Leaderboard

Cuzin Hobie yeah. I goofed. Yer right thought to be shot in a episode and That's false.

OK...they were thought to be SHOT ....or DROWNED? ( The question was SHOT and so it was false but they WERE thought to be drowned!)

Hot air * * I'm sure I don't have to remind you guys where I got this....??? ( let me know if I do! )

Next morning Uncle Jesse saw Cooter’s car parked alongside Luke’s truck and Daisy’s car, so he naturally assumed Cooter had stayed the night. He didn’t find the boys andCooter asleep in the barn as he’d expected, instead when he went back inside, he found the Davenport girls and Daisy cooking breakfast. Jesse wasn't really surprised that the girls stayed with Daisy but since the boys weren't in the barn he was now more than curious about where they were, after all he didn't run any broady house, "Here's some fresh eggs ladies. Where are the boys?" The girls looked at each other, each hoping the other would answer. Just then the phone rang. Daisy offered, "That's gonna be for you." “For me, how do you know that?” Jesse said, answering the phone. “Duke farm, this is Jesse” “Uncle Jesse it’s Luke” “Luke, where are you boys at?” ”Jail…” "Jail! What in tarnation for? Why, ain't neither one of ya been in jail since Bo went off to run NASCAR and you went to Smokejumper school." Jesse fussed. Luke was trying to be patient but Rosco was rushing him. He just needed a break to jump onto Jesse's train of thought, "Uncle Jesse, we'll explain everything on the way home. Rosco's rushing me." "You just put Rosco on the phone." Jesse said. —-------------------------- Luke knew that tone and winced at it as he handed Rosco the phone, but not without saying, "He wants to talk to you." Bo frowned, "That bad?" Luke nodded his head 'yes'. Rosco cleared his throat and said very official like, "Good morning. This is Sherifffff, RoscOooooooo P. Coltrane and how can I help you this lovely Sunday morning? Git. Git. GIT!" “ROSCO What in tarnation, are them boys in jail for?” Jesse was fired up. W…Well Jesse they was fighting and as usual it was their fault.” “Who was they fighting with?” Jesse asked, trying to stay calm. He looked over at the girls. “Ernie Ledbetter, who else?” Rosco said.”And Luther Davenport.” he added. LUTHER DAVENPORT!” Jesse looked at the girls again but none of them would make eye contact. Dixie knew what was coming when Jesse hung up the phone. “Have a seat ladies and tell me about last night”. —----------------------------------- Back at the jail… After handing the phone to Rosco Luke went over and made himself as comfortable as he could on half of the narrow bench that was on 3 sides of the old cell. Bo looked at him again like he was crazy, "What are you doing?" "Waiting." Luke said as he closed his eyes. Back at the Duke farm, Jesse poured a cup of coffee and waited to see which one of the girls answered him first. Daisy saw the pleading look on Dixie's face and began, "Well, after Cooter took his date home early, I rode to work with him. The others came with us since it was early." Jesse tried to remain silent but it was hard not to say something about early enough to stay out of jail. BL said, "Everything was OK until Ernie came in and Luke and Dixie were dancing, then, ... then, ...," All eyes went to Dixie. Dixie knew she was the only one close enough to have heard the exchange, "Erie called me a name to Luke,....." She put her hands up, "You know Luke. That is all it took." BL picked up the story, “next thing we knew total chaos erupted. Uncle Luther even got in the middle of it. Bo and Cooter were trying to break it up…unsuccessfully when Rosco came in.” “Rosco had Charlie call Cletus on the CB for backup and asked Dixie to call Tri-Counties for a transport van, cos 2 patrol cars wasn’t enough.”Daisy told him. Dixie picked back up, “Luke gave me his wallet and keys before he was taken out. Bo and Cooter saw what he did, so they gave their keys to BL and Daisy.” —------------------------------ Rosco had called Justice of the Peace, Boss Jefferson Davis Hogg, to tell him that he had a jail full of people needing a bond set. Jesse Duke filled his cup and poured a second cup, "Dixie, would you care to join me on the porch while they fix us up some breakfast?" It was a question, but left no room for decline as he left with both cups of coffee. Dixie replied lowly, "Sure, Uncle Jesse." She sent a pleading look for rescue to Daisy and BL. On the porch, Jesse handed Dixie her coffee and waited for her to get comfy. Then, said, "Honey, what did Ernie say to Luke?" Dixie looked at the porch floor as she repeated the slur Ernie had made toward her. Jesse pressed, "What got Luther in it?” —---------------------------- Dixie kept looking at the porch floor,”He just can’t let mine and Luke’s past go, we were dancing and Luke said something in my ear that was private and I guess Luther saw us closer than he liked and it got under his skin, even though him and Luke called a truce. He’d been drinking…”, Dixie trailed off not knowing what else to say. Jesse listened then asked “where do you want this relationship to go, or are you just trying to get back at Luther for interfering in that past you say he can’t let go of?” He tried to ask the question as gently as he could. Dixie was about to let Jesse have it but took a deep breath before speaking “I don’t want to start or cause trouble for any of us, I’ll be with him as long as he’ll have me. That’s what I told him yesterday when he asked me if I was on board openly seeing each other.” Jesse said “ok” He had no doubt, the young lady before him was sincere. —------------------------- Bo couldn't believe Luke, he'd been up all night basically pacing the floor and now that Uncle Jesse should be on the way to get them, Luke layed down. Bo had tried to get sleep last night but had managed to be kept up all night by Luke. Bo hadn't been at all happy about the way the night ended or being in jail either. He sat down on the bench with his back against the bars to wait. Boss Hogg came into the Courthouse and made his way to his office. Seeing 6 sets of paperwork he saw dollar signs! "Rosco, How on Earth did you manage to arrest six people after I left last night?" "Well, Boss, I'll tell you how it happened." He laughed his trademark laugh. Before Rosco could say two words the phone in Boss Hogg’s office rang, forgetting that Bo and Luke were in the cell, Boss picked up without closing the office door, “Hazzard County Courthouse, JD Hogg speaking.” “Say hello from Rosco”, Rosco said. Boss waved him away,listening to the Mob boss, who happened to be the ex-husband of the fancy lady who visited Boss at his Boars Nest office. He wanted to know what his ex-wife was spending his money on,”a spacious vacation home,with beautiful views.” Luke wasn’t asleep but pretended to be, he was listening to every word. Boss barely got the phone hung up, before it rang again, “Hazzard County Courthouse, “You got what? Pictures of a dude with an orange car!” Boss exclaimed, getting Bo and Luke’s full attention. Getting two more calls about getting pictures instead of deeds of ownership certificates, Boss pointed his cigar at Rosco. “Do you know what them last two calls were about?” Rosco shook his head ‘no’ “no Boss”. “They wanted to know why they got 20 pictures instead of a deed of ownership certificate for a vacation home.”Bo and Luke looked at each other Bo saying “so that’s what he’s upto.” —------------- Downstairs Cooter was thankful, that after Rosco had told Luther to hush that he had laid down and passed out. Cooter had slept some lightly. His eyes were open the minute Luther rolled over and began cursing. Luther couldn't believe it and had no recall of why he was waking up in jail this morning. When Rosco brought the phone down, Erie made his call. Then, Luther instructed Cooter to call Dixie to come get them. Cooter put the call through. After a full minute of rings he hung up. "What?" Luther said. "She didn't answer." Cooter said. "Call Cylde." Luther said. Rosco said, "Nope, naughty naughty. You only get 1 call, Cooter." "Give me that damned phone." Luther took the phone and placed his call to his brother. —--------------------------- Rosco was now out in his office when the Leadbetter’s people showed up and bonded them out. He made his way downstairs to get the ring leader of last night's trouble. Seeing Luke still in the cell Ernie smirked “see ya around jailbird” he said over his shoulder. On their way out the Ledbetter’s met Clyde on his way in, “Rosco, get my brother and nephew”. Clyde said. Bo and Luke were starting to get antsy, Jesse used to come bail them out as soon as they called. Rosco brought the 2 Davenport men upstairs and Clyde paid their bail, “Luther, what in the world got into you? You ain’t been arrested on a Saturday night, since you had kids”. “Too much beer got in him”, Cooter muttered. —------------------ Jesse pulled up at the courthouse as the Davenport men were pulling onto the street. Jesse was glad for the opportunity to get his boys without having to deal with them and Luther running into each