Levi leaned against one of the posts of the front porch with his arms crossed over his chest and watched Hope with his little girl. It seemed as if they really liked each other. Smiling he pushed off the post and began to slowly walk toward them. As he neared them, he could hear the giggles and it truly warmed his heart. Ellie had never known the love of her mother, never known anything but scorn. Levi could only pray that regardless of how things developed between him and Hope, that the fragile bond forming between his daughter and his wife would only strengthen. All day he'd been worried and had to literally make himself stay away from the house and force himself to work.

At the sound of someone clearing their throat both girls stopped and turned around to see Levi standing with his back against the tree and his arms crossed over his chest. He took his index finger and tipped the brim of his hat up allowing the fading light to fall across his face showing the little crinkles around his eyes. Hope felt little flutters in her stomach when those eyes moved from Ellie to her. Remembering the way his body had looked in the golden glow of the lamp light this morning caused a slow flush to creep up her neck

"Um, if you two will excuse me, I'll just run back to the house and finish dinner."

"I'll go with you and help." Ellie said.

"No." Hope said quickly. Then seeing the hurt cross the little girls face, she amended. She got down on her knees in front of Ellie. "I thought you might want to spend time with your Papa since you haven't seen him all day." Ellie's face lit up as Hope leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She was completely unaware of the slate blue eyes that followed the sway of her hips as she walked back to the house.

"Did you have fun today with Hope?"

"Yes Papa, I don't think I've ever had so much fun. I helped clean up the kitchen then we made bread and she helped me with my letters and numbers, then we came down here to swing."

"So does this mean you like her and want her to stay?"

"Oh, yes Papa. I don't ever want Hope to leave."

"That's a really good thing because I don't think I do either."

"Papa? When can I have a baby brother or sister?"

Levi's eyes bulged as he took a deep breath and tried to figure out how to tell his little girl that she would never have any brothers or sisters. "Um, we just got married so we'll just have to wait and see. Now, why don't we go get washed up and see if we can help Hope do anything with dinner?"

After they'd eaten dinner and the kitchen had been cleaned, Hope asked Levi to get the copper tub and put it in the kitchen so that Ellie could take a bath. Ellie had just sat down in the warm water when Hope told her she would be right back. A few minutes later she came back with a small bottle. "What's that?"

Smiling, Hope knelt down beside the tub. "It's vanilla bath salts, I thought you might want to try some in your bath water." Ellie nodded and Hope sprinkled some in the water then helped bathe and wash her hair. They were sitting in front of the fireplace with Hope brushing Ellie's hair as it dried when Levi walked into the front parlor taking in the scene before him.

It was such a relief to have help with his daughter. The child was starved for the love and approval of a mother. His heart warmed a little more towards his new wife. She had been a little quiet at dinner and that had worried him until he noticed the flush in her cheeks and he remembered the way her eyes drank in every detail of his body that morning. He needed to think of something else before he went in there to talk to them or he would be the one embarrassed. This just might be a little harder than he thought it would.

"Hope." Levi said as he walked into the room and sat down in a wing back chair next to the fireplace. "The uh," clearing his throat, "the town is having its annual fall dance next Saturday night." He took his hat off and shoved his fingers through his sandy hair causing it to stick up in places then held his hat by the brim and turned it nervously. "Would um you like to go with me and Ellie?"

"I think that would be lovely. Thank you for asking."

"I'll just dump the water out and put up the tub." He said standing up.

"Oh please don't. I'd like to take a bath after I get Ellie up to bed. If you don't mind?"

"No, not at all. I'll wash up and head on up to bed. Just leave the tub and I'll take care of it in the morning."

Saying good night, Ellie gave Levi a hug and kiss then Hope bent down and scooped her up in her arms and carried her upstairs to her bed. She read several pages of 'Alice in Wonderland' then turned the lamp down, kissed her forehead. Hope was getting up when Ellie reached out and grabbed her hand. "Hope." She said sleepily. "Thank you for today. I had so much fun."

"You know what? I did too and I look forward to doing the same thing tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that." She said as she tickled the little girl until she giggled then kissed her forehead before getting up crossing the room and quietly closing the door.

Hope went to her room and got her gown then went back downstairs to take a bath. As she neared the tub she noticed the old water had been drained and it was filled with clean steaming water with two additional buckets to use for rinsing. She would have to make sure and thank Levi in the morning. She'd noticed that his bedroom door had been closed as she was leaving hers.

Quickly removing her clothes, she grabbed her bath salts and added some to the water. Then she stepped into the tub and slid down until the water was up to her chin. Sighing, Hope began to bathe and wash her hair. She could have lain in the tub until the water was cold but knew that would not be wise. She was pretty sure Levi was asleep but it was still a possibility that he could come downstairs and walk in on her.

Not wanting to go to bed with her hair wet, Hope dressed in her gown fixed a glass of warm milk and went into the front parlor. After stoking the fire, she sat on the hearth with her back to the fire so her hair could dry. A few moments later Levi walked down the stairs and into the room.

He couldn't sleep. All that kept going through his mind was that she was downstairs naked in the tub. She'd only been here for two days and she was already driving him crazy. Groaning he threw back the covers, snatched up his pants and threw his shirt on but didn't button it. Opening his door he walked on bare feet downstairs to get a drink. Half way down the stairs he saw her. She was wearing only her night gown and was bent over displaying her rear end. After a moment, she sat down on the hearth and began to dry her hair. He stood on the stairs in the shadows and admired her a little longer enjoying seeing her in such a relaxed state. Feeling a little creepy just standing there watching her, he decided to talk with her.

"Hope." Levi said from the doorway.

