Undaunted Hope Read online

  “Please forgive me, Miss Taylor,” he said, jerking the shirt up to his shoulders. He cringed when he heard a sharp rip. “I’ve behaved like a complete idiot.”

  She glanced around the room again with a wildness that said she couldn’t wait to escape.

  He hadn’t meant to drive her away.

  “It’s my fault,” Gunnar said. “I’m the one who asked Miss Taylor to come.” He exchanged a glance with Ingrid, one that told Alex the two had been up to something.

  Ingrid shook her head, her eyes flashing a warning.

  But Gunnar continued anyway, always the more forthright of the two. “I’m sorry, Miss Taylor.”

  Tessa took a breath, seemed to push aside her own reservations, and then looked at Gunnar. “You needn’t ever feel bad about coming to me. That’s what I’m here for. But now that I know you’re in good hands, I’ll be on my way—”

  “Don’t leave yet, Miss Taylor.” Ingrid slid off the sofa, reached for her cane, and hobbled toward Tessa. “Please stay for a few more minutes.”

  Tessa didn’t resist when Ingrid grabbed her sleeve. Instead she pressed a hand to the girl’s cheek as Alex had seen her do when Ingrid was on the sofa.

  The adoration in Ingrid’s eyes pinched Alex’s heart. She’d gone far too long without a woman’s touch. Now that she had it, she was basking in it.

  “I can’t stay, Ingrid,” Tessa said gently, lifting her gaze and meeting Alex’s with a mixture of pity and sorrow.

  Was she feeling sorry for him?

  “Perhaps your father will allow you to participate in the special spelling classes?” Tessa directed her question to him. Arched with long lashes, her luminous green eyes were as irresistible as Ingrid’s.

  “Well?” she said, waiting for him to give permission for Ingrid to take part in the spelling classes.

  “I don’t know . . .”

  “Maybe you’ll allow Gunnar to join the classes too?”

  Wait a minute. Alex glanced first at the eagerness in Ingrid’s expression and then at the guilt that still shadowed Gunnar’s. Did Tessa think the two were his children?

  He almost grinned at the realization. Of course she’d think Gunnar and Ingrid were his; they shared the same family name. He brought them to school every morning. And they all had the Bjorklund Finnish looks.

  Maybe that was why she’d been aloof with him. With her polite façade in place, he’d decided she was simply trying to stay as professional as possible around her students, and he’d attempted to respect that.

  At the thump of footsteps in the other bedroom behind him, Alex couldn’t contain his smile, relishing the shock Tessa was about to get. “I’m not sure I can give my permission,” he started.

  Frowning, she said, “Mr. Bjorklund, I assumed you were the kind of man who took the education of his children seriously.”

  Behind him the door opened, and the stomp of footsteps drew closer.

  “I do take the education of my children seriously, Miss Taylor. The only problem is that I don’t have any children.”

  Confusion creased her forehead, and her lips stalled around an unspoken word.

  “Who’s here?” Michael asked in a groggy voice behind him.

  Alex stepped out of the doorway and allowed Michael to enter the parlor and stand next to him. Of course, his older brother was fully attired and had even managed to comb his hair. Michael was a couple of inches shorter than Alex and had a leaner, thinner body. But otherwise he and Michael, though four years apart, looked a lot alike.

  Tessa’s eyes widened at the sight of Michael.

  “Miss Taylor, if you’d like to get permission for Gunnar and Ingrid to attend spelling classes, then you’ll have to ask their father for yourself.”

  Her attention bounced back and forth between Alex and Michael.

  “Daddy!” Ingrid called, leaning closer to Tessa. The girl’s eyes sparkled. “Daddy, this is our new teacher, the one we’ve been telling you about.”

  Next to him, Michael stiffened and raised a hand to his hair to comb it again even though every hair was already in place. He cleared his throat. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Taylor.”

  “And I, you, Mr. Bjorklund,” she said hesitantly. “So Ingrid and Gunnar are your children?”

