Runaway: The Sequel to Secrets, a sexy and dramatic western romance (Finding Love ~ THE OUTSIDER SERIES) (5 page)

She fidgeted
with her fingers and locked them together. He wanted to run his hands over them to smooth away the tenseness, but he wondered again what she would do if he touched her now. He had no idea, so he didn’t touch her.

“Laura?”
he prompted her gently.

“No
, I don’t think you’re a monster.” She spoke so softly, and it stung because he recognized that beaten-down, withering voice from when she’d lost everything and had lived in her car. He never wanted her to suffer that horror again. “Are you going to try to take my babies away? I need to know, Andy.” She sucked it up, looking at him with tears streaming down her cheeks, and not once did she try to hide her shame from him.

Boy
, did he ever admire her courage. If he was the devil, she was facing him head on. “Laura, I won’t do that, but I won’t walk away, either. I want my children in my life, in my home, so we’re going to have to work something out.”

She frowned as she stared out the window
. From her expression, he could tell she was thinking some pretty dark thoughts.

“Laura
, I promise I’ll be reasonable. Can you do the same?”

She didn’t answer
, but she did nod as she touched her mouth as if fighting back more tears.

Andy didn’t linger anymore because he knew she was tired, which was probably making her unreasonable and stubborn
, so he started the truck. A few minutes later, they pulled into Jed’s, parking beside the barn.

“Well
, thanks for the ride. I guess I’ll be talking to you.” Laura started to open her door, but Andy slid out and walked around, reaching her before she managed to step down. He shut the door behind her, and she glanced sharply at him.

“Well
, let’s get you to bed.” Andy held out his hand, and she blinked. She opened her mouth to say something but shut it when Jed strode from the barn, with Gabriel racing toward Andy at the same time that Diana stepped from the house.

“What did the doctor say
?” Diana shouted.

“Hey
, you.” Andy lifted Gabriel. “I told you I’d be back.”

“Andy
, stay,” Gabriel said.

“You bet I’m staying
, bud. Your mom’s going to bed to get some sleep, and you and I are going to hang out.”

“What do you mean you
’re staying?” Laura sputtered, and Diana appeared to stumble as she approached Jed.

Jed looped his arm around Diana’s shoulder and turned her the other way. “Andy
, can I talk to you when you’re done with Laura?”

Andy didn’t put Gabriel down as he faced Jed. “
When I’m done getting my wife to bed, I’ll come and talk to you.” He was irritated, and Jed must have understood, as he simply inclined his head and steered Diana back into the house.

“Laura”
was all Andy said before she let out an annoyed huff of air and walked as gracefully as a pregnant woman with twins could walk around him and up the stairs to the loft.

“In bed
, Laura,” he said.

She sat on the
edge of the lovely double bed. “Ouch.” She leaned over and pulled at her waistband.

“What happened?” Andy set Gabriel down on the bed beside
her.

“That safety pin jabbed me
,” she muttered.

“Well
, take them off. I’ll get your pajamas.” He strode around the room. “Where are your pajamas, anyway?”

“Over there in that duffle
bag. I haven’t unpacked anything yet, as we just moved in.” Laura pointed to a plain wooden kitchen chair, where a worn green duffle bag sat.

Andy didn’t say a word as he rummaged in the bag and pulled out a worn cotton nightgown with blue flowers on it.
He heard a squeak on the bed as Laura started toward him. “Sit down, Laura. I’ll bring it over.”

“I still need to get changed.”

Andy handed her the nightgown, and she started toward the bathroom. “Laura, change right here, honey. Gabriel and I’ll give you some privacy. Or do you need some help?”

She blushed and shook her head
, and he smiled to himself, as he’d forgotten how shy she was. She’d never walked around naked. She always pulled on her housecoat after a shower or bath, and she always wore a nightgown to bed. Even though he removed it, she always pulled it on before getting out of bed.

Andy carried Gabriel down the stairs and out the open door into the barn. The horses were out in the pasture, and this was the first time in months that he had a chance to see
all the updates that Neil, Jed’s brother, had started in the barn and that Jed had finished. Six stalls for six horses, with the fresh smell of wood, manure, and hay. He loved the smell, always had. But you had to love horses and this way of life, as he’d heard from city people who wrinkled their noses and nearly gagged from the pungent odor.

“What do you think
, bud? Is your mama changed by now?” Andy put Gabriel down and held his hand.

“Yes
,” he said as he beamed up at Andy.

“You’re talking much better
,” Andy said. He was, since he hadn’t said a word until Andy married Laura and found him the right help. He held the little boy’s hand and started up the stairs. “Laura, we’re coming back up. Are you changed?”

The bed squeaked. “Yes.”

Gabriel clomped noisily up the wooden steps, and it echoed. Andy realized Laura wouldn’t get much rest, listening to that. Gabriel raced straight to Laura, who was perched on the bed in the thin nightgown, one he’d never seen before. It looked worn and old, much like the clothes she had on earlier.

“Mama
, hungry.” Gabriel started to climb on the bed.

“Whoa
, bud, just a second. Hop down. Let your mom get some rest.” Andy lifted Gabriel off the bed at the same time that Laura slid off. “Laura, stay in bed.” Andy set Gabriel on the floor beside the bed.

“
He’s hungry. I need to feed him. It’s getting late, and I’m hungry, too.”

Andy set his hands this time on her shoulders. “No
. Back to bed. I’ll feed Gabriel and you, too.” He glanced over at the tiny kitchen that held a new fridge, a stove, a kitchen sink, and one long countertop. It was very nice, doable. When he faced Laura, she was frowning at him with an odd look.

“Andy
, do you even know how to cook?” she asked.

