First Lady (55 page)

Dev arched a sharp eyebrow at her father. “Why don’t I remember someone named Chucky and a blood-dripping knife in the movie Bambi?”

“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!” Frank stumbled into the room behind Janet, who dragged the tall man the rest of the way into the room by his ear.

“Explain yourself, old man,” Janet said crossly, finally letting go of Frank’s ear.

Lauren looked on with wide eyes. “Uh oh,” she mumbled, very glad that she hadn’t done anything to make Janet angry.

*
 
*
 
*

Only the faint beams from a silvery moon lighted the room. The children were sound asleep and plastered against Lauren and Dev, the mass of sweaty bodies sticking together.

“How could he do that?” Dev whispered into the dark. She could tell Lauren was awake by the absence of the gentle snores that were now as familiar to Devlyn as her own scent. And though she couldn’t see her, she was sure her body was among the mass under the extra blankets the children had insisted they needed. “How could he fall asleep and not disable the voice controls on the television? He could never trust me when I was a child,” she continued harshly. “What fool would trust these devil children?”

Lauren sighed and unstuck Ashley’s arm from the side of her face, grimacing at the trickle of sweat that trailed down her own throat. “Ugh. I don’t know. But I’m burning up,” she whispered back, still a little grumpy that her plans to ravage her wife had gone up in smoke. “I think you should have let Janet take the wooden spoon to him.”

Dev’s chuckles shook the bed. “Don’t worry, he’s getting his just desserts.”

Lauren smiled in the dark. “I don’t doubt that. Did you see his face when Janet told him it was time for bed? He didn’t want to go with her.”

Both women giggled.

“Think we can escape without them knowing?” Lauren shifted a little, able to peel Christopher’s leg from hers. “They’re dead the to the world.”

Dev nodded. “Yeah. But we’ve got to be careful. If we move around too much, one of them will think Chucky is after them and wake up the entire house,” she whispered. “If we’re lucky we can crash in the boys’ room.”

“I still have no idea who Chucky is,” Lauren told her, continuing to untangle herself. “A knife-wielding doll sounds more ridiculous than scary.”

“Oh, no. It’s freaky beyond belief.” Dev whimpered a little just remembering. “I saw it on cable television when I was about Ashley’s age. I didn’t sleep for weeks and I couldn’t look at a doll for months. Maybe years.”

“Why in the world did your parents let you watch something like that?” Lauren held her breath as she crawled completely out of bed. The wooden floors felt so cool that she sprawled out on her belly and hummed in pure relief.
 
She turned her head when Dev joined her on the floor.

The President lifted her shirt to feel the cool wooden slats against her back. “They didn’t let me, you goof.”

“Let me guess…”

“Yup, Dad fell asleep in front of Matlock while Mom was upstairs reading. The remote was mine!”

Lauren laughed softly. “How long were you grounded for?”

“The same amount of time that the kids will be grounded for.” With a light groan, Dev pushed herself to her feet and offered Lauren a hand up. They both stepped over the soundly sleeping guard dogs on the way to the boys’ room.

“And how long was that?” Lauren asked.

“Well, technically I’m still grounded.” Devlyn kept hold of Lauren’s hand as they traversed the dark hallway. “But don’t remind Mom, okay?”

Lauren wrapped her arm around Dev’s waist and squeezed. “It’ll be our little secret.”

“Chucky was just horrible,” Dev commented after a minute. “Horrible.”

“Darlin’?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t have to worry, I’ll protect you.” Lauren laughed.

“Very funny.” A pause. “Promise?”

Lauren’s sparkling grin pierced the night. “Absolutely.”

“I
T’S HARD TO BELIEVE this is our last Christmas in the White House,” Dev said, handing Lauren a string of gaily-colored garland.

Lauren strategically wedged the garland between two heavy tree boughs, the fragrant needles brushing the backs of her hands.

“Eight years.” Dev sighed and stepped around Lauren. Twinkling tree lights reflected in her eyes as she rested her chin on the smaller woman’s shoulder and studied their handiwork. “Where did all the time go?”

