I Remember…
By: TNRiverRat
Spoiler:
A Duke remembers the events of a terrible time, some twenty years ago, that end up changing his life forever…or do they. Is it all a tragic flashback or could it be something else? In Hazzard, you never know…
I Remember…
Chapter 1
Bo Duke, age 45
Early April,
I
don’t know why, but things feel very strange.
Everything seems so hazy and disconnected, like I’m not really
here. I feel like I’m gradually losing
my grip on reality. I guess I’m finally
going crazy, just like Luke always said…or most likely, it’s because I’ve been
driving almost non-stop for three days and I’m exhausted. I probably just need a hot shower and some
sleep.
‘No…what
I need to do is just get home! I’ve
wasted so many years and I need to get some shred of my old life back before I
lose what’s left of my mind. I have a
real strong urge to talk about things, like I used to do with Luke and Uncle
Jesse, all those years ago. I need to
tell someone why I have lived away from my family for so long…why I haven’t
allowed myself to get attached to anyone.’
I can’t exactly explain why I feel this
way. I just know that things could have
turned out differently for me if not for one year in my life, just a few
events…and that’s what I need to talk about.
I need to open my soul again. I
used to be able to open up, to talk about anything…but that was years ago, when
I actually cared…No, I don’t want to think about that right now. I don’t want
to dredge up those old memories…but I have to.
If I don’t…well, I don’t know…
But I do know I have to get some of this off my chest before I get home
and see Luke and Daisy. I can’t unload
all this on them at once! I just wish
Uncle Jesse was still there. I miss him…I miss them all so much.
*************************************************************
I often
think of how I’ve ended up at this place in my life. It was more accident than anything
else…’cause I sure didn’t plan it. My career
as a NASCAR driver has allowed me to travel the country and see more people
than I could ever have imagined. I’ve
had my pick of the ladies and have had a few offers and opportunities to settle
down. But, there’s only one place I want
to live out the rest of my life…
As I
look out the windows of my latest vehicle, a fairly souped-up,
if I do say so myself, red Dodge Ram truck, I can see
that spring has come to the South and it’s a beautiful sight. I take advantage of my country driving skills
and steer clear of the Interstate if at all possible. The trip will take longer, of course; but I
don’t mind, I can use the time to think.
This time of year always makes me thoughtful and the fact that I have
just crossed the
*************************************************************
Two hours later,
As I
drive down a lonely two-lane on this rainy April morning, I remember that I
used to like spring. My birthday is in
the spring, so I had always felt that it was my special time of year. Watching
the world waking up after the cold grip of winter always seemed to wake me up,
too. All my life I had been impulsive and excitable; but warmer weather and the
chance to get outdoors seemed to make me worse.
I looked forward to warm days spent working with my family, playing with
friends, and getting into and out of trouble with my cousin, Luke. I looked even more forward to the cool spring
nights cuddled up in the General or the hayloft with which ever girl I was
dating at the time! It even seemed to be more fun outrunning Rosco and his
deputies when the landscape beyond our speeding car windows was alive and
green. I loved getting outside, messing around with cars and working on the farm. Spring was the time of year that the family
farm came alive and the work load picked-up. The animals, the machinery, even
the smell of the dirt made me feel …well…at
home; for lack of a better phrase. I
mean …I liked racing, and was good at it; but, back then I truly felt I could
stay on the old farm and scratch a living from the dirt, happily, for the rest of my life.
I knew my uncle thought otherwise, though. He always thought my cousins and I wouldn’t
be able to handle the responsibilities of full-time farming. In his mind, we boys were “too wild to ever
settle down” and Daisy would have a family and probably make her home
elsewhere…
There
I go, ramblin’ again…my
mind’s wanderin’ so much I can hardly think straight. Like I said, I used to like spring. I
can’t exactly say that now. Why? Why did
I grow to hate this beautiful time of year that used to be so special to me? It’s a long story. Seems too long, actually,
to have only covered one awful, wonderful, terribly brief year of my life; but…a
lot happened during that year. That was
the year my whole life got turned upside down.
I was scared to death that it would never be the same; then again, part
of me didn’t really want it to be…and it hasn’t been.
I remember pieces of it just like it were
yesterday. Most of that year… I wish I
could just forget; but… there are a few sweet moments that I never want to forget.
(I hope she understands. I pray I can let go of it all and move
on. I want to talk to her so badly…but I
don’t want to see her like this…I don’t want to be here…but I have to be here! Damn it…this is drivin’
me crazy!)
Well, here I am and there she
is, just like the last time I saw her. I
guess I’m ready to spill my guts. I probably should start at the beginning…God,
has it really been twenty years?
It all began in April, the year I turned
twenty-five…
Chapter 2
Twenty years earlier,
An early April morning in Hazzard County, Georgia
The bright spring morning began as any other in
Hazzard. Bo and Luke Duke were racing down
a dirt road, kicking up a cloud of dust, with Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane fast on
their heels. They had no idea why Rosco
was chasing them, other than the fact that they were Dukes and they had blown
past his new speed trap going at least ninety!
Around the next bend, Luke hollered “Watch it, Bo!” and braced
himself. Bo suddenly turned the wheel
hard; sending the bright orange muscle car into a tight turn, in order to avoid
old Mr. Sloan (who had chosen that particular road to transport his wagon-load
of hay). The sheriff was unable to react
as quickly to the surprised mules and their driver in his path. Rosco narrowly missed a very white-faced Mr.
Sloan and ended up going through a fence and nose-first into a small cow
pond. Bo and Luke slowed down long
enough to see the sheriff emerge from his car and stomp through the mud of the
shallow pond. They left the scene
laughing along with the familiar sounds of Rosco’s
frustrated shouting, the General’s “
Since
the fun was over, the cousins calmly continued on their way back to the family
farm, discussing the day ahead. Their
Uncle Jesse was waiting for them to return with the new pieces for Maudine’s harness. Their old mule was going to be used to
help with the spring planting in the south field and just as he was getting the
plow and harness ready, Jesse discovered a weak spot in the leather. He sent the boys into town for the new pieces
and threatened to tan their hides if they took too long. Jesse had a full day’s
work planned in the fields and another delay would cause him to be even more
irritated; so the young men decided to hurry up and get home. After arriving
home, Bo and Luke found a note tacked to the barn wall from their uncle. The note told them to get Maudine
and Molly (another mule borrowed from a neighbor) ready and bring them to the
south field. Jesse would already be
there, breaking up the ground with the tractor.
The younger Dukes quickly harnessed the mules and walked them to the
field. True to his word, Jesse was
sitting on the tractor and waiting for them. “About time!” he called, “This
corn ain’t gonna plant
itself.”
Bo and Luke, familiar with many years of farm
chores, knew what was expected of them and soon got to work. They used the mules to plow deep furrows in
the rich dirt while their uncle continued to break up the winter-hardened soil
ahead of them. The boys plodded slowly
behind the animals, reins draped loosely around their own necks, holding the
old, wooden plow handles with steady, calloused hands. Their family had prepared these fields for
planting in such a way for generations past.
Only in recent years had the Duke family used any mechanical farming
equipment at all. Jesse thought it was
good to stick with tradition, therefore they still did the majority of the
farming the old way. Bo and Luke didn’t really mind the strenuous work. They felt it gave them a closer connection to
the land their family loved. They
occupied their time by talking about upcoming races, girls, and sometimes
singing snatches of favorite songs. The
sounds of their voices and laughter mingling with the noises made by the
clinking harnesses of the placid mules floated on the spring breeze to their
uncle’s ears. He smiled as he watched
them from his perch on the tractor as he sat parked beneath the limbs of a
large, old oak at the end of the field.
The
early April sunshine was becoming warmer as the morning edged closer to
Jesse
continued to watch his boys while they worked; his thoughts drifting back to
when his “kids” were children. Luke, his dark-haired nephew, had always been
the steadiest and most reserved of the three young Dukes; even as a youngster. He was well liked by everyone and real
popular with the ladies even though he was still skittish about settling down
with any of them! He was sharp as a tack
and could’ve done well in any college; but he chose not to go that route, much
to Jesse’s dismay. Luke was the stronger
of the two boys, both physically and emotionally, and had always taken his
responsibilities, as being the eldest, very seriously. ‘Almost too seriously, at times’, thought
Jesse. His eldest nephew was fiercely
protective of his family and friends, especially since his return from his
stint in the Marines. He also seemed to
become a bit more reserved, if that was possible, as he grew older. Luke was the epitome of Calm, Cool, and Collected; at anytime, in any situation.
Jesse
fondly laughed when he thought of his blond-haired nephew who idolized Luke. His youngest adopted child could rarely be either calm, cool, or collected when upset, much less all three at once! Jesse watched Bo, the sun glinting off his
bright blond hair, as he worked in the field; his distinctive laugh carrying
across the distance. He was so glad to
see that his “baby boy”, as he often thought of Bo, had outgrown the asthma and
allergies that had plagued his childhood; making him sickly and shy. He had grown from being small and scrawny to
being the tallest of the Dukes, as well as strong, and he certainly wasn’t shy
anymore! Bo was very outgoing and
handsome, with a quick wit and a brilliant smile. Where Luke kept his feelings to himself, Bo
wore his emotions for all to see...happiness, sorrow, anger or love. He sometimes acted as if he didn’t have a
brain in his head; but Jesse knew Bo was a lot smarter than he let on. That boy could be deep…but he didn’t let too
many people see it. Besides…he just
didn’t seem to care what other’s thought about him and he seemed to be fine
with letting Luke be in charge. He was a
terrible flirt and seemed to fall in love every other week! Jesse laughed at the thought of his nephew’s
exploits with and over girls. Bo’s almost
cocky self-assurance and open personality often gained him many friends, many
female admirers, and the occasional fight; but, he always seemed to come out OK. He was getting better about controlling his
recklessness as he got older, but Jesse felt that Bo would never be as
stable-acting as Luke.
Jesse’s
thoughts then turned to his pretty dark-haired niece. His sweet Daisy had always been the perfect
little lady and the ultimate tom-boy. ‘She still is,’ he grinned to
himself. She could keep a house running
smooth and manage a garage with equal skill.
Daisy loved her family and “mothered” the boys as much as they would let
her. She also took Bo and Luke’s
merciless teasing and over-protectiveness in stride and managed to dish out
some teasing of her own. Jesse wanted so
much for her to be able to find someone to settle down with and start a family;
but he didn’t think anyone would ever be good enough for her or be able to keep
up with her! Jesse thought and chuckled
to himself, ‘I guess I just want to see
some “grandkids” around the farm before I’m gone.’
Jesse
Duke’s thoughts began to drift toward the future of the old farm, as they did
more and more often as the years progressed.
Jesse hoped that the land would stay in the family, but he didn’t really
think his nephews and niece would be able to keep up with the
responsibility. ‘No, that’s not the
truth,’ he realized. Jesse knew the kids
were more than capable of running the farm.
He just didn’t want to keep his nephews and niece from living their
dreams any more than he already had. ‘I
should have encouraged them to get away from Hazzard, to make successful lives
for themselves…but, I needed them here…not just to help with the farm, but
because I needed to keep them with me a
while longer,’ he grudgingly admitted to himself. He was glad to see that
his kids were so close and had become such good people. His heart swelled with love and pride for his
family. ‘I need to tell them all how
proud I am of them,’ Jesse decided as he turned in his seat to get down off the
tractor. Suddenly, he began to feel
strange. He felt very weak and
dizzy. His head hurt very badly and he
began to feel disoriented. Jesse vaguely
felt himself fall from the tractor as darkness overcame him.
*************************************************************
Bo
Duke was only halfway listening to his cousin, Luke, bemoan the fact that he
still hadn’t been able to get Katie Pearson to go out with him. Bo’s mind was actually on trying to figure
out a way to get his Uncle Jesse to slow down a little. He thought, ‘Jesse tries to do too much for a man his age; not that he can’t, but
there’s no need for him to work as hard as he does with Luke and me around.’
Jesse had been both mother and father to him and his cousins. Bo felt he could never repay his uncle for
all that he had done for him; but, he could at least help take as much of the
workload off his uncle as Jesse would let him!
He had also been worrying about Jesse’s health lately, even though he
had no obvious reason to do so, and that worry was getting worse. Bo just felt uneasy and the thought of
something serious happening to his beloved uncle honestly scared him to
death! He didn’t know what he would do
without Jesse… or Luke and Daisy, for that matter…one of them had always been
there for him. His untraditional family was his whole world
and any threat to that world terrified him more than any mishap in a car or
close call with the law ever could.
Luke
soon noticed that his younger cousin was not paying any attention to him.
“Earth to Bo! Hey, cuz, I know I’m not talking about stuff as exciting as
NASCAR or that pretty new girl that works at the Boar’s Nest, but I didn’t think I was boring you to death.” Luke
said, laughingly, as he stopped plowing.
“Oh. Sorry, Luke. I’ve just got a lot on my mind.” Bo replied
as he stopped the mule he was working with and wiped sweat from his face with
his hand.
Luke looked surprised; his crystal blue eyes
twinkled with mischief. He laughed, and
said “Whoa…that’s something different!”
“Cut it out, Luke. I’m serious.” Bo said agitatedly, glaring at
his cousin; his own dark blue eyes were clouded with worry. “I’ve got a bad
feeling about Uncle Jesse. I don’t know
why…but it’s getting worse.”
Luke sobered instantly and
asked, “What do you mean a ‘bad feeling’?”
“It’s probably nothing…” Bo
started to say as he looked toward the tree where his uncle sat. Bo’s voice caught in his throat as he watched
his uncle fall, heavily, from the tractor to the hard-packed ground.
His voice returned and came
out in a panicked scream, “Uncle Jesse!” Bo threw down the plow lines and ran over the
uneven ground towards his fallen uncle.
Luke jumped at Bo’s outburst
and had to pause in order to calm the mules, excited by the loud scream and
flurry of motion. He soon looked in the
direction his cousin was running. He
paled when he saw Jesse lying beside the tractor. ‘Oh, no!’ Luke thought as he,
too, began to run toward the end of the field.
Bo reached his uncle and gently rolled him to his
back. He noticed that Jesse was
breathing regularly and sighed in relief as he cradled his adopted father’s
head on his lap. Luke skidded to a halt
beside them.
“What’s wrong?” Luke asked.
“I don’t know. He just fell off the tractor.” replied
Bo. “He’s breathing OK, though.” Bo said
hopefully.
The boys tried to rouse their
uncle with no success. Luke said, “Stay
with him, I’m goin’ to the house to call an
ambulance.”
“OK…just tell them to hurry.” Bo said, shakily. He was trying to hide his fear from Luke, but
his cousin could tell from the look in Bo’s dark-blue eyes that he was scared
to death.
“Don’t worry, Bo,” Luke said
as he squeezed Bo’s shoulder, “Jesse’s tough. He’ll be OK.” Luke then turned and ran toward the old farm
house.
Bo watched Luke run. He slowly turned to look at his uncle, and
smoothed the thinning white hair from Jesse’s sweat-dampened brow. He whispered, “I sure hope you’re right,
Luke. I really hope so.” Two large tears
broke free to slowly trickle down the scared young man’s sun-burned face.
Luke was almost in a panic when he reached the old white
house. He felt just as upset as Bo, but
he couldn’t fall apart! Daisy and Bo
would need him to be strong if something was really wrong with Jesse. ‘Please,
God, don’t take my uncle! Not yet! We still need him.’ he prayed as he burst
through the kitchen door. Daisy, who was
doing laundry, squealed in surprise and accidentally knocked a basket of wet
clothes onto the floor.
“Luke! What are you…” she started to say, but
was cut off by Luke’s gesture of impatience.
Luke grabbed the phone and
nervously dialed the operator: “Mabel,
this is Luke Duke. Get me the ambulance
service. Hurry! It’s an emergency!”
Daisy looked at Luke,
open-mouthed and cold with fear.
Luke fidgeted impatiently as he waited to be
connected to the Tri-County ambulance service.
After a long couple of minutes, Luke was able to relay Jesse’s condition
and location to the ambulance dispatcher.
Daisy then pounced on Luke,
“What’s going on? Is Uncle Jesse
OK? Is anyone with him?” Her voice getting higher in pitch and louder
in volume as her anxiety grew.
Luke, as he hung up the
phone, said, “Daisy, calm down! Bo’s
with him. All I know is that he passed
out and fell off the tractor. I didn’t actually
see him fall, but Bo did. He was
breathing fine when I left but he was still pretty much out of it.” Luke leaned against the kitchen counter and
slowly wiped a shaky hand across his face.
Daisy sat down, hard, in one
of the chairs. She looked pale. “Jesse’s never sick other than a cold or the
flu. Luke…this could be something bad!”
she said.
“I hope not,” said Luke, as
he jerked the sweat-soaked bandana off his head. He grabbed a button-up shirt for himself and
one for Bo from the pile of clean laundry.
“Come on, let’s go meet the ambulance.
One of us needs to flag it down and direct it to the field,” Luke
stated, calmly. He tried his best to hide his anxiety from Daisy as he slid his
faded denim shirt over his sun-reddened back.
The two cousins ran outside,
climbed into Daisy’s jeep and sped overland toward the field where their
younger cousin sat with their uncle.
“Where are they?” Bo said impatiently. His imagination was getting the best of him. His mind thought up every possible bad
scenario concerning his uncle’s health and each one scared him senseless! He didn’t want to think about life without
Jesse. He still felt like a little kid
at times; he needed to be able to run to his Uncle Jesse to make things
right. He and his cousins still needed
Jesse’s wisdom to guide them. He stroked his elderly uncle’s hair, and spoke to
him while he waited for Luke and the ambulance.
“I’m sorry I haven’t done more to help you,
Uncle Jesse. I should have been here helpin’ you more instead of out messin’
around, causing trouble and worrying you.
I promise I’ll be better…I’ll do more…you won’t have to work so hard
anymore. Please, Uncle Jesse, wake up!
Please…wake up…don’t leave me!” Bo
sobbed as he hugged his beloved uncle.
Bo was jarred from his
thoughts by the faint stirring of the man in his arms. Bo loosened his grip on his uncle and spoke
to him, “That’s it! Come on, Uncle
Jesse, wake up!”
He heard the sounds of
Daisy’s jeep coming across the field and soon heard the distant wail of an
ambulance siren. Bo smiled, echoing his
uncle’s words from earlier that morning, “About time! Listen, Uncle Jesse! Help’s coming! Come on, wake up for me.” Bo continued to help his uncle come to
consciousness.
Jesse
Duke struggled to open his eyes, glanced around and looked at his young nephew,
confusedly. He then asked in a slightly
slurred and halting voice, “What…? Where am I?
Why on earth am I lyin’ in the dirt?” Jesse’s eyes held an almost wild look.
Bo’s relief at seeing his
uncle awake soon eroded as he saw his uncle in such an agitated and disoriented
state. His concern for his uncle was
foremost in his mind. As a result, he
didn’t even register the tight feeling that was creeping into his own chest.
Luke and Daisy rushed to the two men beside the
tractor. Luke looked at Bo and read the
concern and confusion in his eyes. Daisy
knelt in the dirt next to her uncle while Luke stood behind her, scanning the
road beyond for the approaching ambulance.
“Oh, Uncle Jesse,” Daisy said
as she hugged Jesse, “I’m so glad you’re awake!”
Jesse just looked at his
niece with a bewildered look on his face.
This worried Bo even more because Jesse had always responded to Daisy;
if only with a grin or a pat on the arm.
Daisy met Bo’s eyes and mutual looks of fear and worry passed between
the cousins.
Luke had yet to notice his
uncle’s confused state. He was just
relieved to find him awake and was preoccupied with looking for the
ambulance. He knew, however, from Bo’s
expression that something wasn’t quite right.
He finally spotted the flashing lights.
Luke yelled, “They’re
here! I’m gonna
show them how to get up here!” He then
ran to the edge of the field where there was a well-worn dirt path the ambulance
could use to get to where his uncle lay.
The paramedics descended from the vehicle in a whirlwind of
motion. Bo reluctantly surrendered his
uncle to the ministrations of the medical team.
He slowly pulled the bandana from his drying hair and stood with his
cousins as they watched their uncle be examined and loaded into the back of the
ambulance. Throughout all of this, their
proud and independent uncle acted confused and spoke only when prompted. Luke finally noticed Jesse’s confused state
and looked at his cousins. ‘This could be serious,’ he thought and
he knew his younger cousins thought the same.
The ambulance driver caught
their attention: “Your uncle needs to be
checked out by a doctor at Tri-County General.
We’re ready to go, now. Do either
of you want to ride along to help keep him calm?”
The cousins looked at each
other; each wanting to go with their uncle.
Finally, Bo said, “Daisy, why don’t you go with Jesse? You know more about what to write on all the
paperwork than we do.” Luke agreed.
Daisy nodded and replied,
“OK, you two follow in
The young men raced toward
Bo
and Luke made the trip to the hospital in relative silence; both too worried
about their uncle and too afraid to say their thought aloud. They each prayed for Jesse’s safe return
home. In the ambulance ahead, Daisy
prayed the same prayer. The silence was
briefly interrupted when
Some twenty minutes later, the Duke family arrived at
Tri-County General. Jesse was unloaded
from the ambulance and whisked to the ER.
Daisy was given a stack of admission forms to fill out while she waited
to hear from the doctor. Bo and Luke
hurried into the waiting room after they had circled the small parking lot
twice before finding a parking space.
“Any news?” Bo and Luke asked, simultaneously.
Daisy replied, “No…not
officially.”
“What’s that supposed to
mean?” said Bo, with irritation sounding through his voice, as he finished
tucking in his shirt.
“Well, the paramedics
couldn’t say for sure…they can’t say anything definite until a doctor sees
him…” nervously twisting the tissue she held “but they thought Uncle Jesse may have had a
light stroke.” Daisy said; her voice cracking due to unshed tears.
Upon hearing this, Luke paled
and his knees buckled. If Bo had not
steered him toward the nearest chair, he might have fallen. “A stroke,” Luke whispered as he sat down,
heavily, “Is he paralyzed or something?”
“I don’t think so, Luke. He was moving OK in the ambulance.” said
Daisy. “He just seemed so confused and
had a little trouble talking. I’m scared
ya’ll! I’ve never seen Uncle Jesse look
so…so…” Daisy grasped for words to describe her feelings.
“Helpless.” Bo quietly finished for her.
The
youngest Duke had at first seemed to take this news rather well…almost too well
(for Bo, that is) and the other two cousins looked up at
him with concern. Bo stood perfectly
still, his eyes distant, and his skin paling under his sunburn. He was thinking about how this scene seemed
hauntingly similar to one of the awful scenarios that played through his mind
as he waited with Jesse for the ambulance’s arrival. It hurt him to think of his strong uncle
being so fragile and weak. His uncle
could be crippled or sick for the rest of his life! ‘NO!’
Bo thought. Worse yet, if his nightmarish
daydream came true, Jesse might not make it. ‘He CAN’T die! Not yet!’ Bo screamed in his mind.
“Lord, no! Please! No!” Bo
whispered as he continued to stare blankly down the hallway. He didn’t even feel the tears streaking his
face or seem to notice his own increasingly labored breathing.
Luke looked worriedly at
Bo. He could tell that his younger
cousin was working himself into a fine state of nerves. ‘If he
don’t calm down, he’s gonna make himself sick or something.’ As if in response to Luke’s thoughts, Bo
began to wheeze loudly and cough. Luke
jumped up and grabbed Bo’s arm. He led
Bo over to the hard plastic waiting-room chairs and sat him next to Daisy.
“Bo, settle down! Jesse’s in good hands. The doctors will take care of him and we’ll
be able to see him in a little while.” Luke said in a quiet, calming voice as
he put a comforting arm around his cousin’s shoulders.
“You… you don’t understand!”
Bo gasped between breaths and coughs. “I
shoulda been watching him closer. I… I…” Bo was unable to finish. His breathing became more difficult as he
became more anxious.
“Bo, you couldn’t have known
this was going to happen. Uncle Jesse
was fine this morning,” Daisy said as she put her hand on his knee.
“But,” Bo wheezed, “it DID! What if he
dies? That can’t happen! IT JUST CAN’T!” Bo yelled and immediately grimaced in pain as
he fell into a vicious coughing fit.
Luke tried to calm Bo, but
was having no luck. Bo’s chest heaved
and his rough breathing appeared to be painful.
He wheezed with every breath and sheer panic was visible in his wide
dark-blue eyes.
Luke
became doubly worried. His cousin hadn’t
had a full-blown asthma attack since he was thirteen. They all thought he had outgrown it. Bo didn’t even have to take any more
medication or carry an inhaler with him like he used to when he was younger.
“Daisy, I don’t suppose you
have one of Bo’s old inhalers in your purse, do you?” Luke asked, desperately.
“Of course not, Luke…and if I
did, it would be so old that it wouldn’t do him any good!” Daisy replied
anxiously.
“Great,” Luke said
exasperatedly as he ran a hand through his dark, wavy hair.
Bo continued to wheeze,
becoming paler and more nervous by the second, which did nothing to help his
asthma attack. He knew worrying didn’t
do him any good, but it was awfully hard not
to worry when you couldn’t breathe! His
chest constricted painfully; each breath harder to obtain than the last. Bo was
quickly becoming light-headed due to the lack of oxygen and he was afraid he
was going to pass out, right there in the waiting room, if he didn’t get some
relief soon. He looked up at Luke,
pleading with his eyes for help of any kind.
Luke noted the scared, begging look in Bo’s eyes. He had an instant flashback to when the two
of them were children and Bo would give him the same look whenever they got
into trouble. Bo had always looked up to
him and trusted him to get them out of any tight spot.
‘Sometimes,’
Luke thought, ‘having someone depend on
me this much is almost too much to deal with…especially when I’m scared out of
my wits!’
