A Stolen Heart

by Beverley Hollowed

  “Emma,” he said after taking a sip of his coffee. “I am sorry about the other night.”

  Emma was surprised. She was expecting him to start preaching to her again. But he didn’t.

  “I am sorry too,” Emma replied. “I dumped all my crap on you and I expected you just to accept what I was saying. But I guess you’re entitled to your opinion. It’s just, I have had this secret for so long. Not one other single person knows this except you.”

  “I do understand,” he nodded his head as he thought about what she had just said. It killed him that she had to carry this secret all this time and felt she could tell no one. He wondered if they had have been on better terms, would she have feel brave enough to share her secret with him. “But you were right, she is your daughter, it’s up to you what you do. I should respect your decision.”

  “But you think I should tell him?” Emma pushed as she took a sip of her coffee.

  “I honestly don’t know,” Jack admitted honestly. “But if there was a little Jack running around out there somewhere, I would like to know”.

  “I guess so,” she shrugged, knowing he was right. “But I don’t know if I can open up old wounds while I am still trying to heal new ones. Besides, I don’t think I could handle the fall out right now. I mean it’s not just him I’d have to tell. There’s Mam and Dad. Jonathan parents and then there is Jeff and Alycia. They have been so good to me since I lost Jonathan. I know Jeff would probably freak out. He and Jonathan were like brothers. ”

  “I suppose you’re right,” he replied finishing off his coffee. “I think you have been through enough heartbreak to last a life time. You need to think about yourself and those beautiful girls. But if you change your mind and decide Mia has a right to know her father. If the others can’t handle that, well you’ll still have me.”

  “Thanks Jack” she said and squeezed his hand. She was truly grateful for his support.

  Emma could hear Mia call her through the baby monitor. She stood up and washed out her mug and left it draining beside the sink.

  “Oh, one more thing,” she said stopping at the kitchen door. “I think you should apologize to Lou. You have been giving her a hard time and really, she hasn’t done anything wrong. And what happened the other night wasn’t her fault.”

  “I guess you’re right,” he agreed and he walked to the sink and rinsed out his mug and sat it next to Emma’s. “I just hated to see you so upset. But I get it. I will apologize to her next time I see her.”

  “And we need to stop leaving her out,” she added. “She is a part of this family too. And sometimes we don’t treat her like that.”

  “I will call her later,” he said and smiled. “I promise.”

  Emma smiled back and went to deal with her girls.

  When she got to the room Mia was sitting on the floor peeking through the bars of Lily’s crib. She turned and smiled up at Emma and her heart tugged. Even though she had a head full of pretty blonde curls that fell loosely around her face. Right in that moment she never looked more like Zach. She wondered if she was right to keep her secret. Mia missed Jonathan so much. She could have another chance of have the father/daughter relationship Emma had with her Dad. How could she deny Mia that?

  As much as she hated to admit it Zach did have a right to now. Before she could always make the excuse she didn’t know where he was but now she does. He was here.

  And she knew as much as Zach had a right to know about Mia, equally Mia had the right to know who her real father was too.

  It struck Emma that it was no longer a case of if she should tell them the truth. It was now a case of when.

  Chapter 9

  ~Five years earlier~

  Zach offered to go with Emma to pick out her flowers. She didn’t know why but she agreed. When they got to the shop, the lady kept calling Zach, Jonathan. Zach didn’t say anything but every time she said it, Emma felt a knot in her. She asked herself over and over again. What the hell am I doing?

  She was marrying the most wonderful guy in the world in just three weeks’ time. So what was she doing with this stranger who had suddenly come thundering into her life?

  She told herself, other than the kiss they had shared the night before, they were doing nothing wrong. That was what she tried to convince herself anyway. But in her heart she knew it wasn’t that innocent. There was something about him that drew Emma to him, something in the way he made her feel when he looked at her.

  She was so happy when he suggested going with her to the flower shop. She of course didn’t say that. She insisted she didn’t want to put him out and she would be fine herself but she was secretly thrilled when he insisted. She told herself it was just about the company but in her heart she knew it was more than that.

  Once they had picked out her flowers, he asked if he could bring her for lunch. Of course she knew she should say no but she didn’t. They went to a little small Italian restaurant down a little side street. It was very intimate and romantic.

  She told him about her life in New York and her job as a first grade teacher. He told her that he had just finished his last year in Law school. He had taken time out to travel around Europe but when he got to Ireland he loved it so much he never went anywhere else. He got a part time job working in O’Grady’s as a barman. He was due to start a job in San Francisco in September.

  She told him all about her family and he told her about his. He told her he was an only child and that he had lost both his parents, his mother had died when he was very young and that his father had passed away earlier that year, which was why he had decided to travel for a while when he finished law school. It had been his father dream to see the world, so he decided to for fill his dreams for him. He found it helped him to get over losing his Dad and had somehow brought him closer to him at the same time.

  They didn’t realize how long they were talking until the waitress came over and said they were closing to get ready for the evening rush.

  “I should get home,” she said looking at her watch. “My Mam will have a search party out for me.”