other. "Alright, JD. What's it gonna take to get my boys?" Jesse boomed. He'd been doing this for too many years. Luke was holding his breath after hearing Boss Hogg’s conversations this morning. He wasn't at all sure they would be released on bail. Boss Hogg, however, named the bail at $200. Jesse paid it, signed the papers and waited for Rosco to open the cell. Luke still wasn't sure this was going to work even after the cell door opened. Bo stepped out first and Luke none to gently hurried him towards the door. Jesse had seen them anxious to get out of jail before but picked up on Luke's urgency. Once in the truck and away from the curb Jesse said “let's have it.” —----------------------------------- “It wasn’t our fault Uncle Jesse, Ledbetter shot off his mouth like he always has and I shut it for him”, Luke said. “We swapped a few licks, then he sent me crashing into Luther’s table, next thing anybody knew, all chaos had broke loose and Luther was in it but he only wanted to fight me, which didn’t make much sense cos we agreed to a truce before the dance, shook on it even. Then Rosco came in and saw it all, don’t know who called Cletus though.” Bo jumped in, “Me and Cooter sorta just got dragged into it, Ernie was about to get Luke again, while he was trying to defend hisself from Luther so I punched him. Cooter was trying to get Luther under control. He’d had too much to drink,” Luke finished the tale, “Rosco had Dixie call Tri-Counties for a van because there wasn’t room in 2 patrol cars.” "We gave the girls our keys." Luke said. Bo added, "Yeah, we gotta get up with them and get your truck and Daisy’s car." Jesse broke in to stop the speeding trains of thought, "Hold it, jist hold it one danged minute!" Jesse said, pausing to let them both hush, "I want to know why you, Luke, were in such a hurry to get away from the Courthouse? I saw you shove Bo at least three times on the way to the car." Luke replied, "I, we, heard and learned some stuff while we were waiting, but the girls need to hear this too. I'll just yell for them on the CB so we can all meet up." Luke reached for the CB mic. Just as he keyed the mic, Jesse reached over and cut the radio off. "There's no need to radio them. They are at the farm with Daisy." —----------------------------- A few miles down the road Clyde broke the silence “Luther,what got into you? You ain’t spent a saturday night in jail, since before Cooter was born. Luther mumbled something about his girl and a Duke. Cooter just gave his uncle a look that said it had nothing to do with Dixie. —------------------------- At the Duke farm Luke told everyone “me and Bo heard something while we were waiting for Uncle Jesse, lets go out on the porch, with something cold to drink and I’ll tell you.” Daisy fixed a tray with a pitcher of tea and enough glasses of ice for all. Jesse sat in the old rocking chair, Luke and Dixie were on the porch swing, Bo was on the edge of the porch, BL sat on the step below leant against his leg. “Shouldn’t Cooter be here to hear this too,” Daisy asked .------------------------------- Clyde made a non committal sound, he didn’t believe Luther that this was about Dixie. As soon as Clyde “dropped them off, Cooter headed to the Duke farm, without telling Luther where he was going. Pulling up at the Duke farm, he saw everybody on the front porch,”Hey, what’s up?” Cooter asked. —-------------------------- "Grab a seat, Cooter. The boys are fixin' to tell us what they heard at the jail." Uncle Jesse said. No one paid any attention to Luke's arm across the swing, behind Dixie, as she snuggled in closer to the freshly shower and shaved older Duke. Bo started, "Darlin' you ain't gonna believe this..." "If Boss Hogg is involved and making money, I'd believe just about anything," BL said. Cooter headed to take a seat on the porch banister, only now seeing Luke’s arm on the back of the swing, behind and around Dixie, who was doing her own snuggling of Luke. The boys repeated what they had overheard at the jail. "Does any of this make any sense BL?" Luke asked, then added, "Is there any way Bo could have gotten mail intended for Boss?" “I guess Boss must have already told that the money should go to PO box 100, so yeah Bo could have gotten Boss Hogg’s mail.” BL said. “If we can get hold of how, they know what PO box we can get Boss to clear you darlin” Bo said. “Yeah but how are we gonna do that? BL asked. —------------------------- Back at the Courthouse, Boss Hogg asked Rosco, "How, just how, could my customers have gotten pictures of Bo Duke instead of their money getting to me?" "I don't know Boss, maybe you should have asked Bo, before he made bond." Rosco said. "Dang. Danged and double danged!" Boss said, knowing he had had Bo and Luke behind bars and let them go without answers. At the Duke farm. Everyone had collected all the recent newspapers, magazines, and trading papers. Each was looking to see if they could find and look at any ads that could be being mailed to PO Box 100 Hazzard, USA. Rosco was cleaning up the jail from all his prisoners and found a racing magazine. He thumbed through it and found none other than Bo Duke's ad for an autographed picture. “Jit,jit Boss ain’t gonna like this”, Rosco muttered. Taking the magazine to Boss Hogg’s office, Rosco laid it on the desk saying, “Look at this Boss”. Boss Hogg looked at the ad, "That could explain a lot." Now he just had to figure out how to tie the Duke boys in with the Davenport girl. —--------------------------- At the Duke farm in one of the papers from Atlanta, Cooter saw the ad,"Luke look at this." Luke indeed looked at it. The paper was old. "This here paper is from Atlanta, let me call Phil and see when it started running." Luke went into the house to make the call “Thanks Phil, appreciate it”. Luke hung up the phone and came back out on the porch.” Phil said the ad was placed the Wednesday before you got the post office job, BL”. “When did you rent the box? Luke asked. “It was Monday or Tuesday,” BL replied. Back at the courthouse, Boss Hogg paced in his office, puffing on his cigar trying to come up with a plan of how to tie the Duke boys in with the Davenport girl. He had sent Rosco on patrol so he could think better. —---------------------------- Later, the Dukes and Davenports decided to try their luck at the Boar's Nest in hopes of seeing or hearing something. Boss Hogg made his way out front to get some pickled pigs feet to help him think. That's when he saw it. There was Bo Duke dancing with the Davenport girl from the Post Office and not far off was Luke Duke dancing with the other Davenport girl. That was it, surely they were in cahoots! —---------------------------- It was stifling hot in the Boar’s Nest, so the Duke boys and Davenport girls had gone outside to cool, the CB in BL’s car crackled to life “Rosco you out there?” Boss Hogg said. “Roscoooo P. Coltrane here”. “Rosco, I want you to get over to Holly Hills pronto.” “What for, Boss?” Rosco asked. “NEVERMIND WHAT FOR, JUST GO!” Boss Hogg shouted. “Wonder what’s so urgent?” BL wondered aloud. Luke replied. "I don't know, but what do you say we find out?" Dixie replied, "I'm game." Before Bo could say anymore, Luke suggested rather strongly, "While we are gone, ya'll can keep your ears open here." With that, he and Dixie were in his pick up and gone. “Well, are we supposed to just sit here in the parking lot til they get back?” BL asked. Bo shrugged, "Might be a long wait, Darlin'." “As long as they don’t completely forget what they're supposed to be doing,” BL said. —------------------------------ At Holly Hills, Luke slowed up and parked out of sight. He reached in his turnout bag and grabbed a camera before heading off to see whatever it was Boss surely didn't want seen. Cresting the hill Luke whispered “Luxury vacation homes, my Aunt Fannie”, zooming in the powerful lens of the state of the art digital camera used by the Smokejumpers to take pictures at fire sites. At the bottom were several tiny homes, all built in one grand style or another to look like full size houses of the same styles. “Hey Dixie, ain’t that the house in the ad.?” Luke asked. Dixie raised the binoculars,scanning the tiny houses “Sure looks like it, make sure you get a picture so we can compare it to the house in the ad,” Dixie said. Luke took enough pictures, especially of the one in the ad, "There, now we can get them printed tomorrow." Luke eased his truck out easily without being spotted. Since he was already at the lake he figured to circle around just to see if there were any more little houses around. —--------------------------- Feeling confident they had what they had come to get, Dixie kicked her shoes off, pulled her feet up in the seat and turned to face Luke as he drove, she began running her fingers around and down Luke's neckline of his shirt getting lower and lower as she managed to undo a button or three..... Luke’s jeans got a little bit tighter with every touch of Dixie’s fingers against his skin and every button she undid,”keep that up and I’m going to need a cool dip in the lake,” Luke said. "Are you