Caleb sat comfortably in his chair at his desk and chewed the end of his pencil subconsciously, carefully reviewing the answers he had written. There was still twenty minutes remaining on the clock and his other classmates were still scribbling away; however, he was confident in himself and was trying not to second guess his answers.
Caleb was pleasantly surprised at how easy things were when you actually studied. Contrary to what other people may have previously thought about him, he was not stupid and he just lacked the motivation to apply himself to certain things. He had started to understand the effort that his parent's put into things, especially his Mother who had dropped her desired activities to focus more on their family recently; therefore, he had decided that it was time he started to focus on being what she needed, which at this moment in time was a good student.
'You've gotta be kiddin' me' Lucas laughed in disbelief of his thoughts and leaned casually against the open door to the classroom.
All the children let out a surprised gasp at his Father's slip of the tongue and turned towards him in admiration; however, Caleb just let out an exasperated sigh and continued to review his answers.
'Come again Sheriff?' Selena asked confused, as surprised by his sudden appearance as the children were.
Lucas put on his most charming smile and entered the classroom fully, smiling pleasantly for the children. 'It pains me to say that I'm gonna have to interrupt this test and take my boy...serious family emergency and all' he advised Selena smugly, knowing that she would be aware of the lie.
Selena shot Lucas an irritated look, becoming tired of his disrespectful behaviour with interrupting her class whenever he felt like it. 'The is an important exam Sheriff-' she started defensively.
'I'm sure you can handle the emergency without me, given that you're the Sheriff and all' Caleb interrupted casually without taking his eyes off of his paper, sensing his Teacher was likely to say something that would get hers into trouble.
A small smile crossed over Selena's lips at the unexpected comment and Lucas felt his rage clawing to be released at Caleb's choice to not side with him. 'Get up Son, your presence is very much required' Lucas ordered, forcing a calm tone and disregarded the previous comment.
Caleb heard the stern undertone in his Father's voice and inhaled deeply, pushing down his own darkness at being ordered around in public. 'Yes Daddy, of course Daddy, why ever would I think that I'm not needed Daddy' he responded sarcastically, feeling a surge of confidence as his darkness flowed through his veins.
Lucas regarded Caleb dominantly, his strong demeanour turning cold and he could not believe that the boy was talking back to him in such a way in front of his whole class.
'Caleb honey sit down, you need to finish your exam-' Selena started, recognising Lucas' dominating stance and trying to turn the focus back to her.
'It's alright Miss Coombs, I'm all done' Caleb smiled at her pleasantly and handed her his completed paper, then turned towards his Father and shot him a defiant smile before leaving the classroom.
Lucas forced a pleasant smile for the children and nodded his thanks to Selena for not making a big scene, then exited the classroom and casually walked down the empty corridor knowing his Son would not dare try to run from him.
'I ain't that stupid' Caleb advised from close the the exit and watched curiously as the charisma radiated off of his Father.
Lucas caught his curious look and smiled, sensing his boy's intrigue in him and placed a strong hand on his shoulder then dragged him out of the building abruptly. 'You wanna tell me what that disrespectful display was in aid of?' he asked calmly, not allowing his anger to show.
Caleb could sense his Father's annoyance regardless of whether he was trying to hide it and smiled to himself. 'I had to put up some sort of fight so Momma doesn't have my hide for ditchin'' he shrugged, unfazed by his own actions.
Lucas thought for a moment then shook his head and pushed Caleb forward playfully. 'I'll have your hide the next time you speak out of turn against me in public Son and believe me, I'm much less forgivin' than your Momma' he laughed, amused at the boy's attempt to be dominating.
Caleb laughed at the warning and was happy that his Father had not taken any real offence to his comments, he was really trying to be better for his Mother and he did not want to slip back into the old habit of ditching school regularly.
