Caleb sat in the front passenger seat of Lucas' navy blue Crown Victoria and stared out of the window moodily. His Father and Step Mother had spent close to an hour in his office and when they finally decided to come out, Gail did not even acknowledge him before she left. Caleb was used to her disappointment with his actions, he knew that she struggled with what he was becoming; however, somehow the lack of acknowledgement all together was worse than a scolding and it left Caleb feeling angry.
Lucas smiled to himself as he casually drove down the quiet streets and disregarded Caleb's moodiness. His Love had chosen to come to him without his interference on the day that he was allowing her to roam free, she had disguised her need to see him under the excuse of sensing Caleb's actions; however, he had no doubt that it was their true connection that had guided her to him and it confirmed that he had his real Wife back.
When Caleb let out a loud sigh as he shuffled in his seat, Lucas knew that he could not ignore the boy's mood for much longer and glanced towards him, begrudgingly putting aside the thoughts of his Wife and how good she tasted. 'You gonna spit it out or are you gonna just mope in silence all day?' he asked casually, turning his attention back to the road when the boy refused to look at him.
'She ignored me' Caleb said bluntly and continued staring out of the window fixedly.
Lucas let out a small laugh and turned down Laker Street, passing the large football field where his Deputy Ben had injured his knee as a teenager and crushed his dreams of playing football. 'Some would be happy to avoid that scoldin' Son, be thankful that I managed to switch her attention to more enjoyable things' he smirked, instantly recalling the feeling of entering her.
Caleb was glad that things appeared to be getting back to normal with his Father and Step Mother, it had been a strange time and his Father had not been himself with the change in Gail; however, part of him was jealous at the attention his Father attained so effortlessly from her, as it was never that easy for Caleb to be with her these days.
Lucas sensed Caleb's thoughts and a strange feeling came over him. He would never give up Gail's attention and would severely punish anyone who dared attempt to take her focus from him; however, as Gail had pointed out in his office, she had sacrificed her old life to be with Caleb long before she had committed to him and he supposed that his strong need to own her was selfish on his Son, who had tempted her to stay in Trinity in the first place.
Lucas remained quiet for the remainder of the drive, then pulled up at a newly renovated Mansion and turned off the engine. He did not speak, just sat silently with his Son and stared at the large house in front of them.
Caleb had never been to this part of Town and had been completely unaware of the large property in front of him. The house was not as extravagant as his home; however, it held a certain charm and he was taken by the beauty of such a well kept place. 'Who lives here?' he asked finally, leaning forward in his seat to take in more of the grounds and unable to hide his curiosity.
Lucas smiled at his boy's intrigue, Caleb did not realise it yet but he shared Gail's fascination with new areas and he sensed how much the boy wanted to explore. 'This is Doctor Charlton's new residence, it lay desolate for over 30 years after the previous owner died and his Son couldn't afford the upkeep on an Editors wage...Shame really, it would've been nice to keep these grounds in the family' he shrugged, then got out of the car and signalled for Caleb to follow him.
Caleb exited the car without hesitation and surveyed the area while he strolled beside his Father. There was something about this place and he could not put his finger on it, he had definitely never been here before; however, there was an almost familiar air surrounding the area and he could not shake his fascination with it. 'I'd never give this up, I'd get 10 jobs if I had to' he said honestly, wondering who was stupid enough to let this place go.
'Well, had the incompetent ass kept somethin' as extravagant as this, his Wife may have found ways to convince herself that she was better off with him, rather than a low life handyman...In turn, she may have survived that tragic 4th of July incident which left her Daughter without any parent to guide her and life may be very different' Lucas stated coolly, walking down the long path leading to the front door.
Caleb stopped for a moment and stared at his Father in shock. 'This was Gail's Fathers house?' he asked curiously.
Lucas smiled at his ability to distract Caleb from his mood effortlessly and turned towards him fully. 'Gail's Grandfather owned the place, Peter didn't have to capability to get somethin' like this on his own merit. He acquired it from one of the other elders in Trinity at the time and claimed it for his own bloodline-'
'Acquired it how?' Caleb interrupted eagerly, unable to hold his tongue.
Lucas shot him a look of warning, not appreciating being interrupted, then leaned in close and placed his hand on his shoulder. 'Gail's Grandfather was good friends with my Father, Abe was also part of their group but that ol' man wasn't as acceptin' of certain tactics that the others liked to display...You think your Step Mother's colourful gifts of persuasion come from Peter?' he whispered sarcastically and smiled devilishly at Caleb.
'But I thought that the Emory's hated the Bu-' Caleb started, then stopped instantly when the front door opened abruptly, knowing better than to discuss family business in public.
'There you are, we all wondered when the great Sheriff Buck was goin' to grace us with his presence' Doctor Charlton mocked, then signalled for them to enter his home, watching Caleb suspiciously as he walked past.
