“This is all much too grown-up and sophisticated for me. You Hollywood folk lead X-rated lives. I’m a country boy.”
“You’re doing just fine.”
He moved into Whitney’s bedroom when Amy and her fiancé came for the weekend, and they let them stay in the cottage. The following weekend Belinda came up with Sam. They had found an apartment and were moving in together, and Amy was delighted to hear that Whitney was joining their practice, particularly since she had just found out she was pregnant, and they had managed it without IVF. Bailey was right. Amy said they were going to move to Colorado in a year. And she was pleased to see that Bailey and Whitney had come to some kind of arrangement and they seemed happy. She didn’t ask for the details and figured they were old enough to work it out.
They told Amy about the horseback riding incident, and she groaned. “Are you both crazy?” she asked Bailey. “I said not to overprotect her, not to try and kill her on a horse. Thank God nothing worse happened.”
They spent the last few days at the lake without guests, and then they drove back to Los Angeles. They were all busy. Whitney was closing her Beverly Hills office to move in with Bailey and Amy, and would see all her patients there. Emma was getting ready for school with Belinda’s help. In the midst of it, Bailey moved in to Whitney’s house. They had decided that they liked her house better than his, and Whitney didn’t want to move for him.
It had been a turbulent but productive year for all of them, particularly Emma, who had her first nightmare in months the night before she started school.
She was too terrified to speak at the breakfast table, and Bailey wished her luck when he left for work.
“See you later,” he said to Whitney and she nodded. She was worried about Emma, who hadn’t touched her breakfast and said she wanted to stay home.
“You can’t miss the first day,” Whitney said as she walked her to the car, and watched Emma put her seatbelt on. Her new backpack was on the backseat next to her. It was pink with a big green neon heart on it. They had bought it at Target when they’d gotten her school supplies. The school had sent out a list. Emma had picked her outfit carefully two days before. She was wearing pink jeans with a white sweatshirt and pink Doc Martens, and Whitney had given her her own iPhone so she could call anytime if she had a problem. She knew she had to turn it off in class.
They were halfway to school when Emma finally spoke, in barely more than a whisper from the backseat. But Whitney heard her.
“What if they all hate me?” she said. She was the new girl in class for the first time in three years.
“They won’t. They’re going to love you. By tonight you’re going to tell me how many new best friends you have,” Whitney said as she drove and kept her eyes on the road. They didn’t need an incident that morning.
“What if my memory goes again, and I can’t remember anything?” She was terrified.
“That’s not going to happen. Your brain is fine now. And you remember what they told you. They’re going to go at your speed for a while. You set the pace.”
“What if I forget how to talk or read? No one will understand if I sign.”
“You won’t need to sign,” she reassured her. “What if a bomb hits the school, or a comet?” Whitney teased her and Emma laughed.
“That might mess up my new shoes, or my phone,” Emma said. She was very proud of her pink Doc Martens, and they had gotten new red ones too. She had outgrown the old ones. Whitney was just sorry Paige couldn’t see her. But if she’d been alive, Emma would have been heading to the set to be on the show, or maybe in New York performing in the musical she’d auditioned for. Her life would have been very different if her mother was alive. But Whitney would give her a good life too, none of it was wasted. Her years as an actress had taught her many things, and her new school would be entirely different and good for her too. It was all part of life.
“I forgot how to spell the word ‘calibrate’ last week,” Emma said, sounding worried. “Maybe that means my brain is acting up again.”
“I forget how to spell it too, and my brain is fine. You have my cellphone number in your phone, and you know how to reach me if you have a problem.”
“I’ll call you at lunch,” Emma said, and her eyes looked huge as Whitney pulled into the drop-off line, and they approached the entrance of the school. “I feel sick. I think I’m going to throw up. Take me home,” she said in a desperate whisper.
“You’re going to be fine. You’ll never get into medical school if you can’t make it through fourth grade.” Emma grinned at that, and a teacher opened the door and helped her out, and recognized her immediately.
“Good morning, Emma. Welcome to Anderson. We’re all excited to meet you.” She wanted to crawl back into the car and into the womb, but she walked bravely to the front door and turned to wave at her aunt.
“Have a great day!” Whitney called after her and pulled away as Emma disappeared into the school. She suddenly looked tiny and vulnerable, and Whitney’s heart ached for a minute and then she told herself Emma would be okay. She’d been through so much worse, and she had so much to look forward to, so many people to meet and things to do, and adventures to have. And even if this was different from Paige’s plans for her daughter, Whitney knew that Paige would be proud of her too. It was all up to Emma and what she wanted in life now. She had to discover who she was and who she wanted to be when she grew up, and this was just the beginning. She had the world in her hand, and anything was possible.
* * *
—
Whitney drove the twenty minutes to Bailey’s office. It was her first day there too. She knew that he was waiting for her. They had cleared an office for her, and she was seeing her first patient there that afternoon.
He was waiting on the street for her when she arrived. The sun was shining brightly, and he walked her inside. She felt like the new girl in school too, just like Emma. After the year they’d had, she knew she could do it. She set her briefcase down and looked around, as Bailey brought her a cup of coffee and set it down on the desk. He kissed her and smiled at her. It was the right time to start a new life, for her, and for Emma, for Bailey, for all of them. It was a perfect day for new beginnings, and whatever came next.
Epilogue
Emma Watts parked her car in the lot outside the building. They had told her which space to use. There was one for each of the doctors, and the rest were for patients. Her heart was pounding and it reminded her of her first day at Anderson, in fourth grade, when everything was new. And instead of pink Doc Martens, she was wearing black high heels and a gray suit. She was thirty-one, and she felt like the new girl at school again. She had finished her residency in pediatrics and a second one in neurology, which had taken thirteen years from when she started college. She stopped and smiled when she saw the brand-new brass plaque on the door next to Bailey’s, with her name on it. It was shinier than the others, they had just put it up the day before. Bailey had put it there himself. He had kept his word. The other brass plaques were weathered and had been there for a long time, and a few had changed.
