Chapter 1
Levi sat at his kitchen table taking deep breaths in an attempt to stay calm. Getting upset and losing his temper wasn't going to do him any good. Siting back in his chair, he tilted his head up to the ceiling; Ellie, his daughter was up in her room sound asleep. His thoughts drifted back five and a half years ago when she'd been conceived. At the time he'd thought his life was over, but now - now he would do anything give anything to keep her. That included getting married again.
Alicia had only been dead for three months and life around the house was so much better without her constant screaming and complaining. He almost felt a twinge of guilt about her death, almost. When she'd trapped him into marrying her, he'd told her then that he would NEVER touch her again. That there would not be any more children and if there were he would divorce her.
It had taken longer than he thought but eventually she'd gotten pregnant again. He'd been faithful to his vows and had expected her to do the same. After all, she had been a virgin when they'd slept together although she had not been innocent. It had taken a couple of months for the ranch to sell so they could move and the people of Bankston knew all about what had happened. It seemed that Alicia had done everything but give her virginity to half the men in town and had been for a year or more. How he'd never heard the stories before was a mystery to him.
He'd suspected she was pregnant for about a month or so before she finally confirmed her situation. She'd been so pathetic trying to say that they'd had sex one night when he woke up one morning with her naked in bed beside him. Levi told her that after she had given birth he was taking the baby, filing for divorce, and throwing her out. Alicia had been a terrible mother, never touching Ellie. Hell, he'd even bought a goat so that his daughter wouldn't starve because her own mother wouldn't feed her. HE had done EVERYTHING for Ellie; which is what made him even angrier about this entire situation. Harold had gotten a lawyer and was trying to take Ellie away from him. His argument was that a single father could not take care of a small child, especially a girl. He'd talked to his lawyer, Will in town and his only recourse was to get married again so that Ellie could have a mother. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make for his precious little girl.
He decided he loved being a father so he was going to keep the new baby and raise it on his own but Alicia had an extremely long and hard labor. So long in fact that the baby was stillborn then his mother bled to death. Doc Baker said there was nothing he could have done. The baby had been big and Alicia had hemorrhaged. She'd asked to hold the baby and the last thing she said before she died was that he looked just like his father, William.
Levi waited until after they'd both been buried then he'd gone straight to his foreman and fired him. The man had tried to deny it at first but finally admitted to being the baby's father. They came to physical blows before the man was finally thrown off the Triple L. William had spewed every curse known and finally threatened Ellie's life. That threat had been the last straw for Levi; no one was going to hurt his little girl. Levi told the man that he'd called a friend for four years that if he ever saw him again, he'd kill him. The man had been escorted off his property and he tried hard every day to forget he had ever known William and Alicia.
He'd worked hard over the years to not argue in front of Ellie and to never say anything bad about the little girl's mother. Just because he didn't like the woman let alone love her, didn't mean that he didn't want Ellie to love her mother. The poor child didn't even shed one single tear over her mother's death. In fact, she almost seemed relieved; making him wonder if Alicia hadn't done something to hurt the child.
Sighing heavily he wondered what he was going to do. Well, really there was no question what he would do. He would remarry, that was the only solution to the situation. That would be the only way to keep Harold away from Ellie. If, no when he got married again, it would have to be in name only. There was no desire for his heart to get tangled with someone else that was only going to hurt him in the long run. That ruled out all of Red Valley even though some of the younger women flitted around him like a pesky fly. He knew that none of them would want the kind of marriage he did and to be honest he didn't like any of them enough to even make an offer to. He loved Red Valley though and so did Ellie and he didn't want to disrupt her life any more than it had been. That meant they would stay right where they were.
Laying his palms on the table he pushed himself up and walked outside to sit on the front porch swing. The cool night air felt so refreshing against his overheated skin. He hated getting angry, it never solved anything. The gentle sway of the swing with the distant sound of crickets and the cattle settling down for the night helped to clear his thoughts. The silvery light of the moon gave enough illumination for him to admire all the hard work he'd put into starting this ranch. The ranch had done very well for the amount of time they had been in Red Valley. He'd poured everything he had into his ranch and felt a deep sense of pride in what had been built.
Again his thoughts went back to this new situation pressing in on him. Closing his eyes, Levi leaned his head against the back of the swing and wondered how in the hell he was going to find a wife; a woman that would be happy to share only his name. After a few minutes of deep thought his eyes snapped open, he jumped up and snatched open the front door and ran to his office. Picking up the most recent paper, he scanned over it until he found what he had been looking for. A satisfied grin crossed his face as he read the ad.
A mail order bride! That was it! It was the perfect solution. He wouldn't have to court her and she wouldn't be looking for love. Levi sat down and wrote his ad, all he wanted was a mother for Ellie. It didn't matter what she looked like as long as she was good to his daughter. Feeling better after having found a solution to his dilemma he put out the lamp and went to bed. He'd go to town in the morning and post his letter.
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Hope Saunders read and reread the letter from Levi Matthews. What should she do? Time was running out. Her father had beaten her again this morning; thankfully he hadn't left marks where anyone could see. This morning's actions only pressed home the urgency of her situation. Did she stay and marry a cold heartless cruel man who would abuse her every time she displeased him or did she run away and marry a stranger that could be even worse or end up being her savior?
