by Jody Hedlund
Tessa cringed and glanced around the crowded room in dismay. “Maybe we should go back to plan A and sit at the kitchen table.” The hesitancy in her voice told him that she knew she couldn’t very well order Nadine to move her sewing project off the kitchen table so that she could tutor Alex, not when Nadine already had everything laid out for lining trousers for winter.
“We could return to plan double A and meet at the school,” he said. That was the original place she’d chosen, but after several thwarted tutoring sessions, she’d changed her mind. “We’ll have plenty of quiet there. And no interruptions.” He winked at her.
“That’s exactly why we’re not meeting at the schoolhouse,” she said, cocking her head in that sassy way of hers.
He grinned. He’d determined over the past week to make more steps in winning her affection. Lately it had become increasingly clear that Michael was interested in her. What other explanation could there be for why he had given Tessa the snowshoes he’d lovingly crafted for his wife? Of course, Rachel had died before she’d been able to use them. Nevertheless, Michael had refused to part with them. Then he’d met Tessa . . .
And what other explanation could there be for why Michael continued to look for excuses to fix things at the schoolhouse? Just this past week he’d gone over to caulk around the windows so the cold north wind wouldn’t blow into the building so easily.
Alex had decided he couldn’t sit back and do nothing while Tessa fell in love with kind, sweet, sensitive Michael. He had to make her fall in love with him first. The problem was he didn’t know how to win her. What could an unschooled man like him do to woo a young educated woman like Tessa? He couldn’t settle for doing the ordinary things because she wasn’t an ordinary woman. Somehow he had to find a way to sweep her off her feet and make her fall head over heels in love with him.
Jimmy jumped onto his back. At the same time Johnny came rushing to his front, attempting to tackle him. Alex roared and stood up, imitating a huge black bear. Both boys clung to him and laughed. He took several lumbering steps forward before he pretended they were bringing him down. Slowly, so that he didn’t hurt them, he crumpled to the ground, until both boys were sitting on his chest and staring at him triumphantly.
Tessa peered down at him. She was trying unsuccessfully to hold back a smile. Suddenly all he could think about was how someday he wanted to have children with her. He wanted to have their little ones crawling over him and calling him Daddy.
He hadn’t allowed himself to think about having a family of his own in so long that the thought caught him off guard. He’d always been content with Gunnar and Ingrid. He’d helped raise them since they were infants. But what would it be like to have his own children, his own home?
The thought sent such a sharp sense of longing through him that his breath hitched and his muscles tensed with the need to have her. Above him, as though sensing his thoughts, Tessa’s half smile faded and she averted her eyes.
He rolled himself to a sitting position and silently berated himself for his intensity again. He had to stop scaring her. He was scaring himself too. He couldn’t second-guess his decision to live with Michael and Gunnar and Ingrid. It had been the right thing to do, the thing his dad would have done.
His dad had lived a life of sacrifice. He’d not only sacrificed for his family to build a new life in America, but he’d also literally given the shirt off his back to strangers on more than one occasion. Alex couldn’t think of a better man than his dad. Although he respected the good Finnish man his mom had married after Dad’s passing, no one could ever live up to the man his dad had been. Even though Alex knew he’d never be as loyal and strong as his dad, he’d vowed to try to be at least half the man.
Alex stood and shook his head, attempting to clear his mind. It wasn’t that he was thinking of leaving Michael and the children. He wouldn’t ever consider doing that, not when they still needed him. But certainly Tessa could join his life at the lighthouse with his family, couldn’t she? It was the same question he’d asked himself before, one that kept recurring.
She leafed through a stack of papers and books she’d brought down when he’d arrived.
“Let’s go,” he said, not exactly sure where he would take her. “We’ll find someplace else to do the lessons.”
She spun and narrowed her eyes at him. “Someplace where we’re not alone?”
He looked out the window to the low clouds and the muddy snow. After several inches of snow and arctic temperatures earlier in the week, the fickle November temperatures had risen above freezing and had melted most of the snow into mud puddles.
“How about if we take a walk? Maybe we’ll find a place along the way.”
She peered outside too, and her expression turned skeptical. Finally she nodded. Within a few minutes they were bundled up and outside. A fine mist hung in the damp air. Their boots squelched in the long wet grass, fallen leaves, and patches of remaining snow.
“I admire your commitment to my education,” he said as they meandered nowhere in particular.
“I only wish you were as committed to it as I am.”
He chuckled. “I think you’re attempting to reform a lost cause.”
She shoved his arm playfully. “No one’s a lost cause. You have just as much potential as anyone else.”
“You’re on a mission here to change as many of us as possible, aren’t you?” While he was jesting with her, he couldn’t hold at bay the thought that perhaps she’d never be satisfied with an uneducated man like him.
“The longer I’m here, the more I see that needs changing.” She glanced in the direction of Percival’s big house towering above all the others.
He was sure she was thinking about Percival’s abusive power, just as he’d done many times over the past couple of years since Percival had taken over as chief clerk. Thankfully he and Michael could act independently without worrying about what Percival would do to them. But the same couldn’t be said of anyone working for the Cole Mine. If any of the miners displeased Percival or refused to do what he wanted, the ramifications were swift and unpleasant. Of course, Percival bought the favor of a select few men, like Mr. Rawlings, who got the bigger homes and better pay.
