I do not own any American Gothic characters, this is a work of fan fiction. This story is a continuation of my previous stories and follows on from Funeral for a Friend.
It was a bright October afternoon in Trinity SC, the streets were more crowded than usual on this warm Fall day and Gail Buck wished she had the time to take advantage of the pleasant weather.
Ever since her husband had tasked her with the challenge of rejuvenating Goat Town, Gail had not gotten any time to herself. If she was not arranging meetings with the bank for eligible properties, she was coming up with strategies to gain potential investors.
In addition to this big project, Gail was due to return to work at the Trinity Guardian soon as her maternity leave was coming to an end and she was trying to juggle her personal and professional life. On top of all of this, she had M's Birthday and Lucas' 50th Birthday to plan for. Her life had become so complicated recently that she felt like she was drowning.
She supposed outing M as her cousin and goading her into agreeing to this project had been Lucas' plan all along, when she started going off the rails. She had to admit her urges were getting out of control and there had been no slip ups with her or Gideon since she had thrown all of her time into her tasks of late. She hated to even think it but it appeared her husband had been right, not that she would ever admit that to him. The thought of Lucas' smug triumphant look if he knew what she was thinking made her let out a small laugh, causing her present company to cease his boring story.
'You find the history of how my Grandfather had to beat a man half to death for the deed to his first property amusing Gail?' Trevor asked unimpressed, as he lit up a cigar and took a long drag.
Gail forced a smile for her boss, she had not wanted to involve the owner of the Trinity Guardian in this venture; however, if he decided to invest in the project a lot of the rich men in this town may follow suit. 'Of course not' she put on her sweetest smile, 'I was just thinking of how far your family have come since those times...it's fascinating'
Trevor waved off the waitress who attempted to take his cigar, then smiled at the beautiful woman in front of him. He still could not believe an Emory had aligned herself with a Buck and he applauded Lucas' efforts. 'Your Grandfather was just as ruthless as mine, they had to be to make a place for our families here...This is a tough town to make it in unless you know the right people'
Gail hated having to associate with these over privileged types, they made her blood boil. She had worked hard for everything she had accomplished in life, whereas this man in front of her had been handed his entitlement without having to lift a finger. The thought sickened her and the more time she spent with people like this, the more she wanted to give in to her darkness.
Gail shot an apologetic look at the waitress who had clearly been attempting to get Trevor to stop smoking in the Cafe and signalled for her to leave him to her. When they were alone she reached over and casually took the cigar out of his mouth, then placed it in the glass of water in front of him. 'Not everyone is as lucky as we are and people have to do undignified things just to survive, I'm glad you've never had to experience that' she said sarcastically, forcing a warm smile and finding it hard to pander to his pompousness any longer.
Trevor narrowed his eyes at her, but remained cool. He had no intention of doing business with a woman, regardless of how high up the ranks she was in this town. Peter Emory understood how things worked here, he had been a good man who was not afraid to keep his family in line and Trevor respected that. His old friend would roll over in his grave if he knew how soft his girl had become.
Gail sensed his thoughts and felt her darkness take hold, she focused on the cup of coffee Trevor had picked up and envisioned a furnace. The coffee began to bubble with an intense heat and Trevor lost control, sending the burning liquid flying into his lap. As he jumped up and called put in agony, Gail remained seated and smiled when the waitress took her time bringing him some ice.
'Incompetent! Get me your Manager' he yelled at the waitress when she finally reached him.
Gail shook her head at the woman and signalled for her to leave them. 'That won't be necessary. Sit down Trevor' she ordered calmly.
Trevor was about to protest when he felt a force push down on his shoulders and he sat back down uncontrollably.
'Let's stop playing games here. I couldn't care less about your family or your over entitlement, all I want is your money and then we're done' she advised.
'And why would I give you that? You have no back bone and gave in to Buck. The men in your family would be ashamed of you and I'm surprised you're even allowed out, I thought you'd be on your knees like the devoted little wife you are' he smirked viciously.
Gail kept her cool and smiled sweetly. 'You mean like your 15 year old Nanny?' she mocked knowingly, her smile growing wider when the smirk disappeared from his face.
