Lucas awoke under the large evergreen tree at the side of his families burial plot, then sat up confused by his location and stretched. The early sun blurred his vision and he was hit with slight concern when he realised that he was alone.
'We're never alone out here Soulmate, you know that' Gail's voice travelled from her spot at the head of the plot. Her husbands concern about her apparent lack of presence amused her, considering they had spent the whole night out here and irresponsibly left their children to fend for themselves.
Lucas honed in on her voice while his vision cleared and stood up, enjoying to cool morning air on his naked body. He watched as she wandered slowly around the plot with the blanket he had brought her in the early hours of the morning around her bare shoulders and she acknowledged each gravestone that she passed. 'Like you said love, we're never alone and our children are always monitored by somethin' or other...I can't imagine your faithful mutt Gideon would allow anything to happen to them' he said softly, reading her thoughts.
Gail just nodded at his attempt to reassure her and continued pacing around the graves, feeling her anger clawing to take hold now that she had escaped from her husbands distracting hands.
Lucas let out a long sigh and stood up when he sensed her mood. Luke must have done something really bad for her anger to still be present with how hard he worked her last night, and he found himself wondering what his youngest had gotten up to.
'Oh bad doesn't even begin to describe that boy's actions of late, at least with Caleb he's smart enough to keep his experiments hidden' Gail advised in disbelief of her son's behaviour, not believing what she had to endure yesterday when she picked him up from school.
Lucas could not hold in his small laugh at her incorrect assumption of Caleb's ability to hide his activity last night, then instantly regretted the loss of control of his thoughts when she spun around instantly and stared at him accusingly. 'Now Love, you can't blame me for every little thing they get up to and it ain't my fault that like to aim high' he advised in calm tone, sensing how torn she was over whether she wanted to let go of her blissful ignorance.
'How high?' Gail asked through gritted teeth, deciding it was better to know rather than being blindsided later on.
'You first' Lucas countered, trying to sway some of her anger towards her first born rather than being solely focussed on Caleb like she was right now.
Gail sensed his tactic and laughed in disbelief. 'Oh here we go again, showing where your loyalties truly lie when it comes to our children' she snapped hurtfully, not believing he still chose to shield Caleb so much when she suspected part of Luke's disobedience was down to how much Caleb was allowed to get away with.
Lucas's features instantly turned cold and he sensed the presences around him begin to stir. This behaviour of hers was unacceptable and her comment had struck a nerve, he was growing tired of having his loyalty over their children questioned and he should not have to justify his thoughts.
'My behaviour is unacceptable and you shouldn't have to justify your thoughts? Try being stuck with a possessive ass who barely gives you space to breath, two little devils who can pierce your mental barrier with ease so you can't even have a minute alone with your thoughts, and a teenage criminal genius who somehow has a group of lackies willing to defend his every move!' Gail yelled, losing control of her emotions and pushing him down to the ground roughly.
'Oh you're breakin' my heart Darlin'...You try dealin' with a whole town of insubordinates, people who need direction just to partially function with simple day to day activities, then throw in a nagging Reporter wife who not only expects you to make sure everythin' runs smoothly, but judges your methods at every opportunity when you do just that' Lucas shot back at her angrily, gipping her hips tight to pull her down to him and pushed his hard manhood inside of her when she instinctively straddled him.
A loud moan escaped Gail's lips before she could answer his retort, and she cursed her body for being so accepting of his intrusion. For once she wished her body would link in with her mind; however, as she began riding him automatically, she knew there was no way of keeping up this discussion. 'You know what? I think you're trying to bate me on purpose...How dare you cause me this much upset just to divert from your own misery today' she mock scolded him, waiting for him to catch on to the date.
'What me?' Lucas asked in disbelief of her accusation, then saw a wicked smile cross over her lips as she began to ride him harder and he felt his irritation begin to stir, not believing he had temporarily forgotten what today was.
'Oh Soulmate, you didn't really think I'd forget and let you off so easily with how much discomfort I've had to put up with from your boy's recently do you?' she panted sweetly, unable to hide her smile.