Startled, she jumped to her feet and faced her husband. "I – I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I was just drying my hair and drinking a glass of warm milk."

"You didn't wake me. I couldn't sleep and came down to get a glass of warm milk too."

"Oh, well sit down and I'll go fix you a glass. It won't take but just a minute."

"No, I can do it."

"No you won't, I will. Now sit down." Hope set her glass of milk on the hearth and left him standing in the doorway as she moved past him to the kitchen leaving the scent of vanilla in her wake.

Levi was rooted to the floor and closed his eyes but it was no use, the image he'd just seen would be forever burned into his brain. Her gown must be very thin for he had been able to see the silhouette of her body as clearly as if she had been standing there in front of him naked. Groaning slightly he brought both of his calloused hands up to his face, rubbing his five o'clock shadowed cheeks. He walked over to the sofa and flopped down.

A few minutes later Hope returned to the parlor with another glass of warm milk, handed to him, then went to sit back in front of the fire. She turned to the side and picked up her milk bringing the glass to her lips. She had not realized that Levi's shirt wasn't buttoned until she came back in. It was all she could do not to stare like she had this morning. The only sound was the crackling of the fire. The silence was beginning to be uncomfortable when Levi finally spoke.

"Thank you for being so good to Ellie. I didn't realize how much she needed a real mother until I saw her with you."

"Oh, you don't have to thank me. I've always loved children. I used to volunteer at one of the orphanages in Savannah when I could get away from my father. Children are innocent and so many times they just need someone to treat them like a child and not a miniature adult."

"Do you have any siblings?" Levi asked still reeling from what his wife had told him.

"No. No I'm an only child. That's why I've always wanted a big family. It was so lonely growing up by myself." Too late she realized what she'd said. "Oh, but I – it's perfectly- I knew what our situation would be when I came out here and its ok, really. What about you? Do you have any siblings?" She asked hoping to take the focus of the conversation off of what she'd just said.

Levi sat there for a moment; a sinking feeling beginning in the pit of his stomach over what his wife had inadvertently revealed to him. Would she be faithful to their wedding vows? If she had always wanted children so badly could she be happy with only Ellie? Shoving those troubling thought aside he focused their conversation and the question she'd asked. "I do actually. I have three, all younger than me. One brother and two sisters."

"Do they live around here? I'd love to meet them."

"No, they don't. They live just outside of Charleston or at least they did. I haven't talked to them in almost ten years."

"I am so sorry." Hope sat up a little straighter but still not facing him. In doing so she allowed him to see the clear profile of her firm breasts.

Swallowing hard Levi tried to remember exactly what they were talking about. Oh yeah his family. Not thinking clearly since a fair amount of blood was no longer going to his brain but to another part of his anatomy; he began to open up to her. Something he never did. "My family owns or owned a large plantation several miles outside of Charleston South Carolina. My mother was a socialite and nothing was more important to her than appearances."

"The war broke out and I was expected to enlist and fight for the South. My family did own slaves and I can tell you honestly, that they were very well treated. But no matter how well treated they were, slavery is wrong. I went to school up north and had many friends. The thought of fighting in a war that I didn't believe in and possibility fighting against my friends just didn't sit well with me. My mother and father couldn't deal with the shame of having a son that wouldn't fight like all of their friends' sons did.

"So, I took the small inheritance I received from my maternal grandfather and left. I've never looked back. I moved out west and drifted from town to town with no real direction. I ended up in Bankston winning a small ranch in a poker game. I stayed there until I woke up with Alicia in my bed after having too much to drink one night. A month later she and her father Harold came out to my ranch to tell me that she was pregnant. I married her and we left. I never touched her again and I don't drink anymore either."

Hope sat there for a moment stunned at what Levi had told her. "But didn't you tell me that Alicia died in childbirth?"

Damn, he hadn't meant to say so much. He opened his mouth and it all just poured out. There was no way to not tell her the whole truth now. Sighing deeply he finished. "I- I never touched her or another woman and I expected her to do the same. The baby she died giving birth to wasn't mine. It was my old foreman's child, Jed Latham."

"Oh." Then getting to her feet she stood with the firelight still behind her giving her husband, who hadn't had a woman in way too long, an unobstructed view of the usually hidden curves of her body. He decided right then and there that the best thing for him to do was to stay the hell away from her.

Hope walked across the room and sat down beside him on the sofa completely unaware of the affect she had on him. She took his large calloused hand in hers. "I will never do that. I promise you that I will always stay faithful to our vows. I know that our arrangement benefits both of us but I feel that I'm getting so much more than you are. Philip would have killed me eventually; either literally or just my spirit. I will be a good wife to you and I will be the best mother to Ellie that I can. I already love her dearly; she is such an amazing child. Thank you."

Then Hope leaned over and lightly brushed her lips over his. Realizing what she had done, she jumped up and walked to the door then turned around. "I – I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstep my bounds. I need to get to bed. Good night Levi." Without waiting for his reply, she turned again and ran up the stairs to her room shutting the door quietly. Refusing to think about what she had just done, she closed her eyes tightly and went to sleep.

Levi on the other hand was not so lucky. After banking the fire he took the glasses to the kitchen then went up to his own room to his own bed. Stripping down to his bare skin, he slid beneath the cool sheets. All he could think of was her soft hands holding his, the look of honesty in her violet eyes, the way the silhouette of her body lit a fire in his own and the shock her sweet lips had given his.

He was painfully hard and had a sneaking suspension that he would be in this state more often than not. Well one thing was for sure. He was definitely going to be getting a LOT of work done and he would be taking a LOT of cold baths in the creek. Groaning he rolled over and drifted into a fitful sleep.

kV_w