“Thanks.” Ugh, she was going to have to replace Jeannie so soon after filling the spots left by Arnold’s death and Tyrone’s resignation. The thought of undertaking that process again thoroughly depressed her. Nothing ever stayed the same, as much as she might wish it would. Change made her twitchy. There’d been a lot of it lately, more so than at any other time in her life. From Arnold and her father dying, to the twins and Eli joining their family, to Nick’s new job and the subsequent move to the White House… It was a lot on top of a lot.

Tomorrow night, they would host a one-year remembrance for Detective Arnold on the anniversary of his tragic death. With that in mind, she put through a call to Gideon.

“Hi, Sam,” he said. “I was just about to text you.”

She was thankful that the chief usher at the White House was the one person in her new orbit who’d agreed to call her by her first name when it was just the two of them. “Hi there. I wanted to check in about tomorrow night.”

“I just went over the final plans with the kitchen, and we’re good to go for all of Detective Arnold’s favorites—pizza, hot dogs, chicken wings and chocolate cake.”

“That sounds perfect.”

“I also added salad for those concerned about their arteries.”

“Good call,” she said, laughing. “I appreciate you overseeing the plans for this.”

“My pleasure. We’ll have everything ready at seven, and I’ve cleared the guest list with the Secret Service. They’ll have the list at the gate.”

“Thank you for taking care of everything.”

“No problem. I’ll see you then, if not before.”

“Have a good night.”

“You, too.”

Ten minutes later, Vernon pulled the SUV into the White House complex and was stopped at the gate to show his badge and reveal his passenger before they were waved through.

“Why don’t they do that every time?” Sam asked.

“They don’t like to be predictable.”

“Huh. Interesting.”

Before Vernon could get there to help her, Sam was out of the SUV and standing on her own two feet, the cane tucked under her arm even as her hip ached like a bitch.

“Look at you go, ma’am.” Vernon smiled like a proud papa. “You won’t be needing us to drive you around for much longer.”

“No offense but thank goodness for that.”

“None taken,” he said, laughing. “Have a nice evening.”

“You guys do the same. Thank you for all you do to keep me safe.”

“It’s an honor, ma’am.”

“My name is Sam!” she said over her shoulder as she walked away with the cane still under her arm. Inside, she was greeted by Dustin, one of the younger ushers. As she eyed the staircase to the residence, she decided she wasn’t feeling that ballsy and headed for the elevator.