Runaway: The Sequel to Secrets, a sexy and dramatic western romance (Finding Love ~ THE OUTSIDER SERIES) (15 page)

Laura grabbed his arm
. “I don’t want you to go. Please don’t leave me.”

He slid both hands over her cheeks
, holding her face up to him. “I’m not leaving you. I’m just going to shut the barn door so critters aren’t wandering in the barn and locking our door so no one can get in. I’ll be right back.”

The floor creaked under the weight of Andy’s feet as he pounded down the stairs
. She listened as the barn squeaked closed, and then the door at the bottom of the stairs. He turned the deadbolt and then climbed back up, and Laura just stood there watching.

“Get undressed and in bed.
Come on, you’re shivering.”

Andy
slid his hands under her shirt and lifted it over her head so Laura stood in just her bra and pants. He sat her on the bed, and she couldn’t shake the feeling of being treasured. He lifted her foot and removed first one shoe then the other, then helped her stand again and unclasped her bra, tossing it onto the floor as he slid his hands over her large breasts, now a C cup. Andy rubbed his palms over her nipples, and she leaned her head back and gasped. He slid his hand around her back and held her so she didn’t fall, and he lowered his head to her neck, breathing her in as she slid her arms around his neck and held him.

Andy kissed her neck and then her cheek
, then brushed her lips with his, and she pressed her tongue to his, needing to taste him, be part of him. He pulled the tie holding up her cotton pants and then shoved his hands in the waistband, pushing them down with her underwear until they pooled at her feet. “Step out.” He tore his lips away and then reached behind her, pulling back the covers. “Get in.”

“I want you in bed with me.” She pulled on his arm as he helped her under the covers, the chill of the icy sheets hitting her bare skin setting her teeth to shiver.

“Oh, I plan on doing just that.” He pulled the quilt up to her chin and then tossed his leather coat on the kitchen chair, unbuttoning his shirt, toeing off his boots and unbuckling his belt without taking his eyes off her.

With t
he warmth in his eyes and what she knew was coming with him, with his touch, his caress, she began to warm in anticipation. Even the doubt and uncertainty that had lingered in her heart, for the first time in forever, was gone.

Chapter
22

Laura leaned back against Andy
, loving the sense of being his, feeling every part of him, so very male and warm and strong, pressing into her. It was as if a piece of her very own heaven had been cut out and handed to her on her very own platter, and there was only here and now, no tomorrow and yesterday. He had a way of making her feel safe now that she had dropped all those walls she kept nailing up around her, and if Dr. Richardson or Caroline or anyone tried to break through that door right now, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that they wouldn’t get past her husband.

He kissed her shoulder and then slid his hand over her large belly, over his babies
, and she linked her fingers with his, loving the feel of his large hand.

“I love you
,” she whispered, breathing in the cool air.

“Hmm
,” he murmured, nuzzling her ear. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No
, you feel so good. I can still feel you.”

Andy slid his hand over her
hip. “You need to get some sleep.”

Laura turned her head toward
him. “What about the doctor and what she said she was going to do? I don’t want her anywhere around me or delivering the babies.”

Andy rose up on his elbow so he could easily look down into her eyes. “Don’t you worry about D
octor Richardson. I’ll deal with her. I want you to relax. You need to let me handle this.”

“But
, Andy, what are you going to do? I mean, I heard Jed, what he said....”

“Laura, go to sleep. There is nothing for you to worry about. This is my responsibility
. I’ll handle it.” He cut her off, and his expression appeared to darken, but it wasn’t for her. He leaned down and kissed her, and for the first time, she didn’t feel the need to wonder and worry. She really believed he would handle it.

“You make me feel so safe
, Andy.” She yawned because letting go and being able to lean on Andy had her so relaxed that she thought maybe she could sleep for a week. So she snuggled into his arms, one hand resting on his very sexy hip, the other linked with his, feeling as if she was nestled in a very protective cocoon. She felt the tension melt from every muscle, every limb, until she was so relaxed that she felt herself floating to a place of absolute peace.

She didn’t know what woke
her, she lay there in that place, not really awake, listening to Andy’s heavy breathing behind where she was still pressed against him. She first became aware of the cramping down her thighs, and it brought her instantly alert. She waited for it to pass as it slowly grew stronger, as if someone had pulled the belt tighter around her and then let it go. She breathed out and blinked in the darkness. How long had she been asleep? She didn’t know, but as the cramping passed, she became aware of an ache pinching her lower back. It had been there last night and must have come from all the running she did, dragging Gabriel down a darkened path. She had pushed herself too hard—of course she did. After all, she’d been on bed rest, and Andy had all but waited on her hand and foot. Her body wasn’t used to this. She needed to move, as the cramping in her back was getting worse, and she hated moving because Andy was so tired and he was such a light sleeper that she didn’t want to wake him. She didn’t want to move out of the comfort of his arms.

“What’s wrong?” Andy muttered in a deep
, groggy voice.

“I didn’t want to wake you. It’s just
that my back hurts,” Laura said. Then she felt the cramping again down her thighs and lower belly. “Ohh,” she groaned as she pulled her knees up and blew out as the tightening seemed to go on longer, stealing her breath.

Andy was now sitting up and leaning over her, rubbing her arm. “Are you having contractions
, Laura?” He sounded wide awake now.

It took Laura a minute before she
could answer. “I don’t know. My back was hurting. I just thought I did too much last night.”

“I’m going to call the doctor.” Andy started to get out of bed.

“No, don’t call that doctor. I don’t want her anywhere near me and the babies. She’s going to hurt me, take our babies.” Laura started to cry, and Andy slid his hand under her shoulder and lifted her as she struggled to sit up. He held her against his warm chest.

