Caleb Temple was sitting on the edge of his favourite spot on the lower walkway of the pier, unphased by the ice cold wind that blowing against his face. He had wrapped up in his thickest coat, scarf and hat; however, goose pimples were still present on his skin. The place was deserted on this pure grey winter's morning and he welcomed the peace and quiet.
He was staring into the water trying to sort through his thoughts. Ever since Gail's 'accident', Caleb had felt as though he was living in a dream. At first he had no idea what had taken place after Lucas had been attacked, then he had slowly began to remember what he had done and the anger that he had felt when he had found out Gail was pregnant. It was all very hazy but he remembered feeling as though Gail had defied him in some way and he was unwilling to share this new sense of power with another; therefore, he had given her the option to terminate the pregnancy. When Gail's face changed with the realisation of what he had suggested, it had been clear that he had to take matters into his own hands and he had chased her with the very instrument that he had expected her to use.
Caleb felt sickened when he recalled his actions of that night and had to believe something must have been wrong with him, to cause him to react in such a horrific manner. He did not understand how he could feel that much anger for someone he loved.
It was confusing enough that Gail had been with Lucas without him knowing, after she had seemingly hated him since she had come to Trinity. Sure he had suspected that something had changed between the two of them, as Lucas always seemed to turn up when Gail came to visit him in school, or took him into town; however, he thought that Gail had just accepted how Lucas was. He could accept them being together but he wished she had trusted him enough to tell him.
What was worse was the fact that Gail had seemed to know Lucas was his real father and she clearly did not believe it was important enough to tell him. Caleb did not know when she had found that out; however, it would have meant they could have been more honest to each other if she had indicated that she knew and Caleb would have one less thing to be worried about.
When Gail had come to town after the death of his father Gage and sister Meryln, Caleb was wary of her and unsure of her intentions. He was happy to have a living relative, as without her he would have been completely alone; however, he had never understood how she could leave her life behind in Charleston so easily, for a child she had never known before.
Caleb had come to realise that he and Gail had suffered the same loss at a similar age and family was very important to her. It was evident that Gail was haunted by the death of parents and she needed to find the truth about what had happened to them. He knew she did not believe the fire had been an accident, it seemed that Gail had believed Lucas was involved somehow and this was a big part of why she had stayed in Trinity. Caleb did not judge Gail for this, part of him knew he was not the only reason why she had stayed and he was happy when she seemed to drop the subject of her parents, as she seemed more at peace.
Gail would not tell him the details of what she had found out about her parents death, only that love had set that building on fire. Caleb did o't understand the reference, but he was happy that the matter had been resolved as Gail had stopped obsessing about the subject after that day and concentrated more on building a relationship with him.
It had been strange seeing Gail in her hospital bed yesterday looking fragile and weak, Caleb knew his cousin was stubborn and strong willed so it had been confusing seeing her just lie there. He had been worried that she would hate him for what he had done; however, Gail was pleasant and had seemed concerned with his well-being. 'Maybe she didn't remember what had happened' he spoke aloud. Billy had said that Gail had taken a blow to her head when she had fallen and it could have caused some memory loss.
Caleb was torn and confused. He was relieved that there had not been a confrontation in the hospital, but a big part of him felt guilty about what he had done and wanted to confess his sins to his cousin. Caleb was scared about how she would react to the truth; however, Gail had always told him that the truth was very important to her and if he did anything wrong she would expect him to own up to it, no matter what the consequences would be.
A single tear ran down his face and dropped into the water below his dangling feet, Caleb felt broken and all alone. He had no one to talk to about what was happened and although Lucas had tried to reassure him that he would help, Caleb felt as though he should be punished for what he had done. Even Merlyn had disappeared, which left him feeling empty inside. He put his head in his hands and began to cry.
Billy Peele got out of his brown truck and slammed the door harder than he had intended, then walked down the path to the front door of Gail's house. He was more than angry that a patient had escaped from the hospital under his watch; however, he felt it was unprofessional to show his true feelings.
After he had received no response knocking on the front door, Billy decided to walk around the side of the house and spotted Gail in her back garden removing stones from the soil of her plant bed. 'Well, look who's ignoring all of her doctor's advice…' he said sarcastically, '…..if you refuse to let me treat you in the hospital Gail, you could at least listen to my instructions and rest instead of working'
Gail stood up, sighed and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, smudging a small bit mud on her cheek. 'Oh please, I wouldn't call moving a few stones working and you're only pissed because I managed to leave the hospital without your say so' she said knowingly.
