She slid back the covers and put his socks on, and when he stirred and started whining, Laura sat him up and slid his coat on.
“No, Mommy, tired.”
“I know, Gabriel. I have a surprise for you, and I need you to be very quiet. We’re going on an adventure, and then you can go to sleep. Please, honey, I need you to be very quiet. We’re going to pretend we’re sneaking out of the castle of the wicked witch.”
Gabriel rubbed his eyes as Laura slipped his shoes on and tied the laces. “Andy come?” he said.
“He’s going to meet us, but we have to be very quiet.” She felt lower than a dung beetle for lying to her child. It was despicable. She hated herself and prayed that Gabriel would forgive her, but he didn’t see the monster that Andy was, and she despised Andy for that. A man who hurt women, who hurt children and used them for his own means, was truly a monster, and that was who they were running from.
“Shh. Remember, quiet as a mouse. So, my little prince, is there a secret door out of this castle where we can sneak out so no one can see us? A magic door?” She knew there was a back door from the kitchen and one at the end of the hall by Caroline’s wing.
Gabriel rubbed his eyes and said nothing.
Laura held Gabriel’s hand as she opened the door just a crack and peeked out, listening for any footsteps. When she heard nothing, she glanced down at Gabriel and said, “Remember, quiet as a mouse.” Then she opened the door, stepping out and hurrying down the hall to the end, where the outside door led to the back steps. She turned the dead bolt and opened the door, praying that it wasn’t hooked up to an alarm, and then hurried down as fast as she could with Gabriel in the dark, unable to see any of the steps. At the bottom, they stepped onto the grass. The lights from inside the house cut through the shadows of the darkness as the sun set and night fell.
“Mommy, I’m cold. I want see Andy.”
Oh, crap. She knew he could get really loud. “Andy is going to meet us. We have to go to the trail in the woods first. Come on, let’s go.”
She hurried, which was only a fast walk, and even then she felt cramps in her thighs and pulling in her groin. So she held her belly with one hand and kept a tight hold on Gabriel’s hand with the other. As they hit the trail, she wished she’d thought to find a flashlight, but they couldn’t turn back. She did know this darkened trail eventually led to the road, but it was surrounded by thick trees and bushes, and, even in the twilight, it was dark and almost impossible to make her way through. But she was determined, and she poked her way through with Gabriel, who started whining again.
“It’s okay, honey. We’re almost there. Then they were through, and she could see the pavement of the dark highway. She pulled Gabriel as the pain in her back pinched again, and they started walking.
Chapter 18
“I really appreciate you stopping.” Laura shivered in the front seat of a red pickup truck. An older balding man who smelled as if he’d been around animals all day and had greasy hands drove. Gabriel was in between them and was leaning against Laura, shivering, both of them cold and damp from the rain that had started shortly after they hit the highway. She had been glad when the man stopped, as Gabriel was crying and she didn’t think she could take one more step.
“So whereabouts was your car that broke down? Don’t remember passing anything on the highway.”
“Oh, I pulled off the road when it started sputtering. I know there were a lot of bushes around.”
The man grunted and kind of hunched over his steering wheel some more. “A woman in your condition with a little one shouldn’t be on the side of the road hitchhiking this time of night.”
Laura saw the big sign that was just before the dirt driveway to Diana and Jed’s. “Stop right here. There it is.”
The man braked and pulled to the side of the road. “This where your brother lives?” he asked.
“Yeah, right down there.” Laura gestured and smiled, but she couldn’t look the old guy in the eye, with all the lying she’d been doing that night. The man pressed the gas, and Laura glanced up. “What are you doing? You can just let us out here.”
“No can do, honey. I knew you were running from something, but Jed Friessen is a good man, a good friend. I can’t rightly let no sister of his as pregnant as you off on the side of the road in the dark.” The man drove down the long dirt driveway and pulled up in front of Jed’s darkened house. The engine of the old truck rattled and was enough to wake anyone, so it was no surprise at all when the lights popped on and the front door opened. The old guy turned to Laura. “Whatever trouble you’re in, honey, Jed will help you.”
