Page 194 of State of the Union (First Family 3)

After another round of applause for the O’Connors, Nick continued. “If you’re struggling to get by, if you feel that the American dream has left you behind, if the mountain before you seems too steep to climb, I want you to know I understand. I’ve been right where you are. I know how exhausting it can be to face that same mountain day after day, thinking climbing it will never get any easier. I’m determined to do everything in my power to make that mountain more accessible to everyone who faces the daily climb. I want to hear from you about your struggles, your worries, the things that keep you awake at night. I promise I will read your messages. I may not be able to solve every problem you have, but I can’t do anything if I don’t know about them.”

After another round of applause, he slowed the tempo for this next part, in which he’d make his case for legitimacy.

“Now, if you’ll indulge me for a minute, I want you to think about the process of boarding a commercial airplane. You wait until your group is called. You step onto an airplane that will rush down the runway and lift you into the air, traveling five hundred miles an hour at thirty thousand feet, for however long it takes to get where you’re going. You greet the flight attendants, make your way to your seat and buckle in for the ride. Usually before the flight departs, you hear from the people in the cockpit, whose job it is to deliver you safely to your destination. In most cases, you don’t see their faces until you’re disembarking, when you finally see the pilots standing at the head of the aisle to thank you for flying with their airline. You’ve just put your life in the hands of two people you’ll probably never see again without having seen their faces beforehand or knowing a thing about their credentials. Many of us have probably flown with a commercial pilot on his or her first day at the controls, yet it never occurs to us to question whether they should be there. I’m asking you, my fellow Americans, to put the same faith in me that you regularly place into the hands of those nameless, faceless pilots.

“I’m asking you to believe that by working together, by focusing on the things that unite us rather than divide us, that we can make the American dream more attainable to all. I ask you to reach out to your fellow citizens with empathy rather than fear, with understanding rather than hatred, with celebration for the many things that make each of us unique and special. We’re all Americans, descended from other countries and from former immigrants. We’re all Americans regardless of our skin color, our sexual orientation, our religious beliefs, our political affiliations, and we’re all in this together. If we rise, we do so together. If we fall, we go down together.

“No president can do this job alone. I certainly can’t. I need everyone listening to me tonight to be part of this moment in time in which we get to decide what kind of country and what kind of people we’re going to be. The week before President Nelson died, I announced that I would not run for this office in the next election. I haven’t changed my mind about that.”

A gasp went through the room.

“That said, if my party were to nominate me, and if you, my fellow Americans, were to elect me to a full term, I would willingly accept that honor and continue as your president for four more years. I will not campaign. I will not raise money. I will not travel around the country, asking you to give me a full term. That, my friends, will be entirely up to you. If all I ever get are the next three years to serve my country and its citizens, I’ll consider that to be the honor of my lifetime. Thank you for your attention tonight, and for your support and encouragement as my family and I embark on this incredible adventure. I look forward to serving you with humility and grace and an optimistic view of the future.

“May God continue to bless our troops stationed around the world, as well as all of you, my fellow citizens, and the United States of America.”

Nick was surprised as most of the room stood to cheer.

When he glanced up at Sam, he caught her wiping tears from her face as she smiled and accepted congratulations on his behalf from Gloria and the others seated with her.

If she was proud of him, he’d already succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.

Epilogue

When you couldn’t wait for something to happen, time slowed to a crawl. At least that’s how it seemed to Brooke as she counted down the days to her weekend with Nate. With each day that passed, she became less nervous and more excited to spend time alone with him. He’d sworn to her that if all they did was hold hands, he’d be happy because he got to be with her.

How lucky was she to have found a man who understood that trauma wasn’t something you just “got over” on some preexisting timeline? Her trauma was as much a part of who she was now as the blood that ran through her veins. There would be no “getting over it.” Not now, not ten years from now, not ever.

It’d taken a lot of therapy to understand that new reality after the attack, but because she’d done the work (well, her parents had made her do it), she felt like maybe she might be ready to move into a genuine relationship. But that was only possible because the other person in that relationship would be Nate, whom she’d come to trust implicitly.

He was patient, kind, understanding, indulgent and sweet—always sweet. He’d worn down her defenses over months of texts, calls, FaceTime conversations and a few strictly platonic in-person meetings, as if he’d known that pushing her for too much too soon would only push her away.

He got her, and that was such a priceless gift.

As she stood outside her dorm, waiting for him to arrive, she felt only excitement for the time with him and none of the nervousness she’d experienced when he’d first pitched the idea to her. He’d texted to say he was close and to watch for a black car, so when she saw a shiny black Mustang come into view, she figured that had to be him.

The car pulled into the half-circle drive in front of the dorm and came to a stop in front of her.

Nate jumped out to come around, shouldered her bag and opened the passenger door for her. “Hi,” he said, smiling.

That sexy smile as well as the affection in his eyes took care of any remaining nerves. “Hi.”

He had wavy dark hair, blue eyes and dimples. McDreamy, indeed, and even more so in person. “Are you going to get in?” he asked, seeming amused by the way she looked at him.

“I am, but first I want to do this.” She stepped toward him, put her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. “Hi.”

Nate returned her embrace, holding her tightly. “How’re you doing?” Understanding how nervous she was about their plans, he’d continued to reassure her as their weekend together had drawn near.

“Much better now that you’re here.”

“I thought today would never get here,” he said, echoing her thoughts on the matter. “Every minute felt like a week.”

“Same.”

“Do you have a ton of homework?”

“I did it all.”

He pulled back to look down at her. “All of it?”