  “Yes.” Michael’s voice squeaked, and his features became a tense mask of nervousness.

  Alex stared at his brother’s strange reaction. What reason could Michael have for being nervous around the new schoolteacher?

  “They talk about you all the time,” Michael continued.

  “They’re delightful children,” Tessa responded by smiling at Ingrid in spite of having been completely surprised by the situation. Then she turned narrowed eyes upon Alex. “Now, your brother, on the other hand, I’m not quite sure delightful would be the word I’d use to describe him.”

  Alex chuckled. There was something about the spitfire in her attitude that never failed to humor him.

  At their exchange, Michael’s forehead wrinkled.

  “Daddy,” Ingrid said, “isn’t Miss Taylor the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?” Ingrid was peering up at her teacher with such adoration that once again Alex’s chest ached. It hurt to see her so desperate for a woman’s attention.

  He’d thought he and Michael had done okay raising the children together. He’d assumed the attention they gave Ingrid and Gunnar had been enough. The children had two fathers instead of one. Two really good fathers, if he could say so himself.

  But perhaps two adoring fathers could never take the place of one loving mother, no matter how hard they’d tried.

  “What do you think, Daddy?” Ingrid insisted.

  Michael peeked again at Tessa, and much to Alex’s amazement, his brother’s face turned bright red. “She seems like a very nice lady,” Michael mumbled.

  Gunnar was blushing too.

  Like father, like son. The two were enamored with Tessa Taylor and too shy even to look her in the eyes. Alex would have to tease them mercilessly later.

  For now, however, someone needed to take charge of the situation. He turned a bold gaze upon her. No one could ever accuse him of being shy. “I think we all agree that your new teacher is very pretty.”

  He regarded her appreciatively. She was wearing the same green skirt and matching bodice she’d had on the first day she arrived, only this time it was dry and sewn together. The color served to highlight her creamy complexion and bring out the brightness of her eyes. At his perusal, some of the strain eased from Tessa’s features, and a smile almost made it to her lips.

  So, she liked compliments? Well, he liked giving them.

  “Mr. Bjorklund,” Tessa began.

  Michael lifted his face and responded with “Yes” at the same moment as Alex.

  Tessa glanced between them, her smile widening.

  “You’re more than welcome to call me Michael,” Michael said shyly.

  “Then Michael it is,” Tessa said, giving Michael a smile.

  When Michael returned Tessa’s smile, Alex could only stare. His brother hadn’t smiled at another woman since his wife had died.

  “Would you be willing to allow Gunnar and Ingrid to attend my special spelling classes?” Tessa asked. “I’ll be hosting a spelling bee this winter for all those who participate in the class.”

  “Sure. They can attend,” Michael said readily. From the puppy-dog look on his face, Alex had the feeling his brother would agree to anything Tessa requested, even if she asked him for half his worldly possessions, which unfortunately wasn’t much at the moment.

  Ingrid gave a small cheer of happiness, hobbled over to Michael, and hugged him. Tessa watched the interaction between father and daughter with a wistful smile. Then she glanced around the room again unable to hide a shudder as she stepped toward the kitchen door.

  He tried to view the room as she saw it—the mismatched and worn furniture, the faded carpet, and then the miscellaneous tools he’d stacked on one of the end tables.

>   They’d missed earning the superintendent’s Efficiency Star this past summer because the house had been “too disorganized and unkempt.” Alex couldn’t understand why the inspector didn’t put more weight on the things that mattered, like a flawless record of lighting the lantern, or their above average lifesaving rescues.

  Every time the inspector visited, the older man shook his head at the condition of the keeper’s dwelling and told them he could dismiss them for not keeping the house cleaner. But one look at Michael and the children always softened the inspector’s heart. He knew they were bachelors trying to raise two children on their own. So he always left with the same warning to do better the next time.

  Now they had no choice. They had to do better the next time. If they had any hope of raising enough money for Ingrid’s surgery, they needed the bonus that came with the Efficiency Star.

