A New Beginning Read online

  A New Beginning

  Samantha Hicks

  Back of the Book

  What happens when you lose the love of your life to a tragic accident? That is the question Amy Barton must figure out when Julia, her wife, dies. With a new son to look after, she is trapped in her grief, fearing she will never be happy again.

  Six years after Julia’s death, she meets Laura Reynolds at the cemetery Julia is buried in and the attraction is instant, but unwelcomed. She fights the feelings she has for Laura, but with her mother’s constant match making, and Laura’s charm, she is eventually won over by her and she begins to realise she can move on from her grief and begin a new life full of hope.

  Laura is enamoured with Amy, and her young son Aaron, and pursues her. However, it is clear Amy is still very much in love with her deceased wife. Laura must fight her jealousy and convince Amy they are worth taking a risk for.

  After finally deciding to make a go of it, disaster strikes again, and Amy must make the choice to follow her heart or hide it away, so it can never be hurt again.

  A New Beginning

  © 2019 by Samantha Hicks

  FDP Publications

  Edition: 1st

  ISBN:

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this eBook may be reproduced in any form without the express permission of the author and publisher. Please note that piracy of copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights and is illegal.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Production Design: FDP PUBLICATIONS

  Cover Photo: @HannahLouiseArt

  Dedication

  To all the dreamers out there,

  Dreams do come true…If you want it bad enough, make it happen.

  Also by Samantha Hicks

  Trusting Hearts

  After the Dark

  Prologue

  Amy Barton entered her small lounge from the adjoining kitchen holding a plastic child’s plate with mashed banana on it. Her fourteen-month-old son, Aaron, sat in his high chair waving his arms in her direction. “Hi, sweet boy,” she said. “You ready for your lunch?” She pulled a chair up next to him and placed the plate on the high-chair table. “Here you go.” Straight away he stuck his hands into the mush and Amy laughed as she tried to bat his hands away so she could feed him with a spoon. “Mama will be home soon. I bet she can’t wait to give you a great big kiss.”

  Julia, her wife, was on her way back from the local gardening club a few miles outside of Bournemouth. After having Aaron, Julia had given up most of her outside pursuits, preferring to be at home with Amy and their new son, but the gardening club was one she just couldn’t let go of. She loved the outdoors and Amy loved how much Julia loved it.

  “How about we try eating it instead of throwing it at Mummy?” Amy asked just as a mushy ball of banana hit her on the cheek. After a few more bites she took the plate away. She returned it to the kitchen just as her mobile phone rang from the kitchen counter.

  “Hello? Yes, this is she...What...Oh my God. No... Okay...I’ll be there as soon I can.”

  She hurriedly dialled her mother’s number with shaky hands. “Mum? Julia has been in an accident...I need to get to the hospital...No, can you meet me there? Thanks.”

  Amy quickly put her phone into her pocket, grabbed Aaron from his high-chair, and her keys from the kitchen. “Come on, Aaron, we need to go.” She rushed out the front door foregoing putting her coat on even though the March weather was cold.

  She settled Aaron into his car seat and then slid into the driver’s side, her body a mass of anxious tension. She thought for a moment that her stomach might revolt and she’d lose her own lunch. She managed to get the key into the ignition and as fast as she could, whilst cautious, she drove to the hospital.

  Amy strode up to the reception desk in the emergency room of St. John’s hospital clutching a crying Aaron in her arms. She bounced him on her hip trying to calm him as she spoke to the young blonde receptionist.

  “My wife was brought in earlier from a car accident. Her name is Julia Barton.”

  “Hang on and I’ll just check the system.”

  The clerk turned her attention to her computer and Amy felt a familiar hand on her shoulder.

  “Amy?”

  Amy turned around and saw her mother, looking rather harried, much like herself. “Mum, thank God.” Amy passed Aaron over to her who instantly managed to stop his crying. She supposed he was picking up on Amy’s anxiety and he didn’t like it. Maybe she was holding him too tight. She didn’t have time to think about him right now. She had to find out about Julia.

  “What happened?” Her mother asked whilst dangling her car keys in front of Aaron to play with.

  “Car accident. I don’t know the details.”

  “Mrs Barton?” A deep male voice spoke from behind her and she spun around. An older looking doctor in a white lab coat stood in front of her. His blue eyes were sharp and clear, and Amy found she trusted him immediately.

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “Can you come with me please?” He tilted his head in the direction of the main corridor which led to the emergency room ward. She glanced back to her mother.

  “You go ahead, I’ll stay with Aaron,” her mother said.

  She followed the doctor down the corridor but instead of going onto the ward he led her to an office off to the side. As soon as he closed the door behind them she demanded, “What’s going on? How’s Julia?”

  He took a steadying breath and then said, “She was brought in after being in a head on collision with another car. She has some major trauma to her head and lower body. We’ve had to take her straight to surgery due to some internal bleeding.”

  Amy’s knees went weak and she had to prop herself up against the wall. “Oh God. Is she going to be okay?” For a moment he refused to meet her gaze and she feared the worst. She tried to hold onto the hope that Julia would fine, but it was hard, her world was falling apart.

