Indivisible Souls: Book 3 of the Bound4Ireland Series Read online

  Book 3 in the Bound4Ireland Series

  Kindle Edition

  He’s Everything She Needs, And She’s The Only One He Wants. All Things Are Possible, When You Believe.

  Tricia Daniels

  Copyright © 2015 Tricia Daniels

  ISBN 9781310088834

  All rights reserved

  This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  Warning:

  This book is recommended for 18+ due to explicit sexual and adult content.

  Disclaimer:

  This book is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author's imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places, is purely coincidental.

  Acknowledgements

  Some journeys are meant to be walked alone, because sometimes it isn’t until you become lost that you can truly find yourself. A sincere and heartfelt thank you to Karen, Angie, Ren and Tanya for letting me walk alone when I needed to, and taking turns dragging me, kicking and screaming, when I decided it was time for the journey to end. If true friendship, as well as true love, transcends all time, I’ll find you in the next life. And it’s not because you know the best places to hide the bodies.

  It goes without saying that everything I do, I do for my boys. They are my greatest reward and my greatest gift. I know that they will go on to do great things in their lives. Special thank you to everyone who read, reviewed and loved this story. And to my street team, fans and friends who blog, I cherish and appreciate every moment you spend sharing and the friendship you have offered me. For those who go above and beyond, I am humbled.

  Love inspired me to write this story. Sometimes the journey to the happily-ever-after has a lot of bends in it. Imperfect people can love each other perfectly. My reward, my inspiration was experiencing through them, a love so deep, that I felt it in my own heart. Still do.

  There are some loves from which you never can recover. I’ve discovered it. I’ve lived it and I will never forget it.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  Liam stares at his brother and his new bride. Unable to fight his jealousy, he blurts out the secret that she never knew he kept. “Maybe you should be resting. You don’t want to lose another baby.”

  It feels like a thousand knives stab into Elizabeth’s heart, before it seems to stop beating all together. She holds her breath, staring at her brother-in-law in terror.

  Owen turns to her, his face turning pale. “Another one?” he asks, confused. “You’ve been pregnant before?”

  Elizabeth closes her eyes, and then looks up at him with a pained expression. She knows this will be extremely difficult for him to hear. “Yes, a long time ago,” she whispers, feeling ashamed. “I was only a few months along and something went wrong. I lost the baby.” She fixes her eyes on Liam’s glower. “I didn’t think anybody knew I was pregnant, let alone that I had a miscarriage.”

  Owen looks back and forth between his brother and his wife, feeling uncomfortable about the glances they’re exchanging. “I thought you said you weren’t with anybody else after I left?” Anger starts to redden his face as he wonders if there’s something they need to tell him.

  Elizabeth fusses with her wedding ring, twisting and turning it anxiously. She looks up to meet Owen’s anxious gaze.

  Her silence frightens him. His mind races with thoughts he’d rather not consider, but he needs to know. “Elizabeth? Were you with someone else?”

  Tears well up in her eyes as she shakes her head. “No, I wasn’t.” She can taste a salty tear as it rolls down her face and dampens her lips. “There’s never been anybody else. Only you, Owen.”

  Owen’s eyes frantically search her face, as he tries to make sense of what she’s just said. His heart pounds, sending the blood rushing through his ears so loudly that he can’t think straight. He needs clarity. He needs it now. “Elaborate,” he demands.

  “Remember the night we got caught in the rain?” she asks him.

  “Yes, we made it to the cabin on the west ridge.” His mind goes back in time to recollect the moment. “It was the first time I made love to you.” He smiles, as the memory momentarily chases away his current anxiety.

  Elizabeth tries to return his smile, nodding her head. A sudden torrent of tears streams down her cheeks, making her bottom lip start to quiver. “It was your baby I lost, Owen,” her voice squeaks, barely choking out the words.

  Stunned, Owen stands frozen, unsure how to react. Elizabeth breaks down into a hard sob, pulling him out of his daze. He grabs for her, banding his arms around her to steady her, as her legs wobble. “Shhhhh, it’s okay. It’s okay.” Feeling her anguish, he tries to soothe her, holding his lips on the top of her head. “I’m here now. I’ve got you.” Smoothing his hands over her body, he sways her gently until she settles. When he releases her, he wipes the remainder of her tears away with his handkerchief.

  Elizabeth watches Owen’s face contort into an angry expression, as he glares across the room at his brother. “You knew?” He starts walking toward him. “YOU KNEW, and you didn’t send for me?”

  Liam nods his head, returning his brother’s glare. “If you knew, you would have come home to her.”

  “DAMN RIGHT! I should’ve been here, Liam. You should’ve told me.”

  “You had just started medical school. If you came home, you would have stayed with her. It would have ruined your career.” He pauses. “It would’ve ruined your life.”

  Owen’s hands form tight fists at his sides.

  “It’s the reason I destroyed your letter,” Liam confesses.

  His statement catches Liz’s attention. “What letter?”

