The dance was in two days and Hope found herself becoming more and more nervous at the prospect of meeting the good people of Red Valley. She stood in her room in front of her bed looking at the dresses she brought with her, trying to decide on what to wear to the dance. She had four to choose from: a midnight blue, a violet silk, a dark green and a deep red wine. She walked over to the green dress, picked it up, then hung it back in the wardrobe. After another moment of thinking she did the same thing with the wine colored dress. Chewing on her nail, she stood there in indecision.

The smell of fresh baking bread penetrated her concentration reminding her about the two loaves of bread in the oven. Grabbing up her skirts she ran out of her room and down the hall and stairs. She was turning the corner to enter the kitchen when she ran into a brick wall, almost knocking her down. Twin bands of steel shot out grabbing her waist, keeping her from falling.

Hope reached out and grabbed a handful of shirt, popping a button in the process. Somewhere in the distance she heard it hit the floor and bounce before rolling away. Her violet gaze drank in the tanned skin at his throat then eased its way up to his strong jaw covered in a five o'clock shadow. Slate blue eyes met hers, widened slightly, then became glassy as his nostrils flared. Slowly his mouth began to descend, giving her time to back away or turn her head.

His warm lips met hers sending a tingling shock through her body. He nibbled and nipped then slid his warm velvety tongue between her soft full lips coaxing them open. "Open your mouth." Levi whispered keeping his lips to hers. Not thinking about anything other than the way it felt to be in his arms with his mouth on hers, Hope obeyed and opened her mouth for him allowing his tongue entrance. Large calloused hands slid from her waist up her back as his tongue dipped into the sweet recesses of her mouth. Not knowing what to do, she simply tightened her grip on his shirt and leaned into the hard wall of her husband's chest. A feeling unlike any she'd ever experienced seeped through her body as Levi groaned and thrust his tongue into her mouth.

He hadn't meant to kiss her, it just happened. And now that his lips were on hers, try as he might, he could not remove them. Groaning he deepened the kiss and slid his hands from her waist around her back, drawing her closer. She was like an oasis and he'd been wandering in the desert for years. He'd been dying of thirst and she was the cool drink of water he'd been searching for.

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought reality crashing back around them causing both of them to jump apart. Hope's face flamed red as she hastily turned around and walked quickly over to the stove to see the bread was already out of the oven. "I um, I took the bread out of the oven when I came in from outside." Levi said his voice still husky with desire.

"Thank you." Hope said quietly. Not even looking up, she quickly walked out of the kitchen and back to her room. As she was walking through the door she noticed Ellie standing beside her bed, running her hands lovingly over the dark blue dress. "Ellie." The little girl snatched her hands away from the dress and put them behind her back then drug the scuffed toe of her boot on the floor in front of her.

"I'm s-sorry. I won't touch your things again."

Hope walked over and knelt down in front of her. Placing a finger under Ellie's chin, she lifted her head so she could look her new daughter in the eye. "Ellie, I'm not upset. Not at all. I just didn't expect to see you in here. I don't have anything that you can't touch or see, anytime you want to. I made a promise to myself a long time ago that if I ever had children I wouldn't be anything like my mother. I would let my children know how special they are and how much I love them and Ellie, you are special, and I do love you."

"You do?"

Nodding, "Yes I do. Now, why don't you do wash up for dinner." Hope turned to see the little girl skip out of her room then looked back at her favorite dress and sighed. She had a feeling that the next two nights were going to be really long. She'd have to wait until Ellie went to bed and then get started.

"You had better have a damn good reason for not turning around and going back the way you came." Levi said gruffly as he looked at his friend, Cole Weston.

Laughter danced in his ice eyes as Cole looked back at his friend. "Yeah, actually I do." Cole reached in his pocket and pulled out a telegram. "This came for you while I was in town. I wasn't sure if it was important or not so I brought it out here for you."

Levi's brows drew together as he read the telegram. "Shit!" He said then crumbled the offending piece of paper and threw it across the room.

"Is everything ok?"

"Hell no. My ex-father in law is coming for a visit and will be staying for an undetermined amount of time. I can't believe this!" Pacing, he snatched his hat off his head, slapped it across his thigh, then shoved his fingers through his hair causing it to stick up.

"I take it this is not going to be a good visit."

"Yes, no, I don't know. I always like Harold; it's not his fault how his daughter turned out. She was responsible for her own actions. It's his crazy wife I can't stand. I had hoped that after Alicia died they would just forget about Ellie and me. Hmph! I guess it was just wishful thinking."

