Stolen Love (3 page)

After Marley’s furniture was delivered, they spent the rest of the day putting her room together.

Charles had to be back in school in two days, so he spent the next two days with his daughter. Each night he made a bed on her bedroom floor, he knew when he went back to school Marley will be safe and with people who loved her.

The morning he left to go back to school, he held his little girl saying, “Daddy loves you, I’ll see you soon.

Charles called home every night just to hear her voice and so he could say, “I love my beautiful baby girl.”

Marley spent her days with grandma watching her along with the horses. When grandpa came home in the evening, he walked the ranch with Marley riding along side him on one of the colts.

Charles finished that year of law school and came home to his daughter. He continued to live on the ranch with his parents and Marley.

At the age of six, Marley's grandma taught her how to ride a horse. She loved her Saturday morning rides with her father and grandparents.

One year later, Marley, and her father moved into an apartment.

Marley was happy to be with her daddy.

She asked him about her mother, and he told her she would see her mom, he promised. He told Marley just to give her time she would come to her.

Charles made up a bedtime story for Marley, about the summer he met her mother when they were at the beach, went to the movies, and to the park.

Marley went to sleep at night listening to the story of her mom. It was her favorite bedtime story.

Chapter Three

Two years later, Charles’ parents were in a car accident, his father died instantly and his mother was taken to the hospital.

Charles picked Marley up from school and they went to the hospital.

His mother told him to find Marley’s mother, murmuring, “She needs to know her mother.”

Marley lay in bed with her grandma crying, saying, “Granddaddy gone” and telling her grandma she was scared.

Grandma died later that evening.

A few weeks after the funerals, Charles and Marley moved back to the ranch. Uncle Andrew, Aunt Linda, cousin Dru, and Tiffany drove to the ranch to visit the little family.

They asked Charles about Marley's mom. He said a girl I knew from Promise had her and gave her to my mother and left town, she never came back.

Charles then asked Tiffany about Ashley, Tiffany looked at Marley very strange.

She said, “She’s married to a doctor, they live in
Arizona
. We don't really talk.”

So, Charles saw no reason to find her.

At the same time, Ashley and her husband were getting a divorce. Her husband found out she could not conceive and he wanted children.

After the divorce she went to her parents and told them, “I’ve lost my husband I could never have children. We went to the doctor and found out that you had me fixed.”

She cried, “Why did you do that, my husband and I had trying for a year to have a baby?”

She told her mother, “My husband accused me of knowing. I tried to tell him I didn't know but he didn't believe me!”

“He got so angry with me. Now we are divorced because of you. I don't have my husband anymore.”

She stormed off saying, “I’m going to bed.”

The next morning she said, “I'm going to see Tiffany and Dru. I plan on making a home there but I am going to travel first.”

Her mother asked, “Are you going to find Marley now?”

She turned and looked at her mother and said, “You named her Marley, but you wouldn't let me keep her. You just took her away. Why should I look for her now, it's been nine years?”

Her mother gave her all the information she needed, saying, “If you change your mind. . .”

Ashley left her mother and went to the place where her child was placed up for adoption.

She was afraid to go in so she left and went to a hotel to do some thinking.

The next morning, still not sure about going in, she thought about how old the child was, and wondered if the child hated her, and of what she could possibly say to the child.

Ashley finally went into the adoption agency and gave them all the information she had on her daughter.

The clerk came back and said, “The child had been adopted.” Then she said, “No, the courts gave the father custody.”

Ashley started having flashbacks to the rape, she said, “What father? What was his name?”

The clerk said, “Charles Roxenbury, a DNA test proved that he was the father of Marley.” Ashley got very angry and went back to her hometown to see Dru and Tiffany. She asked Dru if Charles told him about his daughter.

Dru told her Charles was looking for her about a year ago. “We told him you were married.” Dru told Ashley that Charles had lost both of his parents in a car accident, and he and Marley moved back to the ranch.

Ashley shreiked, “Marley!”

Dru said, “Yes. The child's mother gave his parents custody and left town.”

Dru started telling Ashley about Charles and Marley, she was getting sick of listening to him talk about how great Charles was with his daughter. She said, “I would like to visit him, how can I find him?”

Dru told Ashley where she could find Charles. The next day she left for Promise. As she was driving and thinking about how nice he acted, how they played on the beach, and all the fun they had that summer. She remembered when he told her he loved her drawings, how he would always keep them.

Then she started thinking about how he attacked her, she hated him for what he did to her.

Now he had stolen her baby!

When she arrived in Promise, she stopped for gas at the gas station.

When she was walking out of the gas station a man snatched her purse and ran with it. She had no longer had her ID, money, or phone. He had taken it all.

Ashley got back into her car and drove off looking for The Roxenbury Ranch.

When she saw the police station, she decided to report her purse stolen. As she neared, she asked a man outside of the station, “Do you know where The Roxenbury Ranch is?”

The man answered, “Yes, that's Charles Roxenbury and his daughter over at the feed store.”

The man drove away leaving Ashley standing there at the edge of the road.

Ashley called out with anger, “Charles!” she starting walking very fast. By the time, Charles turned to see who had called his name,
 
Ashley had walked out in front of a car and was hit. Charles could not tell who called him, he just saw someone hit by a car.

People ran to help, so did Charles and Marley.

Ashley saw Marley and reached for her and then she passed out.

Ashley was taken to the hospital and she was in a coma for four days. For four days, Marley thought about the woman.

She asked her daddy if he knew her. He said, “I’ve never seen her before.”

Marley thought, “She reached for me, so maybe my mom sent her.”

She asked, “Daddy can we go see the lady in the hospital?”

Charles said, “Sure we can.”

Charles and Marley went to the hospital; Charles went to talk to the doctor. Marley stayed in the room with Ashley, she remembered the woman reaching for her.

Marley touched Ashley's hand and felt something strange, and then suddenly Ashley woke up. Marley instantly took to Ashley not knowing why.

After she awoke, they found out she had amnesia, so she stayed in the hospital for a few more days.

When Ashley was to be released from the hospital, Marley asked her father, “Can the lady stay with us until she remembers?”

Her dad replied, “Yes, she can stay in the guesthouse.” Charles told his housekeeper, “Someone will be staying in the guesthouse for a while.”