“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 brown 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?”
“Yeah, 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.
At 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 into 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.
What 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 all 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.
“No, I’m just…” She couldn’t think of what to say when her brain suddenly blanked out. That always happened when Andy stood so close to her and watched
her with compelling blue eyes that could set her soul on fire, so she shut her mouth and shook her head.
He sat right beside her on the bed so his hip pressed into hers. She knew all too well what those slim hips and tight abs looked like naked and pressed against her hips, nestled between her thighs. It was almost too much heat for her, so she squirmed and tried to slide over and away from him.
“You all right? You look uncomfortable.”
He wouldn’t even look away. Uncomfortable, hell yeah. And it was all his fault. “Just stiff is all.”
“Can I?” He rested his hand over her swollen belly, where the babies had been kicking furiously for the last hour.
He was connecting with her babies. She wanted to scream and yell at him, “Hell no! Keep your hands off!” but her body was betraying her. The reality was that she wanted him to touch her, to run his hands over every square inch of her.
He didn’t wait for her to say anything, but then, she couldn’t get her tongue to move. The damn thing had thickened, and her throat had completely dried up as he invaded her space. My God, he even smelled good, and his scruffy jaw…she longed to reach up and run her hands over it.
His touch sent shockwaves through her, and the babies responded in kind. She’d swear they jumped from his touch, as if they knew that Andy was their daddy. He smiled that charming, boyish grin she’d only seen a few times. Never once had he smiled just for her.
“Wow, that’s amazing. Did you feel that?”
For a moment, she felt herself being pulled into his joy, just like a little boy’s first Christmas, but she had to look away, to move away from his touch, because she’d never again be treated as if she was nothing. Andy Friessen could turn on a dime, and she’d never play second again. “Yeah, I did. Listen, I’m tired.” She scooted over and lifted his hand off her belly. She couldn’t look at him even though she could feel the sharp change in him as if she’d just ripped away all his joy. So why was she feeling guilty? She wasn’t the bad guy here.
Andy stood up and stepped back. “I’m going to have a word with Jed. I’ll be right back.” He said it sharply, and it took her a minute to realize his meaning.
“Aren’t you going home?”
He gave her a questioning glance that she couldn’t read. He shook his head. “No, I’m not going anywhere.” Then he turned and left down the stairs, and she could do nothing but listen like a stunned woman as the door at the bottom of the stairs opened and shut behind him.
Chapter 8
How the hell was she supposed to relax if he wasn’t going to leave? She bolted straight up, which was a mistake, as she felt a sharp jab in her ribs. As gracefully as she could, she stepped out of bed and over to the window above the kitchen sink, which overlooked Diana and Jed’s house. She watched as her long-legged husband, all lean and sexy, strode over and up to the wraparound front porch Jed had recently built. It was one of many upgrades, including the extension that had added three more rooms and a family room to the back of the house. Jed stepped out, and a minute later Diana did, too.
Jed didn’t allow his wife to linger beside him. He always swept her close to him, his arm around her shoulder, hugging her to him. That was what Laura envied about Jed and Diana, their love. Just being around them, she was pulled into that radiance. She wanted that, but Andy had never once treated her that way, because he loved Diana. She wondered if Jed knew where his cousin’s thoughts went. Laura was pretty sure Diana didn’t have a clue, but she’d never asked. Andy’s concern for Diana had always been over the top. In the beginning, she’d chalked it up to the fact that she was family, but, come to think of it, that was just plain stupid. Andy wasn’t just overly concerned about his cousin’s wife—it was obvious he had the hots for her.
It took a second for Laura to realize that all three of them were staring at her from where they stood. Andy looked none too happy, and his normally neat dark hair was sticking up here and there as if some woman had just run her fingers through it. The thought made her blood boil, but she was embarrassed for staring out at them, so she stepped back away from the window, feeling as if she’d just been caught doing something she shouldn’t. Well, actually, spying on Andy, Diana, and Jed was a pretty low thing to do.
Laura glanced at a now sleeping Gabriel, tucked into his cozy single bed with the comforter pulled up under his chin, and had taken one step back to bed when the door opened and footsteps pounded up the stairs.
“What are you doing out of bed?” Andy snapped in a low, sharp tone as he glanced at Gabriel, who was still soundly sleeping.
Laura couldn’t think of what to say, because blurting out that she was standing there ogling him was the last thing she wanted to admit. Instead, she crossed her arms, tucking her fingers into the warm brown sweater, and said, “You’re still in love with Diana, aren’t you?”