  The two boys engage in a stand off in the middle of the grand living room of the Jameson home.

  Liam’s mouth forms a villainous smirk. “The letter he left for you, asking you to join him in London. The one where he asked you to marry him at the end of the first semester.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes fly open in surprise, looking to Owen in shock. She watches the anger pulse through every tensed muscle in his body as he struggles to control himself.

  “Please understand,” Liam continues, “I love my brother. Although, he doesn’t see it. I wanted him to live his dream and go to school to become a doctor. He had a chance to work at the finest hospital and leave behind this shithole of a town. I didn’t want him trapped here by a simple little country girl, who managed
to get herself knocked up.”

  Elizabeth’s stomach drops, and her chest fills with heartache.

  “You BASTARD!” Owen growls.

  Before Elizabeth can register what’s happening, Owen unleashes several hard punches. Hitting his brother with brute force, he sends him to the floor. Jumping on top of him, he pins Liam to the ground and continues to pummel him.

  Elizabeth screams, and tries to pull him off. “OWEN! STOP!” she pleads.

  Out of breath, he stops and looks up at her. “Please stop,” she begs, wiping at the blood on his lip from the only shot Liam managed to get in.

  There’s something in her eyes that calms the beast inside him. She’s the only thing that can soothe his temper. Getting to his feet, Owen releases his grip from his brother’s shirt and lets him drop hard back on the floor.

  “I didn’t think anybody knew,” Elizabeth says, staring at Liam as he gets to his feet. Her mind focuses on a lost detail. “Now it all makes sense. You were there after it happened.” She looks over at Owen as he walks the floor still aggravated. “Owen, it was your brother who sat on the side of my bed holding my hand as I cried. They had me heavily sedated, but I remember now. When I woke up, he was gone. I thought I imagined it.”

  “Is that true?” Owen asks, licking at his swollen lip.

  Liam rubs his jaw, staring at her, seemingly annoyed at her sudden recollection. “Yes, Lucy called to let me know Liz had miscarried and lost a lot of blood. Things didn’t look good. I got there as soon as I could to donate blood, so they could give her a transfusion. It took a long time to get her blood pressure stabilized.”

  Elizabeth becomes a little emotional. “They never told me that. There’s something else,” she begins. “When I left the hospital they told me that my bill had been paid in full. I never knew who or why, but thank you.”

  Liam wipes his bleeding nose and looks over at Elizabeth, shaking his head. “It wasn’t me, Liz. I didn’t pay the bill. I would have, but when I came back, you had already gone home and someone else had beaten me to it.”

  She looks at Owen with confusion. “Well...who did then?” The boys look at each other in bewilderment. Liam shrugs.

  “I did.”

  Startled, their heads all snap toward the figure standing in the doorway.

  “Dad?” Owen asks in shock.

  The Jameson patriarch wanders slowly into the room. “Yes.”

  “You paid the bill?” Elizabeth asks, confused.

  “Yes, I got the same call from Lucy. I had a feeling that the baby was Owen’s. But when I got to the hospital and saw Liam sitting on the side of the bed, crying and looking after you with such tenderness, I wasn’t sure anymore. All I knew at that moment was that both my sons seemed to be very much in love with you.”

  Owen stiffens beside her, looking over at his brother with a probing look.

  Liam shakes it off. “Don’t be ridiculous, Father. I’m not in love with her.”

  Suddenly reality hits Owen. “For fuck’s sake! Was I only person who didn’t know?”

  “Your mother doesn’t know,” his dad assures him.

  “Of course I knew,” comes a woman’s voice from the doorway. “Who do you think made Lucy call you?”

  Feeling overwhelmed, Elizabeth blows out a breath of air and cradles her stomach. “Oh, just great.” Turning pale, she closes her eyes and grimaces.

  Owen senses her anxiety and reaches down to hold her hand. “Are you okay? Maybe you should sit down.”

  Chapter One

  Getting to his feet, Ethan paces like a caged animal. The dull thud of the hurled phone connecting with the stone wall is barely audible over the barrage of Irish curse words. Chest heaving, he looks down at the cracked screen. He’s done. This time he’s going to let her go, for good.

  Thousands of miles away in a small brick building, hidden in Toronto’s downtown core, Eva sits in the darkness with her crystal ball, watching this tragedy unfold. Distraught, she carefully selects a few potions and lights a candle. Closing her eyes, she begins to chant.

  The cool autumn air around Ethan becomes very still. Leaves stop rustling and hang motionless, as time seems to come to a halt. The hair on the back of his neck stands at attention as a warm breeze creeps in and gently wraps itself around him. The unmistakable scent of lilac washes over him, calming his nerves like a magical elixir. A calm that stays with him only for a fleeting moment before an overwhelming feeling of angst prompts him to turn slowly. He swallows hard as the row of lilac bushes, in full bloom, comes into view.