  He placed a steading hand on her shoulder before saying, “We’re doing all we can. I’ll come back and find you once I know more.”

  “Thank you.” Amy took a few deep breaths and tried to still her racing thoughts. She couldn’t imagine a life without Julia in it. They had been together since they met in university, coming up to ten years now. She had only ever been with Julia, she was her world. They were married, they had a son. How could this be happening?

  On shaky legs she found her mother sitting in the waiting room, Aaron asleep on her lap.

  “What did he say?” Martha asked, stroking Aaron’s small back with her hand.

  “She’s in surgery. He said something about major trauma to her head and legs. What if she dies, Mum?” The tears fell before she could stop them.

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Martha said, taking hold of her hand and pulling her down next to her.

  For the next two hours Amy waited for news. Her mother had taken Aaron back to her own house to wait with her husband as Amy thought it would be better for him to be there instead of at the hospital. So, for two hours Amy waited alone. She couldn’t stay seated for long, her body flushed with a restless energy, so she paced around the waiting room. She was sure she pissed off more than a few waiting patients, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was Julia. Mercifully the doctor reappeared but one glance into his eyes and Amy knew Julia was gone. His once clear and sharp gaze was now clouded and full of sympathy.

  “Mrs Barton? I’m so very sorry—”

  “No!” she screamed, falling to her
knees, not caring about the curious looks she was getting. She felt his hand on her shoulder again as he crouched down beside her.

  “We did all we could, but her injuries were too severe. She passed away about fifteen minutes ago.”

  “No! Please God no.” She looked up at him, her eyes unfocused through her tears and asked, “What am I going to do without her?” He didn’t answer. “I need to see her.”

  The doctor shook his head. “I don’t think that is a good idea.”

  “I want to see my wife, now.”

  He must have realised she wasn’t going to back down because he took a breath and said, “I’ll let the doctors know so they can get her ready for you.”

  Half an hour later Amy was stood next to Julia’s lifeless body in a private room. A sheet was pulled up to her shoulders, so all Amy could see was her face. What was left of it anyway. The whole left side was swollen badly, covered in bruises and gashes. She looked like a monster. “Oh, my beautiful Julia.” Tentatively Amy placed her hand on her shoulder, noticing her fingers were shaking. “How could this happen?” she asked, her voice clouded with pain. “What about Aaron? He needs you, I need you.” Sobs broke free as she looked upon her wife’s once sweet face. “Please don’t leave us. Please.”

  Chapter One

  Laura Reynolds pulled the collar of her wool coat more firmly around her neck as she sat cross-legged on the damp grass in the cemetery, the cold October morning making her shiver. Before her stood the newly erected headstone marking her grandmothers grave.

  “Happy birthday,” she said into the wind. “I’m sorry you couldn’t hang on those few extra weeks.”

  Her grandmother, Gladys, had died a few weeks ago from pneumonia. She had been hospitalised after a fall in her home and after three weeks laid up in a hospital bed it had led to her contracting the virus. Gladys had been Laura’s only family having raised Laura from a teenager after her mother died of a drug overdose. Now at thirty-nine, she had done well for herself, professionally anyway. Knowing from an early age she wanted to be an architect, she had spent her time working hard through the years to be comfortable in her life and was now freelance. Being able to pick and choose her clients was a dream come true.

  A few tears spilled out, running down her chilled cheeks. She still couldn’t believe she was now officially alone in the world. Not a single person on earth was she connected to. It felt strange to know she was the last of her blood line, as far as she knew. But that was okay. She had learned long ago that people couldn’t be trusted; her last relationship taught her that.

  A small shadow fell over her and she tilted her head up to look over her shoulder. A small boy stood behind her cloaked in a puffer coat that appeared to be at least two sizes too big for him. He smiled shyly at her, his blond hair softly being blown around his face by the late morning breeze.

  “Hello,” he said. “Would you like a tissue?” He pulled his hand out of his coat pocket and handed her a rolled-up napkin.

  Laura glanced at the tissue, supressing a grimace. It looked like it had been used before, but she didn’t want to offend him after his kind gesture. She reached out and took the tissue, saying, “Thank you.” Instead of using it to wipe her face, she scrubbed her hand over her cheeks then stuffed the tissue in her own pocket hoping she’d remember to throw it out as soon as she could. She didn’t want his boy snot going crusty in her coat.

  “My name is Aaron,” the boy said as he sat down next to her.

  “I’m Laura.” She looked away from him and back to her grandmother’s head stone.

  “Who are you talking to?”

  “My nan.” She glanced back at him. “It’s her birthday today.”

  “Really?” His face lit up, his crystal blue eyes going wide. “It’s my birthday too. I’m seven.”

  Laura smiled at him. “Happy birthday. My nan would have been eighty-seven. She passed away five weeks ago.” She blew out a deep breath, still finding those words hard to say. Her gran had always been active, her mind as sharp as a tack. Laura had assumed she would probably have made it to one hundred years old. If she hadn’t have slipped on wet leaves whilst gardening and hitting her head, causing her to be admitted to hospital, she would have still been here. With me.

