Caleb spotted his Father and Mother in the living from his hiding place in the garden, then edged towards the open bedroom window at the farthest end of the house. It was a bold move; however, Caleb had faith in his Fathers ability to distract women and Bobby did well to follow without protest.
Gail felt a tugging in her mind and glanced towards the hall that led to the bedroom discreetly, then Lucas squeezed her knee tight and she forced a smile for Mrs Denton.
'-So you see my Tommy's been gone for years, probably around the time of your parent's awful death...what a tragic waste'
Gail let out a small laugh, that was a new one on her as opposed to the false niceties she was used to.
'Yes Ma'am, it was a waste...although the insurance claim went to good use' Lucas shrugged.
'Claim?' Gail asked confused, she'd never even considered a pay out seen as she grew up without a penny to her name and had to earn her own way.
'Oh yes dear, the elders on both sides were long gone, your Daddy's Sister had long since ran away and you'd already been shipped off so The Guardian paid out to your Aunt Judith. She went and blew it all on that wretched place up in Goat Town of course, before getting knocked up by that degenerate Gage Temple. Profiting off someone's misery was the only way that girl was ever going to make something of herself if you ask me. Not like your Mother, she truly was remarkable and it's a shame she got married so young' Ronda advised, staring into her tea as a slight feeling of sadness came over her.
Gail stared at Lucas angrily, not believing she was left to fend for herself when Judith got everything she should've had. At least Ronda had no qualms about being honest about her family.
'Oh come now' Lucas said calmly, both to Ronda and Gail after sensing his Wife's thoughts. 'That young girl lost her family too and set up shop in Goat Town to help other disadvantaged children-'
'Just not her own kin' Ronda interjected bluntly, then winked at Gail when the comment made her smile.
Gail decided she liked Ronda, she clearly knew her Mother more than Lucas realised and she could sense his irritation rising at the digs about Judith. 'It's a good job my Mother raised me right, I've never needed anybody to take care of me' she advised, pulling her Husbands irritation to her rather than Ronda.
'Is that so?' Lucas asked flatly, unable to hide his annoyance and disregarding Mrs Denton standing up.
'Oh absolutely, the amount I juggle without assistance on a daily basis say's it all. Caleb on the other hand, now he's a different story. The poor thing can't help but take on too much believing that he can do anything, or maybe he just puts his faith in the wrong person to bail him out when things inevitably come crashing down around him' Gail advised, not taking her eyes off of her Husband.
'Caleb's more capable of handlin' things than you realise, and his faith is very well placed' Lucas responded confidently.
'You sure of that?' Gail whispered, then stood up abruptly. 'Ronda!' she called suddenly, startling Lucas.
'Yes dear?' Ronda called back turning around, her fingers on the handle of her bedroom door where she was heading to grab a picture of Christine from her college years which she believed Gail would appreciate.
'Come show Lucas Caleb's end of year report, he takes his progress very seriously' Gail said, shaking her head when she spotted the realisation finally hit Lucas of where their mark was heading while he was distracted.
'Oh yes! You've done so well in taking that boy under his wing Sheriff, you're going to be so proud' Ronda smiled, then rushed back to the Kitchen where she'd laid down the report.
Lucas took in a long intake of breath and felt his twin stir within him, he really was losing his touch; however, it was nothing to do with his age, it was his Wife before him and her incessant skill of distracting him.
'Calm down Papa Bear, I don't know what you have him doing in there but I'm as committed to him as I am to you, so I'll play the dutiful guardian while you retune your senses' Gail whispered and kissed him passionately before sitting down beside him when Ronda entered with the file.
Lucas nodded appreciatively as Mrs Denton praised Caleb's work ethic and grades, then signalled for Gail to bring her car around from where she had hidden it and turned his attention to the initial reason for this visit when she left.
Caleb jumped out of the window and bolted towards the back fence with a small black book in his hands, after his close call when Mrs Denton almost opened the bedroom door on him. Bobby followed close behind, they both jumped the fence quickly and kept running, laughing when they were free and had escaped without being caught.
'Not quite' Gail said leaning against a tree, happy that Lucas had given her a reason to leave so she could come and converse with her kin.
'Ah hell!' Caleb snapped, cursing himself for not sensing her.
'Ah hell indeed...what in God's name were you thinking? You can't just break into someone's home and snoop around' Gail scolded.
'As opposed to you who pretends your car broke down to get invited in to snoop?' Caleb retorted, hearing everything when Mrs Denton came home with her earlier.
Gail's mouth dropped open and she feigned offence at the accusation, then realised it hadn't been a lucky guess on his part. 'Fine, I'm busted too...did you at least find anything good?' she asked in frustration, not having the opportunity to be left alone long enough to have a good rummage herself.
Caleb smiled and held up the book he had found, then pulled it back behind his back when she reached for it. 'First tell me what y'all were doin' there, then I'll share'
Gail laughed in disbelief of his confidence, then rolled her eyes at how rusty she had let herself become. 'Alright, your Father benched me after a body was found earlier this morning-'
'Mrs Dentons missin' Husband!' Caleb exclaimed excitedly, not believing his good luck.
