Lucas glanced in the rearview mirror and shook his head at Luke sulking in the backseat. He had allowed Caleb to ride shotgun with him being the eldest and it was obvious that Luke did not agree with the decision.

'It's a shame your opinion don't count for nothin', you should be out playin anyhow' Caleb said smugly, sensing his Brothers slight resentment towards him, then spotted the devious way in which Luke was staring at him through the rearview mirror and narrowed his eyes confused.

'Careful, you ain't the only one with that alpha gene and unlike you, he ain't got his Mother watchin' his every move right now' Lucas warned, smiling amused at Luke's patience while he was clearly scheming for a way to get Caleb out of the front seat.

Caleb continued to hold Luke's unwavering stare, feeling a slight unease come over him, then shrugged off the feeling and turned his attention to the long stretch of road that they were driving down. 'Where are we goin'? This ain't the way to Goat Town' he asked, not familiar with this particular stretch of road.

'You had your chance to handle the Goat Town incident earlier and you chose to waste your time tryin' to outplay your Mother. Now, while I applaud your balls on the matter, you've done nothin' to actually resolve the situation so you can make yourself useful by pickin' up somethin' else that's becomin' a bother' Lucas responded coolly, winking playfully at Luke to show that he had not forgotten about him.

Caleb did not want to switch his focus, he wanted to take control of the Goat Town matter like Joshua believed he could and this detour was not going to work for him.

'I'll do it' Luke offered, sensing Caleb's lack of interest in his Father's request and wanting to show that he could be counted on without fail.

'I didn't say I wouldn't do it' Caleb snapped moodily, not wanting to be outshone by his younger Brother and shot Luke a look of warning.

'Alright boys, this ain't a competition and you both have a big part to play. Let's see how well you can get on together' Lucas smiled, turning down a hidden dirt road and choosing to allow his boys a chance to play.


Adam stared out into the calm river, taking in the beautiful scenery which he usually took for granted. It was not often that he was able to get away from the many people who surrounded him on a daily basis, his role as Mayor made that virtually impossible; therefore, he was pleasantly surprised when his old friend Bob suggested that they bring their meeting here.

Bob stared impatiently at Adam, waiting for the man to hurry up and settle on a spot for them to converse. It had been hard enough convincing his secretary Mary to fit him into Adam's schedule at all and he did not want to waste the time that he had.

'It's amazing how much of the world you miss with being locked away in an office all day, don't you think?' Adam asked peacefully, inhaling the clean air and letting it clear out his system.

Bob wafted a fly away from his face and glanced around the area irritably. He had always hated being this close to the river, the loud waves and insects were all he ever focussed on and he could never understand the appeal of such a place.

'Freedom!' Luke yelled in answer to Bob's unspoken thought, then smiled mischievously when the bumbling man jumped at his unexpected appearance.

Adam turned towards the small boy's voice, then narrowed his eyes suspiciously when he spotted Caleb Temple walk out of the clearing holding Luke Buck firmly on his shoulders. 'Freedom is right' he could not help but smile at the younger boy's excitement and glanced at the clearing expectantly, waiting to see Gail come out behind them.

'Aww man, y'all got it bad. I don't know what she does to get y'all pinin' like that' Caleb laughed knowingly and continued to walk towards the water, seemingly unfazed by the men they had stumbled across.

'What are you devil's doin' here...you followin' us?' Bob asked accusingly, not trusting the sudden appearance of the children.

'More like you followin' us, this is our spot. Can't you see where my Mom calved her initials to mark our territory?' Caleb responded without looking at the adults and placed Luke carefully down onto the river bank, then began taking off his clothes.

Adam turned towards the large tree to his right and spotted the initials G.E beside a strange symbol which he vaguely recalled seeing before. 'Gail does like to make her presence known, I'll give her that' he smiled, moving towards the tree and stroking his fingers down the marking, curious as to it's meaning.

'Inner peace' Luke answered the Mayor's thoughts without thinking, remembering when his Mother had brought him here alone and carved it. He was much younger and his other siblings had not been privy to their little get away; however, he recalled it fondly.

'It's one of her favourite wicca signs, I guess it's somethin' we all should strive for' Caleb said pleasantly, wanting to take the attention off of Luke and knowing how much the Mayor liked Gail.

Adam laughed at Bob's unlucky choice of meeting, then watched the intuitive children strip to their underpants and rush into the river playfully, as though it was the adults that were interrupting their private time.

'Come on, we can find a quieter place where we won't be disturbed' Bob advised, turning back towards the clearing.

'And leave two children unsupervised in a large river? What if the current turns and they go too far out? You think I'd be forgiven by anyone in this Town for leaving them alone?' Adam asked in disbelief, unable to shake his sense of responsibility with being a Father himself.

'They can't just waltz in to-' Bob started defensively.

'One of their Mothers favourites haunts?' Adam interrupted, pointing at the carving on the tree.

'And you think that's all this is?' Bob threw back at him, not trusting either a Buck or a Temple.

Adam glanced towards the children, who were too far away to hear them even if the waves were not so loud and rolled his eyes at Bob's paranoia. 'Let's just get this done, they're not hurting anybody all the way over there. What was so important that you had to demand an audience away from my office?'

Bob turned towards the children who did not appear interested in them, then let out a long sigh. 'I told you that you'd be very interested in Gage, not many people wanna acknowledge that he ever existed but I used to see him around the bars and I managed to track down an old drinkin' buddy' he whispered, smiling as the curiosity spiked in Adam's eyes.

