Page 40 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

“No problem, sir.”

“What’s that about?” Sam asked as they walked into their private rooms.

“Eli called me. He’s upset about something and said maybe we ought to let Cleo’s family have custody of the twins.”

“What? No way.”

“He said we’ll never look at him the same way after hearing whatever has him so upset. I told him nothing could change the way we feel about him or the kids. His detail is driving him down right now.”

“Oh God. What’s this going to be?”

“I don’t know, but I told him whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together.”

Sam rested a hand over her abdomen. “My stomach hurts.”

Nick put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “Try not to worry until we hear what’s going on. He knows the kids are better off with us.”

“This has been one hell of a day.”

“And it’s not over yet.”

Elijah arrived at the White House shortly after midnight, coming up the stairs to the residence with a backpack slung over his shoulder.

Sam greeted him with a hug. “Are you hungry?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think I could eat, but thank you.”

“Come on in.” Nick shut the door to give them the privacy they needed. “You want a drink?”

Eli looked up at him, seeming surprised by the offer since he was only twenty. “Yeah, that’d be good.”

Nick poured bourbon for the two of them and wine for Sam. He sat next to Sam on the sofa while Eli sat across from them. “Talk to us. Tell us what’s wrong.”

Sam had never seen Eli so spun up, and after what he and the kids had been through after his father and stepmother were murdered, that was saying something. He looked absolutely tortured.

“I never wanted you to know this,” he said haltingly.

“Know what?”

“Growing up,” he said, sounding resigned to having to talk about whatever it was, “I spent summers in California with my mother. I’ve told you before how she had some health issues, which made it so she didn’t really supervise me. That drove my dad crazy, but the court required me to spend that time with her.”

When he took a sip of his bourbon, Sam noticed his hand was shaking. Seeing him so upset made her want to protect him from whatever was causing him such pain. At some point since he and the twins had come into their lives, he’d become theirs, too.

“The summer I was seventeen, I became friends with the girl who lived next door to my mom. Her name was Candace. We went to the beach, the arcade, movies. All the usual stuff, except nothing about her was usual. She was… She is the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met, and I fell in love with her. At the time, her parents were going through a divorce that had gotten ugly, and I tried to be there for her since I understood what it was like to have parents fighting over you and everything else. We became each other’s closest friend. I’d never had feelings like that before. It was overwhelming and amazing all at the same time. It was the first time in my life that I felt like I was exactly where I belonged, with who I was supposed to be with.”

Sam glanced at Nick at the same time he looked at her.

They certainly understood the feelings Eli was describing.

“One thing led to another between us, and before long, we were having sex. I’m sorry if that’s more info than you want or need, but that’s how I ended up in trouble.”

Sam held her breath, almost afraid of what he was going to say next.

“Her parents found out we were sleeping together and lost their minds. They… They called the police.”

“Why?” Sam asked.

Eli’s eyes filled as he looked down at the floor. “She was fifteen. I was seventeen. They charged me with statutory rape.”