JULY 10, 1861

Steven and Michael were in town for a haircut. When Luke saw them enter the shop, he told Corey to cut Michael’s hair. While Luke was cutting Steven’s hair, he asked, “Could Caly come to baby-sit tonight? I want to do something special for Meg.”

“Sure. You’ll bring her home right?

“Yes sir, I’ll go ask Caly myself after I finish cutting your hair.

Steven informed Luke that Sean was a good preacher. They had already finished the church building and they were holding services in it now.  Steven had enjoyed the last service.

Luke was glad that everybody seemed to like the new preacher. He and Meg and her parents were Catholic so they traveled to Omaha to go to church services. It was a long trip every Sunday, but they thought it was worth it to have their children raised in the Catholic Church. And it helped that Corey went with them sometimes. Corey was the same age as Meg and they were best friends. Corey going to church with them helped to repair some rifts between the two girls.

After Steven and Michael left, Luke went to the restaurant and asked Caly if she would baby-sit for him and Meg that night, and she agreed. She would just ride home with Luke after work. He then bought lunch for his mother-in-law and father-in-law and brought it over to them. They had been busy, and he knew that they would enjoy a meal from the restaurant. He even watched his brother-in-law, DJ, while the two ate a quiet lunch and could focus on each other. He then went back to the shop and let Corey go get some lunch.

Meg went out to the station and asked for Buck. “Buck, I was wondering if you would like to have supper with Luke and me tonight. I know that you like chocolate cake and I just made some.

Even though he was puzzled, he couldn’t pass up Meg’s chocolate cake. He had some of her chocolate cake at some of the town’s events and he really enjoyed it. So he agreed to be at Willow Manor at suppertime.

By the time that Luke and Caly got to Willow Manor, Buck was already there. He was on the floor playing with the babies while Meg was putting the finishing touches on supper.

Both Caly and Buck were surprised to see each other there. They embraced.  When Meg saw the happy looks on their faces, she smiled. “I’m glad ya’ll are happy. I’m tired of seeing your long faces around town. Now after supper, Luke and I are heading out for an hour or two. We just need a break from the kids. Well, I need a break from the kids.  Luke is gracious enough to go with me, so that’s why we asked you to baby-sit.”

 “That’s ok, you can ask me to bay-sit anytime. I absolutely love the twins. They are so good for me.” And they take my mind off of my father, Caly thought.

They sat down and had dinner. Luke and Meg knew that Caly and Buck had not seen each other for a while, so they agreed that Buck could stay until they got back and it was time to take Caly home.

Luke took Meg to the pond, and they sat along the bank and watched the sunset. Luke leaned in for a kiss and Meg returned his kiss with passion.

Caly watched as Buck played with the twins. She knew he would make a great father someday. She hoped that it was to her children, but even if it wasn't meant to be, she knew those children would be well loved and cared for.