Three days, she'd been stuck in this bed for three days. At least Ellie was home now and she was more than happy to sit in here with her. It seems the little girl has a crush on Blake Weston, but then what little girl wouldn't? He was a very handsome little boy. She saw the way Ellie followed Blake around when their families were together and he was always so patient and kind to her. Nothing like you would expect a little boy to act towards a neighbor's child. All of Ellie's stories from the past few days involved Blake in some capacity.

"Mama?"

Hope looked up, still not used to being called Mama. Well, she'd have to get used to it since there were two babies on the way. "Yes, Sweetie?"

"Why do you keep smiling?"

"Well." She couldn't tell her the real reason she was kept smiling. But dog gone it, Ellie was just so darn cute with her crush on Blake Weston. "I – I'm just so happy about the babies. They're safe, and your Papa and I found out that we are having twins. Aren't you happy about it?"

"Oh, yes ma'am. I can't wait. When will they be here?"

"Doc Baker said they could come any time after the end of June. So we still have a few months to plan things and make clothes and blankets and get their room ready."

"Can I help you? I really want to help." Ellie was practically jumping up and down, something she did when she was excited.

"You can help as much or as little as you want. Now, tell me more of what you did over at the Double C."

Levi and his men had turned the Triple L upside down but nobody found any sign of a trespasser. No more missing cattle, no more fences down, nothing. It only added to the fury building inside of him. He knew that it had been Jed. He wasn't perfect, but overall he was a good person. Besides, he didn't know of anyone that was upset with him, except Jed.

He walked into the barn to meet with Tuck. "Ok, tell me what you've found?" Levi asked even though he knew what the answer would be.

"Nothing. We still haven't found anything. Nothing's out of place or missing."

"Dammit! I know it was Jed. That son of a bitch almost killed my wife and children. I will find him and I can promise you it's not going to be good either!" Levi snatched his hat off his head, slapped it against his thigh, and paced back and forth in the dim light of the barn.

"Levi." Tuck said as he grabbed his boss and friends arm stopping him. "I know it's none of my business and you might just tell me to go to hell, but what happened with Jed? I mean, y'all were friends and he worked for you since you've been in Red Valley."

"You're right. It's none of your business." He said, then stopped. Closing his eyes, he turned to face the wall of the barn. With his head down, he propped one hand against the wall. Tuck stood behind him unmoving. "I thought Jed was my friend." Levi turned back around to face the other man. "What I'm going to tell you goes no further, do you understand?"

Tuck nodded his head. "Levi, you know I won't say anything to anybody. I'm not like those old hens in town."

"I know Tuck, it's just that nobody knows about this. It's just not something that a man wants to be public knowledge." He took a deep breath, leaned against the rough plank wall, then propped his foot against it. "Alicia and I slept together one time. Actually, I don't even remember it. I was drunk, she let herself into my hotel room, and well, Ellie was born nine months later. We moved here and I hired Jed."

Levi looked around to make sure that no one was around to hear his next statement. "I hated Alicia. She'd tried her best to catch my attention when I first moved to Bankston. But, I knew what kind of a person she was, even then. I told her that I would never touch her again and I didn't." He stood there for a minute waiting for that information to sink in for Tuck.

"But she died giving birth." The look on his face was almost comical when it did.

"That's right. Before we married, I told her that, if she ever got pregnant again, I would divorce her." The other man's eyes widened. Divorce was just not something that was done. It wasn't so bad for the man, but the woman's life was never the same. In fact, some women would move to another town, change their names, and become a "widow."

"Let me guess, Jed was the father and he thinks you had something to do with Alicia and the baby dying."

"Exactly. Now you know why I'm so sure that it's him."

"I understand why you don't want it common knowledge. I also see why you're sure it's Jed. Knowing who we're looking for just may make him easier to find. We know what his favorite places on the Triple L are or were."

Levi reached out, patting his friend and foreman on the arm. "Thank you. Now, how is Whinney doing? Are her wounds looking better today? One of them didn't look so good yesterday."