'You can't drop this on me now when you've given no warning all month Gail...I'm workin' today and that's all I'm doin', tell me you understand me' Lucas ordered sternly, sensing how giddy she was getting at his foolishness for believing she was going to allow this day to go by without a fuss.
Gail ran her hands up his bare chest and tucked at his chest hair playfully, shaking her head at his attempt to control her. 'Too late Sheriff, the wheels are already in motion so you better hang on tight and hope Caleb's little stunt, whatever it was, doesn't require much clean up from you. I guarantee all of your effort is going to be needed in so many other places today...Happy Birthday Master Buck' she laughed smugly, forcing her lips on his for a passionate kiss before he had chance to retaliate, then calling out as their climax hit together.
Lucas was seething; however, the taste of her tongue in his mouth and the feel of her body pressed against his was driving him crazy. He tried to push down his affection for her and force his rage up, but the feel of being intertwined with her was making it hard to focus on his anger. 'You better be jokin' Love, I won't be held responsible if I'm backed into a corner' he warned through aroused breaths as her hand reached up to grip his neck tight when she began grinding her hips slowly after he came with him still inside of her.
'You will behave as Sheriff Lucas Buck, champion of the innocent and caretaker of this cursed town no matter what comes your way today. Now shut up and take advantage of the opportunity I'm presenting you with to work off your frustration in preparation for the day ahead' Gail ordered sarcastically, then laughed when Lucas just grunted annoyingly at the realisation that she was not going to allow him to hide away like he used to on his birthday.
Caleb sat on a table outside of Gail's favourite coffee shop across the street from the Sheriff's Station, with Luke and Gail Jr watching him expectantly. Their mother had rushed in after spending the night somewhere on the property where he had been unable to sense and ordered him to make himself useful by taking his younger siblings today. Apparently it did not matter that he and his brother had school, Gail silenced any protest and just scooped them all up in her car without much conversation then dumped them here with some cash.
'We did bad' Luke said knowingly..
'You did bad, I did nothin'' Gail Jr huffed as she rested her elbow on the table with her chin in her hand, sick of being lumped in with the boys for a punishment when this was her birthday too.
'Since when did bein' with us become a punishment?' Caleb asked his sister defensively.
'Since you both pushed your momma to the edge of her sanity and any attempt to tame the bear leads to guilt by association' Lucas answered for his daughter agitated, as he stole her chair and pulled her up on his knee.
'Happy birthday daddy!' Gail Jr screamed happily and threw her arms around his neck lovingly.
Lucas closed his eyes tight at the loud outburst, then smiled charmingly at the other customers in the coffee shop who turned towards him and nodded their well wishes. 'Thank you Princess. Happy birthday to you too, now zip it' he said through gritted teeth, but squeezed her affectionately to show his appreciation of her sentiment.
'You're in the dog house too?' Caleb asked surprised, not expecting Gail to punish him on his birthday.
'When ain't I in the dog house son?' Lucas responded with a laugh, then regarded Luke suspiciously when his youngest boy remained silent. 'No well wishes from you?' he asked suspiciously.
'Ain't needed' Luke answered quietly, then stared down at his hands when he heard the town hall begin to chime the roll in of midday signalling that his mothers first surprise had begun.
Lucas glanced at Caleb who just shrugged back at him and stared at his brother confused. Suddenly the faint sound of Stevie Wonder caught his ears and increased significantly in volume as a small van drove up the street.
'Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday...'
Lucas sat shaking his head in disbelief when his daughter began dancing happily and all people in the area began singing the iconic song at him when the van passed slowly, including his deputies who had come out of the station to witness the disturbance. His rage began to build within him and it was taking all of his self control not to lash out in the public setting he had found himself in.
'Breathe daddy, momma will fix it later like she did this mornin'' Gail Jr repeated the secret words her mother told her to use earlier to help ease him. Her mother had tasked her with assisting her father in getting through the day whenever she could today and had given her some choice words to help calm him.
Lucas tightened his grip on his daughter to help hold in his anger, then raised his hand and forced a wave for the onlookers. 'Oh she better Princess, otherwise your brother's will be the least of her worries if this continues' he responded seriously and smiled pleasantly at the waitress when she brought them all a large cake to share.
-To be continued-