“I wish I could tell you, honey.” Her attention focused on the decoration Aaron had made her five years before. A wistful smile curled her lips. “I feel the same way.” She tucked a loose strand of pale hair behind her ear as she took a few slow steps backwards.

Dev shuffled right along with her, their bodies pressed tightly together.

Lauren gave the tall balsam fir a final, critical once-over. “What do you think?”

Dev buried her nose in Lauren’s hair. “I think it smells terrific.”

Lauren chuckled, but couldn’t help leaning into the loving touch. She rested her arms on the warm ones circling her waist. “I meant the tree.”

“I don’t care how the tree smells,” Dev grumbled playfully, nipping at Lauren’s neck.

“Tch.” Lauren gave her lover a gentle poke in the side. “You know what I meant, Devil.”

“I do,” Dev agreed, pulling Lauren over to the sofa and down onto her lap. She reached out with a long arm and clicked off the table lamp, casting the room in blinking shadows. “It looks great.” She tilted her head back and drew in a deep breath of pungent, pine-scented air. Her nose twitched happily. “I love Christmas.”

Lauren smiled. “Me, too.”

“I can’t believe the kids wimped out on finishing the decorations though.” Dev's lower lip began to protrude. “They’ve never done that before.”

“Aww…. Devlyn.” Lauren took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “We all spent two hours decorating it last night. Tonight we’re just adding the finishing touches. The kids have been looking forward to going with Beth and David to their cabin for weeks now. You can’t blame them for not wanting to stay here and string lights.”

Dev’s lips thinned a little, but she didn’t say a word.

Lauren rested her forehead against Dev’s, taking a moment to absorb the warmth before she spoke. “Are you sorry we told them about David?” she whispered, her breath mingling with Devlyn’s.

“No.” Blue eyes fluttered closed and she felt the softest of kisses on their delicate lids. Her quick answer was greeted with utter silence, and she didn’t have to open her eyes to know that Lauren was waiting patiently for her to come clean. She opened her mouth again, but let it close without saying a word, this time, giving the question the thoughtful consideration it deserved. “Sometimes,” she admitted, wrapping her arms around Lauren and pulling her into a firm hug, and feeling Lauren sink into the warm embrace. “Change…” A deep breath. “It can be hard for me.”

Feeling more than a twinge of sympathy, Lauren nodded. She knew exactly how Dev felt. Their lives hadn’t changed dramatically since the family discussion early that autumn, though the conversation alone had reduced most of them to tears. Since then, all the children had shown an interest in getting to know the man who was already a much-beloved uncle to them, and his wife, just a little bit better. It was a heartfelt desire that neither Devlyn nor Lauren could begrudge their friends or their children. Still, family time was such a precious commodity, and the kids were now at ages where their friends commanded more of their free time and interest than their parents, that it was easy to let petty jealousies rear their ugly heads. But she and Devlyn were making a concerted effort to get past that. And, for the most part, it was working.

Dev released Lauren and resettled her on her lap, wiggling a little and quickly getting comfortable again. She glanced up into concerned gray eyes, uncertain until that very second if she was going to ask the question that had been weighing on her mind.
 
“Telling them about David’s sperm donation was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?” Even now, after several months, there was still a hint of pleading in her voice. She wanted to be convinced, and Lauren smiled back gently, hoping to reassure her.

“It was, Devlyn.” Lauren cocked her head to the side. “And we talked about it for days, honey. Then we talked it over with David and Beth. We waited until Aaron was old enough to understand, and we told them all together. I honestly don’t think we could have done any better. They’re smart, curious kids, and there was only so much longer you could skirt their questions without lying.”

“I didn’t want to lie to them.”

Lauren looked at her kindly and brushed dark bangs from Dev’s forehead with a gentle hand. “And you didn’t. The decision you made not to tell them in the first place was out of love and so was this one.” Her heart ached a little as she recalled Christopher’s burning anger at not being told from the very beginning and how, for some reason, it had been directed at her as opposed to Dev.
 
