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The Marine's Embrace
Beth Andrews
If only he had something to give her…besides love.He’s only looking for a room and a fresh start but Zach finds more than he’d bargained for when he checks into Fay Lindemuth’s bed and breakfast. The single mom intrigues him with her quiet strength and gentle beauty. He knows he should keep his distance from Fay and her young sons. Not only is she still hung up on her ex-husband, but as an ex-Marine, Zach Castro has no idea what he can offer them. No matter how much he begins to feel for her…
If only he had something to give her...besides love
He’s only looking for a room and a fresh start, but Zach finds more than he’d bargained for when he checks into Fay Lindemuth’s bed-and-breakfast. The single mom intrigues him with her quiet strength and gentle beauty. He knows he should keep his distance from Fay and her young sons. Not only is she still hung up on her ex-husband, but as an ex-marine, Zach Castro has no idea what he can offer them. No matter how much he begins to feel for her...
Fay smiled, warm and relieved.
As if getting him to come inside the bed-and-breakfast was some sort of personal victory... Glad he could help her put a check in the win column.
“Thank you,” she said. A car drove past, the driver giving them a friendly beep of the horn. She waved without looking away from Zach. “I promise to do everything in my power to make your stay with us pleasant.”
He thought again of how pretty she’d looked sitting in the sunshine. How good she smelled. How long it had been since he’d felt a woman’s soft skin. How long since a woman had touched him in a nonplatonic, nonmedical or nontherapeutic way.
A long time. A long, long time.
Yeah. Probably not what she meant by making things pleasant.
“I’ll just check out the room,” he told her, his voice gruffer than he’d intended. Inappropriate thoughts would do that. Especially ones of him rolling around on the front yard of a residential street on a bright, sunny day with a woman who, moments before, had hauled her screaming kid inside. “No promises I’ll be staying.”
Dear Reader (#u5e8ac59a-3da4-5166-82e9-7ab0ed1bc905),
I read my first Harlequin romance as a teenager and from that point on, I dreamed of becoming a Harlequin author. Now here I am, releasing my eighteenth book for Superromance, and I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you so much for allowing me to share my stories with you. Here’s to many more happy endings!
If you’ve read my books before, it’s probably clear that I’m a big believer in second chances. I believe that if a person sincerely wants to overcome their past, they will—but it won’t be easy. A point that was very much brought home in The Marine’s Embrace.
Fay Lindemuth and Zach Castro are both at turning points in their lives. Fay, who was introduced in the very first In Shady Grove book, Talk of the Town, is a single mother struggling with depression trying desperately to overcome past mistakes and move on. Zach comes to Shady Grove to work for his brother so he can figure out what his future holds after losing his arm and leg while serving in the marines. They don’t complete each other so much as they help each other heal. Zach gives Fay the strength to see herself as so much more than her illness and her past choices. Fay and her sons accept Zach into their hearts and show him how much brighter his future will be once he includes love and family into his plans.
I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed writing Fay and Zach’s story—especially being able to bring Fay’s story full circle and give her a well-deserved happy-ever-after. I’ve loved writing the In Shady Grove series and being able to return to Shady Grove time and again. This series has been very near and dear to my heart—thank you for being a part of it!
For more about future releases and a listing of all my books, please visit my website, www.bethandrews.net (http://www.bethandrews.net), or drop me a line at beth@bethandrews.net. I’d love to hear from you.
Happy reading!
Beth
The Marine’s Embrace
Beth Andrews
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
During the writing of The Marine’s Embrace, the eighth book in her popular In Shady Grove series, Romance Writers of America RITA® Award–winner BETH ANDREWS became an empty nester, discovered the joy (and pain) of spin class and was given the best gift of all, a new grandson! When not writing Beth can be found looking at pictures of her grandbaby, printing pictures of her grandbaby or sending other people pictures of her grandbaby—yes, he’s that cute. Learn more about Beth and her books by visiting her website, bethandrews.net (http://www.bethandrews.net).
For Andy
Contents
COVER (#u43fd9773-d7ae-5ce0-a139-dfa4398a05c9)
BACK COVER TEXT (#u0b13aa92-7e84-50e7-a529-86fb0eb37d7f)
INTRODUCTION (#ufe62fa31-ed35-5faf-8ef2-e8505e5821a6)
Dear Reader
TITLE PAGE (#u5dac4b6a-5c80-51f2-9687-129d844fda5f)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (#uce3ce5a7-682f-53cc-8232-aab441d3938e)
DEDICATION (#uc0eb4ba8-bf35-59a8-a8b0-c7e0129b89b7)
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
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
EXTRACT (#litres_trial_promo)
COPYRIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#u5e8ac59a-3da4-5166-82e9-7ab0ed1bc905)
HER PILLOW SMELLED of him.
