A Stolen Heart

by Beverley Hollowed

  “Thanks,” she said as she climbed out of the car.

  “And Jenna” he called after her. “Be subtle.”

  “Don’t worry,” she replied with a laugh. “Subtly is my middle name.”

  She climbed out of the car and walked into the tall glass building in front of her and made her way to the reception desk. It was a very chilly morning so Jenna pulled her coat tighter around her trying to keep warm. But then when she stepped through the revolving door of the building, the heat hit her like a blanket and suddenly she was sweating. She took off her coat and scarf and carried them on her arm. The girl at the reception desk looked up at Jenna and smiled brightly at her and asked how she could help her.

  She told her she was looking for Zach Adams, that she was his sister and she needed to see him immediately. It was a matter of great urgency.

  As Jenna had an American accent too, the receptionist believed her story and told her exactly where she could find Zach.

  She made her way to the lift and headed for the sixth floor. She stepped out of the lift and made her way down the long winding corridors in her search for Zach. She managed to get herself lost twice before she was finally redirected to the correct corridor.

  She spotted him sitting at a desk in his office, supposed to be doing paper work but instead staring into space.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” Jenna said when she reached where he was sitting and startled him.

  “Hey Jenna,” he said when he looked up and saw her there but then his smile quickly faded. “Is something wrong? Emma and the kids, are they ok?”

  “Relax,” she said sitting down across the table from him. “There is nothing wrong. I was just passing by and I thought I would stop in and see if you would like to buy me a coffee.”

  “Well then you’re in luck” he said closing the paper work he was working on and stood up. “I was just about to head to lunch. You are welcome to join me. Just give me a minute to put these all away and I am all yours.”

  He gathered up all his files and put them back into his filing cabinet before he grabbed his coat and headed for the door. He led her back down to the ground floor and out of the building. He directed her to a small coffee shop across the street and held the door opened for her and followed her inside.

  Zach bought two coffees and two sandwiches and lead Jenna over to a table near the window. When they sat down Zach glanced out of the window and spotted Jack sitting in his car in the car park next to the coffee shop. He smiled to himself as he realized Jenna wasn’t really passing by and he had a pretty good idea why she was here.

  “So you were just passing by, huh?” he said unable to hide his smile. She followed his gaze out the window and spotted Jack’s car. She couldn’t help but blush.

  “Ok,” she admitted. “I wasn’t just passing by. I wanted to talk to you.”

  “No prizes for guessing about what” he said as he took a bit from his sandwich.

  “Zach what are you doing here?” She blurted out. So much for subtly she thought.

  “I believe most people call it working,” he replied with a smile. “But if you mean right now. I am trying to have my lunch.”

  “Come on Zach” she said. “You know exactly what I mean.”

  “Jenna what is it you want from me?” Zach said seriously as he placed his sandwich down on his plate.

  “I talked to Emma last night,” Jenna replied. “She sounds miserable.”

  “Well she has just buried her Dad” he replied knowing exactly that wasn’t why Jenna thought she was miserable. His heart ached as he thought of her so far away and unhappy.

  “Yeah” she replied. “But I don’t think that is the problem this time. She misses you.”

  “Did she say that?” he asked hopefully because he missed her so much it was killing him.

  “She didn’t have to,” Jenna replied. “I know Emma and I know she is stubborn and she is proud. She is never going to admit she was wrong going back or that she made a mistake. But then, it would seem she isn’t the only one.”

  “It’s not that simple,” he said and looked out the window once again. “You are asking me to go and step into another man’s life, to take his place in his home, in his family. I don’t know if I can.”

  “Maybe,” Jenna replied. “But what you seem to be forgetting is it’s your family too. That’s your little girl and she has already lost one Daddy. Are you really going to let her lose another one?”

  “She will never lose me,” he replied but her words hit him hard. “I will always be here for her and there is nothing she will ever need while I’m around.”

  “That’s just it, Zach,” Jenna said taking a sip of her coffee. “You’re not around. You are thousands of miles away from the woman you love and your daughter all because your stupid pride is more important.”

  “How do you know she wants me over there anyway?” he asked as he nervously picked at the sandwich which was now abandoned on the plate.

  “She asked you to go, didn’t she?” Jenna replied. “What more do you want?”

  “How can I be sure she meant it when she asked me to go,” he said grasping at straws. He knew she was right but wasn’t going to admit it just yet.

  “Did you mean it when you asked her to stay?” she replied with a shrugged and a half smile.

  “Of course I did,” he answered.

  “I rest my case,” she said and stood up. She put her coat on and picked up her handbag but paused before she walked away from the table. “Look you have already lost five years because of other people interfering. Don’t waste another five years because of fear and pride. If you love her like you say you do. You know what you need to do.”

  Zach didn’t reply for a moment. He just thought about what she had said and in his heart he knew she was right.

  “Are you sure she feels the same?” he asked looking up at her.

  “Zach,” Jenna said placing her hand on his shoulder. “She never stopped loving you.”

