Page 30 of Campaign Season
“Well? What does it say?” Jameson asked.
Candace cleared her throat. “Fortune favors the donkey—especially when elephants trip over their own trunks.”
Jameson gave a satisfied shrug.
“Am I supposed to add ‘in bed’ to this one?” Candace teased.
“That’s a little kinky, even for you.”
Candace swatted her and laughed. “Lunatic.”
“I know you have a lot on your mind,” Jameson said gently.
Candace’s smile softened. “Thank you for knowing what I needed.”
Jameson leaned closer. “Since we’re having an early holiday this week, I was thinking… maybe we should take a vacation over Thanksgiving. Just me, you, and Coop.”
Candace blinked. “A vacation?”
“Sure. Don’t presidents do that?”
“They do.”
“We don’t need to go far. Camp David. Just the three of us. A glass of wine by the fire, board games with Coop, pancakes in themorning?—”
Candace tilted her head, considering. “Everything feels so…”
“Up in the air?” Jameson supplied.
“That’s one way to put it.”
“Candace, you can’t wait for answers to make plans. You’ll never have them all. It’s a few weeks away. Everyone else will need time with their families too. Pearl with her boys, the kids with their kids. This is our chance. When was the last time it was just us and Coop for more than a night?”
Candace reached for Jameson’s hand, squeezed it, and smiled. “All right. Camp David. Thanksgiving weekend.”
Jameson grinned. “Best fortune yet.”
Candace laughed and slipped the paper into her pocket. “Come on. Let’s go hand out candy before you talk me into something else.”
“Oh? Maybe you'll let me trim the trees—over the?—”
Candace stood and held out her hand. "Don't push it, Jameson."
The Oval Office had been transformed into a Halloween festival—pumpkins on side tables, cobwebs draped over a lamp, and bowls of candy stationed near the Resolute Desk. Candace and Jameson stood side by side, greeting a steady parade of children in costumes ranging from tiny astronauts to fairy princesses, superheroes, and skeletons.
“Do you want to guess what I am?” a boy asked, tugging at his oversized lab coat and goggles.
“A mad scientist?” Candace guessed.
“Not mad,” the boy corrected, grinning. “Brilliant.”
Jameson bent down to drop an extra handful of candy into his bag. “Brilliance deserves a bonus,” she said, earning a triumphant grin.
Next came a group of siblings dressed as characters fromThe Wizard of Oz. Jameson raised her brows dramatically. “Did you come to see the Wizard?”
Candace chuckled softly.
The little girl, dressed as Dorothy, shook her head. “No, silly. The president!”