Gail liked Billy, he seemed to act tough and did not care about challenging someone when he believed they were in the wrong which was a good trait to have. She had taken a dislike to him initially when he replaced Matt Crower's position at the hospital; however, she had realised that she could not hold a grudge against this man just because she missed her friend and Dr Peele seemed more than capable of filling the position, if not a little over-qualified for a small town.
Billy felt his cheeks beginning to heat up with his frustration. He had just come from a scolding from his boss about the importance of ensuring a patient does not leave the hospital before they are officially discharged, so Gail's relaxed attitude about the matter was extremely annoying. 'Come to mention it, maybe I am a little pissed as it doesn't look great for me when my patient decides to check herself out of hospital without informing me or any of the hospital staff. I also didn't appreciate having to search for you for hours last night, when I had better things to do with my time'
Billy had not really had many plans since he ended things with Selena, he was just meeting Ben for drinks at Jimmy's bar; however, he was not going to let Gail get off lightly and he could have had more important things to attend to.
Gail had not considered at the time how selfish her actions had been and that she might get Billy into trouble for leaving the hospital. 'Ok, I'm sorry' she sighed, 'I didn't want to lay about in a bed when there are things I could be doing here, besides the fresh air will do me some good. It didn't occur to me that you might get into trouble for my actions, I'll try and smooth things over with your boss if he's getting at you'
Billy tried to relax, after all he knew from the few encounters he previously had with Gail that she was stubborn and she was clearly on edge after waking up from the coma, which was understandable. If he was in the same boat, he probably would have left the hospital and this damn town too.
Billy had realised that he and Gail were very alike, especially after some of the chats that he had with Ben over drinks and if they had met under different circumstances they may have been intimate; however, he knew there was no chance of getting near Gail in a romantic way while Lucas Buck was around, so he would settle for trying to become friends with her if he could.
Billy walked towards Gail and gently began examining her, he was determined to make sure she was ok as she had suffered a head and neck injury. She had healed remarkably well while she was in the coma, but he wanted to make sure that she had not hurt herself with the activities she had done since she had left the hospital. Gail tried to pull away defiantly but Billy gently grabbed her. 'Stop fighting Gail…I'm your doctor and if you refuse to be treated in the hospital, I'm going to have to make do with examining you here'
Suddenly the wind picked up in the garden and Lucas turned the corner of the house, just in time to see Billy seemingly stroking Gail's head and neck. 'What the hell is going on here?' he said as he marched up to Billy and yanked his hand off her.
Gail stepped back instinctively in shock. She had not expected to see Lucas again that day after their earlier encounter in her bedroom and looking at hatred in both men's eyes, she knew she would not be able to control this situation on her own.
It was evident that Lucas had loathed Billy ever since he had first set foot in Trinity, even more than he had disliked Matt Crower. She was not sure whether it was the authority and defiance that Billy had projected, or the fact that he had been intimate with Selena that had made Lucas feel he had to insert his own authority each time they were together. 'Lucas!...' she spoke firmly, '...Get off him'
Lucas turned towards Gail and smirked, to try and hide his irritation, 'I'm sorry darlin', am I interruptin' something?' he said in his best southern drawl, 'It seems that you and Billy boy are getting very cosy here, is there something we need to discuss?'
Billy calmly glanced down at the wrist that Lucas was gripping and let out an exasperated breath. 'Under the circumstances I'll give you a pass on this, after what you've been through in the past few months an all; however, if you don't let go of my hand in 5 seconds…well, you'll be prying it off your throat, Buck'
Lucas turned his attention to Billy and tightened his grip on the wrist. It was bad enough that this man had waltzed into his town and thought he could steal his mistress, but for Billy to be caressing his lover's neck when she could not bear his own touch without being plagued with guilt, it was too much and he could feel his blood boiling. 'Come on Doctor, give me your best shot' he challenged with a grin.
Gail stepped closer to the exchange and placed her hand on Lucas's wrist. 'I won't tell you again Lucas, let go and stand down!' This was getting out of control, Gail would not let these men use her as an excuse to settle their issues with a fight. She turned towards Billy calmly and tried to talk some sense into him, 'Doctor, you're smart enough to realise that it's a felony in South Carolina to assault an officer, so I expect you to use your head and some self-control unless you want him to cart you off to a jail cell'
Deputy Ben Healy came around the corner of the house to see his new drinking buddy and his boss squaring up to each other. Gail was holding Lucas's wrist and was clearly trying to diffuse the situation; however, going by the look on both men's faces it was evident that her attempt was failing. When she saw Ben she looked relieved and signalled for him to help. He knew his day was going to go to hell from here on in as he approached the stand-off. 'OK now, there's no need for this' he tried to reason with them both and went to the side of Billy, ready to grab him if the situation got worse.
