Claire rode Blaze along the old familiar path. She'd left Charlotte at home with Tess in turn for accepting the 'girls night only' she knew would be full of movies and the dreaded makeover she'd promised Tess she could give for the wedding.

As she rode, she thought about how much she loved the land and how grateful she was to have found someone who loved it as much as she did. Alex shared the same history with her. Not only did he work the land with her, going on the cattle drives and going after Blaze when she'd escaped, partners in the breeding/training business he and Tess had given her the courage to start after Peter, but they'd grown up here. There'd been parties, campouts, and, once, when Nick'd come home from the hospital and Harry had been especially hard on Alex, she'd found him here, by the river.


A teenaged Claire rode her horse, already fully in love with Drovers. She'd finished her chores for the day and got an hour full of free time before Meg fixed supper. She spotted her best mate's horse and dismounted, searching until she saw Alex sitting down by the river, skipping stones.

"Hey." She sat beside him, getting stones of her own.

"Hey." The teenaged Alex, only a year older than her and already muscular and cute, looked over, just in time to get caught by her eyes. "Do you think...Do you think your dad would mind me staying?"

"Of course not." Claire frowned, sure her dad wouldn't. Their fathers were friends, as close as her dad got to any other man, and Alex had slept over on campouts many times before. She was surprised he was even asking. "You want me to stay?" He'd been distant lately, moody, and she didn't really understand, just that his brother had been hurt really bad in the riding accident when they were away.

"No." It came out harder than he'd intended and Claire looked at him. "Sorry."

"Alex..." She couldn't ask what was going on; she'd been taught all her life that personal things stayed personal. It was a line you didn't cross. "I'm sorry about Nick." That statement seemed safe enough.

"I can't go home."

It was another statement teenaged Claire didn't understand. She knew Harry was rough on his sons, even hitting them from time to time, but she couldn't ever imagine not being able to go home, no matter what. She also knew not to say that to Alex at the moment. Jack and Harry had a lot of things in common, but the treatment of their children was different, except for of course this 'marry Nick' business. "Do you have anything to eat?" Alex shook his head. "I'll ask Meg for something." He reached over and held her hand, forming a bond she wouldn't understand until nearly twenty years later.


Claire rode on until she spotted the cabin and the graves. She dismounted and put flowers and a picture of Charlotte between her parents' graves. "It's me. I'm getting married tomorrow." She paused. "Dad, it's not Nick." She paused. "I'm actually marrying Alex. I'm sorry if you're disappointed, but I hope you're happy for me. I love him; I really do. I know about this plan you had for Drovers, Killarney, but...I'm getting married tomorrow, to someone I love. Charlotte's going to have the kind of Dad I did." She paused. "Mom, I hope you don't mind...I'm not going to wear your wedding dress tomorrow. I...I need a new start. I just...I wanted to come up here and tell you how much I loved you both...bring you an updated picture of Charlotte." She paused again. "Thank you both, for everything." She lay her hand on both graves before leaving.


Alex reluctantly handed Charlotte over to Tess. "Bye, sweetie." He kissed Charlotte's darkening hair, nearly the shade of her mother's already instead of the blonde she'd been at birth. "I'll see you in the morning." He gave her another kiss. "Give that one to your mom, help her to relax." Charlotte smiled and grabbed him so he gave her one last hug.

"Do I have to tell you two to be good?" Tess asked, really meaning Alex. "You're going to get married in the morning. Be here on time, sober."

"Well, thanks, Tess," Alex answered back. "I had planned to show up drunk. You don't think Claire would like that?"

"We're not going to a bar," Tess shot back.

Nick rolled his eyes. "There's nowhere else to go in Gungellan, Tess, we're not risking going into Fisher," Peter had moved to Fisher a month or so ago and Nick really didn't want the two to run into each other the night before his brother's wedding. "and there's not enough time to go to the city." They left and Nick looked at Alex. "And you can cool it."

"She didn't have to say it in front of Charlotte."

"Charlotte's too young to understand, Alex."

"Yeah, well, I did a lot of stuff I regret, I know, but I'd never do anything to hurt Claire." He shut the door to his brother's ute after getting in on the passenger side. "This wedding is important."

"The marriage is important. I don't think Claire's that attached to the wedding. She's not the type to get upset if something goes wrong, not that anything will."

"You mean like Tess?" Nick looked at him and Alex shut up.


Claire came back and picked up Charlotte, kissing her daughter's head. "Did she have any trouble when he left?"

Tess shook her head. "Have a good ride?"

"Yeah."

"Good. The boys just left. Liz has already arrived; she's staying at Wilgul tonight." She clapped her hands, excited, and Claire restrained herself from rolling her eyes, knowing Tess was excited for her. She just wish she could contain some of her energy. "I just wish Becky and Jodi had been able to get back."

