Building Blocks (By Design Book 7), page 18
“Jameson,” Candace called through a sigh when she felt Jameson’s tongue begin to circle her repeatedly.
Candace attempted to steady her breathing and keep her balance. Jameson’s gentleness had always astounded her. Even in the heat of passion, even when their lovemaking became demanding, Jameson’s touch remained tender. There had been moments—many of them—that Candace had believed she might die from the connection that pulsed between them when they made love. Candace forced her eyes open and looked down at Jameson. Jameson’s hands held her securely, her thumbs continually caressing Candace’s skin. Candace closed her eyes again and gave over entirely.
Jameson felt Candace’s legs beginning to quiver and pressed herself against Candace firmly to ensure that Candace would remain upright. She looked upward, needing to see Candace when Candace finally let go.
Candace was positive that if Jameson had not been holding her so tightly, she would have fallen. Her body hummed from the myriad of sensations invading it. Jameson was bathing her in a flurry of erotic kisses that sent shivers up and down her spine in spite of the warm sprinkles of water that fell over her skin in a soothing caress. She was struggling to breathe against the waves of pleasure crashing over her. She gasped when she felt Jameson’s hand move to the small of her back and pull her what seemed impossibly closer. Immediately, Candace began to fall into Jameson.
Jameson caught her and held her in place, never slowing the pace of her touch.
“Jameson!” Candace cried out as a series of shudders buckled her knees. “God! Oh, my God.”
Jameson continued until she felt Candace’s shaking subside. She never released her hold on Candace as she trailed kisses back over Candace’s middle. Carefully, Jameson made her way back to her feet and came face to face with Candace. She let her fingertips dance over Candace’s eyelids, coaxing Candace to look at her again.
Candace opened her eyes and took Jameson’s face into her hands. She searched Jameson’s eyes, attempting to convey all that she felt without the noise that words sometimes could bring.
“I love you,” Jameson said.
Candace smiled. “I love you too.”
Jameson kissed Candace lightly and tipped her head in curiosity when Candace’s lips twitched with a devious smile.
“What are you grinning about?” Jameson asked.
Candace reached out and rubbed a small area on Jameson’s cheek with her thumb. She laughed. “You are adorable.”
“Huh?”
Candace reached over Jameson and retrieved a washcloth. She poured a small amount of soap onto it and gently wiped Jameson’s cheek. She showed Jameson the mud on the cloth and arched her eyebrow.
“What? Worried I have mud in those hard to reach places?”
Candace shook her head. “On the contrary, I sincerely hope you do.”
“I am positive that I do not want to know where you just disappeared to,” Marianne commented. Jameson had completely tuned out for a moment, and she was sporting a rosy blush to her cheeks.
Jameson shrugged. “Mud.”
“Like I said, I don’t need to know,” Marianne said.
Jameson wiggled her eyebrows, smirked and started to make her way out of the room.
“She’s right, you know?” Marianne called after her.
“Who’s right?” Jameson turned around.
“Mom. You really are a lunatic.”
Jameson winked.
Marianne laughed. “Oh, Mom…. I hope I find that again someday.”
***
“Happy to have you back,” Dana told Candace.
“Happy to be back,” Candace returned.
“You seem…”
“I seem what?” Candace asked.
“Frankly, you are in a better mood than I expected,” Dana admitted.
Candace nodded. She sat back in her chair and shrugged. “You expected, what? The claws?”
Dana chuckled. “I don’t know, Candy. I know how you already felt about Lawson Klein.”
Candace sighed. “Well, I don’t control Lawson Klein as we both know.”
“Uh-huh. What are you up to?” Dana wanted to know.
“I’m not ‘up to’ anything, as you so eloquently put it. At least, not anything new.”
“You’re finally going to go after him,” Dana surmised.
Candace took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m going to see an end to his influence at FVI. That much I can promise you. I don’t have to go after him, Dana.”
“Candy, he will not go away silently.”
“No, I don’t expect he will.”
“And, for the record, he seems to have stepped up his campaign against all things you,” Dana said.
Candace nodded. “What now?”
“More of the same, but more and more and more. I know that you are reluctant, but I think…Candy, I honestly believe that it would be a wise decision to do an interview with J.D. You don’t have to show Coop…”
“Fine. Set it up. No Cooper,” Candace told her. Dana was astonished. “Why so surprised? We both knew that I would have to do this eventually.”
“Yeah, but you were completely against it just last week,” Dana reminded Candace.
“A lot can change in a week.”
“Why do I think that there is something you have not told me yet?” Dana asked.
“There’s lots of things that I haven’t told you,” Candace replied. Candace rolled her eyes when Dana folded her arms across her chest. “Oh fine,” Candace said. “Shell and Mel got engaged.”
“You have got to be shitting me,” Dana responded.
Candace laughed. “Not shitting you, no. And, if I am not mistaken, Jonah and Laura are headed in that direction soon.”
