Caleb rode intently down the streets of Goat Town, ignoring the tiredness in his legs. He had left Rose not long after their visit to the Hospital, sensing that she was not up for the long ride here and he was happy for the time alone with his thoughts. He did not know why he was so intrigued by the blonde woman that he had happened across twice today, she was beautiful and he was not too young to admire that part of her; however, there was something else tugging at his instincts and he knew from his parents that his instincts were not to be ignored.
As he pulled up outside of the large house, he smiled impressively at how much his older Sister had accomplished. Merlyn had polished up Judith Temple's old place of work significantly and given it a welcoming feel, it was evident that his Sister had put a lot of herself into this place and he was happy that she had found something just for her to focus on.
'Well I didn't have a choice considerin' my closest livin' relative chooses to neglect me' Merlyn mocked feigning upset, sensing his thoughts.
'Oh please, you ain't neglected...you're too busy out havin' fun with all your Doctor friends to care about me' Caleb retorted knowing and smiled as his Sisters cheeks blushed red.
'Hey!' Merlyn exclaimed in shock at the comment, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Caleb laughed at her reaction and set his bicycle against the steps of the property carefully, then approached his Sister and gave her an affectionate hug. 'It's alright Merly, I've been around Mom and Dad long enough to know that there's a lot of adult fun to be had without us kid's bein' present' he smirked, revelling in her discomfort at the conversation.
Merlyn took in a sharp intake of breath and her eyes opened wide at the statement, then she forced herself to relax knowing that he was trying to get a rise out of her and just ruffled his hair. 'Since when are you just a kid?' she asked sarcastically, disregarding the rest of his comment.
Caleb smiled up at her, happy that she understood how much he had grown and allowed her to lead him inside whilst still hugging her. 'You done well here Merly, I can't believe people bring their kid's to you without actually knowin' you'
Merlyn glanced around her sanctuary at the 15 children who were playing happily and leaned in close to her Brother. 'Bein' the Cousin of the reputable Gail Buck helps garner a lot of trust, plus the Mayor's initial interest in this place and the fact that his Wife leaves her children here helps boost my reputation' she advised, watching the children affectionately.
Caleb glanced up at her, surprised that his stubborn Sister appeared to have accepted help and wanted to question her further; however, he felt a familiar tug in his brain and stepped away from her for a moment.
'What's wrong?' Merlyn asked confused, not liking her Brother suddenly pulling away from her.
'Shush' Caleb whispered quietly, smiling mischievously at her.
Merlyn narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, then noticed a small shadow hiding behind her large plant pot and rolled her eyes in mock disapproval.
Caleb backed up slightly, pretending that he was admiring the large room then turned around quickly and roared as loud as he could, causing his Brother to jump in fright and fall heavily back onto the floor.
Luke screamed out in frustration after he had regained his composure, realising that his Brother had known that he was trying to scare him, then ran up to him and punched him moodily on the leg.
Caleb laughed at Luke's clear annoyance at him and picked him up, securing him in his arms effortlessly. The sound of laughter caught his ears and he moved towards his baby Sister, who was laughing hysterically at them from her seated position on the floor in the other room.
'Cal don't play fair' Luke snapped moodily, folding his arms stubbornly over his chest.
Baby Gail pulled a tongue at her youngest Brothers moodiness and held her hands up to her oldest Brother, not wanting to be left out.
Merlyn went to step in as Caleb reached for the baby, then saw the look of warning in his eyes and thought better. 'Be careful, they ain't as light as they used to be and Gail would have my hide if she found out I let you hurt either one of them' she warned.
Caleb let out a long sigh at his oldest Sister's distrust of him and shook his head, then carefully picked up his baby Sister and situated her on his hip opposite Luke. He smiled when Luke shifted to provide more space and shot Merlyn a smug look. 'See, I wouldn't ever hurt them and we'll both look after our little girl, won't we Luke?' he asked, as his Brother reached over and took his Sisters hand in his protectively.
