Epilogue

Sam arrived at home to madness in the residence.

Nick was timing races in the hallway with Alden, Aubrey, Jack, Ella, Abby and Ethan competing, with Noah trailing behind them on chubby toddler legs. When Nick saw Sam coming up the stairs, he warned her to watch out lest she be run over.

Jack let out a shriek and ran for her. “Bal-SAM-ic!”

Sam cracked up. “Good one, strait-JACK-et.”

His giggle made her day as she picked him up to squeeze him tight. “What’ve you been eating? You’re a load all of a sudden.” It pained her to realize she wouldn’t be able to pick him up for much longer.

“Mom says I’m having a growth spurt.”

“I’d say so.” She kissed his whole face as he screamed and tried to break free of her.

“Disgusting! Girl cooties!”

It made her heart happy to see him laughing, joking and having fun after the blow of losing his father so suddenly.

She put him down to give the others equal attention before she finally got to Nick, who gave her a quick kiss. “Where’s Scotty?”

“He got invited out for pizza with a friend after hockey practice.”

“Do we know this friend?”

“It’s Kyle from the team. Debra assures me the parents checked out. He’ll be home by eight.”

“I don’t like him having a life away from us.”

“I think we should prepare ourselves for more of that going forward.”

“Don’t wanna.”

Nick smiled and hooked an arm around her as he watched the kids run the length of the hallway and then back again, screaming their heads off as they chased after Ethan, who led the pack.

“What’s for dinner?” she asked.

“We’re doing make-your-own-pizza night,” Nick said. “Reginald set us up with all the fixings. An ice cream sundae bar is on tap for dessert.”

“I’m starting to really love it here.”

“I’m so glad to hear that.”

Avery and Shelby came down from the third floor to join them for dinner.

Sam hugged her friend. “You’re looking much better, Tinker Bell.”

“I feel better. It’s nice to be in this fortress where no one can get near us unless we want them to.”

“Whatever it takes to make you feel safe.”

“Feeling safe will be a work in progress.”

Avery put his arm around her. “We’ll get you there, darlin’.”

“Mama,” Noah said as he toddled over to Shelby. “Fun. Run.”

Shelby smiled as she bent to kiss her little boy. “So much fun, buddy.”

Noah ran off to see what Jack, Ethan and Alden were doing. He followed the other boys around like a little puppy, and they were so good with him.

“You guys should stay with us for as long as you want,” Nick said. “We’re very happy to have you here.”’

“We’re so glad to be here,” Shelby said as she leaned into Avery’s embrace.

Each of the kids made mini-pizzas, while the adults crafted larger ones to share along with a tossed salad. After dinner, they went up to the third-floor conservatory, where the ice cream bar had been set up.

“Oh my God,” Abby said, her eyes wide as she took it in. “This place is awesome.”

“It’s so much fun here,” Jack said with a note of authority that amused Sam. He’d recently stayed with them after his father died. “Wait until you see the bowling alley and the pool. Flot-SAM, can we swim?”

Sam giggled at the name. “Someone’s been hitting the Google.”

Jack’s grin touched her heart. “Duh.”

“And yes, you can swim.”

Scotty found them in the pool after he got home from his outing. He cannonballed into the middle of the other kids, setting off wild laughter.

“What’s up?” Scotty asked as the kids splashed him.

He ducked under water and pulled Jack’s legs to dunk him.

Jack came up sputtering with laughter.

“This is great,” Sam said to Nick as they lifeguarded from the side of the pool. “We need to do this all the time.”

“Yes, we do. Nothing takes the sting out of a hellish week like a bunch of screaming kids having the time of their lives.”

“That’s for sure.”

After the pool, they bowled until the little ones started yawning.

Ella was the first to fall asleep.

Sam carried her to a bed on the second floor that she was sharing with Abby, who would keep an eye on her younger cousin.

Jack and Ethan were assigned to the room next door.

Sam tucked them in with a bit of tickling and giggling. “Sleep tight and no shenanigans, you hear me?”

“We hear you, Jet-SAM,” Jack said with a grin.

“Go to sleep, JACK-rabbit.”

She leaned over him to kiss Ethan. “You’re in charge, boss. Keep him out of trouble.”

“I’m on it.”

Sam went to kiss Aubrey and Alden good night.

“This was so much fun,” Alden said. “When can they come over again?”

“Very soon.” Taking Angela’s kids for an overnight was something they could do to help her sister—and it would delight Sam’s own kids, too. “Sleep tight, my loves.”

She knocked on Scotty’s door. “Is it safe to come in?”

“Yep.” As usual, he was watching the Caps game.

“Did you have a good time with Kyle’s family?”

“Yeah, it was cool.”

“I’m glad you had fun.”

