Meghan exited the schoolhouse. She had just volunteered to organize some races for the town's upcoming Easter picnic. There wasn't much time to put everything together, and as Meg thought about it she wasn't sure how she was going to manage it with all the planning she had to do for her wedding. Well, there was no time to waste. It was still early afternoon, so Meg decided to get started right away.

There were three races she decided to put together. Mentally she went through the items she would need for each race as she headed into town. There were the ribbons for the three-legged race, sacks for the sack race, and she had to map out a course for the horse race. Meg wasn't sure what constituted a good racecourse, but she knew who would. Deciding the ribbons and sacks could wait Meg headed toward the barbershop.

Meghan peeked into the window of the Aussie Emporium and saw that the store was empty, Luke was sitting in the chair reading a dime novel. Smiling, Meg opened the door and walked in. "Excuse me but I heard this is the only place in town where a person can get a decent hair trim. Then again," She sighed, "It could be that this is the only place in town where you can get a hair trim."

Luke jumped at the sound of her voice, then smiled as he realized who it was. He looked at her and felt awe that she would soon be his wife. She looked beautiful in the gray riding habit she wore. It was his birthday gift to her the previous year and he had known she'd look stunning in it. "Ha ha, very funny Miss Thomson." He answered as he closed his book and got up from his chair.

Meg smiled, "You know, I'm not sure I like the sound of 'Miss Thomson' anymore." She said pensively, "I think I might have to do something to change that."

Luke laughed, "Soon. Very soon. Now are you going to come here and give me a kiss, or do I have to chase you around the store?" He said with a devilish grin.

Meg blushed prettily, "You won't have to chase me around." She walked up to him and placed a chaste kiss to his cheek. "There."

Luke looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Your kiss hello. Remember the last time I kissed you in here?" Luke smiled at the memory of Meg telling him she loved him for the first time and kissing him with all the love she felt. "We might get caught this time. Besides I don't have time for anything more. I'm here on business."

"You really want a hair trim?"

"No, silly. I want you to help me. I've volunteered to plan some races for the picnic at the school, and I was hoping you'd help me."

Luke crossed his arms over his chest. "After that kiss, you think I'd want to help you?" He asked teasingly.

"Please Luke, come out and play." Meg said in a sing song voice. "It's not like you have a room full of customers, and it gives us some time alone."

Luke liked the idea of being alone with Meg for a couple of hours. "Okay, you've convinced me. Let's go."

"Thank you Luke." Meg said as she kissed him on the lips. Before she could pull away Luke held her close and deepened the kiss. Several minutes later, a breathless Meg pushed away from him. "We really have to go."

"Right, we have to plan a horse race. But just for the record I'd rather stay here with you." Luke tried to compose himself, the last thing they needed was to bump into someone who would speculate on what was going on in the shop between the yet unmarried couple. Grabbing his hat, Luke locked the door and followed Meg outside to get their horses.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"This looks like a good place to turn the course and have the horses head back to the schoolhouse." Luke said.

Meg looked at the clearing. It was wide enough for the horses to make the turn. There was a small pond that both horse and rider could fall into if they weren't careful, but other than that it was perfect. "You're right, but this pond may be trouble."

"That's the fun of it, besides anyone who enters this race is doing it because they fancy themselves a good rider. So I wouldn't worry about it."

"How far away from the schoolhouse are we?"

"I'd say about a mile and a half, it's not that hard of a race. The ground is pretty much level, and its not that much of a distance."

"Okay." Meg dismounted Golden Rod. "What would I do without you Luke?"

"Probably figure out a way to do this yourself." He answered as he dismounted Silver Tide as well.

"Yes, but it wouldn't be as much fun." She smiled at him, "Should we rest the horses here for a while?"

"Good idea." Luke took the reins from her and tethered their horses to a tree's low hanging branch by the pond. When he turned around Meg was sitting by the pond staring at the water, her riding jacket lying beside her with her hat on top of it. "What are you thinking?"

"I was thinking how peaceful it is here, and how glad I am that you're here to share it with me."

Luke sat behind her and gently leaned her back against his chest, his arms going around her waist. "Me too." He whispered into her hair. "I love you so much Meghan." He said as he began to nuzzle her neck.

Meg closed her eyes, reveling in the feel of being held in his arms, his lips on her neck kissing her and nipping at her earlobe. A small sigh escaped her lips and when he made to turn her to him, she didn't resist. Meghan breathed in his scent as his lips met hers, her hands playing with the thick hair at his nape as he deepened the kiss. Slowly his hands caressed her back urging her closer to him, she would be mine, he thought, totally and completely mine forever. She trembled beneath his touch.

Meg could feel the beating of his heart against her own chest. She loved this man with every ounce of her being, and she moaned in pleasure as his hands released the buttons on her blouse and cupped her breast. Arching into him, she sighed his name as he branded her with his kisses. Without any thought, her own hands moved to his chest and opened the buttons to his shirt, the need to feel his skin with her own flesh was overwhelming.

"You are so beautiful." Luke said huskily as he looked at her, her eyes were heavy lidded with passion, her face flush.

"I love you Luke."

Luke once again took possession of her lips and gently guided her down on the bank of the pond. He couldn't get enough of her. His desire was so strong. His hands were gentle on her as he lay on top of her. Suddenly, he realized she had stilled beneath him. Luke looked at her and saw her face had lost all color, her eyes were wide. The trembling that came from her was not from passion but from fear. "Meg? Sweetheart? What's wrong?"

Meg was giving into her desire. She loved him and felt that what they were doing was right. Then he laid her down and she smelled the grass, felt the wind on her skin and the evidence of his arousal on her thigh and suddenly she wasn't with Luke, she was with Simon. The memories of the day he had tried to rape her came rushing back and she couldn't put them past her. Several seconds passed by before she noticed it was Luke, not Simon, who was leaning over her, a worried expression on his face.

Meg pushed him off of her, and sat up. It was then she noticed her condition, her blouse had been discarded and her corset was open. She clutched at her corset and looked at Luke. "I'm sorry Luke, I can't do this."

Luke recognized what had happened and he hated Simon Moore more than ever at this moment. "No Meg, I'm sorry." He wanted to pull her into his arms, but he wasn't sure if she would go. She looked so small and frightened.

"I know you're not him, please forgive me, but I just can't do this." The hold on her emotions broke and she began to cry.

Muttering an oath Luke knelt down in front of her. "Meg, it's alright. Really it is." He tipped her head up and wiped the tears from her cheek. "Sweetheart, if we're going to get married I need you to make me a promise."

Meg was hesitant but asked anyway, "What?"

"I need you to promise me that when we make love, if you ever want to stop for any reason, any reason at all you'll tell me. Okay? I don't want you doing something because you feel like you have to."

Meg was stunned to hear this because from what she knew most men expected their wives to perform their duty with no complaints, but not Luke. Luke was sitting in front of her giving her control over their marital bed. "Alright. Are you sure?" Luke nodded.

"There's a part of me that wants to Luke, but there's another part of me that isn't used to the fact that we'll be sharing a bed. Can I have a little more time?"

Luke saw the uncertainty in her eyes. "You can have all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere."

Meg let out the breath she was holding, "Thank you. We better head back home, it's getting late." She knew the mention of home would cool both their emotions. Luke nodded, and she turned her back to him as she refastened her corset. As she was buttoning her blouse she heard a splash behind her. Turning quickly she saw Luke emerge in the middle of the pond.

"Luke? What happened?"

"I - uh - fell in." He said.