Expecting his child(25)

Noah stood in front of Martina in a protective posture. "Now wait just a minute," he said.

"We don't have to wait a second for you. You're the one who caused this  trouble from the beginning. If you hadn't gotten her pregnant-" Brock  said.

"It takes two to get pregnant," Martina interjected.

"You had to be insane at the time," Brock told her. He looked at her, his face full of disappointment. "You know better."

"Don't give her a hard time," Noah said, his nostrils flaring in anger.

"A little late to be protecting her," Tyler said. "You should have been protecting her when you got her pregnant."

Adam stood. "That's pushing it, Logan."

"Yeah, well, I've just started," Tyler snarled.

Martina's stomach roiled with nausea. She had never seen her brothers so  angry. Every nasty quality was coming out now. "Stop it!" she cried.  "You're making me sick. You're not even listening."

"This has been coming for a long time," Brock said. "You go get your stuff and we'll take you home."

"Martina may not want to go with you," Noah said.

Brock narrowed his eyes and moved toward Noah. "When it comes to Coltranes, she doesn't know what's best for her."

"You weren't invited on our property," Adam said. "I think you'd better be leaving."

"We're not leaving," Tyler said as he stood toe-to-toe with Adam, "until we take Martina."

"This could get messy," Noah said to her. "I don't want you to see this. Go upstairs."

"I can still hear from up there," she said.

"Let me handle this," he told her.

"There's no handling my brothers when they're like this," she whispered,  growing more nauseated by the second. "Maybe I should leave."

"Go upstairs," Noah said firmly.

One too many orders for Martina. If her brothers and the Coltranes were  stupid enough to come to blows over this, then she wasn't going to stop  them. Too upset for words, she left the dining room, grabbed her purse  from the end table where she'd left it and headed outside to her car.

The sky was cloudy and angry-looking just like the atmosphere in the  house. Martina climbed into the Mustang and secured the convertible top.  She started it, then gunned it down the driveway.

She'd known the Waterloo with her brothers was coming, but she hadn't  expected it tonight. She couldn't believe the hate on their faces. Since  she'd lived with the Coltranes the past few days, she'd gained a new  perspective on the family. They were every bit as honorable as her  brothers. They struggled to produce more with less. They cared about  each other, and she cared about them. Nothing could make her stop loving  her brothers, but she still cared about the Coltranes. She just wished  her brothers could accept that. She wished they could accept Noah. She  wished  …  a lot of things. Her stomach tightened at how mean her brothers  had been.                       
       
           



       

Tumbleweed rolled across her windshield. She gave a start and glanced at  the sky again. The clouds were even angrier, and it was obvious, from  all the flying debris, that the wind was picking up. Not the best time  for a drive, she thought, and turned on the headlights. She considered  turning around, but the thought of returning made her stomach roil  again. She couldn't bear to hear her brother's angry voices.

Tightening her hands on the steering wheel, Martina continued to drive  until visibility all but disappeared. Wind whipped up, violently  stirring dust and dirt. Her already low spirits sank to her feet when  realization hit her. She was in the middle of a dust storm. She pulled  to the side of the road, stopped and told herself to stay calm.

"Take a breath," she told herself. "Relax."

She inhaled, then felt the distinct sensation of water gushing down her  legs. Alarm shot through her. "Oh, no. Houston," she muttered, "we have a  problem."

* * *

Tyler took a break from hurling insults, and Noah heard the sound of  dust and sand striking the window. He frowned, stepping closer to the  window. "What the-"

"Noah Coltrane, I want you to stay away from Martina," Brock said.

"No," Noah said, frowning at the gray weather outside. "Not unless  Martina tells me to stay away from her, and that won't happen because  she's in love with me."

Sudden silence descended on the room. Then Tyler demanded, "She's what?"

"She's in love with me," Noah said impatiently. He had a sinking feeling  Martina had not done what she'd been told to do. He rushed to the front  door, and although the visibility was poor, he could see that her car  was gone. His gut twisted into a knot. "The woman does not take  direction well."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

In the distance, Noah could see a fierce dust storm, and Martina was  probably right in the middle of it. "Listen," he said, his patience and  tolerance shot, "you two might have the time and energy to keep a  hundred-year-old grudge going, but I've got more important things to do.  Damn," he muttered, feeling his skin grow damp with a cold sweat.

Tyler stepped in front of him and gathered the neck of his shirt in his hands. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Noah felt his brothers move in unison. He gestured for them to stay  back. He removed Tyler's hands. "We're not teenagers anymore, Ty. We're  not going to fight. There's a dust storm out there and your sister's  probably in it."

Alarm widened Tyler's eyes. His gaze shot to the window, then back to Noah. "What do you mean?"

"I mean her little blue Mustang convertible is gone from the driveway and she's probably stuck in a dust storm."

"But we told her to get her stuff," Tyler said.

Noah laughed without humor. "When did Martina follow instructions?"

Realization crossed Tyler's face. "Oh, hell!"

"I'm going after her," Noah said.

"You won't be able to see a damn thing," Adam warned him.

"She's upset. I can't leave her out there by herself when I know she's  upset. Anything could happen to her. She's pregnant, for God's sake."

Silence descended again.

"Why didn't she listen?" Brock asked. "I told her."

"I think she did listen," Noah said in a dark tone, "all too well. We all gave her an earful, didn't we?"

Her brothers had the grace to look ashamed. Maybe there was hope, Noah  thought, but he was too concerned about Martina to give a damn at the  moment.

"Take my truck," Adam offered. "But be careful"

"I'll check the opposite direction," Brock said, his face creased with worry.

"Don't get yourself hurt," Noah told Martina's brothers as he grabbed  his hat. "She couldn't bear it if either of you got hurt." He ran out  the door.

Noah barely cleared the driveway before the dust whipping against the  windshield forced him to adjust his speed to a snail's pace. Noah hated  that he hadn't protected her from the ugly scene at the house. He should  have found a way to circumvent it. He should have confronted her  brothers before now. Seeing their families at each other's throats had  probably torn her up inside. The idea of her suffering hurt so much it  took his breath away.

With each foot he crawled forward, he prayed she was okay. What if she'd  gotten hurt? What if she'd lost control of the car? He began to sweat  with outright fear again.

Why hadn't he told her she was the most important person in the world  and he didn't know how he could live without her? Why hadn't he told her  that he loved her?

Noah knew with every beat of his heart that he loved Martina. Why hadn't he told her?

Berating himself, he continued to drive forward. The wind slowed for a  moment and he saw a flash of blue. His heart raced. Her car. He pulled  over and got out of the truck, shielding his eyes with his hands. The  wind whipped around him in a fury. He reached Martina's car and pounded  on the window. The door opened and he quickly scooted inside.                       
       
           



       

"Noah!" she said, leaping into his arms. "I've been so frightened."

"You have been frightened!" he said, holding her tightly as he scolded her. "You should never have gone out in this weather."

He felt her tense. Her breathing quickened. Noah pulled back slightly and studied her. "Are you okay?"

She continued taking slow, shallow breaths. "Yes and no," she finally said.

Noah took in the flush of her cheeks and the strain around her eyes. "Explain that answer."

She gave a weak smile. "My water broke and I'm in labor."

Alarm shot through him. He swore. "We need to get you to a hospital."