Luke laid a strong hand on
his almost-brother’s head and told him, “Don’t worry, Bo. I’ll get you some help. I haven’t let you down yet, have I?” Bo gave a slight smile and shook his head as
he continued to struggle to breathe.
Luke ran up to the nurses’ desk. He frantically looked for anyone who could
help Bo. The space behind the desk was
currently unoccupied and the doors to the ER were closed so Luke couldn’t even
get the attention of any passing hospital staff. He began to get angry and hollered, “Is there
anybody here that can help me! I need a
nurse or doctor or somebody… please!” Luke slapped the desk in frustration and had
started to go behind the desk in order to enter the ER when he was almost
bowled over by someone coming through the swinging doors. A petite brown-haired nurse with a huge stack
of patient charts in her arms backed through the doors, oblivious to the fact
that she had almost hit someone.
Luke grabbed the nurse’s arm,
startling her. He sighed in relief and
said, “Finally! I need some help. My cousin’s in the waiting room and he’s
having an asthma attack.”
The pretty young nurse
immediately laid down her charts, pulled her stethoscope from the pocket of her
scrubs and said, “Lead the way.”
Luke
led the nurse to the waiting area. He
noticed that Bo was sitting hunched over, his hands on his knees, wheezing
loudly. Daisy gently rubbed Bo’s back and tried to calm him as much as she
could. The youngest Duke did not seem to be any worse, but he sure wasn’t any
better.
The brunette nurse soon stood
in front of Bo. She knelt down before
him and said, “I’m a nurse and I’m here to help. I need to listen to your lungs, OK?” Bo nodded; he had closed his eyes to ward off
the increasing feeling of dizziness he was having, so he didn’t see the woman
who knelt by him… but he was instantly comforted by her soft, gentle voice and
promise of help. The nurse quickly
unbuttoned Bo’s shirt and placed the cold stethoscope on his chest. She moved the instrument over his chest and
his back as she listened to his labored breathing. Apparently, she had not liked what she heard,
because she ran to the nearest in-house phone and paged an orderly to the
waiting room with a wheelchair and respiratory therapy to the ER: STAT!
The nurse told the Duke cousins, “His lungs are very tight. He needs a breathing treatment fast and needs
to be seen by a doctor.” She turned to the dark-haired man next to her patient.
“Has your cousin ever had an attack like this before?” she asked Luke.
“Yeah…but that was when he
was a kid. We all thought he had
outgrown it.” Luke said, tensely, as he
rubbed the back of his neck. He looked
at Bo with concern
A middle-aged orderly soon
arrived with a wheelchair. Daisy and
Luke managed to get their wheezing, light-headed cousin, who still had his eyes
tightly shut, into the seat and Bo was quickly whisked back into the recesses
of the ER. The pretty brunette nurse
followed behind. She stopped, turned and
said, “I’m embarrassed to ask this…but, what’s your cousin’s name? I guess I got too excited to ask earlier.”
she grinned, sheepishly.
Luke was struck dumb at the
sight of that silly grin. This little
nurse was very cute…she wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous or anything, but he liked
what he saw. He couldn’t help but think
that he would like to know her better after all this was over. He wished he had looked more closely at her
name tag.
Daisy noticed Luke’s lack of comment and replied,
“His name’s Bo…Bo Duke.”
“Thanks!” the nurse said as
she hurried after Bo.
Bo was soon sitting on a hard bed behind some curtains in
the Tri-County ER. He was still dizzy,
but he had managed to keep his eyes open for the last few minutes without it
getting worse. He could hear the
activity going on around him and it made him even antsier. Bo knew Daisy and Luke were worried about
their uncle and now, about him! ‘I’m more trouble than I’m worth,’ he
thought, miserably. He began to cough
again and have more difficulty breathing as he waited for the doctor. The curtains parted and through them walked a
woman in white. ‘She’s the cutest little
angel I’ve ever seen…’ Bo thought through his pain. It was the nurse from the waiting room, he
realized, when he heard her voice as she said “Hi”. She wore white nurse’s scrubs and had her
shoulder-length, straight, brown hair tied back into a ponytail with a white
ribbon. Her stethoscope hung around her
neck and her soft green eyes held a look of genuine concern. The nurse seemed to be around his age, had a
curvy figure and stood, at the most, 5’3”.
To Bo, she seemed tiny and delicate.
He was absolutely captivated with her.
She was just so adorable! Her
eyes, the freckles across her nose, and her dimples all seemed to capture his
attention.
Bo
momentarily forgot his struggle to breathe, but was soon reminded why he had
even met this woman by a harsh spell of painful coughing. The young nurse quickly came to Bo’s side and
gently laid a small, but strong, hand on his arm. “The respiratory therapist is on his
way. You’re gonna
get some relief soon. I promise.” she
said in her soft, musical (and Bo
thought, sexy sounding) drawl. Bo thought, ‘with a voice like that, I’ll bet she can sing…and…she’s definitely
Southern, but that doesn’t sound like a
Soft-green eyes and dark-blue eyes met
momentarily and Bo felt a jolt of electricity surge through him. He had never felt anything that strong before
when looking at a girl he had just met, not even when he met that carnival
lady, Diane! Bo shook the strange
feeling off and chalked it up to his lack of oxygen as he continued to
wheeze.
The nurse stepped back and
looked at him with a mixture of concern and brief confusion before she treated
Bo with a wide, dimpled smile. “Well, I
guess I should introduce myself…my name’s Meghan Riley, RN.” she said, reaching
out to shake Bo’s hand. “I already know
your name. It’s Bo Duke; am I right?” she asked with a tilt of her head, a
slightly naughty-looking raised eyebrow and a trill of easy laughter.
(For some reason, Bo was
instantly reminded of Sally Field’s character, “Frog”, in his favorite movie, “Smokey and the Bandit”.) The tall young blond was hooked! Unbeknownst to her, all Meghan Riley, RN
needed to do was reel him in!
Bo nodded and smiled, weakly,
back at her. He wished he could do some
of his famous sweet-talking, but even if he had felt like it, he wouldn’t have
been able to think of anything to say. He had a strong desire to impress this
woman and right now he didn’t have a clue how to do that!
This was uncharted territory for him. Bo Duke…the biggest flirt in three
counties…had never been at a loss
for what to say to a girl! He knew he
definitely wanted to get to know this little woman better. ‘Maybe later I could…’ Bo briefly let himself
think before guilt over thinking about a possible date when his uncle lay in
the hospital consumed him.
A man in his late forties, wearing navy-blue
scrubs and carrying an equipment case entered the little cubicle where Bo
sat.
Meghan smiled again and said
“Don here is going to help you. I’d
better get back to my unit… I have patients waiting.” At Bo’s puzzled look she explained, “I
actually work on another floor. I was
just down here to pick up some patient charts when your cousin stopped me…and …well…I
just couldn’t bring myself to leave you until I knew you were in good
hands.” Meghan seemed to blush and looked
at the floor while she grinned crookedly and backed out of the little room.
Bo watched with obvious
disappointment as Meghan slipped behind the curtain and disappeared from his
sight.
Don, the respiratory therapist, soon had a
nebulizer with breathing medication ready for Bo. The older man pulled out his stethoscope and
listened to the young Duke’s breathing.
Don looked serious and said, “Sounds like you don’t need to wait around
much longer, son. Let’s get this
breathing treatment started before you croak on me.”
Bo sat on the hard bed, inhaling the
medication through the plastic tube of the nebulizer until his lungs loosened
and his coughing decreased. After about
thirty minutes, a tired and harried looking ER doctor came in to assess his
condition. The doctor listened to his
lungs and told him the attack may have been triggered by the extreme emotional
stress caused by his uncle’s illness.
The physician warned him that he could have another attack and to seek
help before it got severe. Bo was then advised
to follow-up with his family doctor, Doctor Appleby, at his office in Hazzard
and to get a prescription for an inhaler to keep with him. He was soon free to return to the waiting
room and resume his worrying about his uncle and his daydreaming about the
little nurse named Meghan.
Luke paced the floor of the small waiting area; he watched
the swinging ER doors like a hawk. He
was getting on Daisy’s nerves, but she knew that this was just his way of
coping with the stress of the day. She
had already shredded several tissues and paper cups during her wait, so she
really couldn’t say anything about Luke’s pacing. The doors swung open and Bo emerged; he was
still quite pale but he was buttoning his shirt, walking (somewhat slowly) on
his own and apparently doing much better.
Luke and Daisy ran to him, eager to hear how their younger cousin was
feeling.
“Are you OK, Bo?” Luke asked,
quietly, as he placed an arm around his cousin’s shoulder.
“Yeah,” said Bo, “I’m still wheezing a little,
but the doctor said the medication would last for a few hours. He thinks the asthma attack was caused by me
worrying so much over Uncle Jesse.”
“Well, I see how that could
happen…but, don’t you dare do that again, Bo Duke! I don’t think my nerves could stand it!” said
Daisy, with tears of relief shining in her eyes, as she pulled him into a quick
hug.
“I’m sorry for worrying
ya’ll…” said Bo, dejectedly, “…I had no idea that this would happen. I shouldn’t have gotten so worked up, but I
couldn’t help it! I was so worried and
all…” he rambled.
“Hush, Bo. Don’t blame
yourself. You’ll be back in the ER if
you start this again.” said Luke, gently, but with a slightly exasperated look
on his face.
Before any of the cousins
could say more, a black man of average height and build, wearing a white
lab-coat approached them. “Are you three
related to Mr. Jesse Duke?” the doctor asked.
“Yes,” said Luke, leading the
others to stand in front of this bearer of news.
“Are you our uncle’s doctor?” said Daisy.
The doctor nodded, smiled,
and said “I’m Doctor
“How is he?” Bo and Luke said simultaneously. Daisy looked at them and had to crack a small
smile. Sometimes she still marveled at how close the two of them were…almost
thinking the same things at the same time.
The doctor looked at the
cousins for a minute and said “Let’s sit down over here and discuss
things.”
The cousins looked at each
other and paled. ‘It must be bad if the
doctor wants us to sit down,’ they all thought.
The perceptive doctor caught their looks and
reassured them by saying, “Now don’t get excited. It’s not that bad! I just
have a lot to say and I didn’t think we would want to stand for that long.”
The three young Dukes let out a collective
sigh of relief at those words.
Dr. Wilson began to speak after everyone was
sitting and comfortable. “Your uncle is
doing quite well at the moment.
According to the lab work and the scans, he seems to have suffered a
very mild stroke. There appears to be no
major damage such as paralysis or lingering speech difficulty, though. He has some weakness on his left side and he
may have periods of memory loss or mild confusion for the next few days. The weakness will improve with time and he
should have no lasting effects. I’d like
to keep him here at least over night in order to monitor his condition. He will most likely need a cane or some other
support to get around until he is at full strength. We’ll provide him with one and instruct him
on how to use it safely before he goes home.
He’ll be on a couple of prescriptions that he will need to take daily
and I will send a pamphlet on diet restrictions and recommendations with him at
discharge.”
The doctor took a deep breath
and pushed himself up from his chair; slightly holding his hand to his back as
he did so.
“I’ll tell you one thing…Mr.
Duke already seems to have better mental clarity than when he was first
admitted and he is very adamant about wanting to go home!” the doctor finished
with a smile and shake of his head.
Luke and his cousins smiled at that
comment. “That sounds like our Uncle
Jesse.” Luke said. Bo was still trying
to get a hold of all that the doctor had said; but he was grateful that his
uncle seemed to be doing better and would recover.
Dr. Wilson smiled at the
three young people and said, “He’s in room 618 if you’re ready to see
him.”
Bo practically leapt from his
chair, “Yes! Can we go now?”
The doctor replied, “Go
ahead, but don’t be surprised if your uncle acts a bit differently. It’s common for stroke patients to feel
depressed, angry, or have a slight change in personality until they are able to
regain some sense of normalcy and independence.”
Bo nodded and ran toward the elevators. “Thank you Dr. Wilson,” Daisy said as she
hurried after her cousin. Luke shook the
doctor’s hand and thanked him again before running to catch the elevator as Bo
held the doors open for him.
The doctor looked after the
three young people and thought to himself, ‘It’s a pity all families can’t be
that close.’ He then turned and
retreated into the bustle of the ER.
Chapter 3
The two young men and the young woman that accompanied them
rushed from the elevator as the doors opened on the sixth floor. Their pace slowed, however, as they grew
nearer to their loved one’s room. The
Duke trio was eager to see their uncle, but they were also afraid to face the
reality that awaited them in the near future:
A reality where their uncle, who had always taken care of them, would be
dependent on them for a while. They steeled themselves and entered the small,
sterile-looking room. Their uncle wore a
hospital-issue gown and looked to be sleeping.
An IV dripped slowly into his left hand, but the white-haired man was
otherwise free of hospital machinery.
Bo was the first to reach his
uncle’s bedside. He looked down at his sleeping uncle and gently grasped the
old man’s work-roughened hand. Jesse’s
eyes immediately fluttered open and a gentle smile broke across his face.
“There’s my
young’uns,” Jesse said in a quiet voice,
squeezing Bo’s hand. “I thought ya’ll
might have just left my old bones here and gone back home,” he said, with an
attempt at humor, as his gaze took in all of his family.
“We’d never do that, Uncle
Jesse,” Bo said, grinning, with unshed tears of relief glistening in his eyes.
Luke nodded his agreement and
quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. The emotions of the day had caught up with
him after he saw his uncle talking and trying to joke. He grabbed his uncle’s
free hand and held on tightly as he struggled to regain his composure.
Daisy unashamedly let her mixed tears of
anxiety and relief streak her cheeks as she ran to the other side of the bed to
embrace the man who had raised them all.
Jesse
choked up as he felt the love pouring from his “kids” toward him. He tried to reassure them that he was better
and would be fine in a little while.
“This is just a back-set,” he
said. “It will take more than this to
take this old ridge–runner out of commission.
Mind you, a man don’t like hearing the news that he’s had a stroke; even
if it was a mild one.” he said, seriously.
“Well, we’re all just
thankful that it wasn’t any worse than it was,” said Daisy as she brushed her
hand over her uncle’s forehead.
“Don’t you worry Uncle
Jesse,” Luke said, “we’ll keep the farm runnin’
smooth. All you need to think about is
getting better and taking it easy for a spell.”
Bo agreed with him and gave Jesse his assurances, as well.
Jesse
smiled at his family, thankful for their obvious support.
“We’ll see. I’m just ready to go home. This bed is too hard and there are too many
people running in and out for my taste.
Now just how do they expect a man to rest when they’re always bothering
him for one reason or another?” Jesse groused. “Besides, all this coddling goes
against my nature.”
The younger Dukes all laughed
at their uncle’s very normal behavior.
“Now that sounds more like
our Uncle Jesse,” said Bo after he finished laughing. Jesse fixed the young blond with a brief glare
before he, too, chuckled.
“You just rest up and try not
to give the nurses a hard time. They’re
just doing their jobs and trying to take care of you.” Luke said while trying
to keep a scolding expression on his face.
He failed and ended up giving his uncle a wide smile.
Luke
suddenly thought of something he and Bo had forgotten. He looked up at his cousin with wide eyes and
said, “Bo…we forgot something.”
Bo tilted his head and looked
at his older cousin with a creased brow.
His eyes grew wide, as well, as it dawned on him what they had
forgotten. “The mules…we left them in
the field, didn’t we?” he groaned and slapped his forehead.
Jesse sat bolt up-right in
the hospital bed. He divided a fierce
glare between his two nephews. “You
did what?” he roared. “I want
you boys to get back to the farm and see to those animals right now! We’ll be lucky if they haven’t wandered off
or hurt themselves! And don’t forget to
put the tractor in the barn, either; I guess you forgot that, too! How am I supposed to trust you two
addle-brained idiots to see to the farm when you can’t even take care of a
couple of old mules?” Jesse continued, irately.
The old man was red-faced and breathing hard in his fearsome anger.
Bo and Luke were
speechless. They could only look at
their uncle in shock. The boys knew
their uncle had a mighty temper (and they had been on the receiving end of it
many times), but under the circumstances, they thought he might have cut them a
little slack!
Luke found his voice and held
his hands out in a gesture of surrender. “OK, Uncle Jesse. Don’t get riled. We’ll go see about
everything and then come back. Daisy’ll stay with you while we’re gone.” he said, trying
to calm his uncle before another stroke occurred.
“Ya’ll can just stay at the
house…and take Daisy with you! I don’t
want anyone else standing over me right now.
I’ve got enough of that with these dang-blasted nurses! I want you three to just keep yourselves at
home until it’s time to come get me in the morning.” Jesse ordered them.
“But, Uncle Jesse, we…” Bo
started to reply.
Jesse slowly turned his head
toward his nephew, poked his finger into Bo’s chest, and answered ominously,
“Don’t you sass me, young man!”
“I mean what I say. I may be in a hospital bed, but that don’t
take away from my authority in this family!
Now get to the house…all of you!” Jesse thundered, waving his
hand toward the door.
The
door to Jesse Duke’s room suddenly opened.
A petite nurse entered and glared at the room’s occupants. Her confident
stance made her seem much taller and forceful.
In a firm, authoritative voice she said, “What’s going on in here? Mr. Duke, you are going to have to calm down! You’ll cause your blood pressure to go
sky-high if you don’t watch it and then you’ll be in here till the end of the
week.” She turned to the three shell-shocked cousins and asked them to leave so
their uncle could rest quietly.
Bo was pleasantly surprised to see that the
nurse was Meghan…his nurse!
The Dukes said their
farewells, as Jesse tried to calm himself, and followed the nurse into the
hallway.
The four-some stood in the
wide, brightly lit hallway of the neurology unit; surrounded by the typical
sights and sounds of a busy hospital.
The young nurse took a deep breath, intending to offer the Duke family
some words of reassurance. When she
finally took a good look at the people in front of her, Meghan Riley realized
that she had met them earlier that afternoon.
She looked up at the blond man who stood in
front of her and she felt a fluttery feeling in her stomach. ‘I
didn’t realize he was so tall!’ she thought as she looked up to a face
nearly a foot above her.
“Oh! It’s you!
How are you feeling? Are you doing OK?” she asked Bo, as she touched his
arm, her voice full of concern and professional interest. Meghan at least hoped
her voice sounded professional, anyway.
She had
been thinking about the gorgeous, very well-built, blond-haired man since she
had left him in the ER; thinking that she wouldn’t mind having to listen to his
lungs again; especially if it meant another chance to see him with his shirt
open! Meghan was shocked at where her
thoughts were taking her. Her attraction to this man was very strong. There was just something about him; some
indescribable quality that drew her to him, even though she barely even knew
who he was! She forced herself to look
away from the blond Adonis in front of her.
She stole a quick glance at his slightly shorter, muscular, dark-haired
cousin and found him to be very pleasing on the eyes as well! ‘They just don’t
grow men like these two where I’m from,’ she sighed and hoped she wasn’t
blushing. Meghan tried to regain a
professional attitude and chastised herself for thinking about patients and
their families in such a way.
Bo blushed slightly. ‘She remembers me!’ he thought as his
heart leapt briefly. “I’m a lot better. Thanks for your help. It was just nerves, I guess…” he said, his
voice trailed off quietly as he looked down at her, getting lost in her wide,
green eyes. He made himself look away,
briefly in order to regain his wits and managed to give her a lopsided
smile
Bo felt so awkward! If he didn’t watch out, he could easily fall
head over heels for this woman; that is, if he ever got up the nerve to talk to
her!
Daisy noticed that Bo had an
odd look on his face and was uncharacteristically shy. She just assumed it was part of his reaction
to Jesse’s outburst.
Luke paid his youngest cousin
absolutely no heed. He was too
interested in gaining the attention of the pretty little brunette nurse he had
briefly met earlier that afternoon. His
crystal-blue eyes sparkled as he smiled his most charming smile. He walked over
to stand directly in front of the nurse, shoving Bo to the side. “I’m sorry,” Luke said, “but I didn’t catch
your name earlier.” “I was a little
distracted by ‘Wheezy’, over here,” he said, jerking a thumb in Bo’s direction
and smiling widely. “My name’s Luke
Duke.” He reached out to shake her
hand. Bo made a face at his dark-haired
cousin and anger briefly flared in his expressive blue eyes, but the others did
not seem to notice
Meghan
looked surprised at Luke’s obvious interest in her. She shook his hand and blushed to the roots
of her brown hair.
She was
simply not used to being around guys as gorgeous as the two Duke cousins and their presence was making her feel slightly
nervous. (Meghan had always felt sort of insecure because she felt she was too
short and too much of a book-worm. She was always the girl that guys treated as
a best friend instead of a serious girlfriend.
Besides, she had never really had a serious relationship with any guy;
much less someone like one of these two... honestly, she had always thought
guys like Bo and Luke Duke were completely out her league!) She definitely was not used to having
a very attractive man, such as Luke Duke, come on to her! His gorgeous blond cousin, Bo, (Meghan had
noticed, to her dismay) had barely spoken to her and acted distant; so she
didn’t think he had any interest in her.
‘Too, bad,’ she thought, ‘because I definitely could be interested in
him!’ However, this dark-haired man’s attention was very flattering and gave
her a nice, warm feeling!
“Sorry,” she said, scrunching
up her face. “When I go into ‘nurse
mode’ I forget basic pleasantries. I’m
Meghan Riley and I’m your uncle’s nurse.” she said, looking around at all three
Dukes. “I was just passing through the ER, picking up some patient charts, when
you caught me. My real home is up here
in the Neurology Unit,” she replied, gazing up at Luke; her pretty green eyes
sparkling.
Luke and Meghan continued to
talk, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Bo and Daisy were standing next to
them.
Daisy
studied the petite nurse with much interest.
She was not exactly the type of girl that her older cousin usually went
for. Both Bo and Luke tended to be
attracted to long-legged beauty queens who, in Daisy’s opinion, may or may not
have enough sense to get in out of the rain!
It was unusual for Luke to just zero-in on a girl like he had with
Meghan, that was more Bo’s style; but her cousin seemed to be very taken with
the young woman (Daisy had figured Meghan to be about Bo’s age). The girl seemed to be very sweet and
kind-hearted; if her treatment of Bo during his asthma attack was any
indication.
Daisy laughed to herself and
thought, as she watched the shorter woman juggle a couple of charts while she
and the dark-haired Duke talked, ‘Luke
must really like her; he won’t shut-up and let her get back to work!’
She elbowed Bo and started to
tell him what she had just thought; when she noticed that her younger cousin
also seemed to be enthralled by the little brunette nurse! Bo was staring at the girl like a starving
man staring at food and hanging on her every word.
Daisy’s eyes grew round. She thought ‘Oh, boy…this could get interesting.
I just hope there ain’t any trouble between
the boys over this girl!’ Daisy
realized what she had just been thinking and prayed that her thoughts wouldn’t
be prophetic. She consoled herself with
the thought that Meghan might just be a little too “grown-up” for the boys and
that there would be no need to worry.
Besides, the Duke family had more important things to be worrying about
right now instead of Bo and Luke’s romantic escapades.
Daisy Duke decided to make her presence known. She stepped up to Luke’s side and loudly
cleared her throat, instantly getting everyone’s attention. The strikingly pretty young woman smiled
warmly at Meghan and spoke. “Hi, I’m Daisy and these two knuckleheads are my
cousins,” she said and earned funny looks from Bo and Luke as well as a grin
from Meghan. Daisy turned to Luke and
directed her next comment to him. “Luke, I’m pretty sure Meghan has a lot she
needs to do and is just too nice to tell you to shut-up.” she said with humor
as she looked from Luke to the nurse.
Meghan flushed brightly and stammered, “Umm...Yeah, I really do need to
get caught up on my charting and…uh… it’ll be time to make rounds again in
about an hour. I guess I had better
go. I’ll let you know if there are any
changes with your uncle. Nice to meet
ya’ll.” The pretty brunette waved and
then walked quickly to the nurses’ station, sat down and began to write in one
of her many charts.
As she wrote about one of her
patients, Meghan thought that it would be really nice to get to know the Duke
family better, if only as friends, since she was still new to
Luke Duke glared angrily at Daisy for her
interruption. Daisy ignored him and
proceeded to herd her two male cousins toward the elevators. Luke quickly lost his anger and waved at
Meghan as they turned to leave. Bo gave
the nurse a soft smile and quickly ducked his head; as if afraid she would see
him. Daisy was very surprised at the boys’ behavior…especially Bo’s strange
shyness. Usually he was flirting and
talking with every woman in site…young, old, beautiful or plain. He was unusually quiet…it was weird! Maybe it was just because he felt bad. She had a funny feeling, though, that
something would end up happening between her cousins over all this, but she
quickly pushed the thought away.
The entire time the Dukes
were waiting for the elevator, Bo craned his neck to get a glimpse of the
petite nurse who was now sitting behind the desk at the end of the hall. Daisy noticed, but Luke didn’t seem to see
his blond cousin’s quiet interest in Meghan Riley. Luke was too busy making his own plans to see
the little nurse again. The three
boarded the elevator and rode in silence down to the first-floor lobby.
When
the elevator car stopped, Bo sighed loudly and hooked his thumbs in his jeans
pockets. As he, Luke and Daisy walked
out into the lobby and toward the sliding glass doors, Bo hunched his shoulders
and looked sideways at his cousins.
“I guess what we saw upstairs
was just an example of what Dr. Wilson was talking about. Uncle Jesse sure was
Luke sighed, and said,
“Yeah…I guess so. Things may be pretty
rough for awhile until Uncle Jesse gets to feeling better. You know he always gets irritable when he’s
sick. Daisy, don’t you remember…he
almost whipped us all last year when he had the flu?”