"Yeah, well, my biggest worry is that my inlaws will start fighting again." Alex's parents had been through a messy divorce right around the time Charlotte was born and Alex's mother had never been especially fond of Tess either.

"Let's get started."


Nick and Alex found a place near the bar and pool table. "So what's wrong?" Nick asked, sensing something was amiss. Alex wasn't really enjoying being there as much as he used to.

"I love Charlotte...and I love Claire more than anyone else. But name one happily married couple in our families."

"I reckon Dad and Mom were."

"Were. Not anymore. And my other father ran around. That's not the kind of life I want to have. What right do either of us have to be a father, a husband?"

"You're already a father to Charlotte; Claire is in love with you. You're almost a husband already; the only thing missing is a piece of paper."

"She's my partner, my best mate, I love her more than anyone. What if that's not enough?"

"Alex, it is. You're better than our dad, or your other father, or Peter for that matter. Nothing's going to go wrong. You and Claire are going to have a long and happy marriage, a long and happy life, and raise at least one beautiful daughter."

Alex looked at Nick. "I'm sorry for what I said, about Tess."

"I don't know. I mean, some days, it feels like we're really making progress. Then some days we do the same thing we've been doing since she moved back home. And I can't push because she's recovering from the scare and from Dave. She's exasperating." Alex smiled. "I'm crazy about her."


Tess caught Claire before she went to take a shower. "Okay, Meg'll take care of Charlotte and she loaned us Terry's spa."

"You're really going all out for this."

"How often does my big sister get married?"

"Just once," Claire said quickly, looking at the new dress she'd found. Her mother's wedding dress had too many painful memories, so she and Tess had found another one, floor length, white satin with a lace overlay, long sleeves with a scoop neckline.

Tess put her hand on Claire's shoulder. "You okay?"

Claire looked at Tess. "Yeah."

The girls went down to where a Roy Orbison CD was playing with scented candles all around, and their freshly washed soft robes hanging within reach. "What's that smell?" The candles were different enough, but there was something else.

"Essential oils and bath salts, lavender and chamomile."

Claire rolled her eyes, but got in. Tess handed her a pillow covered with a trash bag and pillowcase. "No. I'll soak, I'll let the candles be, I'll even use these oils, but no pillow. I'm not getting a perfectly good pillow wet for a half an hour."

"Champagne?" Tess asked, ignoring her as Claire put her pillow out again. "You can't take a spa without bubbly."

"I know, I know, you tell me that every time." Claire accepted the glass.

"Are you excited about tomorrow?" Tess asked, after singing loudly along with 'Pretty Woman'.

"Yeah." Not as excited as you are, Claire wanted to add, but didn't dare. She knew Tess just wanted things to be perfect, but all Claire wanted was Alex.

"I still envy you. I mean, it wasn't as easy with Alex, but you're happy."

Claire decided to go for it. "Love's about charging, Tess. You can't spend your life thinking you'll get hurt like Ruth did. You'll end up alone and, as much as Alex and Charlotte and I love you, we're no substitute for a steady boyfriend, for a husband." Tess looked at her. "Nick is crazy about you."

"He moved in with Sally."

"Because you wouldn't move in with him. I'm not saying it was the best move, but he's in love with you. Besides, she's gone. It didn't work out. Why do you think that is?" Tess leaned back, thoughtful.

"I'm going to check on Charlotte and take a shower." Claire got out and Tess made the arrangements to turn the spa back to Terry the way she'd found it.

"Charlotte's ready for bed," Meg said, bringing Charlotte over so she could kiss Claire goodnight. "And Mommy's dripping."

"Sorry. I'll clean it up after the shower. Thanks for the use of the spa."

"Tess talk you to death?"

"She means well."

"Yeah."

Claire smiled. "You sure you don't want to celebrate with us?"

Meg grinned. "Not a chance. It's sister night. I'll be there tomorrow." She put Charlotte into bed before leaving for the night.

After a shower using the lavender shampoo, Tess got the toning and exfoliating lotions out. "Ow."

"A moment of pain, a lifetime of beauty."

"A day, if that."

"Three. You and Alex are taking off the 24th for a honeymoon and the family lunch," Claire hid her face, dreading it, "And the 25th is Charlotte's first Christmas." Claire smiled, emerging again, excited to spend her first Christmas as a wife and mother with the family at the place she loved.

Claire stayed still to let Tess give her a facial and then a manicure and pedicure before going to check on Charlotte while Tess did the same treatments to herself.

"Claire?" Tess asked, coming to the nursery where Claire was singing Alex's goodnight song to Charlotte.

"Shh." Claire tiptoed out. "What?"

"I know you're not really into this...Thank you for doing it."

Claire hugged her. "You're my sister."

"We don't have to do it anymore."

Claire smiled. "Thank you."

"But I want to watch movies still."

"That's a deal. Popcorn?"