"Actually, yes, they both look really good. I think we should probably wait another month or so before putting a saddle on her thought." Tuck said as he walked to the horse's stall. The sound of a buggy approaching drew their attention to the outside. Both men stepped out into the bright morning sunshine to see Henrietta Winters rolling to a stop in front of the house.

"I need to go talk to her, I'll be back in a few minutes." Levi said over his shoulder as he walked out of the barn to Henrietta's buggy. Jogging the last few feet to get to her, he took her hand and helped her step down.

"Here, let me help you."

"Thank you, Levi. These old bones don't move as easily as they used to." Henrietta said with a kind smile.

"Have you decided if you will be able to work for us full time?"

"Levi, I just don't think I'm going to be able to. In fact I was going to tell you today that I will keep coming until you find someone else to take my place. I'm just too old."

"I understand, I'm disappointed though. You wouldn't happen to have anyone in mind for the position would you?

"Actually, I do. My granddaughter, Claire just moved back here and is looking for employment. She's a sweet girl and a really good cook.

"Do you think she would be interested in the position? I'm going to turn one of the rooms downstairs into a bedroom for whomever I hire so they can live here. You know that Hope is having twins and I have a feeling her hands are going to be full with them." The last part Levi said with a huge smile on his face.

"I heard through the grapevine. Congratulations! And to answer your question, yes. I think she would love to work for you and Hope. "

"How about you send her over this afternoon when you get back home?" If she's anything like Henrietta, she'll be perfect for the job, Levi thought to himself.

Levi and Tuck were near the barn talking when Henrietta Winter's buggy rolled down their drive for the second time that day. Tuck looked up to see a young woman with auburn hair pulling on the reins in an attempt to stop. Good manners dictate that he go help the lady. With that in mind he told Levi that he'd be right back, and trotted across the yard.

"Can I help you, Ma'am?" Tuck asked as he stopped beside the buggy."

A slight blush colored her cheeks. "Yes, I'm here to see Mr. Matthews. My grandmother said that he was looking for a housekeeper." She tied the reins to the brake and began to step down from the buggy.

"Here, allow me." Tuck said as reached out to take her hand.

"Thank you Mr....." She said as the blush darkened on her face.

"Tuck. Just Tuck, I'm the foreman on the Triple L. If you'll wait up on the porch, Levi will be right with you." The woman thanked him then turned to walk up the steps. It was all he could do not to groan as her very curvy hips swayed back and forth with each step she took. She got to the top of the steps and was about to turn around when he noticed that he'd been staring and quickly turned and trotted back to the barn to get Levi.

A few minutes after Levi had managed to quell his laughter at Tuck, he walked over to meet Henrietta's granddaughter. It looked like the boy was smitten with the young lady. "You must be Claire." He said as he walked up the steps.

Oh, this was a beautiful view. Claire thought to herself, as she looked out over land. There was the sparkling creek, the rolling hills, and the mountains in the distance. But the view she'd enjoyed most was that of the retreating man, the same one that had helped her down from her buggy. She was thinking about his soft brown eyes and handsome face. She sighed heavily; it didn't matter how handsome she thought he was. He would never look at someone like her. Claire thought of auburn hair and curves. She just wasn't one of those dainty women men seemed to be so interested in. She was taller than most women and although she wasn't fat, she wasn't skinny either. Men just sort of looked over her.

Levi introduced himself and apologized for not going inside. He didn't want Hope to know what he was doing until after it was done. The stubborn woman would insist that she could do it all and that was just not something he was going to let her do. He wasn't taking any chances with her or the babies.

He decided that he liked Claire and would definitely hire her. She had assured him that she was a good cook and would be more than capable of cooking breakfast and dinner for the men and the family. They settled on a salary and Levi took her on a tour through the house. She met Hope. They seemed to genuinely get along, as well as Ellie. A little while later she left to go back home and pack.

"Tuck." Levi said as he walked back into the barn. The young man stuck his out of the tack room.

"Do you need something?"

"Yeah, how about you hitch up the wagon and go on over to Henrietta's house. Claire took the job; she'll be starting this evening." Levi answered as he struggled not to laugh at the other man who had practically ran to get the horses and wagon.

DC