Daisy, who was walking
between her cousins, placed an arm around each man. She said with a brief smile, “Oh, I remember
alright! Bo…Luke… don’t
fret. We’ll make it. Things may be rough for a few weeks, but
Uncle Jesse will be back to normal…just be
patient. We’ll just have to stick
together like we always have. We’re Dukes and it’ll take more than this to get
us down!”
The cousins smiled and embraced
in a clumsy group-hug beside Daisy’s white jeep. They had needed that pep talk. Luke broke the embrace and said, tiredly, “I
don’t know about ya’ll, but I’m ready to see this day end!” He rubbed his hands
over his face and through his hair.
Bo nodded, “Me too…and we’ve
got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
The Dukes climbed into the
jeep and headed home to tend to the abandoned mules and start the evening
chores. After a quick supper of
hamburgers, Bo, Luke and Daisy spent the evening preparing for their uncle’s
return from the hospital and went to bed early; each one silently wondering if
and how life at the farm would change after this day’s events.
Chapter 4
By all outward appearances, life at the Duke farm seemed to
be progressing nicely after that fateful day in April. It had been nearly a month and a half since
Jesse had his episode. Bo and Luke had
taken on all of the responsibilities of the farm and were handling things quite
well. Even Boss Hogg and the local law seemed to have called a truce with them
during Jesse’s recovery to allow them the freedom to do their work in
peace. Friends and family from all over
had visited Jesse during the past couple weeks; making the farm a busier place than
usual. The corn had been planted and was
growing nicely; promising a good harvest.
The farmhouse was kept in good repair and the animals were
thriving. Daisy and the boys helped
Jesse regain his strength and now the senior Duke was getting around the farm
with only occasional help. He was still
a little weak, at times, but he was able to perform as many light chores as the
kids would let him! The lingering effects of Jesse’s stroke, however, were more
troubling.
Jesse’s
temper was very short and he even seemed to have some personality changes. He treated Luke and Daisy pretty well and
rarely lost his temper with them…Bo, however, was a different story. In the past, Jesse had treated his energetic
and over-emotional youngest nephew with endless patience and only lost his
temper with him for serious breeches of the house rules. Now, Bo caught the
brunt of Jesse’s frustrations over his health.
Nothing the young man did suited Jesse.
It became routine for Bo to get chewed out two or three times a day;
most of the time for no apparent reason.
Jesse’s usual behavior toward Bo had changed as if from daylight to
dark! For example: Every year, Jesse had celebrated all the kids’
birthdays with their favorite meals, a large cake, and words of affection. This year, Bo’s 25th birthday came
and went without Jesse even acknowledging it other than saying, “…just because
it’s your birthday don’t mean you can slack off on your chores” without looking
up from the morning newspaper. Daisy and
Luke wanted to help Bo; but, they feared coming under Jesse’s wrath, as
well…and…they really didn’t know what they could do to make things better.
The
constant arguments and the tense atmosphere at home were taking a toll on
Bo. He had become abnormally quiet and
seemed to be falling into a deep depression. Bo felt that even if he did talk about what
was worrying him it still wouldn’t change things…so why bother. The cheerful light that usually glowed in his
dark-blue eyes had all but disappeared.
He had grown to dread being in the same room with his uncle…he hated to
hear Jesse yell at him and he hated feeling so hurt afterwards…and he felt
ashamed of himself for thinking that way.
He didn’t know what he was going to do…how much more could he take? When
would Jesse return to normal? When would his
life return to normal?
Besides his problems with Jesse, Bo absolutely
could not get that little nurse from Tri-County off his mind! He wanted to go talk to her, but with all
that was going on, he didn’t think it would be a good time to get
involved. He kept these thoughts to
himself as well because he was afraid Luke would make fun of him for his
insecurities about approaching Meghan.
Little did Bo realize that he was not the only man in the Duke house who
was thinking about Meghan Riley.
The late-spring sun shone brightly over the pasture as the
eldest Duke cousin ferociously hammered nails into the
section of fence he was repairing.
Luke’s worry at everything that was going on at the farm manifested
itself in carefully disguised anger. He
noticed that he and his cousins dealt with the recent changes differently. Bo became withdrawn…Daisy went to work and
stayed busy to get her mind off things…and he got angry. He was angry at Jesse, at Bo, and at himself
for being unable to do anything. As a
result of this anger, he had been quicker than usual to come back at Bo with
sarcastic or insulting comments; unwittingly adding to Bo’s emotional
turmoil…he didn’t mean to hurt his cousin, he just didn’t realize he was doing
it sometimes. He wanted the old Bo and the old Jesse back! He wanted his family back! He wanted his best friend back! This was
worse than if Bo had actually left
the farm! Luke’s light-blue eyes
scanned the fence line and watched as Bo carried pieces of lumber to another
area that needed repair; the blond man’s eyes were downcast, his face set into
an emotionless mask…the way he had been for most of the last month. Bo was there, physically, but he seemed to
be so withdrawn…almost a shadow of his former self. Luke had tried to interest his cousin in
racing, going to the Boar’s Nest, talking about girls, going to Cooter’s,
working on the General…anything…but Bo seemed not to care about the things that
had interested him before. He felt sorry
for Bo’s situation with Jesse…he really did…but he was angry at Bo for
abandoning him and their friendship!
Luke found he really missed
talking with his cousin. In the past, he
had often wanted Bo to shut-up, but now he missed the constant chatter. He was used to Bo telling him every single
little thing, asking his advice, coming to him to solve problems, and just
being there to listen when he decided to open up to someone. He wanted to tell Bo about the girl he had
been talking to and was planning to see regularly. He wanted to talk to Bo about Jesse. He wanted Bo to open up to him like he used
to. But, since Jesse had started treating Bo differently, Bo didn’t seem to
want to talk at all…and Luke felt awkward trying to talk to someone who didn’t
want to talk back.
There was something else bothering Bo besides
Jesse…he just knew it…and for the life of him, Luke had no idea what it could
be.
Luke also worried about Bo’s
asthma. Bo had been wheezing in his
sleep for the past couple of nights and he often woke up coughing. Bo denied
any problems but Luke knew better. He knew that Bo had not been to see Doc.
Appleby like he was supposed to after the attack in April. He also knew he should have reminded Bo,
but…Bo was a grown man and he was perfectly able to take care of himself…
The
dark-haired man continued to pound nails into the fence, viciously, as his mind
raced, trying to vent some of his feelings.
Bo had returned to the section of fence Luke was working on and tiredly
leaned against the gate as he raised the bottom of his shirt to wipe sweat from
his face. Luke noticed his cousin just
standing there, doing nothing while he worked.
The older man suddenly, and inexplicably, felt his anger rise.
“Damn it, Bo…quit your moping
around and get back to work or we’ll never get finished,” he yelled and threw
his hammer to the ground.
Bo just looked at his
cousin. Luke saw the younger man’s eyes
flash and his body tense with anger of his own before being replaced with an
intense look of sadness. The tall blond then quietly turned and walked away
from Luke, into the thick woods that surrounded the Duke property; ignoring the
words of apology that followed him.
Luke wanted to kick
himself. ‘Why did I do that?’ he
thought, ‘He’ll really want to tell you
what’s bothering him now!’ He ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he
fought with himself over what to do next.
He decided to give Bo some time to himself. Maybe then, his cousin would be ready to
talk, or at least be ready to accept his apology.
He hoped Bo would soon be
ready to talk to him again. Luke really
wanted to be able to tell Bo about his upcoming date with Meghan …but,
something kept holding him back. He
would tell him, eventually, maybe even tonight…but, with the way Bo was acting,
he probably wouldn’t care.
Bo Duke walked along the edge of the woods that skirted the
Duke property. He savagely wiped away
the hot tears that were coursing down his cheeks. ‘Damn
it! Why do I have to act like a cry-baby
all the time? I’m a grown man...I’m too old for this mess! Why can’t I be more like Luke? He’s a rock…he
acts like nothing ever bothers him.’
Bo had always been easily provoked to tears and, as a result, had
endured many years of teasing. He was
deeply ashamed that all of his emotions ran so close to the surface and he felt
that if Luke or Jesse found out he had been crying…well…it would just be one
more reason to ridicule him. Bo soon returned to the farm and busied himself
with chores. He became lost in his
thoughts, which seemed to be his normal state lately.
As he mucked out Maudine’s
stall, Bo thought about the events of the past month. Luke was right…he was moping around. He felt
alienated from his family and felt so lost.
He was also lovesick! For some
inexplicable reason, Meghan Riley’s soft green eyes and gentle voice haunted
his dreams and even his waking hours! He
was smitten…even though he hadn’t even seen the adorable nurse since that day
in the hospital. He didn’t understand
how it could be possible, but he just knew…Meghan was the one! The only problem was he was afraid to talk to her! ‘She’d probably just laugh at me if I tried
to ask her out.’ he said to himself, dejectedly. ‘She’s got a good job and she must be pretty
sharp in order to get a nursing degree. Hell…she
hangs around with doctors all day long! What
could a part-time farmer, part-time racecar driver and full-time goofball like
me offer Meghan?’ he despaired; his mind racing.
After a couple of hours of
mulling things over while he worked, Bo vowed that he would track Meghan down
and ask her out just as soon as the other things in his life settled down. ‘Lord knows she sure wouldn’t want to get
mixed up with me, now, while everything’s so crazy,’ he laughed to himself;
his mood lightening a little since he had finally made his decision to talk to
the young woman who occupied his mind.
Bo
was still working when Luke got back from finishing the fence. The older Duke boy slowly walked into the
barn. He took a deep breath. “Hey Bo.”
he said quietly as he watched Bo pitch hay into a stall. The younger man turned to face Luke; his
expression said that he was ready for a confrontation if necessary. The cousins looked at each other for a long
while. Both were unsure what to say about the incident in the pasture.
Luke stuffed his hands in his
back pockets, looked at a patch of ground near his feet, and started to
apologize, “Bo, I’m s…”
Bo could see his cousin’s
discomfort and sincerity. “Forget
it. We’re all a little short-tempered
around here lately.” said Bo as he laid aside the hayfork and held out his
hand.
Luke smiled and shook his
cousin’s hand. “Friends?” Luke asked.
“Yeah…after all, I’m the only
person around who could put up with you,” Bo said with a little smile crossing
his face as he lightly punched Luke in the arm. His cousin made a face and
slapped him on the back.
Cordial relations restored,
the two men finished up the evening chores and then headed into the house for
supper.
Daisy had outdone herself!
She had worked in the kitchen most of the afternoon and had prepared a
great meal for her guys. The men ate
till they were stuffed and then the family sat around the table talking. It almost seemed like old times. Even Jesse seemed to be in a good mood. He
laughed at some of the things Luke and Daisy said and he relayed some news he
had heard when he and Daisy had gone into town that morning. Bo was still rather quiet, but he, too,
joined in the conversation; talking with Luke about an upcoming race. He really enjoyed hearing his uncle’s
laughter again and hoped it wouldn’t be too long till Jesse was back to his old
self.
After a lull in the
conversation, Daisy decided it was time for dessert and she began to dish out
peach cobbler. Both Bo and Luke were
leaned back in their chairs; Bo had his eyes shut and looked almost asleep
while Luke had his hands behind his head and wore a sly grin.
Jesse noticed the grin and
asked, as he stroked his beard, “Luke, why on earth are you grinning like a
possum?”
Luke lowered all four legs of
his chair to the ground and placed his elbows on the table. “Well,” he drawled, “I’m just thinking about
my date for Friday night.” He laughed at
Bo’s reaction.
Bo’s eyes had opened wide and
he grinned at Luke as he said, “Well, cousin, don’t keep us in suspense…who is the
poor girl?”
Luke smiled at this typical
behavior from his wise-cracking young cousin.
“If you just gotta know, cuz, the lucky lady
is Meghan Riley…you know, that cute little nurse we met at Tri-County when
Uncle Jesse…was… in… the… hospital.” Luke’s teasing voice trailed off in
confusion as he took in Bo’s reaction to his statement.
Bo had jerked at the mention
of Meghan’s name. His chair overturned
and landed with a crash. He just sat in
the floor with a stricken look on his face.
He didn’t even hear anything else Luke was saying. His mind screamed: “NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! Not MY Meghan…and not
Luke…anyone but Luke!” Bo
wouldn’t have had a second thought about trying to steal his girl away from some other guy but he couldn’t do that to his
best friend and brother.
Meghan was lost to him now…he’d missed his chance!
Daisy just looked at Bo, with
a touch of pity in her gentle eyes. She had a feeling she knew why her baby
cousin looked so upset, but she didn’t want to bring it up in front of the
others.
Luke jumped up to help his
cousin; he was worried that Bo had hurt himself. He looked as if he had been
gut-punched!
Bo brushed Luke’s hands away
as he righted the chair and sat down hard.
He looked at Luke, eyes wide
and serious, and asked, “When, Luke…how long…?
I mean…I didn’t even know you liked her.
When did you ask her?”
“Last week,
Bo. I’ve been talking with her for the past
couple of weeks…but, since we haven’t been talking as much lately…I guess I
just didn’t get around to telling you.”
Luke noticed the brief pained look that shone in Bo’s eyes and he
wondered what it was for. He narrowed
his eyes, bristled slightly and asked, “Why, cousin? Is there a problem or something?”
“No…nothing. It’s…” Bo started to say before Jesse cut him
off.
“It’s none of your business, is
what it is, Beauregard Duke. Luke can
date who he wants to and when without you having to know about it in
advance. Now you apologize for your
childish behavior tonight.” Jesse said
quietly as he looked at Bo with hardened, narrowed eyes. The good mood of the evening had definitely
ended.
Luke interjected, trying to
stall the upcoming argument, “Uncle Jesse…it’s OK. I don’t mind.”
“Stop taking up for him,
Lukas! He needs to learn how to act like
a grown man! He’s been sulking around
here for the last few weeks like a baby.
I swear…that boy has been acting more of a fool than usual and I’ve just
about had enough! I’m about ready to
take a switch to him…and you too, if need be.
Is that what you want?” Jesse
growled as he stood up to face his eldest nephew.
Luke backed off and let his
uncle have his space. “No, sir” he mumbled.
Bo
had come to his breaking point. They
were talking about him like he wasn’t even there! He pushed himself up from his chair and
glared at his uncle. “Now Uncle Jesse,
wait just a…” Bo began; his voice growing louder with barely suppressed
emotion.
“Boy, don’t you talk back to
me! Hush up and sit down…I’m not through
with you yet.” Jesse warned ominously as he pointed his finger at Bo.
“But, I...”
“I said HUSH…” a loud “Crack”
resounded through the kitchen as the back of Jesse’s right hand connected
with the side of Bo’s face! Bo’s head
jerked back, his blond hair falling across his eyes.
The silence that filled the farmhouse
kitchen was deafening.
Luke and Daisy stood in
wide-eyed shock; holding their breath. Neither of them had expected anything
like that! They watched the confrontation between their cousin and uncle with
concern.
Bo
raised his head slowly, tears in his eyes.
He couldn’t believe it! His uncle
had never struck him like that before.
Now of course, Jesse had blistered his hard-headed nephew’s butt--many
times--when the boy needed discipline…but he had always controlled his temper
and never touched him in anger. This
blow hurt Bo, emotionally, more than any whipping he had ever gotten…it tore at
his heart that his loving, patient uncle had turned into this cold stranger!
The young man locked eyes with the angry white-haired man before him; his body
trembled in a volatile combination of rage, pain, fear, and sadness.
Jesse saw the distress in his
nephew’s eyes and the livid red mark on his cheek. The unreasonable anger he had been filled
with began to melt away and was quickly replaced by shame and guilt. “Bo, son…I’m so sorry…” the old man said as
he reached out toward his nephew with a shaky hand.
Luke saw that Bo was
breathing hard and that his cousin’s jaw was clenched tightly, the muscles in
his face twitched. Bo was so upset and
tense that his body appeared to vibrate!
Luke noticed the signs that signaled an explosion of Bo’s formidable
temper. His cousin was either going to
punch someone or run. “Bo, wait…” he
hollered just as his cousin bolted from the kitchen. The slamming of the screen door reverberated
through the silent room as the three remaining Dukes looked at each other. Daisy finally gave in to her frustrations and
cried; upset over what had become of her family. Luke comforted her as he watched Jesse deal
with the events of the last few minutes.
His own feelings of pain and worry tried to come to the surface, but he
stamped them down. He had to be strong
for the others.
Luke let go of Daisy, after
she had settled down, and walked over to kneel in front of his uncle’s
chair. “He’ll be back, Uncle Jesse. Bo always comes back. He just needs to sort things out.” he said,
in an attempt to comfort his uncle.
“I wouldn’t blame him if he
didn’t. I’ve treated him so awful…I
realize that now. Luke…go after him, please.
You can get Bo to come home. Tell
him…tell him that I need to talk to him.” Jesse asked quietly, his voice
shaking, a single tear tracking down his weathered face. The old man had seemed
to age 10 years since the banging of the screen door.
Luke nodded; the sight of his
uncle looking so lost had left him unable to speak. He gently embraced his uncle, rose to his
feet, and headed out into the humid
Chapter 5
“Bo…where
the hell are you?”
Luke said, under his breath, as he trudged through the woods adjacent to
the Duke property. He knew that Bo
couldn’t be far since he had left on foot.
The younger man was fairly consistent when it came to his hiding
spots…the barn loft, the old Indian caves, or the pond. Luke had already checked the barn and was now
headed toward the pond.
Bo Duke raced through the
underbrush; he paid no attention to where his feet were taking him. Tree limbs and bushes tore at his skin and
clothes. He didn’t notice. He was enraged and his heart was breaking…he
felt totally alone. Jesse, the only
daddy he had ever known, had turned against him and what’s worse…Luke and Daisy
had not lifted a finger in his defense during the long weeks leading to
tonight’s confrontation! Luke was supposed to be his best friend…his
brother...he should’ve done something…he should have helped him! His family
didn’t seem to care about him…and, now… he had even lost his chance at love.
How could Luke do this to him? His
dream had been killed before it had a chance to live! Bo knew he had
no right to be angry at Luke…his cousin had no idea
that he liked Meghan, too. It wasn’t
Luke’s fault that he couldn’t get up the nerve to talk to Meghan sooner. He knew Luke wouldn’t hurt him on purpose…but
it still didn’t stop the pain that wrenched his heart. He knew that his little angel would probably
like Luke better, anyway. Luke would be
good for her…she deserved someone smart and stable like Luke. “She doesn’t need a screw-up like me,” Bo
whispered into the warm night as he tried to outrun his pain. The upset young man, consumed with his inner
turmoil, paid no heed to the burning sensation in his lungs that intensified
with every footfall.
Luke
quietly approached the pond. He didn’t
see his cousin anywhere and was just about to head toward the caves when he
heard the sound of boots crashing through the woods. He turned and saw Bo emerge into the clearing
around the pond. Luke could see that his
younger cousin was still very upset. He
called out to Bo, hoping to get him to stop his frenzied flight.
Bo didn’t slow down when he
heard Luke’s shout. Instead, he turned
away from Luke, headed back into the woods, and yelled, “Leave me alone!”
Luke swore and ran after
him. The dark-haired man soon caught up
to his fair-haired cousin and tackled him.
The two men struggled…Bo tried to break free of his stronger cousin’s
grip and Luke tried to pin the taller blond to the ground.
Luke was determined that he
would get Bo to go back home…even if it meant he had to hog-tie him and drag
him!
“Bo…settle
down! Jesse wants you to come home. He’s sorry…he wants to talk to you…to make
things right,” Luke huffed, as he wrestled with Bo.
“He doesn’t care…none of you
do!” Bo yelled, breathlessly, as he struggled to get out of Luke’s grip. He
managed to punch his older cousin in the stomach.
“OOF…that ain’t
true and you know it, Bo Duke!” Luke replied through clenched teeth, slightly
winded. He stilled as he heard an odd
sound that caught his attention…a high-pitched, irregular, whistling
sound.
Bo realized, too late, that
he had forgotten to go see Doc Appleby about his asthma! The combination of his heightened emotional
state, the humid air, and the exertion of running and wrestling with Luke had
triggered a life-threatening attack. His
lungs suddenly felt as if they were filled with shards of glass. His airway was constricting very rapidly and
he could barely get any air. Bo’s eyes
grew wide with fear as he abruptly stopped his struggle; he wheezed shrilly
with every breath.
Luke’s mouth went dry as he
realized the sound was being made by his cousin! He looked down at Bo’s fearful expression and
felt chills go down his spine. By the
sound of it, Bo was in serious trouble.
The younger man had started to turn pale; the beginnings of a large
bruise showing starkly on his left cheek.
Luke immediately got up and
helped Bo to his feet.
“Bo…come on, buddy, we need
to get you home and call Doc,” he said gently, trying to mask his own fear. Bo just nodded as he wheezed loudly.
The cousins walked back to
farm as quickly as they could; Luke supported Bo as he struggled to
breathe. The men gradually had to slow
their pace, though; as Bo grew weaker and started to become incoherent.
“Come on, little cousin,
we’re almost home…just a little more.” Luke encouraged; almost dragging Bo
now. He was becoming more worried. His cousin had never experienced an asthma attack
this severe; even when he was a kid and had often been ill due to breathing
problems.
Bo felt strange…he could
barely put one foot in front of the other and had trouble thinking as his body
starved for oxygen. His airway had constricted to the point where he felt like
someone was strangling him to death! He
vaguely realized he needed to keep moving. He attempted to speak to Luke but
was unable to as his vision swam and darkness engulfed him.
Three-quarters of the way to
the house, Bo’s body went limp and began to fall to the ground. Luke caught his cousin and frantically tried
to rouse him, with no success. Bo had
passed out due to lack of oxygen. Luke noticed that Bo’s breathing had become
increasingly labored and very irregular.
He had heard of people dying from
asthma attacks and he feared Bo would be one of them if they didn’t get help
soon! Luke hefted the taller man
over his shoulder and broke into a trot.
The dark-haired Duke nearly cried in relief when the porch light of the
farmhouse became visible. He yelled for
Daisy and Jesse as he reached the edge of the yard.
While
Luke and Bo had been struggling in the woods, Daisy had been doing her best to
console Jesse. She assured him that she,
Luke, and Bo all loved him and that they understood why he may have been acting
differently. Jesse felt even guiltier than
he already was when he realized how patient his kids had been with him. He hoped that Luke could persuade Bo to
return home.
“How could I have treated Bo
like that?” he said, sadly.
“You were just frustrated…I
guess you needed someone to take it all out on…”
“That may be…but it don’t excuse how I acted.
It wasn’t his fault that I had a stroke.
I’ve tried not to notice how different Bo has been lately…but it’s all my fault…and now he might not ever come home…” Jesse’s
voice trailed off as he tried to fight tears.
“Don’t worry, Uncle Jesse.
Luke will bring him home…” Daisy suddenly stopped talking and turned toward the
door. She had heard someone outside,
yelling.
“That’s Luke. Something’s wrong.” Jesse said, worriedly, as
he stood up and joined his niece at the door.
The white haired man opened
the screen-door just as Luke stepped onto the porch with his burden.
“Call Doc! He can’t
breathe and it’s getting worse!” Luke exclaimed, out of breath himself from
carrying Bo. He carried his cousin into
the house.
Daisy rushed to the telephone
to call Hazzard’s local physician, Doctor Appleby.
“What’s the matter with him,”
Jesse asked, worriedly, as he observed Bo’s pale, sweat-dampened skin, his
scratched arms, and labored breathing.
“He’s having another asthma
attack and this one’s real bad.” Luke answered, curtly, as he laid the
unconscious Bo on the living room couch.
“Huh…what do you mean another attack? He hasn’t had one in years.” Jesse questioned
as he propped his nephew’s head and shoulders onto pillows in order to make
breathing easier.
“He had one the day you had
your stroke…we didn’t tell you because we didn’t want you to worry,” Daisy
explained; hanging up the phone before joining the others in the living room.
“Doc’s on his way. He needs to stop by his office to get a few
things first.”
“Well…he’d better hurry.”
Luke said, quietly, as he brushed Bo’s damp hair from his forehead. His cousin’s skin was cool and clammy and a
faint bluish tinge could now be seen around his pale lips and fingernails. His breathing seemed to be getting worse, if
that was possible!
The ferocity of this attack
scared the usually calm Duke. What if Bo had been alone when it happened? Luke was certain that if that had been the
case, he might have found his cousin lying dead in the woods. The thought and the image it conjured chilled
him to his bones! What if Doc is too late?
Luke didn’t even want to imagine that possibility! He shook his head, as if to clear his mind,
and went to stand by the window; watching for the doctor.
Jesse prayed his old friend,
Doc, would get there in time…this was the worst spell he had ever seen Bo
have. He winced as he heard the labored,
painful breathing of the young man before him.
His mind reeled with the news that Bo’s asthma had returned and he
hadn’t known about it. He spoke to his
nephew in a gentle soothing voice, much like he had when Bo was young and had
been scared over something, “It’s OK, son…your Uncle Jesse’s here. You’re gonna be all
right…just rest easy. Doc’s on his way…”
The old man stroked Bo’s face
and hair as he spoke. His heart fell
when he noticed the large bruise that spread across the pale skin. “I’m so sorry, Bo…for everything I’ve put you
through. When you wake up we’ve got a
lot to talk about.” he softly told the unconscious young man he had raised as a
son.
Twenty minutes after Daisy’s frantic phone call, Dr.
Appleby arrived at the Duke farm. Luke
heard the doctor’s old blue car pull up in the yard and ran to open the door
for him.
“Good time Doc! You must have flown to get here!” Luke said
as the older man hurried into the house.
