Small-town Mainers believable in `Just Jessie’

JUST JESSIE by Lisette Belisle, Silhouette Books, Buffalo, N.Y., 249 pages, paperback, $3.99.

Looking at the cover of “Just Jessie,” I wasn’t sure what to expect from Lisette Belisle’s first novel. I must say I was pleasantly surprised.

The cover of this Silhouette Special Edition novel depicts a young couple in a flower garden, and the artwork leads one to think this is a teen-age romance rather than a story of a blooming relationship between two adults.

But one must remember never to judge a book by its cover.

Belisle’s story is believable and realistic. It is set in rural Maine where small-town neighbors don’t just help in time of need, but also are quick to hear and pass on the local gossip. They live by rules that may seem old-fashioned to some.

Jessie’s first encounter with the man who eventually steals her heart is far from ideal. Ben almost runs her over on a dark, deserted road. She returns home to learn this stranger is the man who will be running the farm until her brother returns. Since her brother has been away for years and isn’t planning to return home anytime soon, no one knows how long Ben will be working on Stone’s End.

Faced with having to work with Ben — despite her strong protests to her ailing, obstinate father — Jessie also must fight her growing attraction to the stranger.

Ben, meanwhile, is running from the past and soon has to fight his own growing feelings for the boss’s daughter. Unfortunately for him, gossip runs amok in small towns, and the boss wouldn’t hesitate to use a shotgun should his daughter’s reputation become tarnished.

Stone’s End is the town’s hot property, and Jessie will do anything she can to keep it, while some, including Ben, would do everything to get their hands on it — even marry the mistress of the house.

Belisle writes a believable story of these two proud people, who not only marry for all the wrong reasons but also are afraid of getting hurt. He’s a drifter who refuses to feel, and she grew up in a home without love. Can this marriage of convenience grow into something more, and will they live happily ever after?

Belisle, who now lives in upstate New York, grew up in New Hampshire and spends every summer in Maine, where she recently completed research for sequels to the story.

She is also highlighted in Silhouette’s Women to Watch program, which features first-time authors whose novels are impressive.