  Ethan blinks several times, whispering to himself, “That’s impossible.” His eyes follow the alternating pattern of purple and white along the pathway to the humble cottage that, only a few moments ago, was a pile of rubble. Walking toward it, he pushes open the heavy wooden gate and walks into his past. Memories come flooding back to him at lightening speed, as the magic of Ireland unfolds around him. The sound of fluttering wings and a familiar song catches his attention as the small green bird lands on the edge of the birdbath, near the brightly painted red door. The heart shaped marking on its bright white chest is an unmistakable sign. The universe is no longer gentle with its messages, as a meadow of daisies dance and sway in the wind. His heart pounds in his chest. He feels it. The connection. Olivia. Their love.

  Rushing back to the stone wall, he picks up her phone and becomes frustrated that, in his anger, he’s destroyed the only hope he had to keep track of her. The wind picks up, sending a shiver across his skin. Branches of the trees at the end of the lane bend and creak, revealing a small sign nailed to the trunk. ‘FOR SALE.’

  Ethan bolts toward the car and takes one last look at the magic. Thinking about what she’s done makes his heart hurt. It’s a pain like nothing he’s ever felt before. He would never have allowed her to make that decision, had he known. That’s precisely why she didn’t tell him. It’s his fault. He’s made her feel as if she had no choice. It doesn’t matter now. What’s done is done. It doesn’t change the fact that he loves her. Always has. He hits the gas hard, leaving behind deep ruts in the dirt.

  Sitting in the back of a cab, Olivia curses as she frantically digs through her purse, looking for her phone. The roar of jet engines overhead makes her heart pound. The driver watches her curiously, as she dumps out the entire contents of her bag on the back seat.

  “Miss, we’re here,” he prompts as he fiddles with his radio, trying to clear a strange static that has suddenly disrupted the transmission.

  Something inexplicable grabs hold of Olivia. An invisible force tangles around her soul, pinning her against the seat. At that moment, she’s certain that she must be at death’s door. It’s the only explanation as to why her past life is flashing before her eyes, holding her hostage: a brightly painted red door, lilacs, a little green bird, and Ethan.

  “Miss?”

  Olivia looks up, obviously in distress.

  “Miss, are you okay?”

  She fights it, pushing the memories out of her mind and pulling herself out from under the force that’s weighing her down. As she demands her release from the spell that tries to consume her, she begins to feel dizzy. Breathless. It seems like forever before she finds her voice. “Yes, sorry.” Beads of perspiration start to dot her forehead. Emptying her wallet, she passes everything she has to the driver.

  “Take it,” she says sadly, “I have no need for it.”

  He looks at her suspiciously. “Are you sure, you’re okay?”

  Magically the static clears and an announcement from the cab company comes over the radio. The driver turns to listen, adjusting the volume so he can hear the details. A large reward is being offered to the driver who picked up a young woman destined for the airport. He quickly turns his attention to his passenger, only to find that she’s gone.

  Olivia hurries through the concourse, looking for the departure gate. She’s cutting it kind of close. She’s thankful that she checked in online and printed her boarding pass before she left
Shannon’s, otherwise, she’d be lost without her phone. Her legs start to feel weak as she makes her way down the boarding tunnel, the weight of her carry-on suddenly too much for her. Dropping it from her shoulder, she looks up to see the captain heading toward her, looking alarmed, as her knees bend and she hits the ground.

  As he reaches her, she quickly attempts to get to her feet, concerned that he’ll turn her back. “I’m okay,” she assures him. “I’ve just been rushing to make the flight and I forgot to eat.”

  Holding out his hand, he helps steady her. “I’ve forgotten a lot of things in my day, but I’ve never forgotten to eat,” he says concerned. “Let’s take a moment and make sure you’re really okay, before we get this bird in the air.”

  He guides her through the airplane doors like a fragile child. “Get her a cool compress and a glass of water. We’ll delay take-off for a moment,” he says to the waiting flight attendant.

  She nods and takes over, steering Olivia to a bench reserved for the in-flight attendants at the back of the plane.

  “Really. I’m fine. Just really embarrassed,” Olivia insists, as she wipes the sweat from her brow with the cool, damp cloth she’s given.

  “No need to be embarrassed. That happens to me sometimes at that time of the month.”

  “That time of the month?” Olivia asks confused.

  “Yes.” The attendant discreetly directs Olivia’s attention to the small blood spot that has soaked through her pants. “Do you have a change of clothes and… supplies in your carry-on? If not, I’m pretty sure we have what you need.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize.” Olivia fidgets uncomfortably. “I have everything I need in my bag.”

  “I’ll tell the captain that you’re okay and we’re good to go. You can step into the washroom to get cleaned up and changed. Let me know if there’s anything you need.”

  “Thank you.” Closing the door behind her, Olivia gets changed in the cramped space of the airplane restroom. A dull ache in her back grows stronger as she rinses out her soiled clothes. She fights the tears for as long as she can when there’s a loud knocking on the door.