As the picnic was coming to a close, Daniel walked over to where Buck and Caly sat talking. Reaching them, Caly noticed him first. She backed up a little as he came closer, still a little afraid of most of the men in town. Daniel made sure to keep Buck between them.

Smiling, Daniel said "I was wondering if you two could distract Meg and Luke for me at the house while Serena and a few others and I make sure everything is ready for the party."

Buck looked at Caly, not knowing what she wanted. Looking from Daniel then back to Buck, Caly nodded. Buck smiled knowing how hard it was for her to agree then he turned back to Daniel and said, "Sure we can do that."

"Thanks, both of you."

"Anything to help out." Buck answered.

Caly nodded in agreement and said, "Its not a problem." Daniel nodded and left to find Serena as Buck and Caly mounted up and rode towards town.

Daniel found her with the other ladies helping to clean up the food. Walking up to the ladies, he hugged Serena and said, "Buck and Caly have agreed to keep them at the house for a few minutes while we make sure everything is ready."

Looking up Rachel and Serena both said, "Good. Let's gather a few other people and head over there."

Daniel nodded and headed off to gather people to help. He found that Corey, Kid and Blythe were talking. Corey looked up and saw Daniel coming over. "Hi Mr. Thompson." Corey said.

"Kid, Blythe, Corey would you three mind helping Serena, Rachel, and I make sure everything is ready for the party?"

The three exchanged looks, then Corey replied, "Sure we'll help. We'll meet you at the restaurant."

"That's great. Thank you."

"How are you going to keep them away?"

"Buck and Caly are going to keep them at the house for a few minutes." Daniel replied.

Corey nodded then said, "Okay."

************

Luke lifted Meg down from the buckboard and kissed her tenderly at the front door. Meghan smiled sweetly. "Let's get dressed."

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed gently. "If you insist."

Returning the hug, Meg laid her head against his chest and sighed contentedly. She then pushed away and headed into the house, "I do." She called over her shoulder.

Once inside the house, Meghan showed Luke into the guest room where he would change. As he laid out his clothes Meg went downstairs. Minutes later she returned with a basin of warm water, soap and a towel.

"I thought you might like to wash up." She said shyly.

Luke felt the grime and sweat of the day in the sun on his skin. "I think we'd both be happier if I did."

Meg laughed, kissed him again and left the room. Luke watched her leave, one month, he thought, all I have to do is wait another month and she'll be my wife. He turned to the basin with that thought in his head and washed quickly. He then turned to the bed and began dressing. The suit he had chosen was one of his better ones. Navy blue trousers and jacket, and a white shirt and tie. After spending ten minutes trying to decide whether or not to wear the tie, Luke opted for comfort and decided not to wear it and instead unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. He brushed his hair quickly and after a final look in the mirror he left the room and went to find Meg.

Meg wrapped the robe around herself and sat at her vanity, the quick sponge bath she had given herself had done wonders for her spirits. She had put on her favorite scent, Jasmine and her skin glowed with the washing. She looked at the dress lying on her bed and smiled. She hadn't worn it since Valentine's Day and even then she didn't have it on for more than an hour. She remembered that besides Corey, Luke was the only one who had seen her in the dress, and he had told her that although he had only seen her briefly, he loved the way she looked in it. Luke is going to be so surprised, she thought as she smiled to herself.

She shrugged out of the robe and began putting her undergarments on. She had just fastened her corset when she caught her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was hanging in loose curls down her back and she was standing in nothing but her corset, stockings and petticoats. She laughed quietly at the thought of Luke coming in and seeing her this way. "It's hard enough for him to control himself when I'm dressed, seeing me this way would send him straight into an asylum." She said to her reflection. She was suddenly brought back from her daydream when she heard a knock at her door, followed by Luke's voice.

"Meg can I come in?"

Meghan ran around her room looking for her discarded robe, finding it, she threw it on and ran to the door. Opening it slightly, she stuck her head through the gap in the doorway. "No I'm not done yet."

"Need help?" He asked with a wicked smile.

Meg blushed prettily, "No thank you, I can dress myself."

"Well I offered."

Laughing, Meg said, "Give me fifteen minutes. I just have to put my dress on and do something with my hair."