Laura unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over to unfasten Gabriel’s, as he’d fallen asleep against her. “Come on, Gabby, open your eyes. We’re at Jed and Diana’s. Come on.” Laura opened her door and slid out, and Gabriel scooted out after her. When she glanced back at the old, grizzled guy who smelled horrible, what she saw was an angel. “Thank you.”
He nodded, and she shut the door as Jed stepped out of the house, barefoot in jeans.
“Laura, what are you doing here?” he said.
She started crying, and so did Gabriel.
Chapter 19
“Laura, start at the beginning.” Diana was wearing a bulky pink housecoat that barely covered her large, pregnant belly, and she was about to deliver any day.
Jed stepped out of the kitchen with a mug of hot water. “Laura, here, drink this.” He handed another to Diana and stood behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders.
Laura sipped on the water. She knew her face was a mess, but she hadn’t been able to stop crying since Jed grabbed her and Gabriel and brought them into the house. Diana had hurried from the bedroom, her hair all mussed, pulling a robe over her long night gown. Her expression, from what Laura remembered, had been frantic as she slid her arm around her. Jed had lifted Gabriel and taken him down the hall to their bedroom.
“It was all a game to take my babies. Andy planned it all. As soon as I had them, he was going to take them from me. How could he pretend to care about me, touch me like he did? Gabriel loves him. He was with him every day, tucking him in. Gabriel worships him, and we mean nothing to him. I’m so stupid. How could I have trusted him again?”
“Laura, I need you to back up, because none of this makes any sense. Are you telling me you snuck out with Gabriel and hitchhiked here in your condition?” Jed gestured toward the door and then rested both hands on the chair where Diana was sitting. “So Andy has no idea you left?” Jed’s tone was filled with concern, and he shook his head. She wasn’t sure whether he was annoyed with her, tired, frustrated, or maybe all three.
“No. I was scared of what would happen. It was the first time I felt like a prisoner, as if someone had control of me. He could have called that bitch of a doctor. She could have given me something and taken my babies now, just like I overheard.” She choked again on a sob. “I didn’t know where else to go.”
“Laura, you were right to come here. Let’s just get that straight. Is Gabriel sleeping, Jed?” Diana gazed up at her husband, and they exchanged a look that spouses do when they are so connected to each other.
“He’s asleep in our bed.” Jed sighed. “Laura, what exactly did you overhear?”
“Everything was going so well. I really thought Andy cared for me. The doctor was supposed to come after lunch, but when I went downstairs, I heard her—the doctor, I mean—and she was talking to Caroline. Caroline asked if it was safe now for me to have my babies, and then the doctor asked her if she had everything taken care of and ready for them. I heard Caroline say she’d hired a nanny and the nursery was all ready for the babies. Then she said that Andy would finally be rid of me. It was Caroline who said Andy had been pretending with me and that he took after his father that way, and she didn’t know how he could stand to be around me. To her, I’m just trash. I always knew Caroline didn’t like me, but when I heard the doctor say she’d do a C-section on me and I wouldn’t see my ba
bies… They were planning this. I’d wake up and my babies would be gone.” She gasped and covered her mouth. She was going to wake Danny and Gabriel if she kept talking, as she couldn’t keep the panic out of her voice.
Jed and Diana exchanged a look again. There was an array of emotions that crossed Diana’s face. Jed rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed, and Diana’s hand was trembling when she reached up and slid her hand in his.
“Laura, I’m really confused. I know Andy can be a real bastard, and he’s done some things I’d like to knock his teeth out for. You heard this doctor and Caroline talking—was Andy there, too?” Jed asked.
“No, I don’t think so. I didn’t hear him with them. When I heard Caroline and the doctor go into the dining room, I went back upstairs, and I tried to do it quietly so they wouldn’t know I was there. I was scared, and then I started opening doors to all the rooms upstairs. In the other wing, there was a nursery all put together, with cradles and two cribs and a rocker, clothes, diapers, and baby furniture…and it was all ready for my babies. I saw it. I didn’t know what to do, and when I was hurrying back to our room, Andy came up the stairs with the doctor. He pretended to care about me, and he knew something was wrong even though I tried to hide it. And…I couldn’t. I never could lie. He knows, or he has to suspect I know.”