'You know better that to presume I run on your schedule Doctor' Lucas stated dominantly, then placed his arm around Caleb's shoulder and led him down the corridor to the Parlour. 'Come on Son, it's about time you saw what your old man has to deal with' he whispered sarcastically and winked at Caleb when he stared up at him excitedly.
Gail stood in her large office in the Trinity Guardian Headquarters and stared out of the window at the unsuspecting townspeople strolling down the street. After her visit with Lucas, she had decided to leave him be with Caleb and not allow them to distract her from her tasks.
It was hard trying to fix the mess that she had ultimately made and plan an appropriate celebration, as was expected of her with being the Sheriff's Wife. Although she wanted to focus on Caleb and his erratic actions, she had a responsibility to correct the mistakes she had made to the best of her ability and decided to turn her attention to the things that she could control, rather than being distracted by Caleb's continuous dark urges.
When she came here, she had expected the building to be severely damaged due to the fire that Caleb had started; however, surprisingly the fire appeared to have been contained to a small area and her office had remained untouched. She had pledged to pay whatever was required to get this floor back to working order and she was trying to figure out the quickest way to get the work done, without enlisting the help of her Husband.
'I'm sure it can't be that hard using your power of persuasion to convince a contractor to fix this place up, you are the Sheriff's beloved Wife after all' Christie advised from behind her, watching her friend closely.
Gail smiled at the sound of her oldest friends voice and felt a sharp pain in her chest, as she thought back to what Lucas had confessed about Christie's death. 'The whole point is to keep his name out of it, not allow him to get credit where none is due' she said quietly, then turned toward her dead friend. 'I was wondering when you'd show up, you were quiet before-'
'Before you retreated into yourself and allowed that evil to take full control of you?' Christie interrupted, not hiding the judgement from her tone.
Gail regarded her apologetically for a moment, then regained her composure and crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. 'Am I evil?' she asked frankly.
'You're good Gail, but that part-' Christie started warily.
'That part is still me and if you believe it truly is evil, then so am I' Gail interjected, not allowing Christie to make excuses for her by separating her dark side from the rest of her.
Christie regarded Gail cautiously for a moment, then let out a small laugh and approached her best friend. 'You really did do some soul searching when you went away didn't you?' she asked sarcastically.
'Well it was about time, otherwise I was going to explode!' Gail laughed and moved to the coach, signalling for Christie to sit with her. 'I miss you' she admitted quietly when she reached for Christie's hand and was unable to feel her.
Christie watched as Gail's hand travelled through hers, then let out a long sigh and forced a smile. 'I miss you too...and Lucy' she said sadly, then stared deep into Gail's eyes. 'I don't blame you for any of it you know?'
'You should' Gail responded coldly, then stood up from her seated position and started pacing the office. 'I wish I could hate him for what he did to you...I hate his actions and his misguided belief that it was necessary to protect our family, but I can't hate him and that truly bothers me'
Christie nodded, understanding that Gail wanted so much to be able to punish Lucas Buck for what he had done; however, although she had the strength and ability to hurt him, her love for him prevented any such action. 'What's done is done, no amount of regret or anger is going to change that' she said calmly, standing up to meet her friend. 'What needs to happen now is damage control. What are you going to do Gail?' she asked, sensing her friends frustration at the mess that had been created.
Gail thought for a moment, then shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair in exasperation. 'Add it all to my list of things to clean up and just wing it always' she laughed, then headed out of the office and to her car, in the hopes of stumbling across an appropriate venue for Lucas' birthday celebration.
Caleb sat quietly on the sofa and watched as his Father addressed the older men dominantly, admiring the way that he handled himself. Caleb was not as naïve as adults may take him for, he knew Doctor Charlton from the Hospital and a few occasions where he accompanied Gail previously, he also recognised the Preacher Carl who always seemed to preside over the few funerals of his Father's friends that they had attended. Billy Peele had joined the group late, mentioning something about being delayed due to his patients in Juniper House and the group did not pay much attention to Caleb, clearly presuming that he was just a simple child.
It amused him how adults could make such poor assumptions, choosing to speak freely about their business which was obviously private and assuming that he did not understand. Caleb had been around Gail long enough to know how to survey a scene and how to project a non threatening persona. He had smiled pleasantly when he had been invited in and feigned innocence when the adults questioned him about his presence here; however, now his eyes were sharp and he was monitoring exactly what was going on.
Doctor Charlton had been the first to take his Father aside, close enough for him to hear the conversation. He was concerned that they could not speak freely in front of Doctor Peele and disagreed with his inclusion in these meetings. His Father had shot that line of questioning down instantly, inserting his dominance and reminding Doctor Charlton who was really in control around here. It had intrigued Caleb that someone had dared to challenge his Father's decision and it was clear from Doctor Charlton's reaction that he would not do such a thing again.
