Stolen Hearts (The Stolen Series Book 3)

by Renee Harless

  She loved me. And when she found out her father’s job was relocating across the country, she panicked. Kelli was leaving the day after our Homecoming dance and she spent the entire night trying to convince me to give her a baby. That she didn’t want to be apart from me and that was the only way. During the fight she admitted to trying to get pregnant by me without my consent.

  Lord knows at seventeen I wasn’t ready to be a father and I felt like she was setting me up in a trap that I couldn’t escape.

  When I denied her the request, she went off the deep end accusing me of everything imaginable. I knew she was hurt and didn’t mean any of the things she said, but it didn’t matter at that moment. I ended things and left, calling her parents to pick her up at the dance.

  I haven’t heard from her since. Not until I finally find someone that makes me want to change my ways. Of course, fate would play this cruel joke on me, probably in spite of all of the women I’ve taken to bed without a second thought.

  Life can definitely be cruel.

  Passing by a fast food joint, I pull in and grab lunch for myself and Taylor, making sure to grab her favorite – double cheeseburger with ketchup and extra pickles, and a Dr. Pepper with light ice.

  I chuckle at the thought of knowing her food of choice.

  A few of the trucks are in their designated spot and I pull into the only vacant one. I’m glad that I’ve brought Sara’s brother Aiden and his few friends onto the team. Even though they are young and inexperienced, they’ve proven to be hard workers and get the job done faster than some of our previous employees.

  Grabbing the bag from the passenger seat, I walk into the office and empty the contents on the work table for Taylor to add onto her sheet and sort later. In my pocket, I feel my phone buzz and I grab it to find Jackson calling.

  “Hey, man. What’s up?”

  “Hey. Elle wanted to know if you guys wanted to come over to dinner tonight. We’re having barbeque.”

  “Um, that sounds good. I’ll check with Taylor but I don’t think she’ll turn down an offer of food. We’ve been living on chicken and vegetables so a change of pace will be nice.”

  “Alright. Well, just let me know if you change your mind. And don’t forget to bring that cutie-pie with you.”

  “Pssh, of course I’ll be there.”

  “You know that I’m not talking about you, dumbass. See ya at seven.”

  Laughing, I tell him that we’ll see him later and then I head back toward the office section of the building.

  “Hey, Taylor. I just got a call from Jackson and Elle and they’ve invited us to dinner.”

  Opening the door to the small bedroom I see that Tabitha is wide awake sitting quietly around a pile of stuffed animals, she eyes me and smiles with her few teeth, holding a giant purple bear out toward me.

  “I’ll come to play in a minute sweetheart; I’m going to check on your aunt.”

  Closing the door, I find her desk empty. My heart begins to pound wildly in my chest. Taylor would never leave Tabitha unsupervised while she’s at work. We even installed a monitor in the room so that she could watch her in the bedroom.

  Moving down the small hall, I check the bathroom, office supply room and then look into the breakroom. Taylor is bent over the small table with a cold cup of tea overturned and dripping onto the floor.

  “Taylor?” I call out as I rush into the room, terror clawing at my back. “Taylor!” I repeat as I grip her shoulder. Her body moves within my grasp and her body falls back into the seat where I find her skin ashen and her lips pale.

  “Shit,” I whisper as I reach out to check for a pulse. Low, but still there. I breathe a small sigh of relief, but I know that we’re not in the clear.

  “Taylor, sweetheart. I need you to wake up.” I try to coax her awake by shaking her shoulders, but all that does is knock her hair free from the pencil holding it off of her face.

  I fumble with the phone in my pocket, almost dropping it twice before I get a steady hold of the device. My large thumb presses the numbers 9-1-1 and I wait for the dispatcher to take my information as I try to tell her what I know and how long that I’ve been gone.

  A cry calls out from the other room and I know that I should go to Tabitha. It’s as if she can sense something is wrong, but I can’t leave Taylor’s side. My hand stays firmly on her neck, the feel of her pulse enough to keep me from having a complete breakdown. With the phone in my other hand, I press the call back number and luckily Jackson answers after the first ring.