As they walked, she told him about Percival’s control over Hannah and her desire to do something to help the poor woman. And then he shared the lesson he’d learned the hard way with the last Cole Mine mechanic. He’d gone to Percival’s office and had defended the family against untrue accusations that Percival was leveling. The next day the entire family had been thrown out of their home with only the few possessions they owned, jobless and penniless. Alex had used his meager savings to help them buy passage on a steamer headed to Detroit, along with enough cash to hold them over until they could find new employment.
After that, Alex had taken more care with how he helped the people in the community. He learned that if he or Michael interfered, Percival only made things worse for the miner and his family.
“I want to give everyone the ability to move out of here and get better jobs if they want to,” she said as they passed several dingy cabins.
“And who says they need better jobs? There’s nothing wrong with being a miner.”
“It’s menial labor.”
Though her words were spoken matter-of-factly, without derision, he couldn’t keep from feeling a sting of embarrassment. His work was menial too. In many ways he was much like the miners, accustomed to working hard with his hands. If she thought the miners were ignorant and needed improving, what did she think of him?
“It’s much more complicated than it looks,” he said in defense of himself as much as the miners.
“There are many other jobs which aren’t nearly as dangerous or demanding.”
With a nod, he veered toward the east, knowing exactly where he wanted to take her. “You may not believe this, but some people actually like doing ‘menial labor.’”
“You’re right. I don’t believe it.” She followed a
longside him as he steered her down a path that led away from town and toward the wooded hills. “I don’t think people willingly choose mine work or other heavy labor. Rather, they fall into it because that’s all they know how to do.”
He mulled over her statement. Had he fallen into his line of work as a tender crew member because of his strength? Would he have chosen to deliver supplies to lighthouses if he’d had the opportunity to do something else? Like make more of a business out of breeding his elkhounds?
Perhaps there was some truth to what Tessa was saying. Even so, not everyone needed an education in order to have a fulfilling job. Many of the miners loved what they did and wouldn’t change it even if they could.
“Why are we at the mine?” she asked when he stopped at the base of a bluff. Ahead was the stamp mill and a connecting side shack that housed a steam engine and boilers used to operate the engine. Once the miners removed the rock to the surface, wooden chutes transported the rock down the bluff to the stamp mill where it was crushed and washed, separating out the pieces of copper. From there the copper was placed in barrels and hauled by wagon to the harbor to be loaded onto steamers for shipment to ports in Detroit, Chicago, and Cleveland.
On a Sunday afternoon, the normal grinding from the stamp and hissing from the boilers were replaced with an eerie stillness. The tall stone smokestack next to the boiler room was void of the usual streak of gray that rose from it.
“Should we be here?” she asked, studying the huge mounds of crushed rock filling the land that had at one time been untouched and populated by a thick forest of evergreens.
“Come on,” he said and reached for her hand. He tugged her along a path that led uphill. When he reached the top, a thump within the hoist building stopped him. The log shack housed the machine that was responsible for bringing up all the rock and material from the depths of the mine. He considered taking Tessa inside to show her the details of the machine and explain how the process worked, but instead he directed her toward shaft house number two.
The door was unlocked as he knew it would be. He stepped inside and she behind him, her eyes bright with curiosity. At the center of the building was the shaft hole where the miners descended into the bowels of the hill. The tip of a ladder rose from the dark cavern.
“Are we going down?” she asked, creeping toward the gaping opening. The tap-tap of dripping water greeted them, along with cold damp air wafting up from the underground caverns. No matter the temperature at the surface, the underground chambers were always forty-five degrees whether in the dead of winter or on the hottest day in summer.
He hadn’t released her hand and used the opportunity to tighten his hold. “Maybe some time we can go down, but we’re not equipped for it today, unless of course you want me to tie up your skirt.”
“Maybe it would help if I took it off altogether,” she retorted.
He grinned. “Let’s wait for that until after we’re married.”
The shaft house was windowless, the only light coming from the open doorway, but still he could see a blush creep into her cheeks and remorse crowd out the sparkle in her eyes. She tried slipping her hand out of his, but he wouldn’t let her.
Instead he tugged her down to the edge of the shaft until they were both sitting with their legs dangling over the long steep drop that was at least a hundred fathoms. He wouldn’t tell her, but he’d never allow her to climb down the ladder, especially this time of year when the damp ladders turned icy or sometimes broke.
There were usually several falls every winter that either killed or severely maimed miners. Even more dangerous were the accidents from broken cables that hoisted the large buckets of rock upward. The loose rocks cascaded down and fell onto unsuspecting miners climbing up from below. But he knew he couldn’t tell her any of that now or he’d only prove her point that the miners needed a way out of their dangerous occupation.
Tessa sidled close to him, her shoulder brushing him. He was tempted to slip his arm around her waist and draw her even closer, but he resisted.