"Levi, Ellie is his granddaughter. You can't expect them to just forget about her. Could you?" Cole asked as he patted his friend's shoulder. "On a positive note, it looks like the two of you are getting along really well."

Levi's brow furrowed as he thought of the kiss Cole had interrupted. What in the hell had come over him? It had to have been the way her firm breasts pressed against his chest and the way her violet eyes and full lips had just beckoned him. "I'm not interested in getting along well with Hope. All I want from her is a mother for Ellie."

"What about you? What about what you need as a man? Ellie isn't going to be little forever. What are you going to do then? She's still going to be your wife. And what about her? Is she going to be happy not having any children of her own?" Cole asked truly concerned for his friend. He knew that there was only one Grace and she was his, thank God. But that didn't stop him from wanting the same happiness he shared with his wife for his friend. "Look, don't close yourself off to love the way I did. Grace and I almost didn't stay together and it was all because of my stubborn pride."

"We've already talked about it and she's fine with our arrangement. We are friends and that's all we will ever be." He said a little sharper than he meant to. Running his fingers through his hair again he sighed. "Look man, I'm sorry. I've just been really stressed and now Harold and his harpy are coming for a visit."

"Maybe I'll actually get an introduction when I see y'all at the dance tomorrow night." Cole said slapping his friend on the back as he chuckled and turned to leave.

"Thank you for bringing this." His friend just threw is hand up as he continued to walking to the front of the house.

Hope stood in front of the mirror critiquing her appearance. She wanted to look her best for tonight. This would be the first time she would meet her neighbors and she wanted to make a good impression. She decided on wearing her hair up with soft curls around her face. Pearl earrings dangled delicately from her ears and a deep violet ribbon adorned with her mother's cameo was worn around her neck as a choker.

She turned to the side running her fingers down the front of her dress. Nibbling her lip, she tried to see herself as others might see her. The last thing she wanted to do was embarrass Levi in front of his friends. She flattened her hand against her stomach and took a deep breath trying desperately to calm her nerves.

"You look beautiful. I'll be the envy of every man there tonight." Levi said as he leaned against the doorway.

"You startled me." Hope said as she turned to face her husband. The same man that she'd managed to avoid except for meals and even those times were kept very brief. Just the memory of the way his lips had felt against hers brought a bright flush to her face. Oh, would she ever be able to look the man in the eyes again?

Fortunately Ellie took that moment to walk into the room. "Oh, you look like a princess."

"Well, I don't know about that but thank you. I – I have something for you. I hope you like it. Close your eyes and hold out your hands."

Hope walked over to her bed and picked up her gift then walked back over to Ellie and knelt down in front of her laying something in her arms. "Ok, open your eyes."

Slate blue eyes so much like her fathers fluttered open then widened in surprise. "It's beautiful," she breathed

"I hope you don't mind, I know you don't like wearing dresses. But when I saw you looking at my blue one the other day, I thought you might like a new dress for the dance."

Smiling from ear to ear and nodding vigorously, Ellie took the dress and ran to her room. Levi walked over and held out his hand to help Hope to her feet. "That was unbelievably kind of you. But where did you get the material?"

"I, um it was my dress. When I saw the way she was looking at it the other day, I knew that I had to cut it down for her."

"But you ruined your dress."

"And I would do it again. The look on her face made staying up and sewing until my eyes crossed worth every second of it. She's a special little girl and I love her very much."

Ellie came running back into Hope's bedroom and spun around showing off her new dress. "Papa, look. What do you think?"

"I think you're the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen."

"Ellie, if you'd like, I could braid your hair for you to complete your look."

An hour and a half later they were rolling to a stop in town. Levi helped Ellie then Hope down from the wagon. Music and dancers could be heard from around the corner. "Papa can I go find Blake, please?"

"Ok, just be careful and don't go anywhere."

He looked over at his wife and saw her pat her hair and run her fingers down the front of her dress smoothing out imaginary wrinkles. It was something he'd seen her do often in their almost two weeks of marriage. Something she did when she was nervous. He took her open hand in his and brought it to his mouth and pressed a tender kiss to the sensitive skin of her palm. "You look beautiful and there's no need to be nervous."

"I – I'm not nervous." Hope said raising her chin a notch.

"Yes you are. I've spent enough time around you to know that you pat your hair and smooth your skirts when you're nervous." He said chuckling.

"Well, I just want to make a good impression is all. I don't want to embarrass you in front of your friends." She said a little quieter with her chin lowering just a little.