  “I will drop you home,” Zach offered.

  They walked side by side back to Zach’s car. Emma wanted to reach down and take his hand but she didn’t.”

  As they made their back to Emma’s house, neither of them really said anything on the drive but it didn’t matter. They felt so comfortable in each other’s company that they didn’t have to talk.

  Emma normally found long silences awkward. She would usually prattle on about something absolutely pointless and irrelevant. It was the one thing about herself she hated.

  But with Zach she didn’t. She felt comfortable enough to just enjoy his company even if it was in silence.

  Zach once again pulled the car in at the end of her parent’s street. He switched off the engine and turned to Emma and smiled.

  “I had a great time,” he said gazing straight into her eyes. Emma could feel her cheeks burn but she gazed right back into his eyes. God she wanted so much to kiss him. And she wished he would kiss her. She could remember how perfect his kiss was the night before she longed to feel his lips against hers once again.

  “Me too,” she replied with a smile.

  “I’d really like to see you again,” he said moving a little closer to her. “Of course, just as friends.”

  “Of course,” she smiled at him playfully as her heart beat faster and faster.

  “Maybe you could meet me tomorrow night,” he said, his face was barely inches from hers. “Down by the pier, nine o’clock?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, closing her eyes as he moved closer her to kiss her.

  Suddenly a loud bang on the window startled them both and they both jumped back. Emma turned around and was shocked to see her Father standing there smiling in at her.

  “I thought that was you,” he said as she opened the door. “Your Ma has been ringing around looking for you. She thought you were in an accident because you were gone all day. You know wh
at she’s like.”

  “I was in town,” Emma snapped feeling totally frustrated and irritated. “God that woman has issues.”

  Gerry looked past Emma into the car and nodded at Zach.

  “How’s it going?” he said. Then he looked at Emma waiting for an introduction.

  “Dad, this is Zach,” she said trying to think quickly of a reason she was in the car with this stranger. “Zach is a friend of mine. We met in town and he gave me as lift home.”

  “Nice to meet you sir,” Zach said shaking Gerry’s hand.

  “You too son,” Gerry replied. “Hope this one hasn’t been talking the ears off you about this bloody wedding. That’s all the women talk about these days.”

  “Well we had better get home before Mom thinks you’re missing to,” Emma said stepping out of the car. She turned and put her head back into the car. She gave him a knowing smile. “Thanks for the lift Zach, I’ll see you around.”

  “Hopefully,” he smiled back and winked as she closed the door.

  Emma linked her Dads arm as they walk back to the house. She glanced over her shoulder and watched as Zach drove away. She couldn’t help but smile and she couldn’t wait till tomorrow night. She would be counting the minutes.

  *************************************

  At eight forty-five the following night she slipped out of the house. She told her Mam that she was going down to see Grace. She said she didn’t know what time she’d be back not to wait up.

  As she strolled down to the pier she wondered what the coming night would bring. Part of her thought she should turn back, go back to her parents’ house and simply wait for Jonathan to get there. After all he was the love of her life. He was the one she was going to spend the rest of her life with. But still there was something that kept her on her journey. Inside she felt excited, almost giddy at the thought of seeing Zach again. She felt like a teenager again filled with the excitement of a new romance. As she neared the pier she could see a silhouette in the twilight.

  When she got nearer she could see that it was Zach standing with his hands in his pockets, staring out at the sea. Instantly her heart began to race in her chest.

  “Hi,” she said nervously when she reached him.

  “Hey,” he smiled as he turned around and kissed her on the cheek. They stood for a moment and just simple smiled at each other.

  “Would you like to go for a walk?” He asked her.

  “Sure,” she replied.

  They walked side by side. This time as they walked, Zach reached down and took her hand in his.

  They walked for a few minutes without saying a word. When they reached the end of the pier, they sat down on a bench and looked out over the sea.

  “So… are you looking forward to the wedding?” Zach said grasping for something to say.

  “I guess so,” Emma replied. She found it a little weird to talk about the wedding with him.

  “You guess so” he repeated. “That doesn’t sound too eager.”

  “I am” she replied. “It’s just... I didn’t really want a big wedding. When we were planning it first it was going to be in New York but Jonathan’s mother was taking over. She had invited half of upper Manhattan.”

  “Sounds like a nightmare.” Zach replied.

  “You have no idea,” Emma sighed. “Finally I said I had enough and Jonathan agreed that we should get married here instead. That way all the strangers she was planning to invite couldn’t go. But somehow the small wedding I wanted didn’t happen here either. But this time it was my Mam too. Now it’s just out of control. And then Jonathan has just left me in it up to my neck.”

  “Doesn’t sound like much fun,” he sympathized.

  “I wouldn’t have minded so much if Jonathan was coming over when he promised,” she said honestly. “But he isn’t, he has chosen to put his job first. He said I will have him for the rest of my life. I just wonder if I ever will come first.”

  “Well he must be mad,” Zach said much to Emma’s surprise. “If I were him, I would never leave your side for a minute. Just in case some handsome guy might come and steal your heart.”

