriage to Jameson. He aspired to what they shared. He also knew that at times, being married to his mother had to be a challenge. Being related to his mother could be a challenge. “I think I understand. She needs you.”

  “No,” Jameson said. “I need her. The truth is, Jonah, I built that firm as much as I could. My heart isn’t in it anymore. I’d rather be building something.”

  “What are you going to do? I mean, JD, I love you, but I can’t see you just following Mom all over creation for the next however many years.”

  Jameson chuckled. She would happily follow Candace all over creation for the rest of her life. Candace would never allow it. And, as much as she sincerely wanted more time with her wife, Jameson also knew that she needed to have something for herself. “I have some ideas,” she said.

  “So? You want us to buy you out?” he guessed.

  “No,” Jameson said. “I want to hand it over to you and Mel, but I know you won’t accept that.”

  “No way,” he said.

  “So, then yes—I would like you to buy me out.”

  Jonah opened the folder and sighed. “You know, this isn’t what me or Mel want?”

  “I know. It’s what you need as much as it’s what I need,” Jameson replied.

  “Are you sure?” Jonah asked.

  “I am.”

  “JD?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you think she’ll win?”

  “Your mom?”

  He nodded.

  Jameson smiled. “She wouldn’t be running if she didn’t think so.”

  He laughed. “I’m sorry about Laura’s dad. I…”

  “We’ve been over this a million times,” Jameson said.

  “Yeah, but he’s bankrolling this crusade against Mom with Jed Ritchie.”

  Jameson shrugged. “Your mom can handle those buffoons.”

  “JD, they are…”

  “Trust me, Jonah. Trust your mom.”

  He nodded. “So? When do you want to do this?”

  “Yesterday,” Jameson replied. “You go over the documents. Make sure that you think it’s fair. You and Mel will be equal partners if you agree.”

  “And you?”

  “Oh, I’m sure I can find some things to occupy my time.”

  ***

  “You look tired,” Dana observed. “Are you up to this trip to Iowa?”

  “I’m fine, Dana,” Candace said. “Cooper was up with a nightmare.”

  “So much for a restful weekend, huh?”

  Candace shrugged. “Actually, it was the most restful weekend I’ve had in a while. So? Let’s get the group in here and cross our T’s and dot our I’s before I need to board a plane.”

  ***

  “You okay?” Michelle asked Melanie.

  “Nervous.”

  Michelle clasped her wife’s hand. “Nervous about spending a couple of days with me or about seeing this specialist?’

  Melanie laughed, but then sighed.

  “I know how badly you want this to work out,” Michelle said.

  “I do.”

  “I know. Let’s just see what they say; okay? You know, there might be options we haven’t thought of.”

  Melanie nodded. “I don’t want to disappoint you.”

  “Me?” Michelle was genuinely surprised. “Mel, what on earth are you talking about? How would you disappoint me? I mean, hell—I would think I should be the one worried.”

  “Why?”

  “You want to have kids with me? You live with me. Someone might say you need your head checked.”

  Melanie shook her head. She appreciated Michelle’s attempt at levity. She also knew that Michelle’s self-deprecating comment held a nugget of honest insecurity. “Stop,” she said. “You will be a terrific mom, Shell.”

  “I hope so.”

  “I know so,” Melanie said. She leaned in and kissed Michelle’s cheek. “You are the only person who has any doubt at all.”

  Michelle smiled. She felt Melanie’s grip tighten on her hand. She did have her doubts. She believed that she was a good sister. Michelle felt confident that she was a trustworthy friend and a loving daughter—a mother? Could she be someone’s mother? She’d watched her mother and Marianne. She’d spent hours observing Jameson with Cooper. Somebody’s mother? What if she screwed that up?

  “Ms. McKenna?” a voice called.

  “That’s us,” Melanie said.

  Michelle took a deep breath. Me as somebody’s mom? I think I need to talk to Marianne.

  ***

  Candace listened carefully to her staff as they ran down a list of issues that were likely to land on her plate. Some days the list seemed endless. A budget that needed to be passed pronto, a predicted heat wave rested on the horizon that was expected tp present danger for the elderly and the homeless, an infrastructure project that was running behind schedule, and of course, a serial killer on the loose. Iowa? Candace massaged her temple. Oh, is that all? The beep of her phone’s intercom stifled the conversation in her office.

  “Yes, Susan?”

  “Sorry to disturb you, Governor. You have a call from Agent Toles.”

  Candace wasn’t sure whether she should be grateful for the reprieve or apprehensive about the reason. She looked at her staff. “We are where we are. Keep me apprised. I mean it. I will be accessible unless I am on the stage,” she told them, leaving no room for debate. She watched as her press secretary nodded and closed the door. “Put her through, Susan. Alex?”

  “Governor.”

  “Why do I have the feeling this call is not an invitation for dinner?”

  “Probably because in that case, it would be Cass calling you.”

  Candace chuckled. “Something I need to know?”

  “Actually, no—something I need your help with.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I’m not sure you are going to like it.”