"Alright, I'll wait for you downstairs." Luke said with a wink and then turned and walked downstairs.

Meg closed the door, leaned against it and sighed loudly. The more she thought about it, the luckier she thought she was for having that man in her life. She walked up to the bed and caressed the satin lovingly before she stepped into the dress. Meghan fastened it and turned back to the mirror.

The dress was a deep wine color with tiny white rosettes around the low-cut neckline and again in small bunches on her capped sleeves. Her bosom seemed much bigger because of the corset and cut of the dress, and her mother's locket shone against her pale skin. The fitted bodice accentuated her curvaceous figure and the full skirt fell to the floor. Corey was right. Her father would kill her if he saw her in this dress. Hopefully he'd be in bed by the time she returned from dinner with Luke. Meg went back to her vanity and began fixing her hair.

Luke checked the clock on the mantle and headed upstairs. He was getting hungry and Meghan was taking longer to get ready than she had said she would. He knocked on her bedroom door and waited for her to come out.

His eyes widened when Meg stepped out of her room. His gaze traveled from the mass of curls piled on her head down her body and then back to her face. "Oh Meg." He whispered.

Meg shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "Well, what do you think?" She asked as she turned in a circle.

"You look beautiful."

"You don't look so bad yourself. I remembered you liked this dress, so I wore it just for you."

Luke smiled as he approached her. He lifted her chin with his fingers, his thumb drifting over her parted lips feeling her warm breath upon it. His hands then slid to her nape and caressed it gently as he lowered his head for a kiss. What had been meant as a tender touch of their lips quickly became heated and passionate. Luke's hands had found their way into her hair causing it to tumble down.

Meg reluctantly pulled away when she heard a knocking at the front door. "There's someone downstairs." She said huskily.

"Let them wait." Luke said as he pulled her in for another kiss.

Meghan turned her head to deny him. Not to be dissuaded, Luke began kissing her neck. Breathlessly she said, "Please Luke, this is a clinic. It could be an emergency."

Reluctantly, Luke pulled away and sighed. "Fine, but we'll continue this later."

Meg giggled as she watched him straighten himself up before turning to go downstairs. Hearing Luke greet Buck and Caly, Meg checked herself in the mirror and panicked. She had the look of someone who had been thoroughly kissed. She ran into her room to fix her hair and hopefully calm herself before going downstairs to greet her friends.

************

Upon arriving at the clinic, Buck dismounted saying, "How are we going to keep them here?"

Caly whispered, "The wedding."

Buck smiled, "Right." Knocking on the door, Luke answered, seeing that it was Buck and Caly standing there.

"What brings the two of you into town?"

"Well Caly had a question about her dress for the wedding." Buck said.

Luke opened the door letting them in and said, "Meg will be down in a few minutes. Please have a seat."

Buck and Caly nodded and sat down. Meg came down and sat next to Caly. Buck couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the dress she had on. The three of them talked for a few minutes.

Over at the restaurant everyone was getting ready and making sure everything was ready. Daniel signaled for everyone to be quiet and said, "Okay I want to thank you all for coming. Luke and Meg should be here soon." Everyone eagerly awaited the arrival of the happy couple.

Back at her house, Luke looked at the clock on the mantel and said, "It�s getting late we need to go if we are going to eat before the restaurant gets too crowded."

"Why don't you two join us?" Meg said, nudging Caly.

Caly wasn't sure, but had been having a good time today. "That would be okay with me as long as we sat near the back."

"Okay we'll join you." Buck said and squeezed Caly's hand. He was happy she was trying to be herself again.

Meghan leaned her head on Luke's shoulder and sighed contentedly. They were on their way to the restaurant for dinner with Buck and Clay following behind them. "What are you thinking?" Luke asked.

"I was thinking about the expression on Buck's face when he saw me in this dress. You know I originally bought this dress to impress him."

"Ah well it's his loss now isn't it." Luke said with a wide grin. Meg laughed and playfully hit Luke's arm. Minutes later they had pulled up to the restaurant and Luke helped Meg down from the buckboard. As they each dusted themselves off, Buck and Caly exchanged secret grins.

