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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