  “I really must be going,” Tessa said, but then she stopped as her attention caught on a wooden crate sitting next to the sofa. Her eyes rounded and she sucked in a breath.

  She went to the box, knelt next to it, and peered inside. “Oh, heaven,” she said, stroking one of the spines reverently. She whispered several of the titles. “Alice in Wonderland, Little Women, Great Expectations. Where did you get all these books?”

  “The Lighthouse Tender Crew brought them the last time they delivered supplies,” Alex answered.

  “Since when do tender crews deliver books?”

  “Apparently they’re trying something new with the books. They hope to start a lending library of sorts that’s passed from lighthouse to lighthouse for keepers and their families.”

  “Amazing,” she said, fingering another book. “My favorite, The Courtship of Miles Standish.”

  “I suppose the Board has decided if they can keep their staff from getting so bored during the winter, they’ll have less turnover.”

  She lifted one particularly thick book from the crate and traced the silver-embossed lettering engraved on its black cover. “So you’ll have this precious supply of books all winter long?”

  Alex nodded. “They’re for Gunnar and Ingrid to read.”

  Tessa looked at him sharply. They both knew that Gunnar and Ingrid weren’t proficient enough to read the thick books in the crate. “You and their father will need to read them to the children, Mr. Bjorklund.”

  Alex didn’t dare look at Michael. He had the feeling his brother’s face had flushed with the same embarrassment that was swirling through him. How could he respond to Tessa without coming across as the complete dolt that he was?

  “They won’t be able to read them to us, Miss Taylor,” Ingrid said.

  “I’m disappointed with such news.” Tessa leveled a censuring look at him.

  He lifted his shoulders in question. Why was she singling him out? Why wasn’t she bestowing her wrath upon Michael too?

  “My daddy and my uncle never read to us,” Ingrid said.

  Alex shook his head at his niece, warning her not to say anything else. But she lifted her chin almost defiantly and continued, “But it’s not because they don’t want to. It’s because they don’t know how to read.”

  Tessa sat back on her heels and stared between him and Alex with widening eyes.

  Michael ducked his head.

  Alex had long ago stopped caring about the fact that he’d never had but a rudimentary education, enough that he could do a few sums, read what he needed to, and sign his name. What use did he have for any learning beyond that? He wasn’t destined for being a teacher or minister or any other line of work that required an education. He was a lightkeeper, and before that he’d worked on the tender crews delivering supplies to lighthouses.

  She stood. “I’m starting an evening school next week for parents and students who aren’t able to come during the day. Perhaps you’d both like to attend.”

  “I’ve gotten along so far just fine,” Alex said. “I don’t need any more education.” That wasn’t entirely true. He knew he’d be able to do so much more with his dog breeding if he were better at the business aspect of raising purebred elkhounds. But he wasn’t about to admit that to Tessa.

  Her delicate brow wrinkled above her flashing eyes. “You’ll come to my evening class, won’t you, Michael?” she asked, all the while glaring at Alex.

  Michael hesitated only an instant before nodding. “Sure, I’ll come.”

  Tessa smiled at him. “Excellent. Then I’ll look forward to seeing you there.”

  “I know you’ll like having Miss Taylor as a teacher,” Ingrid said, peering up into her daddy’s face.

  Michael looked directly at Tessa and responded with a small, rare smile. “I have no doubt I will.”

  Speechless, Alex stared at Michael. His brother had been like a dead man walking for the past five years. What was going on here? Was Michael finally waking up?

  Under any other circumstance, Alex would have been thrilled. He loved his brother more than his own life. He’d watched his brother hurt for too long, and he’d been waiting for Michael to put the past behind him and move on with his life.

  But move on with Tessa?

  An anchor dropped in Alex’s stomach. From the moment he’d seen Tessa, he’d been drawn to her in a way he hadn’t been drawn to a woman in a very long time. Over the past couple of weeks, he enjoyed seeing her every morning when he walked the children to school, even if she hadn’t paid him much attention.