Adam was not a stupid man, he understood that Trinity was somehow run by Lucas Buck and he knew that the key to his success was to find something on the man to make him more controllable. Adam had nearly given up on his hopes, being close to the man's Wife; however, when his old work colleague Bob had interjected himself back into his life speaking about a potential connection he had found between the Sheriff and some untrustworthy characters, Adam could not help but be intrigued by the information Bob had. 'Gage Temple's drinkin' buddy?' he asked quietly, glancing over his shoulder at Caleb to ensure that the boy was not within earshot.

'Yep and man I knew there was somethin' fishy goin' on. His old friend said that-' Bob started excitedly, happy when he saw how intently Adam was watching him that he was finally being taken seriously.

Suddenly a loud shriek pierced through Adam's ears and he turned around quickly towards the children. Luke was distressed and dipping below the water uncontrollably, struggling frantically to get up for air and Caleb was nowhere to be found. 'Shit!' Adam snapped abruptly, cutting Bob off and racing towards the drowning boy instinctively, cursing himself for not keeping an eye on the children.

Luke continued to scream and splash his hands frantically, trying to stifle his giggles. His friend who resided in the water was holding him up securely and he was having the time of his life pretending that he was in danger so the Mayor came to his aid.

Bob stared at the young boy with irritation, not believing that the parents had allowed such a small child not to be accompanied by an adult.

'I reckon my parent's have enough to be concernin' themselves with due to people schemin' behind their backs...Now, why would you wanna be gossipin' about Gage Temple?' Caleb asked flatly as he appeared behind Bob and stared at him intensely. He had not known what his Father expected of him; however, when he sensed what the adults were saying he knew that he was right where he needed to be.

Bob jumped at the sudden appearance of the child and did not much care for the predatory way that he was looking at him. 'I ain't gossipin'...shouldn't you be out there babysittin' that snivelin' baby?' he asked, standing tall and not allowing a child to intimidate him.

Caleb smiled devilishly, he loved this part. Adults outside of his family were all the same, they took one glance at his size and his usual pleasant demeanour and assumed that they were above him. Caleb had been taught better, he knew his worth and this poor excuse of a man before him was now at the top of his list. 'Luke don't need babysittin', he's havin' the time of his life' he smirked and nodded slightly towards his Brother.

Bob glanced over his shoulder at the younger boy, who's screams had turned to laughter as he kept slipping free of Adam's grasp when he tried to grab him to pull him to safety. 'What are you really doin' here?' he asked suspiciously, risking a quick glance around the area to ensure that the children's parents were not close.

Caleb's disregarded his question and his smile grew wider as he sensed Bob's thoughts, as if he needed his parents to hold his hand. 'You wanted to know about Gage Temple? Seems to me you're puttin' your oar in where it don't belong' he warned, suddenly very curious about this man Bob who he vaguely recalled was dating his previous plaything Miss Coombs.

Bob was about to put this boy in his place when he saw something dark cross over his eyes and took an instinctive step back. 'You don't know me-' he started.

'Oh I do now...I see you very clearly Bob' Caleb interrupted with a hint of malice in his tone, taking a step closer to the man and not caring to hide his ability when the man had not actually told him his name.

'Jesus, there you are! I thought I was going to have to dive back in and fish you out too!' Adam exclaimed unimpressed, as he dragged himself out of the water with Luke giggling happily over his shoulder.

Caleb's dark eyes lingered on Bob for a a few seconds, then his demeanour suddenly softened and he smiled warmly at the Mayor. 'Awww hell, I'm sorry Sir. The current came outta nowhere and swept me down river. Thank God you were around, my Momma woulda had a fit if anythin' woulda happened' he forced a concerned tone and stared up at the Mayor with innocent eyes.

Luke heard his Brothers falseness and rolled his eyes, never understanding why adults could not see through his act. 'I want my Momma' Luke interjected before anyone else could speak, forcing the tears to come out of his eyes and showing Caleb how to really play the emotional game.

'Just put him down and let them go find their Momma, we have important things to discuss!' Bob snapped, tired of the children's interference and wanting to be rid of them in an attempt to shake off his unease he felt around them.

Caleb reached for Luke and took him from the Mayor, pulling him close to his chest and rubbing his back softly. 'It's alright Sir, I brought him out here trying to give our Momma a break after all she does for us, so I'll find a way back on my own' he said forcing a sad tone, nodding courteously and turning to leave the area.

Adam stared at Bob in disbelief of his willingness to let the children go on their own, especially after one nearly drowned. 'Wait! Don't be silly. I know your Momma and I bet she's squared away in that big ol' Wicca Store of hers enjoying a much deserved break...How bought we give her another hour to unwind and I'll take you for some ice cream? This heat is damn near melting me and you both deserve something nice for beating those waves' he smiled pleasantly, disregarding Bob's look of disdain and moving towards the children.

Luke lifted his head slightly to smile smugly at Caleb, then turned towards Adam and wiped a stray tear from his cheek. 'Chocolate ice cream with strawberries on top?' he asked quietly.

Adam smiled at the little boy and stroked his cheek tenderly. 'You can have all the flavours you want and I won't even tell your Momma, so she won't get mad about you spoiling your appetite before tea time' he advised warmly, unable to say no to those piercing blue eyes.

'Great, she'll be so appreciative of the gesture Sir' Caleb said politely, sensing how much the Mayor liked Gail and playing on his desire to please her.

Adam beamed at the children and led them back into the woods, in an attempt to find his car. He heard Bob's long sigh from behind him; however, he put him out of his mind, it was not in his nature to abandon any children in need and he was not going to start now just because Bob had some gossip.

-To be continued-