“Even if it wasn’t easy.”

Dev smiled a little. She felt a little better, if for no other reason than Lauren’s effort. “No. It wasn’t. I still don’t see what’s so fun about going to the cabin when they could be decorating the tree.” She motioned to the half-eaten plate of cookies and the empty boxes that had once held the decorations now strewn all around the living room floor. “Hell, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon will be there! And when you weren’t looking, we were all going to shake our presents like we do every year and try to guess what’s inside.” She put on a bewildered expression. “What could be more fun than this?”

Lauren gave her a look. “David and Beth’s new snowmobiles.”

Dev’s eyes widened.
 
“Oh, boy.” Unconsciously, she licked her lips. “They finally got the 240 horsepower Arctic Cats David’s been eyeing since last year?”

Lauren looked skyward and groaned. “Please don’t tell me that means the boys are going to be flying as fast as two hundred and forty horses. My heart can’t take it. They’re too little to be riding on anything that goes faster than a bicycle,” she mumbled, worry coloring her expression.

An indulgent smile touched Dev’s lips. “David and Beth are the safest riders and teachers the boys will ever find. C’mon, we talked about this.” She patted Lauren’s thigh and looked up at her from beneath dark lashes. “They’re going to have a blast! Especially with new machines.”

“Snowmobiles are dangerous,” Lauren protested, picking a little at Dev’s pajama pants. Her voice grew soft. “And the boys are just babies.”

Ah ha… “Don’t be silly,” she chided gently. “They’re not babies. And they’ll be fine.” Dev rubbed Lauren’s back reassuringly. “Just because the machines have the capability of going really fast doesn’t mean that David and Beth will let the boys drive them at top speed or even solo. They taught me in college, and Beth wouldn’t let me drive alone that entire first weekend. I only wish they’d invited us,” she added a little indignantly, her eyes narrowing. “I can’t believe they’re not sharing their new toys with me. Greedy. Selfish.”

“Uh huh. What happened to nothing being more fun this?” Lauren gestured expansively at the mess surrounding them.

“We’re talking 240 horses, Lauren.” Dev’s voice was patient and slow, as though she was speaking to a dull child. “240.”

“It’s all so clear now,” she said dryly. “What was I thinking?”

“Who knows?” Dev shrugged and kicked her feet out in front of her. “Sometimes you make no sense whatsoever.” She shook her head in wonder, oblivious to her lover’s raised eyebrow. “How could Ash have decided to stay here at the last minute? I swear sometimes I wonder if they switched babies at the hospital. I’ll bet that girl is in her room right now curled up on her bed reading one of those sci-fi novels when she could be blazing a trail through fresh powder.”

Lauren’s second eyebrow crawled up her forehead. “And just what’s wrong with that? I can’t think of a better way to while away a snowy Friday night.”

Dev pulled Lauren a little closer. “I can.”

Lauren blinked at the sexy timbre that had suddenly invaded Dev’s voice. “Okay,” she allowed, nibbling on her lower lip. “You got me there.” She sank her fingers into Dev’s salt and pepper-colored hair, which was still far heavier on the pepper and stopped just above broad shoulders.
 
She began scratching Dev’s scalp, grinning happily when she coaxed a mew of pleasure from her spouse.

Dev’s eyes closed. “I love it when you do that,” she said huskily.

“I know.” Lauren leaned and brushed her lips against Devlyn’s, but stopped just short of deepening the kiss when she heard a softly muttered, "Ahem."

Dev and Lauren looked up to see Ashley, clad in soft flannel pajamas and her robe, standing in front of the tree. The teen had caught her mothers in similar positions so many times that catching them kissing on the couch didn’t faze her in the least. Though she did roll her eyes.

Ashley was nearly as tall as Dev, and a year on the swim team had begun to add muscle tone and definition to her slender, lanky frame. Her hair hung down the middle of her back, and its black glossiness set off her brown eyes, giving her an exotic look, especially when compared to her blue-eyed, All American-looking, blond brothers.