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

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  RUNAWAY

  Finding Love-THE OUTSIDER SERIES

  by

  Lorhainne Eckhart

  BOOKLIST

  Finding Love ~ The Outsider series

  The Forgotten Child

  A Baby and a Wedding

  Fallen Hero

  The Search

  The Awakening

  Secrets

  Runaway

  Walk the Right Road Series

  The Choice

  Lost and Found

  Merkaba

  Bounty* Coming Soon

  Military Romantic Suspense

  Saved

  Young Adult Mystery

  The Gift

  A Father’s Love

  Box Sets

  Finding Love ~ The Outsider Series

  Walk the Right Road Series – Danger Deception Devotion: A Box Set

  From the Heart

  Praise for Works by Lorhainne Eckhart …

  “Wish there were truly men in the world like the Friessen Men.”

  Amazon Reviewer Sara

  This is an emotionally charged well written portrayal of a couple faced with a tragedy and the secrets that could destroy them.

  Rita Herron, Author

  The author took real fears and problems and gave us a great happily ever after

  AJS

  Main Menu

  Start Reading

  Afterword

  Other Works by Lorhainne Eckhart

  About the Author

  Contact Information

  Copyright Information

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  “Are you Andy Friessen?”

  Andy didn’t bother to glance up from where he was bent over the hoof, picking mud and gravel from his three-year-old buckskin, Ladystar. Andy dug out the last dried chunk of mud, wanting to snap at whoever was bothering him. “Damn kid I hired didn’t clean out her hoof after riding her,” he muttered. He set down her hoof, and she stomped and pranced as Andy pressed his hand to her hind quarter. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and picked up her front hoof, starting to dig around the frog, picking out all the dried mud. Bent over as he was, Andy could see a pair of blue jeans on some man who was standing behind his horse. “I wouldn’t stand there if I were you,” he said, setting down the mare’s hoof and standing up. “It’s a good way to get yourself kicked.”

  A short man wearing shades and a tan sports coat stepped sideways around a pile of fresh manure. “I’m looking for Andy Friessen,” the man said.

  “Yeah, well, you found him. What do you want?” he snapped, irritated because all he wanted to do was saddle the horse, head onto the trail, and ride for the next few hours without one more person asking him another stupid question. He just wanted some peace.

  “You’ve been served.” The man slapped court papers in his hand and then hurried the other way as if Andy was going to chase him down and pound the crap out of him.

  “Hey, what the hell is this?” Andy barked at the man now jogging up the driveway.

  Andy swore as he flipped open the document and read Petition for Divorce in bold black letters. Laura was suing him for divorce! He couldn’t believe it. Hell, any woman would give her right arm to be married to him, to have his name. As he read on, he felt like ice shards were ripping through his veins as he saw Diana Friessen’s name written at the bottom as the lawyer of record. She was his cousin Jed’s wife and the one woman he’d probably go to his grave loving. How could she do this to him and not call him? Did Jed know?

  He hadn’t heard from Laura in over six months. She’d walked out the door without saying goodbye to him, taking her son, Gabriel, with her and leaving behind everything he’d bought for them. Andy had been furious at first. Hell, he’d even tracked her down to where she’d been staying with the old cook, Aida, who still worked for Andy and his family. But Laura had refused to speak with him, and Aida sent him away and asked him not to come back again. Six months ago, he had expected Laura to return home to the estate with her tail tucked between her legs. After all, she had no money, no family, and no resources, with a little boy to feed, clothe, and shelter. She needed him.

  But she didn’t come back. And she didn’t phone.

  Then he worried. He’d married her to protect her when she’d been forced to live in her car after she couldn’t pay rent because his mother had fired her when she worked as a maid, all because she’d knocked over a Christmas tree. When the sheriff had found her living in her car, the authorities took Gabriel and stuck him into a foster home that wasn’t even fit to care for a dog. Andy had stepped in and married her to help her get Gabriel back. Why had he done it? Because the whole messed-up situation that had spiralled from bad to worse had been his fault.

