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“Because I’m going to marry him.”

“Out of the question!” Lazarus’s watery blue eyes flamed in indignation. “The man isn’t even your social equal, for Christ’s sake!” He tapped his fingers

restlessly on the desk. “If I were you, I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Trevor Daniels has no intention of marrying you. To him, you’re nothing more than a quick affair. Take my advice and get rid of him. If you want to get married, why not someone with a little class, like Richard Jennings?”

Ashley stormed out of her father’s estate, intent on proving him wrong. Trevor was waiting for her at Neskowin on the coast and she was sure, with just the right amount of persuasion, she could coax him into marrying her now, before he finished law school.

She was sadly mistaken.

The weekend at the beach was wonderful and she kept the fight with her father a secret. They spent the days walking on the rain-drenched sand, and during the nights they lay together, sipping imported wine, warming their feet on the bricks of the fireplace and staring out at the black waves crashing furiously in the winter’s storm before making incredible love and promising their lives to each other.

It was heavenly and it ended.

When Ashley finally explained that she wanted to get married right away, Trevor was adamant. He wanted to finish law school and establish his career before taking on the added responsibilities of a family.

“Then what am I supposed to do, sit around and wait while you decide whether you want to run for the presidency?” she replied caustically, the pain of his rejection cutting her to the bone.

His features hardened at the mention of his politics. “Of course not—”

“Then you still want me to wait for you.”

“Only a few years.”

“A few years.” It sounded like the end of the world. All of her fears and her father’s prophecies were coming true. For the first time in three months, Ashley doubted Trevor’s love.

“Look, Ashley,” he whispered, gently running his fingers through the silken strands of her hair. “I love you—I’m just asking you to be patient.”

“Patience isn’t my long suit.”

“It’s not forever.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Of course.” His eyes were clear blue and honest. For a moment she was tempted to believe him.

“Then what about the reason you got to know me in the first place—to try to get me to admit that my family was involved in your father’s disappearance. The reason you took the time to get to know me at all was just so that you could get some information from me, information to discredit my father.”

“That’s not the only reason.”

Ashley could tell that he was lying through his straight white teeth. The veiled hatred in his eyes at the mention of Lazarus convinced her that the love she thought they had been sharing was all based on a lie.

“I think it’s over for us,” she stated, tears stinging her eyes.

“Only if you want it to be.”

“There’s no other way,” she murmured, slowly gathering her things and throwing them into her suitcase. Silently, she prayed that he would back down and apologize, that he would beg her to stay. But it didn’t happen.

She left the cottage in the middle of the storm, regretting that she had ever laid eyes on Trevor Daniels.

Chapter Eight

The thoughts of the past took their toll on Ashley and she had to remind herself that what had happened didn’t matter. She and Trevor had a bargain and she was going to do her damnedest to prove that all of his accusations about her father, Claud and the timber company were unjust. If he had given her nothing else, Trevor had granted her the chance to clear her family’s name. For that much, she supposed bitterly, she should be grateful.

She placed her hands on the floor and straightened from the position she had assumed when Trevor had left her. The cabin was cold. She managed to light a fire in the wood stove in the kitchen to give her a little heat as she packed her things and secured the cabin against the winter weather. She worked without really thinking about what she was doing. Her thoughts, still filled with pain, continued to revolve around the past.

Disgusted with herself for being so maudlin, she walked to the window and looked out at the snow-covered ground. Winter birds, dark against the backdrop of white snow, flitted through the pine needles, chirping out lonely cries as they landed on the ground and foraged in the powdery snow.

“You really can’t blame Trevor,” she whispered to herself as she saw a bird find the seeds she had placed on the deck. Ashley’s breath condensed on the window, clouding the clear panes. “You only got what was coming to you.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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