Cut And Dried

Epilogue

Chrissie

(2 years later)

As we all gathered together in our manor house on the outskirts of Woodstock, all my family and all Brent's family, it was good to see Mr and Mrs Simons trying hard to reunite with their estranged children and their husbands especially with their eldest, well at least mister was trying, it was all rather formal at present and we all knew there was a long way to go before all was forgiven if ever.

I knew that I would never be close to my in-laws, Yes to a degree I had forgiven them for the stunts they pulled, but some parts I just could not let go of, they still had the greedy look in their eyes when they were around my son Brandon, seeing the line of succession for their company.

At present I kept their contact to a minimum and no way were they getting my son alone.

Brent at first tried to convince me his parents had changed or at least his father had to some degree and I should let Brandon stay with them, but gave up when I wouldn't relent, I could see the glares I got from Mrs Simons and though Brent read this as a sign of her missing out on grandparents duties, I read it as a chance of getting her hands on my son and to start influencing him.

I was proved right in my eyes when an article appeared in a New York paper, a picture of me and my son proclaiming he was the future boss of Simons Industries, though Brent's parents denied any involvement, I read Mrs Simons face differently, call it parental intuition.

Brent's fathers health was deteriorating rapidly and he constantly begged Brent to take the reins and become the next CEO of the company, something that Brent was reluctant to do, he didn't envisage a life as a business mogul, but wanted to continue as an actor.

I could see he was torn and so I suggested he and his sister's should share the role, after all they had formed a fellowship against their parents, now perhaps a fellowship for the good of the company, might be the way forward, they were delving into the feasibility of it and it was looking hopeful.

Brandon was turning into a handsome lad just like his father and already had girls swooning after him and he was barely six.

As for me I was off work on maternity leave having just given birth to our daughter Olivia and yes I still worked at A Cut Above, well actually I owned it.

Mrs Young retired and didn't have any family interested in taking it on, so Brent bought it for me as a birthday present and I loved it, as it had always been my ambition to have my own hairdressing salon and as for Mrs Young she got free hair do's for the rest of her life, all the staff stayed on and we were one big happy family, I even stayed till eight o'clock when it was my turn.

An added advantage was now I could even take Brandon with me as we had converted the outhouse and huge back garden into a nursery that catered for 20 children and was run as a separate enterprise.

The day was just the start of the festivities Brent and I had planned, our families were privy to a barbeque manned by a world renowned chef, the children had a handful of fair rides at their disposal, as well as clowns and entertainers, the adults had the use of the heated indoor pool, spa and sauna, oh yes all the over the top luxuries that Brent had installed as I lost the arguments when we drew cards to decide.

As evening drew on and the kids were getting tired and irritable, the parents ushered them upstairs to the numerous bedrooms and settled them down for the night.

My mum and stepfather, who by the way I completely adored, plus Brent's parents were being left in charge of babysitting duties as the younger adults were all going to Summer Nights at Blenheim Palace, with the gorgeous and talented rock band Phenomenon and the ultra sexy lead singer and guitarist Chase Ryder.

After peace descended on the house and the final snuffle from the children gave way to sleep, our parents settled in for the night with tea, coffee and tip bits in plentiful supply.

The rest of us all rushed quietly upstairs to dress in our best rock concert getups.

The night had an eerie glow as we entered Blenheim Park through the arched town gate, the glow being due to the full moon and the lighting effects that gave the palace a kind of vibrant and multicolour dome of light.

As we walked along the road looking over at the Grand Bridge and the palace in the distance, all the women paired off with their respective husband's clutching their arms to help ward of the evening chill.

I couldn't help but smile at how my life had turned out, how I went from a loner with a visiting cat, who by the way moved with us, though he wandered off for a few weeks, before turning up one night wet and bedraggled with a cut on his face.

After a visit to the vet's and the best in cat cuisine he's never left the garden content to see his days out in idle luxury.

Anyway as I was saying, how I went from a loner and having a male hating family, to being married with a family of my own and my sisters and mother cured of being single mums to married women.

Brent being who he is, gave us the added bonus of sneaking in through the side gate and not have to queue with the crowd to get in.

As we were guided through the seemingly never ending passageways and elegant hallways, we heard voice's, well a males voice and a scream and crying of a female, curious as to what was going on, we headed in the direction of the voices.

Ending up outside in a small courtyard, I spied a slightly opened door letting a soft light escape and light up the cobbled pathway, as we ventured nearer we hear the sound of a person running, just as I reached the door and stretched for the handle the door was thrown open.

Stepping back in surprise, just in time to see Taylor Deveroeux fly past us in tears.

As we turned back down the hallway Miss Deveroeux had rushed down in such haste we say a figure emerge from one of the rooms, it was none other than the man himself Chase Ryder the star of the Summer Nights festival, he turned and rushed down the hallway towards us and he was shouting after the retreating Taylor.

"Wait Taylor I'm sorry please let me explain and make it up to you"

He came to a dead stop next to us as Taylor had disappeared from sight and then Chase muttered to himself but loud enough for us to hear.

"Oh my god what have I done" before turning and disappearing back down the hallway with his shoulders slumped and head bowed before re-entering the room he came out of.

I wonder what that was all about?

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THE END

I hope you enjoyed the second in the series of  The Women Of Woodstock and if you carry on reading you will find out about the third book, All I Want Is You.
Thank you all for your support, if you keep reading I'll keep writing, I have a lot of ideas and even another series is taking shape in my head, plus with you reading my efforts it spurs me on, so once again thank you.