sure about that dip?" Dixie asked. Luke was sure she knew exactly what she was doing to him and doing it purposely. The next wide spot off from the lake, Luke stopped the truck. He nearly couldn't get stopped soon enough for his taste. Once stopped, he was out of the truck and managed to shuck his clothes off down to his boxers before he hit the cool water. Dixie watched from the truck until he hit the water. She got out and went toward the lake, "Luke? What are you doing?" She asked, smiling widely. "Cooling off. Care to join me?" Luke asked. The cool water had the desired effect on over heated areas of Luke's body. Right up until Dixie called his bluff by kicking off her boots, tossing her shirt and bra. She stood watching Luke watch her as she undid her jeans then met him in the water. —----------------------- Back at the Boars Nest, Rosco was just going into Boss Hogg’s office to give a report as BL and Bo sat back down at the table, to wait for Luke and Dixie to come back. It being a sunday afternoon, there wasn’t much of a crowd in the Boar’s Nest so there wasn’t alot of noise, Bo and BL listened to Rosco’s report to Boss because he had forgotten to close the door completely. “I hope Luke and Dixie got some good pictures,”BL said. Bo put his arm around BL just a bit tighter, "They will, Darlin'. I know it sounds easy to say, but things will really be alright." BL leaned into Bo smiling, she still felt goosebumps being in his arms, despite her worry about court, “I know you're right Bo.” Bo added, "Besides the dinners chip beef ain't that bad at Hazzards jail and at Tri-Counties you and Dixie could visit while she's at work " BL pulled out of Bo’s arms, punching him in the bicep, “that’s not funny Bo!”, BL exclaimed, folding her arms. “I was just teasing darlin, don’t be mad,” Bo wheedled, giving her his lady killer grin. "Bo, if Rosco is back here talking to Boss,...." BL began, "Where is Luke and Dixie?" “They are probably just taking their time coming back,” Bo said. Bo was probably right BL decided, they hadn’t been arrested Rosco was back she reasoned. —-------------------------- At the lake the cool water had calmed Luke down, right up until he felt Dixie in his arms. All other/reasonable thoughts had left their minds as years of pent up desire reached its boiling point. Since Luke had his pickup, setting up a pretty cozy camp hadn't been hard. He had laid out his tarp and blanket then before it got dark had built a decent fire. Dixie currently had his lighter blanket wrapped around her like an oversized towel while Luke had found his swim trunks he kept in his work bag. Dixie was sitting in front of Luke as they were watching the fire. Luke was usually the voice of reason asked, "Are you in a hurry to get back?" Dixie turned in his arms and replied, "Nope." "Good." Luke said as he put a couple more pieces of wood on the fire. He had been watching Dixie in the fire light. He brushed her hair back from her face as Dixie moved closer he began kissing her deeply. —--------------------------- “Where are they Bo? They should have been back way before now” BL said. Bo kissed her forehead “they prob’ly decided to watch things awhile, don’t worry darlin”, Bo replied. BL picked up the CB mic “Little Shotgun, Lost Sheep 1, ya’ll got your ears on?, come back. Little Shotgun, Lost Sheep 1, this is Sweet Talker.” BL tried to raise Dixie and Luke on the CB but they just wasn’t answering. “C’mon we know where they were going,we’ll go look for’em.” Bo said, starting up General Lee as BL climbed in. A little ways from Holly Hill, BL saw what looked like smoke rising into the sky “is that smoke”, BL asked. “Let’s see”, Bo said. Swim trunks and blanket had been shed. Dixie and Luke were very involved in some very unlady and ungentlemanly things, so much that the sound of the General Lee didn't register to either of them. “Down there’s where the smoke’s coming from,” BL said. About 100 yards off the road they saw Luke’s truck, “we found ‘em”, Bo said as they got a little closer they could tell the couple was very involved. “Holy toledo!”, both BL and Bo said in unison, covering their eyes. “Good thing we came looking, if Luther got a wrecker call out this way and came to investigate the smoke Luke would be a dead man”,BL said. Bo keeping his eyes on his lap, hit the horn, the sound of ‘dixie’ breaking into the quiet night. —----------------------------- Dixie jumped and reached for the blanket. Luke was close very close, "Don't stop. It's just Bo. Don't stop." He doubled his efforts to recapture Dixie’s fullest attention. Bo did have the good graces to shut off General Lee's headlights. Luke pulled Dixie tighter, entering her deeply. Dixie was trying very hard to be quiet. She was glad her nails were short or Luke's back would be bleeding as she dug her nails into him and pulled him tighter to her with her legs. Luke knew he'd succeeded in pleasing Dixie as he found his own release and really didn't care that Bo knew. Dixie and Luke were now trying to remember how to breathe. Giving Dixie and Luke a couple minutes to catch their breath, Bo climbed out of General Lee, keeping his eyes averted from Dixie, ]“I thought you were smarter than this? There are at least 100 better places, with more privacy in the next 5 miles down the road”Bo ranted. “Bo..”,Luke tried to break into Bo’s rant. “What if it hadn’t been me? You didn’t even stop to consider whether or not somebody might be with me, which there is, or did you forget BL?” Luke cursed when he saw BL leaning forward, head in her hands, so she couldn’t see anything, she shouldn’t. —--------------------- Luke swore, "Sh--!" Dixie saw Bo looking away as he was talking to, ..... well ok, maybe fussing at Luke was a better choice of words. She reached for the blanket and again put it around her like a large beach towel. She then found Luke shorts and put them in his hand as he replied to Bo. "You are right on at least a couple of points there,.." He now slid his shorts on. He felt about ten as he said, "There were some extenuating circumstances. Sorry BL, you can get out now." BL slid out General Lee’s window when Luke said it was ok now. Sitting on the tarp BL looked at Dixie, blanket wrapped around her like a beach towel. “Are you deliberately trying to antagonize Luther?” BL asked. She wasn’t thinking about how Clyde was going to react to her not having been home yet since leaving Friday morning, except to take Sadie home, Friday afternoon. “No”, Dixie replied. “Well what did you see?”, BL asked. “This”, Luke said, getting the camera and a flashlight from his truck. “You’ll be able to see better once they're printed.” Bo sat behind BL, putting his arms around her as Luke scrolled through the pictures with one hand, holding the maglite in the other. BL stated the obvious, "They look too small to be luxury homes." “That’s cos they ain’t luxury homes, Boss just blew up the picture in the ad so it looked like a luxury home”,Luke said. Dixie nodded her head 'yes', "They are very tiny.” Luke said, "Are you all staying with us?" He had a piece of wood about to put it in the fire to keep it going. “How about it darlin’?”, Bo asked BL while massaging her shoulders. “Yeah”, BL said. She was more relaxed now, than Bo had seen her all day. Luke tossed another piece of wood on the fire then he put the camera and flashlight back in his truck. —-------------------------------- Luke had to dig deep in his bag but finally found what he was looking for, a full quarter of Jesse's finest. It had been a long while since he and Bo had had a night like this with the girls of their choice. Luke intended for it to be a good one. "Anyone care to join me?" “I will” Dixie said, adding as she took her clothes from BL,”be back in a second”. Dixie got up, disappearing behind what little coverage there was. ”Me too”, BL said. It had been a rough few days and Bo’s massaging hands had her relaxed.Coming back after dressing, Dixie took the tin cup of shine Luke handed her. Luke had found a couple tin camping cups he kept stowed in the pickup. Bo got his own camp cup and his sleeping bag, from General Lee’s trunk, something had told him he might need his camping gear, so he’d put it in the General before going to the Boar’s Nest. Spreading out the sleeping bag, he sat down, patting beside him “come sit with me darlin”, Bo said to BL. —----------------- Everyone was enjoying a drink of shine while relaxing by the fire near the water. The evening temperatures were nearly perfect with a bit of a warm breeze blowing. Dixie and Luke had always been comfortable together, for the most part way too comfortable. Dixie knew that BL and Bo had always run around together but really hadn't known them to date or well date steadily. Maybe it was something, maybe it was nothing but it seemed that they were acting a bit closer tonight. Dixie took a long slow drink of the shine, "I really missed all this while I was gone." "All what, Darlin'?" Luke asked. "This. Just coming out here. Stopping at a random stop and being able to set up camp, have a drink with friends and family. By the way, exactly