'You're a smart boy and I appreciate your willingness to take one for the team to keep the trains runnin' smoothly in our family' Lucas advised honestly, knowing Caleb's adherence to the rules allowed his Love to function on a more relaxed basis, making it hard for her to create reasons to pull away.
Caleb smiled and nodded his understanding. They had all been through a strange year and something had to give. After his public acceptance of his parents and his intimate talks with Gail the previous month, Caleb had realised that they had all been selfish and it could not continue. His Mother had acknowledged that both her and his Father were selfish, sometimes putting their own needs above the children and this had made Caleb realise that he had done the same. He was no longer an innocent, naïve child and he did not want to be a burden; therefore, he had pushed down his childish need to get his own way and focussed on what he could do to make all of their lives better.
Lucas sensed his thoughts and smiled proudly at his eldest Son. 'What you can do now is help me blow off some steam because boy I am bored' he advised sarcastically, knowing that he had been more focussed on Luke's development recently and had neglected his eldest.
Caleb let out a small laugh and shook his head in mock disapproval. 'You can't just let me be good can you?' he asked amused.
'Our family?...Good?' Lucas asked feigning ignorance, then smiled mischievously and signalled for Caleb to get in the car with Ben.
Gail sat comfortably on the bonnet of her Mustang with Luke, listening to the smooth sound of Brett Eldredge as his voice travelled through their surroundings from her radio. She watched amused as Luke devoured his fries and ran her thumb gently over the side of his mouth to remove the excess ketchup that had escaped. 'Don't you go telling your Daddy that I allowed you to have these...I wouldn't hear the end of it for a month' she laughed, knowing Lucas would have a field day with her breaking her own rules when it came to their Son.
'Our secret?' Luke asked happily, smiling up admiringly at his Mother.
'Our secret' Gail whispered and held up her little finger to him, smiling when he wrapped his little finger around hers to seal the deal.
'What about me? I'm also a witness to this bad parentin'' Joshua interjected sarcastically, appearing by the passenger side of the car and watching the pair closely.
Luke glanced over his shoulder unfazed by the strange presence, then shot a look of warning which dared him to tell on them.
Joshua could not contain his laughter at the boy's instinctive need to protect his Mother and moved closer to Gail slowly, holding up his hands in a surrendering motion to show Luke that he was not a threat. 'You have that boy well trained, it's gonna be interestin' when the showdown finally happens' he said in a pleasant tone.
Gail sensed a hint of sadness underneath his tone and turned towards him. 'You mean when Caleb finally comes of age?' she asked bluntly, not wanting to think about that tradition.
'I mean when the Master of the household turns against his woman...it's inevitable' Joshua shrugged, remembering all of the times that the Buck Masters discarded their women, him included.
Gail felt a sharp pain in her chest at the comment and pulled Luke closer to her automatically, indicating that everything was alright and continued to regard Joshua sternly. 'I'd hope for all of your sakes that he manages to blindside me quickly, as I can guarantee you that I'll be taking you all down with me and I certainly won't be making it quick' she said grimly, feeling Luke's eyes on them and his desire to break through her barrier to understand what they were talking about.
'Are you threatenin' me Gail?' Joshua asked, sensing the seriousness in her words.
'Not at all' she replied honestly, then turned her attention to Luke and forced a reassuring smile for him.
Joshua sensed the truth in her reply and suspected that when the showdown happened as it always did, she would not be able to control her dark urges and that meant his whole line was in for a reckoning.
'You'd do well to be gone by that point, but I suspect you're just as bound to those grounds as I am at this stage' Gail sighed, not liking the thought of what she may become.
Joshua watched her closely, sensing her slight concern for him and was unable to hide his smile. 'You'd want me out of the firin' line?' he asked intrigued.
Gail inhaled deeply as she thought for a moment, then turned towards him and regarded him calmly. 'I suppose I would...someone with an ounce of common sense and control would need to around for the aftermath-'
'And you don't believe Caleb or your Soulmate would be able to step up?' Joshua interrupted.
