Undaunted Hope Read Online Free

pretty. A measure of satisfaction wafted through her. “Maybe I should start keeping a pack of dogs with me to ward off unwanted attention.”
    â€œSounds like a good idea. I’m sure you get a lot of attention.”
    The satisfaction swelled. She liked a man who knew how to flatter, and it was clear Alex was quite adept at it.
    â€œI tell you what,” he said. “Come spring, I’ll give you the pick of the litter.”
    She started to shake her head, but his smile stopped her words—and her heartbeat.
    â€œPurebred Norwegian Elkhounds. You couldn’t ask for a better dog to protect you. They’re fiercely loyal.”
    â€œYes, they do look fierce.”
    â€œDon’t tell me they scare you too?” he teased.
    â€œOf course not—”
    His short whistle cut off her words. The dogs perked up their ears and turned their heads toward him. “Come,” he commanded. At once, the dogs released the deckhand and scampered down the dock.
    At the sight of the two husky dogs bounding toward her, Tessa tried not to cower. Like their master, they were powerfully built. Yet as they neared Alex, their curly tails began to wag and their tongues lolled from their mouths, which were tipped up in what could almost be called a smile, if it was possible for a dog to smile.
    They halted at Alex’s feet, sat and peered up at him with adoring black eyes.
    He tilted his head toward Tessa. As if on cue, both dogs swiveled to stare at her.
    â€œTessa,” Alex said, “meet Wolfie and Bear.”
    She wasn’t exactly sure how one went about talking to dogs, but she had the distinct feeling she couldn’t ignore the two pairs of eyes gazing up at her so intently. “Um. Hello?”
    Their tales waggled in unison.
    â€œWolfie and Bear are nice names,” she said to Alex. “Original.”
    â€œAre you mocking my dogs’ names?” His voice contained the hint of a smile.
    â€œI’d never do that,” she replied with mock horror. “Not when they’ve obviously been so carefully chosen.”
    He gave a low chuckle.
    The clatter of a wagon drew their attention to a well-worn dirt road that had been cut through the spruce on the edge of town. A double team of oxen strained to pull their heavy load out of the forest and down the gently sloping road that led to the shore. The man guiding the team was hunched beneath a coat that was covered in a dark-red dust. His face and hands were covered in the same.
    Tessa guessed the barrels in the back of the wagon were filled with the copper that had attracted fortune hunters to Eagle Harbor and the Keweenaw Peninsula for the past two decades—the copper that had earned the peninsula the nickname Copper Country.
    Another gust of wind swept off the waves and knocked into her. In spite of Alex’s coat, she’d grown cold again. Seeing her shivering, Alex retrieved her carpetbag. She located her heavy cloak, and Alex insisted she put it on over his coat to add extra warmth. Once she was bundled, he accompanied her along the path toward town. The rocks gave way to pale sand. After dragging her feet through the sandy drifts, she was breathless by the time she reached town but was warmed a little from the exertion.
    At the sight of a man on horseback riding down Center Street straight toward them, she stepped aside into the tall yellow grass and wild pink roses that grew among the lichen-encrusted rocks.
    â€œT. Taylor?” the man said, reining his palomino so that hefaced her. Attired in crisp pinstriped pants and a matching vest and waistcoat, he appeared to be a businessman of some sort, certainly not a miner like the man driving the wagon. His face was smoothly shaven except for a thin well-groomed mustache that might have been black at one time but was now threaded with hints of silver. His features were suave, made almost handsome with the age lines that crinkled the corners of his