The Locket by Chrsitine Young
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BLURB:
The year is 1894. Seeking revenge for crimes
against his family, Misha Petrovich follows a path that leads straight to Ariel
Cameron's boarding house in Mist Harbor, Oregon. A family heirloom in Ariel's
possession leads Misha to believe she is guilty. The locket has been handed
down to the oldest girl in the Petrovich family for generations. Ariel is
innocent of wrong doing, but her father is not. Misha is torn by his feelings for
Ariel and his need for restitution against her father. Knowing that the
relationship between them is fragile, Misha does everything in his power to
protect Ariel's father. His efforts are to no avail when her father is shot.
Ariel comes to realize Misha's steadfast courage and determination to protect
her and her father despite what has happened to his family. Ariel's love and
devotion heals Misha's heart.
Oregon Coast,1894
Bone-weary from a hard day at sea, Misha
trudged up the long mud-rutted road to the boarding house that sat on top a
hill less than a mile outside Mist Harbor, Oregon. A thick, cold mist hovered
close to the ground wetting everything: the rhododendrons that grew wild, the
azaleas that lined the cement walkway to the front porch, and the saw grass
that grew easily in the sandy soil. Misha paused a moment to push back a lock
of hair that repeatedly fell across his brow and into his eyes.
The land was windswept and salt battered, yet
he enjoyed the salt-taste of the air and the swooping sea birds as well as the
playful sea animals. He loved the way the trees bent to the power of the wind
and found a way to survive despite the brutality of the elements.
His purpose here was short lived, he reminded
himself. He didn’t intend to find himself attached to these parts in any way.
He smelled of a hard days work. The lingering
aroma of sweat and Chinook salmon filled his nostrils. It was not a scent he
had any use for, but for the time being the job on the fishing boat gave him a
reason for staying in the small coastal town. Right now he couldn’t wait to
submerse himself in a hot bath, wash the stench from his body, and ease his
stiff, strained muscles.
The sea had always been one of his favorite
places. But fishing?
By God no, he’d just as soon relax and watch
the sails billow on a clipper as the majestic ship rounded the horn or stand at
the tiller with the wind whistling around him. He’d even rather battle a
hurricane off the Bermudas.
Blending in with the people who lived in this
small coastal village had been imperative.
The quest he’d undertaken had led him
straight to Miss Ariel Cameron’s boarding house in Mist Harbor, and there the
trail stopped. Thinking about Ariel set his nerves on edge.
Ariel was willow thin, femininely delicate,
and hardly capable of the atrocities he’d set out to avenge less than a year
ago. Yet the evidence he’d uncovered had sent him here, to her home. The name
he’d followed had been her name. The men he’d followed had landed in Mist
Harbor more than once, her father one of them.
He walked up the immaculately kept steps to
the house and opened the door to the screened in porch.
"Misha," the captain boomed out a
welcome. "Fine weather we’re havin’ now. Just right for the salmon runs."
The rocker squeaked as the captain moved back
and forth in the wicker chair.
"Just right," Misha acknowledged
and stepped through the next door to the parlor. A blast of heat met him as he
nodded his head in polite recognition to the other borders. In a pale blue day
dress, Ariel moved with a slight limp through the hallway and disappeared into
one of the first floor rooms. Even though she seemed to favor one leg, the sway
of her hips enticed all of Misha's senses.
He didn’t understand the feeling but in a way
no other woman had touched him, she beckoned to him. Her amber colored eyes
were wide and when she smiled, they glistened and shimmered, reminding him of
the bronze mosques in Constantinople when the sun beat upon them. Miss Ariel
Cameron was unique--unconventional--and she fascinated him. She was the key to his revenge
as well as his salvation.
The
Locket is a very exciting tale with a dramatic setting. Overall, this is a very
entertaining story.
Maura
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
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