Amy Clarke had moved back to Colorado twenty years before. She was practicing medicine with her husband in Boulder, and had three children. Two of them were premed now too. Whitney and Bailey were still going strong and practicing together. It had worked out well. They had invited Emma to join them just as they said they would. It had been twenty-two years since the accident. She had never wavered since her recovery about wanting to be a doctor, and going to Anderson had helped her get there. She had specialized in neurology in med school and her residencies were in pediatric brain injuries. And now here she was, ready for her first day working with Whitney and Bailey.
Some things hadn’t changed. Whitney and Bailey had been living together for the last twenty-one years. They had never married and said they didn’t need to. They were as married as t
wo people could be, and Whitney thought making it official would ruin everything. Bailey had kept his word and didn’t mind.
Emma could hardly wait to get started. This was the fulfilling of the dream she’d had since she was ten years old. It was a dream that had followed a nightmare. She was ready to join them now.
Whitney was waiting for her when she walked in, hugged her, and showed her to her office. Bailey had painted it for her himself, and Emma had brought her framed diplomas from UCLA and Yale to hang on the wall. Emma had reached all her goals, one by one. It had taken a long time to get here, but it was all worth it in the end. Bailey was smiling at her from the doorway of his office, as Emma beamed at him. Whitney watched her proudly. She had taught Emma everything she knew and believed in, that anything was possible and to never give up her dreams. It was all she had ever needed to know. Now Emma was here at last, and all her dreams had come true. Whitney had never expected anything less of her, and had never let her down. Motherhood was the gift Emma had given her.
To my beloved children,
Beatie, Trevor, Todd, Nick,
Sam, Victoria, Vanessa,
Maxx, and Zara,
Thank you for the gift of motherhood,
the lessons you’ve taught me,
the immeasurable joy we’ve shared,
the love that makes life worthwhile.
I’m so grateful for all of it,
and for each one of you.
I love you with all my heart
and soul,
Mom/ds
By Danielle Steel
SILENT NIGHT • TURNING POINT • BEAUCHAMP HALL • IN HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS • THE GOOD FIGHT • THE CAST • ACCIDENTAL HEROES • FALL FROM GRACE • PAST PERFECT • FAIRYTALE • THE RIGHT TIME • THE DUCHESS • AGAINST ALL ODDS • DANGEROUS GAMES • THE MISTRESS • THE AWARD • RUSHING WATERS • MAGIC • THE APARTMENT • PROPERTY OF A NOBLEWOMAN • BLUE • PRECIOUS GIFTS • UNDERCOVER • COUNTRY • PRODIGAL SON • PEGASUS • A PERFECT LIFE • POWER PLAY • WINNERS • FIRST SIGHT • UNTIL THE END OF TIME • THE SINS OF THE MOTHER • FRIENDS FOREVER • BETRAYAL • HOTEL VENDÔME • HAPPY BIRTHDAY • 44 CHARLES STREET • LEGACY • FAMILY TIES • BIG GIRL • SOUTHERN LIGHTS • MATTERS OF THE HEART • ONE DAY AT A TIME • A GOOD WOMAN • ROGUE • HONOR THYSELF •AMAZING GRACE • BUNGALOW 2 • SISTERS • H.R.H. • COMING OUT •THE HOUSE • TOXIC BACHELORS • MIRACLE • IMPOSSIBLE • ECHOES • SECOND CHANCE • RANSOM • SAFE HARBOUR • JOHNNY ANGEL • DATING GAME • ANSWERED PRAYERS • SUNSET IN ST. TROPEZ • THE COTTAGE • THE KISS • LEAP OF FAITH • LONE EAGLE • JOURNEY • THE HOUSE ON HOPE STREET • THE WEDDING • IRRESISTIBLE FORCES • GRANNY DAN • BITTERSWEET • MIRROR IMAGE • THE KLONE AND I • THE LONG ROAD HOME • THE GHOST • SPECIAL DELIVERY • THE RANCH • SILENT HONOR • MALICE • FIVE DAYS IN PARIS • LIGHTNING • WINGS • THE GIFT • ACCIDENT • VANISHED • MIXED BLESSINGS • JEWELS • NO GREATER LOVE • HEARTBEAT • MESSAGE FROM NAM • DADDY • STAR • ZOYA • KALEIDOSCOPE • FINE THINGS • WANDERLUST • SECRETS • FAMILY ALBUM • FULL CIRCLE • CHANGES • THURSTON HOUSE • CROSSINGS • ONCE IN A LIFETIME • A PERFECT STRANGER • REMEMBRANCE • PALOMINO • LOVE: POEMS • THE RING • LOVING • TO LOVE AGAIN • SUMMER’S END • SEASON OF PASSION • THE PROMISE • NOW AND FOREVER • PASSION’S PROMISE • GOING HOME
Nonfiction
PURE JOY: The Dogs We Love
A GIFT OF HOPE: Helping the Homeless
HIS BRIGHT LIGHT: The Story of Nick Traina
For Children
PRETTY MINNIE IN PARIS
PRETTY MINNIE IN HOLLYWOOD
About the Author
DANIELLE STEEL has been hailed as one of the world’s most popular authors, with almost a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include Turning Point, Beauchamp Hall, The Good Fight, The Cast, Accidental Heroes, Fall from Grace, Past Perfect, Fairytale, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children’s books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.
Daniellesteel.com
Facebook.com/DanielleSteelOfficial
Twitter: @daniellesteel
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