My Estranged Lover (Middlemarch Shifters Book 5) (2 page)

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 on 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.”

“Are you a student at the university?”

“Yes, I’m studying art and design, specializing in textiles. You?”

He claimed a quiet spot on the deck and pulled her close, his muscular arms cupping her shoulders before one slid behind her back. “Agriculture and business.”

His warm breath feathered across her neck, left bared because she’d clipped her hair up in deference to the warm summer night. A shiver worked through her. His scent thrilled her—a hint of citrus aftershave with green and wild undertones. He smelled of the outdoors and clean, healthy male. Much better than the fellow student who’d tried to cop a feel in the lift the other day between classes.

“Do you live at home?”

“No,” Caroline said. “My parents wanted me too. Even though it’s cheaper, I wanted independence, to make my own decisions, you know? So I’m rooming with my best friend in one of the varsity accommodation blocks.”

“I’m flatting with friends from Middlemarch,” Marsh said. “The guys I was with at the bar. We went to school together and it made sense to share a flat. Brothers? Sisters?”

“I have an older sister. She lives and works in Auckland. She’s eight years older than me.”

Marsh fell silent and seemed content to sway to the music and hold her. When the music ended, she expected him to thank her and rejoin his friends.

He didn’t.

He pulled back so he could see her face. “Would you like to go for coffee? I’d offer to buy you dinner, but a coffee is as far as I can stretch,” he said.

“You don’t have to buy me a coffee.”

“I want to talk to you.”

She studied his expression, instantly suspicious, but sincerity blazed from his sexy face. “There is a McDonald’s two streets away. I don’t have much cash either, but if we pool our resources, we might manage a hamburger each.”

“Thank you.” He took her hand again. “I’ll tell my friends I’m leaving. Do you need to tell anyone?”

She nodded. “I’ll send a text to my friend.”

Ten minutes later, they entered the fast food restaurant. With a coffee and a burger each, they’d talked for two hours, learning about each other. Her initial wariness seeped away, leaving the seeds of something else. Friendship. Attraction.

“I have to go,” Marsh said.

Caroline glanced at her wristwatch and nodded. “I should leave too. I need to finish making a dress to wear to the races so I have an entry for the Best Dressed contest.” She stood, the easy conversation of earlier sticking in her throat. Was this it?

“I had fun,” Marsh said. “Can I walk you home?”

Her breath eased out. “Thanks, but it’s not necessary. The student accommodation is three blocks.”

Marsh reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. “I’ll walk you home.”

The start of their romance. Marsh had kissed her cheek and left her at her door, appearing at the races the next day, cheering when she’d claimed the runner-up prize in the Best Dressed contest.

“Mum. Mum!” James tugged on her cardigan sleeve, jerking her from the past, their courtship, the good years.

“Yes.” She glanced at the clock on the far wall and reached for James’s lunch box. “Is your school bag packed? It’s time for us to walk you to the bus stop.”

After pulling on jackets, Caroline hustled her two boys out the door. They waited at the bus shelter, the bright red school bus puttering along the road four minutes later. With James aboard, she and Ricky wandered back to the house. Once the kitchen was clean again, Caroline turned her mind to packing and remembered she’d lent Marsh’s parents their suitcases when they’d gone to Fiji for a holiday.

Great. Just great.

She steeled herself to visit Dawn Rutherford. The woman had never liked her and made no secret of her attitude. She did, however, dote on Ricky, which was why Caroline decided to take her son with her. Hopefully, Ricky’s presence would halt Dawn’s questions.

A ten-minute car ride later, Caroline pulled up outside Charles and Dawn Rutherford’s home. A two-story brick-and-tile home, set like a jewel amongst a lush garden. Dawn had a way with plants and often hosted gardening groups to tour her extensive gardens. Each season, she chose a color theme and even with autumn’s arrival the bright beds of red and white roses, petunias and pansies blazed in synchronized perfection.

Caroline dragged in a deep breath to brace herself and turned to Ricky with a bright smile. “Are you ready to visit Grandma?”

Even though Dawn and Charles remained distant to her, they spent time with their grandchildren. In the early days of their marriage, she’d mentioned it to Marsh. He’d shrugged and said they’d always been that way, but he admitted their attitudes had shifted for the worse after his older brother Angus had died in a car crash.

The front door to the house opened and her slim mother-in-law stood waiting. Her gaze flickered over Caroline, from head to shoes, the scrutiny taking mere seconds but leaving Caroline feeling lacking.

Dawn Rutherford smiled, the light of laughter and humor sloughing away her disapproval. “Who are you?” Her voice bubbled with teasing, love shining in her jade-green eyes. “Do I know you? Have you come to rob my cookie jar?”

“Grandma! Grandma! I’m here!” Ricky shouted gleefully, used to this game. “It’s me. Ricky.”

Even at this time of the morning, Dawn looked ready to hit the shops or go for coffee. Caroline became acutely conscious of the too-tight shirt that hung over her faded jeans to hide the fact she could no longer fasten the button of the fly. No danger of her trousers sliding to a puddle at her feet.

Caroline followed her excited son up the path, her comfortable runners dragging against the decorative cobblestones. Trepidation tightened her throat and dried her mouth and she resisted the urge to wipe her sweaty palms against her thighs.

“You just caught me,” Dawn said in the crisp, no-nonsense voice she reserved for Caroline and sometimes her son. “The girls and I are hitting the shops in Dunedin.”

“I won’t keep you then,” Caroline said, forcing the words across her desert-dry tongue. “I’ve come to collect the two suitcases we lent you for your trip to Fiji.”

“Oh?” Two well-plucked brows rose in punctuation of the unuttered question.

Caroline didn’t answer, merely waited. Less is more.
Less is more
.

Dawn huffed out an irritated sigh, her gaze speaking volumes. “I have time for a quick cup of tea, and you can tell me about your upcoming trip. Marsh didn’t mention a holiday when he dropped by to speak with Charles. Would you like a hot chocolate and a cookie?”

Ricky nodded with enthusiasm. “Yes, please.”

Pride rose in Caroline. He was a good boy. She and Marsh had made awesome children, even if nothing else they did together worked any longer.

Dawn led Ricky inside and Caroline followed. Her mother-in-law had a knack with decorating and colors. The interior of the house formalized the welcome stated by the gardens and façade. Magazine-ready and on the official side. Wooden floorboards gleamed underfoot and an Oriental runner ran the length of the passage from the hall. Caroline dawdled, a trace of envy filling her at the smart cream walls and the framed photographs of Mount Cook and other Otago landmarks even though entering this house made her worry about breakages and clumsiness.