'Always' Luke agreed, smiling at his Sister lovingly and stroked her cheek.
Baby Gail regarded them both sweetly for a moment, amused at how easily they both dropped their guard around her, then turned towards her Mothers Cousin and smiled mischievously.
Merlyn caught the dark glint in the baby Gail's eyes and shook her head knowingly, suspecting that the boys had no idea what they were in for. 'Come on Gabby, it's about time for you to be fed anyway' she advised, pulling rank and reaching for the baby.
'Her name is Gail' Caleb said bluntly, not liking his Sister being taken from him.
'Like I said, come on Gabby' Merlyn retorted sweetly, knowing Caleb would not dare to fully challenge her in her sanctuary and started heading towards the kitchen.
'Gabby' Luke repeated, knowing his Mother had been trying to get that name to stick to prevent confusion in their home.
'Traitor' Caleb accused, then laughed when Luke just stuck his tongue out at him defiantly.
Merlyn took the bottle out of the fridge and began to heat it's contents carefully, the baby was still taking her Cousins milk and she was very fussy over the temperature of her food. 'What are you doin' here Caleb?' she asked curiously when her Brother finally made his way to the kitchen, not oblivious to this sudden out of character visit.
'Can't I just wanna see my family?' Caleb answered, feigning innocence.
Merlyn let out an amused laugh and glanced over her shoulder at him. 'Try again' she advised, not fooled by his ways.
Caleb smiled at how well his Sister knew him and shifted Luke against his hip, wanting to monitor Merlyn closely. 'Did you come across any old friends of Doctor Matt's when you stayed together?' he asked and watched her reaction carefully.
Merlyn finished preparing the milk and handed the bottle to the baby, smiling as she held it herself to allow her to regard Caleb fully. 'Not that it's any of your business, but Matt doesn't have any friends apart from Gail and Miss Holt' she answered honestly, knowing better than to show her suspicion of her Brothers behaviour straight away.
'None at all? Surely there was someone' Caleb said in disbelief, not believing that Doctor Matt had no one else
'Nope, just Gail and every now and again he'd visit Miss Holt...Oh wait, there may have been someone' Merlyn lied, watching her Brothers reaction closely.
'A blonde hai-?' Caleb started to ask, then felt Luke's small hand strike his cheek hard and stopped, staring at his Brother confused.
'Silly' Luke scolded, sensing the lie instantly and shook his head at his Brother's inability to read his Sister.
Caleb narrowed his eyes at Luke for a moment, then turned back towards Merlyn and spotted the suspicious way she was looking at him. When he felt Luke stroke his cheek tenderly he knew that he had stopped him from revealing too much and stroked Luke's back appreciatively.
'A blonde what Caleb?' Merlyn asked suspiciously when he stopped speaking.
Caleb smiled and shook his head at his own naivety around his Sister. 'Nothin'...it's sad that Doctor Matt has no other friends' he advised confidently, choosing to keep this to himself for now.
Merlyn sensed her Brother close off to her and let out a long sigh. 'Seriously Caleb, what business is this of yours?' she asked sternly, unwilling to drop the subject so easily when she knew that he was hiding something.
Caleb felt his confidence waiver at the stern way Merlyn was regarding him. His Sister had always been there to protect him and a part of him could not withstand her authority when she was seriously stepping in.
Baby Gail sensed her oldest Brothers demeanour change and wanted to laugh at his inability to stand up against his oldest Sister. Gail liked Merlyn, she had an aura not much different than her Mothers; however, she did not like the way she was making her Brother feel. Without thought, Gail threw her bottle with all of her strength and smiled when it broke the window to her left. When she felt Merlyn's grip on her tighten due to the shock of the sudden action, she forced herself to cry on cue and hugged Merlyn feigning innocence.
Luke spotted the devious look in his Sisters eyes and smiled as she took the attention off of their Brother. He trusted her judgement and decided to follow her lead, forcing himself to cry as the window shattered.