  Zach looked at Emma. And she blushed and giggled. She was taken aback by Zach’s directness but she loved the way he made her feel like a teenager again.

  Suddenly Zach leaned closer and kissed her lips gently, catching Emma by surprise. When he broke his lips free from hers, he gazed in to her eyes for a moment. Then slowly he moved closer and kissed her again but this time his kiss was deeper and filled with so much want and desire. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to almost melt into his strong perfect body.

  Finally after what seemed like forever. He released her from his kiss but not his arms.

  “What am I doing?” she whispered leaning her head against his forehead and closed her eyes.

  “You’re stealing my heart,” he replied. “Since the first time I saw you, you had it in your hands.”

  “This is so crazy,” she said and looked right into his eyes. “Is this really happening?”

  Suddenly they heard a noise coming from the darkness of the night. Emma pulled back from Zach quickly. They sat listening for a few minutes looking out into the night. Zach turned back to her.

  “Do you want to get out of here?” he whispered.

  She knew she should say no. She knew if she went she couldn’t stop whatever the night might bring. But there was something so captivating about him.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes I do.”

  Chapter 10

  After her talk with Jack, Emma finally started to relax a little, at least at home. But any time she went out she felt anxious. She found she was constantly looking over her shoulder. She seemed to spend most of her time thinking about him; about Zach. Everywhere she went she thought she saw him and each time a wave of panic swept over her until she would realize it wasn’t him at all.

  She wondered what he was doing now, if he was married, did he have children? She would sit and watch Mia play out in her parents back garden, so carefree and she wonder what he would think of her. She would imagine him playing with Mia out in the back garden. Pushing her on the swings Emma herself had played on as a child.

  She knew it was all just stupid thoughts, but found them somehow comforting.

  She also thought about how she would tell him about Mia and what he might say to her in return.

  Of course in reality her bomb shell would probably rock his world to the core. But in her head, in her little imaginary scene, he would throw his arms around her and tell her he couldn’t spend another day without her in his life.

  Emma realized she was wasting her time dreaming about the perfect ending that was never going to happen.

  Louise, who still had no idea why she left the pub so abruptly, asked her again and again to go out with her. She always managed to give her some reason why she couldn’t go to the pub or to a nightclub. She was even afraid to go for a meal just case she might bump into him.

  Then one day, about two weeks after she had arrived. Louise arrived early one morning with Andrew and asked Emma to go with her to do a little shopping. It was a couple of weeks before their mother’s birthday and Louise thought it would be a good idea to bring the kids to get a photo taken for their Mother’s for her birthday. She had booked a sitting with a photographer on the main street in Bray.

  Emma picked out something nice for the two girls to wear and got them ready. A short while later, Emma and Louise were strolling, side by side, towards the centre of Bray.

  Even though it was now the middle of February, it was a sunny, mild day.

  “So Conner was wondering what we were planning for Mam’s birthday” Louise asked as they walked side by side along the street.

  “I haven’t really thought about it to be honest,” Emma replied.

  “I was thinking of going to dinner” Louise said “You know with the whole family.”

  “Or ma
ybe we could cook a meal for everyone” Emma suggested as panic at the prospect of going out swept over her. “Maybe get a few drinks in.”

  “Come on Emma,” Louise replied. “It’s Mam’s birthday. I know it’s hard for you but it’s for her.”

  “Ok,” Emma said feeling guilty about her selfish behaviour. “I’m sorry for being such a stick in the mud.”

  “It’s ok,” Louise said with a smile. “I’ll forgive you this once.”

  They arrived at the photographers five minutes before their appointment.

  The photographer was really nice and had a natural knack with the kids. Soon he had plenty of pictures for them to pick from.

  He loaded them into a computer and put them up on a screen for Emma and Louise to pick from.

  There were so many to choose from it was hard but finally they decided on a really nice one. Emma also ordered a couple of photos of Andrew and she also chose a black and white photo of the two girls that really caught her eye. She couldn’t help but notice how much like Zach Mia was in it.

  “She reminds me of someone,” Louise said as she studied the picture with Emma. “But I can’t put my finger on who.”

  “Everyone says she looks like me.” Emma said surprised by what Louise had said. She wondered if she was seeing what she saw.

  “Maybe,” Louise said but was distracted when Andrew started to cry.

  They decided to go for some lunch so they could feed the children. Emma told Louise to go on and get them a table in the cafe next door, she need to change Lily’s nappy. Louise headed out the door and Emma went into the baby changing room in the photographer’s to change Lily.

  A few minutes later she was heading out the door to follow Louise to the cafe.

  Mia ran a little ahead and pushed opened the door hitting the person who was coming through at the same time.

  “Oh my God, I am so sorry,” Emma said grabbing Mia and pulling her back beside the pram.

  “That’s ok,” a familiar voice replied.

  Emma looked up and she was face to face with her past. Her heart pounded hard in her chest. This time she couldn’t just run. She had to stand there and try her best to act as normal as she could the whole time screaming loudly inside.