by C R Riley
This meant that all other protective detail agents had been reassigned to either the President or the First Lady if they qualified. Otherwise, they were assigned to provide backup when necessary to the agents in charge of the First Children. Meaning that they would spend most of their days clearing buildings. Watching surveillance videos. Protecting the perimeter when the children were outside of the White House. Not exactly what most of them signed up for when they accepted this detail.
There were going to be a lot of disappointed agents.
Johannah had just finished up a mandatory meeting where she handed out assignments. She heard some grumbling, but for the most part, it went rather smoothly. Currently, she is in her office. Doing her best to figure out how best to schedule the agents assigned to Colton and Camille, when someone knocks.
"It's open." She hollers and glances up when the door releases. "Leave it open."
It's not an odd request for her to make when the person is of the opposite sex. Unless things need to be discreet, she makes sure to keep rumors at a low in the office. Since the person knocking was Agent Paul, she wanted the door open.
Apparently, he wanted it closed because as soon as he steps inside, he closes it. "I'd rather keep this private."
The hairs on the back of Johannah's neck stand up, making her a little uneasy. "Do you have a problem, Agent Paul?"
The other agent leans against the door and just stares at her. Something about that stare reminds her of the way the shadow over the weekend lured there.
A knock on the door causes the man to shuffle to the side, so he can open the door. Nate is standing there about ready to knock again when it swings open. "Am I interrupting?"
Agent Paul's smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. "No. I was just going to inform Agent Kohl... I mean Cristiano, that I'd be glad to help with Colton if needed. I believe having a male agent around may do the boy some good. Too many females coddling him isn't always best for a young man his age. He may need a man's opinion or want some male company. I thought I'd at least offer since we have been getting along very well these last couple of weeks. Just something for her to think about."
He steps out her door before Johannah can respond, although that doesn't stop her. "I'll keep that in mind, Anton." She shouts after him.
"Who pissed in his Raisin Bran?" Nate asks as he steps inside and closes the door.
"Apparently me. That was odd. Did you work this weekend?" Johannah taps her nails on her desk, thinking.
"No." Nate doesn't elaborate. "Are you pregnant?"
"Unless they have invented a test that can predict that a few days after first having had sex, I'm going with I'm not sure yet. Although the fact I started my period this morning, while in bed with my husband, making a mess on the clean sheets, he so graciously changed the night before. I'm going to guess no." Johannah decides to be just as blunt since the man in front of her is her brother. "Are you having an affair with a married woman?"
Nate clears his throat and blinks slowly. "No. As of forty-eight hours ago, she is no longer married."
Rolling her eyes at his sidestep around her question, Johannah tries again. "Were you having an affair with a married woman?"
"Describe affair," Nate contours.
"Romantic relation, feelings, intentions." Johannah starts there.
"No. Possibly. Undecided." Now it's Nate's turn again. "So, you just went off and got married without letting any of us know about it."
"Mom and Dad knew. Not sure that was the best decision on our part, though. Seems our wild parents have discovered the little blue pill and have decided to live it up."
"Please stop." Nate closes his eyes and Johannah chuckles.
"Oh, it gets better. We were advised to go for it all right away and not wait until we were old to discover our inner tiger." Johannah can't even hold back her laughter when she recalls that conversation. "I kid you not Nate, Dad actually said that as he was giving me away."
Nate is shaking his head. "I could have gone my entire adult life without hearing that."
"Me too." Johannah reaches across her desk. "We good?"
"Yes." Her brother takes her left hand and studies the new hardware. "At least he didn't skimp on the ring. Is he making up for something?"
Johannah snorts. "Ah... no."
Inside her brain, she is picturing her husband naked. Jaxon Cristiano is so not trying to overcompensate. The man has got to be in a league of his own in that department. Not that she would know, really. The only naked boys she has ever seen were her brothers, and that was when they were younger, just boys.
She heard all the trash talk they did as teenagers, though. How they felt sorry for the other guys in the locker room when they had to witness one of the Kohl males naked. She wrote it off as locker room shenanigans and assumed all guys were like that. After experiencing a man like Jaxon, a man who isn't small anywhere. She wonders maybe if there may be some truth to that talk. Not that she wants to know or picture what her brothers are packing. Yuck.
"So how does this change the five-year plan?" Leave it to Nate to bring up something like that.
"I have no idea. If Nelson serves a second term, I'd like to continue to do this job. I feel like I owe it to them to see this through. Does that mean I have to put having a family on hold? Possibly. Although, that isn't as frowned upon like it once was. I could still serve them in one capacity or another. Being on the front lines may be out of the question, but this job has a lot of hidden people running the show."
"Yes, it does." Nate agrees with her. "One day at a time."
"My new motto." Johannah pats her brother's hand. "What about you?"
"What about me? Olivia is damaged. She got married right out of college, to a man her family basically arranged when she was in her teens. She was groomed to be Senator Valentine's wife from an early age. Taught to grin a bear it. Told not to discuss what happens behind closed doors. Pretend to be the perfect American family and don't rock the boat.