  “Alex, I don’t like ninety percent of the things I get told. You wouldn’t be calling me unless it mattered. I told you; whatever you need to let me know. So? Let’s have it.”

  “Okay. Here it is: I need to get something out to the press indiscreetly.”

  Candace took a deep breath. She’d known Agent Alex Toles for years, and she trusted Alex’s judgment. If Alex was asking to leak something, she had a good reason.

  “I’m listening,” Candace said.

  “Look, I am still not a hundred percent certain what is going on,” Alex confessed. “You said that you didn’t want to meet again to review a body count.”

  “I don’t. And, this conversation is not instilling confidence.”

  “I know; I’m sorry. It’s a possibility—a possibility, that there might be two killers.”

  Candace was stunned. “You’re joking?”

  “I wish I was.”

  “And, you want that leaked to the press? Why?”

  “Because, if there aren’t, he won’t want to share any credit. That’s his pattern.”

  Candace placed her glasses on her desk and rubbed her eyes. Shit. “You want to try and flush him out.”

  “Yes.”

  “Alex,” Candace began cautiously. “Won’t that make him more eager?”

  “Maybe,” Alex confessed. “He’s already eager, Candace. Where his focus is—that’s what I’m not sure of.”

  “Are you sure this is the only way?”

  “No,” Alex said. “It’s a chance. That’s all it is.”

  “But, you think it’s a chance worth taking,” Candace surmised.

  “I th
ink he’s not done and I think he’s been at this a long time.”

  “And if there are two?” Candace asked.

  “I hope one is isolated.”

  “Hope? Are you telling me you honestly believe there could be two serial killers?” Candace asked.

  “I’m telling you that it’s possible. Look, that scenario’s a stretch, but I can’t rule it out. I need to rule it in or out. The clock is ticking for someone.”

  Candace sighed. “Tell me what you need.”

  “Candace, if this is too risky for you politically…”

  “My political career doesn’t trump anyone’s life, Alex.”

  “Do you think you can do it without anyone knowing where it came from?” Alex asked.

  Candace grinned. There were always risks when attempting to use the media. After years in politics, Candace had more than a few trusted allies within the press, particularly locally. Dana had been on Candace’s staff for nearly fifteen years. Dana understood the ins and outs, which alliances to tap and when, and most importantly how to float a story without anyone divulging a source. “Send me what you have,” she told Alex.

  “Thanks.”

  “You can thank me by putting this to rest.”

  “Working on it,” Alex promised.

  “Work faster.”

  Alex chuckled. “Understood, Governor.”

  Candace disconnected the call and let her face fall into her hands. “What else can happen?”

  ***

  “So, you’re making the trip with Candy?” Pearl asked Jameson.

  Jameson took a final sip from her coffee cup. “On my way to Albany in a few minutes. Assuming I can pry Coop from the TV that is.”

  Pearl regarded Jameson thoughtfully.

  Jameson put her cup in the dishwasher and turned to find Pearl staring at her expectantly. “What?” Jameson asked. “Do I have egg on my face or something?”

  “Or something.”

  Jameson sighed. “Since when do you not say what you’re thinking?”

  Pearl smiled. “Oh, you’d be surprised how often I keep my thoughts to myself.”

  Jameson leaned back against the counter. “But there is something you want to say. Let’s hear it.”

  “What are you going to do?” Pearl asked.

  “I’m not sure I understand the question.”

  “It’s pretty simple, Jameson—what are you going to do? Are you planning to follow Candy around blindly for the next however many years?’

  Jameson sighed. “Jonah talked to you.”

  “No.”

  “Candace…”

  “Candy mentioned that you were planning on signing over your firm to Jonah and Melanie entirely.”

  “And that’s surprising because?”

  “I’m not surprised,” Pearl replied. “Have you thought that all the way through?”

  “I have,” Jameson answered. “Pearl, you know better than most what Candace needs right now. This is what I signed up for.”

  “What’s that again?” Pearl asked.

  “Pearl…”

  “Jameson, I want you to listen to me. I know that you want to support Candy.” She saw Jameson mounting an argument and held up her hand. “Don’t say anything until you have heard me out.”

  Jameson nodded.

  “I also know that you will miss her. I do know that. But, you are a young woman. Politics are not your passion. We both know that. What are you going to do if she wins?” Pearl asked. “Play First Lady all day long? That is not you.”

  Jameson sighed. She’d given her decision more thought than anyone might imagine—anyone but Candace. Pearl’s concerns made sense. In fact, Candace had expressed those same concerns before Jameson had asked Jonah to speak with her. She nodded again. “No,” Jameson said. “Politics aren’t my passion at all,” she admitted. “Candace is.”

  “Jameson…”

  “Listen,” Jameson shook her head. “Candace is my wife, Pearl.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “If she makes it through this campaign I will be the first lesbian married to the president. That’s not lost on me,” she said.

  “I know that too,” Pearl said. “I don’t want you to lose yourself. Jameson, you are barely forty. Whether you think so or not, that is barely beginning in life; trust me on that.”

