Page 20 of State of the Union (First Family 3)

“Wait,” Nick said. “That’s really a thing? Golf Cart One?”

“Yep,” Scotty said.

“Do I get to drive?” Nick asked.

“Yep,” Scotty said again.

“Yes,” Nick said with a fist pump. “I miss driving.”

“I want to drive, too,” Scotty said. “It’s never too soon for you to start teaching me how. And since we can’t use an actual car, this will have to do.”

“We’ll see what we can do,” Nick said, smiling.

Sam looked out the window for familiar landmarks and recognized the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, which was strangely devoid of traffic, thanks to the holiday week.

“When can we go to the game room?” Alden asked.

“As soon as we get there,” Nick promised him. “We just have to get settled first and figure out the lay of the land.”

“What does that mean?” Alden asked. “Lay of the land?”

“The location of everything. I’m sure they’ll give us a tour.”

Forty-five minutes after liftoff, Sam felt the chopper start to descend into an area that appeared at first to be all trees. In the mountains, there was snow on the ground, which she hadn’t expected. “There’s snow,” Sam said, gesturing for the twins to look out their window.

“I sent boots and snow clothes up for the kids,” Shelby said.

Sam glanced at her friend. “God bless you for all you do for us.”

“That’s my job—and it’s my pleasure.”

“Did you guys have a nice Christmas?”

“We did. Avery’s family was here, and it was lots of fun with Noah this year. I can’t believe that by next Christmas, we’ll have two little ones underfoot.” She patted her pregnant belly. “I’m ready for this person to make his or her appearance.”

“How can you stand not knowing what you’re having? I’d want to know the second I could.” Not that there was much chance of that ever happening for Sam, who’d had a rough go of it in the fertility department. That had made her extra grateful for the four children who’d come into their lives through adoption for Scotty and guardianship for the twins, who’d brought Eli to their family.

“There’re so few surprises in this life,” Shelby said.

“I guess.”

“You’re too impatient to wait for things like that.”

“I’d go mad!”

“Look,” Nick said. “There it is.”

From the air, Sam saw a sprawling campus of wooden cabins, trails and other buildings that made for a much bigger “camp” than she’d expected. Although she should’ve known it would be, as protecting the president and his family required a ton of people and resources.

The helicopter made a smooth landing on a gigantic helipad, and when the pilots cut the engines, the sudden silence was almost jarring.

Sam gestured for the others to file off ahead of her until only she and Nick were left on board. “Colonel Walker, I have a question for you.”

“Yes, ma’am. And please, feel free to call me Taco. Everyone does.”

“Taco, what if I need to get out of here for some reason, like a big crisis at work or something?”

“If you’re here, we’re here,” he replied. “We can only use Marine One if the president is also on board, so if he’s willing to leave with you, we can fly you back on Marine One. If not, we can bring in another chopper to transport you, or the Secret Service can take you via motorcade.”