All three families got together at Levi and Hope's house for Thanksgiving as they'd planned. Grace and Ann had become Hope's closest friends, something she'd never had, and she found herself looking forward to Sunday dinners until the snow came making it too dangerous to travel. Christmas was just two weeks away and for the first time since she was a little girl she was excited about the holiday.

She and Ellie had finally talked Levi into cutting down a Christmas tree; although neither one had to talk very much. Both of the girls had him wrapped around their little fingers. The three of them bundled up then traipsed through the snow for what seemed like hours until they found the perfect tree. Hope showed Ellie how to string colorful berries together to put on the tree. They made ornaments and garland decorated with the same colorful berries and tied it with red and silver bows.

Levi rode through the Triple L gates with a deep feeling of satisfaction and anticipation. For the first time in his life he was truly happy. He had a beautiful wife and daughter that he loved and hopefully there would be many more children to fill their house. He patted his vest pocket, smiling to himself then continued down the drive. Smoke billowed from several of the house's chimneys but that's not what caught his attention. Each window in the front of the house had the curtains opened and a lit lantern sat on the sills. Green garland was draped on both the upper and lower porch railings and wreaths with red berries hung on the front doors. It was beautiful.

He rode around to the barn and jumped off his horse then led him inside, out of the freezing cold. Whinney heard him walking and stuck her head out of the stall neighing to get his attention. Chuckling, Levi reached into his sheepskin coat pocket and pulled out a lump of sugar he always had for her. Greedily she took it then nuzzled him for more. "You know you only get one girl." He said as he patted her neck and continued on to Buck's stall.

A few minutes later he walked in the back door where he took off his coat and hung it on a wall peg then went into the kitchen. There he saw his lovely wife bending over pulling what smelled like cookies out of the oven. He walked up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist as she set the pan on the counter. "I missed you, Love." He said nuzzling her neck.

Hope turned around to face him then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Not as much as I missed you. Drawing back to look at his handsome face and noticed the fresh snow on the brim of his chocolate colored hat. Drawing her hands up, she cupped his cheeks. "Oh my goodness. Your face feels like ice. Come over here and sit down while I make you a fresh cup of coffee to warm you up."

"I know of a better way to warm me up." He said as he waggled his eyebrows and pulled her onto his lap.

Jumping up and swatting his hands Hope tried to scold him. "Not where Ellie and Harold, not to mention your men, can walk in. Shame on you." A few minutes later she placed a steaming cup of coffee and a plate of fresh sugar cookies in front of him. "Did you get everything you needed from town?"

"I sure did." He said as he sipped his coffee then bit into a soft warm cookie. His eyes slid closed in ecstasy. He had to be the luckiest son of a bitch walking. The woman he'd married had not made one single thing that had not been absolutely delicious. And then there were the all too short nights they spent in each other's arms. Opening his eyes, he noticed the garland on the mantle in the kitchen. "It looks like you've been busy today. You've made cookies and the greenery on the mantle and the lanterns in the windows, which look very good by the way."

"Well, I hope you don't mind but I borrowed the men. But only after they had finished their work." She added quickly.

"What do you mean you borrowed the men?"

Hope stood holing out her hand. "Here, come with me and I will show you." Every mantle in the house as well as the banisters were decorated with garland with red berries and red and silver bows. It was amazing how little things like greenery could make a house feel so festive.

Never had he lived in a house that felt so warm and inviting, a place filled with love and laughter. His parents had been so false, only interested in their social standing and throwing a better ball than any of their 'friends'. Then he lived by himself until Alicia and that had been sheer hell not only for him but for Ellie too. Shaking himself, he mentally cleared his mind of old thoughts and focused on the present.

"It's beautiful. I never thought about doing any of this before. I'm glad that Ellie is still young enough to really enjoy all of this." He said as he waived his arms to indicate the Christmas tree and decorations.

Hope was still in awe of the beautiful snow. She'd never seen it before having grown up in Savannah. It didn't make any sound at all when it fell, no matter how hard it came down. Yet when you walked on it you could hear it crunch beneath your boot.

The snow made everything look so pristine. Even at night with the sky covered in thick gray clouds it was light enough to see clearly. And oh, it was so peaceful and quiet, until the wind blew. Once the wind started howling, it transformed the tranquil landscape into a nightmare of blinding snow that stung as the wind bit into any part of your skin that was exposed.