  Jameson smiled. “If we are all so lucky to have your health.”

  “My point is that you need to take care of you if you hope to take care of Candy.”

  Jameson chuckled.

  “That’s funny?”

  “No. That’s exactly what Candace said.”

  “She’s right.”

  Jameson took a deep breath. “Pearl,” she began and then stopped to take another deep breath. “I think you and Candace worry too much about me sometimes.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yeah, it is. The truth is, I haven’t been taking much of a role back at the office in more than a year. Jonah and Mel are running it. Will I miss it? Probably. I probably will miss it at times. I never wanted that to be my entire life,” she explained. “You know me. I’d rather be building what Mel draws than designing something for someone else to build.”

  “I hate to break this to you, but I don’t think they’re going to give you carte blanche at The White House.”

  Jameson shrugged. “I don’t expect they will if we end up there.”

  “So? Then what do you expect?” Pearl challenged.

  “I’m not sure what to expect. That’s the truth. Not much in my life has ended up the way I expected it,” she observed candidly. “I never thought I would get married. I certainly never expected to be somebody’s mom. And, there is no way I thought my wife might be president one day. I’m not even sure which of those things surprise me the most. Leaving the firm? That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.”

  Pearl was intrigued. “You have something cooking up there; I can see it.”

  Jameson’s eyes twinkled. “I do.”

  “Care to share?”

  “Not just yet,” Jameson said. “When I’m ready, you will be the first to know.”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah,” Jameson said. “You and Mom. I’m going to need your input and your help.”

  “Let me give you a piece of advice before you even begin.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Make sure it doesn’t involve too many tall ladders.”

  Jameson laughed. “I’m not sure I can make that promise.”

  Pearl shook her head and laughed. “Why does that not surprise me? Well, if campaigning with Candy doesn’t kill you first, she might do it herself when you share this idea of yours.”

  “Maybe,” Jameson agreed.

  Pearl laughed harder.

  “What?” Jameson asked.

  “I just wonder how the Secret Service will cope with you climbing in trees.”

  Jameson winked. She made her way over to Pearl and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks for looking out for me,” she whispered and then headed out of the kitchen.

  Pearl shook her head. “Oh boy. Candy thinks she has her hands full now? God help us.”

  ***

  “JD?” Marianne called to Jameson just as Jameson was about to climb into her car.

  “Hey. I wasn’t sure we’d cross paths this morning.”

  “I wanted to catch you before you left.”

  “Everything okay?” Jameson asked.

  Marianne smiled. “Everything is good. Have you talked to Shell?”

  “No, why?”

  “She left me a cryptic message saying she was in NYC and hoped she could come here tomorrow. I thought she was going to Iowa with Mom?”

  Jameson nodded. “I’m sure she’ll fill you in when she gets here.”

  “JD?”

  “Aw, shit,” Jameson groaned. “I figured she would have told you.”

  “Told me what?”

  “She and Mel went to see a fertility specialist in the city.”
/>   Marianne needed no more information. “She’s starting to panic.”

  “Probably a little,” Jameson agreed.

  “That’s fast,” Marianne said.

  “I think they just want some advice.”

  “Shell will be a great mom,” Marianne said.

  Jameson nodded.

  “JD? Something is wrong; I can tell.”

  Jameson glanced in the rear window of the car at Cooper. He was happily looking at a book. She turned her attention back to Marianne and offered her step-daughter a smile laced with sadness.

  “JD?”

  Jameson sighed. “I guess sometimes I just wonder how much I already missed.”

  “You mean not having a baby of your own?” Marianne tried to understand.

  “No,” Jameson chuckled. “I’ve never had any burning desire for that.”

  “Okay?”

  “I just feel like I have all these holes to fill with everyone, I guess.”

  Marianne nodded. “You mean with us.”

  “Yeah, I do—and with Cooper.”

  “I think I can understand that.”

  “I don’t really want to miss more than I have to with him,” Jameson said.

  Marianne smiled. She’d suspected that the major reason Jameson had wanted to leave her architectural firm was to be with Cooper and her mother more. It still surprised her at times—how close she had become to her step-mother. Jameson had become her best friend. Their relationship differed from the one Jameson shared with Michelle and Jonah. Jonah and Michelle saw Jameson in a parental role despite their closeness in age. Marianne considered Jameson the closest friend she’d ever had. It had taken time for them to cultivate their relationship. She also understood that the rocky road they had traveled was the reason they had come to understand each other so well.

  “I know,” Marianne replied. “Talk to Mom,” she said.

  Jameson looked at her feet.

  “JD, talk to Mom. She’ll understand.”

  “I know,” Jameson admitted. “Your mom has so much on her plate right now, and…”

  “There isn’t anything on her plate that matters more to her than you and Cooper.”

  Jameson sighed.

  “JD?”

  “I know that too. That’s why I don’t…”

  “Don’t shut her out,” Marianne said. “You think you are keeping this to yourself for her. That’s not what Mom wants from you. She needs you to do the opposite. Talk to her.”