'Ben's right…' Gail said glad for some assistance, 'you both need to drop this now and start acting like adults'
Lucas finally let go of Billy's hand and looked at Gail. Part of him felt as if he owned her and the thought of someone else touching his property made him act irrationally. It was not often that Lucas lost control over a woman; however, clearly the last few months events had affected his self-control more than he had wanted to admit.
Gail stood staring defiantly at Lucas, she did not know where to begin or what to say about what had just happened and this was all too much for her. She never liked to get involved with people she had to deal with on a professional level, it would always end up with an awkward confrontation which was unnecessary. Gail had originally hoped that they could keep their relationship strictly physical, no heart and no soul would mean no jealousy or possessiveness. Clearly, that had not worked and she was left with the irrational man in front of her.
Ben looked from Gail to Lucas, then patted Billy on the back and signalled for him to leave. This exchange between Lucas and Gail was making him uncomfortable and he wanted to get as far away from it as quickly as he could. 'Well, I'm going to wait in the car Lucas' he said trying not to let his discomfort show, 'it was nice seeing you up and well Gail'.
Billy moved closer to Gail before following Ben and looked over his shoulder at Lucas as he whispered 'You take it easy and rest. I will be back to check on you later; hopefully, we won't need to deal with the crazy ex-boyfriend then' and with a wink at her he headed towards his truck with Ben in tow.
Gail smiled to herself and then turned her attention back towards Lucas. She realised that the wind seemed to die down when it was just the two of them, which was peculiar, but she tried not to get distracted by it. 'So did you just come here to disrupt my day, or was there any point to this visit?'
Lucas began to regain his composure now that they were alone, he was happy to see that Gail had started to get riled up. Lucas always managed to find a way in through her anger, it was one of the few emotions that caused her to let her guard down. 'Have you spoken to your cousin recently?' he asked
Gail felt uneasy at the mention of Caleb, but she could not explain why she felt that way. She had no desire to see her cousin anytime soon, at least not until she had sorted out her emotions. 'I saw him yesterday in the hospital, but I've not spoken to him today. Why?'
'Caleb is going through a rough patch at the moment Darlin' and I thought you would want to be there for him, with you being his cousin and all'
Lucas had decided to keep what had happened between him and Caleb, if Gail regained her memory then he would deal with that at a later time. As much as he wanted Caleb to depend on him, he knew that Caleb's relationship with Gail was important and his boy needed his family; therefore, he decided to make it his duty to try and reunite them.
Gail began to tense up, she had never been one to be told what to do and certainly not by a man. She did not trust Lucas's motives at the best of times and she trusted him even less when it came to Caleb.
She had been devastated when she had found out that Lucas was Caleb's father, part of her was angry she had not considered the notion previously with how interested he had been with her cousin; however, she could not have conceived that her Aunt Judy would have slept with another man and she naively had not considered that Lucas was the type of man to just take what he wanted, clearly she had been wrong.
Gail decided that she did not want to willingly approach Caleb until she could figure out why he made her feel so uneasy, her instincts had never been wrong before and they were telling her to stay away from her cousin at least for the time being. 'I don't need you to tell me what to do about my family Lucas, I'll see Caleb when I want. Besides, if he needs me he can come and visit whenever he feels like it'
Lucas began to realise that getting Gail and Caleb to make up was going to be a lot harder than he thought. He had tried convincing Caleb to come with him earlier that morning; however, the boy had decided that he wanted to be alone so Lucas had dropped him off at the pier, at Caleb's request. Both Caleb and Gail were as stubborn as each other, it would be hard convincing on eof them to make the first move. 'I'm not telling you what to do Darlin'' Lucas sighed 'I just thought you'd like to know that your cousin isn't his usual happy self and he could use some support from his family'
Gail began to get agitated, she was trying to keep calm but the more Lucas talked about Caleb the more uneasy she felt. 'The last I heard you were his family too Lucas, so why don't you go support him? Is it because he wants nothing to do with you? After all, you had abandoned him for 10 years with a drunk that clearly couldn't take care of him or his sister.'
As soon as the words had left her mouth Gail instantly regretted what she had said, even more so when she saw the offended then defensive look on Lucas's face. Lucas was a proud man that hid his feelings very well, but every now and again she would make a comment which made him look at her as if he was a wounded puppy and she she had just kicked him, in these instances he never reacted well.
