The 22nd Secret (134 page)

The
d
a
y
w
a
s s
p
e
nt at the
mal
l
,
a
nd wh
a
t a d
a
y
it
w
a
s. The
n
e
w
w
a
r
d
robe
J
im
bou
g
ht for
P
a
m cost over
$5000.
I
t
f
i
l
led the
b
ac
k of the
N
a
v
i
g
a
tor
with bo
x
e
s and
n
e
w lug
g
a
g
e
.
He
s
p
e
nt
a
n
a
ddi
t
ional $500
a
t Vi
c
tori
a
’s Se
c
r
e
t
, wh
e
r
e
he
s
ee
med most in
t
e
r
e
sted in
si
l
k sto
c
kin
g
s and
a
f
l
i
m
s
y
si
l
k dr
e
ss
t
h
a
t ba
r
e
l
y
c
ov
e
r
e
d
h
er
.
P
a
m
a
g
r
ee
d she
would
w
ea
r it f
o
r
J
i
m
, but
i
n priv
a
te on
l
y
. Th
e
ir most
i
m
port
a
nt pur
c
h
a
se –
a
nd the one
that me
a
nt
t
he
most
to
Pa
m
– w
a
s the $30,000
e
ng
a
g
e
ment
a
nd w
e
ddi
n
g b
a
nd s
e
t. A
c
tual
l
y
, it
w
a
s
thr
e
e
r
i
n
g
s. One
o
f
w
hi
c
h w
a
s
a
modest w
e
dding
b
a
nd that
P
a
m
would n
e
v
e
r
r
e
move on
c
e
J
im
put
it
on h
e
r
f
in
g
e
r.
The
set in
c
luded a on
e-c
a
r
a
t so
l
i
t
a
ire
e
n
g
a
g
e
m
e
nt ring
t
rimm
e
d with small be
g
e
t
s
,
a
nd a
kno
c
k
-
y
o
u
r
-
socks
-
o
ff
three-
ca
r
a
t so
l
i
t
a
ire
t
h
a
t
P
a
m
c
ould w
ea
r
a
t s
p
ec
ial o
c
c
a
sion
s
. Th
a
nks
g
iv
i
n
g
wo
u
ld be the
f
irst su
c
h o
cca
sion.

Th
e
y
g
ot
i
n the
e
lev
a
tor
t
o
g
o up to
t
he
r
oom
a
ft
e
r
J
i
m had
t
i
pp
e
d the doo
r
man a
$50 to h
a
ve
their
pu
r
c
h
a
s
e
s
b
r
o
u
g
ht up
t
o the
r
oom. Th
e
y
w
e
re
a
l
one
in
t
he
e
le
v
a
tor, so
P
a
m hug
g
e
d
J
i
m’s side
a
nd r
a
n h
e
r l
e
g
up
hi
s
.

“
I
love
y
ou so mu
c
h,”
s
h
e
said.
“
Th
a
nk
y
ou
for
a
ll
the
g
i
fts
y
ou
g
a
v
e
me t
o
d
a
y
,
e
spe
c
i
a
l
l
y the
r
in
g
s.
L
e
t
’s m
a
ke
to
n
i
g
ht spe
c
ia
l
.”

T
h
e
e
le
v
a
tor
doors op
e
n
e
d
a
t
t
h
e
ir
fl
o
or. At that mo
m
e
nt th
e
y
b
e
g
a
n the
r
e
st of th
e
ir life -
togeth
er
.

Epilogue

The story of Pam and Jim’s life together was just beginning. Pam’s parents came for Thanksgiving dinner, along with Bill, his wife, and their four children. Bill’s sister and her two-year-old son were there. Both were thankful to have been abandoned by his abusive father. Tom Walker was there, as were the President with his family, and Captain Carnes.

Jim and Pam announced their engagement and plans to move to Colorado to everyone assembled. Pam’s mother objected at first and cried. She had only just met Jim and wasn’t ready for the news. Pam’s father took an instant liking to the handsome man Pam had chosen. They would become best of friends. Their passion for the outdoors and love for Pam gave them more than enough reason to quickly bond; not to mention the fact that they were both lifelong Denver Broncos fans. Roland Koller was one of the few people Jim would let touch the Stinson with a tool.

After Thanksgiving, Pam and Jim flew to Denver in the plane Pam bought for him as an engagement present and had an attorney arrange for them to purchase Smith’s Ranch.

Life was good to the people that gave thanks together that year. Tom eventually married Bill’s sister. Tom and Bill became partners operating White Bear Lodge for Jim. Captain Carnes thought the guest list was particularly unique. The only normal guests were the sheriff and his family. Besides them was Tom Walker – made famous by
Pattygate,
and Jim Mitchell – famous for pleading the Fifth for two days behind closed doors during those same hearings. The President and First Lady were there along with the usual Secret Service detail. Finally, there were the Kollers, the radiant bride-to-be, and a variety of wealthy jet-seetters.

Tim Carnes joined the President and other men seated around the great stone fireplace after dinner for whiskey and cigars. He didn’t find it the least bit unusual that Pam joined them with a glass of champagne and no cigar, rather than help Maria with the dishes as the other women did. After all, she exuded power in a way that none of the men did.

The children were scattered among the guests in the Great Room of the lodge, closely watched by the First Lady, who seemed to enjoy the lack of attention.. Captain Carnes wondered why he had been invited in out of the snow while his men kept a vigilant guard over the lodge. He stopped wondering when the President asked him if he was ready to take on a new challenge, one that would require a lifelong commitment. Carnes mistakenly stared into Pam’s eyes as he pondered the question.

He and a select group of his men would transfer out of the Army and form an elite personal guard. He had been to Aspen on vacation and looked forward to the selection of ladies it offered over the backwoods of Alaska. Besides, who was he to turn down a request from the President? Jim added that this was not the CIA, or anything to do with the United States government. It was beyond that. It was about a very special person to everyone in that room – to everyone on the planet – who had a very special reason to give thanks that year. At that moment, the small group gathered around the fire all looked at Pam, who looked directly at Captain Carnes as he silently committed his life to her protection.

Pam thought their ranch was the most beautiful place in the world. Besides the hunting, fishing, and horseback riding, Jim had built a private ski area complete with a chairlift and an ice skating arena. Jim added a concrete runway and large hangar capable of handling everything up to small private jets. The ranch became the destination for political figures from around the world, along with movie stars and other celebrities. The accommodations at the mansion Jim had built overlooking the beautiful Aspen Valley were the finest in the world. They included a heated pool that allowed underwater passage from inside to outside.

A stay at the ranch was by invitation only, for those lucky enough to receive an invitation had everything they could desire at their disposal, all at no charge. This included a massive amount of private security. An invitation was a status symbol, widely recognized throughout the world. Parties of all sizes could be held in its several great rooms.

Only the closest of friends and family were ever allowed into the cozy private family room that featured a stone fireplace reminiscent of the one at White Bear Lake Lodge. Unlike the rest of the house, this room was decorated with family heirlooms, including several of the Indian rugs and other memorabilia from the lodge in Alaska and Pam’s childhood home in Idaho.