Solid Foundation

SOLID
FOUNDATION

By Design Series Episode Three

J.A. Armstrong

Text © Copyright 2015 J.A. Armstrong Books

All Rights Reserved. This book, or parts
thereof
, may not be reproduced without
permission.

Chapter
One

Chapter
Two

Chapter
Three

Chapter
Four

Chapter
Five

Chapter
Six

Chapter
Seven

“
Well, Daryl...I would have to say that Senator Fletcher is the logical
choice for the Democratic candidate. New York loves her.”

“I agree with you. She is extremely popular in the
party. But, the question is; how will that play out for them down the line? She
is out in front by twenty points in early polls for the governorship. You have
to think that the party will want more from her sometime in the future. But,
why would she leave Washington? One would
think
that she could position herself just as well from her current position in the
Senate
where she has considerable influence.”

“There could be personal reasons,” the female pundit
offered.

“And those personal reasons could be a hindrance down
the line for Senator Fletcher and the party.”

Candace
grimaced and clicked off the television.

“Candy,”
Dana called gently. “No one in the party believes that.”

“Yes,
they do,” Candace laughed. “And, they would be right.”

“Look,
I’ve heard all of your arguments. I have. I just don’t understand this
hesitancy of yours. J.D. supports you. The party wants you. Christ, Candy; the
people want you to run,” Dana said.

Candace
flopped into her office chair and sighed. “I know.”

“All
right? We’ve been going round and round this for months.”

Candace
looked at her friend. “I promised the president I would give the party my
decision by April
1
^st.
”

“That’s
less than a month away,” Dana observed.

“I
know.”

“Candy?
Look, I know you think we are all pushing you.”

“You
are.”

“You’ve
worked your entire career to be in this position. I don’t get it. I’m sorry,
but I don’t. J.D. will be thrilled for you. She’s proud of you; you know?”

Candace
smiled. “I know.”

“You
seem to be saying that a lot. For a woman who is so in the
know
, you certainly are indecisive.”

“I
guess that is true,” Candace laughed.
 
“I
promised to make a decision and I will.”

“Will
you
..”

“When
I know; you’ll know,” Candace said. She closed the laptop on her desk, packed
it in her briefcase, and made her way to the coat rack in her office. “Now, I
am heading home for five days. Away for this chaos.”

“You
know, if you were governor, you would be in New York most of the time. Close to
home. Close to Shell. Close to J
..”

“I
know,” Candace laughed. “Someone paying you under the table?”

“No,”
Dana answered. “I just want you to be happy.”

Candace
paused in the doorway of her office. “I don’t need to be governor to be happy,
Dana.”

Dana
nodded. “I know.”

Candace
shook her head. “I’ll see you on Wednesday morning.

“You
will. Any big plans?” Dana wondered.

“No.
No plans at all, and that is exactly what I need.”

***

Candace drove down the
winding driveway that led to her house, thankful to be home. She needed to
escape Washington. She needed to escape politics. She needed to be Candy, not
Senator Fletcher, not potential candidate Candace Fletcher. Candace’s time of
waffling, debating, protesting, and avoiding making any career decision was
coming to an end. She’d attempted to sift through her reservations quietly.
She’d discussed the pros and cons with her lover and her family. She’d listened
to the pitches and arguments of her colleagues. She’d paid attention to the
fervor of the pundits. No amount of time, reasoning, listening, or debating
seemed to have brought Candace any closer to a resolution. For a moment, she
would think she had come to a decision only to change her mind the next day.
Right now, she needed to step away from it all. Perhaps she was grasping at
straws, but she hoped a quiet weekend would put life in the proper perspective.

