Undaunted Hope Read Online Free Page A

eyes.
    â€œI’m T. Taylor,” she replied. “Tessa Taylor, the new schoolteacher for Eagle Harbor. Who are you?”
    â€œI’m Percival Updegraff.” He tipped up the brim of his hat and smiled. He was almost old enough to be her father. “I’m your new boss.”
    Her new boss? She straightened her shoulders. Her letter of acceptance for the position had told her to report to the Cole Mine Company Store and Office. She’d assumed the clerk there was the one who’d hired her. “I already met Mr. Updegraff at the store.”
    â€œThat’s my brother, Samuel.”
    Alex came to stand next to her. While she’d just met him, there was something comforting about having a man of his strength close by, there to help her if she needed it.
    â€œI’m chief clerk of Cole Mine,” Percival Updegraff said. “I do all the hiring and firing in Eagle Harbor.”
    â€œYour brother attempted to fire me because I’m a woman teacher. I hope you don’t share his unfortunate sentiments.”
    Mr. Updegraff’s smile widened. “Rest assured, I hold none of his prejudices against women.”
    Even though Alex wasn’t touching her, she could feel him stiffen at the chief clerk’s words.
    â€œYou’ll have to pardon my brother,” Mr. Updegraff continued. “He’s a simpleton and has the mind of a child. Everyone aroundhere knows it, but they also know I won’t tolerate anyone trying to take advantage of him.”
    At Mr. Updegraff’s explanation, she finally made sense of the store clerk’s unusual mannerisms. “Very well, Mr. Updegraff. I have no intention of taking advantage of him or anyone else. I simply want to know that I’ll be allowed to have the teaching position I was assured would be mine.”
    â€œThere was a mix-up,” he explained. “We saw T. Taylor and assumed you were a man.”
    â€œAs you can see, I’m very much a woman.”
    â€œIndeed. And you’re a fine-looking woman, Miss Taylor.” When he perused her, she wished she’d bitten her tongue and kept silent. Somehow his compliment felt entirely different from the one Alex had given her only minutes earlier.
    Alex took a step forward. The lines in his face had grown hard, and the muscles in his jaw flexed. His eyes had turned an icy blue with nothing even remotely welcoming in them.
    If Mr. Updegraff noticed Alex, he certainly didn’t bother looking at him, but instead went on addressing Tessa as if the two of them were having a private conversation. “You have to realize we’ve never had a woman teacher at our school.”
    â€œA fact your brother made quite clear.”
    â€œAnd for good reason,” Mr. Updegraff said. “The Keweenaw Peninsula is not an easy place to live for a hardened, seasoned man, much less a frail dewdrop like yourself.”
    Frail dewdrop? She had the fleeting thought of showing him her dewdrop fists. When she finished with him, he’d drop. Instead she forced herself to remain calm. She couldn’t afford to alienate her new boss.
    â€œI’m stronger than I look,” she said.
    â€œThen it’s a good thing you are. We’re at the edge of civilization. And once winter settles in, we’re cut off from the rest of the world until the spring thaw. Supplies dwindle. Tempers flare. If the cold and snow doesn’t kill you, then the isolation just might.”
    Was he attempting to scare her into leaving? Maybe he didn’t want her there after all. “I’m not attempting to scare you away, Miss Taylor,” he spoke again as if reading her mind. His expression softened for an instant. “I just want you to know the reality of the situation you’re getting into before it’s too late.”
    â€œYou don’t need to worry about me,” she said, hoping her voice contained more confidence than she felt. “I’m