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 Holiday fun.
It was a cool early morning in Trinity South Carolina. The birds were chirping happily in the trees, oblivious to whatever ailments may be impacting the people below them and a calm breeze travelled throughout the Town.
Lucas Buck shifted comfortably to lay on his back in his bed, enjoying the calmness before it was time for him to get up and take on his role as Sheriff of Trinity. This had become his favourite part of the day, no performing to meet specific peoples expectations, no having to insert his dominance, just both him and his Wife stripped down to a mutual level without having to care about what other people required.
It occurred to Lucas that he may have become too content with his family; however, he had worked hard to achieve all that he had as Sheriff and a little peace at the beginning of each day was the least that he deserved, considering how much of himself he had given to cement the successful management of his Town.
If his Father had the power to break through the barrier to his bedroom and saw him now, Lucas knew that he would be furious. Malcolm and a lot of people misjudged him, believing that he he was a chaotic creature; however, chaos was more befitting of his Wife. Lucas strove for order, he had fun punishing those who did not comply with the rules but his actions were justified to enable his Town to run smoothly and that benefitted all of his townspeople, whether they realised it or not.
The thought of his chaotic Wife caused a fire to stir within his stomach and Lucas moved his hand to caress her soft skin, when he touched the cold empty spot on her side of the bed his eyes shot open and he glanced around the room unimpressed. This was their time, a chance to experience each others raw desires before any outside influences seeped in and he felt his rage beginning to take hold at the realisation that she had gotten up without seeing to his needs.
Lucas sat up and took a few deep breaths, before getting out of bed to pull on his pants and exited his sanctuary. They had moved their Daughter into Luke's room, sensing a growing bond between the pair recently and not wanting to place boundaries between them. This meant that Abe was not required to enter the Master Bedroom and it gave the adults more privacy. Had their Daughter have still been with them, Lucas would have been awoken earlier and thwarted any attempt that his Wife tried to make to exit their bed early. Gail's inconsiderate decision to leave his side was not acceptable and he would ensure that he fully explained the proper etiquette which was required of her when he dragged her away from their family.
The sound of his children laughing from the main Study caused a smile to form on his lips and Lucas began to relax. He supposed he should not be annoyed that his Wife wanted to see to their children before satisfying him, after all the whole point of their vacation a few weeks earlier was to ensure that his family remained as a strong unit and there was yet to be any fallout for Karen's disappearance.
'Daddy!' Luke exclaimed happily, spotting their Father before his Sister had and running towards him excitedly.
Lucas could not contain his laughter and picked Luke up, then twirled him around above his head. He nodded appreciatively when he saw that his children had been dressed suitably and he smelt the strong aroma of bacon from the Kitchen. 'Your Momma's clearly been on the ball today, I think it's only fair that I thank her appropriately' he smiled mischievously, then his smile faded when all children averted their eyes from him and tried to avoid his attention.
Lucas regarded his children suspiciously, as Caleb picked up his Sister to enable her to look out of the window with him and Luke stared straight up at the ceiling to avoid his eyes, then let out a long sigh. 'One of you is gonna tell me where she right now, or you're all goin' on my list' he warned calmly, not appreciating being kept in the dark.
Caleb let out a loud sigh and turned towards his Father, forcing a reassuring smile for Luke who was staring at him wide eyed. 'She ain't here, she put breakfast out and got the babies dressed then headed out with Abe not long ago' he advised, not wanting any of them to get into trouble for withholding information.
'She's not here?...You knew I wasn't up and you just let her leave like that without gettin' me?' Lucas asked in disbelief, his rage beginning to return.
Gail Jr held onto Caleb protectively, sensing how angry her Father was becoming. She did not want her Brother to be punished for speaking up so her and Luke did not have to.
Caleb sensed his Sister's worry and stroked her back reassuringly, then stood tall and took a few steps closer to his Father, knowing better than to show weakness in front of him. 'She's an adult just like you are and we're just kids...Bearin' in mind that her moods change at the shift of the wind, do you really want us to start gettin' in her way when she's set on doin' somethin'?' he countered, holding his Fathers intense stare.
Lucas continued to stare down dominantly at Caleb, then let out a small exasperated laugh and shook his head. 'It's alright, it ain't your fault that your Momma's crazy' he sighed, forcing his rage down so not to blame the children unnecessarily.
Caleb let out a relieved breath and smiled, proud that he was able to keep his cool against his Fathers intense frustration.
'Don't be proud yet Son, I have a feelin' that you're little pet project is part of the reason she's gone. If that is the case, you better hope it doesn't take her attention away from your big day as I'm beginnin' to lose my patience with it all' Lucas advised frankly, sensing Caleb's thought, then placed Luke on the floor while he went into the Kitchen to see what breakfast his Wife had left him.
Gail felt a sharp pain pierce through her brain and shook it off with a smile, sensing her Husband had discovered that she had left without seeing to his desires. It was not her intention to cause Lucas annoyance; however, he had insisted on letting this situation play out without the proper intervention and her conscience would not let her abandon a lost boy to the confines of the Boarding House, knowing how hard it was for Caleb to adjust.