“Well, I figured I needed to
get here quick if Bo’s having as much trouble as Daisy said he was.” The
seasoned physician saw the young man lying on the couch and immediately went to
his side. He noticed the ominous blue
color tinting Bo’s lips, heard the rough breathing and frowned. He pulled a stethoscope from his bag; jerked
Bo’s torn T-shirt up, and listened to the young man’s lungs. Doc made a serious looking face and quickly
started taking supplies from his medical bag.
He grabbed Bo’s arm, swabbed the inside of his elbow with antiseptic,
and expertly started an IV.
“Daisy, hold this.” Doc said
as he handed her a bag of saline solution and then attached it’s tubing to the
IV canula in Bo’s arm.
“Luke, go out to my car and
get the oxygen tank in the back seat.
When you get it…set it up right here beside Bo.” Luke rushed to do the doctor’s bidding. Jesse looked on, worriedly, as his old friend
worked quickly to help his nephew.
The doctor said very little
as he worked. His face wore a very
serious, concerned expression as he decided which medications to give Bo. After measuring the correct dosages, Doc
Appleby injected the breathing medications into Bo’s IV. Luke quickly returned with the oxygen tank
and sat it in the floor near his cousin’s head.
Doc connected an oxygen mask and tubing to the tank, regulated the flow and
placed the mask over Bo’s nose and mouth.
After a frantic few minutes,
the old doctor sat back on his heels and sighed, loudly.
“Now we wait for the medicine
to do its work. What I want to know is
when did this problem start up again and why didn’t he come see me? He had to have warning signs before now. I mean…he’s very lucky, Jesse! An attack this bad could easily have killed
him!” Doc said, gruffly, as he glared up at his old friend.
Upon hearing Doc’s serious
words, Jesse paled. He then looked to
his eldest nephew.
Luke swallowed hard. He explained to the doctor about Bo’s
previous episode and the recent nightly wheezing spells. Luke felt guilty as he spoke. He should have pestered Bo into going to the
doctor, and then maybe his cousin wouldn’t be lying in this condition now.
The old doctor saw Luke’s
worried, almost pained expression. He
patted the younger man’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, son. That cousin of yours always comes out
alright. Besides…Heaven’s not ready for the likes of Bo Duke, yet. They need a lot more years to prepare!” the
man said with a gentle smile. “He’ll be fine.”
After a good while and another dose of medication later, Bo
returned to consciousness; his oxygen level had finally approached normal. His eyes fluttered open and he slowly looked
around the familiar room. He couldn’t
remember why he was lying on the living room couch. Why was everyone looking at him…and why was
Doc there? He felt awful…like a
wrung-out dish rag! His chest hurt and
his lungs felt raw. He then remembered
the asthma attack and his struggle with Luke…but, his thoughts were still fuzzy
and he didn’t quite remember why he had been wrestling with his cousin in the
first place. The young man struggled to
rise from the pillows he rested against and was immediately pushed back by a
strong hand.
“Wait a minute,
sleepy-head…you need to get the OK from Doc before you get up.” Bo looked up at the source of the gentle,
very familiar touch and voice. His uncle
was standing over him; looking at him with concern.
Upon seeing the bearded face,
Bo was forcibly reminded of the confrontation in the kitchen…he remembered
Jesse hitting him! He immediately pulled
away from his uncle’s touch and looked away.
Jesse tried to hide his hurt as he noticed Bo’s reaction, but he really
couldn’t blame his nephew for not wanting to be near him right now.
Doc Appleby examined Bo
thoroughly and scolded the young man for ignoring medical advice. A half-hour later, he allowed Bo to take off
the oxygen mask and he removed the IV.
Bo made a face and turned his head when Doc pulled out the IV. He had always hated needles! He was just glad
he hadn’t been awake when Doc had put it in!
The good doctor packed his
things and asked Luke to load them into his car. He gave Bo a new inhaler, scheduled a
follow-up appointment for the next week, and then headed back to town after a
chorus of heartfelt thanks from the whole family and the promise of one of
Daisy’s home-made apple pies.
Chapter 6
Bo wanted to be anywhere except where he was… but, at the
moment; he could do nothing about his current location. He didn’t think he would even be able to get
to his bed without help…much less leave the house!
He tried to ignore the three
people who stared at him with concern…he just didn’t want to talk right now…but
he knew he would probably have to before the night was over.
Daisy was the first to
approach Bo. She helped him to a sitting
position; steadying him through a wave of dizziness. The young woman sniffed back her tears of
relief at seeing her cousin breathing easier.
“Bo, Sugar…What are you trying to do?
Make me gray-headed before my time?” she said, with a gentle smile, as
she finger-combed his thick hair away from his face.
“Sorry.” Bo said, hoarsely.
He gave Daisy a small, lopsided grin. She then hugged him, fiercely.
“Hey, cuz. Guess what?
You almost turned blue…” Luke tried to be funny, but the fearsome image
of Bo’s deathly pale complexion came rushing back to
him and his smile faded. He almost
whispered, “When you…I thought…” Luke couldn’t finish. He cleared his throat, sat down on the coffee
table so he could face his cousin, and instead asked, “How do you feel? Can you breathe OK?”
Bo looked at Luke with
questioning eyes; but he decided not to push his cousin. “Frankly…I feel like
someone ran over me with the General and left him parked on my chest…but other
than that, I guess I’m a lot better than I was.
It still hurts a little to breathe, though.” Bo didn’t tell his cousin the rest. He hoped that he wouldn’t be making a habit
of having asthma attacks like the one he had tonight! His head hurt, he was dizzy, and the
medication made him feel strange and jittery.
He felt like he had a bad hang-over from too much cheap, Boar’s Nest
booze! In addition, he was utterly
exhausted from both the physical and emotional ordeals he had gone through that
evening.
In other words…he was a
train-wreck!
Luke noticed that Bo didn’t
look at Jesse or even acknowledge the older man’s presence in the room. He stood up and briefly enfolded his cousin
in a brotherly hug. “Don’t make a habit
of this, Bo! I might have a heart attack
if I have to haul your carcass through the woods again.” he said, with another
attempt at humor to lighten the mood in the room and to mask his own
emotions.
Bo smiled at his almost-brother
and caught his light-blue eyes with his own sincere, dark-blue eyes. “Thanks Luke.
I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Don’t mention it little
bro’.” Luke said; his voice thickening with emotion. He motioned for Daisy to follow and the two
cousins went into the kitchen to leave Bo and Jesse alone in the living room.
Jesse
approached his tired, hurting nephew and slowly sat down next to him on the
couch.
Bo didn’t move. He just wanted to get this night over with
and go to bed so he could deal with his feelings of loss over Meghan in peace.
Jesse tenderly touched the
bruise on Bo’s cheek; hating the fact that he had caused the mark. Bo flinched, slightly, but otherwise did not
acknowledge the man beside him. Bo wanted
to tell Jesse to go away and leave him alone…but…he was raised to be respectful
and he figured he should at least let his uncle have his say. ‘After
all…maybe things have changed,’ Bo hoped.
The old man drew a deep,
ragged breath and turned his nephew’s head to face him. His heart clenched at the look of pain and
sadness that emanated from Bo’s expressive eyes. “I’m sorry, Bo. I don’t blame you for not trusting me
anymore. I’ve treated you bad the last
month or so…I didn’t realize I was doing it…but it happened, and I’m
sorry. I never meant to hurt you.” He sighed and gave a small chuckle, “I guess
that silly ol’ saying is true... ‘You always hurt the ones you love’. I do love you, son, and I pray that you can
find it in your heart to forgive this old fool.” Tears of regret streaked down Jesse’s face
and into his thick beard.
Bo saw the truth in Jesse’s
gentle eyes and felt the familiar, fatherly love in his touch and voice. He’s
back! Uncle Jesse’s back! Bo’s
spirits instantly lightened. The
cold, distant stranger that had been masquerading as his uncle for the last
month was finally gone!
Jesse noticed that Bo’s eyes
were shining with tears. He stroked his
nephew’s hair and pulled him into an embrace.
Bo’s face crumpled as he gave in and released the weeks of emotional
torment he had been through and the current pain he felt (but couldn’t speak
of) over Meghan. He dropped his head to
Jesse’s shoulder and cried like a baby…and for once, he didn’t care who saw
him. He was just grateful to have this
part of his world return to normal. He’d
find a way to deal with his heartbreak later.
Luke and Daisy had over-heard
Jesse’s words and risked a glance into the living room to see their cousin’s
response. They saw their uncle holding
Bo tightly; rocking gently as he offered the lanky young man comfort. Bo was crying deep, wrenching sobs and
murmuring words they couldn’t hear; holding on to his uncle for dear life.
Jesse made soft, soothing replies as he shed quiet tears of his own. The two cousins wrapped arms around each
other and turned away from the emotional scene; secure in the knowledge that
their family would once again be whole.
After a long while, Bo stopped crying. He was worn-out, physically, and emotionally
drained. He hoped to never have another
night like this… ever! He sniffed,
raised his head from his uncle’s shoulder and looked into the adjoining room
where Luke and Daisy waited.
He sat up; embarrassed about
his ‘melt-down’ now that it was over, and swiped at his eyes. “Ya’ll can come back in now…the water-works
have dried up…I don’t think you’ll drown!” he said with a sheepish grin. Jesse smiled at the welcome return of Bo’s
humor and struggled to regain his own composure.
Luke and Daisy joined Bo and
Jesse in the living room. Daisy brought
a pot of coffee and four cups with her.
Her eyes were red from her own tears as she spoke to Bo, “Don’t sweat
it, Hon. We’ve all cried enough lately
to flood
“Thanks…but I feel like I
could use something a bit stronger. I
wonder how coffee would taste with a little snort of Jesse’s shine in it…” Bo
said with a slight grin, as he held the cup with both hands. He briefly questioned the idea of adding
caffeine into his already jittery body, but shrugged it off. He doubted he would have any trouble sleeping
tonight…even if he drank the whole pot!
Luke raised an eyebrow at
Bo’s comment. “You getting drunk is the last thing we
need tonight…so stay out of the shine!” he replied, with a laugh, as he
accepted his own cup.
The family sat close and
began to mend the wounds of the last few weeks.
Jesse
watched his kids, fondly. This had been
a rough night for them all. He was still not at 100%, himself, and he felt very
tired. He decided he should call it a
night…after all it was nearly
“Well, young’uns,
I’m getting these old bones to bed and I’ll advise ya’ll to do likewise. We all need a good nights sleep and mornin’ will be here before we know it.” Jesse stood up, stretched, and began to walk
toward the hall to his room. He stopped,
and turned to face the cousins. He
smiled in his beard and said, with his eyes twinkling, “Next time I decide to
act a fool like I did these last few weeks, one of you just give me a swift
kick to the seat of my britches…maybe that will get it all over with quicker.”
Daisy’s eyes went wide and
she coughed in reply.
Bo hooted with laughter and said, “I think
I’ll give that job to Luke.”
Luke gave his cousin a mock
scowl, “Gee thanks! What do want to
do…get me killed or something?” The four
Dukes laughed together at the comment and then Jesse went on to bed.
Daisy yawned loudly and soon
followed her uncle’s example, leaving Luke to put the cups in the sink after he
and Bo finished their coffee. She hugged
both her cousins and dropped a kiss on top of Bo’s head, saying “I love ya, Cousin” softly, as she passed. He smiled and said, “Love you, too. Sleep tight.”
Luke
placed the dirty cups in the sink and came back to where Bo was sitting. He looked at his younger cousin and shook his
head. Bo looked rough! The blond man was still wheezing a little and
was barely able to sit upright. His eyes were slightly closed and had dark
circles underneath. The left side of
Bo’s face was dominated by a bruise that bloomed over his cheek-bone. The rest of his complexion was still a little
pale underneath the dark-blond stubble that sprouted over his jaw-line and
cheeks. Bo looked like he was very tired
and in pain.
Luke watched as the younger
man yawned widely and rubbed his eyes. Luke was instantly 9 ½ years-old again…
He could picture an almost 5 year-old Bo sitting in
the same spot; wearing a pair of thread-bare, hand-me-down pajamas, doing the
exact same thing and saying, “…but Luke, I’m not sleepy yet!”
He smiled at the memory from
their happy childhood and was surprised at the fierce protectiveness he still
felt toward his “baby brother”.
“Come on, kiddo,” Luke said,
lapsing into one of his many old nicknames for Bo, “let’s get you to bed.”
Bo opened one eye, made a
face and looked up at his cousin.
“Luke…,” he said with a sideways smile, “I think it’s about time you
stopped calling me that stupid nickname…even if I did act like a kid and ended
up bawlin’ like a baby tonight.” Bo’s expression grew serious.
Luke sat down by his cousin.
“It’s OK, Bo. You had good reason to
cry. Hell…I almost cried a few times
tonight myself.” he admitted.
Bo looked at Luke. “…You?
Why?”
Luke had a serious look on
his face. He took a deep breath and
began to speak softly and haltingly; like it took a lot of effort to say the
words. “Because…everyone was upset…I was
upset. I could tell you were hurting…you’ve
been hurting like that for a long time…and I couldn’t do anything about
it. I really wish I had done more to
prevent all this, Bo. I shoulda done something…I could’ve talked to Jesse and I
should’ve made you go see Doc! I feel
like I let you down...”
Bo kept silent. He
didn’t want Luke to know that he had actually felt that he had been let
down. The situation was over now…no need
to bring up old problems that didn’t matter now.
“…and…I thought…” Luke went
silent for a minute and looked at the wall.
“What Luke?”
“I thought you were gonna die! When we
were in the woods and you passed out on me…you looked real bad and sounded
worse. I really thought we would lose
you before Doc got here.” Luke quickly wiped his eyes. “You scared me, kid.” he said as he squeezed
Bo’s shoulder.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Bo said softly. He was slightly unnerved
at this rare glimpse of emotion from Luke.
“I know that! It’s not like you tried to suffocate yourself
on purpose…at least you better not have!” Luke chuckled and ruffled Bo’s hair;
the action made the naturally wavy strands stick out in all directions. Bo
reflexively tried to smooth his unruly locks and frowned at his older cousin.
Luke was pleased to see the all too familiar gesture…his buddy was finally
getting back to normal!
“Let’s go to bed…I know I’m
tired and you look like you’re gonna fall over.”
“Just leave me here…I’ll
sleep on the couch tonight. I honestly
don’t wanna move.” Bo yawned, hugely; his exhaustion
apparent in his dark-blue eyes.
“Well if you’re staying out
here, then so am I.”
Bo protested and briefly
argued with his cousin over this idea.
Luke let him fuss for a bit
and then put his foot down. “Hush, Bo.
I’m not leaving you alone until I know you’re better. I can still hear you wheeze and I don’t want
you having an attack in your sleep without anyone around to know about it.”
Bo was grateful for his cousin’s concern, but
he couldn’t just let Luke win without giving him a hard time! He threw up his hands and sighed,
theatrically, “Alright, alright…you win…but you’ll have to help me get up.” He
held a hand out to Luke.
Luke grabbed his cousin and
quickly pulled him off the couch into a standing position. A little too quickly!
Bo was very wobbly and would
have fallen to floor if Luke had not been holding on to him. The blond closed his eyes to avoid seeing the
room spin. He felt the blood drain from
his head as his blood pressure adjusted to his abrupt change of position.
Luke briefly feared his
cousin would pass out again; Bo had gone as white as a sheet! “You OK?” Luke
asked, nervously. He had his arm tight around Bo, holding the taller man
upright.
Bo nodded, slowly. “Yeah,
just give me a minute…” he said in a weak voice.
When his balance was
restored, Bo allowed Luke to help him towards the room they had shared since
childhood.
Half-way down the hall, Bo
began to laugh, loudly! Luke looked at
him funny. “Bo…has that medicine made
you loopy?”
“No…I was just thinking…Luke,
I swear…you can be as stubborn as a jackass sometimes! Do you always have to get your way?” he said,
giving Luke a sideways grin; hoping his cousin wouldn’t take this statement as
an insult.
Luke grinned back; he
understood Bo’s meaning. As he opened the door to their room, he replied with a
cocky look, “Of course! I’m a Duke ain’t I?
He and Bo almost collapsed
with helpless laughter: it was that time
of night when everything was hilarious!
They were both happy to have the atmosphere in the house return to a
somewhat normal state. The boys crawled into their beds (Bo didn’t even bother
to undress) and were soon sound asleep.
Chapter 7
All too soon,
“Bo…wake up. Bo!
Get your lazy butt out of bed! The chores ain’t
gonna do themselves.”
Bo continued to snore and didn’t even stir; in
fact, he appeared not to have moved an inch since falling, fully clothed, into
the bed. Luke noticed that Bo still
looked pretty tired even though he was asleep!
The dark-haired man had pity on his cousin, shook his head, and said,
“OK…I’ll let you sleep in for a while…but you’ll owe me one!”
Luke finished up then walked
from his room to join Jesse and Daisy in the kitchen.
Jesse was helping Daisy cook breakfast; gradually returning
to his old routine. He looked up as Luke
entered the room. His nephew still
looked half-asleep and was yawning widely as he sat down at the table. Luke had
apparently decided to wait until he had finished his chores to clean up for the
day. He was dressed in old work clothes,
his hair looked more unruly than usual and he had not shaved yet.
“Good morning, Luke. Looks like it’ll be a nice day today; don’t it?” Jesse said as he took a pan of homemade biscuits
from the oven.
“G’mornin’,”
Luke mumbled.
“Well, you’re a real ray of
sunshine! I almost thought you were Bo…”
Daisy said, in a bright, wide-awake voice, as she sat a plate filled with eggs
and bacon in front of her cousin. Luke raised an eyebrow and just glared at
Daisy.
Jesse saw this and laughed.
His youngest nephew had always hated waking up early; no matter how much or how
little sleep he had the night before.
Luke, however, was usually a morning person like Daisy; but lack of
sleep tended to make him cranky in the morning like Bo. “Speakin’ of Bo,
where is he?” Jesse said.
“I let him sleep in. He still looked pretty tired.” Luke replied.
Jesse nodded and said, “He
needs the rest. He had a real rough
night. If he’s not up in a few hours,
I’ll go check on him.”
Jesse said Grace before he
sat down at the table. The three Dukes
then ate their breakfast and went about the routine morning chores.
Bo awoke to the sound of Luke rummaging through the
dresser. He noticed that the sun was
higher than usual when he woke up and he looked at the clock:
Luke turned from the dresser
with a clean shirt in his hands and laughed at his wild-looking cousin. His dark hair was still damp from his recent
shower and he smelled of his ‘good’
after-shave.
“Good mornin’
to you, too, Rip Van Winkle! As for the chores…they’re already done. I let you sleep in…you looked like you needed
it! Oh, by the way…you get to do all the evening chores by yourself since I did yours and mine this morning,” he said with a
toothy smile.
Luke shrugged into his newest
shirt and looked in the dresser mirror as he started to comb his hair; a little
more carefully than usual.
Bo noticed this and
grinned…wickedly! He loved to annoy his
older cousin…that was one thing he knew he would never outgrow! He got out of bed and sauntered over to lean
on the dresser, next to Luke.
“OK…no problem about the
chores…but I really need to know something, Lukas. You just look too
dang purty
and smell too good to be hanging around here all day,” Bo said, as he fluttered
his eyelashes, teasing Luke. “Are you goin’ somewheres?” he asked his cousin, grinning widely.
Luke looked at the floor and
blushed…he actually blushed! Bo was
astonished at this and he started poking Luke in the ribs to further annoy
him. “Well, are ya? Huh? Are ya,
Lukas?”
“Bo! Stop it, ya idiot!” Luke flinched and moved out of Bo’s reach.
He looked sidelong at his
cousin and decided to tell his plans; it felt real good to have someone to talk
to again, even if that someone was being an annoying brat at the moment!
“Well…Uncle Jesse wants me to
pick up some feed and the new part for the cultivator…and since the parts-store
is in Capital City...and Tri-County
Hospital is in Capital City, too…well…I…thought I might stop by and see
Meghan…and maybe see if she wanted to go get lunch or something like that. You know, spend a little time together before
our big date, to talk and stuff.” Luke
stammered as he looked at the floor; a slow, soft grin appeared on his face.
A cold knot formed in the pit
of Bo’s stomach. He felt wretched,
especially when he saw that little grin on Luke’s face. He knew his older cousin too well; that grin
and the fact that he blushed meant Luke must really like Meghan…a lot.
“Oh…ri-i-ight…Meghan. She works in
He had a fake smile plastered
on his face and he hoped Luke couldn’t see his internal struggle. He
wanted to scream, curse, break something or even hit Luke…he wanted to do
anything except stand there and act like he was happy! He
wished he could be happy for
Luke…Luke deserved it…but right now, the disappointment was just too
fresh…maybe in time he would be able to think about Luke and Meghan together
without wanting to cry or explode…but today would not be that day.
He had to get away before he
lost it and went ballistic in front of Luke.
He gave his cousin a friendly slap on the shoulder and quickly headed
for the bathroom.
“Well, I’m gonna take a shower.
Have a good trip. See ya when you get back.” Bo said in a hurried, strained
voice.
Luke turned and watched as Bo
nearly ran out of the room. He shrugged
and passed his cousin’s odd behavior off as a side-effect of the rough night
they had all had. He finished getting
ready and, when he thought he passed inspection, left the farmhouse.
By the time Bo had finished his shower, Luke was well on
his way to
Bo stood in front of the sink
with a towel wrapped around his waist.
He ran his fingers through his wet hair, trying to get it into some
semblance of order. He looked at himself
critically as he prepared to shave. “You
sure won’t get Meghan to look twice at you now, Beauregard; you look like death warmed over! She wouldn’t look at you anyway; not with perfect Lukas running after her!” he
said bitterly and slammed the medicine cabinet door shut. Bo instantly felt bad about his comment.
“It’s not like you had any claim on her, you know. You were too chicken to go see her and now
you lost out. So, get over it, Hot Shot,
and get on with your life. The sooner
the better…everything can then get back to normal.” Bo said to his mirrored
reflection as he gingerly shaved his bruised face. ‘Great,
I’m talking to myself, now. This is
starting to get pathetic!’ he thought and shook his head.
Bo finished shaving and
brushed a towel over his face. He winced
when he touched his left cheek. He
examined his reflection and thought, ‘Man…if
this is what Uncle Jesse can do when he’s weak, I’d hate to get him mad when
he’s at full strength!’ Bo sighed
and quickly turned his thoughts to other matters as he got dressed for the day.
Bo finally ventured out into the rest of the house. He had left his shirt untucked
and carried his boots and socks with him to put on later. He half-heartedly hoped no one would be in
the kitchen because he didn’t really want to talk to anyone right now. He was relieved to see that he was alone in
the house. Daisy had saved him some
breakfast and he took a cold biscuit from the plate and ate it slowly as he
poured himself some coffee. He drank the
coffee as he looked out the window at a peaceful scene that he never tired of: his home and the people he loved. His Uncle Jesse sat in front of the barn,
sharpening the edge of a hoe; Daisy was walking from the chicken coop with a
basket of freshly collected eggs; and Luke…well, Luke was in
Daisy entered the kitchen just as Bo was about to throw his
coffee cup. She knew he didn’t see her
and she remained silent as she watched him regain control of himself. Bo had his hands on the edge of the sink and
his head was bowed as if he were praying.
Daisy cautiously approached him and gently placed a hand on her cousin’s
shoulder. He jumped as if he had been
shocked. Bo looked at Daisy, all his
emotions vying for control. She could
see the turmoil in his eyes. He looked
so sad and tired. Daisy had hoped the
reconciliation with Jesse would help Bo’s mood; but, if anything, he seemed
more upset and depressed than ever! She
stroked her hand through his bright hair to soothe him.
“Honey,
that extra sleep didn’t seem to help you one bit. You still look like something the cat drug in
and left in the hayloft overnight!” she said jokingly.
Bo smiled slightly. “Gee, thanks!”
“Seriously, Bo, are you OK?”
“Yeah, Daisy, I will be.” He
was pouring himself some more coffee and looked away as he said this.
“Come on, ‘Squirt’, sit down and tell me all about
it.” She steered her taller cousin toward a chair.
At the sound of a long
forgotten nickname, Bo laughed and nearly choked on his coffee. “ ‘Squirt’?!? You haven’t called me that since I was
ten! What’s the deal with you and Luke
and the old nicknames here lately?” He let Daisy lead him to the chair and he
sat down.
She smiled and hugged
him. “Well, I just couldn’t resist. You looked so pitiful…I figured it might make
you smile…and sometimes I still think of you as that little ‘squirt’ you used
to be before you outgrew me!”
Bo smiled widely at the
beautiful young woman he considered to be a sister and took her hand. “It did the job, Daisy Mae! I’m smilin’.”
“It’s good to see you smiling
again, Sugar. Now…tell me what’s going
on. And don’t lie to me and tell me it’s
nothing! I know you better than
that. I thought you and Jesse settled
everything last night.” She looked at Bo
with concern.
Bo tried to avoid her
gaze. “We did. Everything’s fine between me and Jesse now.
It’s…it’s just something I need to work out for myself.” He said softly.
“You need to talk to someone,
Bo. It’s not like you to keep to
yourself and you’ve kept to yourself too much lately. If you won’t tell me, why don’t you talk to
Luke…?”
“I can’t talk to Luke about this.” Bo said sharply as he rose from his
chair. He walked over to the door and
leaned against the wooden frame.
Daisy’s suspicions from the
night before came back to her, forcefully.
“It’s that nurse; isn’t
it? Bo…you like Meghan…don’t you?” She
said gently.
Bo turned to look at
her. He looked like a deer caught in
headlights. Daisy had figured it out. Dear
God! What was he going to do? If Luke found out…
“Bo…you do like her! That’s why you got so upset last night when
Luke talked about taking her out!” She
joined her cousin at the door and touched his face, gently, forcing him to look
her in the eye. “Oh, Sugar…why didn’t you say something…”
“What good would it have
done? Luke beat me to the punch. I was too much of a coward to ask her out and
I lost my chance. End of discussion.” Bo tried to end the conversation and strode
into the living room where he sat on the arm of the couch and began to put his
socks and boots on. He had to get out of
the house. He had to get away from the questions.
