MY ESTRANGED LOVER
Shelley Munro
Middlemarch Shifters, book 5
Table of Contents
Blurb
Note to Readers
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Bonus Chapter
Excerpt – Seized & Seduced
About Shelley
Other Works by Shelley
Copyright Page
Blurb
Mistakes are easy. It’s fixing them that can make or break a marriage.
Caroline Rutherford is at the end of her marriage tether. As much as she loves her husband, it’s time to admit defeat. Their long-term, love-at-first-sight relationship is no longer working, and they’re hurting each other and their two young sons by continuing the happy family farce.
Feline shifter Marsh Rutherford knows his relationship is in trouble, and he and Caroline, his human wife, haven’t shared a bed for months. He made a mistake at the start of their marriage, omitting to tell the truth, and now the secrets are strangling their happiness. Admitting the reality to himself is simple, but finding a solution to fix the problem is tearing him apart because reality has the potential to destroy what little trust remains between him and his wife.
Their future looks murky until a new opportunity presents itself—a fresh start for the entire family, a means for husband and wife to reconnect in and out of the bedroom. Caroline and Marsh agree to grasp the chance for a new future. Things are going well and their sex life has never been better, but those mysterious secrets hover in the background like pesky flies. Marsh must discover a way to make everything right because Caroline is his mate and the only woman who can make him happy. Losing her isn’t an option.
Warning: contains a sexy feline shapeshifter felled by a good woman. He’s confused and befuddled and makes mistakes, but it’s not too late, folks. We can fix this mess with love, with tears and a few humorous mishaps during the romantic journey. Fingers crossed…let’s go!
Note to Readers
Welcome to Middlemarch!
My Estranged Lover is a brand new addition to the Middlemarch Shifters series. You’ll meet new characters, spend time with old favorites from previous stories and get a peek at one of my favorite parts of New Zealand—the Mackenzie Country. I hope you enjoy Marsh and Caroline’s story.
I always love hearing from readers. You can visit my website or join my newsletter to learn about upcoming releases, news and contests. You’ll also receive two free books (a contemporary and a paranormal romance) when you sign up. See you there. *grin*
Shelley
Chapter One
Caroline Rutherford reclined in her double bed and stared at the pages of her romance novel, despite the lateness of the hour. Instead of following the raven-haired Scottish lass as she led her hunky Highlander on an adventurous dance, her mind kept sliding to her own life.
Where was Marsh?
Out again.
With another woman if her mother-in-law’s barbed hints held truth.
She hadn’t summoned the courage to ask Marsh.
Yet.
Sighing, she shut the book and set it aside. Caroline rearranged her pillows and flicked off the light, plunging the bedroom into darkness.
With sight obscured, her other senses worked harder. The tick of the alarm clock sprang into focus, beating off the seconds, the minutes, the hours her husband stayed away from the house. The nights he slept in the spare bed. She sucked in a breath and caught a whiff of laundry powder, a trace of cinnamon from the candle she’d burned earlier, the spicy hint of her green tea perfume.
With a trace of embarrassment at her weakness, she reached beneath the pillow on the other side of the bed and pulled out a T-shirt—one of Marsh’s. She’d behaved like a stalker to get this, stealing her husband’s favorite T-shirt from the laundry hamper. Her throat tightened even as his comforting scent wrapped around her senses.
Tears stung her eyes as the truth loomed in her mind.
It was time.
Their marriage couldn’t continue in this fashion, not if she wanted to retain her sanity.
A vehicle pulled up outside the house—one of the farmhouses reserved for workers. At least she’d won that argument and insisted they have their own home instead of moving into the large Rutherford homestead. Caroline’s stomach rolled, the knots twisting, turning, tightening until she wanted to scream in frustration.
But she remained silent.
She froze, tension in every muscle, in every slow, even breath.
The back door squealed open, squealed shut.
Her hands curled to fists.
The old wooden floorboards creaked under the weight of footsteps.
Her fingernails dug into her palms.
Another door squeaked, softer with less of a protest.
The grip around her heart softened, emotion spilling a tear free.
Marsh was checking on Ricky. No matter how wide the gap yawned between them, she knew he loved their two boys, which made this situation even more difficult.
The door squeaked again. Footsteps neared their bedroom, stilled outside the ajar door.
Caroline’s breath caught, held. Sharp teeth bit into her bottom lip.
The pause lengthened.
Her heart hammered.
Then the measured footsteps resumed, the creaks retreating as Marsh walked to the bedroom at the far end of the passage.
Maybe he was checking on James. Maybe he’d return.
She waited and waited and waited.
Marsh didn’t make a return trip, choosing to sleep in the spare bed in James’s room instead of sleeping with her. A long-standing habit.
Tears slid down her cheeks, one after the other.
She couldn’t go on this way.
She’d talk to Marsh.
Tomorrow.
* * * * *
The early morning light struck his face, and Marsh groaned. Every muscle ached and his cheek—grazed by an exuberant tackle during the madcap rugby game the previous night and still tender—stuck to his pillow. Despite his feline genes and ability to heal fast, he felt like a flat tire. He peeled the cotton from his face and rolled over to see his oldest son staring at him from the twin single bed.