  She gave him a reassuring smile and patted his arm.

  “Thanks for lunch,” she said and left. He sat there staring out the window thinking about what she had just said. He knew she was right. He had already lost five years and he wasn’t ready to waste another minute.

  He stood up suddenly and headed straight back towards his office. He didn’t wait for the lift instead he took the stairs two at a time. When he reached his office he called his assistant and told her to call up all the airlines and see which one had a flight leaving that night for New York.

  He began to pack up his belongings and cancelled all his appointment for the rest of the day.

  When his assistant came back into his office with a list of available flight for that evening. He told her to book the eight o’clock flight and to cancel all his meetings for the foreseeable future until she heard from him.

  He grabbed his jacket and his briefcases and headed for home. He had a bag to pack and a plane to catch. Most importantly he had a girl to win back.

  Chapter 35

  Emma tried her hardest to settle back into her life and settle the girls into a routine. As long as she kept busy she was fine but in the still darkness of the night she felt lost. She missed her family and she missed her Mam. But most of all she missed Zach.

  If she was honest she missed having someone to hold her. She longed to have someone hold her in their arms and tell her everything was going to be ok. When she lay in bed in the still of the night she thought about Zach. About the nights she had spent in his arms. She remembered his touch, his smell, everything.

  She wanted so much to have him next to her sometimes in the darkness of the night she could barely breathe. She wondered if he was thinking of her, if he missed her as much as she missed him.

  She hadn’t seen much of Jeff since she came back either. She understood he was angry with her out of loyalty to Jonathan but she was hurt he couldn’t see her side of things too. Had he expected her to spend the rest of her life mournin
g Jonathan? She wondered if he would ever accept her being with someone new.

  Whether or not it was Zach, she knew he would never be completely comfortable with her having a stranger in her home taking Jonathan’s place.

  But she couldn’t spend the rest of her life waiting for him to be ready. As much as she loved him and Alycia, she had to think of herself and the girls. She wasn’t prepared to spend the rest of her life alone and if Jeff couldn’t accept that well maybe there was no place for him in her life anymore.

  She woke up early one morning about a week after she had come home. She decided it was time she stopped moping and get on with her life. She needed to try and get her life back on track. She needed to think of herself and the girls. She was going to make things better for them. Her heart was still aching and if she was honest it ached for Zach.

  After breakfast, she dressed the two girls and went for a walk to the playground. When they got there Mia ran straight to the swings which were her favourite things in the world. Because it was still early there were only a couple of other children there so Mia didn’t have to queue for her turn on the swing.

  Emma parked Lily’s buggy next to one of the benches and sat down to watch Mia as she swung and sang to her hearts content. Seeing her like this, made Emma feel a little better. Knowing her daughter was happy was all that truly mattered to Emma. She knew no matter what she would decide in the future as long and her girls were happy then she would be too.

  “Emma,” a voice said from behind her, startling her. She turned around and was surprised to see Jeff standing there holdings Mathew’s hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “That’s ok,” she replied with a smiled. “Hey Mattie, Mia is on the swings. I’m sure she’d love to see her best friend.” Without replying Matthew ran towards Mia and left Emma and Jeff in an awkward silence.

  “Can I sit down?” Jeff asked nervously.

  “Of course you can,” she replied and smiled at him reassuringly. They sat in silence for a few minutes watching the children playing. Taking turns pushing each other on the swing and laughing happily.

  “They are growing up so fast,” Jeff finally said breaking the silence. “It seems like yesterday that they were like Lily and now look at them. Before we know it they will be going off together to college.”

  “I know,” she replied. “Sometimes it’s scary how quickly time flies by.”

  “Sometimes I wonder will they always be friends like me and Jonathan,” Jeff said softly. Emma didn’t reply. “You know when we were kids we would talk about how we would work together and live next door to each other and grow old together. About how we would watch our kids and then our grandkids grow up. It’s funny we never imagine for a second that one of us wouldn’t be here.”

  “Life can be very cruel sometimes,” she sighed still not taking her eyes from the children. She could feel a lump of grief forming in her throat and she swallowed hard to push it back down inside her.

  “We came so close to our dreams we never thought one of us would have to say goodbye,” Jeff continued. “But I guess that is part of life. Things aren’t always set in stone and sometimes it’s hard but we have to accept it and learn to move on. But it’s just sometimes it’s so hard I don’t know if I can accept it and move on.”

  “Sometimes we don’t have a choice,“ Emma said sadly.

  “I miss him so much I can barely breathe.” Jeff said hoarsely and he tried to keep his grief under control. “Like sometimes when I watch a game and there would be a great pass or an amazing goal. And for a tiny second I forget he’s gone and I would turn to him to share the moment but he’s not there. It’s just hard.”

  “He loved you so much. Jeff,” Emma said wiping the tears from her eyes. “You were his best friend in the world.”

  “I know he did,” Jeff agreed and took a deep shuddering breath. “I loved him but it’s time I said goodbye. I am sorry for judging you. I had no right. It’s just Jonathan’s been part of my life for so long I can’t believe he isn’t here anymore. Mia was like a little bit of him I still had but she wasn’t really his to begin with.”