Jed stepped back and wiped his hand roughly over his face. He strode down the hall, and Diana watched her husband return a few seconds later, buttoning a plaid shirt, tucking it into his jeans, then shoving his feet into his cowboy boots. When he lifted his lined jean jacket from the hook, Diana said, “Jed, where are you going this time of night?”
He strode straight to his wife and leaned down, touching her lips with his and cupping her face with his one hand. It was such a possessive thing to do that Laura was in awe watching them, as her entire security and sense of self crumbled all around her. Why couldn’t Andy have looked at her that way, loved her that way? It hurt to watch it when she longed to have that for herself.
“I’m going to pay my cousin a visit.”
Laura jerked her gaze up at Jed and felt panic sizzle the back of her neck. “Jed, no. Please don’t tell him I’m here. Please don’t talk to him. He’s got money and power, and he can make me disappear.” She was on her feet, her hands fisted at her side.
Jed reached for her, both her arms, and held her much like he would a child he was about to give a talking to. “You’re safe here. No one is coming in and taking you. And his money, power, and crap means nothing here. You ought to know that, Laura. But he is my cousin, and if he did do this and is part of something this criminal and despicable, I will take him down. No one’s taking your babies from you.” Jed sat her back down on the sofa. “Diana, keep her inside. I don’t know how long I’ll be.”
Diana waddled over to the kitchen and yanked a cell phone from the charger. “Take this and call me. Keep it on so I can get a hold of you.”
Jed didn’t hesitate and shoved the cell phone in his jacket pocket. “I won’t be long.” He grabbed his cowboy hat, stuck it on his head over his sleep-tousled short brown hair, and jingled the truck keys as he yanked open the door. “Lock this behind me. Don’t let anyone in.”
Diana strode to the door as Laura listened to a truck start up. Diana locked the door and peeked through the curtains. “Laura, Jed is right. I’m hoping what you heard was all a misunderstanding, but I also know that Caroline is a dangerous snake. She comes from old money, a family that lives and breathes corruption, destroying anyone who gets in her way. But why would she want your babies? I can’t figure that one out. Nevertheless, you’re safe here. My husband will not allow this to happen, Laura.” Diana stepped away from the curtains and sat beside Laura on the sofa.
“Thank you, Diana. I’m so sorry. I just didn’t know what to do.”
Diana picked up Laura’s hand. She stared at the diamond-encrusted band and frowned. “Is that new?”
“Yes, it is. Andy bought it for me. I know it cost a fortune. I don’t know why he did it.”
“Hmm.” Diana patted her hand.
“What does that mean?” Laura asked.
“It means that we wait for Jed. We wait for my husband to talk to your husband. So get comfortable, honey; we’re in for a long night.”
Chapter 20
“Where the hell is she?” Andy barked at Jules, who was in her robe, her hair in curlers.
He’d woken the entire household while looking for Laura, and he still couldn’t believe she was gone. Walking into their room to get ready for bed and finding the bed empty, the covers thrown back in a crumpled heap, he’d checked the bathroom. When he couldn’t find her, he wondered if maybe she was looking for him, but when he spotted Gabriel’s open door and peeked in, it had taken him a second to realize the bed was empty. He had flicked on the bedroom light, and sure enough, he was gone.
Maybe Gabriel had woken Laura. Maybe he was thirsty. Andy had jogged down the stairs and gone into a darkened kitchen, flicking on the light. There wasn’t even a glass on the counter or in the sink of the spotless kitchen.