  “Hey, if you’re not going to come I need you to call Elle. I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news. You know how she gets.”

  “Taylor’s passed out in the breakroom and unresponsive,” I blurt out, my voice hitching with every word.

  “Shit.”

  “I need you and Elle to meet me at the hospital. I’m going to ride with the ambulance.”

  “Okay, what about Tabitha?”

  “I don’t fucking know. And she’s in the other room crying. I don’t know what to do. I can’t leave Taylor here like this.” In full-blown fright, my fear gets the better of me and I give in to the tears threatening to spill down my cheeks. I surrender to them waving my white flag for all to see.

  “Calm down. Okay, I’m going to call Elle and have her come to the office and get Tabitha. She’s at the store not too far from you. We’ll meet you at the hospital. And Hunter?”

  “It will be okay. Taylor needs you to be strong.”

  “Yeah, okay,” I tell him blankly as he ends the call and I drop my phone onto the table.

  “Taylor, please. I need you, sweetheart.”

  It’s only about two minutes later when I hear the ambulance arrive at the same time as Elle.

  “Hunter! Oh my gosh, I’m so glad that I was across the street at Target. Is Tabitha in the bedroom?” she asks and I reply with a nod, unable to turn away from Taylor, whose color has become more translucent over time.

  “She’s in there.” I hear Elle direct, most likely to the emergency medical technicians here to treat Taylor.

  The two EMTs dash into the small breakroom and try to push me out of the way to assess Taylor, but I hold firm. My hand never leaves her neck until the female looks at me with kind eyes and explains that they need to load her on the stretcher. She tells me that her heart was working too hard and she needs to go to the hospital immediately.

  As her body slips away from my touch, I feel as if I’m losing an integral part of me. I watch them strap her limp body onto the gurney and I physically reach up to my chest and rub the center.

  “Daddy!” a small voice shrieks and my breath catches as I turn around to find Tabitha reaching for me in Elle’s arms. It’s the first time that she’s called me by that name and it’s a moment overshadowed by the chaos surrounding me right now.

  “Hey, baby girl.”

  “Mommy, bye bye?” she asks, and of course she picks this moment to call Taylor her mother. It’s not something we’ve ever asked of her, always calling ourselves uncle and aunt. But Tabitha is smart, and she’s been around other children enough to understand the titles. And Taylor has missed it.

  With tears flowing unchecked down my cheeks, I push back the haphazard curls from Tabitha’s face and smile down at her. “Yeah, Mommy isn’t feeling too good, so she’s going to the doctor in a special car.”

  “She get shots?”

  “Yeah, probably. But she’s strong just like you. Now, I need you to go with Auntie Elle so I can ride with Mommy, okay?”

  The toddler uses her finger to tap on her chin as she considers her choices and then smiles as she says, “Yes.”

  “Thank you, Elle.”

  “Absolutely. We’ll meet you there. And everything will be fine, Hunter. I just know it.”

  And as I crawl into the back of the ambulance and watch as they run an IV line into Taylor’s arm, I pray that Elle is right and everything will turn out to be fine.

  The ride to the hospital is short and I
follow the technicians as they scuttle Taylor out of the ambulance and into the Emergency Department.

  “Sir, I’m going to need you to wait here. She’s in good hands.” I almost push past this person trying to keep me away from Taylor, but as I peer down ready to unleash my anger, I take in the warm eyes, with wrinkles spreading from the edges reaching toward her graying hair. Something about her stern yet caring demeanor has me pausing. “You can have a seat in the waiting room and I will personally let you know when I have an update on your fiancée?” she says with a raised brown in question at the significance of Taylor and my relationship.

  “Fiancée, yes. My cousin and his wife will be arriving soon with our daughter if you could tell them where I am.”

  “Absolutely.”

  I watch her scurry back to the desk to grab a chart and I turn around and amble over to the row of seats against the wall giving me a prime view of the double doors leading to the ER. As I take a seat I realize that I called Tabitha my daughter, and in every sense that little girl is. And hopefully, Mr. Sedgwick will find Taylor’s sister’s Will so that we can make it official.