Daisy noticed the pained
quality to Bo’s voice.
“How long have you liked
her?” she softly asked, though she already knew the answer.
Bo
sighed and shook his head. There was no
way around Daisy! She would keep after
him till he told her all she wanted to know…and part of him was grateful for
the chance to at least get some of this off his chest.
“Since the first time I heard
her voice in that waiting room. Since the moment I looked into those pretty
green eyes and she touched my arm. Since she smiled that
perfectly cute crooked little smile.
Since…” Bo’s face softened. He smiled gently and his dark-blue eyes
sparkled as they seemed to be lost in a day-dream.
Once he had started, the
words came out in a flood. He told Daisy
about all his feelings toward Meghan…his confusion, his fear, and the
possibility that he might love her.
Daisy listened, in awe at the depth of feeling her young cousin had for
this woman who he barely knew!
“Now, Bo! I don’t want to rain on your parade…but,
you’ve fallen in love before…”
“Daisy, believe me, I know
what you’re thinking. ‘Leave it to Bo to fall in love with a woman he doesn’t even know!’ But…I can’t explain it. I’m crazy about her. When I looked into her eyes, I felt something
so strong it scared the crap outta me! I wanted to go to that hospital every day and
talk to her…but I was too scared!
Can you believe it? Me…scared to talk to a woman! But she’s not like any other woman I’ve met,
Daisy. I know I don’t have anything to
offer Meghan. I don’t have a good job,
I’m always broke, I don’t have a lot of book-smarts, and I know I can act like
a danged fool sometimes…but I do know that if I ever got the chance, I would
love her till my dying breath! She’s the
one Daisy…don’t ask me how I know…but I know!
She’s the one…and now I’ve
lost her to the best man she could possibly have…Luke.” Bo had been pacing as he gave his impassioned
speech. As he ended, he sat down on the
couch and sighed, sadly.
Daisy
didn’t know what to say. It was obvious
that Bo felt things for Meghan that he had never felt before. This was definitely more than one of his
usual romances. He had fallen and fallen
hard for a woman he now thought he couldn’t have. She sat down by her cousin and rubbed his
back to comfort him. He leaned his head
over on her shoulder; feeling a little bit better now that he had shared his
burden. Bo had always shared things with
Luke, but he felt he could open up more and show his true feelings around
Daisy. She had always seemed to
understand him and didn’t tease him too much for showing his emotions.
“Go on. Say it.
I’m pathetic!”
“Bo, honey, you are not
pathetic! A little crazy sometimes, yes,
but not pathetic!” she joked to lighten the mood.
The two cousins sat in
silence for a few minutes. Daisy could
feel the conflicted emotions radiating from Bo and she was disturbed by
them. She again had the feeling that
something bad was going to happen between Bo and Luke and she now knew if it
did it would be over Meghan.
“Bo, you really need to tell
Luke. You can’t keep something like this
from him. He needs to know.”
“NO!” Bo said,
vehemently. “No. I almost messed things up between me and Luke
over a girl once before. I won’t do it
again. If he knew it would just make him
mad. Besides, I didn’t have any claim on
Meghan. He was perfectly free to ask her
out…so there’s no need of bothering him with this. Let him be happy. I don’t want to hurt him because of my own
problems. I’ll just have to accept it
and try to forget about her.”
“Bo…”
“Please, Daisy. Don’t tell Luke what I just told you. And I’d appreciate it if we didn’t talk about
it anymore…OK?”
“What about Jesse? He’ll want to know what’s going on with you.”
“If he asks, you can tell
Jesse enough to satisfy him…but, only Jesse and be sure he knows to keep it
from Luke! I’ll be the one to tell Luke
if and when I’m ready” Bo said in a serious tone as he looked at Daisy. “I mean it, Daisy.”
She nodded.
Bo decided it was time to
lighten the mood. It seemed to get too
serious too quick around the farm lately.
He looked sideways at Daisy and grinned.
“You just wait and see…by the
time I get ready to tell Luke my problems, I’ll have forgotten all about Nurse
What’s Her Name and have my mind on three other girls.” He nudged his cousin and said, “Ain’t that right…” he paused dramatically “… ‘Toothpick’?”
Daisy gasped in
surprise. “Bo Duke! Don’t you dare call me that stupid name!” She hit him
with a pillow off the couch.
“Hey, you started it with
that ‘Squirt’ business!” He threw the pillow back at her as he jumped
up and ran from the living room toward the screen door, yelling the hated
nickname at the top of his lungs.
Daisy, welcoming the change
in mood, shrieked in mock anger and gave chase.
Jesse looked up from his work
at the explosion of noise from the kitchen door. His youngest nephew burst into the yard. Bo was laughing and being chased by Daisy who
was threatening to douse him with a pan of dishwater. General chaos ensued as the laughing, shouting young people stirred up the yard full of
clucking chickens. Even the mule in the
barn started braying in response to all the noise.
Jesse laughed out loud. To him the joyful noises of his family were
like music to his ears! It had really
been too quiet around the farm for the past few weeks.
Chapter 8
Two months later, mid-July…
The summer had been going pretty well for the Dukes. Jesse was almost fully recovered and taking
over most of his old chores. Bo seemed
to be getting back to his usual self except when a certain young lady was
mentioned. Daisy tried her best to keep the relationship between her cousins
from becoming damaged by running interference when Luke questioned Bo’s strange
behavior too much. The boys had, for the
most part, returned to their old routine.
They worked on the farm together and hung out together, as usual. They
were even being chased by the law more now that Jesse had recovered. Things were starting to get back to normal in
Hazzard.
To Luke Duke things were better than normal! The normally reserved Luke was walking on
air! He whistled as he unloaded feed
sacks from the bed of the truck. The hot
Luke
and Meghan’s first date had gone so well that they had decided to start seeing
each other on a regular basis. In fact,
it seemed the only times they were not together or talking on the phone was
when Meghan was at work or they were sleeping!
Luke was very proud of his girlfriend and encouraged her work. He didn’t mind dating a woman who made more
money or had more education than him; but he was still old fashioned about most
of the relationship! Luke liked Meghan so much that he actually considered telling
her that he loved her…at least he thought he loved her. He didn’t know for sure if it was actually
love that he felt but he knew he felt stronger about her than any other woman
he had ever dated.
Luke finished unloading the truck and wiped his hands on
his jeans before slamming the tail-gate shut.
He was happy and looking forward to dinner. He had finally decided to bring Meghan to the
farm tonight. He was actually a bit
surprised that Daisy, Jesse, and Bo hadn’t been pestering him to meet her long
before now. In fact, now that he thought
about it, Bo really hadn’t asked much about Meghan at all. Usually, the talkative blond would tease him
and want to know everything about any girl Luke dated…even down to her favorite
color and how she kissed! He noticed
that Bo always listened intently whenever he talked about Meghan but never
asked any questions. Luke had also
noticed that Bo always seemed to find something to do in another room or
outside whenever Meghan was on the phone…actually, Bo rarely even answered the
phone anymore, saying “Luke, it’s probably for you” and handing the receiver
over. The more he thought about it, the
more Luke realized how uncharacteristically Bo was acting. How
have I kept from noticing before now? Wonder
what’s eatin’ him?
Maybe he thinks I’m neglecting him since I’m spending so much time with
Meghan now. I’ll try to make it up to
him by doing more things with him. Maybe
he’ll want to come with me and Meghan to do some stuff…double date or
something.
Luke
felt some better after he had determined a possible cause for Bo’s strange
behavior. He smiled as he heard the
sound of pots and pans clanging in the kitchen.
Daisy and Jesse were fussing over the house and the cooking…even though
he knew Meghan wouldn’t care. Daisy seemed to be so excited to meet Meghan that
she had swapped shifts with another waitress at the Boar’s Nest just so she
would be able to stay home tonight! He
didn’t know where Bo was…something that was unusual and becoming disturbingly
more frequent…but he hoped his cousin wouldn’t be late for dinner. Luke had started to go into the house to get
ready to go get Meghan when Cooter Davenport’s tow truck rattled into the
yard…towing the General behind.
Luke hollered a greeting to his friend and walked over to
see what the problem was. The General
didn’t look like he’d been wrecked.
“Hey, Coot. What’s wrong
with the General?” Luke questioned as he began to unhook the orange stock-car.
“Well, Buddyro…the
General Lee is as right as rain. At
least he is now. He could’ve ended up
wrapped around a tree if I hadn’t got to him in time.” Cooter looked serious and a bit concerned as
he walked around to the passenger side of the truck.
“Huh? What’s the problem,
then?” Luke asked, a frown creasing his face.
“This.” Cooter said simply as
he opened the passenger side door of the old tow-truck.
Inside was Bo Duke; sprawled
across the seat, passed out and dead to the world!
“What the…?” Luke said in
shock. “What happened? Is he hurt?” Luke
struggled to get his limber-limbed cousin out of the truck and onto the ground.
“He’s alright Luke…just stinkin’
drunk is all. He could’ve been a lot
worse. I drove up to the Boar’s Nest
just as ol’ Bo here was staggering out to get into
the General. Luckily, I talked him into lettin’ me drive him home…otherwise he would’ve been behind
the wheel when he passed out about ten minutes ago.”
Luke was open-mouthed with
shock. His cousin had never liked
getting drunk. In fact, he could count
the times Bo had been this drunk on one hand and have fingers left over. Luke leaned over the young man on the ground
and got a strong whiff of alcohol.
“Whew! You were right when you said he was stinkin’ drunk!
That’s not beer either. He’s been
drinking whiskey…and the cheap, nasty kind at that! What’s goin’ on
Cooter? Bo never drinks that stuff! He usually only has three or four beers at
the most! Besides, it’s only
“I don’t know Luke. I just don’t know. Gary, that new bartender at the Boar’s Nest,
said Bo’s been in a lot lately.
Sometimes he drinks, sometimes he doesn’t…but either way,
“Me too,
Cooter. Come on and help me get him into the
barn. I need to try to sober him up some
before Jesse sees him. Hey, do you want
to have dinner over here tonight? We’ll
have plenty and it’ll give you a chance to meet my girlfriend.”
“Oh, the
girlfriend who you talk about all the time. Let’s see…what
is her name? …Maggie or Margaret or Meghan
or something like that?” Cooter teased.
“Yeah, OK, maybe I do talk
about her a little bit.” Luke grinned, sheepishly.
Cooter rolled his eyes. He and Luke picked Bo up and easily carried
him into the barn. Luke went to fill a bucket with cold water from the pump
next to the battered, old water trough.
“I guess I can come for dinner. I need to go do a quick tow job and clean up
a little first, though. Wouldn’t want to scare your girl away!” Cooter pushed his greasy cap up and scratched
his head. He leaned against the doorway
of the old barn and eyed the bucket Luke was filling. “Uh, whatcha fixin’ to do, Luke?”
“You’ll see.” Luke finished filling the bucket and walked
over to the empty stall where his cousin lay, softly snoring.
“Ya
know, Cooter…I can’t say I won’t enjoy this!
Bo sure won’t…but then he shouldn’t have been out acting like an
idiot.” He swirled the bucket and took
aim. He glanced at Cooter as if daring
his friend to stop him.
Cooter made a face and
readjusted his cap. “I don’t blame ya, Luke. But, dang,
that’s gonna be one heck of a wake up call!” he said,
cringing slightly.
Luke quirked a slightly
wicked grin and proceeded to dump the entire contents
of the water bucket on his inebriated cousin’s head.
Bo was having the strangest dream about him and Luke being
chased by Roscoe, who was riding a green tricycle and somehow keeping up with
them better than usual…, when all of a sudden …“SPLASH”!
He gasped and sputtered. He was drowning! He flailed about on the floor of the stall
until he got his eyes opened completely and could see where he was. He saw that he was in the barn and he had no
idea how he got there. He dimly
registered that there was a great deal of laughter going on somewhere near him;
but he couldn’t see what the hell was so funny at the moment. His head was about to fall off his shoulders,
so he held it on with one hand while he used the other to prop himself up into
a sitting position. Bo noticed, through his swirling vision, that it was his
cousin and Cooter who were laughing hysterically, especially Luke. It figures!
Luke had all the fun lately. Bo
felt terrible. His stomach began to roll
like one of the rides at the county fair and he knew he was going to be
sick. He managed to grab hold of the
wall and pulled himself to his wobbly feet; still holding his head with one
hand! He staggered a few steps to the
nearest garbage barrel, leaned over it, and threw up his toes…again….and again!
Cooter quickly decided it was
time for him to go do that tow job.
“I’ll leave Bo in your capable hands and I’ll see ya’ll later for
dinner.”
“Bye, Cooter. Thanks for bringing him home. Now I just have to sober his butt up before
tonight. I’d hate for Meghan to see him
like this. It’s bad enough for Jesse and
Daisy to see him drunk…” Luke stopped talking and shook his head. He was disgusted and more than a trifle
irritated at his younger cousin.
“Well, don’t be too hard on
him. There’s got to be some reason
behind this, ya know.
Bo never has made a habit of getting wasted like that. I’ll see ya’ll later.” Cooter started up his truck and backed out of
the driveway.
Luke
went to check on Bo. His blond cousin
was leaning over the garbage barrel and was pale-faced and sweaty. His deep-blue eyes were slightly unfocused
and glassy and he smelled like cheap whiskey and smoke. Luke bit back several angry comments and
instead decided to help his cousin. Bo
had managed to remove his yellow shirt that had become quite dirty and he stood
there; dizzy and leaning against the barn wall.
Luke yanked the shirt from his cousin’s hand and walked outside without
saying a word. He wet a portion of the
garment at the pump and returned to the barn where he wiped his younger
cousin’s face with it. Bo gratefully
accepted his cousin’s help. He tried to
walk but he kept stumbling over his own feet.
Luke helped him, although none too gently, walk outside to the water
trough. Bo leaned over the body of water and dunked himself, with help and much
enthusiasm from Luke, several times.
Vomiting up the alcohol and the repeated dousings
had helped Bo to sober up some. Luke
could tell that Bo was becoming more coherent and he turned to go into the
house before he said something he might regret later.
Bo knew Luke was angry with him and he
couldn’t blame him. Bo hated whiskey and
he hated being drunk. He felt ashamed of
what he had done…but, at the time, he hadn’t seen any other way to deaden his
pain. The very thought of having to sit calmly at the dinner table while the
love of his life sat next to his cousin tonight was killing him.
“Luke, wait.” Bo said hoarsely.
“What.” Luke replied in a
strained voice; his rising anger barely suppressed.
“Thanks for helpin’ me. I know
you woulda rather beat my head in instead…like I
deserve.”
Luke couldn’t hold it in any
longer. He quickly walked right up to Bo
and grabbed the young man’s wet T-shirt with both hands. Luke got close to Bo’s face and spoke
menacingly.
“Damn right you deserve a beatin’! What were
you thinking, Bo Duke? Wait…what am I saying…I forgot who I’m talkin’
to. You have to have a brain to
think…and it’s obvious you don’t have one because you weren’t thinking at
all! Otherwise you wouldn’t have been
out drinkin’ that kerosene Boss passes off for
whiskey in the middle of the afternoon!
Of all the hare-brained…Bo you could’ve killed yourself or somebody else
if you had driven that car!” Luke’s
voice had risen in volume and he shook Bo hard; water slinging from the younger
man’s dripping hair. Bo winced as his
head pounded in protest to the sudden movement.
“I thought you might get a little
more sense as you got older…but I can see that ain’t gonna happen.
Bo…you are the biggest idiot in Hazzard and today’s little stunt only
proves my point! Now…I’m gonna go clean up so I can pick up Meghan. When we get back, I either want to see you
cleaned-up, sober, and on your best behavior or I don’t want to see you at
all. Do you hear me, Bo! You are not
gonna embarrass me or the rest of this family in
front of my girlfriend.”
Luke released his cousin’s shirt and glared at
Bo; his piercing-blue gaze had turned icy.
Bo simply nodded and slowly
sat down under the tree next to the trough.
He watched his older cousin stalk off toward the house; anger apparent
in Luke’s every movement. Luke’s harsh
words had penetrated Bo’s alcohol induced haze.
The comments had hurt Bo, deeply; but the young man felt he had deserved
Luke’s anger. He had been an idiot. Bo knew he had messed up royally…now how in
the world was he going to keep things from getting worse?
Luke
soon emerged from the house and the General’s back tires were slinging gravel
across the yard as he left the farm headed toward Meghan’s apartment in
Chapter 9
At
exactly
Meghan
returned the smile and wave and waited for him.
She watched as he walked down the path and shook her head in
amazement. He looked so good in the
white T-shirt and black jeans he was wearing!
Every time she saw him she still couldn’t believe that this gorgeous,
sweet man was interested in her! He was
such a gentleman; never pushing her farther than she was ready to go. That
was good, because she still didn’t really know deep into this relationship she
wanted to get. Meghan stopped her
train of thought abruptly. She heard
Luke approaching the top of the stairs and she smoothed the blue and white
sundress she was wearing, hoping she looked presentable.
“Hey,
Sweetheart. You look great.” Luke said as he reached to
hug his girlfriend.
“Hey,
yourself, Good-Lookin’. I though you
were going to stay in that car all evening!” Meghan said jokingly. She walked into his embrace and gave him a
quick peck on the cheek.
Luke pouted, “Is that all I
get?”
Before Meghan could reply, he
pulled her close and bent his head to hers for what he determined to be a
proper kiss.
When the kiss broke, Meghan
smiled and giggled. “I could get used to
those, you know!” she said, looking up into Luke’s sparkling blue eyes.
“I hope so,” Luke said as he
wiggled his eyebrows and smoothed her soft, brown hair. He liked it when she wore her hair down, as
she had it now. “You ready to go meet my
family? It shouldn’t be too bad since you’ve
seen them all before already. Uncle
Jesse and Daisy are really lookin’ forward to seeing
you again. Bo too, I guess…he’s been
acting sorta odd lately, so don’t be offended if he
doesn’t act too friendly.”
Meghan smiled and listened to
Luke’s explanation. “Of course I’m
ready. I’ve been wanting
to see them all again for so long. I
hope they like me as your girlfriend and not just as a nurse!” She didn’t let
on that she was actually scared to death!
Luke smiled and held out his
arm to Meghan. She wrapped her arm
around his elbow. “They’ll love
you. Don’t fret”, he said and winked as
he escorted her down the stairs.
When they reached the General, Meghan noticed
a problem. Her short stature combined
with the dress she was wearing made it almost impossible to climb into the car
window with any semblance of grace.
She looked at Luke, batted
her eyelashes and pretended to wave an imaginary fan. “Well, kind Sir, I find
myself in need of some assistance”, she drawled in her best imitation of a
Southern Belle.
Luke took her hand, kissed it and bowed,
gallantly, before her. “At your service,
Ma’am,” he said in return. The
dark-haired man lifted Meghan as if she weighed no more than a feather and
helped her into the car. He noted to himself that he would like to
see her wearing dresses more often if it meant getting to help her in and out
of the car. Luke climbed into his window and started the car.
Meghan said, “Thank ya so much. I do
declare that you are the very heart of chivalry, Mr. Duke,” continuing with her
Southern Belle routine.
Luke looked at her with smiling eyes. He tilted her chin up with one finger and
briefly kissed her lips before replying, “Always happy to oblige, Miss
Meghan. Now let’s roll.” Luke put the orange muscle car in gear and
spun tires as they left the parking lot.
He didn’t have to worry about
scaring Meghan with his fast driving; he had already found out that she liked
fast cars and was a little bit of a wild driver herself! The sound of Meghan’s laughter filled the air
as they headed toward the Duke farm.
Meghan and Luke rode in comfortable ease; occasionally
talking about random things or singing along to the radio. Luke had a wonderful singing voice and she
loved adding harmony along with him, but mostly she just liked listening to him
sing alone. The closer they got to
Hazzard, however, the more nervous Meghan became. Luke had often talked about his family and
she felt she knew them all very well, already, and she wanted to make a good
impression. Yes, she was anxious to see
how the Duke family thought of her now that she was dating Luke; but the
primary reason for her nervousness was Bo Duke.
Try as she may, she had not been able to get the tall blond out of her
head! She was ashamed to admit that she
had been thinking and dreaming about him ever since they met at the hospital,
April. Even though he was sick with his
asthma and upset about his uncle, she had felt a very strong attraction to him;
not just physical, but something deeper.
She couldn’t explain it. Those
brief feelings she felt when barely touching Bo or when she looked into his
wonderfully expressive blue eyes were, she hated to say, deeper than anything
she had felt with Luke. She even longed for Luke to talk about his cousin. Sometimes she purposefully turned the
conversation so Luke would have to mention things about Bo. Meghan longed to get to know this person that
Luke seemed to care so much about; the carefree, lovable, impulsive young man
that he considered to be his younger brother.
‘This is crazy!
He has absolutely no interest in you and you don’t even know him! Get him out your head, Meggie. He probably has so many girls hanging off him
that he wouldn’t even give you the time of day!
Besides…you are dating Luke. He
is the one who is paying attention to you.
He’s the one who cares about
you and wants to be with you, not Bo.’
she chastised herself.
Luke
noticed Meghan’s prolonged silence. “You
OK, hon?”
Meghan turned to look at Luke
and smiled. She scooted closer to him on
the seat and he put his arm around her. “I’m just fine, now.” she said with a
soft, happy sigh. Luke chuckled and dropped a soft kiss on the top of her head.
“Seriously, Meghan…are you OK? You
seemed to zone out for a while.” Luke said with concern.
“I’m fine, Luke. I’m just a little tired. Those double shifts I worked at the beginning
of the week are starting to catch up with me…that’s
all.” It wasn’t a total lie; she was tired from working extra at the
hospital due to short staff. She
snuggled into Luke’s side and vowed that no matter what it took, she would get Bo Duke out of her head. She cared about Luke more and more every
day. The petite brunette knew that it
would hurt Luke if he ever found out that she had feelings, however irrational,
for his cousin and she did not want to hurt Luke in any way. This man sitting next to her was too special
to lose. He deserved her undivided
attention and damned if she wasn’t going to try to provide him with that!
Luke tightened his arm around the woman beside him. She grew more beautiful every time he saw
her. The simple sundress she wore
accented her figure perfectly without being revealing. She wasn’t the kind of girl to dress in
revealing clothes anyway and he was glad.
He didn’t want guys to look at her like they looked at Daisy when she
had to wear those skimpy outfits at work.
He grinned, thinking that his feisty little Meghan could probably take
care of herself in such situations, just like Daisy; but he didn’t want her to
have to. He wanted to take care of
her. He thought to himself, “It’s now or never…”
“Meghan…I want to tell you
something.”
“What’s on your mind?” She
sat up straighter and looked at Luke.
Luke kept his eyes on the
road and took a deep breath.
“Meghan…I’m not really good
at lettin’ my feelings show and I’m even worse at talkin’ about them.
I really like you. I enjoy being
with you more than I have any other woman I’ve known. I usually don’t open myself up to
anybody. I don’t get attached to people
very easily...but I could get attached to you real quick, Meghan! I guess what I’m tryin’
to say is that…I think…I think I’m falling in love with you.” Luke finished in a rush. He looked scared and surprised that he had
actually said what he had. “Uh…we can take things slow…not rush things, you know. I’m still getting used to the idea of a
steady relationship! But if it’s OK with
you, I’d like us to get more serious…taking it slow, of course.” Luke said in a soft, hopeful voice.
Upon hearing Luke’s words,
Meghan’s heart had melted. Just last night, she had dreamed of hearing
those words. But instead of Luke, her dream had conjured up Bo and she heard his gentle voice say
them and she had been looking into dark-blue eyes; not the clear, crystal-blue
eyes she was looking into now. She
pushed the thoughts of Bo from her mind.
Luke had just told her he loved her…in a round about way! She cared about Luke so much and realized
that she loved him, too. She ran a hand
through Luke’s dark, wavy hair. He
turned away from the road briefly, and caught her soft-green gaze with his
own. She smiled widely at him, her
dimples deepening. “It’s perfectly fine
with me, Luke. Slow is good…I’m still
getting used to the idea of a steady relationship, myself…and…I think love you,
too. You’re something special, Luke
Duke.” she said as she leaned over to kiss his lips.
Luke grinned like a
fool. He pulled her closer with one arm
as he drove with the other. “And you,
Meghan Riley, are too cute for words.” he said as he returned the kiss.
Luke turned off the main road
and pointed the General down the gravel road leading to the Duke property.
“We’re almost there.” Luke
said with excitement shining in his eyes.
Moments later, the General
Lee pulled into the yard of the Duke farm and came to a stop in front of the
old white house.
Chapter 10
Bo had spent the last hour trying to sober up and explain
his drunken state to an irate Jesse and a worried Daisy. His uncle and cousin were obviously
disappointed in him and he apologized profusely. He could also tell that they were very
concerned about him…which only made him feel worse! Daisy had forced a couple of cups of coffee
down him and then ushered him off to the shower; complaining that he smelled
like one of the dumpsters at the Boar’s Nest.
Bo sniffed at his blue T-shirt and agreed with her. He took a long, hot shower and began to get
ready for the night’s company.
The shower had helped some, but Bo still felt awful. He had a raging headache! The young man had barely managed to pull on a
clean pair of blue-jeans and was gingerly toweling his wet hair when a knock
sounded on the bedroom door.
“Come in,” Bo said as he
grabbed a red T-shirt from the dresser and pulled it over his head.