'Maybe it was a mistake me coming by like this' he said, backing away from her as a wounded child would.
'Lucas, wait…' she tried to reason.
'No, you're right' he said with a venomous tone to his voice, 'I shouldn't have bothered you while you're still grieving. The loss of a child is a hard thing to come to terms with, especially when someone so proud couldn't protect herself'
The comment winded Gail, as if he had struck out and slapped her in the face. What did he mean could not protect herself? Did he know something she did not? Of course he did, he was Lucas Buck. Gail had never known Lucas to be cruel to her, unless she had really hit a nerve with him and at this moment in time his demeanour had completely changed from the usual playful man she knew.
The loss of the baby had affected her more than she had hoped, yes she was a proud person and she believed that she had been more than capable of making the right decisions to protect their unborn child; however, something had happened that Gail could not fathom, which caused her to lose their child. She knew deep down that there was no way she would have fallen down a flight of stairs clumsily, something had happened in Lucas's house and she was beginning to think that Caleb was a part of it.
'I think you should go' Gail said wounded. She needed to be alone to think and if the past 6 months had proven anything to her, it was that she did not think clearly or sensibly in the company of Lucas Buck. That man had a way of convincing her to throw all her common sense out of the window and she needed to distance herself from him.
Lucas turned away from her and started to walk away. 'Don't lose sight of what initially brought you to Trinity, Miss Emory' he said as he turned the corner to the front of her house, leaving her alone in the garden.
Gail stood for a moment feeling the light cold breeze on her face, then decided she was done with resting in her house and went in to get dressed into something more respectable, so she could head into town. Gail always did her best thinking while she was busy.
Gail had come to the realisation that she had gained weight when she attempted to get into her favourite jeans in the hospital and had to force the button to fasten. Strangely she had not gained any weight during her pregnancy; however, all the junk she had eaten seemed to be catching up to her now, as she definitely felt her clothes feeling tighter than usual and her arms and stomach were not as toned as they used to be. Gail settled for wearing a loose fitting grey dress and a pair of fleece lined boots. She left her legs bare, but wrapped herself in a thick silver scarf and her long winter coat.
When she drove into town and parked her red mustang by the pier, she decided that she would treat herself to a trip to a Salon before heading to some clothes shops to pick out a new wardrobe. She felt like a change so told the hairdresser to cut her hair to shoulder length with layers, the woman looked unsure at first as her hair had grown significantly since the 'accident'; however, Gail reassured her that she wanted a change and if she did not like it, well it would grow back soon enough.
After she was finished in the Salon, Gail returned to her car to apply some make up and then had a slow walk through the town until she found a clothes shop that she liked the look of. She decided that she was sick of the sweet and innocent image and she felt like being a bit more daring, at least for the time being. She purchased a few pairs of black leggings, some nice short dresses and a few long cardigans. She could not go wrong with loose fitting clothes until she could lose her excess weight.
Gail stopped in a lingerie shop, as she had realised that even her bra was too tight and she would have to go for the next size up. Lucas would surely comment on that sooner or later, with some sexual invitation but for now she would not be concerned with that. Happy with her choices, Gail treated herself to a large latte and went for a stroll along the pier. Some exercise in the fresh air would surely do her some good.
As she was walking slowly admiring the view, she caught sight of her cousin looking distressed and sat with his legs dangling over the edge of the pier, nearly touching the water. Gail froze and tightened her grip on her latte; she was not sure whether she was ready to talk to him, as she still had not pondered over what Lucas had said. Instinct took over before she knew it and she had jumped down to the lower level of the pier then began to approach her only living relative.
Looking out into the water, Gail admired the calmness of the waves and the forest in the distance. She had always loved Charleston and the fact that it was a big city; however, Trinity had a natural charm to it and she could get lost observing the scenery for hours. As she got closer to Caleb, she realised that his shoulders were slumped and he was shivering. 'Caleb?' she called.
Caleb turned sharply at the sound of his name, he had been sat in this place for hours trying to sort through his feelings and he was shocked that he had been noticed. When he saw Gail's familiar face, warmth ran though his body and he forgot about his fear of seeing her again. 'Gail? What are you doing here? I thought you were in the hospital'
Gail placed her bag of clothes on the ground, drank the last drop of her coffee and sat down beside her cousin. 'I checked myself out…well sort of' she explained, 'you know that I'm not the type to lie about in some bed, I needed a few bits so I came shopping. What are you doing out in this cold? You look freezing'
Gail unzipped her coat and placed it around Caleb's trembling shoulders. She wrapped her cardigan around her chest and folded her arms to try to keep some warmth. It was not right that a child should be left shivering, besides, she had been in tougher situations where she had to deal with more than just the cold. Caleb began to shrug off the coat but Gail gave him a look which dared him to challenge her, so he pulled it back over his shoulders.