Gail let out a small laugh and shook her head at the thought of Lucas without her. 'I believe my Husband wouldn't have a care in world if this ever played out and would just completely relinquish control...Caleb on the other hand may have other parties to deal with, little ones who prefer giving in to their chaotic nature' she advised, giving Luke a little squeeze before jumping off the bonnet of her car and slowly walking towards the water in front of them.
Joshua watched as she gazed into the Trinity River fixedly, suspecting her dilemma. He had sensed Rosemary as soon as she entered the property and he had been close by, ready to catch Luke before she managed to sink her grip into him.
'It's nice to know that I have friends' Gail said pleasantly, reading his unguarded thoughts effortlessly.
'Yes it is' Joshua responded warmly still reeling from her wanting to keep him out of the firing line after all that he had put her through.
'The sins of our parents and their vendettas always find a way of pulling us in...can we really be held to blame for their failings?' Gail asked, knowing that a big part of Joshua's initial need to make her yield was his Father's obsession with Rosemary and his Mothers hatred of her.
As if to agree with the point, harsh waves began to crash together in the middle of the Trinity River and Joshua instinctively went to take a step back.
'Don't...she'll definitely come if she senses any form of weakness' Gail warned quietly as her gaze was held by the waves, sensing the malice in her past self strongly and feeling herself drawn to it.
'Friend!' Luke exclaimed happily, taking his opportunity to bound towards the water while his Mothers attention was momentarily elsewhere.
Without hesitation, Joshua forced his form to solidify and grabbed Luke's arm tight, pulling him back towards him protectively.
A loud shriek came from the water and the waves came closer as Rosemary neared their position, sensing her new friend being shackled.
Luke tried to struggle out of the strangers grasp and willed his friend to help him. He sensed her presence closer and he knew that she would not allow this presence to spoil their fun.
'No!' Gail yelled sternly when she sensed Rosemary's plans for Joshua, taking back control of her body. She put herself between Joshua and the water, then took a struggling Luke into her arms forced his face to her chest, shielding him from making any further contact with Rosemary.
Joshua stood tall behind Gail, not allowing his concern to show and relaxed slightly when the waves stopped moving closer. 'I'm not a threat' he advised all parties present, knowing better than to throw down outside of his usual domain.
Gail could not control her laughter at the comment and felt Rosemary's madness seep through into her subconscious. 'But your Mother was and she damned you, just like your Father did...Maybe we all should go down there and have one big happy family reunion, I'm sure you could round up the ancient ancestors while I bring the current line' she said devilishly in a voice unlike her own, then gave herself a mental shake trying to force Rosemary's thoughts out of her mind.
'Let's play Mommy!' Luke exclaimed excitedly at her suggestion, then saw a dark glint in her eyes and snuggled back into her chest hoping to hide from a scolding.
Joshua sensed the darkness flowing through her and risked placing his hand on her shoulder, trying to reach her sensible side. 'Come back Gail...Lucas won't take well to your willingness to leave him to join her so easily' he advised knowingly, sensing Luke was not the anchor that she truly required right now.
Gail smiled at the thought of Lucas fully losing control at her departure and felt herself instantly relax. 'No one is joining anyone, enough of this madness...Thank you' she responded finally, appreciating Joshua's attempt to keep her grounded in her current life.
Luke sensed his Mother relax and risked a glance behind him at the water. He felt how lost his Mother was when she let his new friend in and he did not like being the cause of that change in her.
'It's alright little man, you don't know anything other than your desire to play' Gail stroked his head reassuringly, then nodded her appreciation to Joshua as she walked past him.
'What are you gonna do now Gail?' Joshua asked curiously, sensing how restless Rosemary really was.
Gail let out a small laugh and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. 'I'm very late for work and have a million errands to run...Someone has to keep the trains running smoothly now don't they?' she responded bitterly, then placed Luke securely in his booster seat and got into her car.
-To be continued-