  Scrolling through my phone I send a message to Cooper and Jackson, letting them know what’s going on and then I send a message to my employees letting them know that they will not be able to get in touch with me tonight or over the weekend.

  Once the important messages have been sent, I continue scrolling, deleting numbers I’m no longer in contact with, many of which are that of some of the past women that I entertained for a night or two. An unfamiliar number comes up next on the contact list and I stare at it for a second before I recall Taylor putting it into my phone as her grandmother’s number. She had asked me to keep it, just in case she ever got the courage to call. When I asked why she didn’t just put it in her own phone, she explained that if she had it readily available she would try to make contact before she was ready.

  Before I consider the ramifications I dial the number and listen to it ring three times before a soothing voice answers on the other end.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, I’m calling for the grandmother of Taylor Hughes.”

  “Oh my, yes, this is she. Is my Taylor okay?”

  “Yes, well, I hope so. This is her . . .er. . .fiancé.

  “Oh, well, that’s just wonderful news. I never liked her sister’s boyfriend, may she rest in peace. Is my Taylor happy?”

  “I think so.”

  “Oh, good good.” The woman has me completely off track as she tries to catch up with information about her long lost granddaughter and I do my best to fill her in.

  “Hazel,” I call out using the name she requests, trying to bring her back from her tangent. “I’m here at the hospital with Taylor. They think everything is fine, but I didn’t know who else to call. I know she has zero interest in getting in touch with her family.”

  “And I don’t blame her. That bastard should be in jail for everything that he put them through. But, now, she has you.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Please ask her to call me when she is feeling up to it. I know we have some things to work through, but I believe we can rekindle a friendship of sort.”

  “I will do my best, and when I learn more, I will let you know.”

  “Thank you, son. I must get back to my tennis game. Gavin is getting impatient.” With that, she ends the call leaving me flabbergasted on the other end. I’ve never spoken with such a vivacious woman of her age, which Taylor disclosed was nearing the nineties. She apparently had her family later in life, living up to her socialite status growing up.

  Looking up from my phone as I tuck it back into my pocket I find Elle and Jackson sitting across from me with Cooper and Sara holding a riveted Tabitha as she plays a game on someone’s phone.

  “When did you all get here?”

  “We’ve been here for a while. It’s nice to see you smile. Who were you speaking with?” Elle asks innocently, tucking her arm through Jackson’s as she returns my smile.

  “Hazel Helms, Taylor’s grandmother.”

  “Oh! I didn’t realize that she had any family that she’s kept in touch with,” Sara points out as she looks up from around Tabitha.

  “She doesn’t. We got her number when her sister died, but she’s never contacted her. But I feel like someone should let the woman know that her granddaughter is in the hospital.”

  Sara and Elle exchange a look and then turn their gaze back to me. Elle speaks first. “Hunter, I’m not sure that was the best decision to make without letting Taylor know first.”

  “What? I was panicked and I felt that someone needed to know. That’s her family and she needs them now more than ever.”

  “I’m sure she’ll understand,” Sara utters before turning back to Tabitha.

  “What did I do?” I ask as the nurse from earlier walks toward me.

  “Sir? I can take you to see Ms. Hughes now.”

  Standing, I look over toward Tabitha, at the nurse, and then back again.

  Sara flicks her hand in the air. “Go, we’ll take good care of her.”

  Nodding, I quickly meet the fast-paced steps of the nurse as she takes me through the double doors that changed my life the last time that I stepped through them. I cross my fingers that it’s not another day like the one from before.

  Chapter Ten – Taylor

  IF THIS RIDICULOUS BEEPING noise doesn’t stop I think I may actually use the wires to strangle someone. As if my head doesn’t hurt enough, the beeping is making it worse. Not to mention, my eyes feel like I have ten pounds of sandpaper weighing them down.

  I smack my lips together, trying to produce some moisture on my tongue.