  As Andy read through the black print and legalese, he fought back a rising tide of anger and disbelief. Well, to hell with her. She appreciated nothing he’d done for her. What should he expect from someone so young and ungrateful and…? He stopped cold when an icy chill raced through him as he realized she’d asked for nothing from the divorce, not one red cent from him.

  Andy came from one of the wealthiest families in the county; she could easily have asked for a fortune and gotten it even though they’d been married less than a year. Andy knew she wasn’t a fool, and deep down he knew she was no gold digger. She was hurt and vulnerable and innocent, and he hadn’t treated her with a lick of respect. The fact was that he was having a hard time admitting what a prick he’d been. He was ashamed of the way he’d taken charge of her life, of Gabriel’s, without sharing anything of his life with her.

  Well, to hell with her. He would just wash his hands of her and say good riddance. He crumpled the papers and went to stuff them in his pocket, then stopped when he glimpsed the back door open. Aida, the old cook, stepped out the staff entrance of the vast Friessen mansion, carrying her coat and purse, having finished her work for the day.

  Andy rested his arm against Ladystar’s side. The mare nickered and then stomped her hoof impatiently, but Andy patted her flank. “Just give me a minute, girl.”

  He stepped away. His feet had obviously taken on a mind of their own, because the last thing he should have been doing was exactly what he was doing, making a beeline straight to Aida, cutting her off before she reached her old compact car.

  “Aida, please tell me where she is. I know she moved out from your place,” Andy called. He strode toward Aida, really digging in to each step, swatting the papers in the air as if taking out a few flies here and there.

  For a short woman in her seventies, Aida was quick as she darted around him. Andy spun around and jogged after her. This wasn’t the average stroll he took when walking with a woman.

  Aida yanked the hairnet off her short graying bob, reaching behind her back to pull on her apron string. “Andy Friessen, don’t keep asking me, because I won’t tell you.” She jerked open the driver’s door and tossed in her apron and purse. Andy gripped the top of the door so she couldn’t slam it closed in his face again, as she’d done yesterday, last week, and every time he’d tried to talk to her after work. In the kitchen, she would ignore him and then order him out. When he didn’t comply, she would threaten to quit.

  Andy couldn’t blame Laura for leaving him, really. After all, they never had a chance to get to know each other. There was no burning love between them, the kind where he would count the minutes, the seconds to when he could see his wife again, the kind that would distract him
and drive him crazy, his whole being sizzling in anticipation of that one touch, that smile, or just hearing her voice, the kind of deep love that would touch him inside his soul so that the thought of never seeing or hearing her again would shred his every last bit of good sense and he would question his will to live without her. No, there was none of that with Laura. He did, however, feel responsible for her even now, with these cursed papers burning a hole in his hand. Just what the hell was the matter with him?

  Maybe it was because she was so young. She’d just turned twenty-one last week, and even though he hadn’t seen her or heard from her, he had found himself buying her a gift: a solid gold locket. Of course, it remained wrapped upstairs in their room along with all of the other things he’d bought her. He had bought the gift on a whim, as he hadn’t seen Laura or spoken to her since that day outside the Seattle Hospital where Jed was recovering from surgery, when Andy had been a total ass. In hindsight, he’d love to go back and kick himself in the butt, to apologize, to not walk away and leave her standing there alone. She was honest, hardworking, and her only sin had been getting pregnant at fifteen with Gabriel and being cast into the street by her judgemental parents, who were too worried about how the situation would look and how it would influence Laura’s younger brothers. Andy had never met her parents and didn’t plan on it, but he still couldn’t soften his heart toward them.

  He swung the paper in the air again. “She filed for divorce. I was just served. I need to talk to her, Aida.”

  The old woman stared straight ahead and said nothing.

  “She asked for nothing, Aida. How is she paying rent? Where is she getting money from? Does she have a job? What about Gabriel?”