She put down the letter and looked at herself in her full length mirror. Slowly she slid her silk robe off of her shoulders and turned to see the angry red welts on her back, at least he didn't break the skin. Having seen enough, she slid her robe back up then walked over to her writing desk and wrote her final response to Mr. Matthews. Her father had beaten her for the last time. Her mother drank herself to death and left her only child to fend for herself and she would be damned if she would willingly go down the same road and marry someone she hated.
After Hope finished her letter she quickly dressed and slipped out of the house to the rail station and purchased a one way ticket to Red Valley. Her train would leave in two days; hopefully she would be able to hold them off until then. The gentleman at the train station said that it would take her about two to three weeks to get there depending on the weather. She added the expected time the rail worker had given her and posted her letter. Hope was so deep in thought that she did not see or hear the carriage pull up and stop beside her until it was too late.
"Hope, my dear. What are you doing out by yourself and without your maid? You wouldn't want to tarnish your sterling reputation, now would you?" A silky cool voice asked. Philip had gotten out of the carriage and grabbed her elbow in a vice like grip causing her to wince in pain.
"I- Philip. I was just out for a short walk is all." Hope managed to answer around the knot of fear in her throat.
Tisking, Philip shook his head. "You didn't think. Everything you do reflects on me. And if you make me look bad, well, let's just say that you won't like the consequences very much. Hope looked into the cold black eyes of the man her father wanted her to marry and shivered. How could her father do this to her? Oh wait! Her father had never cared for anyone but himself. Philip was older than her own father and even more cold and selfish.
A cool breeze blew causing the fallen leaves to tumble along the street as a few of her own ebony curls fluttered around her face. She shivered again, this time from the cool weather. She had been in such a hurry to post her letter that she had forgotten her shawl and the sun was behind the buildings putting the sidewalk in the shadows making the temperature feel even cooler.
"Here, let me give you a ride back home. You were going home." It was a statement, not a question.
"No, really Philip, I can manage on my own. I enjoy walking." Hope said praying he would get back in his carriage and leave.
"No, I must insist. I would never be able to live with myself if something befell you and I could have prevented it." Tightening his already painful grip on her elbow, he lead her the short distance to his awaiting carriage then helped her up. After climbing in himself he shut the door with a resounding thud.
It was just the carriage door shutting but to Hope it sounded like the door to a prison cell slamming closed, effectively cutting off her freedom. It was all she could do to make herself sit there and not bolt out the other side when he wasn't looking. She slid as far away from him as the cramped interior would allow.
Philip sat on the opposite side facing Hope. She was a beautiful woman; a little too curvy for his tastes but so striking in her looks that he could overlook it for now. He'd put her on a diet after they were married. No wife of his was going to be anything other than perfect. He didn't need money so that opened up limitless possibilities for him. His first two wives he'd married for their money but not this time.
He'd known that he had to have her from the very first time he'd seen her. It had taken years of planning to bring this all together. First he'd been married to his second wife at the time and he needed to get rid of her just like his first wife but without bringing suspicion to himself. Then he'd needed to find a way to all but ruin William so that he would allow the marriage.
He chuckled to himself as he sat back on the plush leather seats. William thought himself an intelligent man but that was just not the case at all. The ignorant man had continued to listen to everything he told him. Never once had he put it together that every time he took Philips advise he lost money and not just a little amount either. But then, William loved to gamble so the man bet on just about anything and everything. And now Philip owned him. Creditors had been snapping at William's heels for months now and the man was becoming desperate. Philip had offered to pay all of William's debts off and then some if he would allow him to marry Hope.
William had readily agreed but Hope had not that is until her father had beaten her within a inch of her life. For a few days he'd thought the girl was still going to refuse him but then she had a change of heart and agreed to the union. He knew the man beat his daughter, hell he'd encouraged it. He also made it clear that under no circumstances was William to mark or mar Hope's face again. Philip had seen her with bruises on her face before; it had taken all of his self-control not to kill the man right then and there for bruising her beautiful face. After all his new wife had to be perfect.
He looked at her again sitting on the far side of the carriage Her ebony curls were styled in a loose up do allowing tendrils of the silken tresses to fall, perfectly framing her oval face. Arched brows and long sooty lashes framed a pair of almond shaped lavender eyes. Her cheek bones were high but not prominent. His eyes traveled to her full pouty lips just as she unconsciously licked them causing his trousers to tighten uncomfortably. Shifting slightly in his seat his eyes continued down the slender column of her elegant throat. He was tempted to take her in the carriage right then; only the possibility of her screaming out stopped him. He knew she still didn't want to marry him and if the only way to get her to agree and not back out was to ruin her, then so be it.
Hope kept her eyes glued to the window not even seeing the passing scenery. She didn't want to give him any reason to talk to her. She could feel his eyes raking down her body causing involuntary shivers of disgust. Thank God she'd posted her letter before he found her. Cutting her eyes to him, she had to admit under different circumstances she might have been happy to marry him. He was tall and lean with broad shoulder, his hair was still very dark with a little bit of silver at his temples. But all the handsome looks in the world couldn't hide the cruelty that lurked just below the surface.
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