“
Shh, don’t cry. I’m not calling Doctor Richardson. I’m going to take you to the hospital.”

“No
, I don’t want to go to the hospital. Andy, please.”

“Laura
, it’s too early for you to have the babies. I’m going to wake Jed, get the name of Diana’s doctor.” Andy slid out of bed and had his jeans on in a second. He sat beside her on the bed and pulled on his boots. “Look, I want to talk to someone to make sure that you and the babies are okay. I promise I’m not going to let anything happen. You’ve got to trust me, Laura.”

“Andy
, I do trust you. I’m just scared.”

He touched her face with both hands
, and she grabbed both his wrists, holding on to him because she didn’t want him to go. Andy leaned in and kissed her lightly.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you. No one is taking our babies.”

She watched him, and something inside the blue-gray of his eyes had her heart doing a flip-flop. That wolf, predator, and protector was all around her.
My God
was all she could think as she swallowed and then finally nodded, hypnotized. She felt the sync of his flow, and she wasn’t on the outside looking in. It was powerful and beyond words, and it was all she had ever wanted. So absolutely, yes, she trusted him with her life, her babies’ lives.

“I’ll be right back.” He grabbed his coat off the chair and pulled it on
as he hurried down the steps, and Laura listened as she felt the tightening low in her pelvis, across the front and down her thighs, and she rocked on the bed and groaned from the ache. It was stronger, longer, and it was just passing when she heard footsteps, Andy running up the steps and another behind him. She pulled up the blanket over her breasts, as she sat naked under the covers.

“You have another contraction?” Andy
said. He was behind her on the bed. Jed was standing by the stairs, and she felt so exposed. Andy must have known, as he reached for his shirt on the chair and helped her put it on, buttoning up the front. “The bed’s wet,” Andy said as he pulled back the covers.

“I think my water broke.” Laura could feel
it trickling out of her. “Can I have a towel? The mattress is soaked under me.”

“Diana’s calling her doctor
, Laura, but it sounds like you two need to go to the hospital now.” Jed was standing over them.

“Jed’s right
, Laura. We need to go now. I’ll help you get dressed.” Andy was off the bed, reaching for the clothes tossed on the floor.

“No
, I don’t want to go, Andy. I want to have the babies here.”

Both men gave her a look as if she’d just lost her mind.

“You’re thirty-three weeks. It’s too early; there could be complications, and you’re having twins. We are not staying here. You are having these babies in the hospital, where there are doctors and nurses who know what to do if something goes wrong, where there is medical equipment.”

Jed
opened his mouth as if trying to figure out what to say. Andy was now pacing beside the bed, the wolf she’d come to know as part of who he was wound so tightly that she wondered for a moment whether he wouldn’t reach down and scoop her up. She could also see that he was holding himself back from leaping in, taking her, dumping her in his truck, and driving fast and furious to the hospital.

He pressed his fingertips to
his eyes and hovered above her. “Laura, you are going to the hospital....”

She didn’t hear what else he said
, because another contraction squeezed, shooting pain like shards of glass jabbing into her thighs. It was the worst yet, and she rocked on the bed and moaned. “Oh, Andy...”

The bed squeaked
, and the mattress dipped beside her. His hand was pressed against her lower back, rubbing, his other across her front so she could lean into him.

“Andy
, it hurts. I don’t remember it being so hard.”

“That’s pretty close together
, Laura,” Jed said. The floor creaked as he stepped closer. “Andy, you need to talk your wife into going to the hospital, or you should just take her.”

“No
, I don’t want to go. Please, Jed, if I’m in the hospital, that doctor could sneak in and take my babies, our babies, Andy. If they planned this, how easy would it be for them to do it, give me a shot, put me out? I know it sounds paranoid. I’m scared, and it’s nothing to do with me not trusting you, Andy, because I do. I just don’t trust what they’d do.”

Laura rode out another wave of contraction
s and leaned against Andy, fisting his leather coat, squeezing it. His chin rested on top of her head. She heard him say something to Jed and listened to Jed’s footsteps going down the stairs, but that was all that registered in her brain. She was simply here with Andy, thinking the pain, becoming a part of it.

“Laura
, you’re fighting it. Breathe, come on, take a deep breath and let it out, and again.”

She listened to his voice and did what he said
, and it helped. She wanted to sag into him when it passed, because she was so tired.

She knew the sound of Jed’s heavy footsteps as he hurried back up. The hardwood stairs and the open beam brought an echo every
time someone came up or even walked across the floor. Laura welcomed the sound because she loved it here; it was safe and a haven, and to her, it was a comfort.

“Diana just spoke with her doctor
. She wants to know how close they are together. She said she’ll meet you at the hospital.”

“Still no cell service out here
, right?” Andy was on his feet, reaching into his coat pocket for his cell phone and holding it up. “Shit, nothing. Jesus, Jed, of all times for you to live out in the middle of nowhere.”

“Andy
...” Laura called out to him and let out a loud groan. The pain was tearing at her thighs and in her back, and she thought she’d go out of her mind. He was beside her again, and she leaned on him as he rubbed her back and talked her through it. Then it passed.

“That’s pretty close together
. Two minutes, Jed. Call your doctor back. Tell her we’ll meet her at the hospital. I’m taking Laura now.”

Jed took off down the stairs again.

Laura didn’t want to go, but she was also scared now because she didn’t think she could handle this. Andy grabbed her pants on the floor and held them so she could step into them. “Laura, come on, put your legs in.”

She slid her legs over the side of the bed, pulling back the damp covers
. She could still feel the amniotic fluid running out of her. “Andy, my pants are going to be soaked. It’s going to look like I peed myself.” She put her feet in, and Andy lifted her up and slid them over her hips.