'I don't know what you're talking about and I'd like to remind you who pays your wages' Trevor threatened, as he felt panic begin to set in.
Gail laughed and shook her head. 'I didn't need a wage even before I married Lucas Buck. I have over $100,000 of my own in the bank right now and a hell of a lot more stashed in a multitude of places for a rainy day, that's even before I eat into my inheritance. You can shove your job up your ass for all I care, but I doubt you've got the balls to fire me...Now the last I heard, statutory rape is more than frowned upon in any town, let alone one so colourful as Trinity'
Trevor felt beads of sweat forming on his brow, he did not know how she was aware of his obsession with Carly; however, if it got out his career and life would be over. 'Listen Gail...' he started, trying to hide his panic and then stopped when her index finger came up to silence him.
'Look, I don't want to be here any more than you do so let's just cut this deal and go our separate ways, then I can get back my son and burn the vision of your face out of y mind' she said in exasperation, then reached into her bag and placed a list of addresses in front of him. 'Pick one so we can both get on with our day'
Trevor's concern turned to anger at being blackmailed; however, the last thing he needed was a visit from the Sheriff if he offended his wife, so he forced himself to remain civil. He looked down the piece of paper in front of him and begrudgingly picked a property, then wrote a sum beside it and handed it back.
Gail folded the piece of paper and placed it in her bag, then got up from the table and smoothed down her long black skirt before. She was about to pull out her purse to pay the bill; however, she shook off the thought and started to walk away.
Trevor narrowed his eyes at her in confusion, then shook his head in disbelief. 'You're not even going to check how much I pledged?'
'You're a well off man, I trust you'll be generous just like you're going to be with that poor waitresses tip' she stated, not hiding the threat in her tone.
Trevor nodded obediently, then shook his head in irritation as he watched her leave. This is not how things worked in this town and he would be making an appointment to speak to the Sheriff about the conduct of his wife.
Merlyn sat on a bench outside Abe's Antique Store reading a paperback on the power of positivity and how to turn negative situations into something positive. She had agreed to go back to assisting Abe with the Store, due to what happened to Poppy and it was becoming hard to shake off the feeling that she had taken a step back with her career.
Although she was not completely happy with how her work life was going, her personal life was booming and her relationship with Matt could not be better. She adored spending time with him and now that Lucy was back with her Mother, she had him all to herself.
'See, my plans aren't all bad Merlyn Ann' Lucas said smugly, as he appeared suddenly and sat down beside her.
Merlyn glanced to her left and saw the navy blue Crown Victoria parked with Ben in the drivers seat and shook her head at her inability to remain focused on her surroundings. 'As long as your plans don't involve me or mine, that's fine' she snapped, then gave Ben a pleasant wave.
Lucas let out a small laugh and sat back on the bench comfortably, waving warmly at passers by on the other side of the street. 'Since you came back, everything l I've done with you and your was in your best interest. You'd do well to remember that when you snuggle up to Harvard at night' he mocked.
'In my best interest? Like this random Birthday you've put on me? Just leave me alone Lucas' she advised and started to get up.
Lucas pulled her back down abruptly and shot Ben a warning glance when he went to get out of the car. 'This Birthday was needed to allow you to fully move on from your old life. I could tell Harvard was gettin' suspicious over you, so I nipped it in the bud...Besides, this way you're Birthday is the same as mine and your cousin gets to kill two birds with one stone. I thought you'd be happy that you'd be less of a burden.
'Gail has more on her plate now than she ever had. Don't act like this Birthday was to benefit me or her, you're just hopin' she forgets how old you are and you can just ride it out like you have every year before she outed you to the town' Merlyn said knowingly.
Lucas inhaled deeply in agitation and continued to stare straight ahead, he was concerned over the matter and his love was keeping her lips sealed. 'Has she mentioned anythin' to you about what she's plannin'?' he asked calmly.
'No, but you can be sure that it'll be epic. With all you've forced her to do recently, she ain't lettin' you off that easy' Merlyn smiled smugly as she sensed his discomfort, then got up again and headed back into the Store.