The fact of the matter was
that he’d never been allowed in the kitchen at the Friessen mansion to cook. Yes, he’d gone in and made a sandwich, heated soup, but anyone could do that.

“Of course
. I can do enough to get by. I make a mean grilled cheese.”

“Andy
, I don’t know what there is for food. I didn’t have a chance to buy anything yet. But I think Diana set some things in the fridge to get us started.”

Andy yanked open the fridge and found it well stocked.
He pulled bread, butter, and cheese from the fridge. There was sliced chicken and tomatoes, as well, and he pulled a couple of apples from the bottom drawer of the fridge.

“Where are the fry
pans, cutting board?” Andy asked as he opened cupboard doors and the row of drawers and heard the bed squeak again. “Laura, stay in bed. I’ll find it.”

“It would be easier to just let me do it
,” she snapped and then rubbed her bare arms.

“Are you cold?” Andy asked.

“Yeah. I have a sweater in the bag over there, as well.”

“I’ll get it.” He rummaged the bag and found a light br
own sweater that had a button missing on front and fuzz balls all over it. “Where did you get these clothes?” He strode to the bed and held the sweater up when Laura scooted forward.

“The second
-hand store,” she stated quite sharply. “It was all I could afford, Andy, and it’s not as if I’ll be wearing them much longer.”

“Laura
, I’m not putting you down, so don’t take it that way, but I sent you money through Aida, and I wish you would have come to me.” He shook his head because he wished he could go back all those months and do a lot of things over.

“Andy
...” Laura yanked the elastic from her hair, and the ends brushed her shoulders. She tucked it back behind her ears and then glanced up at him. He would swear that her green eyes were tinged with gold in this light, and this time she couldn’t hide her weariness.

“Look
, let me feed Gabriel, and I’ll get you something to eat, too. Are you okay with a chicken sandwich? It looks like Diana stocked things pretty well.”

This time
, she smiled, not brightly, but a hint of one that touched the corners of her lips, one that actually removed the nervous shadow from her eyes. “That would be fine. Thank you.”

Andy hesitated
and then pulled a blanket at the foot of the bed over her. He reached for the second pillow and fluffed it behind her. “Comfortable?”

Her face
tinged a hint of pink again, but this time she wouldn’t look his way. “Yes. Thank you.”

A thump had Andy turning back to the kitchen. Gabriel picked up one of the apples from the floor and
started to take a bite. Andy hustled. “No, bud. Let’s wash it first.”

Gabriel beamed at Andy
, his baby white teeth and bright eyes filled with love for him.

“How about you help me make a sandwich for your mom
, too?”

“Y
eah, Mom. Me and Andy will cook!” Gabriel shouted.

And Laura laughed.

Chapter 7

How
could she come to terms with a man she thought she knew as a selfish, arrogant, controlling jerk but who spent the evening playing with her son, waiting on her, watching over her, and noticing every time she was upset, uncomfortable, or just plain bored. It wasn’t the fact that he was making sure the babies, his babies, were nurtured and kept safe in her unstable womb. He seemed to genuinely care about her, about Gabriel, with each touch and caress and every time he moved the pillow, pulled the blanket around her, brought her water or food, and helped her from bed to go to the bathroom. Laura couldn’t for the life of her begin to make sense of it, because she’d already decided to leave him, divorce him, and never have anything more to do with him. Now she felt absolutely wicked for even thinking of hiding his children from him.

She’d watched in awe as he patiently showed Gabriel how to butter bread
. When he started to show him how to cut cheese with a knife, Laura had jumped, and he must have seen her, but he leaned over Gabriel, who stood beside the table, holding the knife as Andy’s large hand guided him, and said, “Laura, everything’s under control.” She’d leaned back, feeling as if she’d gone through the washer on the ringer cycle. She’d never seen this side of Andy before, and the fact was that he made a decent sandwich—chicken, tomato, lettuce, and cheese, and she’d enjoyed every bite. He’d even washed the dishes, and Gabriel helped, giggling and beaming up at Andy. This was worse than a nightmare because she couldn’t walk away from this. Gabriel would never forgive her now.

A
t this moment, she was almost in tears, because here he was, reading Gabriel a story, after he’d bathed him in the small corner bathroom and dressed him in the blue Cookie Monster pajamas she’d also picked up at the second-hand store.

Andy kissed Gabriel on the forehead and tucked him in
to the single bed against the opposite wall. “Say goodnight to your mom, bud.”

“Night
, Mom.” Gabriel grinned ear to ear as he gazed over at Laura.

Just watching the scene had something disturbing squeezing deep inside
her. It wasn’t sudden; it had crept up throughout the day and through each second that Andy had spent with Gabriel tonight. He could be the perfect father, the perfect man and role model for her son. She cleared her throat but nearly choked when she whispered, “Goodnight, Gabriel. Have a good sleep.”

This was all so confusing. What did Andy want? Why hadn’t he left
, and why was he taking such an interest in Gabriel? Her throat felt all scratchy and tight, but that was only because she wanted to tuck her face in the pillow and cry those thousand tears she’d cried almost every night for Andy. All she’d ever wanted was to be loved.

W
hat he’d done today was horrible, cruel, and she wanted to scream and yell “Why?” He had stayed, caring for her tonight and today at the hospital in a way that made her feel important, special, but she also knew she wasn’t any of that to him, not in the way she wanted to be. It was the babies. She was just the vessel, a warm cocoon for a rich man’s babies, and that was something she could not allow herself to forget. He was powerful, he was rich, and his family was dangerous.

“Are you al
l right?” He brushed his finger across her brows.

“Yeah
, fine,” she blurted as she pulled back, her skin burning from the spark of his touch.

“You look worried about something
, upset.” He was watching her, studying her as if he knew what she was thinking, and she couldn’t have that.