As the winter snow storms increased in intensity in Red Valley, Levi had Tuck tie ropes from the back porch to the outhouse and barns so they wouldn't get lost going from one to the other. She'd thought they had been picking on her until she'd had to go to the barn that morning to milk the cow and get fresh eggs. In the half hour or so Hope had spent in the barn, the weather had changed drastically.

It went from a gentle snow to almost a blizzard with no visibility. The barn was only about fifty yards from the house; however it was impossible to see more than five feet in front of her. Confident that she could make her way back to the house, she set out. Unfortunately it didn't take long for her to realize her mistake. Hope had taken no more than two dozen steps when she became disoriented and decided to go back to the barn but when she turned around it was nowhere to be seen.

Panic began to set in as she looked around in every direction but saw nothing but blinding snow. She began to call for Levi or anyone but the howl of the wind drowned out any sound she made. The cold wind and wet snow began to penetrate her shawl causing her to shiver uncontrollably. She hadn't put on her heaviest shawl thinking that she wouldn't be out in the cold that long and the barn was fairly warm. Her husband had warned her to always dress warmly, even for short trips outside but she had not listened; now she truly wished she had.

With the milk and eggs forgotten, Hope wrapped herself as tightly as she could with her shawl and began to walk in the direction she thought was the house. Every few steps she would call out hoping that someone would hear her. After a half an hour, Hope's feet were so frozen that each step became more painful than the last. Her teeth chattered so loudly that she thought for sure they would crumble. The tears she cried froze to her eyelashes before they could fall. A moment later she stumbled and fell to her knees. Her lungs burned as she tried to muster the energy to get back up and keep going.

Levi walked down the back stairs and into the kitchen expecting to see his lovely wife; instead, Harold sat at the table with Ellie. A little disappointed, he walked over and kissed his little girl like he did every day. "Good morning Sweetheart, Harold. Where's Hope?"

"Good morning Papa. I don't know where she is."

Levi turned to his father in law. "I haven't seen her. I thought she was upstairs with you, maybe sleeping late." He said with a knowing smile.

Worry filled his slate blue eyes. "Hope came downstairs more than an hour ago to start breakfast." He walked over to the pantry to look where she always kept the fresh eggs and milk. Nothing. "I guess she went out to milk the cow and gather eggs for breakfast." Looking out the window he clearly saw the weather had taken a turn for the worst. Not liking the feeling in the pit of his stomach, Levi walked across the room to get his coat and gloves.

As he reached for them, he noticed that her heavy shawl and hat were still hanging up while her lightweight shawl was gone. His stomach dropped to the floor and panic began to rise at the thought of her being out there in the raging storm. He grabbed her shawl and headed out to look for her. "I'm going out to the barn to look for her. I'll be back. STAY INSIDE you two."

As soon as he opened the door snow began to pelt him in the face as the cold wind stole his breath. He was going to throttle her when he found her. Grabbing the snow and ice covered rope he slowly began to make his way to the barn calling out for her as he went. He strained his eyes searching for any sign of her. It seemed like it took forever but he finally made it to the barn.

Prying the door open he walked into the relative warmth. Calling her name, Levi went straight to the cow's stall to see if she'd been milked then to the chickens. He took a deep breath trying to remain calm. If she wasn't out here and she wasn't in the house, then that meant she was out there in a raging snow storm.

He'd only been out in the storm for ten minutes and he was already freezing. She had to be ok; God wouldn't give her to him just to take her away. Levi prayed that he would find her quickly. He kicked something with his foot and looked down to see the milk bucket and egg basket. Looking closer he noticed that the milk was frozen. This made him more determined to find her.

Ten minutes later he was hoarse from calling her name. Out of the corner of his eye a flash of color caught his attention. As quickly as he could he made his way over to the color making sure he didn't take his eyes from the spot. The last thing he needed was to lose it. It was just a little scrap of blue material flapping in the wind but that was all it took.

Levi took off his sheep skin coat and knelt down. His heart thumped in his chest as he reached out and pulled back Hope's ebony hair almost completely covered in snow. Her lips were blue and her face was as white as the snow that she lay in. He bent over her body but could not tell if she were breathing or not.