“You weren’t kidding about things changing in a week.”
“No, I wasn’t,” Candace said as the door to her office opened. Candace looked across the room at the face of her Chief of Staff. “Bill?”
Bill DeGrasso stepped in and made his way to Candace’s desk. He silently handed her a piece of paper. Candace looked at the note and then at the face of the man before her. She shook her head.
“How many casualties?” she asked.
“I don’t know yet,” he replied.
“All right. You know who to call. Get it in motion,” she told him
Bill DeGrasso nodded. “I would say welcome back…”
Candace nodded. “I would say thanks.”
DeGrasso chuckled uncomfortably and left the room swiftly.
“Candy?” Dana asked.
“Train derailment on the red line near Port Chester.”
“Shit.”
“You know what to do.”
Dana immediately reached her feet. “Candy…”
“Go on. Let’s find out what we’re dealing with so we can deal with it,” she said. Candace sighed as Dana left the room. “Welcome back, Governor.”
***
Jameson opened the door to Candace’s office slowly. “Hey, we didn’t want to disturb you,” she poked her head into the room. “Susan said we should go ahead and come in.”
Candace looked up from her desk and smiled gratefully. “Susan’s a smart woman,” she said.
Jameson pushed the door the rest of the way open and Cooper bolted past her for Candace. Candace pushed back her chair and accepted an excited toddler into her lap. She hugged Cooper tightly and kissed him on the cheek before turning her attention to the three people seated across from her desk. “Keep me in the loop,” she instructed them. “I expect hourly updates unless anything of consequence happens. You interrupt me no matter what should that occur. If it seems relevant, assume it is.” Dana, Bill DeGrasso, and Dan Moore nodded before beginning to make their way from the room.
“Hell of a first day back,” Dana spoke quietly to Jameson.
“I heard,” Jameson replied.
“Dana,” Candace called over to her press secretary.
“Yeah?”
“Why don’t you call Steve and see if he can bring the boys over here for dinner. It’s going to be a long night, I think. If he wants, stay the night. God knows there is enough room,” Candace commented.
Dana shook her head. “Candy, I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask. Don’t make me make it an order,” Candace replied.
Dana laughed. “I will call him. I think you just want an excuse to talk about the Mets.”
Candace shrugged. “I’d accept the distraction.”
Jameson watched Dana leave and then closed the door. “So? Never a dull moment, huh?” Jameson asked lightly.
Candace shook her head. “Cooper,” she called for her son’s attention. “Why don’t you go and find Aunt Shell? She went to the kitchen just before you got here.” Cooper smiled and hopped off Candace’s lap. He looked back up at her. “Yes, sweetie?”
“Mommy? You work all day?”
Candace sighed. “I do have to work,” she told him. “But, I will tell you what—I will try and sit down later and watch a movie with you. Okay?”
Cooper nodded. “Momma says Spence is coming.”
Candace looked at Jameson curiously. “Wednesday, Coop,” Jameson reminded him. “That’s two days from now.”
“Yep! And, I get Shell!”
Candace laughed. “That should be a fun day. Go remind her,” she suggested.
“Okay!”
Jameson opened the door for Cooper and he sped off to his appointed task. “How are you doing?” she asked Candace.
Candace groaned. “I’m not sure I can answer that.” Candace tried to rub the fatigue from her eyes. “Twelve people confirmed, Jameson. That’s twelve too many. It’s bound to rise. And, injuries? More than sixty.”
“Do they know?”
“Specifically? No, not yet. It’s a mess from what I have been shown. Disrepair, Jameson. There are so many issues….”
“This is not your fault,” Jameson reminded her wife.
“No, but it is my responsibility.”
“Candace, you have only been sitting in that chair for a few months.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Candace said. “You know that and I know that. Tragedy does not bring out the rational side of people.”
“I saw your statement.”
Candace sighed heavily. “There will be closures. There will have to be, I suspect.”
“What can I do?”
Candace smiled. “You’re doing it.”
“Standing helplessly in your office?” Jameson quipped.
Candace laughed. “I don’t know about the helpless part.”
“I’ll keep Coop out of your hair.”
Candace shook her head. “No, don’t. If I am in a closed meeting, I will let you know. Otherwise, let him come, Jameson.”
“He has to learn…”
“Jameson…”
“Okay, I think I get it,” she said. “You sure there isn’t anything I can do?”
“Turn back the clock twenty-four hours so I am still in bed?” Candace joked.
“Fraid I left the time machine at home,” Jameson replied. Candace grinned. “It was nice of you to tell Dana…”
“It’s going to be a long night,” Candace observed candidly. “She lost a lot of home time over the last week.”
“That’s not your fault either.”
“No, but it…”
Jameson held up a hand. “I know—your responsibility. Candace, Dana knows what her job entails and so does Steve.”
