BLURB:
Is it possible for a heart to survive twenty five years of abuse on the most intimate level?
For anyone in a relationship, the words 'we need to talk' can only mean one thing. In the last twenty-two years, the McKenzies have been through it, survived it, learned by it, and grown stronger from it, because life didn't stop for breath when they needed it. Amongst the tears and the tragedies, the hopes and happiness, they've built something amazing: a happy family, a luxury lifestyle and a booming empire. Don't they deserve to have it all?
But for the perfect wife, those four sinister words mean something entirely different. They're a summons into a private world where what happens behind closed doors stays behind closed doors.
Faith has no doubt in Calvin's undying love for her. It's what kept her sane in the darkest hours. If only she could figure out what it is she does wrong... because it's rapidly becoming apparent their tainted love is running out of time.
Tainted Love is an intimate look at a side of marriage many people never see.
EXCERPT:
“Mom, I work with victims of domestic violence. You think I don’t know what happens when he says ‘we need to talk’?”
How did he know? I'd been careful, extra careful, in hiding it from them all. They didn't need to see that side of Cal. Caleb had seen that side of his father, but Cal had cried the first time he hit me — it was an accident. Pure and simple accident, he spun around as I stepped forward. I also remember the sheer horror when he realized the first time he'd left a mark. He was not this man. He was not his father. Look what it had done to him. I'd done everything to protect my children from this.
"Mom?” Caleb looked me fiercely in the eyes and said, “Dad did this to you, didn't he?"
I was helping him sort through his things. It was just a month before he left for college. We put the clothes he didn't want in boxes for the shelter. Cal had been particularly aggressive a couple of days before. I received an "I'm sorry I burned your hand with your curling iron” amethyst ring.
"Don't be ridiculous, Caleb. Your father has never raised his hand to me."
"Yes, he has. Georgia and I saw him!"
"Oh okay, there was that one time." I shook my head. "When you were too young to understand how frightened we both were at the thought of having another baby, after I fell and Dylan died. Yes, Dad has a temper. But I promise you he's never laid a finger on me."
"I'm not going to college." Caleb glowered at me. "You’re still in denial and I'm not leaving you, Cate and Zoe alone with him."
"You're wrong, Caleb." I snatched my hand away from his. "And Cal would be very upset if he heard you talking about him this way. I'm very upset you think your father is capable of these things."
"I’m calling Darryl."
"NO!" I panicked. It was the first time anyone had dared speak your name under Cal's roof. You'd walked out of our family, after everything we'd done for you. Caleb stared at me like I'd just admitted the truth in that two letter word. "Enough of this rubbish, Caleb! Volunteering at that place has warped your mind. You honestly believe a kind, decent man like your father, a man who's never raised his hand to you in your life, is capable of these things? How could you, Caleb?"
"But he shouts at you, Mom. He calls you awful names and makes you cry."
"Yes, of course he does. He doesn't know how to hold on to it like I do. You should hear some of the things I call him when you're not around," I lied. "That's what married couples do. They take out the frustrations of their days on each other and then they spend their nights having really great make-up sex."
"Aw, Mom!" Caleb's face screwed up. It was like he was in physical pain. "So not a flashback I needed."
"Next time you hear your Dad shouting behind the bedroom door Caleb, remember that moment. Remember the really great—"
"NO!" Caleb's hands went over his ears. "It's only ever been done six times and I'd have been happier if Georgia hadn’t — AW MOM!"
I laughed. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt and my lungs burned. And then Cal’s bulky shadow filled up the open door way. Moths gathered inside my stomach. How much had he heard? "Hey, you're home early."
"Schedule was empty this afternoon, so I thought I'd see if Caleb needed a hand." His eyes took in the length of me, up and then down and then up again, before he pushed away from the door. "But he's going to have to wait because we need to talk."
My heart sunk.
Author Bio:
Erin Cawood is a commercial women’s fiction author, with a taste for dramatic storylines and a passion for strong lead characters she really gets behind, cheering on right to the very end of their story. Her focus? Taking romance into the darker, edgier side of contemporary fiction.
Erin lives in Leeds, UK, with her partner of thirteen years and their fourteen year old cat. She spends her days somewhere between the fiction world and the student world. Fascinated by web design and digial communication, Erin is studing a BA(hons) in New Media at the University of Leeds. Before returning to full time education two years ago, Erin worked at a theme park, a convenience store, a public house/restaurant both in the kitchen and waitressing, as an insurance agent and currently works part time in a customer contact centre.
Connect with Erin!
Website: http://www.erincawood.co.uk
: erin@erincawood.co.uk
Beyond My Writing Space: http://www.erin-cawood.blogspot.co.uk
: http://www.facebook.com/authorerincawood
: http://www.twitter.com/erincawood
: http://www.goodreads.com/erincawood
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