'Shush!' Gail snapped, glancing around to make sure there was no one eavesdropping on them. 'It turns out yes, it was him. How did you know he was missing?' she asked suspiciously, praying he hadn't had one of his strange urges to torture somebody like the last time a body was found at TJ's Junkyard.
'One time, just one and that's all you ever go to' Caleb sighed, reading her thoughts.
'Seriously, just one?' Gail asked knowingly.
Caleb couldn't hide his devilish grin at the question and just shrugged. 'Alright, I just happened to be talkin' to Dad about Mrs Denton earlier and the subject of her Husband came up. I got curious that no-one ever questioned his disappearance and decided to check it out, I ain't got nothin' better to do today'
Gail smiled proudly at him, he was more like her than she had realised.
'Can't believe Dad thought he could bench you' Caleb advised in disbelief of his Fathers erroneous judgement.
'As if right?' Gail laughed and held her hand out expectantly for the book. Caleb hesitated for a moment, then handed it to her and tried to spy the contents when she opened it. 'Hmmm'
'Hmmm? What is it?' he asked curiously.
'Numbers...dates maybe? I'm not sure yet. Look, I've gotta go and pick up your Father, no doubt he's finished with his interview and needs rescuing from your Teacher'
'You're just gonna take it and leave?' Caleb asked disappointedly.
Gail took in a deep breath and shook her head, then handed him back the book. 'I suppose it was your find so just go, but be around if I need you and please be careful. A man's dead and we still don't know who's involved' she ordered, rolling her eyes when Caleb gave her a big hug and ran off before she could change her mind.
Gail took out her own notebook and wrote down the details she had memorised before handing the book back Caleb. He was smart; however, he wasn't yet skilled enough to beat her or Lucas when they had set their minds to something, so she would allow him to go his own way for now and it would give her time to follow her own leads.
Lucas sat in the front passenger seat of the blood red Mustang and watched his Wife curiously. People would no doubt be surprised at his lack of need to be the driver; however, there were a select few people who he trusted to chauffer him and being the passenger gave him more power to observe his company.
'What?' Gail asked irritably, growing impatience with his need to stare at her silently since she picked him up.
'What did you do with Caleb?' Lucas questioned, knowingly. Now that he had become aware of his complacency, he senses were as sharp as ever and he sensed her intercept his Son while he was interviewing Mrs Denton.
Gail continued to look at the road and quickly reviewed her options, she sensed he was back on track and there was no point in lying. 'Gave him a slap on the wrist for trespassing and sent him on his way' she answered honestly.
Lucas smiled, good girl. 'What'd he take?' he asked.
'Do you really want me betraying his trust?' Gail countered, not wanting to give Lucas the upper hand of having whatever information he obtained from speaking with Ronda alone and the book.
Lucas thought for a moment, then nodded. 'Fair point, where to next?' he asked curiously.
Gail laughed and shook her head. 'Oh Master Buck, that's not how the game's played and you know it. You really want me to make it that easy for you?' she responded sweetly.
Lucas smiled playfully and unbuckled his seatbelt, allowing him to lean in close to her. 'Oh Mrs Buck, I never want it easy for either of us' he whispered in her ear, then ran his lips over her neck teasingly and moved his hand between her legs.
'Lucas I'm driving' Gail said sternly, struggling to concentrate on the road when he began stroking her roughly.
Lucas' smile grew wider and he sensed her inability to remain in control. 'It's alright Love, if we have a tragically fatal crash I'll be happy in the knowledge that you were coming as it happened' he whispered and dug his teeth into her neck hard.
Gail closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip to stifle her aroused moan. 'Fine, if that's how we've decided to end it' she resigned playfully and took one hand off the wheel, unzipped his pants and began tugging vigorously at his hard manhood.
Lucas let out a satisfied moan into her neck and pushed two fingers deep inside of her, smiling when she couldn't control her call. This was highly irresponsible of them both, giving the fact that they had 3 children depending on them; however, he had wanted her all day and would settle for this basic act, at least until he could ravage her fully later on at night.
Gail quickened her hand, smiling when his breathing became loader and continued the pace. She'd give anything to take him into her mouth right now; however, she was conscious of keeping them alive and still kept some concentration on the road.
'That's it Love, I've always admired your ability to multitask' he joked.
'Asshole' she laughed, closing her eyes as her climax began to rise and called out his name when he pushed a third finger inside of her, resulting in her orgasm hitting violently.
Lucas came a moment later, unable to keep holding out when he saw her release and they both relaxed back into their seats. 'Do I need to check in on the boy?' Lucas asked finally, forcing his attention back to the matter at hand.
Gail licked his essence off her fingers satisfied and shook her head. 'Unless you believe a teenager can outsmart us both, I'd just give him free reign to learn without our influence' she advised, stroking her hand through his hair affectionately and smiling when he nodded in agreement with her suggestion.
'Alright, its an even playin' field so free reign it is for all...We'll see who's the best once and for all' Lucas smirked, then signalled further down the road where he wanted Gail to drop him off so they could part ways and he could continue with his investigation alone.
-To be continued-