When Billy arrived and got settled, Doctor Charlton and Preacher Carl started to discuss their depleting numbers. Billy remained uninterested until the untimely death of Mayor John was mentioned, then the most recent tragedies of Mark and Jack who both died under strange circumstances. Caleb sensed Billy's suspicion, especially as he thought back to the attack on Mayor John and Selena's apparent involvement. A shift in his Father indicated that he could also sense his friends suspicion and Caleb sensed from his amusement that Selena may not have been the guilty party after all.
'The death's of our colleagues were unfortunate, but I fail to see how this will impact our positions' Lucas interrupted the panicking men, then shot Caleb an amused wink when he sensed him trying to probe his mind for information. 'Billy-boy here is still managin' the crazies efficiently and he's an outsider to our ways...If he can handle Juniper effectively without complaint, then I'd expect you both to have no issues with your professions, considerin' you've been in that line of work a lot longer than he has' he stated calmly, growing bored of the imbeciles before him.
Billy's eyes grew wide when the focus was suddenly on him and he shifted in his seat. 'I'm new to all of this as you said and don't really hold much involvement in whatever this group stands for, but I'm presuming that if the professionals who've been lost aren't replaced with adequate people then this whole thing may not hold up...Just my two cents' he shrugged, then smiled at Doctor Charlton when he nodded his thanks for stepping in.
Lucas glanced at the men in the room and remained calm. These people had no real say in how his Town was run, they were only here so he could keep an eye on them and ensure that their egos were fed just enough to feel satisfied, rather than having them interfere with his ways. Seeing them now genuinely believing that their opinions mattered amused him more than he could have imagined and he had to make a conscious effort to hold in his laughter.
Caleb sensed his Fathers amusement and watched the group carefully. He suspected that his Father could end this and them at any time; however, he chose to allow them to speak out in such ways and he felt his curiosity spike even more.
Lucas sensed Caleb's intrigue and smiled to himself, the boy was smart and clearly understood who he needed to monitor to obtain an advantage here in the future. 'Look, Jack is only fresh in the ground and his Editor Mark wasn't buried much earlier than he was. Appointin' someone new that understands our ways may be tricky, especially seen as our numbers are dwindlin' as you've so openly pointed out' he said finally, his facial expression giving nothing away as to what he may be considering.
'There are few left of the old families Lucas, Jack in particular is goin' to be hard to replace and we lost a lot of leverage when the new Mayor got elected over our candidate-' Doctor Charlton started.
'Mayor Adam is a good man, he listens to closely certain people when they choose to entertain his presence' Caleb interjected, sensing his Father's slight change when Doctor Charlton talked so freely in front of Doctor Peele.
Lucas smiled at his eldest, proud of his intelligence, then regarded Doctor Charlton casually so not to appear too dominating. 'Adam may not have been planned, but he was a member of the groups endorsed candidate...or have you forgotten what big family line has been missin' from these meetin's for some time?' he asked sarcastically.
Doctor Charlton looked at Lucas confused, genuinely believing that the missing party had only been invited to their group as part of Lucas' courtship of her. If truth be told, Doctor Charlton had no desire to allow her to get a grip in this group, not after she had forced his hand in backing Billy Peele to take the head position in Juniper. That woman was as calculating as her Grandfather had been and that would be a problem should she get her hands into their business.
'Careful now Doctor, you forget which two families founded this group and I can assure you that she has more sway than all of you combined' Lucas said knowingly, reminding the good Doctor of who he was dealing with.
Billy narrowed his eyes at them both and stood up, realising who they were talking about. He had been unaware of his previous friends involvement with this secretive group and frankly he was surprised that she would even entertain what they claimed to be about; however, Lucas was right and she did have a talent of persuasion, which upon consideration may come in very handy for what this group required right now. 'There's your answer...she's skilled, knows the layout of the place and what's required of the position. Gail would be perfect to take over Mark's position and could cover whatever Jack did easily, assuming she'll accept the promotion' he suggested, growing bored of this meeting and wanting to get back to his patients.
Lucas stared at Doctor Charlton and Preacher Carl calmly, his features not showing any indication of what he was thinking. 'Let's put it to a vote and be done with this' he said finally and waited for them to respond.
Caleb watched as the Preacher instantly raised his hand, not daring to show any dislike for his Step Mother, then Doctor Charlton begrudgingly raised his hand after a moment of consideration.
'There we go, it's unanimous...now if you'll excuse us, me and my boy have a patrol to finish' Lucas said smugly, then signalled for Caleb to follow him as he walked out with Billy and patted his friend appreciatively on the back for his involvement in the meeting.
-To be continued-