I do not own any American Gothic characters, this is a work of fan fiction. This story is a continuation of my previous stories Emotion, Old Friends, Family, Difficult Decisions, Reflection, Spirit, Acceptance, Whole Again, Homecoming, Oh Father, Birthday Surprises, Misguided Feelings, New Year, Picture Perfect, Kinship, Big River, Sunday Morning Coming Down, To Beat The Devil, Best Of All Possible Worlds, Little Girl Lost and Wicked Games.
It was a cool October morning in Trinity SC, there had been a heavy downpour of rain in the early hours of the morning which caused a deep earthy smell to be present throughout the gardens of the town.
Gail Emory sat comfortably on her Uncle Abe's front porch chair, with her dog Rocky at her feet. It had been a month since she had returned to Trinity and due to her delicate condition, in addition to her concerns with Abraham's health, she had chosen to reside with the man she had known from her childhood and had left Matt staying with the children in her absence. She still saw Caleb everyday and ensured he was being properly taken care of. She always cooked for them, to ensure they were well fed and had ordered Gideon to stay at her home as a protector when she was not there.
Abraham was a good man and she knew he cared for her dearly. Although her Uncle Abe could clearly see her condition, he did not comment on it and he appeared happy for them to go on pretending like nothing was different with her. He had welcomed her with open arms when she had told him she needed space away from her dependents and he did not question her motives or lecture her about her responsibilities.
Gail ran her hand through her long brown curly hair and stroked her ever expanding stomach gently, this was quite the predicament she had gotten herself into and it was hard to know what was the best course of action. Not only did she have her family to think about, she had the weight of this town on her with who's child she was carrying. She would have to deal with one thing at a time and her family came first.
The truth of the matter was that she did not trust Caleb around her in this condition and she was trying to hide it from him for as long as she could; however, her stomach had grown rapidly over the past month and no amount of loose flattering dresses could hide her condition for much longer. It was not as though she could avoid informing her cousin of her condition forever, but she was not ready to publicize it and as far as she was concerned this was her choice.
Her decision to remain here with her Uncle Abe had caused friction between her and Lucas, he had still not forgiven her for leaving and her choice to hide her condition appeared to be taken as an insult to him. He was also angry that she refused to allow her pregnancy to be monitored by his minions in the hospital, that had caused no end of arguements with him.
Gail did not know what he expected from her, especially after what had happened the last time she was pregnant. She genuinely believed her choice to leave Trinity, until there was a decreased chance of having a miscarriage, was the right one and she would not allow him to parade her around to his townspeople like some prize horse.
She was not stupid or naive, she knew her family name was important in this town and if it was fully confirmed that they were together, Lucas' popularity would rise by an inordinate amount. There were people who still saw sense in this town and could challenge him; however, she had looked more into her family history, while residing with Abe, and a Buck having an Emory on side publicly would go a long way to silence his doubters. She did not want to be a part of that and she certainly would not allow herself to be used.
Gail was aware that this situation must be hard for Abraham, considering he is one of Lucas' oldest friends and he had been spending a lot of time with her dependents over the past few months. If it appeared that her presence here was impacting his relationship with anyone, she would leave; however, this arrangement seemed to benefit them both, as Abe seemed happy for the company she provided.
As if sensing her thoughts, the front door opened and Abe hobbled out of the house with a tray in his hand. Gail went to stand up and he shot her a warning glance to remain where she was, then carefully placed the tray down on the table in front of her and sat down on his large porch chair. Gail smiled when she saw he had brought her some food and a cup of herbal tea.
'It may not be a big southern breakfast, but I won't have you sat out here eatin' nothin' Rosie' Abe sighed, as he relaxed into his chair.
Gail nodded towards him appreciatively and picked up a piece of toast. 'If you would've hollered for me, I would've cooked you a big southern breakfast Uncle...you need it more than I do'
Abe laughed and reached down for his cup of coffee. 'I've survived on much less than this youngin', don't you worry yourself about me...What are your plans for today? Are you takin' your lot out somewhere, with it bein' Saturday?'
Gail shook her head and reached for another piece of toast, after she had finished the first. She was trying to resist her excessive food cravings of late; however, she wanted to devour the whole plate that was lay out in front of her and it was getting hard to deny the cravings. 'I don't know what I'm going to do with them. To be honest, I was hoping to get some work done...Mark's been patient with me for the last few months, so it's about time I got him a good story'
'Are you goin' into the office?' Abe asked, raising his eyebrow and glancing at her stomach.
'God no, I can work somewhere else...' she laughed and finished chewing her second piece of toast, '...It's coming up on the Mayor's Halloween party and he want's me to do an article on it, considering I'm apparently in with that crowd'
'That's not a crowd you should be writin' about Rosie' Abe warned, concerned.
'Well unless I can find something else to interest my Editor, I don't have much of a choice' she said and carefully stood up.
Abe watched her walk down the porch steps and bend over to tend to one of his flower beds, she looked radiant in her loose short nightdress and the condition suited her; however, he cursed his old friend for getting her in this position. 'Why don't I take on the rabble today and you stay here? You can think on your story and what you wanna do?' he offered.