There, she had said it, but she felt like an absolute idiot as he said nothing, glancing away as if he couldn’t figure out what language she was speaking.
“No, I’m not in love with my cousin’s wife.”
She wanted to yell and scream and hit him, but instead she squeezed her fists tighter in her sweater and stepped around him “Bullshit,” she whispered as she stepped back to the bed, but Andy, being Andy and never walking away from a fight, was right behind her. Hell, he was right in her space again, her tall, muscular, very male husband. Inside him lurked a strong alpha and dangerous predator that he controlled on a very loose leash. She could feel it sizzle now, just below the surface, and she knew she was provoking it in him much as a fool would poke at a poisonous snake. She kept her back to him and pulled back the covers of the bed, doing her damnedest to remain calm, but inside she was shaking so hard she wondered if he could feel it.
He didn’t just touch her; he slid his arms around her, one just under her breasts and the other over her hips, just under the swell of her belly. He pressed her against him, and she could feel the hard ridge of him pressed into her. She froze as he pressed his lips against her and whispered, “Does this feel like I’m in love with Diana?” He brushed his lips over her ear and into her hair.
Like an inexperienced fool, she gasped and leaned into him, and he didn’t stop as his hand pressed lower into her curls and over her sex. He held her like a prisoner against him. She couldn’t have stepped away if she wanted to, as her legs would have given out. His warm breath was a whisper on her neck, which she couldn’t help but offer to him. Then he stopped in an instant, his arm loosening under her breasts from where he had held her up. The hand that had touched her so intimately fisted at his side as he stepped back, but when her knees buckled, he scooped her up as if she didn’t weigh more than a feather and set her on the bed with ease.
“I’m sorry,” he said. He didn’t try to touch her now, stepping back and pressing his fingers into the space between his brows, shutting his eyes for a second. Good. Maybe he was as rattled as she was.
“I’m tired. I’d like to go to sleep.”
“Fine. I’ll get in the shower.” His tone had a rough bite to it.
“You can’t stay here, Andy. You have a home, a big one, to go to.” She was feeling desperately overwhelmed because she feared a long, sleepless night, and the last thing she wanted was all that male hardness pressed up against her in this small, cozy double bed, not because she feared him or didn’t want him but because she was freaking out inside. She wanted to toss out the window all her self-respect and say to hell with fighting him, hiding from him, and running away from him. She wanted to sleep with him, to touch him, to be with him, but when she looked up at him, he wasn’t smiling. His handsome face seemed to be made of granite, immovable, and then he leaned forward, putting his face just inches from hers so she shared his breath.
“No,” he growled, and then he was gone into the bathroom.
She listened as the shower flicked on, and she sagged as if releasing her breath. “Oh my, now what?”
The cold hard fact was that she was about to get her wish, the
one thing she shouldn’t have wanted.
Chapter 9
To say it had been a frustrating night for Andy, as he lay pressed against Laura’s sweet, tight ass, going through pure and absolute torture, was like saying Mount Everest was a little big. He had never experienced that kind of agony, ever, and it had turned a mild case of insomnia into a long, painful, and sleepless night.
After all, he wasn’t a monk. He never had been. Even before he married Laura, he’d had a healthy sexual appetite, and he sated it often. Having Laura, who was young and gorgeous, with a slim waist, tight ass, and full, high breasts that he’d sampled often, had been a welcome and appreciated perk. He could have kicked his ass now for not treasuring her. The fact was that he cared for Laura. He just hadn’t realized how much until she was gone. The last six months, he’d seen no relief. Andy had always had women falling at his feet, racing across the street just to get his attention, tossing him their phone numbers, and he knew he could have snapped his fingers and had a woman on her back in two seconds, ready and eager to satisfy his insatiable needs, but he just couldn’t do it.
As he watched the sun come up, feeling as if sand had scraped the back of his eyelids, Laura rustled beside him and snuggled in closer, her head resting on his shoulder, her hand pressed into the soft dark hair of his chest. His babies poked into his side. She slid her leg over his, and he thought he’d go blind in agony as he groaned with need. It took him a minute to realize she was awake. She stiffened, and her hand moved lower, over his tight washboard abs and lower still, as if she was trying to seduce him.
Andy kissed the top of her head and grabbed her hand. “Laura, stop.” He pulled away, attempting to slide out of bed, and didn’t miss the tears that glistened in her eyes. “What the…?”
Runaway: The Sequel to Secrets, a sexy and dramatic western romance (Finding Love ~ THE OUTSIDER SERIES) Page 4