Jesse came into the
room. He looked around, realizing he had
not really been in the boys’ room many times since they had grown-up. He walked up to his nephew, who was tucking
his T-shirt into his jeans.
“Bo, son…you want to talk
about what’s been botherin’ you?” he said as he laid
a hand on the young man’s damp, wavy hair.
Bo didn’t look at his
uncle. “No…I …I’ll be fine, Uncle Jesse.
I’ve just been acting like a danged fool…as usual.” Bo sat down on the end of his bed and looked
up at his uncle with a small, sad, lop-sided smile. His big dark-blue eyes were full of remorse
and shame from his earlier behavior… and something else Jesse couldn’t quite
identify.
Jesse smiled at Bo. “Be strong, boy,” he said as he sat down next
to his nephew. He grabbed Bo’s knee and
gave it a squeeze, right in a spot where he knew Bo was ticklish. Bo jumped and grinned a little.
“I know you think you love
this girl…but you really don’t even know her.” Jesse said, quietly.
Bo started to protest, but
Jesse held up a hand to stop him.
“Listen to me, son. Your cousin really seems to be struck on this
girl and she must care for him or she wouldn’t be comin’
out here tonight to see all of us. You
need to decide what’s more important to you…pining over this girl and possibly
wrecking your friendship with Luke or getting’ over her and movin’
on and keeping your best friend. Luke
misses you, Bo. He knows you’re keeping
something from him and it hurts him that you don’t trust him enough to tell
him.” Jesse allowed Bo some time to soak in his words.
Bo hung his head and looked
at the floor. He started to speak in a
voice so soft Jesse could barely hear him at first.
“I know, Uncle Jesse. I don’t want to mess things up any more than
I already have. I don’t want to hurt
Luke…and if he really loves Meghan and she loves him, then I’m happy for
them. I want to tell him, but you know
Luke…he wouldn’t exactly be happy to hear that I’m in love with his
girlfriend! He’d probably kick my teeth
in…especially after today.”
Bo sighed and looked at his
uncle. “I’ll try my best. I’ll move on…but I can’t promise that I’ll
forget her.”
Jesse patted Bo’s back. “Your best is all you can do, Bo. I can’t expect you to do anything more. If you truly love Meghan, you’ll never forget
her…but I hope for your sake and for Luke’s that you can find someone else that
you are free to love and will love you.”
Bo snorted and gave his uncle
a disbelieving look.
“She’s out there, Bo…you just
be patient…and if by some chance Meghan is the ‘one’ for you…it’ll happen in
it’s own time…most likely when you least expect it. We just have to trust that a higher power is
in charge and things will work out better for all of us if we remember that.”
“Uncle Jesse, you sure know
how to put things into perspective,” Bo said as he reached over to hug his
uncle.
Jesse grinned. “Well…I do
have the benefit of age and experience.”
He laid a weathered hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “I just pray that you
and Luke won’t let this come between you.
You kids are so close…when I’m gone all you’ll have is each other and I
don’t want to see anything damage that closeness.” Jesse’s voice grew thick with emotion and he
cleared his throat. The old man put his
hands on the knees of his faded overalls and pushed himself to his feet. “Well, enough of this mush. I need to make sure dinner is ready and you
need to finish getting dressed. Luke and
Meghan should be here soon.” He took in
Bo’s indifferent expression. “Things
will work out, Bo…you’ll see,” he said.
Bo looked at his uncle and
smiled.
“Thanks, Uncle Jesse. Now…I just hope I can make it through dinner
without A) throwing up again, B) making a fool of myself, C) Luke finding some reason to kill me,
or D) all of the above.” Bo ticked each of his options off on his
fingers as he spoke. He stood up slowly,
holding his head as he did so. “I know
one thing…I hate that whiskey Boss sells.
It gives me a headache.” Bo rubbed the back of his neck and looked
sideways at Jesse.
Jesse laughed. “Any of it will give you a headache if you
drink too much of it! Your best bet is
to stay away from it,” he said as he left the bedroom.
Bo grabbed his belt from the
bed and began to thread it through the loops of his jeans. He was surprised by his uncle’s sudden
reappearance. Jesse stuck his head
around the doorframe. “Boy…I don’t care how old you are now…if I ever…ever hear of you gettin’
drunk and tryin’ to drive again…I’ll whip the hide
off you.” Jesse raised an eyebrow and
pointed a finger at his nephew, “I mean it young’un.”
“Yessir.” Bo
replied and nodded solemnly. He grinned
as his uncle winked and shut the door.
The
blond-haired Duke finished getting ready as quickly as his protesting head
would let him and he joined his uncle and Daisy in the living room just as Luke
and Meghan pulled into the drive, soon followed by Cooter’s truck. Bo saw how
happy his cousin and Meghan looked together as they walked onto the porch. His heart sank, but he was also glad that
they had found each other; he couldn’t think of anyone better for either one of
them. Bo could see that Luke truly loved Meghan; his older cousin had a soft,
gentle look on his face he had never seen before. Bo then looked at the object of his
affection. He felt a powerful surge of emotions…his adorable little angel
looked so beautiful! The dress she wore
suited her perfectly. Her golden skin
looked so soft. Her rich brown hair hung
loose around her shoulders. She wore
just enough make-up to accent her features, not cover them up as some women
did. Her soft, green eyes were as
beautiful as he remembered. Her
full-lipped mouth, that dimpled smile, that voice…all
as captivating as the first time he saw her.
Even her feet in the delicate sandals she wore looked lovely! He was
fascinated by the red nail-polish on her toenails…that simple thing just drove
him wild! Bo realized this night was going to be harder on him than he had at
first thought. At least maybe with
Cooter and Daisy being there, he could keep his mind from wandering where it
didn’t belong. He had to believe Jesse’s
words: There would be someone for him and him alone. He just had to be patient. He vowed he would get through this night and
he would get over Meghan Riley. He had
to.
Chapter 11
After dinner, the four Dukes went their separate ways. Jesse had decided to go to bed early and
Daisy was in the kitchen washing the dinner dishes. She smiled as she remembered the evening’s
events. She thought dinner had turned
out pretty well. She had been worried
about how Bo would react, especially after his drunken arrival at the farm
earlier; but, her younger cousin had behaved admirably. She was proud of him; she knew how hard it
must have been for him. She honestly didn’t know her excitable, at times
over-emotional ‘baby brother’ could be that strong. It was obvious to her that Bo still felt very
strongly about Meghan; but he managed to hold back enough to keep Luke from
catching on. Daisy grinned as she
remembered that she had to poke Bo in the side a few times to keep him from
staring too long at the pretty, petite brunette. He somehow managed to act like
he had never even been passed-out drunk just a few hours ago! He smiled, laughed, and talked like nothing
had ever bothered him. She shook her
head. Maybe Bo had a career in acting
waiting for him! Daisy’s thoughts moved
to her older cousin. Luke was definitely
head over heels about this girl. She had
never seen him this much in love. Meghan
seemed to care for Luke just as much…and she was such a nice, likable
girl. She would fit it with the rest of
the family so well; but something about her bothered Daisy. Daisy thought she had noticed Meghan looking
at Bo with the same look of longing that Bo had for her. Could
it be possible that Meghan had feelings for Bo as well? Could she be in love with both him and Luke? Daisy felt a chill run up her spine. She couldn’t really blame the girl if she
was…either of her cousins would be ideal catches…but she prayed that was not
the case.
After dinner, Bo had gone out into the yard with Cooter to
look at a problem with Jesse’s truck.
Luke had left to take Meghan home and would probably been gone for a
while. Cooter quickly determined the
problem and said that he would order the needed parts the next day. The mechanic studied his young friend for a
few minutes as he wiped his hands.
“Hey, buddy…what’s on your
mind? You ain’t
been acting like yourself lately,” Cooter asked.
“Aw, nothing much…just some
personal stuff. I think I’m about over
it now…or will be pretty soon.” Bo said; hands shoved into his pockets, not
looking at his friend.
Cooter adjusted his cap and
studied Bo. The young man nervously kicked at a clump of grass in the barnyard
and looked like he did not want to talk.
He had watched Bo grow up and considered him, as well as Luke, as a
brother. Therefore, Bo’s strange
behavior lately had bothered him just as much as it had the Dukes. “You know
you can talk to me if you need to, Bo. I
just don’t want to make a habit of draggin’ your drunk butt home; and I sure don’t want to get a call to pull
the General out of a ditch or off a tree because you decided to drive when you
shouldn’t.” Cooter looked out from under
his cap brim with serious eyes.
“Thanks a lot for bringing me
home, Cooter. I don’t know what I was thinkin’. I guess
Luke was right…I wasn’t thinking at all.” Bo said with a grim chuckle. “I just had some things going on that I
didn’t know how I was going to deal with…so I guess I thought I could deal with
them better if I was drunk and didn’t know what was happening. But, don’t worry…I talked to Jesse and he sorta put things straight for me. I’ll be all right.” Bo stuck out his hand to his friend. Cooter grasped it and pulled the younger man
into a quick, brotherly hug. Bo grinned
and slapped Cooter on the back as they parted.
“I sure hope so, Buddyro. Jesse’s
always been able to straighten you and Luke out. I’m ready to see you kickin’
it up again! It’s been getting kinda dull around town without you chasin’
women and causing trouble!” Cooter joked and aimed a mock-punch at Bo’s
shoulder before he turned to climb into his tow truck.
“Thanks again, Coot. Let us know when those parts come in.” Bo waved good-bye to his friend and walked to
the porch of the old farmhouse.
He didn’t know how he did it, but Bo had managed to keep
his true feelings hidden and not make a total fool of himself. He shook his head and laughed as he sat down
on the glider. When he had shaken
Meghan’s hand tonight he had to forcibly stop himself from taking her in his
arms and kissing her, holding her delicate frame to his and making her forget
that Luke Duke even existed! Every
little movement she made caught his attention.
He knew he would have bruises on his side from Daisy poking him, but he
just couldn’t help staring! Bo
remembered nearly every word his sweet little Meggie
had said during dinner. She had told
them that she was from a very small town in
Bo
swayed slowly in the old glider and softly smiled to himself as he remembered
her explanation for how she had ended up in
She said, “I thought I would get to go someplace
exotic or exciting, but I got sent to Tri-County General instead! It was just as well, though; a country girl
like me probably couldn’t handle anything more exotic than north
Bo also recalled the flame he had felt run
through him whenever he and Meghan caught each other’s eyes or briefly
touched. He had seen something there, in
those emerald eyes, that had given him hope; she seemed to have felt something
too, he was sure of it! Bo then thought
of Luke’s gentleness toward this woman.
Luke was truly in love with her…and she seemed to return that love. ‘They
don’t need me screwing up something that could be good for both of them. Even
if there was as chance that she did feel something for me, I can’t justify
hurting Luke like that just to make myself happy,’ Bo thought. He knew
what he would have to do. The only way
he could get Meghan off his mind would be to leave. He couldn’t stay around, constantly seeing
her and listening to her voice; he would eventually mess up and his true
feeling would be found out…then all hell would break loose!
‘Now…to keep things under control until I can figure
out where I’m going and what I’m going to do once I get there! Daisy and Jesse might understand…I hope so;
but how in the world will I explain it to Luke?’ He thought as he rubbed his still-aching head and
stared out across the yard. The blond-haired Duke sat on the rusty,
old glider for several hours; listening to the sounds of the
Meghan and Luke had spent a couple of hours just driving
around and sitting out by Hazzard Pond; talking and cuddling. He had dropped her off at her apartment after
a lengthy and very enjoyable good-bye.
Once alone, Meghan began to process the events of the night. She immediately started getting ready for
bed; she needed all the rest she could get because she had to work the next
several days. As she puttered around her
apartment, getting ready to turn in, she realized that she had really enjoyed
herself tonight. The Duke family and
their friend, Cooter, had reminded her of her own family and the farm seemed so
much like home! They had all talked and
laughed with ease and she looked forward to seeing more of them; as she was
sure she would, since she and Luke had decided to get more serious! Luke was wonderful…she could definitely see
herself with him for the long haul! They
suited each other well. Daisy seemed
like she would be a real good friend, even like the sister she had never
had. Luke’s uncle reminded her of her
own grandfather so much it was scary and Bo…well, Bo was a different
story. There would be no way on earth
she could ever feel only brotherly feelings toward Bo Duke! Her cheeks flushed when she remembered her reaction
to Luke’s younger cousin. She knew she
had probably acted like an idiot! When
he touched her…it was all she could do to keep from leaning toward him and
kissing him! His smile and sparkling
eyes melted all her resolve to ignore him.
How was it possible to ignore 6
feet, 3 inches of blond gorgeousness? He had talked often during dinner,
but she barely heard him. She had to
remind herself to stop staring at his kissable mouth when he spoke! ‘He
must think I’m so rude! I barely made
eye-contact with him!’ she thought, changing into the tank-top and boxers
she slept in. She admitted to herself
that she was afraid to meet his
eyes. The feelings she had felt the few
times they did overwhelmed her. Her mind
reeled as she remembered holding that midnight-blue gaze with her own…was what she thought she saw in his eyes
really there? Did he feel the same
way? Did he also feel that she was the
missing part of his soul…like he was to her? As irrational as it sounded,
she realized, tonight, that was exactly how she felt about Bo Duke. They just had a connection…or at least she felt they did…that she and Luke, as
much as she loved him, didn’t have.
‘Great! That would be my luck…finally
find a wonderful man who loves me and who I love in return and the “man of my
dreams” turns out to be his cousin and he might possibly have feelings for me,
too!’ Meghan thought as she frustratedly brushed
out her hair before going to bed. ‘I just have to be stronger. I can’t let these crazy feelings for Bo ruin my relationship with Luke.’
She climbed into bed and
turned out the bedside lamp. The petite
brunette tossed and turned for a while before finally falling asleep. Her dreams started out being about a quiet,
gentle man with dark, wavy hair, crystal blue eyes, and work-hardened muscles
she could feel underneath the white T-shirt he had worn tonight; but they
eventually turned to a tall blond with
Luke pulled the General into the yard, parking next to
Daisy’s jeep. He climbed out of the
window, whistling softly as he did. He
bounded up the porch steps and was almost through the door when he noticed his
cousin, Bo, quietly sitting on the glider.
“Hey, Bo. I thought
you’d be in bed by now…nursin’ that headache.” Luke said with humor.
“Oh, hey,
Luke. Just thinkin’.”
Bo said quietly.
“Alright, Cousin, what’s goin’ on?” Luke said.
He motioned to Bo with his hand and said, “Scoot over.”
Bo scooted over on the glider
and Luke sat down next to him. Bo
noticed that Luke had gone into his “father/big brother” mode and he grinned,
slightly.
“Talk to me, Bo. Something’s bothering you again. What is it?
You’ve always told me before,” he paused. “Have I done something to make you not trust
me anymore?” Luke said with concern and
a hint of nervousness in his voice.
“No, Luke, I still trust
you. That’s not it. I…I just…I just thought I’d try to handle
this on my own; you know, finally be grown up and deal with my problems by
myself. It’s something personal,
Luke. I hope you understand and I didn’t
mean to worry you,” Bo’s voice trailed off as he tried to express his thoughts. “I’m awful sorry about today, too. I didn’t really mean to get that drunk…it
just happened.” Bo shrugged his shoulders and hoped his cousin would accept his
explanation and apology.
Luke seemed almost at a loss
for words. He took a deep breath and
turned to reply to his cousin.
“I guess I understand…and I
was more scared about what coulda happened to you
than I was mad at you for gettin’ drunk. I’m sorry, too, for all that stuff I said…I
didn’t mean it. I just wish you’d have
talked to somebody before you got to feelin’ that
bad.” Luke ran his hands through his
wavy hair. He was silent for a few
minutes; then he looked at his cousin, studying the younger man intently, and
spoke…seemingly at a loss for what to say. “It’s just…well…Bo…I’ve just been so
used to you comin’ to me with every little thing
since you were old enough to talk.
You’ve always come to me to help you or to give you advice…I guess I sorta miss it. I’m
not used to you being all grown-up and having secrets.” Luke admitted with a
slight smile and wink as he reached out to ruffle his cousin’s hair.
Bo submitted to the
gesture…something Luke had been doing to him since they were small. When they were children, Bo dee always let on that he hated it, but in truth, it always
reminded him of their closeness and shared childhood. He scowled and smoothed his hair; gave Luke a
sideways grin and said, “Oh, brother…between you, Daisy, and Jesse, you’d think
I was still ten years old!”
“Well, you are the baby of
the family…and always will be, Little Cuz!” Luke said
as he dodged a light punch from his cousin.
“Cute, Lukas…real cute!” Bo
said, after he had tried to hit his cousin’s arm.
“Changing the subject,” Luke
said, as he rubbed his hands together, “what did you think of Meghan?”
Bo’s expression quickly
became thoughtful, his eyes distant. “She’s a wonderful woman, Luke. You’re a lucky man to find someone like
her. You two seem to really be suited
for each other.” Bo said honestly.
“Thanks, Bo. I really do like her…I love her. I could see myself settling down with her.”
Luke chuckled, “Can you believe it? I’m
actually thinking seriously about settling down with one woman!”
“That’s great, Luke. I’m happy for you. You deserve a good woman like her and she
needs someone like you, too. I hope
everything works out for the two of you.”
Bo said, putting a hand on Luke’s shoulder. He was barely able to suppress his
emotions. He told his cousin the truth,
meaning every word, while hiding his own breaking heart.
Luke noticed the seriousness
in Bo’s eyes and voice. He was unused to
his younger cousin acting in such a manner.
He also noticed that Bo’s eyes seemed a little too bright. Were
there tears in his eyes…nah, it was just a reflection from the porch
light…wasn’t it?
“Bo…that
really means a lot to me. Thanks.
You’re a good friend.”
Luke put an arm around his
cousin and drew him into a hug. Bo
squeezed his older cousin tightly. He
wanted to cry…about Meghan, about hiding this secret from Luke and about his
choice to leave...but he steeled himself against the feeling. The two cousins soon got up and went into the
house, both tired from the eventful day and evening. Later, as the blond Duke lay in his bed, he
allowed his pent-up tears to freely and silently slide down his face. His mind had decided what his heart could
not. He would definitely leave the farm
to ensure Luke’s happiness with Meghan…even if it meant sentencing himself to a
lifetime of misery without her or the closeness of his family.
Chapter 12
Bo had discussed his plans with Jesse and the older man,
while trying his best to persuade his nephew to stay, understood his
reasoning. Jesse had at least convinced
Bo to post-pone his leaving till after harvest and the holidays were over. He would start his new life at the beginning
of the new year; the months in between, however, had
been tough on the young man. Meghan had
started coming to the farm more often and had started accompanying Bo and Luke
to races and such. Bo had gotten quite
good at hiding his feelings when he was around Luke, but it was getting harder
and harder to do when he was around Meghan on the rare occasions they were left
alone together. Daisy and Jesse made
special efforts to be around whenever Meghan was there, but it was not always
possible. The emotional stress of hiding
his true feelings all the time began to take its toll on the blond-haired
man. His sleep was haunted by dreams,
both torturously good ones and occasional nightmares. He wasn’t eating well…a fact that caught
everyone’s attention, since Bo had always been known to have a big
appetite! His asthma, which had all but
disappeared again over the summer, had started to make its presence known as
late fall came to Hazzard. Bo often woke
from his dreams wheezing and coughing; fumbling on his bedside table for his
inhaler. He was constantly on
edge…afraid Luke would find out his secret love for Meghan…afraid he would slip
up and reveal his feelings to Meghan, herself.
He had to get away, to put some distance between them…if he didn’t, he
would go crazy!
*************************************************************
The fall harvesting was over and the year’s crops had done
well. The Duke family celebrated a
wonderful Thanksgiving with their close friends and had much to be thankful
for. The family was, however, worried
about Bo. He looked awful and seemed to
be lost in his own thoughts most of the time.
Bo endured everyone’s fussing and encouragement to eat more and spent
his time trying to convince them that he was fine, “just a little under the
weather”. Cooter had joined the Dukes and Meghan for the holiday meal and was
present for the celebration that followed.
Luke had finally gotten up enough courage and asked Meghan to marry
him. Much to everyone’s surprise, Luke
rose from the dinner table, knelt on one knee in front of Meghan and proposed
in front of everyone! Through tears and
laughter, Meghan said “yes” and the entire room erupted in congratulations,
hugs and sounds of delight. Daisy called
everyone she could think of and soon an impromptu engagement party was taking
place! The only person
who seemed a bit subdued, was Bo. He
was, in a way, truly happy for them and was the first to envelope Luke in a
bear-hug of congratulations. He warmly
hugged Meghan and welcomed her to the family.
It was the hardest thing he had ever done. He wanted her to be part of the family,
yes…but as his wife, not Luke’s. He
wanted to yell in outrage and pain. He
wanted to grab Meghan and run to the General to get as far away from Luke and
Bo’s night in the frigid hayloft had left him with a very
bad cold and some stiff muscles. The
younger Duke slowly made his way into the farmhouse; coughing and sniffing the
entire way. He skipped breakfast and
went straight to bed, where he planned to stay for most of the day. Bo avoided most of the questioning from Luke
and Cooter, who had stayed the night, (Daisy and Jesse pretty much knew why he
had been hiding out) by saying he had not felt well and just fell asleep in the
barn by accident. Luke seemed to accept
Bo’s answer easily. He had noticed that
Bo had not looked well yesterday and maybe the excitement of the party had been
too much for him. Luke had planned to spend the next few days with his cousin
since Meghan was working the next seven days straight. He wanted Bo to be his
best man and needed help in getting things organized for the upcoming wedding
and he just wanted some extra time with his best friend before he and Meghan
started their life together. He and
Meghan had decided to marry on New Year’s Eve; neither of them wanted to
prolong things much longer! Luke smiled
at that thought as he helped Daisy wash up the morning’s breakfast dishes. He and Daisy could hear Bo coughing from down
the hall. Daisy looked at Luke, her brow
creased with worry. She sometimes still
felt the need to worry and fuss over Bo even though he had been healthy as a
horse since he was fifteen. After
all…this had been a pretty rough year for him…
“Luke, Bo doesn’t sound too
good. I’m gonna
go check on him.” she said as she dried her hands with a dishtowel and turned
to leave the kitchen.
“Now wait a minute,
Daisy. Bo probably just has a bad cold
from being in that loft all night. He
needs to get warm and get some rest; and he can’t get any rest if you wake him
up and pester him. If he needs
something, he’ll let us know. Besides,
I’ll be in and out today and I can check on him. You get on to work and tell everyone at the
Boar’s Nest about my weddin’!” Luke said with a wink
and a grin as he popped his dishtowel at his cousin.
“All right, Romeo! You call me at work if you need
anything. Uncle Jesse’s gone to Aunt Lavinia’s for a couple of weeks to help her with some business
and to visit some of the cousins so try not to make too big of a mess while
he’s gone, OK?” Daisy said quickly as she grabbed her coat and purse, gave Luke
a peck on the cheek and headed for the door.
The next few days went on as usual for the three Duke cousins. Jesse’s nightly phone calls let them know that he
was well and enjoying his visit with Lavinia. Daisy had her chores and her work at the
Boar’s Nest. Bo and Luke had their
chores and the plans for Luke’s wedding to occupy them…that is, when they
weren’t being chased by Roscoe and Enos for one thing or another. However, things were far from being well for
the youngest Duke. Bo’s cold was not
leaving him; in fact, it was becoming alarmingly worse. He tried to hide his symptoms from Daisy and
Luke…they would only worry and he would get a long lecture about sleeping in
the hayloft, and frankly, he didn’t want to hear it! Bo had been taking some cold medicine and had
decided to go see Doc if he wasn’t any better by the next day.
Luke had asked Bo to go with him to pick up his and
Meghan’s marriage license. The boys were
driving to town, the sound of General’s engine roaring through the cold
December air, and enjoying the slow pace of the day. They were talking of Luke’s upcoming trip to
“Hey, Cousin, you OK?” Luke asked.
“Yeah…,” Bo started to say,
but Luke looked sideways at him as if to say he didn’t believe him, “…Well, not
really. I guess I’ve still got a little
bit of that cold.”
“Well, that’s what you get
for sleeping in the barn in November…” Luke started to say.
“Luke, I know it’s my own
dang fault! I don’t feel like hearing a
lecture, all right? Let’s just get into
town and do our business so we can get home.”
Bo snapped.
“OK, OK! Don’t get your
feathers up. Jeesh,
you’re as testy as a wet hen!” Luke
replied.
“I’m sorry, Luke; but I
really don’t feel good. I just want to
get home and go back to bed.” Bo said, miserably. The younger man immediately went into a
coughing fit.
Luke looked at his cousin
with concern. Bo seemed really
sick. His face was flushed and he
sounded as if he were coughing up a lung!
The dark haired man pulled the General into a 180, taking them back
toward the farm.
“What are you doing?” Bo
managed to say between coughs.
“I’m taking you home and then
I’m calling Doc.”
“Luke, you need to get that
marriage license today. Let’s just go on
and get it. It won’t take long, and then I’ll let you call Doc.” Bo replied and jerked the keys out of the ignition.
Luke glared at his cousin as
the car rolled to a stop.
“If you felt this bad…why
didn’t you just stay home? I could’ve
done it by myself.”
“Because you asked me to go
with you…that’s why. I’m your best man
and I’m supposed to help you with
stuff like this. I wouldn’t leave you to
do it all by yourself. Besides…” Bo said
sheepishly, “I didn’t feel this bad when we left. So let’s get goin’,
cousin! We’ve got things to do before I
keel over.” Bo said with a slight chuckle as he tossed the keys to Luke.
Luke shook his head. He would never understand his younger
cousin. Luke realized then how much he
would miss being around Bo all the time; but…Capital City wasn’t that far from
Hazzard and he could still see Bo and the others at least a few times a week,
he hoped. Luke headed the General
toward Hazzard and they sped off.