'Kyle has been so well behaved, he sticks to curfew and helps with the chores...not like another little boy that I used to know' Loris said in a sarcastic tone, handing Gail a cup of coffee and sitting down on the chair beside her porch swing before picking Lucy up to place her on her lap.
Gail regarded Loris with disdain, not forgetting her rough handling of Luke previously; however, she forced a pleasant smile and nodded her appreciation of the drink. 'You are a good boy, I'm glad you're not getting into the bad habit of staying out late with Caleb' she advised Kyle, sitting next to him on the porch swing and monitoring him closely, to ensure that he was alright.
'Oh there's none of that, he's a model child. His Mother would have been so proud' Loris added, not bothering to hide the suspicion in her tone.
'Would have?' Gail asked sweetly, feigning ignorance. It had not gone unnoticed by her that Karen had not been seen by anyone after she interrupted their vacation and she had an awful feeling that a member of her family may have acted without her approval; however, she had no proof and she was not about to let the likes of Loris Holt catch her off guard.
'She ain't my Mother' Kyle said automatically and took a long sip of his pure orange juice.
Loris disregarded Kyle and kept her focus on Gail. 'It's mighty strange that his Father goes missin', then his Mother just up's and leaves. Word around Town is she was gunnin' for our Sheriff' she said in a calm tone, watching Gail's reaction carefully.
The sound of laughter coming from the side of the house caught Loris' attention and her mouth dropped open when she spotted Matt strolling out with Selena linking his arm.
Gail inhaled deeply to calm herself at the not so subtle accusation, then turned towards the pair and narrowed her eyes confused. She had heard some gossip surrounding her two friends being seen together recently; however, she had disregarded it, assuming it was untrue. When the pair continued to giggle like teenagers would at a private joke, Gail forced a small cough and smiled when the pair froze.
Selena knew instantly who was on the porch and quickly let go of Matt's arm. 'Gail, I thought you would be home with the little devils at this time in the morning. I was just offering Matt a lift to the Hospital while I was passing, what are you doing here?' she asked, forcing herself to remain cool.
'Entertaining accusations of my Husbands apparent wrongdoings while on my watch' Gail responded bluntly, not liking the closeness she sensed between Matt and Selena.
'Wait what?' Kyle asked confused, finally paying attention to the conversation. 'Why would the Sheriff do anything? He's been so good to me and he was with us all the whole time after Karen left'
Gail smiled at Kyle's instinct to defend her Husband, even though she was not sure herself whether he deserved the support on this occasion. 'You hear that? With all of us...that included Ben, Rita, Billy, Merlyn, Mary and a whole host of other children who aren't related to my family' she advised Loris smugly, knowing that Lucas' alibi was air tight.
Matt approached the group and stared at Loris disapprovingly. 'Are you really accusing Gail of letting something happen? What's the matter with you?' he asked, confused as to why Loris was so suspicious of his best friend these days.
Gail sensed Loris' discomfort and stood up, placing her hand on Matt's shoulder affectionately. 'It's nice to know someone still has my back, I'm starting to wonder who I can really trust these days' she said sweetly, then shot Selena a suspicious look.
Loris felt Lucy struggling to get off of her lap to get to Matt, then stood up and handed her to him moodily. 'You're blind' she snapped, willing him to see some sense.
'And you're bitter' Selena responded for him, instinctively coming to the defence of her friend.
Loris waited for Matt to defend her and when he did not, she stormed into her house and slammed the door.
'Did I do something?' Kyle asked, staring at his hands nervously and not wanting to be a burden to anyone.
Gail sat back down beside him and stroked his knee reassuringly. 'Nothing is your fault, emotions are just running high is all' she smiled, allowing him to rest his head on her shoulder then looked up at Matt with concern, knowing the closeness Kyle felt to her right now was not healthy.
'You know what? I'm overworked. Why don't I try to take some time off today and we can all go do something nice away from all the drama?' Matt asked, knowing how much Gail had on and not wanting her to have the extra responsibility of having to take on Kyle by herself.
Gail smiled appreciatively and placed her hand around Kyle's shoulders. 'You hear that, we can go have some fun. I can free up a few hours after I've completed an important errand, then I'm all yours' she agreed and signalled for Selena to take the group to her car further down the street.
'What about his job Gail? Doctor Charlton isn't very accepting of last minute time off' Selena asked, trying to be the voice of reason.
'Oh I'm sure our very helpful Sheriff will be happy to step in and smooth this over with my boss' Matt advised sarcastically, knowing that Lucas would hate having to do something good for him.
Gail inhaled deeply and let out a small laugh. She sensed that her Husband was not in the best of moods with her already and he would not take kindly to this task; however, he had backed Caleb when he got Kyle into this game and she was more than happy to punish Lucas for allowing things to go this far.
