DaisyMaeDuke

"I dunno...I dunno..." he persisted, tears running down his cheeks.

He had met her in a diner She was waiting tables, when he and Bo had stopped there to get something to eat on their way home from Atlanta. Luke Duke had never been one to be shy around girls. Normally confidence overflowed him. But the moment he saw Sara, he could hardly speak, much less act. Bo had finally convinced him to approach her, and after many cups of coffee, he finally got the nerve to ask her out. He knew without a doubt that he had found his soulmate. Eventually they had gotten married. Bo by that time had been married to Sammy too, living the life of a NASCAR husband and wife. Though he missed his cousin deeply, life on the farm with his new wife kept him busy. There were always chores to be done, baby goats to ween, fences to mend... and above all there was Sara, his lifeblood. As long as he had her...he couldn't fail to be happy...and soon...there would be their baby. Then had come the day, the best and worst day of his life. In a matter of moments, God had given life and God had taken a life away...and the world as Luke Duke knew it crumbled apart.

"I dunno anymore...I...all I know...is he counted on me...Bo counted on me...I let em down..."

"W-was in...a field...I...I froze...I...I couldn't think...B-bo...had t get him help..." he stuttered in pain.

Luke meanwhile continued walking around Hazzard Square, Abi now huddled against his shoulder, her little hand still clinging to his shirt. Physically, he hadn't changed all that much, though his hair had flecks of gray showing through and the lines on his face were a bit deeper. When his uncle had passed, Luke had given up the smoke-jumping career he had begun and taken over the role as patriarch, drowning his sorrow in farm work, determined not to let the one thing Jesse had to pass down to his kids die with him. Of course, all the girls in Hazzard had been making their plays on him as the only eligible Duke boy; it wasn't long after though, that Luke Duke's heart belonged to only one woman: Sara.

Luke swallowed hard. "I...I k-k-killed...m-my uncle..." he broke out. "H-he needed me...I...I failed him...j-just stood there...u-useless...k-k-killed in Nam...e-everyone...I...I ever cared about...d-died..." he swallowed hard. "S'better...I'm here...no...noone can...get close to me here...s-s-safer...fer 'em."

Luke was trembling by now, clenching and unclenching his hands in his lap.

"K-k-killin...people..." he said with a shudder.

"Done bad things...awful things," he said tears starting to form.

Luke gently picked up his daughter, carrying her around on his shoulder, purposely staying away from Bo and Cassie til he thought the conversation was done, just walking about, cuddling and humming his baby to sleep.

Abi yawned cuddling into her daddy as they sat under the old oak tree by Hazzard Square. Luke held her gently, stroking back a stray strand of hair that fell over her shoulder. It was pretty obvious that the 6-year-old had him wrapped around her little finger. He couldn't help himself. To Luke, little Abi was a wingless angel, and his biggest fear was that she too would be taken up to Heaven, along with everyone else he had ever loved. "Gettin' tired baby?" "Mmm," murmured Abi, her thumb going to her mouth as she clutched Luke's shirt with her free hand.

Bad Day in Hazzard Hector Farley

"No...not at all," answered Luke with finality.

loafers

Luke looked down. This was a hard thing for him to talk about. "I...I just feel like...if I was a better person...that...that anyone I get close to...they...they jus'..."

"I always felt different...scared..felt like...it was my fault they left..."

"I still miss them..." he offered turning the ring on his finger. "More...more than anyone knows."

Luke nodded. "I...I was mad...angry. I was mad at God for takin' em...mad at them for goin'...mad at me....it all just happened so quick...one night...I...I was getting tucked in by Mama...the next...I was on my way to Uncle Jesse's, nothing but a few pairs of clothes an' a couple toys with me."

Luke waved good-bye to Enos before turning and kissing Abby on the forehead, drawing the child into his lap thoughtfully staring across the street. he knew that, right now, Bo was telling Cassie about Sara. He wasn't sure if that would be a good thing or not. The last thing Luke Duke wanted was pity. He didn't want reassurances that he'd find another person to love. He just wanted Sara back and that wasn't going to happen. He never talked about her (except on rare occasion to Bo) because when he did, it hurt enough to make him cry... and one thing Luke Duke couldn't stand was to see a grown man cry over what he could do nothing about.

Luke swallowed not meeting her gaze. "My...my folks died..wh-when I was 4." He bit his lip. He never talked about his family to anyone. It was all too painful.

That's very cool.

Correction Roger...you could have done what I used to do. I would take my little tape recorder and hold it up to the tv speaker every night. That would make sound recordings of the Dukes (granted sometimes the dogs were barking during a car chase or the phone rang in the middle of Hazzard pond...but still!) I'd put my pillow on top of it and sleep to Dukes playing in my head...learning by osmosis I suppose. Actually, I think I still have my cassette recording of brotherly love around here somewhere...LOL

Luke swallowed hard. "I...I guess...at the beginning."

Luke took a deep breath. "Wanna talk."

Luke meanwhile was drawing shaky breaths. he knew Bo would arrive soon, and he wanted to have accomplished something before he got there. "Sara..."