  “But Jeff, Lily is” Emma replied reaching over and taking his hand. “He will always be her father and nothing can change that. No matter who comes in and out of our lives? But she will never know him. She will have no memories of him. So I need you to help me make sure she knows him the way she should. I can’t do it without you because you know parts of his life I will never know and you have to be there to tell her.”

  He shook his head and tried hard not to cry. He took a moment before spoke again.

  “So you love this other guy?” he said suddenly.

  “Yes,” she replied. “I do, I never meant to hurt Jonathan but Zach just stole my heart.”

  “Zach, that’s his name?” he said finally turning to Emma.

  “Yeah,” she replied.

  “Yeah, you said that the other night,” he said and took another deep breath. “I forgot for a moment”.

  “He is a good guy Jeff,” she told him. “I think you would like him.”

  “Maybe,” he replied without looking at her. Instead he just stared at the children as they played side by side on the swings.

  “I did love Jonathan, Jeff” Emma said. “That’s why I didn’t tell him the truth. I was going to, the morning of the wedding but I couldn’t, I couldn’t hurt him. And it wasn’t because I was pregnant. At that stage I didn’t even know myself. I just couldn’t break his heart. I cared too much about him. And I was happy with him, I would have been happy to spend the rest of my life with him. But he is gone and I am so lonely and if there is a chance to find even a little of what me and Jonathan had I have to give it a try.”

  “You’re right,” Jeff said and nodded. “And the one thing I do know about Jonathan is he would want you to be happy again and if this guy will make you happy, well then that’s fine by me.”

  “Thank you Jeff” Emma said hugging her friend tightly. They held each other for a minute and each remembered Jonathan and wished they could bring him back.

  “But I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” She said when she finally released him from her arms. “I think I blew my chances.”

  “Why?” Jeff asked. “What makes you think that? I thought you loved each other?”

  “Because he asked me to stay,” she explained. “To try to make a life for us and the girls but I turned him down. I was scared and once again I took the easiest option.”

  “I don’t understand,” Jeff replied. “I thought you were in love with this guy.”

  “I am,” Emma replied. “I never stopped loving him. And it hurt so much to say goodbye to him again. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I wanted so much to hold him and tell him how I felt. I wanted to tell him that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Because I know he would have made us so happy.”

  “Then answer me a question,” he said turned back to Emma. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I... I don’t know” Emma replied as finally it sunk in what it was she really wanted. She had used every reason there was not to be with Zach but there was only really one. She felt guilty that she was moving on and leaving her life with Jonathan in the past.

  She felt she owed him. He loved her even though he knew she didn’t really feel the same. And he made her life so happy and she didn’t want to admit that what they had was, in part, a lie. But it was. It was Zach she wanted. It always was. She wanted him to be part of her life and she knew what she would have to do to have that. She looked at Jeff and smiled “I have to go home.”

  “I will walk back with you,” he said standing up to get the kids.

  “No you don’t understand,” she said. “I have to go home to Ireland.”

  “Okay,” he replied a little confused with her behaviour.

  “You were right,” she said looking at him in a funny way. His eyes seemed to dance with a strange look of happ
iness. “It’s time we all learned to move on and that is what I have to do. And I need to go home so I can do just that.”

  She quickly stood and called Mia, it was all so clear to her now. She stood and waited for Mia to finish her turn on the swing then called her once again. Mia hopped of the swing and walked over towards Emma followed closely by Mathew. Mia was not impressed to have her adventure in the playground cut sort.

  As she got closer to Emma she lifted up her head and Emma knew she was about to start grumbling about having to go home so soon but to Emma’s surprise she didn’t. Instead her expression quickly changed from anger to complete happiness.

  “Zach!” Mia suddenly called out and ran past Emma. Emma spun around and was shocked to see Zach standing there. Mia ran to him and leaped into his out stretched arms. He hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek then looked up at Emma.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked unable to believe he was there, actually standing there in front of her.

  “I decided that I lost you once,” he said still holding Mia. “I don’t care where I have to go or what I have to do, I don’t want to lose you again.”

  “You never lost me,” Emma replied and smiled. “I was just misplaced for a while. But you have found me again.”

  “I love you,” he said as he put Mia down and he walked closer to her.

  “I love you too,” she replied as her heart soared in her chest.

  “I want us to be a family,” he said as he stood in front of her. “The four of us, if you’ll have me.’”

  “Of course we will have you,” Emma replied. “There is no one else we would want.”

  He pulled Emma close to him with his free hand and kissed her softly. Mia giggled.

  “Marry me?” he asked Emma.

  “Yes!” she said as Mia cheered. Zach looked at Mia and smiled then picked her up and kissed her on the cheek once again.

  “Promise me you will never leave me again,” he said turning back to Emma and looking into her eyes.

  “I promise you,” she replied. “I promise nothing will ever stand in our way again.”