“It was fun with the kids, too.”

“It was great.” She leaned over to kiss his forehead. “Don’t stay up too late.”

“It’s the weekend, Mom. That’s what teenagers are supposed to do.”

“If you say so, sport.”

“I say so.”

In their suite, Sam flopped down next to Nick. “So that’s what it’s like to have seven kids. Eight if we count Noah.”

He laughed. “He definitely counts. I loved every minute of it.”

“I know. I could tell. I love seeing you surrounded by kids and family.”

“Being with you guys makes me forget what it was like to have no one.”

She rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about our conversation the other night about my mother and the lawyer and all that.”

“What about it?”

“I’ve decided to stay out of it. She’s made her bed. She can get herself out of it, too.”

Until he said that, Sam hadn’t realized she’d been holding a tight knot of stress in her chest since he’d told her he was considering getting involved. She exhaled a deep breath as she raised her head to look at him. “I’m very glad to hear you say that.”

“You’re right that nothing good ever comes of me getting involved with her, and right now, I can’t afford the hit I’d take if it got out that I was helping her.”

“I agree. I think you’re doing the right thing.”

“I still feel sick over it, but not as sick as I did earlier in the week.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“I want you to know… I never would’ve survived a week like this without you and our family to keep me grounded in what really matters.”

“We’re here for you in good times and bad.”

“That makes everything possible,” he said, kissing her and then resting his forehead on hers.

Sam’s phone rang. “Sorry,” she said to Nick as she took the call from Captain Malone. “Hey, Cap. What’s up?”

“Sorry to bother you so late, but I thought you’d want to know that we’ve received notice that Jaycee Patrick’s family intends to sue Cam, Gigi and the department for one hundred fifty million over the wrongful deaths of Jaycee and her mother.”

“Son of a bitch.”

I’m going to leave it there for now, with a new full-length book, State of Suspense, coming in early 2024, which will pick up where this one left off. Please join the State of Denial Reader Group to discuss this book with spoilers allowed.

Read Darren Tabor’s story about Sam here. If you’re already on my newsletter mailing list, you won’t be added again. If you haven’t yet joined my email list, it’ll ask you to join. Make sure you confirm your subscription by clicking on the link in the email you’ll receive after you join.

Now, about upcoming books in the series…

I’m planning to write a story to release Christmas week 2023 called State of Bliss that will take us on Sam and Nick’s anniversary trip to Dewey Beach, where they’ll take a break from *almost* everything to spend some time alone together before their family joins them.

We’ve got lots of cool things coming up in State of Suspense, including court hearings on a number of cases, including Spencer’s, not to mention the wrongful death lawsuit the Patrick family has filed against Cam, Gigi and the department. As always, things will get crazy for Sam and Nick, which is just the way we like it!

State of Denial is the twenty-first full-length book in Sam and Nick’s story, and I’m still having the time of my life writing them. They live inside of me like real people, my closest friends and favorite characters. I’ve spent more time with them than any other characters in my now 101 books, and I love them like family. MUCH more to come in their story, so buckle up. We’re just getting started with the First Family Series.

I’m shaking things up to say THANK YOU FIRST AND FOREMOST (rather than last but not least) the readers who love Sam and Nick’s story as much as I do and are always clamoring for more books in this series. I can’t thank you enough for your support and enthusiasm. It means everything to me!

A huge thank you to the amazing team that supports me behind the scenes: Julie Cupp, Lisa Cafferty, Jean Mello, Nikki Haley, Ashley Lopez and Rachel Spencer. To Gwen Neff, who helps me with series continuity, we’re proving that two brains are definitely better than one! Thank you for all you do. To my ace beta readers, Anne Woodall, Kara Conrad and Tracey Suppo, I wouldn’t want do this without your involvement. Thank you for always being willing to help. That goes to my editors, too, Joyce Lamb and Linda Ingmanson, who fit me in whenever I need them. I love working with both of you!

I’ve been writing this series for seventeen years with the help of Captain Russell Hayes, Newport Police Department (retired), who is always available to answer a question about policing or to connect me to the various experts I need to keep the investigations as authentic as possible. I couldn’t write Sam without Russ, and I appreciate him so much!

Thank you to the Fatal/First Family beta readers, who also help with series continuity, which becomes a bigger job with every new book. I appreciate the involvement of Jennifer, Mona, Maricar, Elizabeth, Karina, Kelly, Juliane, Gina, Jennifer, Ellen, Irene, Kelley, Amy and Viki.

To Dan, Emily and Jake, thank you for your unwavering support of my author career and for making the rest of my life so much fun. I love our family!

I also love my job, and to everyone who makes it possible for me to live the dream every day… thank you from the bottom of my grateful heart.

Xoxo

Marie

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