"You know the drill; you work in this crazy town just like I do. Finding a family as great as the Andrews is a rarity. Most are doing the smoke and mirrors trick, doing their best to create the perfect illusion.
"When Hudson started hitting his sister like he saw his father hit his mother. That was when Olivia decided she had had enough. She realized she was raising a third-generation abuser. Alongside a fourth-generation victim and it needed to stop. The three of them are often scared of their own shadows. Right now, I am just a refuge for them, a safe place to lay their heads down at night, where they don't have to worry.
"That's about the gist of it. So, you ready to get out of here for the night?"
Johannah nods. "Let me log out, and we can walk out together. I just need to text Jaxon."
"So, what are you going to do about Anton?" Nate pulls out his phone and seems to be sending a text as well.
"Don't really know." Johannah's thoughts go back to earlier. "You've worked with him a few times. What's your take on the guy?"
"He does his job. He's young and eager to prove himself. Gets along well with most of the other guys." Nate shrugs.
"What about the women? How does he get along with them?" Johannah makes an effort to think about that one herself. "He has only been on my team a few months now. We have a good mix of both over here because that's how I like it. I just can't get a good read on him sometimes."
She tries to think about that one. Anton is a take-charge kind of agent, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. He is opinionated when he doesn't agree, so is she for that matter. He's been on the job for a few years now, worked his way up rather quickly. He is also a fifth-generation agent of some very well-respected male agents, who retired with honors. There are a lot of agents whose family has been in the USSS that long. So, having multigenerational agents isn't a rarity. It can sometimes put pressure on those agents though to prove themselves worthy. Maybe that is why he comes across the way he does; he is just trying to live up to the standards his long li
ne of agents has set.
"Guess it's a good thing you don't have to mess with him for a while then, isn't it? He was assigned to Brett, right?"
Johannah nods. "Brett requested him. Maybe it's just me, but whatever. Brett is one of the best and he only accepts the best."
"Then why do I get the impression that you aren't satisfied with that answer," Nate asks as he waits for her just outside her office door.
"Probably because I'm not satisfied with that answer," Johannah admits.
The two of them continue to talk about things brothers and sisters talk about until they reach the checkpoint. As soon as they get there, they go their separate ways. Nate heads for his car. Johannah heads for the man propped against the building across the street.
Chapter Forty-Three
It's been a few weeks since everything has happened. After they had to deal with one incident after another, it seems almost too quiet. Which only puts everyone on alert, because they all know this isn't over yet. Soon this person is going to strike again.
Jaxon has successfully moved his main office to Baltimore. He has also opened up a D.C. satellite office. The new office houses a small group of real estate agents, a tech support group, and a fully staffed security team. And of course, his actual office.
The latter was the main reason for setting up the office in D.C. since he wasn't about to lift his wife's detail anytime soon. He knew Hannah hated having them around whenever she was outside of the White House and not on the job. But it made him feel a lot better, so he kept them.
He promoted Seth to run the San Diego office. Hired a new PA from the D.C. area, someone Seth recommended. So far, all offices were running smoothly and having one of the three owners close by seemed to help.
Jaxon also finally obtained a home that met both of their needs. Actually, he found them two homes. The one in the city was still in Georgetown, only a few blocks north of Hannah's old place. It was much larger, a townhouse, with a one-car garage, so she could park her vehicle inside. It had a lap pool out back, something Jaxon liked since he used his pool in San Diego daily. The townhouse was big enough to house a family if they decided to go that route. If not, it was big enough to allow guests to stay with them. The home office was one of Johannah's favorites. It had a double desk where she and Jaxon could work together. Play footsie, even when a distraction was needed. Furthermore, it had a basement that housed security. So, they could have the other two floors to themselves without being interrupted. Something they realized they liked as well. After all, they are a newly married couple who have waited a long time to get here.
The second home is in Gambrills, Maryland. It is a beautiful home surrounded by fifteen acres of woods. It also is four bedrooms, but could easily be turned into five. Possibly six if the basement was converted, and they did a little remodeling down there. When Johannah saw it for the first time last weekend, she cried. It had everything she’d ever dreamed of having in a home where she settled down to raise a family. And that was all Jaxon needed to confirm it was the right one before signing the papers to make it theirs.
This home would be their personal project, and over time they would furnish it just the way they wanted. For now, the only furniture it had in it was a king-size bed that he had delivered a few days ago. Along with one extra-large chair almost identical to the one Johannah owned. That's all they needed for their first-weekend visit.
The only thing the place was missing was a pool. Something Jaxon was planning on fixing come spring. He would put in a nice size pool and a hot tub out back to make it feel more like home to him. Besides that, he thought the place would be an absolute perfect place to grow old with Johannah.
