“I will try to get past that; being around him feels do good. Seeing him with my baby is so beautiful.”
“They love each other and they both love me. I love my little girl, it's like you can't love her without loving him because all he ever taught her was love.”
“I'll tell you this, I can never tell my mother that I'm with my daughter and her father. She will never understand this.”
“You took my child and raised her to be a sweet and beautiful child.”
“My mother could have taken her, too.” Ashley started to cry. “She didn't even let me see her!”
“She just took her away. That's not what I wanted.” She moaned, “She was my baby, I wanted to keep her.”
“She didn't stand by me like you did for Charles. When Charles and I were younger, he told me he loved me.”
“I'm staying here because of Marley.”
“I want to know him. I see now the kind of man he is, loving and kind, but he hurt me.”
“When I found out he had my baby, I was so full of hate. When I came to Promise, I saw Charles and Marley at the feed store. I ran out in front of a car. Because I hated him, I wasn't looking!”
“I wanted to take my daughter and let the law handle him. When I was hit, it was like something telling me, ‘that’s not the right way.’”
“He took me home with him, not knowing who I was. He could have walked away, but he didn't.”
“It was as if I needed to know him. If I approached him that day I would have torn down all the love he taught her.”
“I didn't think about what I was going to do to her. I just wanted to hurt him.”
“Now I'm having all these feelings for him. It feels good being with him and Marley every evening. But going to bed alone . . . I think about how he hurt me—but—how much he loves me.”
“I can't seem to get past the hur,. but I want to. I need something to help me. I'm so lost please help me tell me what to do.”
“I need a mother, my mother.”
Charles had left work the same time Ashley did.
He stopped and got some flowers to put on his parents grave.
When he got to the cemetery, he saw Ashley's car. He walked up and saw her at his parent’s grave.
He stood back and he heard what she said to his mother.
When she finished talking, she put her hands over her face and began to cry, telling his mother she was confused, and how she really wanted to see her mother.
Charles walked up to her.
She looked at him and said, “Sorry.”
He helped her to get up. Then he held her in his arms, he broke down and started to cry. “I’m sorry for hurting you, all your pain is my fault.”
“I’ll never hurt you again, I love you.”
He held Ashley tight. All his pain came back from that day when he heard Marley was his daughter.
They walked over to the bench. They sat down trying to comfort each other.
He told Ashley, “Seeing you hurt, brought back the hurt I felt when the social worker said, ‘Go get your daughter.’”
“Those were beautiful words to me, but the way I got my daughter hurt me so badly.”
“I made a mistake when I hurt you, but my daughter will never be a mistake.”
“I will never be sorry she was born.”
Charles looked at Ashley saying. “I know it’s hard for you to forgive me. I was wrong for getting that angry with you, I should have walked away.”
He stood up and said, “Ashley you are safe with me now. You know that don’t you?”
She stood up; they went to put the flowers on the graves. Charles walked her back to her car, then he followed her home.
When they arrived home, they saw Marley riding on the ranch with the kids from another ranch.
Ashley said, “I want to be alone for a while.”
Charles replied, “I don’t want to leave you alone.”
She replied, “I’m okay, just for a little while.”
He told Ashley that he would check on her later. He went into the house.
The housekeeper said, “Dinner is on the stove. Marley did her homework, she’s out riding. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Charles went upstairs to take a shower and change clothes.
He came back downstairs and lay on the couch thinking about Ashley and waiting for her to come in from outside. Charles fell asleep.
It was getting dark, Marley’s friends rode home.
She came into the house and saw her daddy asleep so she went to get a shower.
When she finished her shower, she came downstairs to wake up her daddy.
“I'm ready to eat, Daddy, Do you want me to get mom?”
He said, “No, Baby, she's tired let her sleep. She'll eat later.” So, the two of them had dinner.
After dinner, Marley went to her room.
She was online talking with her Aunt Linda and Uncle Andrew. They told her they will be up next month for her birthday.
She talked with them for a while and got on the phone with a friend from school. Charles cleaned up the dinner dishes and lay back down on the couch.
Charles watched television for a couple of hours and then he went to check on Marley.
She was sleeping in her bed. He covered her and turned off the light in her room. He went downstairs to check on Ashley but he did not see any lights on in the guesthouse.
He walked down the sidewalk in backyard, sat on the swing in the gazebo, and started swinging.
Ashley was sitting in the dark. She heard something out back. She looked out the sliding glass door and saw Charles.
She went out the door and walked down the sidewalk to him. She sat on the swing with him and put her head on his shoulder.
He just kissed her on the head and kept on swinging.
He said, “I'm sorry, I told you that I would never hurt you again, but I was hurting you all along.”
“I just didn't want you to continue not thinking about what you wanted, however you want to do this.”
“If you want to see your mother I'll stand with you.”
“If you want to leave, we can work something out with Marley.”
Ashley replied, “I love it here. I love being with you and Marley.”
“I don't want to leave you. I know you love me and I know I don't want to spend another night without you.”