Candace
looked up toward the house and her heart stopped. She could see Jameson’s
father, Duncan standing on the roof. He was looking up and Candace followed his
line of sight through the branches of a large oak tree that hung over the
house. What was he looking at? Jameson? What was Jameson doing in the tree?
Candace had learned to deal with Jameson’s acrobatics. She’d seen Jameson on
ladders, the roof, and crawling into tiny spaces countless times over the
course of the last year. It was part of who Jameson was. Candace had learned
that while Jameson Reid was a talented architect, there was nothing her lover
enjoyed more than construction. Jameson like working with her hands. That
thought would have brought a smile to Candace’s lips
normally
. Jameson above the roof in a tree produced a different
reaction.

“What
in God’s name are you doing?” Candace called out as she exited her car
hurriedly. Jameson and Duncan both looked down at the senator as she
approached.

“Hey!”
Jameson called out excitedly. “You’re home early!”

“And,
you are in a tree!”

“Can’t
fool you,” Jameson tried to joke.

“What
are you doing in a tree? Get down from there!” Candace said a bit harshly.

Jameson
was puzzled. She looked at her father who conveyed his silent advice to comply
with the demand. Jameson moved down through a couple of branches and hopped
back onto the roof. She turned for her father to unclip her safety harness and
swiftly made her way down a ladder to the ground. Candace was walking toward
her
quickly
.

“What
are you doing home?” Jameson asked. She looked at
Candace,
who was shaking. “Hey…What’s wrong?”

“What
the hell were you doing?” Candace asked.

“In
the tree?
”

“Yes,
Jameson; in the tree,” Candace answered.

Jameson
looked at Candace with curious concern. Candace was afraid. Jameson had only
seen that look in the senator’s eyes once in over a year. “Candace,” Jameson
said softly. She took Candace into her arms. “What’s going on? I
’m fine,
honey.” Jameson could feel Candace
trembling. “Hey. I was perfectly safe; I promise.”

Candace
stepped back and gathered herself. “I’m sorry, Jameson.”

“Why?
For worrying?”

“For
overreacting. I just…I didn’t expect to see you in a tree.”

Jameson
chuckled and finally felt Candace relax. “Well, I didn’t expect to see you
home. What are you doing home so early? Not that I am not happy to see you.”

“Sometimes,
you just have to hit pause,” Candace said.

“Needed
the break, huh?”

“Needed
to be home,” Candace answered.

“We
were close to finishing for the day. Give me about an hour to get this mess
cleaned up,” Jameson offered.

“The
yard doesn’t look too bad,” Candace replied.

“I
meant me,” Jameson said with a kiss to Candace’s cheek.

“You
don’t look so bad either; now that you are on the ground.”

Jameson
laughed. “Go get settled. Pearl will be glad to see you,” she said before
kissing Candace softly. “I’m
happy that you are
home.”

“Me
too,” Candace agreed. She waved to Duncan and headed for the house. Jameson
watched as Candace walked through the door.

“Everything
okay?” Duncan asked as he approached his daughter. Jameson just shook her head.
“J.D.?”

“No,
everything is definitely not okay.”

“She
mad?”

“No.
It’s not that. She’s home early. She’s on edge. Something is on her mind,”
Jameson observed. She turned and looked at her father.

“J.D.,
you were pretty high up in that tree. I have to
say
if I didn’t expect to see that; it might have knocked a couple of years off my
life too.”

Jameson
sighed. “Yeah, I know. It’s not just that, though. I could hear it in her voice
last night on the phone.”

“Work?”
Duncan guessed.

“Partly.”

“The
kids?”

Jameson
laughed. For once, all seemed quiet on the family front. “No. Everything has
been pretty quiet with the three of them for a bit; which I am thankful for.”
Duncan looked at his daughter curiously. “It’s this governor thing. I’m sure of
it.”

“Think
she is going to do it?” he asked.

“I
don’t know.”

“Does
she want to?” he wondered.

“I
don’t know,” Jameson answered honestly. “I think sometimes she does and
sometimes she doesn’t. Something keeps holding her back.”

“Any
idea?”