He had searched his library, the sunroom, the entire downstairs, and then he went back to their bedroom. The open closet door beckoned, and when he stepped in and looked around, he had spotted the empty shelf where the running shoes he’d bought her were gone. A price tag lay on the floor, and as he bent over and picked up the white ticket, he felt sucker punched. A sense of betrayal blew through him. He knew she had been upset all day, as if she couldn’t stand his touch or to be around him. He’d ignored his instincts, which had been sending off alarm bells inside, screaming that there was a problem. Instead, he had listened to the doctor, who said women this far in pregnancy often became irritable and didn’t want to be touched. Yeah, bullshit. He’d known something wasn’t right. Hell, it had only been hours since he’d taken her on the bed, a slow ride so full of passion that he couldn’t get enough of her. He had felt the sparks he was shooting off inside her.
“Sir, we’ve looked everywhere. She’s not here, but Thomas found the door by your mother’s wing unlocked.”
The doorbell chimed. Andy started back down the stairs. It was after midnight, so dread deepened and squeezed his heart with each step. No one in their right mind was out knocking on doors this time of night. He yanked open the door and stared into the hard face of his cousin.
“You missing someone, cous?” Jed snapped. He pushed his way inside, bumping Andy as he stepped in.
Andy shut the door, and when the stairs creaked behind him, he spun around, his gaze landing on Jules, who hovered halfway down the stairs. “That’s all for tonight Jules.”
She gave a curt nod and climbed down the stairs, heading to where her small suite was at the rear of the house.
“Where is my wife, Jed?” Andy snapped.
“She showed up damn near falling apart on my doorstep with Gabriel, both of them wet and cold and crying. She told quite the tale, as well, of how you’re plotting to take her babies from her with some lady doctor.” Jed shoved his hands on his hips, and Andy knew from the look in his cousin’s eyes that Jed wouldn’t hesitate to punch him in the face.
“What the hell? That is absolutely insane.” Andy stalked into his library to grab his keys from the desk, shoving them in his pocket.
“You ain’t going out there, Andy, not until I find out what the hell’s going on. I gave Laura my word she’d be safe, and I mean that. She will. Now I want to know why your wife is so freaked out.” Jed was right behind him, lifting the cowboy hat from his head and dumping it on Andy’s desk. “Sit down, cous.”
“I’m not sitting down. I want to talk some sense into my wife. Where in the hell would she come up with a ridiculous accusation like that? I thought we were past this.” Andy tried to go around Jed, because right now he wanted nothing more than to put his hands on Laura and shake her senseless, but Jed put his hand out on Andy’s shoulder and stopped him.
“Whoa there, Andy. I guess you’re not h
earing me. You’re not going out there now. She’s a mess, and she’s terrified of you. My wife is about ready to deliver any day, so you’re not turning my house upside down.”
Andy held up both his hands in surrender. “Where would she get the idea I’d take the babies from her? What kind of monster does she think I am? I wouldn’t do that. I just got her and Gabriel back. I…” He had to stop himself, because he had almost said he loved her.
“Apparently, she overheard your mother and that doctor planning a C-section for her and saying they would take the babies away before she could see them. Your mother told this doctor woman that everything’s been taken care of: A nanny’s been hired, and the nursery is ready and waiting for the babies. She said you were anxious to be rid of Laura and that all you’ve been doing is pretending with her, that apparently you take after Todd that way.” Jed then stared at Andy, watching him and waiting for his response.
Andy couldn’t find his voice. Everything he’d worked for with Laura had disintegrated like fine sand through his fingers. He sat on the edge of his desk and took a deep breath. He didn’t know what to make of this tale Jed was telling. Laura couldn’t have heard right.
“We haven’t even planned a nursery yet for the babies. I never thought that far ahead. I was worried about Laura. This makes no sense; she couldn’t have heard that.” He gestured with his hands sharply as he paced. “What the hell would my mother want with babies? God, I was just an afterthought for her, an annoyance and an obligation to carry on the name. She had to have heard wrong. Doctor Richardson is one of the best OBs around. What’s in it for her? This makes no sense.”
“Andy, apparently Laura found the nursery in this house. She said it’s in your mother’s wing.”
Runaway: The Sequel to Secrets, a sexy and dramatic western romance (Finding Love ~ THE OUTSIDER SERIES) Page 9
