Relief washed over him. For reasons he didn't understand, he wanted his new wife to be happy here with them. Well, when he thought about it, if Hope were happy here, then she would be a better mother to Ellie. Levi hopped off the wagon and walked around to her side. Hope stood up and placed her hands on his shoulders, his own hands wrapped around her waist as he lifted her up and set her on the ground.

He nearly groaned as her soft body skimmed his. Levi kept his hands on her waist gently flexing his fingers, with his nostrils flaring slightly, suddenly snatching his hands away as if he'd been burned. Hope's eyes followed his tanned neck up to his firm jaw, full lips, and straight nose to his deep, slate blue eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.

At that moment the front door opened and the screen door banged shut. Hope turned to see a little girl with silvery blonde hair, in a pair of boy's britches and plaid shirt, running across the porch. "Papa, Papa, you're home."

Levi smiled and turned to catch his daughter as she launched herself into his awaiting arms. "I missed you, Papa."

"I wasn't gone that long, silly." Levi said as he kissed her brow then set her down. That was when she noticed the beautiful woman standing beside the wagon. The little girl moved to stand slightly behind her father's legs, then raised her slate blue eyes to see the lady smiling at her.

Levi laid a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Ellie, this is your new step mother, Hope. Hope, this is my daughter, Ellie."

Hope smiled at the beautiful little girl as she knelt down to her level. "It's nice to finally meet you Ellie." A shy smile appeared on the little girl's face.

"Sweetie, why don't you run to the barn and check on that new colt, while I show Hope around."

"Yes, sir."

Hope watched the little girl skip off in the direction of the barn, her long, silvery blonde hair bouncing as she went. "She's such a beautiful little girl. You must be so proud of her."

"I am." Levi said, as he watched Ellie run across the yard, his heart squeezing with the love he felt for her. Now there was nothing anyone could ever do to take her away from him. "Hope, I want to thank you, again."

Reaching out and placing her hand on his arm, "You helped me just as much, if not more. So, let's just call it even."

Again, Levi felt the heat of her feminine hand through his shirt. "Um, Hope. I- I uh, we um, didn't talk about the sleeping arrangements." He said, as he took off his hat and shoved his fingers through his sandy hair, leaving it a shaggy mess, he shuffled his feet back and forth in the dirt, a light blush crept up his neck.

"I – I never, really, thought about that."

"Um, if it's ok with you, you can have one of the guest rooms." He suggested.

Relief and a little bit of disappointment filled her. "That would be just fine. Thank you for being so considerate. If you will just show me to my room, I will get my things put away and get started on dinner."

Extending his arm for her to take, he led her up the steps and across the porch to the front door. Opening the door, he stepped aside for Hope to enter. Taking a deep breath, she stepped over the threshold and into her new home. The walls of the spacious foyer were covered in dark blue wallpaper with a silver filigree design. The floors were black walnut with a mosaic design made of lighter shades of wood in the middle of the foyer directly under the chandelier. The staircase was on the far right side of the foyer, curving around to the left, taking you to the second floor. The treads and bannister were made of the same black walnut. Wrought iron railings curved in the same filigreed design as the wall paper. It was breathtaking!

"I'll show you to your room first, then I'll show you around the house and ranch." Levi said behind her. Walking around her, he headed up the stairs towards the bedrooms. Hope said nothing but followed behind him admiring the house and its owner's firm backside every step of the way. This was no grander than the home she had grown up in, it was just so unexpected. She really thought that she would be living in a small log cabin.

"This is Ellie's room." He pointed to one of the open doors. "And this will be yours, if it's ok with you." Levi opened the white door next to Ellie's. "Mine's across the hall if you need anything."

Hope entered her room, finding it surprisingly feminine. It was a corner room in the front of the house. It was spacious and airy, with four large windows, two on each exterior wall, covered with white eyelet lace curtains. The white wrought iron bed was covered in a beautiful, light yellow and dark blue coverlet with matching blue and yellow throw pillows. There was a large armoire with a full length mirror, a matching dresser, and finally, a delicate dressing table.

