Merlyn sat at the large dining room table, staring solely at her food while they waited for Billy's Father to join them and not daring to lift her eyes. To say that this was uncomfortable was an understatement.
Matt pushed a sausage around his plate aimlessly, attempting to focus on his breakfast rather than the people who occupied the table with him. He had suspected that this discomfort was what Lucas had planned and he cursed himself for not having the courage to behave like a responsible adult right now, choosing to avoid eye contact with everyone and attempt to ignore the situation.
Billy glanced from Merlyn to Matt, then placed his fork down on his plate when he heard Loris slamming draws in the kitchen and let out a long sigh. 'Well, this ain't awkward at all' he said sarcastically, not believing that they had all agreed to stay here last night in their drunken state. 'I thought you were banished to the night shift Man?'
Matt realised that he was being addressed and forced his head up to look at the man who was currently having sexual relations with his ex girlfriend, attempting not to rise to the bad thoughts that were circling his mind. 'Gail got me out of it' he responded shortly.
'Oh that's right, of course she did. We wouldn't expect any different for her beloved Matt Crower' Billy said flatly, unable to stop himself when his slight resentment surfaced.
Merlyn closed her eyes tight and willed something to drag her away from this setting. It was hard enough having to be around Matt at the few occasions that were unavoidable, especially when she broke up with him after he proposed to her. Having to be in his presence with Billy made everything so much more uncomfortable and she found herself wanting to just leave them here, letting them hash out whatever macho business they had.
'Good mornin', what an exceptional group of people engaging nicely with each other' Mary said pleasantly, as she entered the dining room with Caleb and nodded politely towards the group.
Merlyn let out a sigh of relief at the interruption and smiled when Caleb winked at her discreetly.
'Gail says y'all need to pull your finger out and help Mary, she can't run a fundraiser without the attendance of two of the most prominent men in Trinity' Caleb advised, reciting Gail's order word for word.
Both Billy and Matt narrowed their eyes at each other, then turned towards Mary confused.
'Oh come now, don't be pullin' those blank looks at me. We women do like to talk and we know neither of you two are as innocent as you'd have us believe' Mary said playfully and signalled for the men to get up, smiling when they followed her order obediently.
Loris entered the dining room just as William did and they both stared at the group curiously. 'What's going on? You can't just leave!' she exclaimed in disbelief of them wasting the food she had prepared for them all.
'Loris Holt, I know you ain't really tryin' to scold these kind gentlemen for steppin' up to help the poor children...I'm sure the ladies at the Baptist church will be just as shocked as I am if you are' Mary responded before the men could, not in the mood for any further delays when she had already come out of her way for this at Gail's request.
Loris narrowed her eyes at Mary, attempting to come up with a reasonable excuse to warrant demanding Matt to stay, then let out a moody sigh when her mind went blank and stormed back into the kitchen.
William watched as his Son and the pleasant Doctor he had met yesterday were led out of the Boarding House without any explanation to him, then turned towards his Son's Girlfriend expectantly.
'Looks like it's just us, what's say we head out and go grab some pancakes before Miss Holts head explodes?' Caleb asked sarcastically, happy that Gail had ordered him to stick with Merlyn in case she needed him today, so he could protect her for a change.
William heard the slamming of cupboard doors coming from the kitchen and held his hand out gentlemanly to Merlyn. 'What do you say my lady? Breakfast with an old man?' he asked playfully, not used to Billy leaving his Girlfriends unattended around him.
'Why I'd love to Sir' Merlyn responded courteously with a small bow, remembering her talk with Gail in the restroom the previous night and choosing not to let this man frighten her.
'Great, if we're quick I bet we can catch Ben before he heads to the Station and get him to drop us off at the Diner' Caleb smiled happily and led them out of the Boarding House, proud that he had managed to do this without his parents intervention.
Lucas strolled into his main study and placed his hands around his Wife's hips, pulling her to him and kissing her shoulder affectionately.
'Well good morning to you too Sheriff' Gail laughed, turning her head up to him and placing a soft kiss on his lips.
After the loss of control in the restaurant last night, Lucas had dragged Gail home promptly and was pleasantly surprised that she was in as much of a playful mood as he was. They had quickly put their children to bed, then spent most of the night and some of the early hours of the morning playing in ways that they had not done in a long time. They both clearly had some pent up feelings that required a release and their activities had worked well; however, Lucas was now left with an unwavering craving for her and he did not care who was present.
'Hey, I need you to care. You know this is a big day and I can't be worrying about you turning up somewhere to drag me away from my duties, Mary would have a fit!' Gail exclaimed, hoping that last nights activities would have satiated his appetite.
'Not a chance Love, you know me better than that' Lucas advised mischievously, nuzzling his head into her neck and biting it playfully.
Gail Jr and Luke watched their parents confused, not used to them being so outwardly giddy. It was not bad by any stretch, just strange. They could not help but creep up to them and begin jumping up and down playfully, pulling at their legs to get their attention.
'Now look what you've gone and done, I had them all behaving like dutiful children and now you've turned them into animals' Gail mock scolded, then rolled her eyes when her children began roaring like lions.
Lucas laughed and swept them both up into his arms, allowing them to lean over and hug their Mother affectionately. 'Well I'd much rather lions than dim witted sheep...speakin' of animals, where's our eldest?' he asked curiously, suddenly sensing that Caleb was not on the property.
'Dealing with some sheep of his own, but I'm sure he's fine. He has learned from the best after all' Gail smiled, biting her lip teasingly and letting out an appreciative moan as she admired Lucas' bare chest, knowing that he could not get near her now that their children wanted to be included.