Caleb walked down the street with his Father pushing Gail Jr in her buggy and Luke sitting happily on his shoulders, attempting to ignore his Fathers bad mood. He had not wanted to be a burden or cause any animosity with his parents, he knew how stressed his Mother was right now and he just wanted today to go without any hitches to show her that he could be trusted. When she did not return home like he had presumed she would, his Father insisted on taking the walk with him and Caleb could sense the strong agitation radiating off of him.
'Oh please, you act as though you're so hard done by' Gail laughed at the mood of her Husband, as she pulled up beside them all and smiled pleasantly at her children.
'Where have you been?' Lucas asked abruptly, not falling for her innocent manner.
Gail's smile grew wider as she got out of the car and took Luke from his shoulders, transferring him to his car seat in the back passenger side of her Mustang. When Lucas instinctively secured their Daughter into her car seat and placed her buggy into the trunk, Gail winked at Caleb playfully and headed to the front passenger side to enable Lucas to drive, amused at the strong irritation that she sensed within her Husband.
Caleb waited for his siblings to be secured in the car then got into the back passenger side next to his Sister, curious as he rarely saw his Mother entertain anyone driving her car.
'I've had a busy start and think I need a good rest' Gail answered Caleb's unspoken curiosity, then placed her hand on Lucas' thigh when he got into the drivers seat and squeezed it teasingly.
'You'd have been able to relax just fine had you not have sneaked out without warnin' Darlin'' Lucas responded before Caleb could and shot her an unimpressed look.
'Oh come on, we both know that there wouldn't have been any relaxation on your watch Papa Bear. Besides, we wouldn't want our eldest being unprepared for High School on his first day now would be?' Gail smiled, then glanced over her shoulder at Caleb and signalled for him to check under her seat.
Caleb rummaged until he found a large backpack carefully placed and pulled it out, then opened it excitedly. Inside were pens, notebooks and a small slim black laptop with a sticker stating property of Caleb Buck. Caleb stared at his Mother in disbelief and pulled out the laptop carefully. 'This is mine?' he asked in shock, knowing how much Gail cherished her laptop and had never imagined that he would have one of his own.
Lucas shot Gail a disapproving look, not wanting his boy to be distracted by technology, then bit his lip to stifle a surprised moan as her hand ran deeper up his thigh.
'We both thought you should have all the tools required to enable this journey to go smoothly, that includes the most up to date technology should the schools systems not be up to scratch' Gail advised, holding Lucas' stare to show that this was in Caleb's best interest.
Caleb leaned forward and hugged Gail as much as he could with her seat between them. 'Thank you so much, this is amazin'!' he exclaimed, feeling even more confident with his new backpack full of tools.
Lucas could not help but smile, he did not want Caleb to get lost in unnecessary things; however, Gail had done the only thing that she knew to ease her own mind, she had made sure Caleb had everything that he could possibly need and he could not be mad at her for sneaking out to ensure that his eldest was prepared for his first day. 'Alright, calm yourself. We're comin' up to the road now and I'm sure you don't wanna be escorted by your parents on your first important day towards adulthood' he said coolly, not wanting Caleb to be seen as a scared child who needs his hand held to other students.
Gail felt her heart racing as Lucas pulled over to the curb and Caleb got out without saying a word. As he walked past her side of the car her maternal instincts kicked in and she was out of the car quickly, hugging him tight before she even realised what she was doing. 'Be careful, be confident and be kind...I'm so proud of you and know you've got this, but if you need anything at all I've put your mobile in the bottom of your bag. Call me anytime and I'll be there' she whispered in his ear, not used to this intense feeling of not wanting to let him go.
Caleb smiled lovingly and held her tight. He was trying to show how strong he was for his Father; however, it meant a lot that Gail was so concerned for him and he appreciated her public display of emotion. 'I'll be good I promise, I'll just be a boy and I won't let you down' he reassured her, having no intension of allowing his darkness any control today.
Gail forced herself to regain her composure and smiled proudly when Caleb straightened himself, as though the slip of emotion had never happened. 'Your lunch is in your bag and I've also put some money in the inside pocket, in case you want anything hot...We'll see after school' she advised, then got back into the car and had to fight back the tears when she saw him walk away.
'Smooth' Lucas said sarcastically, attempting to lighten the mood when he sensed all of his children's concern at her behaviour.
'Speaking of smooth, I need you to work your magic with something for the good of my mental health today. I gather that isn't going to be a problem?' she asked taking a deep breath to calm herself, needing to change the subject before she totally lost control.
Lucas stroked her cheek tenderly and placed a soft kiss on her lips, his previous anger with her disappearing completely due to her unconditional love for his first born. 'Whatever the lady needs to make it through I'll see to it, but first we're goin' home to help you unwind and start the day like we should have earlier' he responded, stroking her lips with his thumb and inhaling deeply when she took his thumb into her mouth seductively.
'Whatever the Master requires' Gail smiled teasingly and lay back in her seat, choosing not to put up a fight and allow him to take the edge off to enable her to function for the rest of the day.
-To be continued-