Chapter 13
Bo
and Luke finished their errands and stopped by the Boar’s Nest for a
while. Luke was greeted by shouts and
hugs of congratulations on his engagement and was treated to a few beers from
friends. He was enjoying himself and
showed off his and Meghan’s marriage license like it was made of gold. Bo, Daisy and Cooter had never seen Luke so
happy and open about his feelings before.
Bo had lied and told Luke that he was feeling better…he didn’t want to
rain on Luke’s parade…so he tried to act fine and cheerful. As hard as he tried, though, his charade was
wearing thinner the longer he sat on his barstool. He felt a big coughing fit coming on and
slipped off to the men’s room. After a
long while, Bo returned to the crowded barroom, burning with fever and
exhausted. He ached all over and it hurt
to breathe. In fact, it was becoming
very hard to even draw a breath. He knew
he needed to go to the doctor…he had put it off too long. He headed toward the others but stopped as
his vision began to blur and go dark.
Daisy
looked up from the mug she was drying to see her cousin walk out of the
bathroom. He looked terrible! She saw him sway on his feet and she knew he
was about to pass out.
“Bo!” She yelled across the
bar.
Cooter and Luke were alerted
by Daisy’s outburst. Both men turned in
time to see Bo’s knees buckle. Luke was
able to reach the young man before he completely hit the ground. He gently lowered his cousin to the dusty
floor and was shocked at the heat coming from Bo’s skin. Luke calmed himself and let his military
training guide him through an assessment of Bo’s condition.
“What’s the matter with him?”
said Cooter.
“He’s been sick with a cold since
the day after Thanksgiving, but it’s more than a cold, now. He’s sicker than he let on…isn’t he?” Daisy
said.
“Yeah, he is and he’s been
too stubborn to stay home and rest or to go see the doctor.” Luke said with
frustration as he continued to try to rouse his cousin.
“He’s got a high fever and
he’s not breathing too good. From the way he’s been coughin’,
I’d bet Boss Hogg’s bank that he’s got pneumonia.”
Upon hearing Luke’s comment,
Cooter slipped through the crowd gathered around them and called an
ambulance. Luke folded up his coat and
placed it under Bo’s head. Daisy knelt
next to her cousins and felt Bo’s forehead.
She gasped with shock; he was
so hot, his skin felt like it was on fire.
“Luke, he’s burning up!”
“I know. We need to get him
to the hospital,” said Luke.
“The ambulance is on its
way,” said Cooter, rejoining the others.
Luke and Daisy looked up at
their friend with surprise. They had not
realized he had left. Luke nodded his head; his gratitude showing in his eyes.
Thirty
minutes later, a Tri-County ambulance left the Boar’s Nest, headed toward
Soon the wild ride ended and
Bo was whisked out of the ambulance and into the Emergency Room. Luke filled out the admission forms that were
placed in front of him as best he could and sat down in one of the hard plastic
chairs to wait for news.
Daisy had called Jesse at Aunt Lavinia’s
house and told him about Bo’s collapse.
Jesse had assured her that he would be home as soon as he could. Daisy then sped toward the hospital, Cooter
accompanying her.
They arrived at the hospital
in time to hear the latest update on Bo’s condition.
A tall, blond-haired nurse
told them that Bo was being transferred to ICU as soon as a bed became
available and that a doctor would be out to talk to them soon. Luke hugged Daisy and tried not to let his
worry show too much. Daisy could tell,
however, that her older cousin was upset.
“Has anyone told you what’s
going on, other than what we just heard?” she asked.
“No. That’s the first news
I’ve heard. ICU…he must be in bad
shape.” Luke said quietly, looking at his hands.
“Don’t worry, Lukas. Bo will be out of here in time for your weddin’. He’ll be up
and raising Cain with all of us in no time.”
Cooter said as he put a comforting arm around each of his friends.
Daisy smiled at Cooter and
hugged him.
Luke just nodded, still looking away. Luke felt that he should have noticed how
sick Bo was. He should have known all
along what was going on with his cousin instead of being absorbed in his own
life. “Hell, we’ve been side by side nearly everyday since he was two and even
shared a room most of our lives. We’re
as close as brothers. He should’ve been
able to come to me. Why didn’t he?”
Luke thought as he cracked his knuckles in nervousness. He hoped he would have a chance to become
close to his “little brother” again, but now…with getting married and Bo being
sick and all…he just didn’t know how things would work out. For the first time in his life, Luke Duke
didn’t know what to do; he didn’t have a plan and he had no idea how things
might unravel. He was scared…and he
didn’t like it one bit.
Luke, Daisy and Cooter were
soon joined by a very worried Jesse and the small group waited patiently for
any news concerning Bo.
*************************************************************
Meghan Riley was winding down a hard day at work on the
sixth floor neurology unit. She had
gotten all five of her demanding patients settled for the evening and was
completing her charting before the end of her shift. It felt good to sit down for a while! Her lower back and legs briefly protested the
change in position but she soon was able to relax a bit as she jotted notes
about Mrs. Johnson in room 610’s condition after her recent back surgery. Meghan was roused from her recount of the
day’s events by a soft, very familiar voice.
The petite brunette looked up to see her fiancé standing a few feet
away. She was surprised to see Luke at
the hospital and was even more surprised at the look of worry and fear on his
face. Her strong Luke looked like a
scared child as he stared at her with wide eyes and a serious expression.
“Luke, honey, what’s wrong?”
she said as she came around the nurse’s station to embrace the dark-haired man.
“Has something happened to Uncle Jesse?”
Luke squeezed her hard in
return. He broke free of the embrace and
began to pace in the small area where they stood. He took a deep breath and prepared to tell
Meghan what was going on. He took her
hands in his own and held on tightly.
“No…he’s fine. It’s Bo.
You know that he’s been sick off and on since Thanksgiving, right?” Meghan nodded. “Well, he didn’t get any better and he’s been
hiding it from all of us. He looked
really sick today and was coughing a lot…but he said he was feeling better, so
we went to the Boar’s Nest after running some errands. While we were there, Bo collapsed and has
been unconscious ever since. The doctor
said he’s got a really bad case of pneumonia in both lungs and a seriously high
fever. They’ve put him in ICU…on a
ventilator…he can’t even breathe on his own anymore. His fever is so high…” Luke stopped talking
and swallowed hard. He braced himself
and continued, “the doctor said that if the fever doesn’t go down soon, Bo
could die or be brain damaged…besides the fact that he could die at any time
due to the infection! It’s bad,
Meghan. Daisy and Uncle Jesse are
waiting to go in to see him; but I don’t know if I can see him like that…lying
there, hooked up to those machines. He’s
been sick before…when he was a kid or had a spell with his asthma…but nothing
like this. The doctor didn’t sound too
sure that Bo would even make it, Meghan! My best friend could be dying and I
can’t do anything about it! I’ve always
been able to take care of him. I’ve
always been the one he ran to…I always knew what to do to make things better.”
Luke’s voice softened, “I couldn’t protect him this time…I know I couldn’t help
it…but I feel like I’ve let him down or betrayed him somehow.” Luke’s careful
mask that he usually used to hide his emotions cracked. Silent tears streaked his face as his fear
for Bo’s life consumed him. He let
Meghan draw him into an embrace and was grateful for her soothing touch.
The
young nurse held Luke tightly and gave him what strength she could as she
offered her support. Her own feelings of
fear and worry were raging through her mind.
Meghan’s heart had dropped at the news that Bo was ill. Her mouth had gone dry at Luke’s description
of his cousin’s condition. She knew all
too well that a serious illness such as this could kill even perfectly healthy,
strong people such as Bo Duke. She had
to see him. She had to let him know how
she felt about him before it was too late; regardless of the potential
consequences.
Twenty years later, on a hillside overlooking the
Bo Duke continues to reminisce about his life since
meeting Meghan Riley.
“That’s pretty much all I remember about the year we met, Meggie. Granted,
some of it was based on what Daisy told me, after the fact. Daisy and Uncle Jesse told me that I came
pretty close to dying. I sometimes
wonder if things had been better off if I had; I mean better for you and
Luke. I know he would have been happier
if things between you and him had stayed like they were. I’ll always treasure knowing that you loved
me the way that I loved you…I just wish I had been able to let you know I felt
the same way.” Bo went silent for a
while, the gentle spring breeze tousling his short, blond hair as he played
with the weeds that grew around the tree he sat beneath. “Daisy said Luke walked in the room just as
you were telling me how you felt. I know
it hurt him…it had to hurt you, too. I
wish I could’ve prevented it. I do
nothing but cause trouble; even when I’m unconscious!” He smiled, grimly. “I know it doesn’t help matters any to relive
all of this, but I have to. It’s all my fault, Meggie! If I hadn’t been around, we wouldn’t have
fallen for each other, you and Luke wouldn’t have argued, and you wouldn’t have
left that night and gotten in that wreck.”
Bo reached out with a trembling hand and gently traced the letters
etched in the granite monument next to him.
“I’m the reason you’re dead!
I didn’t even know what had happened until after you were already
buried. I couldn’t love you like you
deserved and I kept Luke from loving you, too.”
He wiped away the tears that had streaked his face as he spoke.
After
several minutes of silence, he took a deep breath and rose from the ground, caressing
the stone marker as if it were his beloved’s face. “Well, Meggie,
to make a long story short, I’ve spent the last twenty years trying my best to
get myself killed. I’m too chicken to
just go on and do it, but I’ve entered every dangerous race, been in every life
threatening situation I could…just to try to end the pain. I blamed myself and I blamed Luke, a little,
for your death. Luke blamed me,
completely, and that’s one reason I left the farm as quickly as I could. I tried to be there for Luke, to help him and
to grieve with him, but he couldn’t stand to look at me. I couldn’t stand being around home; the
memories of you and of happy times with Luke and my family were too much. Luke and I didn’t speak for nearly ten
years. But now we can talk to each other
and we’re trying to get close again…but I don’t know if we can ever be like we
were. Uncle Jesse’s gone now…maybe you
two have seen each other…I hope so; he liked you. Luke has moved on with his life after a few
reckless years. He’s in with the
Forestry Service and is thinking about retiring from smoke jumping. He’s married and they’re thinking about
starting a family. Daisy and Enos
finally married and they are doing great…Daisy has a PhD…can you believe
it? And me…I’ve become a success without
even trying. I’ve lived my dreams…but it
doesn’t matter without someone to share it all with. My someone was you, Meggie. I still love
you and I miss you more every day. Daisy
tells me I need to get over you and live my life…but I can’t…something won’t
let me…I can’t stop thinking about the past; wondering if I could have done
something differently.” He paused, looking tenderly, through tear-dimmed eyes
at the yellow roses he had placed on Meghan’s grave. “I’m sorry I haven’t been
to see you. I came once…when I first
left home, but I couldn’t bring myself to get any closer than the gate. I couldn’t bear the thought of you lying
here.” Bo sighed as he walked toward the
edge of the small cemetery. He grew
closer to the bluff overlooking the river.
“I’m supposed to be on my way to Hazzard…to meet up with Daisy and Luke
at the farm. I’ve been thinking about
retiring and just moving back home. I
want to try to get some of my old life back…I’m tired, Meggie. I’m so tired of trying to outrun the memories
and ‘what could’ve been’…it’s like
I’ve been in twenty-year long nightmare and I can’t wake up!” The blond haired man ran his hands through
his hair, viciously, and shouted into the wind, “Please, God…please, help me! I don’t know what to do anymore…I just want
it all to end!”
Chapter 14
At the moment those words left his mouth, Bo Duke felt
as if the world had tilted violently. He lost his balance and fell to his
knees. He seemed to be enveloped in a
thick fog…he could no longer see the countryside around him. His vision clouded further and he heard
voices…voices from his past. The voices were not speaking directly to him…but
they were close to him…sometimes mentioning his name. He heard his Uncle Jesse, a younger sounding
Daisy and Luke, and…could it be? He heard the unmistakable sound of Meghan’s
soft, musical voice! They were the
voices of his past, all right, but he didn’t remember ever hearing these
conversations before. What were those strange noises in the background? Why couldn’t he move or speak?
‘What’s going on? Have I finally lost my mind?’
Reality: September,
1985…
Luke Duke stared, stonily, out the window of the sixth
floor waiting room. His whole life had
changed in the past six months. Who
would have thought that one event would have such an impact on a whole family.
It was almost as if all the joy had been instantaneously sucked out of their
lives. His uncle rarely smiled anymore
and Daisy, who was usually always smiling and quick with a laugh, was now more
prone to tears than laughter. Luke,
himself, had become more reserved. He
kept his emotions and thoughts completely to himself, rarely speaking to anyone
except family and close friends. The eldest Duke cousin had never realized how
closely his family was knit until one of them was gone. “But,
he’s not gone…not yet anyways,”
Luke thought about the conversation he had just overheard between his uncle and
the doctors.
“They’re wrong! They just have to be wrong!” He said to
himself as he pounded the window frame with his fists. He jumped as he felt a gentle hand on his
shoulder. He turned to see his cousin
Daisy standing behind him with tears shining in her eyes.
“Luke, honey, I’m afraid they
might be right this time. You know how
bad Bo was hurt…I mean…six months in a coma, all those problems and now this
pneumonia…Luke, even if he does somehow make it…” Daisy broke down and began to sob. Luke hugged her to his chest and began to rub
her back to soothe her. He knew all too
well what his cousin was talking about.
Even if Bo did live through this he could still spend the rest of his
life in a coma or brain-damaged to the point where he couldn’t take care of
himself. Either way, his best friend was
gone.
“Where’s Uncle Jesse?” Luke
asked, trying to control the surge of emotions running through him.
Daisy wiped her eyes and
sniffed as she struggled to find her voice, “He’s gone down to the chapel. I thought I’d give him a little time alone
and then I’d join him. He’s havin’ a real hard time right now…he doesn’t want to see Bo
suffer, but he can’t let him go.”
“I know the feelin’.” Luke said, softly.
“Do you wanna
come down to the chapel with me?” Daisy asked as she turned to walk toward the
elevators.
“Nah. I think I’ll
go sit with Bo for a little while…maybe talk to him a bit.”
“OK…Luke, I love you. Tell Bo I love him, too and me and Jesse’ll be up in a little
while.” Daisy returned to her cousin and
placed a quick kiss on his cheek.
Luke returned the kiss. “Love you, too, Cuz
and I’ll be sure to tell him, even though he knows it already,” he said with a
wink and turned her back toward the elevators.
Luke entered the Long-Term Care Unit and wandered back into
the room his cousin had been in for a little over five months. The room was more “homey” looking than a
regular hospital room and was plastered in pictures and posters from concerts
and races…just anything to talk about and to possibly remind Bo of his life
before the accident…that is if he ever woke up to see them. Luke went over to the large window and stared
out of it. He could still see the events
that led up to Bo’s accident. They had
played out in his mind like a movie…every day since. He kept trying to figure out if he could have
done anything different…
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
It was early April.
He and Bo had been driving back from town. Jesse had sent them to get some new pieces
for Maudine’s harness and they had to hurry back to
start work in the fields. Bo was his
usual self, talkative and having fun. The two cousins were just enjoying the
day. They briefly had a chase with
Roscoe, but ended it by leaving the Sheriff yellin’
at them after he went nose-first into a cow pond. On their way back to the farm, Bo decided to
take one of his famous short-cuts. Soon
the Duke boys found themselves in their usual position: in the wrong place at the wrong time. All was well until they passed the old Jenson
place. Apparently, some of Boss Hogg’s
“business associates” were using the abandoned farm as their hide-out. They obviously didn’t want any company and
objected strongly to the sight of the orange charger and its two occupants
speeding through “their territory”.
Before they really realized what was going on, Bo and Luke found themselves smack in the middle of another chase. The Duke boys had no idea who the angry men
were and they sure didn’t know why they were chasing them. Luke looked behind while Bo floored the
accelerator.
“Come on, Bo!
Quit foolin’ around and lose ‘em, already.”
“I’m tryin’, I’m tryin’. You’re not helpin’ any by hollerin’ in my
ear!”
“Shut up and drive!
I think they’ve got guns.”
“Who are those fellas
anyway? We didn’t do nothin’ to them.”
Luke shrugged his shoulders and looked out the front
window. Jenson’s Creek was coming up
fast.
“Uh, you do realize there ain’t
no bridge over that creek.”
“Yeah, but it’s either jump it or turn around…and I
don’t want to turn around. Do you?”
“Nope…step on it, Cuz.”
Just as Bo gunned the engine, preparing to jump, shots
rang out.
“They’re shootin’ at us!” Bo
said in a panicked voice.
Luke ducked down in the seat and tried to get Bo to
scoot down as much as he could. More
shots were fired as the General sped ever closer toward the creek. Just as Bo sat up a little higher in order
to line the car up for the jump, two bullets pierced the back window.
Luke yelped, “Whoa! That was a little closer than I
like it. Way to go, Cousin! They’re not gonna try to follow us over...” Luke stopped and looked on in horror as the
car sped toward the creek. Something was
wrong; they were headed for the woods, not the small clearing on the other
side. “Bo…straighten
up! That’s gonna be a rough landin’…Bo?” Luke looked over at his cousin.
He briefly caught sight of Bo slumped over the
steering wheel, blood staining the back of his head, before the General,
completely off course, went airborne and slammed straight into a grove of trees
on the other side of the creek. The
impact threw both Bo and Luke from the car.
Luke was briefly knocked unconscious.
He awoke and found himself lying in a ditch near the creek. His head throbbed and his left leg hurt
beyond belief. He gave himself a quick
once over and determined that a cut on his forehead and a broken leg were the
worst of his injuries. He suddenly
remembered his last picture of Bo; unmoving and blood staining his bright blond
hair.
“Oh my God! Bo!
Bo, where are you?”
Luke struggled to drag himself to the wrecked remains
of the General Lee. The car looked
terrible, but foremost on his mind now was his cousin.
After a few minutes search, Luke found Bo. The younger man was lying a few yards away
from the car. He was lying face up,
unmoving, and was covered in cuts and scratches. Luke crawled over to his cousin and tried to
rouse him.
Thankfully, Bo was breathing and had a rapid but
steady heartbeat. He appeared to have
no obviously broken bones. Luke braced
himself for what he would find as he put his hand beneath his cousin’s
head. His hand was instantly covered in
blood. He found an entrance wound. Luke’s heart almost stopped. Bo had been shot…and the bullet was still
lodged in his head! Luke paled and almost
fainted. He had seen too many men die in
‘
His prayers were answered and he was able to radio for
help. To Luke’s pain and fear addled
mind, it seemed he and Bo were almost immediately
surrounded by people. Jesse, Daisy,
Cooter, Roscoe, Enos and the ambulance personnel had all been alerted by Luke’s
frantic radio message.
After a brief stay in the hospital, Luke was able to
leave with nothing more than a cast on his left leg and crutches.
Bo, however, had to be flown to
After the doctors realized Bo was not coming out of
his coma any time soon, he was moved to the Long-Term Care unit. Bo arrived in the unit looking shockingly
different. His head had been shaved for
the surgery and he was hooked up to so many machines! He had not moved or made a sound since the
accident. Luke and Daisy didn’t know
what upset them more…the sight of Bo attached to life-support machines, the
sight of the incision on his nearly bald head or the fact that Bo was so
unnaturally still and quiet. Daisy
fretted about Bo’s hair and was overjoyed when the blond strands began to grow
back long enough to cover the ugly scar. Bo was given a very slim chance of
ever waking up. The Duke’s were told
that with his type of injury, many people who did manage to wake up were left
severely brain damaged. The medical
staff really didn’t expect Bo to live as long as he had. Jesse told them all that Bo was a Duke and
that ‘Duke’s didn’t give up the fight.’
Luke often joked that Bo was too stubborn to get up and too stubborn to die and
that he would wake up only when he was good and ready. The Duke family stayed by Bo’s side, praying
and hoping he would regain consciousness at any time. They had almost lost him several times over
the last six months due to breathing complications due his history of asthma,
fever due to infections, and now this severe case of pneumonia.
Luke remembered one of the
doctors telling him “this is usually how cases like this end up: dying from
pneumonia”…but Beauregard Duke was not just a “case”! ‘He has
a life, he has a family…he’s got too much left to do. He’s only 25, for Christ’s sake! He’s not supposed to die like
this…helpless. He’d want to go out fightin’.’
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Luke
finished his daily replay of the accident…finding once again that there was
nothing he could have done to protect his ‘baby brother’. Cooter had managed to restore the beloved
orange Charger to its former condition, but Luke could barely bring himself to
drive it without his “co-pilot”. He
continued to stare out the window for a few minutes before turning to look at
the still young man in the bed across the room.
He still couldn’t believe that his younger cousin, the one that was
always so full of energy, mischief and life, was lying there…motionless and
lifeless except for the constant hiss of the ventilator and soft beeping of the
heart monitor and IV machines. He slowly
sat down in the hard chair that he, Jesse, Daisy, or sometimes Cooter or Enos
had occupied at one time or another since Bo’s admittance to the hospital. He reached out and grasped the limp, cool
hand of his cousin. Luke swallowed
hard. Bo felt too cold, too
lifeless!
“Bo, it’s me. I’m here, now. Look, I know you don’t want to live like
this…but, don’t leave us…please, Cousin!
Don’t leave, not yet. You have to
wake up and be alright. If you don’t,
they’re gonna let you die! Please, Bo, listen to me,” Luke begged his
still cousin.
The dark-haired man leaned
over and laid his head on the bed. He
couldn’t be strong any longer. His body soon shook with emotions that had been
held in check ever since that day, six months ago.
*************************************************************
Meghan Riley was making her usual rounds. The patients in her ward were not difficult
to deal with, just time consuming. She
felt the only problem was getting too attached to these long-term
patients. She was having an unusually
hard time trying not to get attached to one patient in particular. Meghan had started work at Tri-County General
about three weeks before this young man was admitted to the
Long-Term/Rehabilitative Care Unit and he had been her patient ever since the
day he arrived. He was very attractive
and something about him just seemed to draw her to him… even though he had been
badly injured and had been completely unresponsive since. From his family members, she had gotten an
idea of his past and his personality and she longed to know the man Bo Duke had
been before his arrival into her world.
When she worked with the blond-haired man she found herself opening her
heart and soul to him. She knew he
couldn’t respond to her, but she couldn’t explain to herself or anyone else why
she felt such a connection to this man.
She actually felt…as crazy as it sounded…that she could be falling in
love with Bo Duke!
“Great, Meghan! You have to go
and fall in love with a man who’s in a coma!
You can’t do anything normal, can you?” she thought as she gathered
supplies needed in Bo’s room. She had
been off work for the last week, taking a long overdue trip home, and was
concerned to hear that Bo had contracted a case of pneumonia and was taking a
turn for the worse. She hoped to have
some time alone with her favorite patient to talk to him and maybe reconcile
her feelings for him before any thing happened.
Meghan fought back tears. She
couldn’t get overly emotional…she was a nurse!
She had to be professional and show her concern for a patient in a more
reserved way.
Meghan
juggled the medical supplies and clean linens as she approached the door to Bo
Duke’s room. She paused in the doorway
as she heard heart-wrenching sobs coming from within. Her heart clenched and her blood ran cold, ‘Oh, no! He’s gone!’ she thought.
All thoughts of
professionalism went out the window as her concern for Bo took over. “What’s wrong? Bo!” she cried and dropped the items she
carried to the floor as she ran into the room.
Luke Duke jerked his head up
in surprise. He noticed Bo’s usual
nurse, Meghan, standing at his side, with a look of sheer panic on her face.
“Meghan! It’s good to see you back. We missed you last
week,” he said as he wiped his eyes and tried to regain his composure.
“It’s good to see you,
too. What’s going on? How is he?” Meghan asked as she went around
to the other side of the bed and started to examine Bo. She was shocked to realize that while she was
gone, his breathing had gotten so bad that he had been placed on a
ventilator. Meghan listened to his heart
and lungs and checked every monitoring line and piece of tubing that ran into
or out of his body. When she had
assessed Bo to her satisfaction, finding that Bo was alive, but a great deal
worse than when she last saw him, she looked up at the dark-haired man,
questioningly.
Luke had sat quietly,
watching as the petite, brown-haired nurse performed her duties. He knew she cared for Bo, but the look of
worry she had and the gentle, tender touch she used now let Luke know that she
felt a lot more than professional concern for his cousin.
“It’s bad, Meghan. They don’t think he’ll make it through the
night,” he paused at her sharp intake of breath. Luke stood and placed a steadying hand on the
young nurse’s shoulder. He watched as
she stroked a small hand through his cousin’s unruly blond hair before
continuing.
“The doctor’s are saying that
even if he does live…he won’t have much of a chance of surviving for very long
or most likely will never recover. They’ve advised Uncle Jesse to pull the plug
and just let him pass on…peaceful-like…so he won’t suffer any more.” Luke’s voice was strained, showing his
difficulty with coming to terms with the finality of his cousin’s condition.
Meghan could hardly believe
what she had heard. She knew Bo had been
in a bad state, but she had always been optimistic that he would improve with
time. He couldn’t die…not without
knowing that she loved him. It wouldn’t
really make any difference…she knew…but she had to tell him. She took a shuddering breath and looked up at
Bo’s cousin for some sort of comfort or unrealistic assurance that Bo would be
fine. Luke had been there everyday and
had become a good friend to her, as had all of Bo’s family and friends.
Luke could see the pain and
tears in Meghan’s eyes. He pulled her
into a gentle hug. She rested her head
on his chest. She tried not to cry but
she couldn’t hold back her feelings any longer.