  He hadn’t forgotten that he wanted to win her affection. Now maybe he needed to carry through with his plan and lay claim to her before Michael beat him to it.

  Chapter 7

  Please, Nadine,” Tessa said as she washed the table after dinner. “Please let Edward and Will Junior attend class tonight.”

  Nadine shifted the baby, moving the little one out of reach of the towel she was using to dry forks—the same dirty gray towel that everyone in the household used for wiping their hands and faces, and the Lord only knew what else.

  Tessa tried not to think about the state of cleanliness of the plates and utensils during meals. Although that evening, Tessa hadn’t thought about the lack of cleanliness even one time. She’d been too consumed with her revulsion of the giblets Nadine had served, especially when her hostess explained that the giblets were the feet, head, and bill of the goose they’d recently butchered. Apparently giblets were a special treat. Either that or the children had no taste buds. They’d devoured the waste pieces disguised with gravy faster than Nadine could serve them.

  “Edward and Will Junior will benefit from the class,” Tessa said again as she peered into the noisy front room where the children had raced after gobbling up the giblets.

  “They’re happy enough in the mine, that they are.”

  Tessa turned back to the table and swiped at a splotch of gravy that had congealed on the sticky plank. The floor, the walls, and the stove were just as sticky with a layer of grease and dust that was impossible to wash away, even though Tessa had tried. “But it’s dangerous, dirty work. Wouldn’t you like to see them have the chance to do something different if they want to?” Tessa had already had the same conversation with Nadine several times since she’d made the decision to have the evening school.

  Nadine sighed, and her shoulders slumped under the weight of the baby. Her brownish-gray hair hung in stringy strands around her face. In the overcast October evening, the light from the oil lantern at the center of the table cast shadows upon the woman’s face, adding another ten years’ worth of wrinkles. “Today’s not a good day for it, Tessa,” she insisted. “Not with Mr. Rawlings in so much pain.”

  Tessa bit back a tart response. Those of the Rawlings family who worked in the mine were always coming home with injuries: cuts from falling pieces of rock, scraped knees and elbows, burns from the wax that dripped from the candles affixed to their hats. Will Junior had lost his thumbnail last week when a sledgehammer had nicked him. They’d all exclaimed how lucky he was not to have lost his whole thumb.

  This time M
r. Rawlings was in pain from having his tooth pulled at the dentist earlier in the day, not a mining accident. As Tessa made her way through the house, she tried to mask her disappointment that she hadn’t been able to convince Nadine to let the boys attend school in the evenings. She stopped next to the settee in the front room where Mr. Rawlings was resting and debated pestering him instead.

  But with his arm draped across his eyes and a bloody wet rag hanging half out of his swollen mouth, she spun away and finished buttoning her heavy wool coat. She ducked to avoid being hit by a ball and was careful not to trip over the younger children racing toy horses around on the floor.

  “Josie,” she called over the galloping, bouncing, and screeching.

  Josie sat on the edge of a chair, peeking between the drab curtains. She let the curtain fall and gave Tessa her attention. With her long hair styled into a coil that Tessa had taught her how to arrange and her face freshly washed, Josie looked less like a girl and more like the woman she was becoming. Josie had been regular in attendance at school too.

  Tessa smiled. At least she was having some influence on one member of the household, even if that influence came at the hand of some bribing. It seemed Josie was eager to do anything in exchange for learning how to style her hair, care for her skin, and add baubles to her clothing.

  “Are you sure you can’t convince your Robbie to attend the evening class?” Tessa asked.

  “He’s too busy,” Josie said with a wave of her hand. “Besides, if he goes, we won’t have no time to spend together.”

  Tessa shook her head, not surprised by another refusal. She was getting used to the resistance. But that didn’t mean she’d give up easily. Michael Bjorklund was the only person in Eagle Harbor who’d made any kind of commitment to attend her class, even after all her efforts informing families about her new endeavor. At least one was better than none. She wouldn’t give up hope that with time and patience, the people would begin to see their need.