Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

Epilogue
Hallie
As I close the storybook, I gaze down at the peaceful face of my beautiful sleeping daughter.
Ariella Isis Cutler. (She was conceived in an Egyptian temple intended for the goddess, so it
only seemed right we incorporate Isis into her name somehow.) So much has changed since she came
into my life.
The first copy of my book came today. It’s a proof, not the real thing, but it only seemed right that
my daughter should be the first one to enjoy the story.
Well, she enjoyed it for a couple of pages, then she started batting at her mobile—just out of
reach, but she has her daddy’s determination and was certain if she just reached high enough, she
could grab the moon and all the stars and yank them right down into her tiny little grasp.
I hope it’s not a sign of things to come. I’m not sure I can handle two of them.
I smile fondly despite the thought. Oh, who am I kidding? I could juggle a whole house full of
those troublemakers.
I take the book with me as I sneak out into the hallway, then I pull Ariella’s door closed, but
leave it open a crack.
We’re not staying in the city anymore. When Calvin’s dad died from a massive stroke, we came
to Connecticut to stay with his mom. She didn’t want to be alone, and Calvin thought it would be good
for us to get out of the city for a while.
“For a while” turned into much longer, and then he sprung what I assume was his master plan all
along—let’s just move here. Of course we’ll keep our place in the city, and we can visit any time we
want to see aunt Charity or catch a show, but primarily, let’s stay at the Connecticut house and enjoy
all it has to offer.
Surprisingly, after years of yearning to live in New York and years of enjoying the city, I liked
the idea. As big as the penthouse was, this place is much bigger. There’s plenty of room to chase the
baby around, and Marie loves it, too.
I’ve stopped illustrating for other people altogether, so I don’t go into the city all that much.
Calvin still has to drive in to work, but he generally leaves earlier so he can get home and spend time
with us. It was important to him that Ariella have wide open spaces to explore when she starts to
walk, not the busy, congested, at times dangerous city.
He’s a protective father, but I should have known he would be. He’s protective of me, and I’m
certainly not his little girl.