FORGIVENESS

Spoiler: One Duke boy blames himself for an accident that almost kills the other one. Will he ever be able to forgive himself and make things right again?

Chapter 1

            Hazzard County, Georgia. A little southern town right in the middle of the Bible belt. A place where everybody knows everybody else and a neighbor is always ready to lead a helping hand. It was a place where folks raised their kids with old fashioned values and plain old common sense with the teachings from the good book thrown in for good measure. There were two main ways to make a living in Hazzard County: Farming and moonshining. And most of the families in the area had done a little bit of both. It was a good place to live and most people who were born there lived there their whole lives and died there too.

            One of the most popular and well-liked families in Hazzard County was the Duke clan. The Duke family had lived on the same farm in Hazzard for five generations. The family consisted of Jesse Duke, the clan patriarch. Jesse was in his mid sixties with a full white beard and headful of white hair along with the energy and the stamina of a much younger man. For over 40 years Jesse had made the best moonshine in three counties using the secret Duke family recipe that had been passed down from father to son for over 200 years. That was until last year when his two nephews were caught making a midnight run with a car load of shine. To keep the boys out of prison, Jesse had made a deal with the U.S. of A. government not to make or sell anymore moonshine as long as his boys could be given probation instead of going to prison for five years. Since everybody who knew Jesse knew that a Duke never went back on his word, a deal was reached and the boys were set free. Jesse was a very religious man who lived his life the best he could within the restraints of the community where he resided.

            The rest of the family consisted of Jesse’s two nephews, Bo and Luke, and his niece Daisy. All three of them had been orphaned at an early age and had gone live with Jesse and his wife, Martha, who had raised them as if they were their own. To Jesse, they were his kids even if he wasn’t their natural father and to them, he was the only father any of them had ever known. Jesse had raised them all with strict discipline and a lot of love. His word was law and always obeyed, mostly out of love, but obeyed just the same. And even though all three of the cousins were adults now, they still obeyed their uncle and showed him the respect he deserved.

            Luke Duke was the oldest of the three cousins. He was the first one to come and live with Jesse and Martha when he was only four years old. He was the most reserved of the three cousins and he didn’t open up or share his innermost feelings very easily with anyone. He tended to keep things to himself which sometimes made him hard to read and even harder to get to know. Ruggedly handsome with sapphire blue eyes, dark curly hair, he had a lean muscular build from his years of working on the farm. With his killer smile and smooth southern charm, he had more than his share of girlfriends. Along with his cousin, Bo, he was considered one of the best drivers in three counties.

            The second oldest of the three cousins was Daisy Duke. She was the last one to come and live on the farm when she was six. Two years younger then Luke, she was the prettiest girl in Hazzard County with big blue eyes and shoulder length chestnut colored hair. With her long legs and a figure that could make any man sit up and pay attention, Daisy had more boyfriends than she could shake a stick at. She worked as a waitress at the local roadhouse, a rowdy honky-tonk called the Boars Nest where half the customers came in just to flirt with her. She could drive like Richard Petty, shot like Annie Oakley and knew the words to every Dolly Parton song.

            The last of the three Duke cousins was the youngest, Bo Duke. Four years younger than Luke, Bo had come to live with Jesse and Martha when he was just six months old. He had the same lean muscular build as his older cousin but there the resemblance ended. He had golden blonde hair with long sideburns that was feathered on the sides and baby blue eyes. With his boyish good looks and easy smile, he was as popular as Luke with the ladies. He was more impetuous and impulsive then his older cousin, often acting first and thinking about the consequences later. He was more than likely to be the one to get them into trouble and Luke had to be the one to think of a way to get them out of it. He could drive just as well as his older cousin although he could be a little bit more reckless behind the wheel and tended to take more chances then Luke did. Bo and Luke were closer than brothers and spent almost all of their time together, either working on the farm or just hanging out. It was unusual to see one of the Duke boys without the other one by his side.

            There was another member of the Duke clan that wasn’t even human but part of the family just the same. And that was the car that the boys had built from scratch just after Luke got home from the Marines. The General Lee.  The General was a modified stock car with welded doors that was the fastest car in the entire state of Georgia. With its bright orange paint job, the big black 01 trimmed in black on each door, the rebel flag painted on the roof and the name General Lee written above each door frame, it was a memorable vehicle that was hard to miss. And the boys kept its powerful engine tuned to perfection. Some folks even claimed that the General was half human when it came to some of the things the Duke boys could get that car to do when either one of them was behind the wheel.

            The Duke farm was located 18 miles outside of the town of Hazzard on Old Mill Pond Road, one of the old dirt roads that ran through the county. The old three-bedroom farmhouse had weather-beaten shingles and was badly in need of a fresh coat of paint. The yard between the house and the big old barn was hard packed earth with just a few scattered patches of grass. Most folks used the back door whenever they came to visit the Dukes. They knew that they’d always be welcomed with a warm smile, a cup of coffee, and an invitation to dinner. That’s just how the Dukes were. They were decent hard working folks and loyal friends.

            That day had started out just like any other day. The boys were up at five thirty to eat breakfast and then did their chores. They spent part of the day doing additional chores around the farm that Jesse gave them and then with the rest of the afternoon free, the boys decided to go into town to see their friend, Cooter Davenport, who owned the local garage. Cooter was the best mechanic in the state and had been a friend of the Duke family since childhood. His last name might be Davenport but he was really a Duke at heart.

            When they got to the garage, they found Cooter working on one of the sheriff’s cars that Deputy Cletus Hogg had wreaked the day before while he was chasing the boys in the General Lee. Bo and Luke sent Cooter half of his business in the form of wreaked police vehicles. As the boys were standing there making small talk with Cooter, Bo glanced up and saw Becky Sue Holland walking down the street towards them. With a big grin on his face, he excused himself and went outside to talk to her.

            Luke frowned when he saw Bo talking to Becky Sue. Luke had been dating Becky Sue for the past couple of weeks and Bo knew that. The boys had always had an unspoken agreement not to make a play for a girl that the other one was dating. Nevertheless, from the way Bo was carrying on with Becky Sue to Luke it sure looked like Bo was forgetting about that agreement. Luke felt his temper flare at Bo’s blatant disregard for Luke’s feelings. Cooter saw the expression on Luke’s face and how those sapphire eyes turned as cold as ice and immediately sensed trouble brewing. Bo and Luke seldom argued but when they did, they both had volatile tempers and could easily come to blows and those boys were big enough to hurt each other.

            When Becky Sue laughed at something Bo said and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, Luke saw red. Neither of them noticed the angry look on Luke’s face as Becky Sue walked away and Bo sauntered back into the garage, looking pleased with himself.

            “What the hell was that all about?” Luke demanded with a hard edge to his voice that immediately put Bo on the defensive.

            “Nothing. I was just asking Becky Sue if she wanted to go to the dance Friday night.” Bo told him

            “She already said she’d go with me.” Luke growled “What are you trying to do, Bo? Steal her behind my back?”

            “It ain’t like that and you know it, Luke Duke!” Bo said his own temper starting to flare “You said you was breaking up with her!”

            “Well I ain’t done it yet so that don’t give you no call to try and date her!”

            “I’m getting tired of you telling me all the time what I can and can’t do, Luke!” Bo said sharply “Why don’t you just let me alone?”

            “Fine! I’ll let you alone!” Luke said, stomping out of the garage and heading across the street towards the diner. He heard Bo calling his name but ignored him and kept walking. He never saw the car turning the corner and speeding down the street towards him.