“Listen to your father, son.” My mother’s voice was low and soothing as if she recognized how close we were to jumping into a shouting match, into saying things we’d regret.
“I’m listening.” But it was a lie. I didn’t have to since I knew the lecture by heart. Somewhere out there was the woman for me—maybe another shifter, if I were lucky. We’d mate and spend the rest of our lives together.
Be happy. No point fighting fate.
On cue, my parents cast each other adoring looks. A snort escaped before I could censor it—a fact that didn’t escape my father. But hell, I was so tired of the constant bitching of my lack of success with women. The same old tired litany. The words, oft repeated, ground away at my self-control.
My father drew himself up and glared from beneath bushy brows. “There’s a mate for you. All you need to do is find her.”
“Dad!” My tone was sharp, demanding he listen. I leapt to my feet, my heart racing as my brain and mouth jumped into gear. “I’m not hooking up with a female since women don’t interest me. I’m gay.”
For a frozen instant, we stared at each other. Shock hit us equally—my parents suffered from the announcement while I couldn’t believe I’d confessed the awful truth.
I was gay and women didn’t do it for me.
“That’s a good joke, Saul. Nearly had us there.” My father’s booming laugh echoed inside the steamy kitchen. My work-roughened hands curled to tight fists. He thought I was joking.
My mother’s face was pale as she scanned my features. She didn’t laugh because something in my expression convinced her I was telling the truth. Her eyes rounded and turned glassy, as if she might cry. Her trembling hand clapped over her open mouth.
I glanced away, unwilling to witness her shocked pain. “I’m not joking, Dad. There won’t be any mate for me because I’m gay.”
A strained silence throbbed in the kitchen, broken only by the insistent clack of a clock. We stared at each other, the tension palpable.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that.” The relationship between me and Dad had never gone smoothly. My mother always told me it was because we were alike. My mouth curled into a wry smile. Not this time.
“You think this is funny? Get out.” My father’s words were icy cold. Fierce. This wasn’t the time to argue that being gay didn’t make me any different, that I was still his son.
I turned away, hesitating only when I heard my mother’s sob.
“Don’t cry, Allison. Saul isn’t worth it. He’s sick. Abnormal. He is not our son. Go,” my father snapped when he noticed I’d stopped by the head of the table. “Don’t bother coming back this time.”
Numb, I continued walking, pausing only to grab my wallet and keys off the kitchen counter. I walked outside and climbed into my SUV, then sat motionless in the driver’s seat. Sick at heart. Disillusioned. I burrowed my hands through my unruly dark hair and cursed before shoving the keys in the ignition. My father was wrong. I was normal. I was the same as everyone else in Middlemarch.
All I wanted was love.
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About Shelley
Shelley lives in New Zealand with her husband and a cheeky Jack Russell/mystery breed puppy.
Typical New Zealanders, Shelley and her husband left home for their big OE soon after they married (translation of New Zealand speak – big overseas experience). A twelve month adventure lengthened to six years of roaming the world. Enduring memories include being almost sat on by a mountain gorilla in Rwanda, lazing on white sandy beaches in India, whale watching in Alaska, searching for leprechauns in Ireland, and dealing with ghosts in an English pub.
While travel is still a big attraction, these days Shelley is most likely found in front of her computer following another love – that of writing stories of romance and adventure. Other interests include watching rugby (strictly for research purposes), cycling, baking bread and curling up with a good book.
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Other Works by Shelley
Paranormal
Sea of Change
Price of Love
Blue Moon Dragon
Lynx to the Pharaoh
Middlemarch Shifters
My Scarlet Woman
My Younger Lover
My Peeping Tom
My Assassin
My Estranged Lover
My Feline Protector
My Determined Suitor
My Cat Burglar
My Stray Cat
My Second Chance
My Plan B
My Cat Nap
My Romantic Tangle
My Blue Lady
My Twin Trouble
Sampled & Seduced
Captured & Seduced
Claimed & Seduced
Merry & Seduced
Stranded & Seduced
Seized & Seduced
Hunted & Seduced
Festive & Seduced
Contemporary
Stranger Things Happen
Wild Child
One Night of Misbehavior
Blindside
Fringe Benefits
Lovers at Last
Ain’t Misbehaving
Military Men
Innocent Next Door
Soldiers with Benefits
Safeguarding Sorrel
Sci-fi/Futuristic
Interplanetary Love
Alien Encounter series
Janaya
Hinekiri
Alexandre
Gay Romance
Eye on the Ball
Lone Wolf
Seeking Kokopelli
No Defense
Best Man
Last Wish
Historical
Mistress of Merrivale
Evening Tryst
Copyright Page
My Cat Burglar
Copyright © 2016 Shelley Munro
ISBN: 978-0-473-35750-4
Editor: Mary Moran
Cover: Killion Group Inc.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Shelley Munro