Hope awoke with her husband's calloused hand splayed across her slightly rounded stomach. She smiled as she turned her head to look at her husband, then frowned at his expression. "Levi, what's wrong? Why do you have such a sad look on your face?"

"What, oh nothing's wrong. Why would there be?"

"I don't know that's why I asked. And don't lie to me, I know you well enough to know that something is on your mind. Now, what is it?"

Levi laid there for a few moments, his mind racing. He couldn't tell her the truth, not until he had more answers himself. So he told her a partial truth. His fingers flexed on her stomach, then he took a deep breath, he didn't like keeping anything from his wife. But in this instance, it's what's best. There's no point in worrying her unnecessarily. "I was just thinking about how I missed this when Alicia was carrying Ellie." He flexed his fingers again, letting her know what he had meant.

Hope laid her hand over his. "I'm sorry that you missed out on this before. But, God forgive me, I'm not sorry that she's gone. I love you and Ellie so very much!"

"I'm not sorry she's gone either." He replied as he leaned over and kissed her lips lightly. "I guess I need to get my lazy backside out of the bed and get to work."

Hope looked over at the window to see the pink blush of dawn. "Oh my goodness, I overslept. Levi, why didn't you wake me up? I should have breakfast ready by now; the men are going to be starving and late getting to work."

"I didn't wake you because you were sleeping so soundly. And as far as the men are concerned, they'll be just fine. I promise."

"Well they might be just fine, but I'm getting up to make you breakfast. Do you mind going to get the eggs? I'll milk the cow a little later." It had been almost three months since she'd gotten lost in that snow storm. Most of the snow was gone now, only a few patches remained, but she still did not venture outside after dark unless it was to use the outhouse.

Levi threw back the covers to get up for the day. Hope rolled over on her side to admire her husband as he walked in all his naked glory across the room to get his clothes. Her heart began to beat a little faster as her eyes devoured his long muscular legs and firm rear end. Her eyes then rose to his trim waist then broad shoulders as his muscles flexed and danced as he pulled on his pants. He could feel her eyes devouring him and he loved it!

He turned around to see his wife laying on her side with smoldering eyes that seemed to light him on fire. "Love, if you keep looking at me like that I'm going to keep you in that bed all day long." He said as he walked back and sat down on the bed in front of her. Leaning over he kissed her forehead as he brushed ebony curls back from her face then ran his finger down the creamy white skin of her arm. "Have I told you how much I love you today, Mrs. Matthews?"

"No, I don't believe you have Mr. Matthews." She said smiling, and then became serious. "Are you sure everything is OK Levi?"

"Hope, I promise, everything is fine. I just don't want to leave our bed today is all."

His smile was easy but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Wisely she kept her mouth shut. Whatever her husband had on his mind was going to stay there. It was obvious that he wasn't going to talk to her about it, at least not today. That was OK with her. She could be very patient when she wanted to be.

Levi threw his leg over his buckskin gelding, sitting tall and proud as he waited on Tuck to give him his morning report. A few minutes later his foreman rode in pulling his horse up beside his buckskin. "What do you have for me this morning?"

"Nothing last night. I think that whoever it is knows that we have a night watch now. They are going to be much more careful now." Tuck replied taking his hat off and running his fingers through his shaggy blonde hair.

"Alright. I want you to take Slim, Ben, and Abe with you to the west pasture and mend the fences. I also want you to try and get a head count. I want to see how many cattle this son of a bitch has taken and or killed. You know, I can understand taking the cattle and even destroying parts of the fences but killing them and just leaving them to rot? That I don't understand at all." He threw his right arm over the saddle horn and leaned forward staring off into the distance admiring snow covered mountains. "Who in the hell is doing this?" Levi asked more to himself than his foreman.

"I don't know yet, but we'll find them. Sooner or later they will make a mistake."

"You know Tuck, it's almost like whoever it is knows the lay of the land and where I'm going to put the herd."

"I thought that myself. Nothing happened until the snows started to melt. They knew when we were going to move the cattle and where. Just as a precaution, I've been keeping an eye on all the men but so far nobody has any time unaccounted for. Nobody has been acting any differently or secretive. Nothing."

"Alright. Look I'm going over to Cole Weston's place just to see if they have anything strange going on over there. Make sure you leave someone here at the house."

It was nearing the dinner hour when Levi pulled up at the main house of the Double C. Maybe Cole would be at the house eating with Grace and the kids. He rode his horse over to the corral and tied him up near the water trough then walked across the yard to the house. He knocked on the door and waited. A few seconds later a smiling Blake opened the door. "Good afternoon Blake. Your papa wouldn't be home would he?"