how long were you planning all this?" Luke smiled, "I really wasn't planning anything." —---------------------- BL said, "Yet you had everything ready to camp out?" "Remember I work in the woods. If I have my truck even at base camp, I'm golden. If we jump or hike in then we are limited to what we want to carry besides everything that we have to carry." Luke noticed Bo's hands doing a bit of wandering as they were all talking. Wandering hands was not unusual for Bo Duke, but the fact they were wandering over BL Davenport and she wasn't objecting was different. “Camping gear maybe but do you always carry this?”,BL held up the jar of shine, before refilling her cup. “No, I planned to bring the shine”, Luke admitted. Bo pushed BL’s hair to the side nuzzling her neck. Luke was always the planner, "Say Bo, before we get too settled, we need to go grab a bit more wood." Bo gave BL a kiss and said, "We'll be right back." Bo didn't complain because he had actually wanted to talk to Luke in private. Down by the water, Bo checked his wallet and found what he expected. He had just one rubber. "Luke, would you happen to have an extra?" Luke wasn't thinking along his lines, "Extra what?" —----------------------------- While the guys gathered more wood BL and Dixie had some privacy and BL wanted to talk, “Dixie, have you lost the good sense the good Lord gave you?”, BL asked. Dixie couldn't help but give BL the slightest grin, "Meaning what?" “Well for starters, how about being parked so close to the side of the road, doing what you were doing”,BL said. "I'll admit I'm probably more than a bit to blame for that." Dixie bit her lip and grinned mischievously. “There’s no probably about it”, BL tried to give Dixie a disapproving look but didn’t quite pull it off. Dixie shrugged her shoulders and took a long drink of shine, "It was a long time coming." She couldn't help the grin as the double meaning of her statement struck her funny bone. “Better ease up on this stuff”BL shook her cup, swirling her shine around. “We got to work tomorrow”, BL took a long drink, ignoring her own advice. "I have a holiday, they missed giving me. I'm off tomorrow." She said taking another drink of shine. “Got an answer for everything tonight don’t you?, What are you gonna tell Luther about not coming home?”, BL gave Dixie a smug look. Dixie said, "Maybe I'll just tell him what I do isn't any of his business." Before BL could reply, the guys were back with the wood. Luke asked, "What isn't any of who's business? —----------------------------- “You know what. There’s a pretty girl waiting for me over there,” Bo said. Luke finally caught Bo’s train of thought, “I think so, let me check”, Luke took out his own wallet, he had a few rubbers and gave one to Bo. “Here, lucky for you, I have a few”. They gathered more firewood, then returned to the campsite, Luke threw a couple sticks on the fire. Bo let his hands wander some more as he and BL started to kiss, a little at first then deeper with each kiss they shared. The campfire wasn’t burning as hot as their passion though. Luke had managed to move his stuff just a bit out of the light and a might further away from Bo and BL. Luke certainly had no plans to sleep beside Dixie with Bo and BL on the other side of the fire. Once everything was laid out they settled back in to watch the fire, sip some more shine and cuddle under the stars. Bo and BL picked up where they had stopped earlier, Bo slid his hands under BL’s shirt undoing her bra. At the same time she was unbuttoning his shirt, trailing kisses all the way to his belly button. Not giving Luke nor Dixie another thought, clothes were shucked and they were soon spent and breathing hard, Bo’s sleeping bag around them. BL wrapped in Bo’s arms, drifted off into peaceful slumber. Kissing BL’s temple, Bo too found sleep easy. ^^^^^^^^^^^^

I like listening to their accents while they commentate! Abu Dhabi....I like the way that sounds......Abu Dhabi...Abu Dhabi!! LOL! I like the way they say GAIR RAHG! ...lol! ( Garage)

Saturday morning the town was a hive of activity,everyone was getting things set to start celebrating founder’s day in a couple hours when they normally started conducting business. Miz Tisdale was running the post office one last time, before moving to her sister’s, so BL could finish her dress and get ready for the dance. “Whew, done at last’ BL held up the finished,dark green dress for Dixie to see. “I still got a few threads to trim.” BL said. —------------------- In town decorations and stands were being put out for the many planned events. At the Duke farm Luke was on the porch putting the finishing touches on his ax with his sharpening stones. Jesse was packing stuff in a cooler to make his famous chili at the chili cook off, while Bo got in some target practice with his bow and arrows for the archery contest. Balladeer: This time without dynamite arrows. Daisy was entering the pie baking competition and was busy setting her famous apple pie out of the oven, to cool. Luke ribbed, "I loaded some dummy arrows if you want to try them out." Bo glared at his older cousin, "Cute, Luke, real cute!" Luke shrugged his shoulders and kept sharpening. "So you are really taking Dixie to the dance tonight?" Luke glared hard at Bo, "Yes, and what about it?" Bo knew the look and promptly put his hands up in front of him in defense, "Nothing Luke. I swear, ..... it's just that… "That what?" Luke asked. Bo breathed in and out deeply before beginning. "Now I like Dixie. Love her like a sister....but last time ...." Luke glared with a hard look, "Yeah last time I was 19, she was 15. Did you know she was 15???" Bo dropped his head, "No. No, Luke I didn't." Luke threw his hands up in his own defense, "I didn't either Bo. So, sue me! I didn't either, .....and she didn't know what a major issue a few months was,.... but now it's years later and those few months mean nothing." Bo said lowly, "Unless you are Luther Davenport." Luke shot him a look. —---------------------- In town booths were set up all over, Luke, Dixie, Bo and BL wandered from booth to booth looking at the handmade quilts, ect. for sale. —--------------------------- “Hey Dixie, that looks like fun” BL pointed to the dunk tank, where Cletus was just climbing back onto the platform after getting a good dunking. “Sure does, let's play” Dixie replied. The couples went over to the booth where Bo gave a dollar to the vendor, getting 3 baseballs which he handed to BL “it’s on me darlin’”. BL took the balls, hurling one at the little target that covered the dunking lever “this is for scaring me and Dixie half to death last night” BL called to the soggy deputy.SPLASH Cletus yelped as he hit the cold water. SPLASH,SPLASH two more times, BL hit the target giving Cletus another unscheduled bath. After making sure that Cletus had a couple weeks worth of baths the group decided to make their way to other booths. —------------------------- Church groups, lady's league even the orphanage had booths set up with games, ring toss, clothespins into milk bottles. The food and other contests would be later in the day since some foods had to be cooked on site. After the prizes were awarded, the contestants sold their entries to raise money for various charities. "Good luck Uncle Jesse, we'll see you later for the judging" Daisy said as they watched the chili cookoff contestants preparing to get started. The others wished Uncle Jesse good luck too. "Thank you kids," Jesse replied. Other food contestants had already begun cooking and the town was beginning to smell wonderful. Bo rubbed his stomach. "I sure hope they cook fast." Luke shook his head, "Always thinking about food. Shouldn't you be thinking about who else entered the archery contest." "I ain't worried." Bo said confidently. "What about the axe throwing?" Luke replied, "I still wished some of my guys would have come over and entered. Some are pretty good but when I told them you have to catch the axe first, everyone lost interest." Luke rubbed his neck as if he just could not figure out why his guys lost interest. —----------------------- “Let’s all enter the horseshoe toss, guys against girls” BL said. Luke stepped up to the table paying his and Dixie’s entry fee, stepping out of the way so Bo could pay his and BL’s entry fee. Dixie went first for the girls, Luke took position a few feet away. When Dixie bent over to pick up a horseshoe, Luke’s toss went wild, nearly hitting Jed McCoy in the shin, “Hey watch what you're throwing them thangs at!” Jed yelled. “Huh, oh sorry Jed” Luke looked a bit sheepish. Bo ribbed his cousin a bit even if he hadn't seen the reason for Luke's wild throw. "You don't have to just throw them things away over there. We'll beat you fair and square." —------------------------ “Cute, Bo. It slipped. Let's see what you have." Bo threw the horseshoe that landed around the pin for a nice wringer until it spun around and slid right off the pin. Bo was just about to brag when the shoe slid away from the pin. Luke nearly spit his teeth out. —---------------------------- BL managed to get a leaner with