Drive and Determination (34 page)

Epilogue

Five years later
            Will sat contentedly on the porch swing, his legs stretched out and his heels and toes giving movement so it would gently sway. Elyssa leaned up against him reading from a book. Will’s arms were wrapped around her now greatly expanded stomach, hoping to feel a small movement every once in a while.
            “Here’s a good name,” she said. “Emma. I think Emma Janet Denton is nice.”
            Will nodded. “What does it mean?”
            “Let’s see…” Elyssa looked down into the book. “
Healer of the universe
.”
            Will tilted his head as he considered the name. “Sounds a bit overwhelming for a little girl. I still like Amanda,
worthy of being loved
.”
            Elyssa turned her head to look out at the small playground they had built at the side of the house. Her cousin, Lillian, now 8, was playing with Nicholas.
            “Be careful, Lillian. Remember, Nicky’s only 2.” She turned back to Will. “I think I like it, too. Mandy Denton.
            “No, not Mandy. Amanda. I will not have you shorten it!”
            Elyssa laughed. “Just like we never call Nicholas Nick or Nicky?”
            “Well, I prefer they grow accustomed to their full names.”
            “We can do everything we can to keep their names full, but you know it’s their friends who will win out in the end. If Nicholas wants to be called Nick and Amanda wants to be called Mandy, we’ll just have to deal with it.”
            Their son, upon hearing his mother’s voice, toddled back over to them and crawled up the steps, making his way to the swing.
            “Come here, Nicky,” Will said, scooping him up and placing him on his lap.
            “Nicholas,” his wife reminded him.  “Nicholas Chad. Our little
victory of the people
.”  She laughed. “Talk about overwhelming!”
            Bouncing Nicholas on his knee, Will remarked, “It demands respect!”
            Elyssa sat up and looked at her watch. “And you’re going to be
losing
respect from everyone if you don’t get yourself to work! What kind of example are you setting not going in until after noon?”
            Will lifted up Nicholas and put him carefully on Elyssa’s lap. “I suppose you’re right, but as Fridays are casual day, I figure I can just amble on in any time I want.” He leaned over and kissed Nicholas on the nose and then Elyssa on the cheek. “I don’t think anyone is going to complain that I wanted to spend the morning with my wife and son.”
            He leaned over and patted Elyssa’s belly. “And little Amanda.”
            Elyssa watched Will walk away in his jeans and polo shirt. He didn’t always conform to the “casual day” attire that he established a couple of years ago. If he had any scheduled business meetings, he usually wore a suit. By the way he was dressed today, Elyssa could see he was anticipating a light day at work and that he most likely would be home within a few hours. 
            Elyssa stood up and brought Nicholas and Lillian into the house to give them lunch. As she looked around their beautiful home, she let out a sigh of appreciation. She had so much, and that included her own design business.
            Almost immediately after Will and Elyssa were married, her decorating business boomed. She loved working with Emily and the sub-contractors she used. She also found the she could purchase almost anything through the Jones’ little store and Elyssa and Janelle became close friends.
            Once she had Nicholas, she intentionally cut back on the number of clients she took, and mainly did design consulting. She worked a lot at home, looking for products on the internet and then buying them from Janelle if at all possible. Emily worked with her in arranging the sub-contractors to do the work.
            Now with Amanda coming in a few months, she knew she would be putting all design jobs here on hold. She did not want to be away from her children and knew the need to be home and more available would be greater with two.
            Elyssa set Nicholas down with some books that Lillian wanted to read to him. She glanced up at the painting of Pemberleigh Manor and studied it a while. Then she walked back into the room that had become her design studio.
            Despite putting her career on hold in Chicago, there was one design job offer that she had wholeheartedly accepted. She walked over to the plans that were spread out across a large work table and leaned over to study them. As inspiration came to her, she would jot down notes. She was excited about this project that had been presented to her by Will and Gina just about the time she learned she was expecting another baby.
            Gina had graduated from Stanford a year earlier with a degree in hotel management. Along with her required classes, she had also continued attending cooking school and was ready to fulfill her dream to open a bed and breakfast. It pleased Elyssa greatly that her sister-in-law loved the Santa Ynez Valley and had found a perfect place to build, about 20 miles from where Elyssa had lived.
