Beyond His Reach: The Girl He Cast Aside

s later. She' d been with the family for decades, a silent witness to my entir

nds twisting in her apron. "Are you

so much. Remember when you fell from the oak tree? He carried you all t

worry. His hand, surprisingly gentle, brushing hair from my fever

was just a boy himself," Maria pressed, her voice

w the good in him, the boy he once was. But I saw the man he

"He proposed to Chloe last night. At the chari

ged to Vanderbilt Heiress." That was the catalyst, the final, undenia

y, "it's a practical arrangement. He understands I want to study.

ful for everything the Thompsons have done fo

mournful sound. "If

," I

at her, "don't mention this to Alex.

still troubled. "I won'

crecy felt necessary, a small shield against any last-minut

affair. Alex found me in the library, a

," he said, a strain

box. "Thank

me admiring the del

sweet. I think I wore it to a party last year. Or was it my cousin? Anyway, it didn'

tiny shards of ice. A hand-me-down. That'

he locket, the metal sudd