Gail glanced over her shoulder, then stood up and turned towards him. 'I couldn't expect you to do that, they're my responsibility not yours'
Abe laughed, then stood up and stretched. 'You said yourself it's comin' up on the biggest party of the year, I'm sure your youngin's wanna pick out suitable costumes for the annual competition and they sure ain't gonna find anythin' better than in my store'
Gail smiled and walked back up the porch steps, she knew he was trying to look after her and this gesture was sweet. 'Alright, only if you're sure...let me make myself presentable and I'll drop you off'
Abe nodded as she went back inside, with Rocky following close behind. He really enjoyed having her here with him, as he had not had proper company since his wife died years earlier. She was a breath of fresh air and he would help her anyway he could, to ensure she remained happy here.
Lucas sat bare chested on his porch chair holding a glass of pure orange juice and some tablets, as he stared out into his extravagant garden. He had been out drinking until approximately 4:00am and although he did not usual feel the after effects of alcohol, his head was pounding and he knew he could not go about his working day feeling the way he did right now.
He had not intended on having a night out on the town; however, he had stumbled across a man who was as frustrated with women as he was and the drinks just kept on flowing. Had Lucas have known his immunity to hangovers had suddenly disappeared, he may have thought twice about drinking as much as he had. Still, it had been an intriguing night and he had actually enjoyed himself for the first time in a long time.
Now that he was coming down from that high, his frustrations began to resurface and he felt himself getting agitated. He knew women were infuriating and had managed to avoid any serious connections with them throughout the years. When he initially won with Gail, he had found that she lacked their usual mundane needs and had believed this would make things easier; however, now he knew she was her own brand of crazy and she got under his skin more than any woman ever could.
This incessant need of hers to be in control of everything that went on in her life was beginning to be a problem. He was aware of the irony here, considering he himself was a control freak; however, he was right and she was wrong. He needed to find a way to make her understand that his way was the only way and all the resisting she had been doing had to stop.
He heard his father Malcolm's laughter trail down on the wind and shook his head in irritation. His distraction with Gail had allowed Malcolm to break free of his boundaries on this property and the ass was just loving watching him be tortured. Usually Lucas would react to such disobedience from the forces occupying his domain; however, Gail's darkness had triggered something and it was becoming harder to control the restless spirits here.
Billy Peel stumbled out of the mansion and collapsed into the chair beside him. Lucas turned his attention back to what he could control and let out a small laugh at the state of his present company, then placed the tablets in his mouth and downed the whole glass of juice.
Billy attempted to shield his eyes from the brightness of the morning sun with his hand; however, his attempt failed and he was struggling to make his vision focus. He turned towards the man beside him then stared in disgust at how composed and well kept he looked, even after the inordinate amount they had drank last night. 'Do you ever completely lose control?' he asked and tried to smooth down his unruly hair to fix his appearance.
Lucas laughed and placed the glass down on the porch table. 'Only in the bedroom friend...and only with a select few'
'You mean like Selena?' Billy asked bitterly.
'That woman is the farthest thing from my mind Doc...you should consider putting her behind you too' Lucas said standing up and walking towards the porch rail.
Billy watched Lucas carefully, he would never intended on having a night of heavy drinking with the man before him and his mind was still hazy as to how this had happened. Lucas appeared friendly enough this morning and he was finding it hard to establish what the catch was here.
'No catch and no games Billy-boy. I'm just tryin' to steady my mind, just like you...I've got more important things to be concernin' myself with than torturin' you' he sighed.
'You mean like torturing Gail?' Billy asked, standing up and approaching him.
Lucas continued to stare into the garden, this spot always eased his mind and helped him to focus. 'Gail is not a subject I'm willin' to discuss with you...'
'You were more than willing to discuss her last night...' Billy interrupted and laughed, '...In fact, I believe you went as far as to ask for my advice'
Lucas turned towards him and his seemingly friendly demeanor turned cold. 'Where do you think you are friend?' he threatened.
Billy was not scared by this mans threats, especially not after last night. He had actually found that he liked Lucas after their bender, against his better judgement and he was not trying to cause an argument. 'Drop the attitude Buck, I already agreed to help you last night and I'm a man of my word' he reassured.
Lucas regarded Billy suspiciously, he vaguely remembered discussing his anger at how Gail refused to get herself checked out in the hospital and was starting to recall what Billy was referring to. 'You'd do somethin' for me which could jeopardize your friendship with Gail?' he asked, amused at how quick Billy had turned.
'I'd ensure she was making the right decisions medically and if she chose to regard that as something bad rather than an act of concern, then so be it' Billy said and held his head as the throbbing in his brain started.
Lucas smiled and allowed his twin to be released, to take away Billy's pain. He chose to allow his own pain to continue as a reminder of what it was like to be human, it was not often he was in such a position.
His opinion of Billy had changed and Lucas was intrigued to see how this would play out; therefore, he would sit back and allow the man to do his work. 'Alright friend, I'll keep outta your way and allow you to work your magic. In the meantime, I'm starvin'...how 'bout we get ready and grab some breakfast? I know the perfect diner with a great hangover cure'
-To be continued-