Jaxon also insisted on keeping his place in San Diego. He could afford it, and since he still maintained an office there, it only seemed logical. While his wife thought he was a nut for keeping a place that size for his monthly visits out to California. She hadn't argued with him about it. So, he now owns four large homes total, something he never thought he would do.
It's almost seven in the evening, and he is currently in his new kitchen preparing supper. Johannah's hours at work have been sporadic. Making it difficult to keep track of what days she has off or what her hours will be. Although he knows for a fact, she will be home very soon. Because she texted him about fifteen minutes ago letting him know so.
He hears the garage door open, so he adds the final touches to his meal and waits. The voice traveling up the stairs informs Jaxon she is telling Evie and Trace goodnight before heading up.
Johannah steps into the kitchen and pauses, trying not to laugh at the sight of her husband. Currently, Jaxon is standing at the sink with his back to her. He is wearing an apron and only an apron. The sight of his bare, tight derriere is one she hopes she never gets tired of appreciating. Then she wonders how many women out there are, as lucky as she is, to have a husband who enjoys shocking her.
"Good thing I didn't invite them up." Johannah kicks off her shoes and places her briefcase next to the wall. "Nice outfit."
Jaxon spins around so she can appreciate the front. It reads, ‘Protection so it doesn't burn’. And then there are several arrows pointing straight down where it says, ‘Because no one likes a burnt wiener’.
No more holding her laughter back now. "Where did you get that?"
"Geoff," Jaxon tells her as he strolls her way. "He sent you one too."
He points to the apron spread across the kitchen counter. It reads, ‘I'll provide the breasts if you promise to add your special sauce’.
"Nice." Johannah picks it up and models it for him.
Jaxon turns off the stove behind him and then spins around so he is directly behind his wife. "He has a special kind of humor, that's for sure. Eat or play first?"
Johannah moans when she feels her husband's lips brush against her ear. "Better when it's hot, right?"
"It's always hot." Jaxon nips at her ear. "Although, I think we are talking about two different things here."
"You have sex on the brain." She tells him as she twists her head to look at him. "I skipped lunch, so I'm starving.
"Eat it is then." He leans down and gives her one very nice welcome home kiss and then grabs the plates behind her.
Smacking his bare butt, Johannah walks around to the counter and has a seat on one of the taller bar stools. She takes a sip of her water and waits for Jaxon to join her.
After they get about halfway through the meal, Johannah shares a little. "I went to the doctor today."
The fork that was on its way to his mouth stops. "Was this a planned visit? I don't recall you mentioning it."
"I called, and they had an opening. Decided to just go." She pushes the peas around a bit before scooping them onto her fork and taking a bite.
"And?" Jaxon nudges her leg. "Good or bad?"
"Everything looks good." Johannah seems nervous about something.
"You're pregnant." Jaxon just blurts out the worst thing he can think of. Not that her being pregnant would be all that bad. Just unexpected, and force them to have an actual conversation about the future.
"No." She sounds disappointed. "Not that I expected that to be a possibility really since the let's get the new husband acquainted with the facts of life incident."
"Just say it, Hannah, you're killing me here." He drops his fork onto his plate and gives her his full attention. "One, two, three go."
"I think maybe I'd like to get pregnant." She blurts out as fast as she can while making a scrunching face.
That is, if her new husband doesn't fall off his chair and die of shock. Way to put pressure on a guy who only recently found someone he could be intimate around. Would he worry about how having a baby could affect him? Scared that maybe he'd never be able to hold them, touch them, or comfort them. Have a normal relationship with his child and be the kind of father he never experienced. Maybe he wouldn't want a kid for those exact reasons.
"Hannah." His breath tickles her nose. "Look at me, sweethear
t."
Prying one eye open, she peeks at him and catches him smiling, so she opens them both. "You're pleased about that, are you?"
He nods. "I told you before, I'd be willing to take one for the team."
Johannah lifts her hand and brushes his hair behind his ear. The intense feelings she has for this man at times overwhelm her. "Are you saying that because you think it's what I want to hear? Or do you sincerely mean that?"
A look of confusion washes over his face. "I really mean that. Why would you think I'd only say that to make you happy?"
"Because Jaxon, babies are a lot of responsibility. They are messing, loud, and demanding." Raking her nails through his hair, she keeps talking and hopes she doesn't sound too cynical. "Not only that, but they need to be held almost constantly. Don't understand limits and like to push them even when they do. And they are around for a good eighteen years if everything goes as planned. Sometimes even longer."
Jaxon rubs his nose against hers. "I believe I understand. You don't want to share me."
Johannah shoves him.
"Hannah, I'd be lying if I said a baby was no big deal. A baby is a huge deal for the average person. For a person who suffers like I do, it's even a bigger one. Am I scared? Profoundly. I'm terrified that I won't have a clue on what to do with a kid. Scared that I won't be able to love them enough so they never have to question that. Petrified that I'll ruin them because I never had a father to show me how to be one. Although I had Martin. He did the best he could to give me fatherly advice when I needed it.