Oath of Honor

that carried a defibrillator, emergency resuscitation equipment, surgical

instruments, and drugs. This gathering might appear to be an ordinary

wedding, but it wasn’t. Nothing about any event with the president in

attendance was ordinary.

Chang was present along with a flight nurse and a physician’s

assistant to ensure the safety and welfare of the president of the United

States—the duty Wes would be assuming within a matter of days. As

the chief of the White House Medical Unit—her new posting—her

charge was to ensure the health and welfare of every employee, visitor,

and dignitary within the White House and grounds. But above all, her

number one responsibility was to the president of the United States. In

a crisis situation, he was her only patient, earning her the title of First

Doctor of the United States. She’d have to get used to witnessing private

moments as well as world-changing ones, since she would never be far

from his side again. Where he went, she went.

Right now, President Andrew Powell looked like every other

proud father she’d ever witnessed. He wore a dark blue suit, snowy

white shirt, and red tie. His face still held a hint of summer tan, and his

thick blond hair made him appear younger than his fifty years. Blair,

her arm linked with her father’s as they descended the staircase, had

the same midnight blue eyes, although her hair was a deeper gold.

Her full-length cream-colored dress, with its square-cut bodice and

• 25 •

RADCLYfFE

figure-hugging design, accentuated her svelte, athletic body. Her arms

were sleek and muscular, her carriage confident and graceful. She was

beautiful. Cameron Roberts was just behind her, holding the hand of

a beautiful woman who looked very much like her. Marcea Casells,

Roberts’s mother. Roberts—tall, thick black hair brushed back from her

face, intense charcoal eyes—was dressed formally in a gray morning

coat, silver-gray pleated tuxedo shirt, and dark trousers with a satin

stripe down the side. Her gaze followed Blair as if no one else was in

the room.

At the bottom of the staircase, Blair and her father turned toward

an area ringed with arrangements of wildflowers and white roses in

front of the glass doors opening out onto the veranda. An army chaplain

awaited them. The president moved a few steps away from his daughter,

allowing Cameron Roberts to take her place by Blair’s side. The guests

filled the seats set up in one half of the room.

Wes made her way around the perimeter toward Peter Chang. She

wasn’t officially the head of the medical unit yet. Until her final security

clearance, she was in limbo. She hadn’t felt quite so displaced since the

day her mother met her at the bus stop after school one late June day

when she was eight and said they were moving in with her grandmother.

They couldn’t afford to live in the house she’d grown up in any longer.

Wes pushed the uneasy feeling aside. She wasn’t eight anymore, and

she had learned since then that destiny was hers to determine.

Chang nodded to her when she stepped up beside him. He’d

obviously been briefed too, but there was no time for conversation. The

chaplain’s deep voice filled the room.

Dearly beloved…

The president’s daughter and Cameron Roberts faced each other,

hands lightly clasped, eyes locked.

I, Blair Allison Powell, take you, Cameron Reed Roberts, to be my

friend, my lover, the mother of my children, and my wife. I will be yours

in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times

of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, in times of failure and

in times of triumph. I promise to cherish and respect you, to care for

and protect you, to comfort and encourage you, and to stay with you,

for all eternity.

A willowy blonde stepped to Blair’s side, and Blair lifted a

• 26 •

Oath Of hOnOr

gleaming gold band from her palm. She lifted Cam’s left hand and slid

the ring securely on her third finger. With this ring, I thee wed.

Cameron Roberts’s gaze never wavered from Blair’s face, her

voice ringing strong and clear. I, Cameron Reed Roberts, take you, Blair

Allison Powell, to be my friend, my lover, the mother of my children,

and my wife. I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in