  “Andy, let go of my door.” Aida stared up at him with her plump wrinkled face and her gray eyes, which were etched with tiny red lines as if they’d seen every good and bad thing in life.

  Andy yanked out his wallet. “I need you to give her some money. How is she going to look after herself?” He pulled out all the bills, knowing there were only a thousand dollars there. He handed the stack to Aida, and she stared at the bills as if they were dirty. “Aida, did you give her the money I sent before? I know she didn’t cash the check I gave you,” Andy said, pleading.

  She pursed her pale, wrinkled lips. She didn’t look away, though she did appear to be considering what to say to Andy. Andy had no doubt she’d go to her grave without parting with one secret of where Laura was hiding.

  “I gave her the cash, but do not ask again where the girl is, as I won’t tell you. I promised her, Andy. She doesn’t want to see you again,” Aida said. However, bless her heart, she did fold the cash and tuck it into a side pocket of her purse before folding her plump body into the compact car.

  “Aida, I want to see her and Gabriel. Could you ask her to meet me. Please?” Andy squatted down so he wasn’t having to look down on the old cook.

  “Andy, she has a right to be angry with you. You treated her horribly and made her feel as if she was a nuisance to have around. You may have married her to protect her and Gabriel, but the way you talked to her after you were married, it was as if she still worked for you. And she was a nice bed warmer, too, hey?”

  Andy blushed, which was something he didn’t do. Aida was right: He’d bedded her, but he hadn’t shared one aspect of his life with her. Time did have a way of opening his eyes, especially when she’d taken nothing. He was worried about how she was managing to pay for anything just to survive, let alone feed her and Gabriel.

  “Aida, I am a bastard, I admit, but I’m worried about her. Telling her I’m sorry doesn’t even begin to make up for what I’ve done. I know words mean nothing, but please just ask her to meet me. How am I supposed to make things right if she won’t see me?”

  Aida gripped the steering wheel. She let out a heavy sigh. “Andy Friessen, I will talk to Laura, but I won’t make you any promises.”

  Andy reached in and patted her arm because he sensed he was getting through to the tough old bird. If he could convince Aida he was sincere and win her over, she would be his best ally and his best hope to reach Laura. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Aida, and thank you. Please tell her I’ll go wherever she wants to meet, at any time, please…” He shut her door and stood behind one of the ranch hand’s pickups, watching as Aida drove away down the long, paved driveway, beside the manicured lawns and gardens, out to the highway.

  His cell phone rang, and he yanked it from his back pocket. “Andy Friessen,” he answered, distractedly watching the now empty driveway.

  “Hey, Andy. This is Brian. I’ve got some news on that wife of yours,” answered a familiar voice. Brian Rivers was a private detective Andy had hired a few months back to keep an eye on Laura.

  “If it has anything to do with her filing for divorce, I already know. I was just served by some law school dropout.”

  There a clatter and brief silence on the other end. “No. I didn’t know that. Well, how about that? So how much is she trying to bleed you for?”

  “Not a damn thing, so I want to know where she’s getting her money from. Is she still in that old house at the edge of town?” Andy watched Ladystar, who was tied to the rail outside the barn. The feisty thing was getting impatient, stomping her front hoof and pawing at the ground.

  “Well, that’s why I’m calling. She moved. Your cousin and that pretty redheaded wife of his were there, and they picked her up. She doesn’t have a car. She’s staying out at their place. They built a studio above their barn and pretty sure moved her in.”

  Andy remembered Jed telling him just last week about the new studio. Hell, he’d even seen it, a cozy open loft with a kitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroom all in one area. He thought Jed told him it was for a manager he was hiring.

  Then he wondered… No, it couldn’t be. Laura was the manager and working for his cousin? Jed wouldn’t do that to him and not say anything. But then, as the reality sank in and the stiff white paper burned a hole in his hand, Andy remembered that Diana, Jed’s wife, had filed this petition, and not one of them had said squat. “I gotta go,” he said.