Meghan held onto Luke tightly and spilled out her heart. Even though he could barely understand her
words, Luke knew that she was telling him that she loved Bo. He thought how Bo would have fallen head over
heels for this little nurse and would have tried every way possible to impress
her…and he still managed to get her to fall in love with him anyway, even
when he was unconscious!
Luke held Meghan, patting her
back to comfort her. “You know
what? I have a feeling he’d be crazy
about you, too.” Luke said.
“Really?” Meghan asked as she gently pulled out of Luke’s
embrace, wiping her red eyes and streaming nose.
*************************************************************
Bo
Duke seemed to come in and out of a thick fog.
He couldn’t move a muscle and he barely felt anything. He grasped bits and pieces of what was
happening around him and tried to make some sense of it all. During his brief periods of awareness, Bo
could not see but he could hear everything going on around him. He could hear the rhythmic whooshing of the
ventilator and the soft beeping of the machines. ‘I
guess I’m in a hospital…but why? Luke
said I need to wake up…something about not leaving yet…and they’re gonna let me die?
What’s goin’ on? Why am I here…what the heck happened?’ Bo’s mind was whirling. He had no idea what was going on. Was this actually real or was it a dream?
Would he wake up in the
cemetery beside Meghan’s grave or…wait, someone was touching him…a woman’s
hands…not Daisy, but he recognized her touch.
‘Meggie?’ He knew it was her!
His sweet angel was there, alive!
She was touching him, speaking to him, stroking her fingers through his
hair. He heard her telling Luke that she
loved him! Him! Not Luke! Bo’s heart soared. His Meggie
was alive and loved him, Luke didn’t hate him, and he had his life before him…
he had to let them know he wanted to live!
He vaguely remembered hearing
his Uncle Jesse talking to someone about turning off the machines…
‘That’s what Luke meant. They’re gonna let me
die!’ He had to wake up!
‘I don’t know what happened, but I’m not
ready to die yet! Damn it, why can’t I
move? If I could just open my eyes or
something…just to let them know I’m here!’
Unbeknownst to Luke and Meghan, Bo was gradually, bit by
bit, coming out of his coma. He was
still a long way from being fully awake, but he was becoming more aware of his
surroundings and trying to wake up. His
frustration at not being able to wake up, however, was playing havoc with his
vital signs.
Meghan and Luke were alerted
that something was going on by the shrill, rapid beeping of Bo’s cardiac
monitor.
“What’s goin’
on?” Luke asked, panic evident in his voice.
“His heart is racing. It needs to slow down or he’ll go into
cardiac arrest. Something’s
happening…Bo, can you hear me? You have
to calm down, honey. You need to calm
down, now. Your heart can’t take
this. Bo, sweetie,
listen to me.” Meghan spoke softly to Bo. She had sat down on the edge of his bed and
was stroking the side of the blond man’s face and his hair, trying to slow his
racing heart. Bo instinctively responded
to her touch and his heart rate slowly returned to normal. As the beeping of the monitor slowed down and
returned to its normal pitch and rhythm, Luke let out a breath he didn’t
realize he had been holding. He laid a
shaky hand on his cousin’s head and said a brief prayer of thanks.
Meghan pulled a blood
pressure cuff from the bedside table and wrapped it around Bo’s left arm. She spent a few minutes checking his vital
signs. She lifted his eyelids and
checked his pupils…a routine action she had done many times since Bo had been
on her ward…this time, however, the petite brunette saw something that shocked
her. She gasped and turned to look at
Luke.
“He responded!” She said, excitedly.
“Huh?”
“His pupils…they responded to
the light. For the first time since I’ve
been taking care of him, his eyes responded to light! Luke, do you know what this means?” Meghan had almost jumped off the bed in glee.
“Is he gettin’
better?” Luke asked, still a bit unnerved from Bo’s close call.
“Well, I don’t really know if
he’s getting better…but he’s definitely starting to wake up! That’s the most response he’s given us in six
months.” Meghan’s mind was reeling. Would he wake up…could it finally be
possible…or is this a cruel twist of fate to get everyone’s hopes up before he
dies? If he did wake up, would Bo be
able to recognize his family? Would he be able to function…or would he spend
the rest of his life in this place…with someone tending to him like a
baby. More importantly to Meghan…would she be able to tell Bo that she loved
him and could that love ever be returned?
Luke could barely believe what the nurse, whom he and his
family had started to regard as a close friend, was saying.
“Do you really mean it’s
possible? I mean…could he…he is! I just know it…Bo, I knew you’d come out of
this!” Luke stood by his cousin’s bed
and squeezed his hand. The normally calm
and collected man was almost jumping in his excitement.
“Now Luke, don’t get your
hopes up…Bo’s still not out of the woods yet…” Meghan cautioned, her professional attitude taking over; but inside she was
just as excited as Luke.
“I need to find Uncle Jesse
and Daisy.” Luke said as he turned toward the door. In his hurry, Luke almost barreled into the
two people coming into Bo’s room.
“Hold up, boy. Where are you headed in such an all-fired
hurry?” said a familiar, tired and somewhat troubled voice.
Luke immediately
stopped. His uncle reached out and
grasped both of Luke’s arms…almost as if to steady himself. “What’s wrong…is it Bo? Has something happened?” Jesse asked…fearing
the worst. Daisy rushed into the room
without waiting to hear Luke’s reply to their uncle’s questions.
Luke broke into a smile…his
crystal blue eyes sparking like they did before the accident. “He’s waking up, Uncle Jesse…Meghan said
so. He’s gonna
wake up and he’s gonna be fine! I just know it…Bo’s too stubborn to let this
beat him!” Luke said; his face set in conviction, as if his saying the words
would make them come true.
Jesse stared at his dark-haired nephew. He wanted so badly to believe him, but the
doctors seemed so sure this time that Bo was almost gone. He held tightly to Luke and looked over to
the little nurse that had taken such good care of Bo.
“Miss Riley? Is it true?
Is my boy finally wakin’ up?” The old man
almost shook with emotion.
“Well, he responded a little
when I checked him a few minutes ago.
Mr. Duke, Daisy,” she said, looking to each of them and almost bouncing
in her glee, “…I really think Bo’s gonna wake up for
us! I agree with Luke…I just know he’s
ready to come back to the real world!
He’s still in bad shape…don’t forget that…but, maybe he’ll at least open
those pretty blue eyes of his and…” She
stopped her train of thought abruptly and blushed brightly. She looked at the stunned and hopeful family,
knowing that they noticed her embarrassment. “Um, I need to go get Dr.
Shackelford...he’ll want to come check him.”
Meghan hastily left the room in search of Bo’s main physician.
Chapter 15
Doctor Bob Shackelford was a middle-aged, balding man who
had always depended on hard facts and medical science to carry him through; he
didn’t hold much stock in miracles or such stuff. After today’s visit with Bo and his family,
the tall, thin doctor could not believe what he was seeing. He had never had a patient in Bo Duke’s
situation make such a miraculous turn around!
Comatose patients in critical condition just don’t start to wake up…if anything, they slip deeper into the coma before they finally
die. There were absolutely no medical reasons why Bo should be doing what he
was doing…all of the data from the past couple of days said the young man
should be dead right now. Maybe it was a miracle…he certainly didn’t have
any explanations.
He
shook his head as he remembered scoffing at Nurse Riley when she burst into his
office yesterday, shouting that Bo Duke was responding to light stimuli. He chalked her irrational behavior up to her
unusually close bond with the patient and his family. However, he had to revise his opinion when he
examined the young man. Bo was indeed
beginning to show signs that he was coming out of his coma…after six months
with no signs improvement. The blond
haired man was still in critical condition due to a severe case of pneumonia,
but he was steadily coming back to consciousness and had made even more strides
toward waking up completely…now he was starting to move a bit! Perhaps he would make it through. Dr. Shackelford hoped, for the family’s sake,
that the young man would at least be able to know them and communicate with
them in some way. He still doubted that
Bo would ever be close to normal after such a traumatic injury. He also worried
about his best nurse. He feared Nurse
Riley’s attachment to the man and her irrational belief that he will greatly
improve could end up in heartbreak and discouragement. He sure would hate for that to happen…the
hospital didn’t need to lose such a good nurse.
Dr. Shackelford sighed and began to write up Bo’s current condition in
his notes.
*************************************************************
Jesse Duke knew his prayers were being answered. His “baby boy” was improving by leaps and bounds. He fondly brushed his nephew’s blond hair
back from his face and smiled. “You’ll
be back with us in a little while, son,” Jesse turned his eyes toward the IV
pump holding the bag of what had been Bo’s ‘food’ for the past six months and
sadly shook his head. “And when you get home, I’ll fix you the biggest dinner
you’ve ever seen. I know you’re bound to
be gettin’ tired of that liquid stuff,” he said,
glancing at the tubing that snaked from the pump and attached itself to Bo’s
body somewhere beneath the hospital gown.
The tired old man rose from the bedside chair; pulled the watch from the
pocket of his faded overalls, glanced at it and began to stretch. He was going to spend the night alone with
Bo. Jesse had sent Daisy and Luke back
to the farm to get some rest. Luke
argued, briefly, but the younger man was so tired that he was literally swaying
on his feet. Jesse smiled as he thought
of his eldest nephew’s and niece’s devotion to their “little brother”. Luke and Daisy had not missed a day coming to
see their cousin since the accident and Luke had barely moved from the bedside
since Bo had finally started improving.
Jesse paused in his musing as he saw movement outside Bo’s room. It was Meghan Riley; passing by in the
hallway, busy with her end of shift duties. He smiled and waved at her as she
passed.
He chuckled, “We’re not the
only one’s who want to see you get better, Bo.”
He knew that the petite, brunette nurse really cared about his
nephew…and in more than a professional way.
He let his thoughts run as he walked around to the other side of Bo’s
bed, tidying the room as he went.
“That girl would be good for
you, son…real good. I just feel it…you
two would be a good match. Maybe the
Good Lord meant for you to meet.” Jesse
sighed and shook his head, “I just wish He’d had a little different way in
mind…but who am I to question. I’m just
thankful He’s seein’ fit to bring you back to us.”
The old man paused beside the bed, reached over and laid a weathered hand over
Bo’s right hand and squeezed; a slight smile twinkling in his soft blue
eyes.
Bo Duke had been able to understand more of what was going
on around him for the last couple of days.
From what he had gathered from listening to his family and the doctors,
he had been shot, in some sort of car accident and had… brain surgery!?! ‘Dang,
I didn’t realize it was that bad! No
wonder they all thought I was gonna kick out! But I’ve got news for them…I ain’t in any hurry to leave.’ He was rather uncomfortable about the idea
that he hadn’t moved in so long. At
least someone came around daily and moved his arms and legs and kept him turned
from side to side to ‘keep him from becoming stiff’ (that’s what they told him,
anyway). He was so embarrassed about
having to be tended to like a helpless infant!
‘I’ve got to wake up…that’s all
there is to it.’ He had also heard
the voices of his family and Meghan urging him to wake up. He wanted to see them all so badly…he loved
them beyond belief.
Bo still had trouble, at times, believing
that this was reality. ‘Had all those awful events been a
dream? Could I have really dreamed that
I had lived out twenty miserable years while I was sick? Or is this the dream?’ He didn’t really know, but what ever this
was…it was what he wanted! All his
family was here and his sweet Meggie was here and he
had a chance to let them all know how much he cared. Gradually, Bo was pulled from his thoughts
by the sound of his Uncle Jesse’s soft, rumbling voice and gentle touch.
Jesse continued to hold Bo’s hand while he read aloud to
him from the Hazzard Gazette. The
fingers of Bo’s right hand twitched, ever so gently. Jesse paused in his reading; the room silent
except for the hissing and beeping of the machines. They twitched again, this time stronger. Jesse turned in his chair, grabbing Bo’s hand
with both of his.
“Come on Bo, that’s it! Wake
up for your Uncle Jesse, son!” Jesse urged, his eyes
bright with excitement.
The heart monitor by Bo’s
bedside began to beep louder and faster.
This caught the attention of Meghan, who was coming to say her goodbye’s
for the evening. She ran into the room
to see if anything was wrong. Jesse Duke
looked up at her abrupt entrance and smiled.
“He’s movin’!” was all he said. Meghan quickly went to Bo’s side. She checked him over and determined that he
was OK for the moment.
‘Professionalism
be damned’ she thought, ‘I’m off duty!’
She sat on the bed and began to stroke Bo’s
hair…uncaring that Jesse was right beside them.
“Bo, Sweetie, wake up. I want to
see those pretty eyes of yours lookin’ back at
me. Please, Honey, wake up for us. Your Uncle Jesse is here and he loves you so
much. I…I love you too…” she said,
haltingly. Meghan paused and tried to
calm her own racing heart. She ran her
hand through her hair, “I know you don’t even know who in the world I am…I
don’t even understand it myself…but I do love you. Please wake up and give me the chance to know
the real Beauregard Duke.” She whispered the last bit as she leaned over and
gently placed a sweet kiss at the corner of Bo’s mouth.
Bo’s brain seemed to explode. He felt too many sensations at once. It appeared that Meghan’s kiss had broken
down the last barriers that were keeping him from regaining full consciousness. He could feel the gentleness of Meghan’s
lips, her soft hair brushing across his face; he could even smell the shampoo
she had used early that morning.
Unfortunately, he could also feel the harsh scratching of the breathing
tube down his throat, the aching of his muscles and the pain in his lungs from
the pneumonia. Bo gasped as best he
could with the tube down his throat and struggled to open his eyes. He finally won the battle and his eyes sprang
open. He briefly caught a fuzzy glimpse
of Meghan’s face before the stress of the moment caught up with him. He felt his chest seize and heard the
tell-tale sound of the cardiac monitor going flat-line. “NO! Not now! Please God, don’t let me d…” Bo prayed frantically
before he sank into darkness again.
Meghan’s
face froze in a mask of horror. Her
brief joy at seeing Bo open his eyes was quickly replaced by heart-wrenching
fear that she would lose the man she had grown to love so deeply.
“No you don’t! You’re not gonna
leave me now, Bo!” she yelled; her fear quickly turning to anger.
Meghan became a whirlwind of motion. She let the head of Bo’s bed down and climbed
into the bed. The petite nurse straddled
the tall, blond man and furiously began CPR.
She instructed Jesse to go into the hall and get help. After what seemed an eternity, two nurses and
a doctor burst into the room with a crash cart.
Jesse looked on from the doorway, his brow creased with worry. The doctor had to pull Meghan away from Bo’s
chest in order for the others to start work.
She was sobbing and collapsed into a nearby chair; watching as her
colleagues worked diligently to revive Bo.
Finally, after being defibrillated twice, Bo regained a steady pulse and
was stabilized. Jesse and Meghan had
moved to the hall and were both trying to comfort each other. They nearly
didn’t hear the doctor tell them the good news:
not only had Bo been revived, but he had completely awakened from the
coma!
Meghan and Jesse slowly walked over to Bo’s bed. They each had to touch him to see if he was
really still with them. Bo opened his
eyes in response and the two were almost overwhelmed with gratitude and
joy. “He’s back. He knows me, I know he does! You can’t forget your old Uncle Jesse, can
you, boy?” Jesse said while wiping tears with his free hand. Both he and Meghan hadn’t stopped grinning
since Bo looked at them. Meghan thought
he seemed to recognize her! But how? He
had never seen her…didn’t even know her.
Maybe he did recognize her voice…but…Oh well, who cares? She loved seeing him looking back at her. She would just enjoy whatever she could get
right now. She couldn’t keep from
telling Bo that she loved him when Jesse briefly left the bedside to phone Luke
and Daisy to tell them the great news.
Bo
had slowly opened his eyes when he felt Meghan and Jesse’s hands on his
skin. His senses were all still fresh
and almost raw. Everything seemed too
loud or…just too much. His vision was
fuzzy and the dim lights were almost too bright for him, but he still
recognized the bearded face that hovered above his! ‘Uncle
Jesse!’ The small woman with the halo of brown hair and that sweet voice
just had to be…‘Meghan!’ His vision might have been fuzzy, be he
heard perfectly when his sweet Meggie told him that
she loved him. “I love you, too” he desperately tried to tell her with his eyes. Bo closed his eyes briefly, his eyes
tearing from recent lack of use and emotion. ‘I’m back! Thank You, Lord! Thank You for givin’
me another chance!’
Bo
listened to Meghan and Jesse for a long while, trying to convey his feelings
through his gaze. He wished he could
talk back to them, but the breathing tube prevented speech and he really felt
too weak to talk anyway. He was able to
slightly squeeze Jesse’s hand and move his fingers and toes in response to
Meghan’s prompting. Soon, however, Bo
was completely tuckered out. He fell
into a deep, healing sleep. Jesse was
alarmed at first when Bo fell asleep, but Meghan assured him that Bo needed the
rest.
“You’d think six months of sleepin’ would be enough rest for anybody…but I guess it’s
a different kind of sleep. At least this
time he’ll wake up in the morning, Lord willin’.”
Jesse said as he stretched and settled into the visitor’s cot next to Bo’s
bed. He told Bo and the young nurse
‘goodnight’ before he rolled over on his back, cap over his eyes, to sleep for
the night.
Meghan
knew that all the Dukes knew of her feelings for Bo, so she no longer made any
attempt to hide them. She tiptoed over
to the side of the bed and brushed the wheat colored hair from Bo’s
forehead. She placed a soft kiss above
his eyebrow. “Goodnight, Sweetie. I’ll
see you in the mornin’,” she whispered before she
left the room, turning out the light as she left. As she walked out into the parking lot after
this long, emotional roller-coaster of a night, Meghan smiled. Her heart felt lighter than it had in
months. Bo was going to be fine…she just
had a gut feeling about the good-looking blond; and maybe…just maybe…everything
was going to turn out fine for her as well.
“Lord willin’,”
she said looking up to the star filled
Chapter 16
It seemed that once the young Duke had awakened, his body
went into overdrive trying to recover and get back to normal. Dr. Shackelford was in shock and called the
blond haired young man a medical miracle because he seemed to have no lasting
effects from his injuries or the long coma!
Uncle Jesse and the rest of the family chalked Bo’s recovery up to faith
in the Good Lord, the power of prayer and simple “Duke Determination”. The days
since Bo had awakened had been the best the Duke family had seen for quite a
while. The good news had traveled fast
around the small community of Hazzard.
The hospital and the Duke farm were flooded with calls and visits from
folks who were happy to hear about Bo’s awakening.
The
next several days were both wonderful and hellacious for Bo. He was awake (finally!) and grateful to be
alive after Luke and Jesse had told him the extent of his injuries. Upon hearing of his improvement, droves of
visitors had been coming by to see Bo.
Much to his visitors…and his own surprise, the youngest Duke looked
drastically different! His hair had
grown back in and then some! Several
weeks with little taming had encouraged the naturally unruly blond locks to
curl wildly around Bo’s head and fall into his eyes. His beard had also gone unshaven since his
bout with pneumonia had caused the breathing tube to be replaced. True to his nature, Bo had stubbornly refused
to let anyone shave him until he could do it himself or to cut his hair till he
was ready to go home. His muscular frame
was now thinner and he needed to be “fattened up”, according to Uncle Jesse and
Daisy. His handsome face was almost gaunt beneath the fierce growth of
beard. The dashing young man everyone
knew now looked more like a cross between a scarecrow and a mountain
hermit! However, his expressive eyes and
flashing smile let everyone know the “old Bo” was still there; just below the
surface.
He
had his family and friends around him and enjoyed their company; but he had
never been in such pain and discomfort in his life. Medical staff poked and prodded him; trying
to figure out why he wasn’t dead.
Physical therapists stretched his unused muscles until he thought he
would scream. The pneumonia was clearing
up and the breathing tube had been removed; but, much to Bo’s and everyone
else’s dismay, he still couldn’t talk enough to make himself understood. In
fact, it took a while before his body and brain could even remember how to make
words! After a little time and a few
sessions with speech therapists, Bo could finally talk, a little. He could barely speak above a whisper and
when he did, his voiced squeaked like when he was fourteen and then would
disappear altogether at any time. The
doctor and the therapists said his voice would return to normal once the damage
to his vocal cords, caused by the breathing tube, healed…until then he just had
to squeak or nothin’! Bo’s muscle strength and
coordination were improving daily, but he still couldn’t hold a pencil well
enough to write where anyone could read it.
Try as he did to keep from it, Bo began to feel very distressed. The only bright spots were the daily visits
from his family and Meghan.
A
couple of weeks after his miraculous awakening, Bo became so frustrated that he
wanted to scream. He wanted to
communicate with everyone so badly! He tried to speak but couldn’t get all the
words out before his voice would fail him.
Worst of all, no one seemed to be able to figure out why Bo was so
upset. As a result, he got so aggravated
at times that he would hit the mattress or the wall next to his bed. Luke finally noticed Bo’s frustration and
brought him a gift from the hospital gift-shop…one of those magnetic
write-and-erase things like they used to play with when they were kids! Bo laughed…a whispery, cracked sound…when
Luke gave the toy to him, but he soon thought of it as a treasured
possession. He practiced using the
little plastic “pen” and soon surprised Luke with a messily scrawled note that
simply read “Hi, Cuz”. Bo was grinning with delight. He could finally “talk” to his family and
friends after so many days of one-sided conversations and one or two word
sentences. Bo was soon writing away;
slowly at first because his body was getting used to coordinated movements
again, but soon his scrawling handwriting was filling up the page almost as
fast as he could think of the words. Luke, Daisy and Jesse were hard pressed to
read what Bo would write before he tried to lift the magnetic sheet to erase
one thought and start another.
Later that night, Daisy laughed and told her
blond cousin, “Sugar, I think I’m gonna go get you a
dozen pens and a bushel of paper! That
little thing you’re writin’ on now won’t survive
another day with the way you’re goin’.”
“I guess you’ve just been
quiet for too long, ain’tcha little cuz? I thought you
were gonna blow up before I brought that thing in.”
Luke said as he fondly ruffled Bo’s hair.
Bo scowled briefly and made a
face…a familiar reaction that Luke was afraid he would never see again. Jesse also smiled as he watched his two
nephews behave as they had for years.
The old man sent up a silent prayer of thanks for his youngest nephew’s
return to health and for the restoration of the friendship between his two
nephews.
Bo smoothed his hair and soon
was grinning widely as he showed Luke his written reaction. “Cute, Lukas, real cute.”
The four Dukes laughed and
hugged each other as they realized that life as they knew it would soon return
to normal.
Bo
was happy to be able to let them all know how glad he was to be alive and that
he remembered everything except the accident that put him in the position he
was in. He remembered his life up till
the ill-fated car chase and then everything else he remembered was supposedly just
a dream. In fact, Bo still remembered
the events of the twenty or so years
he spent in his “dream life” so clearly…he still wasn’t sure it was all just a
dream. One thing really bothered him…How did he know about Meghan if he had never
met her before? He had talked to
Luke and after a baffled few hours; Luke came up with a logical answer. While in the coma, Luke figured that Bo heard
Meghan’s voice and pieces of conversations and somehow formed them into his
dream. It seemed logical…but Bo was
still unsure. He decided that would talk
to his cousin again…Luke would be able to help him sort it all out; either that
or he would have him committed to the psych ward! Bo laughed to himself. He looked up from his thoughts to find his
favorite nurse standing in the doorway…smiling at him. Meghan seemed happy, but shy since Bo had
awakened. She had not been in as
much…saying she wanted to give him more time with his family and the
therapists. As a result, Bo looked forward
to every brief encounter they had shared in the last few days; even though he
didn’t really know what to say to her without seeming weird. ‘What
would he say to her? “Hi,
Meggie.
You don’t know this, but I’ve been in love with you most of my
life. You liked me too, but I was too
chicken to talk to you. Then you got engaged to Luke and later you told me you
loved me and after that you died. Then I find out it was just a dream, anyway,
and that I’ve been in a coma for six months and haven’t really even got to know
you yet.” Yeah, right. Tell her that and you’ll really be headed for the psych ward!’
Bo
shook his head and chuckled. He took a
deep breath and silently thanked God for the second chance he had been given.
He would recover…he had no doubt about that...and he would treasure every
moment of this life. Bo knew he would always remember his other “life” and he
hoped he learned his lessons well. Whether what he remembered was just a
coma-induced dream or if somehow reality had actually been altered, he knew he
could no longer take the love of and for his family and Meghan for granted.
Meghan had tried to remain professional and down to
business, but Bo could see the emotion in her eyes. He hoped she could see the same in his. The pretty, brunette nurse stepped just
beyond the doorway of Bo’s room. She toyed with her ink-pen, gave him that
crooked smile that he found so irresistible and asked to come in and visit for
awhile, since her shift had ended. Bo
watched her nervous fidgeting and thought she became more beautiful each time
he saw her. He vowed he would not let
her slip away from him again…or would it be the
first time? ‘Who cares…I’m gonna give it a shot.’ Bo smiled widely at Meghan and beckoned her
to come in. He settled himself into a
more comfortable position…sitting up in bed, leaning back against the pillows.
He brushed his hair out of his eyes and rubbed his hand over his bearded chin,
silently wishing for a razor and a comb.
He cleared his throat and grabbed the new writing pad and pen Daisy had
brought him…just in case his voice decided not to cooperate. Meghan quickly closed the distance between
them. She reached out and gently brushed
the hair from his eyes…her hand lingering on his cheek. Bo felt his skin tingle and swore he could
feel her pulse quicken as well from the simple touch. He remembered her touch so well…he would always remember…he shook his
head to clear his thoughts and looked up into Meghan’s emerald eyes. She gave
him a soft, sweet smile and sat near him, on the edge of the bed. Bo flushed slightly and gave her a mega-watt
grin as he reached out to cover her hand with his. He took a deep breath and prepared for a long
evening…after all…they had nearly twenty years to catch up on and he had some
serious flirting to do!