Sam felt like she’d been punched. “Oh my God, Trace.”

“Yeah, so…”

“I feel like I’m going to be sick,” Sam said, hand on her belly.

“I know. Me, too. Thus, my question. What’s she going to do with two little kids, a newborn and no source of income or insurance?”

“I don’t know.” Angela provided daycare for several children so she could be at home with her own kids, but that didn’t generate enough to live on while supporting three young children. “She can stay here as long as she needs to. We’ll take care of her and the kids.”

“That’s a generous short-term solution to a long-term problem.”

“How could all this have been happening to her and them and we had no idea? We were with them at Christmas and several times after, and there wasn’t the slightest clue.”

“We weren’t looking for it. We figured she’d tell us if something was wrong.”

“It’s because of what we were going through, with Nick becoming president and moving here and all that. She should’ve known we wouldn’t care about anything other than getting them whatever help they needed.”

“I’m sure she tried to convince him of that,” Tracy said. “You know how stubborn he could be sometimes.”

“Yeah, but to hide something like this from the people who might’ve been able to help… It makes no sense.”

“I’m sure it made sense to him at the time, and honestly, I might’ve done the same thing. With everything you guys have had going on, none of us want to add to your load.”

“Don’t ever keep things from me out of fear of Nick’s career or whatever. You heard his State of the Union speech. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about his career.”

“Still… It would give me pause when you’re already so up against it. And I’m sure Angela begged Spencer to come to us, to ask for help.”

“No one knows what goes on inside a marriage except the two people in it,” Sam said.

“We’re all pretty sure about what goes on inside yours,” Tracy said with a teasing grin that made Sam laugh even harder when Tracy whistled the “My Humps” tune that had plagued Sam since Saturday Night Live had debuted its first skit about her and Nick.

“Shut up.”

“Truth hurts.”

It felt wrong to laugh or joke or do anything that wasn’t focused on Angela and her kids. “I keep thinking about what I’d do if something like this happened to me. I honestly don’t think I could go on without him, Trace.”

“You could and you would for your kids.”

“I don’t know about that. I’d want to die, too.” Sam looked to her older sister for guidance, as she had her entire life. “Angela loved Spencer like I love Nick and you love Mike.”

“She loves her kids just as much. She’ll rally for them, and you would, too. What choice does she have?”

“What if she can’t?”

“She will. We’ll make sure of it.”