her first horseshoe. Bo's second shoe was much closer than where his first had landed, however it moved BL's leaner off the pin. —----------------------------- A live band had been hired too, tuckered from running around all morning the two couples had spread blankets on the grass so they could rest and listen to the music. The band was playing Kenny Chesney’s ‘ When the sun goes down,’ Luke slid his arm around Dixie’s shoulders as they listened. —------------------------ Luther was on his way to the garage when he cut through the square where people were watching the music. He really hadn't been looking at anyone as he crossed until he caught a glimpse of Dixie sitting on a blanket with Luke. Luther stopped dead in his tracks in front of the couple. Luke had been paying more attention to the music than who was walking by or where his hand was at. Right up until Luther stopped in front of him and glared. Dixie was watching the goings on in the square so she missed the exchange. Luke was trying hard to not make a thing out of this so he removed his hand and reached over for a cold drink from the cooler. Dixie may not have seen but Bo did. —---------------------------- Once Luke's hand was moved, Luther proceeded on after giving Luke another look. BL had seen it all too, she was glad Luther hadn’t made a scene, she just hoped there wasn’t one tonight when Luke picked Dixie up for the dance. Bo was glad he wasn’t Luke. Although Clyde was a might over protective, having raised BL by himself after his wife died when BL was 13, he wasn’t unreasonable and tried to treat BL like a responsible grown woman, not a kid. —--------------------- The veins in Luke's neck tensed as he watched Luther walk away. He couldn't help but wonder if he should just walk away and go back to Atlanta. No, maybe Dixie would go to Atlanta with him. Then he thought of something Uncle Jesse told them years ago, 'Dukes don't run. Sometimes we want to run, sometimes we ought to run, but we don't and aren't now.' They had asked. 'Why?' Jesse had said. 'Because we got nowhere to run.' Well, it had been good enough for Dukes before him, so it would have to be good enough for him now. "Want to take a walk?" He asked Dixie casually, while giving Bo a look that said he wanted sometime. Dixie said. "Sure, Luke." getting to her feet. After Luke and Dixie had gone Bo moved a bit closer to BL, he didn’t want any looks from Clyde should he walk by, so he was watching how friendly he was with BL. “I can’t wait for the dance tonight,” Bo said. “Me either” BL replied. “Has Luke said anything to you about him and Dixie being back together?” BL asked,careful not to let her expression betray Dixie’s confidence. “No, he’s been tight lipped, I tried to get him to admit something the night he and Dixie went MIA but he wouldn’t talk” Bo said. BL nodded, reaching for a drink from the cooler. —---------------------- Dixie walked with Luke in silence for a long while before she took his hand and stepped in front of him, "What's on your mind Luke?" Dixie had done it to him again. She could nearly read him like a book. Luke took a deep breath before he began, "You know that no matter how I've wanted to ask you out officially, I've taken my time. I've given you, me, everyone else time to get used to seeing us together." Dixie nodded, "Yes." Yes he had, which had nearly driven her insane. "A bit ago, no one but me noticed that your Dad walked by," Luke stated. It was true, Dixie hadn't seen her Dad. "He gave me one look and for about a whole second, I thought about packing it in." Luke said. Dixie's heart fell to her shoes as she heard what Luke had said, "Luke..." He stopped her in mid sentence, "I said for a second." Luke paused, "I just need to know, 100 percent, you are on board with this before I have to dig in my heels. Last time, .... ages and law got in the way. I didn't have a leg to stand on. This time, ....." Luke looked Dixie up and down, "this time, ... ages be damned. There's no laws to stop us, ..... Just as long as you are on board." Dixie felt a long ago sensation of electricity run through her as she stepped close to Luke, "I don't want to cause or start any trouble for any of us, but I'm here, with you, for as long as you'll have me." That wasn't exactly what Luke expected to hear, but he knew her heart. He leaned in for a long, deep kiss.... The kiss lasted a full 2 minutes before Dixie slowly pulled back. “Guess we should get back, before our cousins come looking for us,” Dixie said breathlessly. “S’pose so” Luke said,wrapping his arm around Dixie’s waist. The couple walked back to where the band was playing, Luke still had his arm around Dixie. —---------------------------- “Was wondering what happened to you two, hey Dix, we better get going if we’re going to be ready for the dance on time, ” BL said. The guys were going to find Uncle Jesse, so the foursome parted ways and the girls headed back to the Davenport farm. BL looked over her shoulder after putting the last hairpin in “Dix you're not going to have any nails at all if you keep chewing on them” BL said. Dixie took the pinky from her mouth “I can’t help it. I’m just a wee bit nervous” Dixie replied. “A wee bit?” BL cocked an eyebrow at her cousin, “you're as jumpy as a long tailed cat,in a room full of rocking chairs” BL said. Dixie replied as she looked at the wrecker sitting in the yard through her window, "Why can't he get a call? You know standing in Luke's arms, I wasn't a bit nervous about Daddy. But right now at this moment I feel like I'm three again." “Dixie you ain’t 15 anymore, Luther’s just gonna have to accept, that you're grown now and he can’t run your life,”.BL said continuing. ,“how do you think my Daddy feels? He don’t like what I do always but he lets me do it anyway, don’t get me wrong, he don’t just accept it quietly, no siree he fusses till he’s blue.”. —----------------------- At the Duke farm, Luke had set to as he put it, cleaning his truck up, even though it was clean, while Bo took a shower. Bo was getting dressed when he heard Luke swear from the bathroom. Followed shortly by another round of swearing. "You alright in there Luke?" Bo asked. Luke mumbled something then said, "I swear Daisy has been using my razor again." “At least it wasn’t mine,” Bo ribbed. “Cute Bo” Luke grumbled, as he came into his and Bo's room. He took out a good pair of jeans which he put a pair of suspenders on with. Took out a clean shirt. He then brushed his polished boots. “You sure are pulling out all the stops getting ready” Bo commented casually, buttoning his shirt. “Tonight’s kinda special.” “What’s so special, it’s just the founder’s day dance”. “Well you know that walk me and Dixie took in town today?” “Yeah…” Bo said. “Dixie and I talked, we don’t want to start trouble for nobody but I ain’t gonna let Luther or anybody else get in my way again. I am going to see Dixie and I don’t give a damn who don’t like it. Dixie said she was with me 100 percent.” “I hope you know what you’re doing cousin,” Bo said. “I do..If you want, go on and pick up BL”. “Think I’ll go when you do, you might need backup”, Bo said. Luke replied, "Suit yourself." —------------------------- A short time later, all three younger Davenports were dressed and ready to head out on the town for some fun. Luther was drinking his coffee and reading the paper not paying much attention to the goings on in the house. Cooter had just picked up his keys, ready to go get his date when the unmistakable sound of Daisy's Roadrunner coming up the driveway was heard. It was followed by Luke's F-250 King cab pickup. Luther looked up from his paper, "Are you all meeting over here or something before going out?" Cooter wasn't sure what the others had planned, "Not that I know of, I was about to head out." But, something made Cooter wait before heading out. —------------------------- Luther heard not a set of high heels and boots on his porch but two sets of boots. He looked at Cooter. Cooter shrugged his shoulders. He answered the door when it was knocked on. Bo said, "Hey Cooter. Is BL ready?" Cooter yelled upstairs, "BL, Bo's here." Bo stepped aside a bit waiting for BL. Cooter saw Luke behind Bo and thought it was a might odd, even if the two were riding together, that Luke would have gotten out of the vehicle too. Either he would have picked up his date or be rushing Bo so they could get on their way to pick his date up. "Cooter shrugged his shoulders, “Hey Luke. What’s up? Luke stood up just a bit straighter. He was talking to Cooter, but years of knowing the family told Luke that Luther was in earshot. "I've come to take Dixie to the dance Cooter." At that moment Bo wished he wasn't standing basically between Luke and the Davenports. Before Cooter could reply, Luther was at the door. "You think you are going to do what?" Luther's voice boomed. Yes, this was the scene. The exact one Luke deep down expected. "I am taking Dixie to the dance. I asked. She accepted. Plain and simple." BL cringed when Luther boomed and thought here he goes. “Hey Bo, Luke”, BL said, going to stand by Bo, watching the other