A Stolen Heart
Beverley Hollowed
I want to start by thanking my best friend and love of my life, Brian. Thank you for your constant support, unconditional love and belief in me. You are my rock and my champion. Love you always xx
Thank you to my two beautiful boys Aaron and Anthony. I love you all the way around the world and back.
To my Angels, Sam, Patti, Jessica, Leia and of course Chris. Thank you for the support and unquestionable loyalty and most importantly your friendship. In a world of darkness you are all guiding lights. Love you all so much.
Thank you to my publisher Titan InKorp….and in particular Chris Austin….thank you for continuing to make my journey a happy, easy and enjoyable one. Thank you for all your hard work and especially my beautiful cover.
Thank you to my Mom, Dad and Tony love you always.
Special thanks to Beverly McDaniels Brantley. You have been my rock and my Angel. Thank you for never letting me give up on myself and believing in me even on days when I had nothing left to give. If love could be measured the world wouldn’t be big enough to hold the love I feel for you. Always xx
Finally a big thank you to you the reader for you continued support.
Love always, Bev
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 1
Emma pulled the covers tighter around her face as the piercing sound of the alarm clock ran around the bedroom. She knew it would be only moments before the patter of Mia’s tiny feet would come bounding down the hallway from her bedroom to theirs.
Jonathan groaned as he rolled over and stretched across Emma to switch the alarm buzzer off.
“Why do you insist on it being on your side of the bed, if you won’t switch it off?” he said more so then asked, as he flopped back down on his pillow.
“It’s too cold,” Emma groaned, peering over the top of her duvet.
“It’s the middle of May,” he laughed as he sat up and swung his feet out on to the floor. “How cold can it be?”
He didn’t wait for answer. He walked into the bathroom and switched on the light, closing the door behind him.
Emma lay there and watched her husband as he disappeared behind the door. Even after all these years together, she still thought he was incredible hot. He was average height but Emma being only 5’ 2”, so he always looked taller. He had a great body because he ran most mornings and worked hard to keep in shape.
But it was his gorgeous face that first caught Emma’s attention. He had the most piercing grey eyes and a strong jawline. His light brown hair was always cut short which somehow made him look a little tougher than he was. But for Emma it was his beautiful, pouty lip that did it for her. She used to tease him how any girl would kill for his pout and it always made him laugh.
“Mommy!” Mia’s voice rang out, followed by the sound of her little bare feet slapping on the wooden floor.
Suddenly she burst through the door and with a hop, skip and a jump she was bouncing beside Emma on the bed.
Emma kicked back the blankets and quickly, grabbed Mia and cuddled her and gave her a big kiss.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” Emma said as she pulled Mia closer to her. She didn’t have her for long though.
“Daddy!” Mia squealed excitedly as Jonathon emerged from the bathroom. She pulled away from Emma, jumped down from the bed and straight up into Jonathan’s out stretched arms. Mia was very much a Daddy’s girl but this didn’t upset Emma. She loved to watch the two of them together. It was one of her greatest pleasures in life. Some days she could do it for hours. Whether they were playing a game, or Jonathan was reading Mia a bedtime story, she loved the way Mia would watch Jonathan attentively and hang on to his every word.
It always amazed Emma how much energy Mia had in the mornings. Lately she found it was getting harder and harder to get up. She put it down to old age, which always made Jonathan laugh when she said that, as she hadn’t yet turned thirty.
“Who wants pancakes?” Jonathon asked already knowing Mia’s answer.
“I do! I do!” Mia squealed with her usual enthusiasm as she waved her hands in the air.
“Come on then,” he said putting her down. “Let’s get started. Come on Mommy, before we eat them all,” he added as he walked down the hallway, making his way down to the kitchen.
Emma dragged herself up, slid her feet out of the bed and on to the cold floor. Stretching down to the end of the bed she grabbed her robe and slipped it on as she slid her feet into her slippers.
As she made her way down to the kitchen, she could get the smell of Jonathan’s famous pancakes. Usually the smell would make her twice as hungry, but today they just made her feel a little sick.
“How many?” He looked at her questioningly, holding up the pan as she walked into the kitchen.
“None for me thanks,” she sighed. “I think I will just stick to coffee this morning”.
“Are you feeling ok sweetie?” He asked looking at her with concern. “It’s not like you to refuse my pancakes.”
“I guess I’m just not in the mood,” she shrugged as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
“Are you sure you’re ok?” He replied seriously. “You look a little pale and you have not been yourself for a couple of weeks now. Maybe you should go to see Dr. Stafford.”