Lucas sensed her smugness at his restrictions and shook his head. 'You should know better than to test me Love' he warned, sensing an air of mischief radiating off of her.
'No testing here Master Buck, just your innocent little Housewife getting on with her duties as she's supposed to' she responded sarcastically, then placed a kiss on each of her children's foreheads before rushing upstairs to change, taking full advantage of Lucas being trapped by their children.
Merlyn sat in Caleb's favourite Diner, watching him greet random strangers who insisted on getting his attention in the hopes of impressing Lucas Buck. Her Brother had an air of authority about him, he had come a long way from the quiet boy who used to phase out nosey people. She did not know whether the change was a good or bad sign of what was to come when he fully grew up; however, she was proud of the confident gentlemanly way in which he held himself.
'You dote over him, why?' William asked frankly, attempted to read the young woman before and being unable to do so.
'We're family' Merlyn shrugged casually.
'That's right, you're related to Mrs Buck-' William started.
'-Who you dote over' Merlyn interrupted sweetly, showing him that she could read him even if he could not read her.
William stared at her for a moment, then let out a small laugh. 'Can you blame me? I'm used to stuffy old grey professionals who can send you to sleep within a minute of conversation, that bright woman steals the room without even trying' he responded, not bothering to hide his adoration while the Sheriff was not present.
Merlyn sensed an intrusive presence and quickly glanced around the Diner, then shook her head and cursed herself for thinking that her torture had finished. 'If you think Gail steals the room, just wait until you see her friend' she sighed, just before William spotted Selena saunter up to the counter in her leopard print mini skirt and she heard his sharp intake of breath.
Selena leaned casually on the counter and let out a long sigh, not knowing why she had been ordered here. Lucas had stopped by her place earlier with his little devils locked up in his car and ordered her to get some breakfast here. She had sworn that she would not do anything which could be deemed as untoward for him, needing her friendship with Gail to ensure that she did not spiral; however, this request seemed very tame, if not a little odd, so she decided to obey his order and save her defiance for something really bad which he would inevitably expect her to do in the future.
Now that she was here, she was slightly disappointed that it was just a Diner filled with dull people and she began to suspect that Lucas was toying with her in some unusual way; however, when she spotted Caleb, she turned around and surveyed the room properly, then smiled when she spotted M with a strangely familiar looking old man.
'What are you doin'?' Caleb asked abruptly, when he spotted his old Teacher sauntering towards his Sister and remembered her past relationship with Billy.
'Well good morning to you too Caleb Temple. It's a mighty fine day for a catch up with friends, I'm just heading over there to check up on my old friend M' Selena answered sarcastically, giving him her best disarming smile.
'She ain't your friend and you ain't welcome here' Caleb advised sternly, standing tall to project his authority.
'And you're still young enough for me to put you to over my knee for a spanking, although I really don't know at this stage whether that would be more of an enjoyment than a punishment for you' Selena said teasingly, smiling when his demeanour softened due to confusion over the statement and took that opportunity to step past him to continue towards her desired location.
'What a Town' William said with a smile, unable to hide his appreciation of the slender woman who had come to their table.
'It certainly is and I'm hoping our little M is showing you all the pleasures that Trinity has to offer' Selena smiled seductively, holding out her hand as William stood up so he could kiss it.
'Selena Coombs, this is William Peele. William Peel, this is your Son's ex-girlfriend...you know, the one who tried to frame him for attempted murder of the Sheriff' Merlyn said sweetly, pushing away her discomfort and deflecting it back onto Selena like her Cousin would.
Selena shot Merlyn a vicious look when William pushed her hand away abruptly and sat back down in his seat. She did not know how this girl knew of what she had reported to Ben when Lucas had 'died' all those years before, only Billy knew of her allegations and he had gotten past them, choosing not to punish her for her lack of judgement.
'My Son was accused of murder? But the Sheriff's alive and Billy took an oath to save, not kill' William said in disbelief of what he had heard, suddenly turning cold towards the slender woman who was glaring at his Son's Girlfriend.
'Oh all the important people know that and would never have believed he could have committed such an unforgiveable act. It's a long story from a different time, care to join us to enlighten William Selena?' Merlyn asked smugly, sensing the woman's hatred aimed towards her.
Caleb had heard the whole conversation and smiled, proud of his Sister for holding her own. When Selena just continued to stare maliciously at Merlyn, Caleb decided to step in and summoned his cat into the Diner. 'Would you like to sit Miss Coombs? I'm sure there's a comfortable seat by the window which you'd appreciate' he offered pleasantly, and signalled towards the table opposite theirs.
Something black quickly crossed the corner of Selena's eyes and she turned towards the window, spotting the vicious cat that had attacked her on several occasions when Caleb had become obsessed with her the other year. 'No, I have to go make sure my class are ready for their performance at the Town Hall. You all enjoy your breakfast' she responded forcing a calm tone, not taking her eyes off of the cat and backing up slowly so not to make any sudden movements.
William watched as she backed out of the Diner without saying another word, then shook his head in confusion. 'Well that was disconcerting' he advised, turning towards Merlyn and smiling pleasantly, appreciating her bringing the other woman's actions to his attention before he made a fool of himself.
'Oh it's just part of the course around here, people aren't as innocent as they may seem' Merlyn said with a glint in her eye, feeling her confidence grow with each passing second and she smiled when the Waitress finally showed up with their food, prompting Caleb to rush back to his seat next to her for his pancakes.
-To be continued-