Luke held the door open for Meg to walk in.

"Congratulations!!"

Meg jumped back with a gasp and Luke held her steady. The couple stared in awe at the gathering before them. It looked as if almost the entire town had come to the restaurant.

Meg turned to Caly and Buck who entered behind them. Buck nodded that they knew about it. Meg smiled and turned to face everyone as they moved to the center table.

Daniel was in shock when he saw the dress Meg was wearing. He would never thought that his daughter would wear a dress like that.

The couple was led to the center table as everyone congratulated them on their engagement.

Buck and Caly stood in the back ground and watched. Caly looked around she noticed that everyone in town except Wild Bird, Laura, Catherine and Eddie weren't there.

Standing there watching everyone milling around, Caly was startled when Buck touched her arm and handed her a cup a punch. Smiling she took it and said, "Thank you."

Buck smiled saying, "It's good to see you smile again."

"Thank you it's easy to smile around you. I almost forgot about what happened to me today."

"I am glad. I want that free spirited friend of mine back."

Meg looked at her father who had a brief scowl on his face. Looking down at herself she realized it was the dress he was scowling at.

Luke hugged Serena as Meg hugged her father. "When did you plan this?" Meg asked her parents as she embraced Serena.

Serena smiled at Meg, then looked at Daniel. "It was your father's idea."

Meg hugged Daniel again, "Thank you daddy."

"You're welcome baby." He whispered.

Meg felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to find Corey standing there with a big grin. "Did you know about this too?"

Corey laughed, "This is what your father wrote to me about." Corey looked at Meg. "Nice dress. I thought your father's eyes were going to fall out of his head."

"You should have seen Buck back at the house." Meg said. "Seriously, if I had known we were being set up for a party, I would never have worn this dress." She shrugged, "I thought I was having a romantic evening alone with my fianc�."

Corey laughed. "Who cares what anyone thinks about the dress. You look beautiful Meg." Turning to Luke, Corey gave him a hug as well. "Congrats! You've got yourself a great girl here."

Luke looked down at Meg, "I know."

A little while later after Charity had just finished preparing the meal, Charlie came out of the kitchen and said, "If everyone would take their seats. We will begin serving the meal."

Everyone took their seats. Buck and Caly sat with the other riders and their dates. While Clover and Lilly served the food to everyone, the restaurant was filled with laughter and happiness.

Daniel and Serena watched Meg and Luke knowing that they were going to be as happy as they are.

As everyone was eating, the door to the restaurant opened and a couple walked in with their child. Luke looked up, smiled and ran to them. Meg turned to Serena with questioning eyes when she heard her gasp.

"It's his parents." Serena said.

Meg smiled as she saw Luke bring them over to their table and introduced them to both her and her father. The couple sat down and celebrated with the town.

As everyone finished eating and the tables were cleaned, the men moved them so there was room to dance. As the band started to play, Meg and Luke were the first to start dancing. Luke led Meg out onto the makeshift dance floor for the first dance.

"My father said you wrote to him to ask him to come for the wedding."

Meg nodded. "Well I thought they should be here."

"And that you paid for their travel. Where'd you get the money?"

"My father loaned it to me against my trust fund. Once I get my money I'll pay him back." She said.

Luke pulled back slightly. "What trust fund?"

"You didn't know?" Meg asked, when Luke shook his head she continued. "I thought Serena had told you. My mother left me a bit of money. I can get it one of two ways. Either when I get married or when I turn twenty-one."

Luke took in the information. "How much is a bit?"

"About two thousand dollars."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yes, are you angry that I never told you?"

Luke shook his head and squeezed her gently. "No, I'm not angry. I'm just a little surprised. You should know that they paid their own way here. They didn't want to take your money."

"Oh, well they were your wedding present. I'll just have to think of something else to get you then."

Luke laughed, "Corey was supposed to be your wedding present from me. So I guess we're even."

The couple danced and soon others joined them.

Buck took Caly's hand and pulled her on to the dance floor. As they danced Meg smiled when she saw them dancing. Meg knew they belonged together, but she also knew Corey liked him, too. But she knew Buck would make the right decision about which young lady he wanted.

After all was done Meg and Luke had a wonderful night.