Deep River Promise Jackie Ashenden (best life changing books .txt) 📖

her and she knew it, and a part of her had recognized the same hunger in herself too.

Men had never starved for her. It had always been the other way around. She’d been a lonely child growing up, the later-in-life baby that neither of her parents had either expected or wanted, and the requirements placed on her were simple: she wasn’t to disrupt their lives in any way. Hungry for any kind of attention, she’d played around as a teenager, gone to the wrong parties, associated with the wrong people. She’d put out a desperate vibe and that had frightened boys off. Wanting someone more than they wanted you had never been a good thing.

But there had been no denying the want in Damon’s eyes.

Warmth uncurled inside her at the memory, flowing through her veins and spreading out. It had been so long since she’d been anything more than “the mayor” or “Connor’s mom” that she barely remembered what it felt like to be just Astrid. To be a woman.

Because that’s what he made her feel like.

You don’t want to go there, not with him.

No, she didn’t. Yes, she did. Maybe, just once…

Astrid shoved her chair back and stood up, not sure what she was doing, only that she needed to move and get some distance between her and her thoughts. Because thinking maybe could lead her to…

Nothing. There was nothing it would lead her to.

She scanned around for something to tidy up that hadn’t already been tidied, desperate for some distraction.

It was all looking pretty neat, so she picked up a cloth from a drawer in her desk and went over to one of the old wooden bookshelves, dusting some nonexistent dust before moving on to the series of photos on the wall of previous mayors.

Sonny Clarke, her predecessor, grinned at her from beneath the greasy, black-knitted beanie he never took off, while in the next photo Jesse, the goat who’d been elected in a protest vote, watched her with yellow eyes.

She dusted the glass and goaty face beneath it, her brain returning stubbornly to the brilliant glitter in Damon’s eyes and the way he’d been looking at her, as if she was something good to eat. A dangerous thing to fixate on when pretty much every interaction she’d ever had with men had ended badly. At least for her.

It might not end badly this time. After all, he’ll be leaving, right?

“No,” Astrid muttered to herself. “No way.”

“No?” a voice said from the doorway. “No way what?”

Astrid turned.

A small, curvaceous woman in a beautifully tailored blue linen dress stood in the doorway. Her strawberry-blond hair was coiled at the nape of her neck, her face heart-shaped and pretty. She projected an aura of delicate femininity, yet there was nothing overtly feminine about her direct blue stare.

Morgan West. Caleb’s sister and Deep River’s Village Public Safety Officer, a.k.a. the law, was earnest, principled, honest, and completely committed to her job as town protector.

Astrid liked her very much, though there was always a certain amount of guilt attached when it came to Morgan, because she was another person that Astrid hadn’t told about Connor. And considering that Morgan was his aunt…

“Morgan,” Astrid said, forcing the guilt away and smiling. “You’re back.”

“Hi, Astrid.” Morgan grinned and came into the office, while Astrid put down her dusting cloth in order to give her a brief hug.

“How are you?” Astrid asked, giving her a concerned look.

Morgan hadn’t returned to Deep River immediately after Cal’s funeral, and rumor was that she’d been at some kind of police training course. But there had been a few whispers questioning that and even more so after Silas had appeared with the news about the oil and how he was the new co-owner of the town. Speculation had been rife about why Morgan hadn’t been named in the will, and then once they’d discovered that Silas had offered the town to her and she’d refused, people were full of questions about why she hadn’t wanted Deep River.

Certain factions within the town—traditional factions—had been disapproving. The town belonged to the Wests and should stay with the Wests. They were slightly mollified by the fact that Silas was Deep River born and bred, but they still hadn’t been very happy that Morgan had refused. She would come in for a bit of flak for that.

“I’m doing okay.” Morgan had a very determined look on her face. “Tell me. How bad is it?”

That was Morgan: direct and to the point. She didn’t beat around the bush. And Astrid knew exactly what she was asking.

“The town is in an uproar,” she answered, just as blunt. “People are worried. They want to know why the sole remaining West didn’t contest the will or accept when the town was offered to her. And that’s not even going into this oil stuff.”

An expression that Astrid couldn’t read flickered over Morgan’s pretty face. “Right. So, kind of what I expected. Silas came to the party though, didn’t he?”

Astrid let out a breath. “Yeah, he did. In fact, he’s been great—pulled the town together, got everyone to make a decision about how they were going to tackle it.”

Morgan nodded, as if this was what she’d expected. “Good. I knew Silas could handle it.”

Astrid debated whether to just come out and ask or whether to let it lie. But then it was something Morgan wouldn’t shy away from, so she decided not to either.

“Silas said that he offered you the town and you refused it,” she said carefully. “I don’t mean to pry, Morgan, but people were asking. They were shocked about the oil too. I mean, did you even know Caleb had been prospecting? That there were reserves under the ground?”

“Can we not talk about it now?” Steel shone in her blue-gray eyes, yet there was no mistaking the note of pain in her voice. “It’s private family business.”

Well, if Morgan didn’t want to talk, then she didn’t want to talk.

“Okay, no drama.” Astrid kept her tone mild.