For a while he explained how the mining operations worked, how the men would sink the shaft twelve fathoms and then blast a drift that was four feet wide and six high along a vein of copper. They would timber up the drift and lay track for a wagon or cart that could bring rock to the shaft to be raised to the surface.
“I concede your point,” she said. “Mining is more complicated than I realized.”
“The men may not be book smart like you,” he said, “but the Cornish are experienced in deep-mine operations. They know drilling techniques that cut the copper into manageable-size pieces. They’re experts in blasting. And they’ve mastered the ability of removing the ore to the surface from hundreds of feet below.”
“Even if they are experts in copper mining,” she said, “I still think more of them deserve the chance to do something better with their lives.”
“Maybe this is the best it gets for them.” He made the mistake of shifting so that his mouth was near her head. Wisps of her dark hair curled around the knitted wool hat she wore. The strands tickled his lips. He couldn’t stop himself from leaning in, burying his nose in her hair and breathing in her enticing scent—one he couldn’t name but that reminded him of spices his mother had used when she baked Krumkake.
Before he knew what he was doing, he’d slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He pressed his lips against her loose hair. She gave a soft gasp that only stirred his blood, and he relished the softness of her body leaning into him.
He let his mouth linger against her hair, not wanting to pull away and yet he knew he should.
“Alex?” she whispered, her tone wavering with both invitation and hesitancy.
He angled so that his lips brushed against her cheek. “What, beautiful?” Without giving her the chance to answer, he pressed a kiss against the hollow part of her ear.
This time her intake was sharp and she trembled against him. “Have you ever been down in the mine?”
He smiled at her attempt to distract him. “Of course. Lots of times.” His whisper fanned against her neck just below her ear.
“What’s it like?” she asked, tilting her head and giving him access to more of her neck.
“Dark and damp.” His lips made contact with the smooth skin of her throat, and at his touch she released a stifled moan.
“Miss Taylor?” A surprised voice came from the doorway.
Tessa jumped. Her rapid motion sent a spray of gravel over the edge of the shaft. Alex grabbed her arm to steady her and keep her from toppling down.
Shadows fell across them, blocking the light coming in through the door. “Is that you, Miss Taylor?” the voice asked again.
“Josie?” Tessa scrambled away from him, tripping over her skirt in her haste to rise to her feet. “What are you doing here?”
Alex swiveled to see Josie Rawlings next to Robert Hall. Their faces were flushed, their hair and clothes askew. Had Josie and Robert Hall been in the hoist house? Was that the noise he’d heard? He narrowed his eyes on Robert, who lowered his gaze to his shoes but not before Alex caught sight of the guilt that told him all he needed to know. The boy had been doing a lot more than kissing Josie.
He’d heard rumors that the young people came up to the deserted mine buildings to find privacy, which was hard to come by in their crowded homes. Apparently the rumors were true.
Tessa smoothed down her skirt and brushed back her hair. The surprise on Josie’s face transformed into a sly smile. “I think we were both up here for the same reason, Miss Taylor.” She reached for Robbie and wound her arm around him, pressing against the boy’s body in an all too intimate way.
“Josie!” Tessa’s eyes widened.
Josie giggled. “We’re just having a little fun. Aren’t we, Robbie?”
Robbie didn’t dare lift his head. Alex was tempted to cross to the boy and rough him up a bit so that he wouldn’t lay another finger on Josie Rawlings for as long as he lived.
> “Josie,” Tessa said sternly, “you absolutely shouldn’t be up here alone with Robbie. You know what I told you about keeping proper boundaries with boys.”
“If you can be alone up here with Alex, why can’t I be alone with Robbie?”
“Mr. Bjorklund was showing me how the mine works. That’s all.”
“I suppose that’s why he was kissing you.”
“He wasn’t kissing me.”
“You looked awfully cozy to me,” Josie insisted with an impish smile.
Tessa shook her head. Panic flitted through her eyes. She glanced at him, silently imploring him to speak up and help her explain the situation.
He shrugged and slowly pushed himself to his feet. He didn’t understand why she was so embarrassed about being together with him. He supposed she wanted to set the right example for a girl like Josie. But surely Josie could see that he and Tessa were older, more mature, and ready for a relationship—at least he was ready for one.
“Don’t worry, Miss Taylor,” Josie said, reaching up to kiss Robbie’s cheek. “I promise I won’t tell anyone you were up here, if you promise not to say anything to my mamm. She thinks I’m visiting with Robbie’s family.”
“There’s nothing for you to tell anyone,” Tessa said, her expression darker than Alex had ever seen it.
“Exactly,” the girl quipped lightly. “And there’s nothing for you to tell anyone about me and Robbie.”
Tessa gave an exasperated sigh and then stalked across the shaft house and brushed past Josie. For a moment, Alex could only watch her in confusion as she stomped away down the hill. He needed to go after her and discover why she was so upset, but before he moved, he crossed his arms and stared hard at Josie and Robert. “As much as I like Miss Taylor, and as much as I try to steal a kiss or two from her every now and then, I respect her too much to do anything that is reserved for marriage.”
Robbie’s thin pimply face turned red, but Josie only smiled. “Well, since we know we’re gonna get married, then that’s all that matters.”