'I'm just thinkin',' Caleb said, debating whether to tell her everything or to keep his feelings bottled up. 'I like you hair' he added with a small smile.
Gail let out a quiet laugh. 'Thank you…you know you are the only boy that I've ever met who notices all the little things. You really are quite observant, we could do with finding you a hobby where you could use that skill'
Caleb smiled and nodded, then an awkward silence fell on them both. Gail could not decide whether to question Caleb about what had happened or wait to see if he would volunteer the information. Lucas had mentioned that her cousin was going through a rough time, so part of her felt that she should tread carefully; however, that was not in Gail's nature.
She had worked her way up through the ranks when she had been accepted for the Reporter position at one of the highest rated newspapers in Charleston, all by asking tough questions and searching for the truth. It pained her that she could not return to her old life, but she supposed she had found a few good stories and investigations to keep her on her toes in Trinity. Before she had a chance to finish the debate in her head, Caleb broke the silence.
'I'm sorry Gail' he said staring at his hands. Caleb decided he would just tell her what he knew and deal with the consequences. If she hated him so be it, at least he could put the matter to rest and begin trying to mend their relationship.
'Sorry for what?' Gail asked cautiously, not really sure whether she wanted to know the answer to the question or not.
Caleb took a deep breath and explained everything that he remembered about what had happened after Lucas had 'died'. He stressed that he had not meant to do the bad things that he had done and it was as though he had been in a dream state the whole time, without control of his actions or senses. He confessed to knowing he had attacked her and explained that he needed to take ownership of his actions.
After he had finished talking Caleb was afraid to look at his cousin, she had sat patiently while he had explained everything he could remember and now she was silent. He continued to look at his hands and played with them nervously while he waited for some sort of response, he did not care whether she shouted at him he just needed her to react.
Gail stared out into the water intently, trying to place her focus on the calmness of the waves and the cold breeze which felt as though it was dancing on her bare knees. She was stunned at what she had just heard and the realization of Caleb's words made her feel sick.
The memories flashed through her brain of Caleb chasing her with a hot poker and her running up the stairs in an attempt to escape him. She remembered locking herself in the bathroom of Lucas's over extravagant mansion to give herself time to think of a way out, as the front door had somehow been locked. She had thrown a wooden cabinet out of the window in a successful attempt to fool her cousin into thinking she had climbed out of the window, she was nearly free when the front door crashed open and she had witnessed her 'dead' lover staring up at her with a concerned look on his face. Lucas had shouted for her to look out; however, it was too late and as Caleb had brought the poker down on her, she had managed to dodge the attack but had lost her footing and fell down the stairs.
Gail took several deep breaths trying to calm her nerves and pushed down the urge to run. The Caleb she had cared for since her arrival in Trinity and the one sat in her presence now was not the same thing that had attacked her, this she was sure of. What she was not sure of was how this change had occurred and why had he reverted back to the seemingly caring boy she knew he was.
Gail was aware that Caleb had begun to shake, probably because she had not spoken a word in the 5 minutes since he had finished his account of events. She turned towards her cousin, forced a caring smile and caressed his cheek with the front of her hand. Caleb slowly looked up at her, as if he was some sort of prey and was waiting for a predator to pounce.
'It's ok, Caleb…' she said softly, '...I appreciate your honesty and I've spent enough time with you to know that you wouldn't intentionally try to hurt me. Something came over you that we can't explain and none of this was your fault'
Caleb could not hide how relieved he was at her words, he had been so scared of admitting what he knew and Lucas had convinced him that Gail would not understand what he had done. He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he could finally be happy that his cousin was back with him, without being concerned about how she would react if she knew the truth about what had happened.
Gail stood up, straightened out her dress and signaled for Caleb to follow her. She needed time alone to think, away from Caleb and away from Lucas Buck.
'Come on, you've been out here for far too long and you're going to make yourself ill' she said, 'I'll take you home and I want you to get a hot bath or shower to warm yourself up.'
Caleb nodded in agreement and they headed to Gail's car at the far side of the pier. After she had dropped Caleb off at the Boarding House, Gail went home to change into a navy blue lace dress which showed off her new found curves and a pair of black leggings, then headed back into town towards Jimmy's bar. If there was one place the Sheriff would not be present at 2:00pm on a work day, it was at a bar.
To Be Continued…