“And, I know how quickly time passes,” Candace said. “Today is just another reminder…”
“I get it,” Jameson interjected. “Any dinner requests?”
“Scotch.”
“You’re telling me there is none hidden in this cave you call an office?”
“There was.”
Jameson laughed. “You call me a lunatic?”
“If the jacket fits.”
“Nice.”
Candace winked. “Thanks.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Jameson said.
“Yes, you did.”
***
Candace made her way to Cooper’s bed and looked down at him sleeping peacefully. She brushed her fingers through the curls of his hair and sighed. She continued to watch him sleeping, feeling tears begin to slip over her cheeks. She needed to see him, to know that he was safe and close. She closed her eyes and tilted her head upward in silent prayer. Candace implored anyone who might be listening to give her strength, to help her face another day—another grieving family. She prided herself on seeing the good in the world, in believing in the possibility of leaving the world a better place than she had found it. Some days tested her beliefs and her resolve. She took a slow, deep breath and crawled into the bed beside her son. Cooper instinctively snuggled against her and Candace accepted him gratefully.
“I love you, Cooper,” she whispered to the sleeping toddler. “So much.”
***
Candace walked into the bedroom a little after two in the morning. Jameson rolled over and flipped on a light.
“Why are you awake?” Candace asked.
“I wasn’t.”
“I’m sorry,” Candace apologized.
Jameson patted the bed and Candace collapsed onto it, Jameson pulling her down instantly. “Want to talk about it?”
Candace held onto Jameson. “Fourteen, Jameson—fourteen people gone.”
“Candace, it was an accident.”
“No…Yes, but no. It was avoidable.”
“Every accident is,” Jameson said honestly. “You’re doing everything you can and that is all you can ever do.”
Candace laid her head on Jameson’s chest. “Two children,” she spoke softly. “Five mothers…Three grandfathers, a grandmother…Jameson, I,” Candace’s thoughts trailed off. Jameson held Candace and tried to sooth her by gently caressing her back. “I’ll never get used to it,” Candace said honestly. “Seeing it. What do you say to these people? There’s nothing. ‘I’ll fix it.’ That’s an empty promise now.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Certainly puts things in perspective.”
“How so?” Jameson asked.
“All this nonsense with FVI. It doesn’t seem all that important when I think about it. It is. I know it is. It hurts people. It has the potential to…”
Jameson kissed Candace on the head. “Rest.”
“I was resting. I fell asleep with Cooper for a while.”
Jameson pulled Candace closer. “He’s okay.”
“For now.”
“Candace….”
“Jameson, I’m tired of seeing children lose their parents—Parents lose their children. It makes me…It makes Lawson Klein seem so small. What does he hope to gain in hurting these children?”
“Your children,” Jameson observed.
Jameson had learned that dealing with the tragedy of others always led Candace home. Candace was strong but she was also immensely sensitive. There was no doubt in Jameson’s mind that Candace would reach out to the families who had been affected by the accident earlier that day, and not politically. Jameson had only seen the television coverage. That had been unsettling. Candace would have seen far more graphic images and received details that the public would likely never hear. It was a reminder of the unpredictable nature of life and the inevitability of loss. In her short tenure as governor, Candace had already confronted tragedy more than once. Jameson didn’t need Candace to explain her feelings. Lawson Klein’s quest to dethrone Candace came with casualties, most notably Laura and Cooper. In the midst of loss, that reality both perplexed and infuriated Candace. Jameson understood.
“It’s senseless. Tomorrow is,” Candace began. “Your children are the …Jameson, these two precious little babies today…Five and seven…One minute and…”
“They’ll be okay,” Jameson said. “Laura and Cooper.”
“I hope so.”
“They will be. We will make sure they are,” Jameson promised. She felt the warmth of Candace’s tears through her T-shirt. “Sleep,” Jameson said. “They are safe, Candace. We’re all safe.”
“Not really,” Candace admitted the truth.
Jameson sighed and looked down at Candace. Candace’s statement was not meant to be despairing, only truthful. Every day there were reminders that safety was an illusion in life. For Candace, there would always be more reminders. Her work ensured that reality. Jameson wondered if anyone could comprehend how profoundly Candace was always impacted emotionally by the pain she saw in the world. One thing that Jameson did know, once Candace’s inevitable tears subsided, her resolve to make things better would be strengthened yet again. It was one of the many things about Candace that Jameson not only loved, but admired and respected.
“I love you,” Jameson said. She smiled when she realized that Candace had fallen asleep. Jameson closed her eyes and let herself slip away, grateful for the woman in her arms.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Shell?” Cooper looked up at his big sister.
“Yeah, little man?”
Cooper smiled brightly. “You love Mel?”
Shell laughed. “Well, yeah.”
“Like Mommy and Momma?”
“Yep.”
Cooper frowned slightly and then looked back at Shell. “Jonah loves Waura?”