“I felt that when you held me at the cemetery today, so safe and so protected. Ashley continued, “As for my mother, the three of us can face her together.”
Ashley stood up and they walked into the house together. She spent the night with Charles. The next morning Ashley and Charles came downstairs together.
As Marley got dressed for school, Ashley went out the back door to the guesthouse to get ready for work.
When Ashley got dressed, she and Charles left for work. On the way there, they dropped Marley off at the bus stop.
Charles said to Marley, “When we get home tonight, we are going to plan your birthday and something else we need to plan.”
Marley asked, “Our trip to Texas to see Grams?”
Charles answered, “No something else.”
She said, “What else?”
He said, “Maybe a wedding.”
She said, “Yours!”
He shook his head yes, and she looked at her mother and said, “Really?”
Ashley answered, “Yes.”
Marley asked, “Tomorrow is Saturday, can we go out tonight?”
“That's my bus, see ya’ later!”
When Ashley and Charles got to work, she emailed Tiffany telling her she and Charles were getting married and to call her later.
When Tiffany came in her office, she saw the email Ashley had sent her. She told Dru and his parents.
Ashley and Charles day ended sitting around making plans for their wedding.
Ashley did not want a big wedding because she would not have her father to give her away. It will only be Charles's family.
&nb
sp; Marley asked her father “When is the wedding?”
He told her sometime after your birthday.
Marley said, “If it's going to be just family, why not in on Grams ranch.”
“We can ask them, we go there anyway with Uncle Andrew and Aunt Linda every June.” Charles said, “We will make some calls Monday morning.”
“I have something special planned for tonight. Let's get ready, it's a surprise, and you'll need an overnight bag.”
The surprise was that Charles was taking them on a cruise.
Three weeks went by and the plans were made for the June wedding in Texas.
One month later, the weekend of Marley's birthday, her family was due to be in on Saturday morning. The party would be starting at 3 pm out by the lake.
Cousin Dru and Tiffany arrived first. Then an hour later Uncle Dru and Aunt Linda arrived for the party.
Marley introduced them to her mom.
Uncle Dru said, “I remember Ashley. It's been a long time!” and he hugged her.
Aunt Linda said to Ashley, “All I remember about you is…It was love at first sight.” pointing at Charles.
Everyone sat around talking about the wedding.
At 1 pm they setup Marley's party. Everyone except Tiffany and Marley helped. They went outside to swing on swings. The party started 3 pm. The children ran about having fun.
Uncle Andrew said to Marley, “You invited a lot of children didn't you.”
Smiling at her Uncle Andrew, she said to him, “The more children, the more gifts.”
Tiffany and Ashley walked to the gazebo and sat on the swing.
Ashley told Tiffany, “I really want my parents at my wedding because they weren't at my first one. I would love to walk down the aisle with my dad, but how can I explain this to them? What would they do?”
Tiffany answered, “What can they do! Charles did a better job than they did. Don't worry, it will work out.”
They walked back to the party in time to see Marley open her gifts.
Uncle said again, jokingly, “That's a lot of gifts.”
She looked at her Uncle and smiled; “Marley loves all of her gifts.”
The ranch foreman came up and said, “Special delivery for Marley Roxenbury.”
It was from Great Grandpa. Her very own saddle. He made it just for her. She looked in the bottom of the box and saw a small box from Grams. When she opened it, there was a necklace with a charm of a girl riding a horse.
Marley loved all her gifts from her party and thanked all of her friends and family.
Mom and Dad brought three go-carts. The children took turns riding around the ranch.
At 6 pm, the party wound up and the family sat around talking. It starting getting late, so Uncle Andrew and Aunt Linda stayed in the guesthouse, and Dru and Tiffany slept upstairs.
Early Sunday morning the family got up and went to church together, after church they went out for dinner.
That evening all their loved ones went back home. Everyone said their goodbyes and let them know that they would be seeing them in two months.
Chapter Five
Five days later, Tiffany went to see Ashley's parents.
They were very happy to see her. She greeted them and told them she needed to talk with them.
She told them that Ashley found out Marley had been adopted; sort of, and that Ashley went looking for the family that adopted her. Tiffany continued telling Ashley's parents, “She found them but there was an accident and she lost her memory.”
“The family that had Marley took Ashley in and when she started to remember, she realized that Marley was loved and cared for.”
“She stayed with the family to be with Marley.” Tiffany said, “Do you remember when we were in high school, she was going out with Charles Roxenbury?”
Mrs. Richards said, “Yes, he was a sweet boy.”
Tiffany said, “You know Charles loved Ashley so much, he always said he was going to marry her. Well, when he found out the baby was put up for adoption, he got the baby and took her home with him because she was a part of Ashley and he waited for Ashley all those years. He loves Marley.”
Mr. Richards asked, “So he adopted Marley?”
Tiffany replied, “Sort of.”
Mrs. Richards asked Tiffany, “Why do you keep saying…sort of?”
Tiffany answered, “Charles is Marley's father.”