“I might give him a call today,” she replied. “But I’m fine, I swear.”
“Best to have him check you over,” he said sitting down across from her at the table and digging into a big stack of pancakes. “Because there’s a bug going around work, maybe you’re coming down with something.”
“Maybe” she nodded, watching in amazement as he shovelled one pancake after another into his mouth. “You know, you could come up for air once in a while?”
“These are so good,” he mumbled through a mouthful of food. “You should try some.”
“I think I’ll pass,” she replied shuddering at the thought. Then she added with a smile. “Anyway, I might lose a hand if I tried to take something from your plate.”
Jonathan smiled at her, his eyes danced with their usual mischief. When they finished their breakfast Jonathan kissed her and returned to the bedroom to get ready for work, leaving Emma sitting at the kitchen table with Mia, who was completely lost in her own world.
Jonathan Daniels ran his own, very successful, architect business. He had started off in the spare room of their old apartment but grew it bigger than Jonathan had ever even dreamed of. Now he had fifty-six people working for him, including his best friend Jeff Silverman. Jonathan and Jeff had grown up next door to each other and were best friends since kindergarten. They even went to collage together. They had even been each other’s best men when they got married.
Emma would always say they were like two sides of the s
ame coin. Where there was one, the other was always close by. Jeff and his wife, Alycia lived three doors away from Emma and Jonathan.
Jonathan offered Jeff a partnership when the business started to grow and together they made a great team.
Jonathan and Emma had been married now for four years. They met each other when Jeff’s wife Alycia set them up on a blind date.
Emma had grown up in Ireland. She came to live in New York after collage where she studied to be a teacher. She got a job in the same school as Alycia, and Alycia instantly thought Emma would be perfect for Jonathan so she set them up on a date. They hit it off straight away and have been together ever since.
Emma remained at the table sipping her coffee and watching Mia as she devoured her breakfast. It made her smile to watch her little girl run her finger around the plate ensuring she got every last crumb.
“What are your plans for today, Miss Daniels?” Emma asked with a smile when Mia finally looked up from her plate. “Have you any important meetings to attend?”
“You’re silly Mommy,” Mia giggled at her mother’s question.
“How would you like to go to the playground?” Emma asked, knowing it was her daughter’s favourite thing in the world. “We can ring Alycia and see if she and Matthew would like to meet us there.”
“Yeah!” Mia squealed excitedly.
“Well then, let’s get ready,” Emma said taking Mia by the hand and leading her into her room.
An hour later, Emma kissed Jonathan and waved goodbye as he drove away before climbing into her own car and reversing out of the driveway herself.
She had rang Alycia, and arranged to meet her at the same park they went to since the children were babies, at eleven thirty.
But first she had to stop by at the family doctor for the check-up she promised Jonathan she would get. He felt bad he couldn’t go with her but she promised she would call him as soon as she was finished.
She rang the doctor’s office before she left the house to make an appointment and they told her they could fit her in straight away.
When she arrived at the doctor’s she took a seat in the waiting room and waited for her name to be called. It was a large brightly painted room with several large cartoon pictures hanging on the walls and two big toy boxes in the corner. Normally Mia would head straight for the toy boxes but today she didn’t. Mia sat beside her and looked through the pages of her favourite book and giggled as she pointed to the colourful pictures.
When her name was called she took Mia by the hand and followed the nurse into the room where the doctor was waiting for her.
“Good morning Emma,” Dr. Stafford said as she walked into the room. “Good morning Mia, you’re certainly getting to be a big girl.”
“Good morning Dr. Stafford,” Emma said as she took a seat opposite the doctor. Mia just smiled back.
“For the last time Emma, please call me Ben,” he said with a smile as he moved closer to her. “Now what can I do for you today.”
Emma told him how she had been feeling for the past few weeks. About the tiredness and the nausea, she told him everything.
“I think we should do some tests,” he said turning back to the computer on his desk. “But I am sure there is nothing to worry about. Do you think you could give me a sample?” He said handing her a small jar.
“I guess so,” she replied feeling a little embarrassed. She always hated when they asked for a sample. She knew it was childish but she couldn’t help it.
“You can leave Mia here,” he replied in a friendly tone. “I will give her a lollypop, that is, if she is allowed to have one.”
“Yes she’s allowed” Emma laughed as she stood up gripping the jar.
A couple of minute’s later Emma returned from the bathroom and handed the jar back to the doctor.
He took the sample from her and brought it over to the sink. He then removed another jar from a shelf above the sink. He took a small strip from the other jar and dipped it into the jar Emma had given him.
