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“That was a long time ago.”
He scowled darkly and his fingers drummed angrily on the table. “And you managed to get yourself one, didn’t you?”
“It didn’t last.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged her shoulders to indicate that it really didn’t matter, but Trevor’s fingers gripped her forearm and restricted her movements. “Richard and I weren’t suited—”
“That’s a lie! The man was hand-picked by your father.”
“Maybe that was the problem.” She looked pointedly at her wrist and the tanned fingers restraining it.
With obvious reluctance Trevor let go of her arm. “This isn’t getting us anywhere,” he muttered, pushing back his chair before fiercely striding out of the room. Ashley heard his footsteps echo in the hall before the front door of the cabin opened, only to slam shut with a resounding thud that rattled the timbers of the rustic mountain retreat.
Knowing that it would be best to let him cool off, Ashley finished clearing the table and set the dishes in the sink to soak before grabbing her jacket from the hall tree, slipping on her boots and going outside.
Trevor’s footprints left deep impressions in the snow. She followed the powdery prints and forced her hands deep into her pockets. She loved Trevor with a passion that was achingly evident every time she was near him, and yet, try as she would, she could find no way of resolving those problems that held them apart.
When she found Trevor he was standing near the edge of a sharp ravine, his back to her. He was staring past the snow-covered abyss to the majestic peaks beyond. The sky was a brilliant blue and the snow-laden mountains stood proudly in the distance, their treeless upper slopes reflecting the icy radiance of the winter sun’s rays.
Trevor hadn’t heard her approach and when Ashley put a reproachful hand against his sleeve, he stiffened. “I didn’t mean to pick a fight, you know,” she whispered, her breath misting in the cold mountain air.
His smile was cynical, and a muscle worked beneath his clean-shaven jaw. “Seems like you and I can’t avoid arguing.”
“It’s hard to clear the air.”
“Especially when so many lies cloud it.” He thrust his fists deep into his pockets and leaned against the denuded white trunk of a birch tree. Thoughtfully he pursed his lips and his dark brows drew together in careful consideration over intense blue eyes.
“I never have lied to you,” she replied.
He looked as if he didn’t believe her. “But your family. First Lazarus, now Claud—”
“My family would never have come between us,” she replied, “if you weren’t so hell-bent to ruin Stephens Timber Corporation.”
A sound of disgust formed in his throat. His eyes had turned as frosty as the winter day. “You can’t convince me that Claud isn’t out to get me.”
“I know. I’ve tried.”
“He’s out to ruin me politically, Ashley.”
“I think you’re jumping to conclusions.”
“The right ones. Claud is scared spitless that if I win I’ll be able to lobby for wilderness protection and somehow cut off his supply of timber. Your father was opposed to any new wilderness protection acts. He didn’t give a damn about the environment, and it seems as if Claud was tutored well.”
“But Claud doesn’t own the company.”
“No, he just runs it. And he won’t rest until he’s ruined me politically.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Ashley retorted. She brushed the snow from a boulder and sat on it, holding her knees with her arms and huddling for warmth. Try as she might, she couldn’t believe that Claud would be so murderous. It was true that Trevor’s campaign included a firm stand on wilderness protection, which, in the past, Stephens Timber had vehemently opposed. The issue was a delicate one, pitting the economy against the environment. In lean times, when unemployment was high, jobs and the timber industry won over the environment. But right now, unemployment was down and public sentiment seemed to support Trevor’s position.
“Senator Higgins was an efficient lobbyist for the timber industry,” Trevor said. His broad shoulders slumped as if he were bone-tired.
“And you won’t be?”
“Right. Higgins was in your father’s pocket and I suspect that Claud is hoping that another candidate will fill Higgins’s shoes.” Trevor’s voice was without inflection, but his face was a study in grim resolve. “He can look somewhere else because it sure as hell won’t be me.”
Ashley smiled bitterly. “I don’t see where you get off acting so sanctimonious. Your family is still a very viable force in the timber industry.”