Mr. Richards said, “You think we would try to take her. If he adopted her, then he is her father.”
Tiffany said, “Mr. Richards, Charles is Marley's biological father.”
He said, “Tiff, if Charles attacked my daughter . . . he raped my little girl . . . and you’re telling me he loved her?”
Tiffany replied, “He still does, and she loves him. They are getting married. We talked about this and it's what she wants.”
“When she lost her memory she got to know them both, Marley is happy that her mother is home and she doesn't know about what happened to her mom. Just that her mother and father are together now.”
Mrs. Richards asked, “How old is Marley now?”
Tiffany answered, “She just turned 10, five days ago.”
Mr. Richards said, “My baby girl is really happy, she really wants to be with this man?” Tiffany said, “Yes, she loves him and your granddaughter but what she would love the most is for her father to walk down the aisle with her.”
Mr. Richards exclaimed, “You’ve got to be kidding!”
“I know it’s hard. But, can’t you forgive Charles? She did.”
“Let her be happy because her first marriage didn't work out. She has a daughter to complete this marriage.”
Mrs. Richards looks at her husband and said to him, “Charles took the baby because he loved Ashley. We put the baby up for adoption because we loved Ashley. Which one of us did the right thing? Which one of us hurt her the most?” Mrs. Richards continued.
“The shame that Charles felt is no different from the shame that I am feeling right now. I took her baby away and we both knew that she wanted to keep the baby.”
“I haven't seen my baby in almost a year. I thought she was angry with me. I need to see my child.”
Mr. Richards said, “Okay.” to both his wife and Tiffany.”
Tiffany told them that the wedding was going to be held June 19th in Texas on Charles's grandparent’s ranch and that it was all Marley's idea.
“You two will be my surprise. I will make all your arrangements and I will get back with you. And one more thing, your trip is on me.”
Tiffany talked with the Richards for a few more hours, everyone agreed that the past was the past, and she told them just how she wanted to surprise Ashley and Marley.
When Tiffany left the Richards home, she called Charles and told him about the Richards and the surprise.
Charles called his grandmother and told her about Tiffany's surprise.
Five weeks went by and suddenly it was June 10th.
Uncle Andrew and Aunt Linda were in Texas visiting his parents. They were staying until the wedding.
Dru and Tiffany arrived on the 15th. They went to see Charles, Ashley, and Marley at Charles grandparents house.
Dru said to Charles’ grandma, “Tiffany and I will stay in your apartment.”
Grams replied, “No, you will stay in the house, my apartment is for my surprise guest.”
Dru asked, “Who?”
Grams answered, “If I tell you it won’t be a surprise.” They all smiled at what Grams said. That night Andrew and Linda came over with his parents, Charles other grandma. Charles introduced Ashley to them and they loved her right away.
Marley ran to her other grandparents telling them about her birthday, they all had dinner and talked with each other.
Grandma, Charles mom's mother, called Ashley to her room and told her she had something for her.
Grandma said, “My daughter gave this to me years ago to put in the family safe. It was to be given to Marley when she came of
age, and if she wanted to find you, Marley was to give it to you without reading it.”
“I know what's in it, my daughter and I have known the secret, but before you read it there is something I want you to see.”
Grandma showed Ashley the tape of Charles graduating from college, she put it on the part where Charles was giving his valedictorian speech.
She wanted Ashley to hear his speech, it was all about Marley, and when he was walking out with his classmates, Marley ran up to him.
She wanted Ashley to see the look on Charles's face when he picked her up. Grandma stopped the tape and said, “I will leave you to your letter.”
Grandma left the room and joined the rest of the family.
About 15 minutes later Grandma told Charles to go check on Ashley, “She's in my room.” He walked in and asked, “What are you reading?”
She said, “Your Grandma gave it to me,”
“Charles, do you remember that day you saw me at the cemetery, I asked your mother something? A long time ago she answered my question in this letter.”
Charles took the letter and read it. He said, “I didn't know about this.”
THE LETTER
My dear Ashley,
I write this letter one year after we brought Marley home. My mother will keep it in her safe.
Several members of my family know to give this to Marley when she comes of age.
I had a long talk with my son, I know what he did to you was wrong and he has been hurting everyday for that.
He loves youand he is grateful for the beautiful daughter you two have together, even though the way she was conceived was wrong, the love he has for her is so right. Ashley, he loves you even more through her. I'm not sure how old Marley will be when you come looking for her or how old Marley may be when she goes looking for you.
She has a bedtime story about you and she loves to hear it every night before bed, only her daddy can tell it just right.
Many nights I see my son swinging in the gazebo wishing you would walk up. He told me that he is waiting for you to complete his family.
Marley loves you so much. That's all her daddy teaches her. I can't tell you to forgive my son, let your heart tell you what to do. I truly hope I get a chance to meet you, if I do, you will never see thisletter. I love you through my son and my granddaughter. She's our heart, and let her be yours. . . .
Stolen Love Page 4