“Yeah,
I have a pretty good idea,” Jameson admitted. “I just haven’t figured out what
to do about it yet.

“Why
do I get the feeling that is not entirely
true
?”
her father asked knowingly.

Jameson
huffed. “All right, maybe I do have an idea. I just hope I’m not left hanging
in that tree when I share it with her.”

Duncan
grasped his daughter’s shoulder. “Based on the look I saw on her face? I’d say
your tree swinging days are over.”

Jameson laughed. “I hope you are right, Dad.”

***

“Well, look what the cat
dragged in!” Pearl greeted Candace. Candace sighed and plopped into a kitchen
chair. “You feeling okay?” Pearl asked. “You look a little pale.”

“Mm.
I think I just lost five years off of my life.”

“You lost me.”
 

Candace
raised a brow. “Jameson missed her calling.”

“Still
lost.”

“She
should have joined the circus or maybe taken up residence in a zoo,” Candace
said. Pearl waited for the explanation. “She was up in that damned oak tree
when I pulled in the driveway.”

“You
know her, she can’t help herself,” Pearl laughed. “She’s careful, and besides,
Duncan would never let anything happen to her.”

“I
know. It still makes me nervous,” Candace confessed. Pearl studied Candace
closely
. Candace looked tired. Pearl couldn’t
help but chuckle when the senator bent over and lifted the small black cat at
her feet into her lap. “I thought you were going to keep an eye on her for me,”
Candace scolded Jinx.

“You
should be thankful he isn’t,” Pearl said. “Last time Jinx got in the mix of
Jameson’s climbing she ended up bleeding on the floor.”

Candace
looked at the cat. “That is true, you know?” She put Jinx back on the floor and
looked at Pearl. “It’s just; it’s so risky.”

“Are
we talking about Jameson’s climbing?” Pearl asked. Candace groaned. “That’s
what I thought,” Pearl said. “All right, Candy; let’s have it.”

“I
promised a decision by the first of the month.”

“About
whether or not you’ll launch a campaign?” Pearl guessed.

“Yes.”

Pearl
took a deep breath and considered her response. “I think you should do it; if
that matters.”

Candace
was stunned. Pearl seldom offered an opinion
about
Candace’s career choices, wisdom yes, motherly guidance yes; a point blank
assessment? No. “You do?”

“Yes.
I do.”

“Why?”
Candace asked.

“You
want to,” Pearl saw Candace opening her mouth to speak. “Oh, I’ve heard it all.
I know you, Candy. Better than anyone, except maybe Jameson,” Pearl added.
Candace smiled. “You spent your life listening to your Granddad. You loved it;
all the people, all the debate. You loved it when you were ten and you never
outgrew it.”

“Things
aren’t like they were when I was ten,” Candace noted.

“Nope.
Sure aren’t.”

“It
could get…Pearl, it could get ugly at points. You know how the press can be.
You know how the trail can be. I haven’t had a target on my back
for
a while in an election. Believing I will
win will only make them come at me harder this time.”

“I’m
sure that’s true. What exactly do you think the target will be or should I
guess?” Pearl asked. Candace shook her head. “I’ve heard them chatting away
too. So, let them chat, Candy. The kids are with you. Jameson will be all
right. She’s tougher than you give her credit for.”

“It’s
not just that,” Candace said. She watched as Pearl waited patiently for her to
continue. “It’s different, Pearl. I will have more security, less autonomy.
That will directly impact Jameson’s life. I don’t want her to…”

“If
it doesn’t feel right to you then don’t do it. Just make sure you can live with
that decision.”

Candace
could sense Pearl had more to say. “Say what you’re thinking, Pearl,” Candace
said.

“I
think you are scared of losing Jameson,” Pearl said bluntly. Candace sighed. “I
think you are more likely to lose her by selling her short. She’s not going
anywhere. If you asked her to buy a one way ticket so that you could run hell,
she’d buy it just to be with you.”