“Hey, sport,” Marsh whispered. “You’re awake early.”
James crinkled his nose, his action reminding Marsh of Caroline. “You were making noises.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Like this.” James wrinkled his button nose again and let out several loud snorts.
“I made those noises?” Snoring. He shouldn’t have stayed for two beers after the run with his friends. He’d known it, but he’d enjoyed being himself, embracing his feline form without worrying Caroline might discover his secret.
Marsh slid from the bed and stood, stretching with caution as he tested his limbs. Not too bad. He turned to his son and smiled. “Go back to sleep, huh?” Marsh stooped to tuck the covers around his son’s slight form. Although James took after him in appearance, Marsh saw so much of Caroline in his five-year-old son. Another topic of conflict with his parents.
Marsh drew back with a sigh and left the bedroom, pulling the door closed before heading to the kitchen. Coffee. Caffeine to clear his head and give him divine inspiration. He needed it.
His marriage
was dying.
Oh, he could blame his parents for the way they belittled Caroline behind her back. He could blame them for giving him advice that had placed his marriage in danger. He could blame them for rejecting the human he’d introduced to the Rutherford family.
Marsh swiped a hand through his hair and admitted the truth. The mess his marriage had become was all on him. He’d been the one who had listened to his horrified parents in the early days of his marriage. He’d been the one who agreed to conceal their feline shapeshifter heritage. He’d been the one who kept feline secrets and business from his wife.
Damn it. He’d kept himself from marking Caroline and making her his mate and wife in truth.
Marsh made the coffee, doing the mundane actions by rote. A noise from behind had him whirling to face the doorway. Caroline stood there, looking as exhausted as he felt.
Strawberry-blonde hair lay in waves, long enough to reach her shoulders. Tall and always big-boned, two pregnancies had added to her curves and size. She was beautiful, and still did it for him, even though his mother derided Caroline for her lack of willpower with food. Her light blue eyes appeared wary and he forced a smile, forced himself not to drag her into his arms. Sex obscured the problem, made it worse.
“Coffee?”
“Please,” she said, her gaze scurrying over his bare chest, flitting to his boxer-briefs then darting to his face and settling on his grazed cheek.
Marsh willed his body not to react to her presence. Thought of cold showers and decided to flee and regroup. “Coffee won’t be long. I’ll grab clothes.” He strode from the kitchen and turned toward their bedroom—Caroline’s bedroom now. Somehow, they’d fallen into the routine of him sleeping elsewhere. Either on the couch or the spare bed in James’s bedroom.
Hell, this couldn’t continue.
He needed to grow a pair and fix this.
Marsh grabbed a pair of worn jeans from the wardrobe and pulled on a black T-shirt before returning to the kitchen. Caroline sat at the scarred kitchen table, a mug of coffee cupped in her hands. James’s green lunch box sat on the counter. Several colorful pots filled with herbs jostled for space on the window ledge.
Everything in the kitchen screamed old and well-worn. No dishwasher. No slick cabinets. No gadgets. Yet despite this, Caroline had made the kitchen, the entire house scream welcome. It was the haven and home he’d never had while growing up. His parents’ house, ten minutes down the road, seemed stiff and formal in comparison.
No, Caroline didn’t deserve this crap.
It was up to him to fix this wreck of a marriage because Caroline had tried. She’d tried so hard.
Marsh reached for a mug and poured a black coffee. “Do you want a refill?”
“No, thanks.”
God, so polite.
Marsh pulled out the wooden chair opposite Caroline and sat.
“What happened to your face?”
“I went to rugby training last night. Felix Mitchell tackled me hard and I’m wearing the marks to prove it.”
“I didn’t think you had time to play rugby this season. Your father said he couldn’t spare you on the farm.”
His father didn’t want to pay wages and preferred the slave labor provided by his son. “I’m playing.” He lifted his gaze from his coffee. “As long as you’re okay with me spending a couple of nights a week training and playing on Saturday. I can take the boys with me during the early training night because a lot of the wives bring the kids and organize games in the school hall. Or, you can come to training too. It’s up to you.”
Marsh caught her surprise, the slight widening of her blue eyes, the wrinkling of her nose and the parting of her pink lips. Then, she tensed, her mouth firming, her spine hitting the back of the chair.
“We need to talk, Marsh.”
Marsh nodded.
“We…I can’t go on like this. I—it’s soul-destroying.”
Marsh came to a quick decision. Nothing important on his schedule today. He had to shift the cattle closer to the yards since they were selling a hundred head at the Wednesday sale, make sure they had water. “I have to shift the cattle, but why don’t we spend the rest of the day together? Go for a walk on the beach or have lunch in Dunedin.”
Caroline gestured at the pile of mail on the far corner of the table. “We can’t afford a lunch.”