Lucas let her go and sat for a moment, trying to shake off his irritation over his impending Birthday. When his unease did not disappear he for up and headed back towards his car, deciding he needed something to amuse him to take his mind off it all.
Gail sat in Lucas' Mothers old place of business, reading a large book on Wicca symbols and their meanings. The Wicca Store fascinated her and when she felt this project was getting too much of a challenge, her doubts disappeared when she returned here and she remembered why she was doing this in the first place.
She had not had much of a chance to explore this building and it's secrets; however, she was content for the moment at reviewing the reading material about the place. Gail hoped it would give her an understanding of what she should expect with the path she had chosen and potentially give her an insight into her husbands past. There was no rush in uncovering what she desired, the pressing matters remained Lucas' 50th Birthday and Merlyn's 19th Birthday.
Gail had no idea what she was going to do, she was private person and hated the spotlight. She supposed she had brought this on herself when she outed Lucas' Birthday to the town last Halloween, after he had announced her pregnancy without her permission. She had not thought of the implications at the time, or that it would be her who had to plan the perfect celebration.
Lucas had been very quiet about his imminent Birthday and she did not blame him. It was strange for her to consider him as being half a century old, she could only imagine how he thought of that himself. Half a century of Lucas Buck, that was a lot of time to cover and she suspected that he had made every year count.
The bell above the door opened and Gail's eye's grew wide, wondering if Lucas had sensed her thoughts; however, when the Mayor's wife Mary entered slowly with Caleb and Josh, she let out a relieved sigh.
'This place is exquisite' Mary said looking about the place in awe and touched her sunglasses to ensure they were still securely on,.
'It will be when I get a chance to focus on it properly. What are you all doing here?' she asked Caleb, as she closed her book and stood up.
'I was gonna go ridin' with Boone, but Josh's Mom wanted me to bring her to you' Caleb shrugged, then glanced around the room trying to locate the position of the whispering he had heard as soon as he walked into the property.
Gail spotted Caleb's intrigue instantly and handed him the book she was reading. 'Can you do me a favour and pop this on the bookshelf at the back while we talk?' she asked, not wanting him to intrude on her place.
'I reckon I can' Caleb smiled, then took the book and pulled a tongue at Josh when he followed him.
Mary smiled at the boys, it was nice to see them playing innocently. 'Caleb's a good boy, despite his previous hardships' she said quietly.
'Hardships make you stronger, he's got a good family base' Gail advised and signalled for Mary to follow her away from the children. 'Is there something I can help you with?'
Mary looked down at her hands, trying to hide her discomfort. This woman had helped her a few years ago and she liked to think they had become friends since then; however, she did not like to be a burden. 'The Halloween party is comin' up, I wanted to make sure you'd all be there' she lied.
Gail sensed something troubling Mary, then reached for the dark sunglasses and carefully took them off. She let out a small gasp when she saw the large bruise around her eye, then placed the sunglasses back on to ensure the children did not see. 'What happened?' she asked shocked.
'It was nothin' Gail, it's fine' Mary shrugged, suddenly feeling ashamed.
'It clearly isn't nothing or you wouldn't be here. Did the Mayor do this?' she asked, feeling her rage begin to rise within her.
Mary opened her mouth to make an excuse for her husband, then closed it again when none came. 'John didn't like what I cooked for dinner last night' she said quietly.
Gail pictured John in her mind and focused her rage on him, she was about to envision his neck snapped; however, she remembered Lucas' warning about her needing to control her urges and just took a deep breath. 'He won't touch you again' Gail promised, thinking back to the abuse her Mother and herself had endured.
Mary looked at Gail and could see the truth in those words, she really did not want to get anyone involved in her business; however, she had gotten used to a happy life and could not go back to the abuse. 'I believe you...Thank you' she whispered, then gave her a long hug.
Gail allowed Mary to embrace her for a moment, then shrugged her off and started walking towards the children. 'Seen as I'm helping you, I could do with a little help of my own' she forced a smile and decided to share her own dilemma.
-To be continued-