Walking over to one of the windows, she pulled back the curtain to admire the view of the sparkling creek and distant mountains. She was so enthralled with the rich red, orange, and golden colors painting the mountains, that she did not hear her new husband call her name or walk up behind her.

Levi went downstairs to get Hope's bags, grabbing them, he went back to her room. "Hope. Hope." He set the bags down at the foot of her bed and walked across the room to stand beside her. She still didn't see or hear him. Splaying his fingers, he waved his hand in front of her face and called her name, again.

She was still deep in thought when she saw a hand coming at her. Her first instinct was to throw up her arms to cover her face and head and crouch down. Hope waited for the blows to come, but they didn't. After a moment, she lowered her arms and lifted her head to look up at the man, standing in front of her with a face full of rage.

It happened so fast there was no time to react. Rage filled him as he watched this beautiful woman throw her arms up and crouch in a defensive position. After a moment frightened lavender eyes glistening with unshed tears, looked up at him. Whatever she saw on his face was enough to make her full bottom lip tremble and the unshed tears slide down her deathly, pale cheeks.

Levi knelt down and reached out to grab her shoulders only to have her tuck her head again, and shrink away from him. He jerked his hands back at her actions, then gently laid them on her shivering shoulders. "Hope." He whispered. "Hope, look at me. Please." He pleaded, softly. He must have gotten through to her because she, finally, looked up at him again. "Hope, what are you doing?"

"I – I saw your hand and I th-thought you were going to hit me."

"Why on earth, would I hit you?" She merely shrugged her shoulders. He sat down on the floor across from her and sighed. This poor girl – no – this poor woman has, definitely not had a life of ease. He was sure, now more than ever, that this was the right decision, not only for him and Ellie, but, also for Hope. They may not have a conventional marriage but, at least, he would treat her with respect and kindness and he would never abuse her.

"Hope. Look at me please." Levi said in a soft and easy tone like he would use for one of his upset horses. She lifted her head and looked at him with luminous eyes. The fear he'd seen before was slowly dissipating. It was like he could see her coming back from whatever dark place she had been.

Feeling ten kinds of a fool, she looked into the soft blue eyes of the man sitting across from her. He didn't look angry or upset, only concerned. She was truly going to die of mortification. Surely, she would burst into flames from embarrassment. She had hoped that Levi would never know about this part of her life. But, he'd startled her and her mind had just shut down. Hope looked into his eyes and saw that he was not the kind of a man to hit a woman...

Leaning over he took her left hand in his, running his warm, calloused fingers over her tender skin. He never touched Alicia this way and he would have to make sure he didn't make a habit out of it with Hope either. He liked the way her silky skin felt against his. "Hope, I want you to know I will never raise a hand to you. I'm not that kind of man."

"I know you're not." She whispered softly.

"Then, why did you act that way?"

"You just scared me. I was looking at the mountains, thinking how beautiful they were, then I saw your hand coming at me. I – I just reacted, then I saw the anger on your face...." She drifted off.

"It wasn't anger you saw, but pure rage." He said causing her eyes to snap back to his in surprise. Smiling, he finished, "It wasn't rage at you but FOR you. I was furious that someone had hurt you so much that your first reaction was to cower and protect yourself. And, the fear in your eyes – no one should ever have to live that way." Curling his index finger, he lifted her chin, so he could look into her eyes. "I promise you I will NEVER, EVER hit you."

"I feel so foolish."

"No, you were not foolish, but I don't ever want to see you do that again. Ok?" Slowly she nodded her head. "Look, we are two different people who, now share a life and we are going to butt heads sometimes. I want you to stand up for yourself, not bow, and cower. Again, Hope nodded. "Good, now, why don't you wash your face and I'll show you the rest of the house and ranch."

Levi stood, extending his hands to help her up. She was lighter than he expected and he pulled a little harder than needed to, causing her soft body to collide with his. He felt the breath leave her lungs in a rush as her soft full breasts pressed against his chest. Immediately, his body responded to the closeness of hers, but he forced himself to slowly back away from her. "I'll wait for you downstairs.

AN/ Please don't forget to vote and comment.