  “I’m sorry,” Aaron said, sorrow etched in his voice. He glanced over his shoulder then back to her. He screwed his face up, pouting his lips. “Me and my mum are here visiting my other mum. She died when I was really little.” He looked into his lap, his little hands balled into fists. “I don’t remember her, but mum makes me come every year to see her on my birthday.”

  Well that was depressing, Laura thought. What kind of kid wanted to go to the cemetery on their birthday instead of opening presents and eating cake? Laura floundered for a moment unsure of what to say. “Oh, right. And where is your mum?” she queried.

  He waved his hand over his shoulder. “She’s over there. She started crying again. I hate when she does that.”

  “Does she know you’ve moved away from her?” Laura didn’t have much in the way of maternal instincts, aside from a dog she once had growing up, but even she knew mothers didn’t like it when their kids ran off.

  “Dunno.” He shrugged.

  “Aaron?” A feminine voice sailed over to them from behind and soon a striking ruby-red headed woman was next to them grabbing Aaron by his shoulders and yanking him up to stand. “What have I told you about wandering off?” The fear in her eyes wasn’t hard to miss and Laura could still see the fresh tear tracks on her glowing cheeks. Her skin looked soft and youthful but fine lines at the corners of her eyes made her look older than she probably was.

  “Sorry, Mummy,” Aaron mumbled, his gaze firmly looking at the grass.

  “Anything could have happened to you.”

  Laura took a moment to study Aaron’s mother. She was a little shorter than her own five foot six and looked like she could stand to gain a few pounds. Even under her long winter coat, Laura could see she was too thin. Her skin was smooth and clear though, and a small freckle sat just under one eye. In Laura’s opinion, she was breathtaking. Aaron’s voice brought her back from her ogling.

  “I’m okay. I’m with a friend.”

  Laura raised her eyebrows at that response. Sharing a snotty tissue hardly made them friends.

  “A friend?” His mother’s gaze flicked down to her, her eyelids squinting in suspicion. “I don’t believe I know you.”

  Laura stood from the grass, not liking his mother thinking she was a child abductor. As if I would steal a kid from a cemetery. A park would be a much better place for that. She refrained from making the inappropriate joke.

  “That’s Laura. It’s her nan’s birthday today, same as mine.”

  Laura felt her cheeks flush.

  Apparently satisfied she wasn’t here to kidnap her son, his mother said, “Hi, I’m Amy. This little runaway is my son.” Amy held out her gloved covered hand.

  “Laura Reynolds. Nice to meet you,” she replied as she shook her hand. She stared into Amy’s eyes for longer than necessary, seeing tiny flecks of green in her blue eyes. A jolt of longing shot through her stomach and she quickly let go of Amy’s hand. Where the hell did that come from?

  “Can we go and open presents now?” Aaron asked, obviously bored.

  She watched as Amy blinked rapidly breaking the eye contact and looked at her son, a small frown on her lips. “Of course. Nanny and Grampy are waiting for us back at home.” Amy looked at her again, but without the heat from a moment ago. “It was nice to meet you. I hope Aaron didn’t bother you too much.”

  Laura waved a dismissive hand in the air. “He was fine. He offered me a tissue.” She tried not to grimace at the bugs that where probably crawling around her pocket right about now. “You have a very kind-hearted son.”

  “Thanks, but don’t let that gesture fool you.” She grinned. “He has been known to run me ragged.”

  “That’s what boy’s do, isn’t it?”

&nb
sp; “Yeah.”

  They stared at each other for a few moments, twin smiles on their faces.

  “Come on, Mum! I want cake.” He grabbed Amy’s hand, desperately trying to drag her away.

  “See?” Amy said to Laura. “A little terror. I’ll see you around.”

  “Yeah, probably.” Probably not. Laura watched them wend their way around grave markers back toward the carpark. After they had disappeared around a corner Laura looked back to her nan’s headstone. “Well Nan, it’s not every day you meet a beautiful woman in a graveyard.” She shook her head. Amy was gorgeous, that much was true, but she had a dead wife and a son, way too much baggage for someone as uncomplicated as Laura. She couldn’t even handle one-night stands, no way would she even contemplate going after a widow with a kid. Nice pipe dream, though. A family of my own. “What do you think, Nan? Do you think I’ll ever see her again?” She smiled. “Yeah, didn’t think so.”

  She said a silent prayer for her grandmother then headed back to her own car. She had some designs she needed to finish before a client meeting in the morning. He was way over eager in his suggestions with the budget he had provided for her, but she was determined to give him at least some of what he wanted.

  Chapter Two

  Seven months later...

  Laura sat in her local coffee shop in Bournemouth Town Centre, ten minutes from her office. On the table in front of her sat her laptop and a pile of paperwork she was going through ready for a client meeting. She sighed as she rested her head in her hands. She had been sat here for an hour waiting for him and he hadn’t showed. Five minutes ago, he texted to say he couldn’t make it. Laura was pissed. She had better things to be doing than sitting in a busy Starbucks on a Friday afternoon.

  She closed her laptop and stuffed the files back into her briefcase. Just as she swallowed her last sip of her chai latte, a familiar figure cut across her line of sight. Laura squinted, trying to place the red-head. “Amy?”