"Butter, salt, all the bad stuff." Claire went downstairs to make it while Tess picked out the movies.


Alex was remembering when he and Claire had started their breeding/training business. His father had said he'd have one of the most successful horse operations in the country in five years; he and Claire had been successful in half the time. He remembered Nick and Tess up in arms about the fact that they'd sealed the deal on a handshake. Everything had been so simple, so easy, that they'd never needed anything else. He gave his word to her and her to him; that was the end of it.


Liz Ryan arrived, wearing the mother of the groom dress that matched Meg's mother of the bride one. She took a deep breath, steeling herself against Tess, who she still viewed as the ruination of her family and destroyer of Nick. "Where's my granddaughter?"

"Claire's got her upstairs," Meg said, politely, not crazy about sharing duties with Liz Ryan, but glad to be considered Claire's mother.

Liz went upstairs and smiled at Charlotte. "Ah, there she is." Claire smiled, letting Liz hold the little girl, already dressed in a dress that matched Claire's. "A white dress."

"We decided if we were getting married, we were marrying the whole family," Claire said. "Do you need anything?"

"I'm just going to read stories to my granddaughter." Claire nodded, going to her room.

Tess and Meg got dressed and then went upstairs to help Claire get dressed, get her hair done, and get her makeup on. "You know I never gave you a wedding present?" Tess said, holding a box.

"Tess, last night, helping with the wedding, that was enough." She hadn't wanted a shower, there wasn't any presents she needed and she wasn't that into girl time.

"Yeah, but...just open it already." Claire opened the box and smiled. "You don't seem like the heel type of person and I remembered when I first moved here..."

"Boots." They were white dress boots, perfect with her gown.Claire hugged her sister. "They're great, Tess. Thank you." It solved a big problem as Tess was right; she wasn't a heel person and she couldn't very well wear her work boots.

"Oh!" Meg suddenly remembered something, going to Jack's chest that Claire had never gotten around to opening but was still in the room. "Here. Your dad wanted you to have it." She handed Claire a pouch, a letter, and a Bible.

The sisters sat down on the bed next to each other, reading the letter. When they finished, both girls had tears in their eyes. Claire opened the pouch and took out a beautiful necklace that was several generations old. "The necklace was Mom's," Claire told Meg. "And the bible was the one he and Mom used during their wedding."

"Okay, let's go through the traditions. A ritual bath for purification, your wedding dress, I can't believe you won't wear a veil."

"Alex knows what I look like. And I don't like the tradition."

"You don't have a trousseau."

"We're staying at Drover's. I don't need a suitcase for a honeymoon."

"Something old is the necklace and Bible, something new is your dress and boots, something blue is our dresses, borrowed...We'll skip that for now. Flowers are already set out, your bouquet is here," she touched the bouquet of tulips twice as big as her own, "I guess that's it for now. Borrowed..."

"I've got something," Liz said from the doorway. She took out a lace handkerchief. "I carried it at my wedding, my mother and grandmother carried it at theirs. I never had a daughter, but I don't see any reason my daughter-in-law can't carry it."

"It's beautiful," Tess said.

Claire looked at Liz. "Thank you."

Harry rang Drover's and Tess picked up. "Tess."

"Tess, are the boys already over there?"

Tess shook her head. "No. Liz was going to be at Wilgul, so they were going to get dressed at Kilarney. Why?"

"Well, that's what I thought...but they never showed up."

Tess looked at her sister. "You're sure they're not at Wilgul?"

"I rang there too, no answer." Tess shut her eyes. Alex wouldn't do this to her sister, not today, and, even if he had, where was Nick? "They went to Gungellan last night, right?"

Tess nodded. "Yeah."

"I'll have people be on the lookout there for them, one of my men take the road from here to Gungellan, and I'm on my way over." Tess hung up.

Liz talked to Claire while Meg walked over to Tess. "What?"

"Alex and Nick are missing."

"He wouldn't do this to her. He wouldn't stand her up. There has to be a logical explanation."

"Harry's having someone look in Gungellan, a man go on the road into Gungellan, and then he's coming here."

"What are we going to tell Claire?"

"Nothing until we know for sure."

Meg nodded. "Alex wouldn't do this. It's more..." Peter, she started to say, but looked at Tess, finding her friend had the same thoughts. "He wouldn't."

"He told Nick once he'd do anything, give up anything, to get Claire back. He thought it was just lies like everything else Peter said, but what if it's not? I mean, he's living in Fisher. It's not that hard to get to Gungellan. Claire and Alex are taking three days off work; everyone knows they're getting married. He could have heard it somewhere..."

"Tess, don't make yourself paranoid."

"Something had to have happened."

"A flat tire maybe?"

"They would have walked to borrow someone's phone."

"Got drunk and overslept?"

"Nick wouldn't." Meg stood by Tess, watching Claire, not knowing what to do or say for either of them.