Bills. Marsh glanced at his coffee, feeling worse than ever. His father seemed to think he should work for free and grudged every cent he paid in minimum wages. The reason he’d suggesting selling part of their herd. Of course he’d told his father they didn’t have enough feed to winter them, which was true. “Maybe we could—”
The landline rang, and Marsh sighed. He reached over and plucked the hand piece from the charger. “Marsh, when are you going to shift the cattle?”
“As soon as I’ve had my coffee.” He glanced at his watch. Almost eight. Early even for his father.
“Lots to do today. Once you’ve mustered the cattle, I need you to mend the fence in the western paddock. I’ve got the wire and staples in the shed.”
“Not today, Dad. After I’ve shifted the cattle, I’m taking off the rest of the day.”
Pregnant silence bloomed. “Why?”
“I haven’t had a day off for weeks.”
“But what about the fence?”
“I’ll do it tomorrow.” Marsh closed his eyes, took a steadying breath. “I’ll be up to pick up my wages before Caroline and I go out.”
“Your mother didn’t get to the bank.”
“I can’t feed my family on air, Dad.”
“We provide accommodation and an employment package.”
“I need money too.” Marsh heard the distinct snap in his voice. “I work hard and deserve a wage.”
Caroline’s breath whooshed out—the audible rush of air too soft for most people to hear. Marsh’s temper lightened at her obvious surprise since he never argued with his father. His mother either. He grinned at her, amused by her surprise.
“You won’t get any wages if that fence doesn’t get done today.”
Marsh hung up on his blustering father. His marriage wasn’t the only thing that needed to change.
* * * * *
Once Marsh left to collect the farm dogs and shift the cattle, Caroline prepared lunch for James and woke him to get ready for school. While he donned his clothes, she woke her three-year-old. He blinked at her, a miniature copy of Marsh with his soft black curls and dancing green eyes.
The thing that had attracted her to Marsh. She’d attended a varsity party with her friend and heard him laughing at a joke. His laugh had made her lips curl and he’d glanced up to catch her staring. Tall, with a broad chest and the look of someone who spent hours outdoors, he wore faded jeans that hugged his muscular thighs and a black T-shirt. Everything about him and his friends screamed sports and popularity, and fascinated, she’d continued to ogle him.
Even now, her cheeks heated at the memory—the intense connection they’d shared across the room. Marsh had broken their gaze, said something to the four friends he’d been standing with, and they’d all turned to stare. She drifted back in years, remembering…
She’d frozen at the interest, her cheeks blazing with color. Mortified, she’d ducked her head and hurried after her girlfriend. When she risked a glance over her shoulder, none of them were laughing but they were still watching her, and she felt even more like prey.
Good grief. She should’ve stayed at home and finished sewing her dress to wear to the country racing carnival, the one she intended to enter the Best Dressed competition. Winning the prize would pay part of her university fees and hopefully stretch to textbooks for her design course. But no, she’d allowed her roomie to drag her to the party. Just for a few hours.
She pushed through the throng of dancing, laughing students, murmuring apologies as she jostled people.
“Hey.” The touch on her shoulder had her spinning around, the words of apology for pushing dying o
n her lips.
It was him.
He grinned at her. “My name is Marsh. Who are you?”
“Caroline.”
His green eyes sparkled as he scanned her face. When an exuberant couple knocked her toward him, he drew her closer until her hand pressed against his chest to maintain her own space. He lifted his head, inhaled, his pectoral muscles rising beneath her fingers. Slowly, he released the breath and beamed at her.
“Would you like to dance or join me and my friends at the bar for a drink?”
“You want to dance with me?” The gorgeous man tangled her tongue. Her eyes, however, worked fine. Taller than her by a good six inches. He had inky-black curls, long enough to skim his collarbone. His green eyes danced with life and laughter, the jade color offset by thick, long eyelashes. He had a strong face, not exactly handsome. His nose was a trifle big for that, but his grin held rakish charm, highlighted by the scruff on his jawline. Her heart beat faster as she stared up at him. “Me?” she repeated, positive she’d misheard.
“Yes.” Not a hint of hesitation or teasing.
Caroline nodded. This was a mistake. Men like him didn’t pay attention to girls like her. “Do you play rugby?” He had the look of a rugby player as did his friends.
“Yes.” Amusement sounded in his voice.
He pulled away and grabbed her hand, twining their fingers together. “We’ll go outside on the deck. It’s cooler out there and we can still hear the music.”
Caroline hesitated.
“There are others dancing out there,” Marsh said.
She relaxed once she saw he spoke the truth and allowed him to lead her outside.
“That’s better,” he said and he dragged in a huge breath, another of those sexy grins shaping his sensual mouth. “I’m a country boy and sometimes the crush of people gets to me. I can breathe out here.”
“Where are you from?” she asked, glad of the conversational lead. Shock at his approach had left her mind fuzzy. Off balance. Yeah, definitely off balance.
“Middlemarch. My parents have a farm there. What about you?”
“My parents live in Dunedin. Dad is a plumber and has his own business. My mother is a teacher.”
My Estranged Lover (Middlemarch Shifters Book 5) Page 1