Caleb felt his confidence flood back in and stared wide eyed at his Sisters for a moment, then instinctively reached for the baby while Merlyn attempted to figure out what to do about the window. 'Come Gabby, it's alright' he smiled, choosing to adhere to his Mothers name for his Sister so not to aggravate Merlyn.
Merlyn watched as her assistant ran into the room holding the Mayor's youngest Son and forced herself to remain calm. 'Have some common sense and get that child away from the glass' she ordered forcing a calm tone so not to panic the Mayor's Son, then let out a long sigh when her assistance left.
'I'm gonna take my kin to Abe's...Call Doctor Peele Merly, he'll help you fix this right up' Caleb advised reassuringly, feeling slightly bad for leaving his Sister to deal with this mess; however, realising that it had not been a smart decision to come here with his questions and wanting to leave before Merlyn's attention turned back to him.
Gail stared at her Husband with astonishment, as he drove down the long quiet stretch of road back towards the more populated part of town. She had sat obediently in the car as Lucas located the owner of the Everard property and made his terms clear. Mr Everard had been dubious of her Husbands appearance, she had sensed his fear as soon as he laid eyes on Lucas and it had caused her own darkness to stir. Mr Everard clearly understood the purpose of the visit and her Husband had dominated the whole situation, not allowing any doubt or reluctance take full hold in his subjects mind and it had been a pleasure to witness how smoothly he worked.
Lucas felt her eyes on him and smiled. He had given her the option to choose how their first stop would go and her presence had made the exchange all the more enjoyable. Lucas demanded order and control in his town, it had always been important to him; however, a big part of him welcomed the defiance when it came time to collect and it was an unusual feeling to share this experience with someone else.
His townspeople had been behaving well recently and he had initially planned on shaking things up with Carl Everard, to satisfy his own dark urges. When Gail had made her choice, he was not overly happy with the answer; however, he had agreed to allow her to be a part of his activities today and he had actually enjoyed having the audience, regardless of whether this had gone as he had planned or not.
'Happy path huh?' Gail said finally, breaking the silence in the car.
'Happy path' Lucas replied casually, choosing not to sway her in any way and curious as to how she was really taking this.
Gail let out a small laugh and shook her head. 'So you just waltz up to some poor hard working fool, demand he gives up all of his free time to go care for a random old woman out of the goodness of your heart and he bows down to your will just like that?' she asked in disbelief at how easy he made it all look.
Lucas laughed at her simplification of his methods and turned down Hawthorn Avenue towards their next stop. 'Firstly, Mrs Freemantle ain't just some random old woman, she's an old friend who could do with burly man to keep her company and secondly, Mrs Freemantle is a Pitbull and will likely eat him alive' he advised amused, knowing what kind of torture that old woman can inflict when she wants to.
Gail regarded him closely, then sat back in her seat and thought about what he had said. It occurred to her that she had no idea who Lucas was close to outside of their inner circle, she began to wonder about the old woman and what hold she may have on him, not sure that she was happy about someone other than herself owning a part of him.
'Down girl' Lucas warned and squeezed her knee reassuringly, sensing her thoughts and not wanting them to take hold. 'Ain't nobody got a hold on me but you and I'm just fulfillin' a previous deal from years ago with that ol' dog'
Gail smiled at his instinctive need to reassure her and leaned over to him, then turned his face towards hers momentarily and placed a soft kiss on his lips. 'Sad path' she advised before he had a chance to speak, as the car came to a halt outside of a small house.
Lucas regarded her curiously for a moment, surprised at her willingness to play this game without argument and stroked her cheek tenderly. 'You sure?' he asked, giving her a chance to reconsider due to her usual inner struggle with her morals.
'No deniability and no questions...sad path' she responded coolly, staring deep into his eyes and watched excitedly as he exited the car without saying another word.
-To be continued-