Chapter 5

Samantha and I arrived back in Kansas unannounced and unnoticed. With the campaign over, and no reason to worry about the attempt on Charles Thornton's family, I was free from Secret Service protection and free to live a little more like a normal person.

On the flight we got better acquainted. "Let's see..." she said, trying to fill me in on her life. "I was born in Madison, Wisconsin. My parents were college sweethearts, and I was an Easter surprise. My mother went into labor and delivered on Easter morning, a full two weeks early.

"My folks were regular people. They both worked at the big brewery. Dad was in operational management, and Mom was an accountant. They retired shortly after I graduated from the University of Wisconsin. It was my choice to go to school close to home. College dorms were not in my plan.

"I got lucky coming out of school and latched on to a state senate campaign, as an intern. That led to being promoted to youth coordinator, almost before I got comfortable as an intern. My job was to put together events where young voters would meet and get to know the candidate and probably vote for him just because they'd met him once.

"Funny thing about it is, it worked. He won, and the youth vote put him over the top against an entrenched incumbent. Everyone thought I was a genius, and I've been employed ever since ... until tonight, that is. The campaign officially ended at seven P.M. and so did my job. So now I am free to run off with the handsome, heroic, Governor of Kansas and act like one of the real, honest to goodness, floozies my mother warned me about."

She smiled each time she mentioned her parents, and I asked about them. "Dad died four years ago, and Mom lasted less than six months after he was gone. I came late in life for both of them, and they wrapped their lives around mine. We were pretty much inseparable, and that's by my choice as much as theirs. They were my best friends, and I miss them terribly every single day."

Samantha talked for almost an hour, and because I hung on every word, she found it easy to keep talking, telling me all the secrets, funny stories, and fun times of her life. When she tried to turn it all back on me, I found clever ways to get her back talking to avoid having to invent a back story. I don't think Samantha found many people interested in her, so I was a bit of a treasure, allowing her to revisit many of her happier times without risk of scorn.

I had called ahead, and my Chief of Staff, Gregory Hallock, met our flight at Forbes and drove us to the Mansion.

Cedar Crest is far enough off the beaten path to keep us from being spotted by nosy neighbors or sightseers, and everyone thought I was celebrating with the Thornton people, so no one imagined that I'd be back at the mansion. When I showed Samantha into the master suite, she oohed and ahhed, just like she was supposed to, then shed her clothes and dragged me back to bed for one more romp before we slept. We were out for eight straight hours, wrapped together like two puppies, and awoke anxious to tackle the world.

The morning news was a gaggle of excited newscasters, breathlessly repeating the news. Cutler lost by an unprecedented margin, and many returns weren't even in yet. When he threw in the towel early, it gave the news networks lots of time to prepare his eulogy, and boy did they pile on.

Samantha and I took it all in - in bed. The non-stop campaign had worn her down so badly that her body craved more than the eight hours sleep. I felt her nodding off and shut down the TV, so we could cuddle and sleep some more.

When we emerged from the Governor's suite, we were slept out, sexed out, talked out, and played out. What we needed was good food, so we kindly asked the cook to prepare us a massive meal of BBQ and all the fixings.

It's important to remember who you are and celebrate thing in an appropriate manner. We chose to celebrate Charles Thornton's historic win by pigging out on BBQ.

With the end of John Gray's term fast approaching, I avoided public events, sent hordes of thank you cards, and kept my affair with Samantha an open secret.

Samantha asked about the whole open secret thing, and all I said was, "Kelley died early in my first term, and people were gracious about granting me enough privacy to properly grieve, deal with the loss, and move on. Kansas isn't New York, or California. Very few people obsess about what the Governor of Kansas is up to.

"Now, as a single man, I'm free to date who I choose. We will always be news, but if we don't make an effort to hide our relationship, aside from Mrs. Grundy, most folks will give us room to have a life."

Samantha left it at that and took off for Wisconsin to take care of things at home. I moved out of the mansion and went to my new place, near Lawrence, and back to private life. On January First Chester Main took the oath and succeeded me as Governor. No one noticed that I snuck away the instant he repeated his oath of office. I felt that this was Chester's time in the spotlight. John Gary's time was past.

Thankfully.

The farm was big, quiet, and comfortable. The staff was small - a cook/maid, and two men to handle repairs, farm chores, and taking care of things in general. When I arrived, they had it open, aired out, and warm, as well as decorated for the holidays. Samantha flew back, and we enjoyed doing nothing but getting to better know each other for a couple of weeks, making sure to avoid talking about work or responsibilities.

Then the phone rang.

It was exactly three-twenty four P.M. on January thirty-first, ten days after Charles Thornton took the oath of office and assumed the Presidency of the United States.

"Governor, please hold for the President."