men. —---------------------- “Hey BL” Luke said. “Hey BL, you look nice” Bo said the tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Dixie hoped to make it down the stairs and continue on out the door. The rafters of the old farm house had just been rattled. She hoped the roof didn't collapse. "Hi, guys. Are you ready Luke?" Dixie said wisely, stepping to Luke's left side. —----------------------- Luther looked at his daughter, then to Cooter. Cooter was giving his father a look that he hoped would remind him that the last time Dixie left it was years before she came around again. Luther was torn between normal reason and still owing Luke the lesson he apparently didn't get several years ago. Luther said calmer than he felt as he looked, Luke in the eyes, "I'd like a word with you." Dixie gently held on to Luke's arm as she said, "We'll be late." Luke's eyes never moved off of Luther, "We won't be long Darlin'." He said as he stepped to follow Luther into the kitchen. —------------------------- As Luke followed Luther into the kitchen the others gave each other worried looks. ”Patty Lou’s, going to think I’m standing her up, if I’m late” Cooter said but he wasn’t leaving until Luke and his father came out of the kitchen. “I bet Dad is going to blow a gasket and try to start something,” Dixie said. “It’ll be fine Dixie” BL said with more confidence than she felt. The room went silent, each of them trying to hear what was being said in the kitchen. “At least it ain’t sounding like WW3 in there”, Bo said. “Yet…” Dixie said, knowing both men were stubborn. —-------------------------- Luther began, "Luke... Nothing has changed here. Dixie is my little girl." Luke cut in, "Everything has changed. She is your daughter and I respect that, but she is a grown woman. Until the other night when I asked her out I had not pursued, chased or even encouraged her. Dixie is an adult. She makes her own money and decisions. I just want to take her out and be able to have a conversation without half the County...." Luke trailed off and regrouped his thoughts, "Luther I respect you. I have never intended to hurt Dixie. What happened before wasn't intentional. You should know me better than that." “I do Luke, Jesse raised you right” Luther said. “Truce” Luke held his hand out for a handshake. Luther gave it a firm shake, “You better treat her right and not hurt her, or you’ll answer to me and most likely Cooter too.” “Yes sir”, Luke said respectfully, leaving the kitchen, Luther following. —----------------- As soon as Luke saw Dixie’s worried look he smiled, taking her hand heading for the door, “Ready?..told you it wouldn’t take long”. Luther told them goodbye,returning to his newspaper. Luke took Dixie's hand, heading toward the door at a trot. He wasn't slowing down until they got to the truck. At the truck, Luke decided the best, fastest, easiest way to get Dixie in the truck was to just lift her into the passenger seat and let her wrangle all that dress inside while he made his way to the driver's seat, "Ready?" Dixie replied, "Always." —-------------------- With that Luke unintentionally slung a pile of gravel as he backed up, turned around and headed down the driveway. Dixie cringed just a bit, knowing how Luther was about his gravel. "That bad?" "Worse....." Luke began gripping the steering wheel tightly. "We called a truce. Shook on it even, but I don't see that being the end of the tension." Dixie didn't either, "Maybe he's come to terms that we are both adults." Luke laughed out loud, "I seriously wished he had. If he had, that wouldn't have happened." —---------------------- Luke pulled his F 250 truck in the mill parking lot, Bo right behind him in Daisy’s roadrunner, the place looked packed. Dixie was the focus of several women as she came in holding Luke’s hand. Balladeer: It sure looks like the green eyed monster has a hold of several of those girls, don’t it? Seeing the looks she was getting being with Luke, Dixie couldn't help smiling just a bit wider. Luke just grinned and acted as if he didn’t see the attention they were getting as they walked in and found a table. Luke and Dixie danced to a slow song, everyone might have been dressed in period clothes but they were dancing more modern. —------------------- Cooter was at the punch bowl getting Patty Lou a glass of punch. Bo and BL were taking a moonlit stroll, the evening was perfect, almost too perfect. Returning to the mill BL and Bo got plenty of looks themselves from girls who would have given their right arm for a date with Bo. Some of them were former classmates, who thought Bo and BL were just friends in school, because they were always with the others but tonight, they were on a real date was easy to see. —------------------------ Jesse had taken turns dancing with several of the widows and of course Miz Tisdale had her place in line. Balladeer: Now it was certain the apple didn't fall from the tree. Them boys got it honest from their Uncle Jesse. Daisy and the others were having fun watching the ladies fawn over him. Finally Jesse took a seat at the makeshift bar that had been set up for mostly the older men who might want a bit more than the sweet punch the ladies made. Luther came in and took a seat beside him. —-------------------- Dixie and Luke stayed on the dance floor for another slow song. Luke didn't realize that Luther had come in. He was relaxed and enjoying himself holding Dixie close to him. Dixie for her part was enjoying being held. Luther turned his back to the dance floor, he might have agreed to a truce with Luke but that didn’t mean he liked Luke holding his little girl anymore than before, it just meant he had to accept it. “Hey Jesse.” Luther said. “Howdy Luther.” Jesse replied. They were soon joined by Clyde, who noticed Luther was facing the bar. Instead of watching all the activity around him. “You ok brother?” Clyde asked. “I guess”.” Luther replied. “You guess?” Jesse said, picking up on Luther’s unconvincing answer. “I’m just trying to keep my word and not butt in on Dixie’s and Luke’s relationship.” Said Luther. “I thought you might have eased up, after our talk the other day. Dixie is a grown woman, makes her own money. She handles herself just fine everyday at tri-county jail.” Clyde said. “Clyde’s right, you have to let Dixie make her own choices, if you try to run her life, like she’s still a kid, you might just run her off”. Jesse said wisely. Luther finished his beer saying, ”I hear what ya’ll are saying.” —-------------------- At around 10 pm people began to leave and by 10:45 only the six Duke and Davenport youngsters remained, Cooter had taken Patty Lou home with a headache a while ago. “Looks like the party’s over, it’s still early, how about we head to the Boar’s Nest for a while?” Bo suggested and they all agreed. Dixie said, "That sounds good to me if I can just go grab a bag out of Daisy’s car." Luke watched as she set to gathering the yards and yards of material in her dress. "Where is it? I'm a bit quicker." With a look of gratitude, Dixie replied, "Back passenger side. Blue." Luke was headed to the car figuring exactly what was in the bag. The girls had all looked great in the older style of clothing but he was up for seeing Dixie in a lot less yardage. “Hey Luke, will you grab my bag too, it’s the red one in the backseat driver’s side?” BL asked before Luke got out the door. “Sure BL” Luke said, coming back a couple minutes later handing the girls their bags. “Thanks, we’ll be back in a few minutes,” Dixie said, going to the restroom with BL and Daisy. —--------------------- After hours of a dress with enough material to make three dresses Dixie was really glad to get out of it and into a pair of jeans, tank top with a shirt/jacket over it and her boots. "Lordy, that feels so much better." She said while hanging her dress on a hanger. BL pulled on her other boot, glad to be in her comfortable jeans and off the shoulder top, “Sure does, those shoes were killing my feet.” BL said, putting the shoes in her bag. “I’m glad I don’t have to dress like that for work,”Daisy said, buckling her high heel with an open toe. She was ready for her shift wearing her short denim shorts and a tank top. —-------------------------- While the girls were changing clothes Bo was curious about what Luke and Luther discussed in the Davenport kitchen, ”Luke what’d you say to Luther back at the house?” “Yeah” Cooter chimed in, “I figured ya’ll would have WW3”. Luke didn’t want to say so shrugged his shoulders saying “we came to an understanding”, “we called a truce”.”Who called a truce?” Dixie asked just hearing the last part as the girls came back from changing. "Just telling them about earlier." Luke said as he put his arm around Dixie. Cooter agreed that Dixie was an adult now and more than capable of making her own choices, but the familiarity of Luke’s touch did bother him. "Let's get moving." Luke said. They all headed out to the vehicle —------------------- A short time later, the group all skidded to a stop outside the Boar’s Nest. It looked more packed than the dance had been. Daisy hopped