Undaunted Hope (30 page)
“You're rather sure of yourself, aren't you?” she said, tipping her head back and smiling as he tried to chase her lips with his.
“What do you expect? I just swept the woman of my dreams off her feet.”
“I don't think so.” She continued teasing him by moving her lips out of his reach.
“Yes, I did.” And with that he scooped her up into his strong arms, just like he did the first time they'd met when he carried her back to shore after she'd nearly drowned. She was helpless to do anything but wrap her arms around his neck and let him claim her lips again. This time the kiss was soft and sweet and ended all too soon.
“I love you,” he whispered again, his eyes growing serious.
“I love you too. More than you'll ever know.”
“I can't think about going another day without you being my wife.”
“Then don't.”
His smile was heart-stopping and steady as he carried her down the path that led back to Eagle Harbor.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“To get married.”
“Today?”
“Right now.”
She held him tighter and buried her face into his neck.
“I don't want to miss out on another moment of enjoying and loving you for whatever time God gives us together on this earth.”
Tessa pressed a kiss against his jaw, her silent agreement and her benediction.
Although her heart quavered at the thought of losing Alex to some unforeseen danger in the future, she also knew that she couldn't let fear control her again. She had to accept God's giftâthis incredible manâfor as long as He willed it. Since there weren't any guarantees, she would love and enjoy Alex with every heartbeat, every moment of their lives.
A
s I wrote this third book in the B
EACONS
OF
H
OPE
series, I had the wonderful privilege of visiting Eagle Harbor and the lighthouse that serves as the setting for the story. In fact, I was able to stay for a whole week in the assistant keeper's cottage that now sits next to the original lighthouse.
Though the book isn't based on the real lightkeepers who lived and worked at the Eagle Harbor Light, the details regarding the lighthouse, the keeper's cottage, and the surrounding harbor are all as true to the actual setting as I could make them, including the climate. The lighthouse is located in the far north of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. When I visited at the end of June, I brought short-sleeve shirts but had to wear sweatshirts almost every day instead.
The real Eagle Harbor didn't have a copper mine within its town limits, so I took the liberty of adding one for the sake of the story. However, the entire area was once a bustling copper-mining community, a rough and wild settlement that resembled
the Old West. Except for a few tourist towns, the area today is a graveyard of ghost towns and abandoned mines. During my research trip, I was able to explore deep underground into one of the old mines and get a firsthand look at just how dark, damp, and dangerous the mining life was.
Most of us gravitate toward the stories that glamorize lighthouse life and honor the women who served in them. That's only natural. And I hope that in my other books in this series, I gave those women the laud due to them. However, I didn't want to neglect the women who served in lighthouses whose experiences weren't quite as glamorous, who served even though they disliked the duty. One woman in particular inspired this book. Her name was Cecelia Carlson McLean. She was married to Alexander McLean, a keeper who worked at various lighthouses around Lake Superior. When she was interviewed later in her life, Cecelia was very forthright in stating that she hated lighthouses, that they were lonely places, and that she'd had to sacrifice a great deal to live in them. She claimed that if she had to do it over, she wouldn't choose life in a lighthouse.
Of course, her story made me think about the many hardships that light keeping entailed, especially for womenâthe extreme isolation, the lack of conveniences, and the constant threat of danger. So out of Cecelia's hardships, I created Tessa and tried to imagine the underlying motivations for what might cause someone to hate lighthouses. Although I had Tessa work through some of her fears and dislike of lighthouses, I'm sure most women like Cecelia took their resentment of lighthouses with them to the grave.
Although the main characters of this book are fictional, the villain, Percival Updegraff, is based on a real rogue from Michigan history, Albert Molitor. Molitor lived in Rogers City and
ruled as “king” over his wilderness lumbering community. He controlled who was hired and fired. He had a company store and held a monopoly on all food and merchandise. He was also a sexual predator. Since he had so much control over the people who worked for him, if he took interest in a woman, he would walk into the woman's house and order her to go to bed with him. If she refused or resisted, he'd fire her husband and force the family to leave their company-owned home. He ruled this way until the people in the community finally revolted. They held secret meetings to plan to overthrow him. And while it took a couple of attempts, they set out to assassinate him. He was mortally wounded and eventually died, finally freeing the town of his cruelty.
Another resource I used in writing the story was a diary of a schoolteacher, Henry Hobart, who lived and taught in Clifton, which was a few miles down the road from Eagle Harbor. He wrote a detailed account of his life as a teacher to the mining children, including his holding evening classes and special spelling bees. He boarded with a Cornish family by the name of Rawlings. Mr. Rawlings was a prominent mine engineer and mechanic. I loved reading Hobart's diary and drew a great deal of inspiration from the many hardships he faced, from bedbugs and lice to scarlet fever and much more. He had a bright, promising student named Henry Benney, who left school at the age of thirteen to work with his father in the mines. Not long after Henry started working, he fell to his death while climbing up a slippery ladder. It was my hope to model Tessa after Hobart, a compassionate and caring teacher, and bring to life some of his experiences.
Eagle Harbor has an old one-room schoolhouse now known as the Rathbone School House. While it's no longer in use and
instead serves as a museum, during my research trip I was able to visit the old school and used it as the inspiration for the schoolhouse in
Undaunted
Hope
.
As with all my books, I pray this story encouraged and filled you with renewed hope. Just like Tessa, I pray you'll find the strength to face your fears, to know that God is there to walk beside you through them, and to come out on the other side stronger as a result.
Jody Hedlund
is the bestselling author of multiple novels, including
Love Unexpected
,
Captured by Love
,
Rebellious Heart
, and
The Preacher's Bride
. She holds a bachelor's degree from Taylor University and a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin, both in social work. Jody lives in Michigan with her husband and five children. Learn more at JodyHedlund.com.
The Preacher's Bride
The Doctor's Lady
Unending Devotion
A Noble Groom
Rebellious Heart
Captured by Love
B
EACONS
OF
H
OPE
Out of the Storm: An ebook novella
Love Unexpected
Hearts Made Whole
Undaunted Hope