  “But, wait, don’t you want to know—” Brian tried to interrupt.

  “Not now, Brian. I’ve got to go. I have a cousin to visit.”

  Chapter 2

  “It’s not much, but I think it’s kind of fun and cute, and Jed and I will be right next door if you need us.” Diana pressed her hand into the small of her back and rubbed her other hand with her gold wedding band over her almost eight months’ pregnant belly.

  Laura’s hair had started to grow out and was now shoulder length, and she kept it tied back in a high ponytail. “Diana, I don’t know how to thank you and Jed for all you’ve done. This place is better than I could have hoped for. I love that clean smell of new wood.” Laura took in the brand new loft, which had an antique double bed for her and a single bed for Gabriel, with lovely pink and green bedspreads. It was an open design, tastefully done, and even the appliances were brand new. She set her purse on the round kitchen table with four chairs. At the west side of the loft was a cozy living room with a green taupe sofa and chair and a plasma TV mounted to the wall.

  Footsteps clattered up the stairs. Laura gazed over the wooden rail, watching as Jed followed Gabriel and redheaded Danny, who was just walking and insisted on mastering the stairs all by himself and yelling at the top of his lungs, “Mama, comin’ up!”

  “You’ve got your hands full with Danny there. Does he ever stop, Diana?” Laura smiled as she listened to the clomp and clatter of three boys: her five-year-old boy, Gabriel, who leaped up the steps; Danny, who crawled and patted each step; and Jed, who followed, encouraging his son.

  “One more. Come on, you can do it.” Jed was grinning ear to ear, watching as Danny pushed himself to his feet and ran straight to his mommy.

  “He’s a Friessen man; ‘slow’ and ‘easy’ aren’t in their vocabulary,” Diana muttered just as Jed stepped closer and lifted Danny, tossing him in the
air while he giggled and wiggled. Then Jed leaned down and kissed Diana.

  “That’s not fair. I guarantee you I can take it slow and easy in some things you enjoy.” He winked, and Diana gasped before clearing her throat.

  “Laura, listen, I am grateful you’ve taken this job.”

  “Diana, Jed, I really do appreciate all this—and the job, even though I’m pretty sure you don’t really need me.”

  “Oh, that’s where you’re wrong, Laura,” said Jed as he set a kid-size cowboy hat on Gabriel’s head.

  “Cool hat. Ride horsey?” Gabriel beamed at Jed as he asked.

  “Tell you what, bud. Let’s let your mama get settled, and you come help me feed the horses,” Jed answered. The sound of a vehicle pulling down the driveway had him stepping toward the window.

  “The fact is, Laura, we’re the ones who are grateful,” Diana said. “Jed wants to be on a horse, riding, teaching the kids, not cooped up in an office, doing paperwork. And I have my hands full with Danny and this one here.” She rubbed the baby she carried in her large belly. “And I’m tired, too….”

  “Well, I was wondering when he was going to show up,” Jed interrupted. Danny just then decided he wanted down, so Jed slung him over his shoulder to distract him.

  “Who’s here, Jed?” Diana asked.

  Laura felt a flutter of butterflies in her stomach when Jed glanced at Diana with a look that had her covering her mouth with her palm and turning away.

  “My cousin, your husband,” Jed said as he started toward the stairs. Gabriel was at the window with Jed, and he raced toward the stairs and started down.

  “Gabriel, come back here!” Laura said, but this time he didn’t listen, as he was out the door. She could hear him call out, “Andy, Andy.”

  Laura went to the window and gazed out at Andy, dressed as he always was in dark jeans and a long-sleeved dark shirt, but he wasn’t as neat as usual. He lifted Gabriel in his strong arms and hugged him.

  “You know, Andy has a lot of faults, but caring for Gabriel is not one of them.” Diana was standing in the window, watching as her husband approached Andy. “I knew it was only a matter of time before he found out you were here. He was served this morning, too. He’ll be furious, Laura. It was cold and impersonal.”