"He's in the kitchen with us." The little boy said then turned to walk back in leaving Levi standing there. It was almost funny how much that little boy was like his father not only in appearance but in attitude as well. He wondered if he would have a boy this time or another little girl like Ellie. It didn't matter to him just as long as it was healthy.

"Well are you going to stand there woolgathering all day or are you going to come inside and have some dinner with us?" Cole asked as he leaned a shoulder against the door jam and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Sorry Cole, I've just got a lot on my mind is all."

"You did look pretty deep in thought and since you didn't bring Hope, I'm guessing this isn't a social visit. Is everything OK?"

"Yes and no."

Cole drew his brows together in confusion. "What in the hell are you talking about?"

"Yes everything is OK, better than OK actually. We haven't told anyone but Hope's expecting, sometime in July." Levi couldn't stop the silly grin that creased his face.

Cole reached over and slapped the other man on the back. "Well, congratulations then. Is it OK if I tell Grace? She will be furious if she finds out I knew and she didn't."

"Sure, sure that's fine. It's not a secret; we just haven't seen anybody to tell them. The snows have really just started to melt so you actually could go somewhere."

"Alright then. Now, what's the no?" He asked in a serious tone. Cole's face was an emotionless mask as he waited for his friend to speak.

"Can you walk out here with me?" The two men walked across the yard back to the corral both of them propping one foot on the bottom rail with their hands resting on the top rail. "Have you had anything out of the ordinary going on here lately?"

"What do you mean, out of the ordinary?"

"Well, the past couple of weeks I've been finding cattle missing or killed and sections of fence down."

"No, we haven't. Now I can see someone taking down a fence to steal cattle but killing them? Are you sure the cattle didn't knock it down and wander out or that coyotes didn't kill them?"

"I'm sure. Tuck's been keeping a close eye out but we haven't been able to find any clues. In fact, it's like whoever it is knows my property and where I'm going to put the herd. There isn't but one person who would know that and they don't work for me anymore."

"Jed?" Cole asked questioningly. "Why would he do anything like that?"

Levi sighed hard then took his hat off slapping it on his thigh then rubbed the back of his neck. "Cole, what I'm about to tell you needs to stay between us. Hope and Harold know but those are the only two." He turned his head to look his friend in the eye.

Cole's lips were pressed together in a tight line as he nodded once. "Levi, you know you don't have to ask that of me. I'm not a gossip monger."

"I know and I'm sorry but I just had to ask, for my peace of mind. There is one other person who knows and that's Jed." He paused for a moment. "I had a little ranch in Bankston. Alicia had been trying to get me to marry her as soon as she was old enough. I didn't like her, never encouraged her, and never spent any time with her. Why she wanted me, I have no idea."

"Rarely do I drink but one night I got way too drunk to go home so I stumbled into the closest hotel and got a room for the night. It was Harold's hotel. I guess Alicia heard what room I was in and she followed me up. I was already passed out when she came in my room. The next thing I know, I'm waking up with a splitting headache, and I find Alicia in bed with me. Both of us were naked so there was no denying what we'd done and she had been a virgin. I was furious with her, I got dressed and left. The next time I saw her, she and Harold came out to my ranch to tell me that she was pregnant."

"I married her but told her and Harold that I would never touch her again and if she ever got pregnant again I would divorce her. She was a horrible mother. Once Ellie was born, I did everything for her; I even had to get a goat because Alicia didn't even want to feed her." A look of pure disgust crossed Cole's face but Levi kept talking. "I sold the ranch and we moved here. I never touched her and I was faithful to her but she wasn't faithful to me. She got pregnant again. I didn't know who the father was until the day she and the baby died."

"I'd suspected several of my hands but not Jed. Not only was he my foreman, he was also my friend, or so I thought. I beat the hell out of him and fired him. I thought he'd left town but that doesn't seem to be the case. Cole, now that I know you haven't had any trouble I know he's the only one who could be doing this. I just have to catch him."

"I won't tell anyone about Jed but I do think that we need to tell Andy about it so he can be on the lookout for anyone else that might be having problems. There's a possibility that it's not him. I'll go saddle Remi and go with you to town." Levi nodded but said nothing as he waited for his friend. He knew though that it had to be Jed. He didn't care about the cattle; he just didn't want that son of a bitch to hurt Hope or Ellie. They were his main concern.