Caught in that wonderful, hazy time between asleep and fully awake, Fay Lindemuth sighed and pressed her face against the soft fabric. Inhaled the familiar, tantalizing scent of her husband’s aftershave. Hugging it close, she wanted nothing more than to hold this perfect moment in her memory forever. To draw it out, make it last as long as possible.
But these perfect moments didn’t last. Not for her.
So she had to make the most of it. Happiness, so long sought and even longer fought for, suffused her. She used to dream of having Shane back in her life. They were soul mates, destined to be together, bound by the vows they’d made to each other and the two sons they’d created.
For the past three years, circumstances and their own choices had kept them apart. But never for long. He always came back to her.
He always left her again.
And in those times, when the heartbreak and loneliness threatened to overwhelm her, she turned to her dreams for comfort, to feel close to Shane. It was the only time she was free of pain.
Oh, she was careful. She didn’t nap during the day, didn’t sleep in until noon or go to bed before 10:00 p.m.—no matter how badly she wanted to. She refused to let the promise of oblivion lure her into backsliding. Into forgetting the progress she’d made.
She was better. Everyone said so.
Maybe, one day, she’d believe it herself.
And this was a step in the right direction. A step closer toward being whole once again. She had Shane back. Everything was how it used to be. How it was meant to be.
Smiling, she reached for her husband...
Only to encounter emptiness.
Her eyes flew open, her fingers curling into the cool sheet as panic reared its ugly head. Whispered to her that he was gone. That she was alone. That she’d always be alone.
Lies, she assured herself, but her fingers went numb with cold, her chest ached. She had her two precious boys and her parents. She had Neil, her older brother. She had Maddie, who, besides being Fay’s best friend, was also Neil’s girlfriend and the mother of his fourteen-year-old daughter, Breanne. And she had Shane. For good this time.
He’d promised.
Sitting up, she pulled the sheet over her bare breasts. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but once they did, she noticed movement by the dresser. Was that a rustling sound?
Someone was in the room with her.
Shane hadn’t left her.
Leaning across the bed, she reached for the lamp, the ring she wore on a delicate chain around her neck sliding out from under the loosened sheet. She stopped. The rustling could have been the wind blowing through the trees. The movement a shift of shadows.
After all, she did have a bad habit of letting her imagination get the best of her. Of believing only what she wanted, no matter how solid the proof against her fantasies were.
Face your fears.
That’s the advice Dr. Porter always gave during their weekly sessions. The psychiatrist loved spouting platitudes about how Fay was capable of controlling her emotions. Of handling any situation. Strong enough to get through disappointment or heartache. Strong enough to survive.
Which was laughable, but it made him—and her family—feel better, so she went along.
Pretend to be strong and eventually you’ll be strong. Act as if—as if you’re confident. Clever. In control. Brave.
Act as if, she repeated silently to herself, her fingers tightening on the lamp’s switch. Act as if...act as if...
She turned the light on and sagged against the headboard.
Shane was still here.
Thank you, God.
He glanced over his shoulder at her, and she smiled, but he turned back to finish tugging on his jeans.
Her smile fading, she told herself not to read into things. He’d never been big on mornings, had always preferred keeping to himself for the first few hours of the day. Plus, she probably looked awful, the eye shadow and mascara she’d carefully applied last night streaked and smudged, her hair a tangled mess.
Shane liked pretty things. Had always hated when she didn’t do her hair or makeup. Said he preferred her all sparkly and shiny.
Act as if...act as if...
She wiped her fingers under her eyes, noted the eyeliner and mascara on her fingertips, before smoothing the sheet and tucking it under her arms. She allowed herself a moment to just take in the sight of her husband. He was so handsome, tall with a lean, wiry build.
And he was all hers.
“Good morning,” she whispered, conscious of their sons sleeping in the room next door. She didn’t want to wake them this early.
She wanted a few more minutes alone with her husband. So they could talk. Make plans. Starting with their living arrangements. Since she was manager of Bradford House, the bed-and-breakfast Neil owned, she and the boys were able to live in the third-floor apartment rent free, but she doubted Shane would want to stay here permanently.
Doubted Neil would let him.
They just had a few things to work out. Then they’d wake the boys together, tell them the good news—that they were going to be a family again.
It would be perfect. Just like she’d always dreamed.
Shane sat on the bed next to her, and she leaned forward, reached for him, but he bent over and put on one of his work boots.
Fay frowned. That wasn’t right. He was supposed to pull her into his arms. Kiss her. Tell her how much he loved her. Reassure her he was finally coming home for good.
“Are you...are you leaving?” she asked.
He yanked on the second boot, his head down as he tied the laces. “Yeah.”
“Did I do something wrong?” She hated how thin and reedy her voice sounded. How pathetic.
Hated how small and stupid she felt for saying anything at all. For worrying.