out of Cooter’s car heading inside to work, Boss Hogg had given her a few hours off to go to the dance but now she had to close up at 2am closing time and he’d docked her pay. Darcy had to leave the dance early but Uncle Jesse had said he’d drop Daisy off at the Boars Nest. Cooter had taken Patty Lou home early with a bad headache, so Cooter had given Daisy a ride instead of Uncle Jesse, since he was going to the Boars Nest with the others, after the dance. —------------------ “Be with you in just a minute everybody.” Daisy said, hurrying to get her order pad. Luke held Dixie’s hand as they walked in the dim lit bar. He gave his eyes a few seconds to adjust to the lighting before heading toward the back to maybe find a table. It may have been a bit dark but the glow of several sets of green eyes could be seen or felt by Dixie and Luke. Seeing the looks she was getting being with Luke, Dixie couldn't help smiling just a bit wider. Luke wasn't blind. He saw the looks and thought it was funny. He was in a good mood as he thought about some of the girls that were shooting daggers their way. If they wanted something to look at he'd give them something to look at. —----------------------- The group managed to find a table toward the back and took their seats just as a great slow song began to play. Luke didn't even ask Dixie to dance, he just took her hand and led her to the dance floor where he took Dixie in his arms, pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her tightly. Dixie responded by stepping even closer to Luke with her arms wrapped around him. Luke smelled Dixie's perfume as she got closer. Right then he knew he was done for as his tight jeans suddenly got a bit tighter. —-------------------------- Luther had left the party early. His intention was to go to the less crowded Boar’s Nest and drink coffee until he got a call or maybe, just maybe, Cooter would take the wrecker at midnight and then he could have a couple beers. He really wanted something much stronger and a lot of it about now. “Hey BL, want to play some pool?”, Bo asked. “Sure” BL said standing up. The two headed for the back room, Bo holding BL by the hand as they wove their way through the crowd. —------------------------- Cooter went over to Luther’s table and sat down when he saw both of them were sitting alone. Luther only spared his son a glance, he was watching Luke and Dixie he might have agreed to a truce with Luke but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t still watch him like a hawk. Luther asked Cooter after they had sat awhile, "Where's your girl?" "I took her home a bit ago." Cooter replied. "Well, since you are free. How about taking the wrecker tonight?" Luther asked. Unknowingly, Cooter played into Luther's hand as he shrugged, "May as well." —--------------------- While Bo and BL played pool BL thought about what Bo said on their stroll earlier, she was still worried about court though. Bo caught her eye, giving her his best grin that made all the girls swoon. “I told you don’t worry darlin’ me and Luke, Dixie, Daisy and Cooter ain’t gonna let bogus charges stick, we’ll find out what Boss’s scheme is before court.” “I can't help it, Bo,” BL said. —----------------- After taking Mis Tisdale home, Jesse Duke walked into the Boar’s Nest hoping for a cold beer before heading home. Besides, he rationalized, he was way too dressed up to go home this early. He took a seat with Luther, just as Cooter had taken the keys to the wrecker and headed back to the table where Luke and Dixie had just come back to. Luke motioned Daisy over. "Give us a round of beers, Darlin'." "Alright, Luke. Is that 3 or 5? Since BL is about to skunk Bo at the pool table?" "Better make it 5.," Luke laughed as his arm dangled over Dixie’s shoulder. —------------------------ “I win again, ready to call it quits, before I smear your record completely?” BL teased after beating Bo for the 4th time. “Just you wait, I’ll beat you and redeem myself, but let's take a break and have a beer,” Bo replied, heading back to the table. Daisy came back with beers for the table, just as BL and Bo sat down, “here you go, ya’ll enjoy.” Daisy said, sitting the last beer down. Cooter began nursing his beer as the others were pretty much drinking up. Bo noticed and said, "Drink up Cooter, I'll get the next round." Cooter shook his head ‘no’, "Can't." He said as he held up the familiar keys of the wrecker. Everyone knew Luther's strict 1 watered down beer limit if you were driving his trucks. —------------------------ The fact that Luther was in the bar had the same effect on Luke as if Daisy had dumped a dishpan of ice in his lap. He swore to himself as he was now able to spot Luther at a table up front with Uncle Jesse. Everyone was having a good time, talking and laughing. Luther was on his 3rd beer now after giving Cooter the wrecker keys. Noone was really paying attention when Ernie Ledbetter walked in until BL glanced to the right, leaning over she whispered to Bo “Don’t look now but trouble just walked in.” Balladeer: Now just because Ernie walked in isn't immediate trouble, but he and Luke have had a history of trouble dating back to their high school football playing days. Bo saw Ernie just inside the door checking out the crowd. "Luke,.... don't look now but, Ernie is here." —------------------ Luke looked from where he was watching Luther toward the door and saw that Ernie, who had always been a mountain, had not gotten any smaller over the years since he'd seen him last. Thinking that maybe, just maybe the fool over there had gotten some sense, Luke said, "Well, we’ll just leave him over there." Everybody kept right on having a good time, Luke relaxed after a bit even though Luther was there, he wasn’t butting in, even though Luke and Dixie danced a few more times. Cooter had switched to soda after he’d finished his beer. The jukebox started playing ‘Dixieland Delight’ by Alabama, one of BL’s favorite songs, Bo held out a hand saying “wanna dance”? BL took his hand and they were soon joined by Luke and Dixie. Cooter looked at his Dad to see what effect the song’s lyrics and Luke holding Dixie was having on Luther. Luke’s tight jeans were getting even tighter as the song and Dixie in his arms worked together. Next was Conway Twitty’s ‘I’d love to lay you down’. Luther gripped his beer mug tighter as Luke bent down and said something to Dixie. He then saw Dixie look up at Luke and smile widely. —------------------ Jesse had been watching the crowd but nothing he saw concerned him. He finished his beer and asked, "Luther, can I give you a ride home?" Jesse knew Cooter had taken over the wrecker hours ago. "Thanks Jesse, but I’m gonna have another." Luther said. Slurring just a might. Jesse had seen the man drink heavily but It was few and normally far between. He waved to Daisy and headed to his pickup and toward home. —----------------------- As Conway's song played Dixie had moved even closer to Luke who was only paying her attention. Luke had thoughts of sliding out of here just as soon as he could gracefully get Dixie off the dance floor. She was driving him up the wall and unlike her teenage self, she knew exactly what she was doing to him. With the song in full swing, Luke felt a hand tap his shoulder. He turned to see Erie standing beside him, smiling, "I'm cuttin' in." "No ya ain't." Luke said, trying to ignore the distraction. Ernie pushed Luke's buttons "Come on now Duke, you can't be taking up all the wench's time." —------------------------- Luke turned to Ernie speaking through gritted teeth “what did you call her”? “A wench” Earnie sneered. “That’s what I thought you said” Luke growled, punching Ernie in the jaw. Stumbling back from the unexpected punch, the mountain of a man came at Luke with a roar, hitting him so hard that Luke crashed into Luther’s table, knocking over his beer. Having had a few too many, Luther slugged Luke in the jaw sending him stumbling back a few steps. What started out a near perfect night was quickly going south. Luke managed to get to his feet before Ernie took another run at him. Luke saw him coming and punched him dead on in the jaw, sending him toward the bar. Luther figured now was as good a time as any to even the score with Luke for pawing his daughter. He let a roundhouse punch fly. Bo saw Luther's swing and called to Luke, "Luke watch out!" —------------------------- Luke turned in time to deflect Luther's punch and sent him flying across the bar. Bo saw Ernie get to his feet so he took a swing of his own. Cooter saw Luther about to plow drive Luke and stepped in trying to stop his father. Luther was already too far gone to think rationally or have complete control of his reflexes, he couldn’t stop his forward momentum, Cooter being the one on the receiving end of the plow drive meant for Luke. “ Ernie lookout” Ernie’s pal Floyd warned seeing Bo about to clock Ernie, he threw a punch of his own. Rosco, having been on patrol, stopped in to check on things, the Boars Nest was more crowded than usual. Opening the door, stepping inside he was nearly hit by a flying