Christine Johnson - Would-Be Mistletoe Wife

“He’s more than a little rude. He threatened to remove my students and me from the dune.”

Fiona’s lips twitched. She was going to laugh!

“And then there was the fire.”

That sobered Fiona. “The fire?”

“Dinah’s magnifying glass accidentally caught a leaf on fire, but I stomped it out at once.”

“I’m sure that impressed him. What did you say his name was again?”

“Mr. Hammond. Mr. Jesse Hammond.”

“Oh! Mr. Hammond.” Fiona beamed. “I met him this afternoon at the store. He arrived less than a week ago and is unmarried.”

Naturally Fiona would ask about that. Louise pretended indifference. “So are most of the sawyers and lumberjacks.”

Fiona laughed. “True, but Mr. Hammond seems unusually intellectual. He talked at great length about the weather.”

“The weather.”

“Yes. He explained in great detail why it’s been so hot and dry this year. I found it fascinating and believe our students will also, so I asked him to give a lecture.”

“Here?” The word barely squeaked through Louise’s constricted throat.

“Of course it would be here.” Fiona peered at her. “Is that a problem?”

Louise couldn’t begin to articulate all the reasons why this was a bad idea, starting with the fact that the girls wouldn’t hear one word he said. Oh, they’d be quiet as mice. They’d be busy daydreaming over the handsome lighthouse assistant. But that was a petty objection. Young ladies would always sigh over a man before listening to him.

Louise had a more personal reason. “I too know a great deal about the weather, thanks to Captain Elder’s instruction. I can prepare the lecture.”

“Splendid! Since it’s also an interest of yours, I suggest you collaborate with Mr. Hammond.”

The room grew intolerably hot. Louise couldn’t draw a breath, could barely think. All that came to mind was the impossibility of Fiona’s plan. Jesse Hammond was large and demanding. He would not listen to a word she had to say. He would counter and crush her every suggestion.

“Collaborate?” she managed to gasp.

“It’s the perfect solution. He plans to stop by the school tomorrow morning, but I’ll be leading music instruction at that time. Since you’ll be free, you can discuss the lecture with him.”

Louise struggled to draw in a breath. The idea was entirely intolerable. She and Jesse Hammond? Working together to present a lecture? “He agreed to work with me?”

“Don’t underestimate your abilities. You have much to offer, and he will be grateful for your guidance.”

“What guidance?”

“For one, you can ensure he doesn’t speak over the ladies’ heads. Help him steer his knowledge into something that will engage the students.”

After the way Jesse Hammond treated her earlier today, Louise would have enjoyed seeing him fail in front of her students. Her conscience pricked. That wasn’t very kind.

“You will do it?” Fiona prodded.

Louise didn’t want to, but this school had given her strength and purpose. Rather than relying on marriage to a man she did not know, she could support herself through teaching. She owed Fiona a great deal.

She nodded her assent. A few minutes with Jesse Hammond couldn’t be that terrible. She would use the time to persuade the man not to give that lecture.

* * *

How had Jesse let himself get talked into lecturing in front of a bunch of girls? Mrs. Evans hadn’t accepted his polite refusal, and then the woman manning the store counter had chimed in with how much a guest lecturer would enrich the ladies’ education. They’d shamed him into it.

Worst of all, he saw no way to avoid Louise Smythe, since she worked at the school. Not that the widow wasn’t pretty, but she was a widow—a childless widow. And both Mrs. Evans and the store clerk had been far too eager to corral him into the lecture for him to believe their motives were strictly educational.

Jesse picked at his food, which drew the notice of Mrs. Blackthorn, yet another matchmaker.

“You feeling all right, Mr. Hammond? You’ve hardly touched a thing on your plate.”

“I’m fine.” To demonstrate, he shoved a forkful of potatoes into his mouth.

“Good trout,” Mr. Blackthorn mumbled between heaping bites of the fried fish and mashed potatoes.

The boys, both adolescents, were too preoccupied with eating as much as possible to pay any attention to the conversation.

Jesse swallowed the potatoes. “Yes, ma’am. It’s very good.”

Mrs. Blackthorn beamed while her daughter sighed and gave him that dreamy look the girls from the boarding school had given him. Over the years he’d grown accustomed to that reaction. Maybe that was why Louise stuck in his mind. She hadn’t fawned and sighed over him. Quite the reverse. Although refreshing, it puzzled him. How does a man respond to a woman who doesn’t show the slightest interest in him? It was easy enough to dismiss the hopeful, but the disinterested presented a new challenge.

“You do seem a little out of sorts, Mr. Hammond,” Mrs. Blackthorn said as she slathered butter on a dinner roll. “You’ve hardly said a word.”

Jesse didn’t usually speak during meals, but there was no use pointing that out. “I’m fine.”

Mr. Blackthorn peered at him. “Did you go and get someone else irritated at you?”

“No, sir.” He still wasn’t accustomed to eating with the family, but board was part of his compensation.

“Good.” Blackthorn pointed a fork at him. “It pays to stay on everyone’s good side.”

Mrs. Blackthorn nodded. “Did you happen to see Louise Smythe when you were at the store?”

“No, ma’am.” Jesse clenched his jaw. He’d have to ask Blackthorn for an hour off tomorrow morning. Now was as good a time as any. “I did meet Mrs. Evans, though. She asked me to give a short lecture on weather to the students.”

Blackthorn peered at him. “You don’t say. Never asked me to do that.”

Jesse wasn’t about to mention his suspicion that Mrs. Evans, like Mrs. Blackthorn, was trying to match him with Louise Smythe. “It just came up in conversation. If you object, I’ll tell her I can’t do it.” He tried not to sound as hopeful as he felt.

“No, no.” Blackthorn waved off the suggestion. “How long can it take? An hour? As long as we don’t have a storm brewing, it’s fine with me.”

Jesse tried not to show his disappointment. “Thank you, sir.”

“It’ll spread a little goodwill.” Blackthorn cocked his head. “Maybe you can have the girls polish some of the brass pitchers.”

“Samuel! The girls are supposed to learn, not do your work for you,” his wife scolded. She then turned a smile in Jesse’s direction. “That means you’ll have a chance to see Louise.”

Jesse was not about to reveal that he wanted as little contact as possible with Mrs. Smythe.

“You should pay her a call,” Mrs. Blackthorn continued, oblivious to his discomfort, “one evening or this weekend.”

“I’m not planning to call on any woman just yet.”

“Oh?” Mrs. Blackthorn looked to her husband.

“I thought you aimed to be head keeper.” Blackthorn’s fork jabbed his way again. “You’ll need someone to watch the light when you’re sleeping, like during a storm.”

“And help with all the cleaning,” Mrs. Blackthorn added.

“Like I told ya, the service looks kindly on those that’re married,” Blackthorn added.

Jesse tried his best not to let on that he knew they were conspiring to get him married. “There’s still plenty of time.”

After all, it had taken over a year for Jesse to wind his way through the political connections needed to get a nomination from the customs collector and then to secure approval from the lighthouse board.