For a couple of minutes he said nothing as Emma sat uncomfortable on the seat. Then finally he turned back to Emma.
“Tell me Emma,” he said as he return to his seat in front of her. “When is the last time you had your period?”
“I only had them...” She thought for a moment. She couldn’t remember the last time she had them. “I’m not sure”.
She could never remember the last time she had her period. Unlike most women who knew almost to the minute their periods were due, Emma didn’t. Hers had always been very irregular so she found it hard sometimes to keep track.
“Well, Emma,” he said breaking her from her thoughts. “It would seem you are pregnant.”
Emma was shocked. They had been trying to get pregnant for over two years but had no success. They had followed all the doctor’s recommendations. She changed her diet, cut out alcohol, checked her temperature regularly and only had sex at specific times when she thought she was most likely ovulating. But despite everything they did, still nothing. They had considered fertility tests and treatments but Emma was very reluctant. After all they had Mia maybe they should be grateful for what they had. They had begun to except Mia was probably going to be their only child. She couldn’t believe it.
“Are you ok?” the doctor asked her.
“Yes,” she replied with a big smile on her face. “I… I couldn’t be better.”
The doctor went through the usually do’s and don’ts of pregnancy. Which vitamins she should be taking and what she should be eating. But Emma heard none of it. All she could think about was she was pregnant and how much she wanted to tell Jonathan.
Emma and Mia arrived at the playground just before eleven thirty. Emma’s head was still spinning from what Dr Stafford had told her. She tried ringing Jonathan when she left the doctors but there was no reply. She thought he must have been in a meeting or something because it was not like him not to answer.
As she reached the seats where she always met Alycia, she could see Alycia and Mathew coming towards her.
Emma smiled and waved at her friend.
“You look happy,” Alycia commented as she joined Emma at the seats. Mathew and Mia greeted each other and ran off to play in the sandbox.
“Do I?” Emma laughed unable to stop smiling.
“Yes,” she replied looking at her friend with curiosity. “I thought you were going to the doctor this morning?”
“I have just come from there,” Emma confirmed still smiling but not giving anything away.
“Come on,” Alycia pushed. “You have my curiosity peaked. Is there something going on?”
“Actually there is,” Emma replied she couldn’t keep her news to herself anymore. “Ok, don’t make a scene.”
“For God sakes just tell me,” Alycia demanded excitedly.
“I’m pregnant!” Emma announced.
“You’re what?” Alycia screamed, shocked. She knew that Emma and Jonathan had been trying for so long and she too had started to believe it was never going to happen. Emma couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s excitement.
“The doctor thinks about two months,” Emma continued.
“Emma that is wonderful news,” Alycia said hugging her friend tightly. She was so happy for her. She knew how much this meant to both Emma and Jonathan.
“What did Jonathan say?” she asked excitedly, when the thought popped into her mind.
“Actually, he doesn’t know yet,” Emma sighed. “I rang him as soon as I came out of the doctor’s but his phone just rang out. Anyway, I don’t really want to tell him over the phone. I have decided I am going to wait until I have Mia in bed, cook a nice romantic dinner and then tell him. So if you are talking to Jeff in the meantime, please don’t say anything.”
“Oh sweetie,” Alycia said hugging her friend once again. “I am so happy for you.”
Suddenly Alycia’s phone rang and she released Emma and began to dig in her bag for her phone. When she found it she recognized
the number as her husband’s.
“It’s Jeff,” she told Emma as she pressed the receiver button. “Hi sweetie, what’s up?”
Emma sat and watched Mia and Mathew playing in the sand. When she turned back to Alycia she notice the happy expression that was on her friend’s face moments before had been replaced with a very distressed one. She looked as though she had seen a ghost.
“Ok we will meet you there,” she said as she hung up the phone.
“Alycia, what is it?” Emma asked worried by the expression on her friend’s face. “Is something wrong?”
“We need to go,” Alycia answered without making eye contact with Emma, as she stood up and walked towards the kids.
“Alycia wait!” Emma exclaimed, following her friend to where the children were playing. “You’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
“There has been an accident,” she said still without looking at Emma. “We need to get to the hospital.”
“Why?” Emma asked feeling the panic growing inside her. “Was it serious? Is Jonathan ok?”
“Jeff never said,” she replied lifting the kids from the sand pit and wiping them down. Both began to protest but Alycia didn’t seem to notice. She just took them both by the hand and led them to the car “He just said we need to get to the hospital.”
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