chair. “Jumping Jehosophat, what a mess”, Rosco mumbled. Pulling out his gun hollering “FREEZE” he fired a shot in the ceiling to get the combatants attention. —------------------------ Which only half worked. Bo, Cooter and Ernie's friend Floyd all stopped. Luke didn't have much choice since both Ernie and Luther were intent on fighting him. "Alright! I said quit it now!" Rosco demanded sending a chandelier falling to a nearby table and sending flying glass everywhere! Luke managed to get to his feet just as Luther took one last all out effort to make him pay by running full force at Luke. Erie saw a chance for a couple cheap shots and jumped back in the middle of the fight. Bo. Cooter and Ernie's friend Floyd jumped in to stop the fight. —---------------------- None of the girls had time to even process who was fighting who and why. After wrestling around for several minutes, Cooter finally got Luther pulled off Luke “Dad…Dad just simmer down.” Bo and Earnie’s friend Floyd weren’t having much success though. Rosco was trying to separate the two as well “Charlie, get Cletus on the CB and tell him to get over here, I need backup,” Rosco called over to the bar. Rosco looked at the group still tusseling about. At best he and Cletus could haul four and he was seeing at least six right now that he planned to give a ride to. For once Rosco was using his head as he spotted the younger Davenport, "Dixie get on the phone to Tri Counties and tell them I need a van." Even though Luke had been drinking and currently had his hands full with Luther and Ernie, he heard Rosco loud and clear. It was as if someone had poured ice down the back of his shirt. Seeing Dixie officially and at work was not on his bucket list. Cooter and Bo looked at each other then Luther, both were sure that had he drank just a little less, he’d not like what Rosco just told Dixie to do. Just because he was her kin, both knew Dixie would do her job. Cooter wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of dealing with his ‘little’ sister professionally. —------------------------ Dixie went over to the phone making the call, then turned back to Rosco “the van will be here in 10 minutes.”, Dixie said. A minute later Cletus arrived, gun drawn. By this time Cooter had gained control of Luther, sort of anyway. Ernie's friend was moving him away from Luke who was trying to convince Bo he was done. By the time Rosco had froze everyone and Cletus arrived the van from Tri-Counties arrived. Cletus saw the place, "Sheriff, we can't transport them all together." Rosco had seen enough to figure who were the trouble makers in his mind. "Right, you put the Dukes in your car, the rest can go in the van." Luke managed to get his truck keys and wallet and laid it on the bar, passing it to Dixie who was still behind the bar from using the phone. Bo, like Luke fished the keys to Daisy’s car out of his pocket, laying them beside BL, on the bar where she retreated to keep from being clobbered by mistake, “you need these more than me.” Cooter followed suit, handing Daisy his car keys, “here Daisy take these, so nobody has to wait for you to close up or come back and get you.” —--------------------------- Rosco told the officers from Tri-Counties. "I just needed them taken to the Hazzard Jail tonight and didn't have enough room with the cruisers." Luke was sure as he and Bo were cuffed and put in the back of Cletus's patrol car, that he had not ever been more happy to be in a cruiser heading to the Hazzard jail. Rosco did a fine job of directing Cletus and Tri-Counties Correctional Officers to get his 6 arrestees heading into Hazzard, then outside the Courthouse he let the officers take Luther, Cooter, Ernie and friend to the downstairs cells, then brought Bo and Luke to the upstairs cell. —------------------------- Meanwhile, Dixie was just glad the officers didn't recognize her in real clothes, or if they did, they didn't let on. "Daisy before we head out, give us another beer that I only hope we can drink in peace." Dixie knew there was nothing to be done for the men tonight. “Here you go girls”, Daisy sat a beer in front of each of the Davenport girls, “Thanks Daisy, I’ll bring your car home in the morning. Hey Dix, if you take Luke’s truck home, we can get Cooter’s car, then I can get my car from your house,” BL said, having it all worked out in her head anyway. Daisy said, "Or, ya’ll could just come home with me tonight. There's two empty beds." BL thought for a minute “Daddy’s watching Sadie till I get home but I’m sure he won’t mind dog sittin’ overnight.” BL said, looking at Dixie for her answer, It actually made the most sense since she was sure that tomorrow was going to be eventful. "If you are sure Uncle Jesse won't mind with everything that will need done tomorrow." Daisy replied a bit selfishly, "It may be better to have ya’ll around." Dixie replied, sipping on her beer, "It sounds like a plan." —--------------------------- At the jail, Luke had walked the length of the small cell by now about twenty times trying to get somewhat calmer. It had been several years since he'd been on this side of the bars and he hadn't missed it at all. He raked his hand through his hair. Bo knew it sounded stupid, but asked. "What's wrong Luke?" Luke gave him a look of total disbelief, "For one, I sorta thought I'd be spending the night with someone prettier than you." He immediately regretted saying that out loud even to Bo. Bo looked at Luke like he had two heads, he couldn’t believe Luke was even thinking that considering the past. —---------------------- At the Boars Nest BL and Dixie had volunteered to help Daisy clean the mess up from the fight. “Daisy, can I use the phone? I need to call Daddy, see if he minds dog sitting overnight.” “Not at all, help yourself,” Daisy replied. BL picked up the receiver dialing, Clyde answered on the second ring “Hello”. “Hi Daddy it's me, do you mind watching Sadie overnight?” BL asked. “No, I don’t mind. Are you staying with Dixie again?” “Well yes and no, Dixie and me are both staying at the Duke farm with Daisy.” BL was glad her father hadn’t asked more questions, she didn’t want to discuss how the evening had ended. ^^^^^^^^^^^^

Next year in F1, Daniel Ricciardo returns to Red Bull as a reserve/test driver, while his place at McLaren is taken by 2021 Formula 2 champion and current Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri. F2 driver Logan Sargeant takes Nicholas Latifi's place at Williams. Nico Hulkenberg returns to F1 to replace Mick Schumacher at Haas. 2021 Formula E World Champion Nyck de Vries joins F1 to replace Pierre Gasly at Alpha Tauri. Gasly moves to Alpine to replace Fernando Alonso, and Alonso moves to Aston Martin to replace Sebastian Vettel. Driver line-ups at Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and Alfa Romeo remain the same as this year. In other news, McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown has called for a change to the current driver qualification system to make it easier for IndyCar drivers to join F1 by employing a similar 'super-licence' system to Formula 2. It was also announced last week that next year's Chinese Grand Prix has been cancelled due to the country's Covid policies.

I've been a bit lazy reporting the last couple of races of the F1 season because the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships had already been decided. The season finished on November 20th, but it's taken me a week to post the review. Like last year, the final race of the season was in Abu Dhabi, but this time without the controversial ending. For the race, the top three teams qualified in pairs, with the Red Bulls on the front row, the Ferraris on the second row and the Mercedes on the third row. This year's champion, Max Verstappen, got a good start and never looked back, taking an easy win for a record-breaking 15th time in a season. Lewis Hamilton had a first lap incident with Carlos Sainz and great game of cat and mouse with Sergio Perez, but eventually had to retire with hydraulic issues. It's the first year of his F1 career where he hasn't had a pole position or win. Charles Leclerc held off Sergio Perez to claim second place in the race and the Drivers' Championship, and also secured Ferrari's second place in the Constructors' Championship ahead of Mercedes. A fair bit of the weekend's coverage was devoted to four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel, who has decided to retire from F1. He managed to claim a single point for finishing 10th in his final race. You can watch the race highlights here.

Hmmm, that gives me an idea. You could still come to the race but you can be the one who shoots the starter gun and waves the checkered flag. Except....we've never really used the checkered flag. Nobody has ever finished all four laps so if you left right after the race started you won't have to witness all the carnage. If you are on probation and can't shoot a starter gun, I'm sure Bo or Luke will lend you a bow and dynamite arrow.

Cousin RogerDuke... Yeah they were thought to have drowned in The Ghost of General Lee.