Good God! She really doesn't know how beautiful she is! Lifting her chin with his thumb and fore finger he lowered his mouth to hers for a quick reassuring kiss. At least that's what it was supposed to be. Except this time Hope opened her mouth on her own and instantly his heart began to slam in his chest and his trousers were painfully tight. Ending the kiss much too soon for his liking, he stepped back and cleared his throat looking anywhere but at her.

"I'm sorry." She whispered loud enough for only him to hear and turned to walk away.

"No, I'm sorry." Levi said as he reached out and gently grabbed her shoulder. "I shouldn't have kissed you. I just wanted you to know that you look beautiful and if you can charm Ellie so quickly then these people here will just fall at your feet. Now, shall we go Mrs. Matthews?" He asked as he held out his arm for her to take. Hope laid her slightly trembling finger on his arm and they walked around the corner to join the dance. Neither one of them noticed the man in the shadows watching and listening to everything they said.

Levi had been right. Everyone was so nice to her and SO shocked when they saw Ellie in her blue dress with her hair up in braids. Her husband had introduced her to what seemed like the entire town but the one woman she seemed to hit it off with was Grace Weston. She had to be the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen, not to mention that she was so open and welcoming.

They danced several dances together then other men started asking her to dance. He didn't really like the idea of other men touching his wife, but what could he do? So he smiled and let Hope be lead out to the dance floor as he watched. He watched people that he called friends hold her hands and wrap their arms around her waist. And all he could think of was walking over there and punching his friends in the face.

Seeing her throw her head back and laugh was the final straw. He was getting ready to make a complete ass out of himself when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Cole said

"What in the hell are you talking about?" Levi turned to face his friend.

"I saw what you were fixing to do. Hell half the town saw what you were fixing to do."

"I was going to get something to drink for Hope so she will have it when this dance is over."

"You're so full of shit." Cold said with a chuckle.

"What do you mean half the town knew what I was going to do?"

"Everybody could see the way you were watching your wife. Hell you looked like you were fixing to kill poor Abe and he hasn't done anything, except dance with her."

"You've lost your mind." Levi said as he walked away leaving his friend laughing. The first woman he came to he asked to dance. Why, he had no idea. He didn't even like dancing. Well, he did enjoy it when he and Hope were dancing earlier. After a moment he realized who he was dancing with. Awe hell, this was one of the women that had been sniffing at his heels after Alicia died. He couldn't even remember her name. With half an ear he listened to her incessant chatter as he kept his eyes glued to Hope.

Her toes were beginning to hurt from being stepped on so much. It seemed the only two men that hadn't tortured her poor feet were Levi and his friend Cole Weston. At last the blasted song ended. As she was walking over to Grace she declined two more offers. Finally sitting down, she moaned softly. Now her toes were killing her. Whoever her last partner had been did not know how to dance. He spent more time on her toes than he did his own.

"How about some punch?" Grace asked handing a glass to her.

"Thank you. Where's Levi?" Grace pointed to the dance floor and Hope looked up to see her husband laughing and whisking a very pretty woman across the dance floor. Jealousy shot through her as she looked on unable to turn away. She had no right to be jealous. They were married yes, but in name only. Besides, she was not a jealous person. Forcing herself to turn away from the crowd and back to her new friend, Hope saw a strange look on the other woman's face. "What?"

"You love him don't you?" Grace asked before she could stop herself.

"I haven't known him long enough to fall in love with him. Besides, I'm only here for Ellie." She hadn't been here long enough to fall in love with him, had she? Hope took a moment and thought about all the times she'd seen him with Ellie, how good he was to her and with her.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to dance with my husband." Grace said as she got up and was whisked away to dance but not before she noticed that Hope hadn't answered her question.

"May I have this dance?" Hope's thoughts were interrupted by tall man standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry sir. I think I'll just sit this one out. Thank you though."

"Awe, come on now, a pretty lady like you shouldn't be left all alone." The man said as he grabbed her hand to pull her up.

"Really sir, I don't want to dance right now. And my husband will be back in just a moment. Please, just leave." Hope said as she snatched her hand away. He was reaching for her elbow when someone walked up behind him.

"I'm pretty sure my wife told you to leave. But just in case you didn't hear her, I'm telling you to get your filthy hands off of her."

"Levi, there's no need to get upset. We were just going to dance."

"No sir, we were not." Hope said as she stepped around him and behind her husband immediately feeling safe.

Levi leaned in so that his words would only be heard by Jed. "I told you that if I ever saw you around anything that was mine again, I'd kill you. You won't get another warning." Levi spat between gritted teeth. He was shaking with rage.

"Is there a problem here?" Sheriff Andy Helms asked just as Cole was walking up beside him.

"No Andy. Jed was just leaving."

AR-SA;mso-bidi