            Part of Gina’s inheritance along with some money Will put up as a partner set things in motion to buy the property that would give Gina
her
Pemberleigh.
            The plans for an exact replica of the Denton estate in England were drawn up and Elyssa was asked to decorate
Pemberleigh Bed and Breakfast
in nineteenth century design. It would be a major project and with much enthusiasm, Elyssa began researching and dreaming even before they broke ground.
            In perusing the plans for the large manor, Elyssa had to consider how many rooms would be used for guests and which rooms would be reserved for private use. Gina didn’t need a large suite, but if she married and had a family, she would want more. They needed a few small suites for live-in staff and then a suite for Will and Elyssa and their family when they came to visit.
            Elyssa wanted to do as much as she could before little Amanda was born. She ordered furniture and fabric and wallpaper from Janelle and had things held until the structure was far enough along for the items to be shipped and stored.
            She knew that this little dream of Gina’s would be gradual in its growth, which was just fine for Elyssa. She began by designing the main rooms and just a few bedroom suites. It would grow as Gina found herself able to handle it.
            There was one more thing Will did once he and Elyssa got married that tapped into Elyssa’s creative and giving side. He gave her a position within Pemberleo. It wasn’t so much a job where she had to go in to work everyday. He knew very well that she loved designing and was doing well at it, but he knew something was missing at Pemberleo.
            He put Elyssa in charge of the company’s benevolent division, discerning the needs in Guatemala that they could meet and working to bring that about. One of the first things she did was to add a tutoring building to the pre-school so children of all ages could get the additional help they needed to succeed in school and beyond. Tutors were hired and some computers were purchased so skills could be taught. As the years went on, the pre-school was the recipient of a great deal of assistance through Elyssa’s efforts.
            Once
Pemberleigh Bed and Breakfast
was finished, Will and Elyssa went out often. Elyssa loved leaving the coldest months of winter in Chicago and spending them in a more mild climate. Visits to Guatemala and their own townhouse in the Pemberleo complex became a third home for them.
            There were still times when Elyssa ached for her sister and missed her so much. She wanted to tell her how happy she was being married to Will. She wanted to share little Nicholas and sweet Amanda. The dream that she and Janet had shared to be close to one another’s children could never be, but her sisterly feelings toward Gina grew with each visit and conversation.
            Elyssa often thought back to what Janet said to her before they walked down the aisle at her sister’s wedding. She told her that she had picked the teal color for the bridesmaid dresses because that was the best color on Elyssa and thought if there were any irresistible, single men there, they would not be able to take their eyes off of her. Elyssa often wondered whether Janet had Will in mind.
            She’d never know for sure, but if it hadn’t been for Janet, she would have never met Will. Elyssa couldn’t even bring herself to ponder whether she and Will would have ended up together if Janet and Chad hadn’t died. That tragedy inexplicably threw the two of them together in a way that otherwise might not have been. She simply accepted fate and how everything worked out.
            Will would occasionally walk in on Elyssa as she read Janet’s diary. It was her constant connection to her dearest sister. She could read through it now without constantly shedding a tear, and Will knew that when Elyssa began to talk about her, he needed to sit quietly and listen.
            Will’s life, which had once been so driven by his work, had taken a turn for the best when he met Elyssa. It hadn’t always been easy on their bumpy road to love, but he did not regret all the lessons he learned while attempting to take on those things she wanted in a man and discarding those things she didn’t. With prevailing resolve and a rather large dose of humility, he had persevered to the end and was rewarded with Elyssa’s love.
            Neither expected it, but both came to embrace it with a good measure of
drive and determination.

 ~The End ~

Kara Louise lives in Kansas with her husband. They share their 10 acres with
an ever changing menagerie of animals. They have one married son who also likes to write.

Other published books by Kara Louise

“Pemberley’s Promise”

“Assumed Engagement”

“Assumed Obligation”

and

“Master Under Good Regulation”

Visit her website,

www.ahhhs.net

where you will find a variety of other stories written by her and Australian author, Sharni.