  “Here, sweetheart. Just small sips,” I hear a deep voice softly tell me. The voice cascades over my skin like honey – sweet, thick, and slow.

  I feel something press against my lips and I assume it’s a straw so I wrap my mouth around the end and take a drink of ice cold water.

  “Oh, you’re awake!” a perky voice calls out at the same time I hear a door shut. “Let me turn the lights out. It will help your eyes adjust.” When I sense the room darkening, I pry one eye open and then the other.

  “There she is.” Moving my head, I achingly face toward Hunter as he smiles down at me.

  “I’m glad to see that you're awake, Ms. Hughes. How are you feeling?”

  At first, nothing comes out of my parched mouth, but as Hunter holds up the straw, I take a sip of water and try again. “I’m okay. What happened?”

  “Well, a few things, as I’ve explained to your fiancé. But nothing to be overly worried about. First, I’m going to step out real quick, then I’ll be back to discuss things with you. Okay?”

  Hunter and I watch in rapt attention as she exits the room.

  “Oh my God, Hunter. What is it? What did she tell you? Is it cancer? Am I dying? I was so weak and I could tell that I was passing out, all I could think of was getting to Tabitha. I’m so sorry. Is she okay? Where is she?” I ask, my heart rate increasing with every question that spews from my mouth. I’ve never felt such a sense of fear as I did when I felt my body shutting down in the breakroom before I could call someone for help or get to Tabitha. I hadn’t been feeling well all day, but I thought some tea would settle my stomach. Unfortunately, I was never able to figure out if it was going to work.

  “Hey, hey. Calm down. Tabitha is fine, she’s with my cousins right now. But first I want to ask you something.”

  “Okay. . .” I reply slowly. Hunter’s carrying a strange expression that has me wondering what’s going on with me.

  “Taylor, I want to make our engagement official. Will you be my wife?”

  Fear grips me instantly. Not fear of being married to Hunter. Hell, even if I only felt love from him in the bedroom, I would feel satisfied for the rest of my life. But my fear stems from the knowledge of being tied to someone and someplace for the rest of my life.

  “Taylor?” Hunter asks again and I rea
lize that my hesitation sends him a note of trepidation from me.

  “Hunter, where is this coming from? You don’t love me. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I can’t see myself spending the rest of my life with anyone else, Taylor. Tell me that you don’t feel this attraction between us.”

  I’d be an idiot to deny feeling the attraction. It’s so palpable sometimes that I swear I can cut it with a knife. But then again our chemistry has been ridiculous since our eyes met at Elle and Jackson’s rehearsal dinner.

  But I know this isn’t what he wants. I’m not what he wants. Right now I’m just a convenience living in his home until I can make it on my own.

  Before I can tell him that I can’t do this to him, I watch the doctor open the door to the room with a team behind her. Something about the uncertainty of my ailment causes me to utter a word I would never have considered prior to this moment. “Yes.”

  Quickly, Hunter leans forward, cradling my head with his hands, then planting a wet kiss in my closed lips.

  “Alright, lovebirds, let’s get down to business.” The doctor pulls out her tablet and brings up a chart. “Taylor, you’re borderline anemic, which is an iron deficiency. Moving forward I’d like for you to supplement with iron. I can provide you a prescription to get filled at the pharmacy. Your levels dropped dramatically today. I can’t advocate enough that you need to eat a minimum of three meals a day. Not just for you, but for this little one as well.”

  I smile at Hunter as I learn my diagnosis and his return smile warms me from the inside, tip of my head to the bottom of my toes.

  Wait. What did she say?

  “What?” I ask in horror.

  The doctor laughs as she pulls over a computer type device. “Your fiancé said that you had no idea. If you could lift your legs, I’d be happy to show you.”

  I follow her instructions looking blankly at the black screen. I barely notice as she inserts a condom covered tube into me. The only thing that registers is the feel of Hunter’s warm hand against mine.

  “There he is,” the doctor points out as a small blip appears on the screen, a subtle whooshing noise filling the room.