Well This Is Just Swell
Chapter 1: A Swell Day
Clank, ding, clank, clannng.
Cooter Davenport looked up from where he was going over billing information at his desk in the office of the Hazzard Garage. “Hil, you okay cousin?”
“Yeah! Just dropped the wrench... again.” came the frustrated voice from the bay area of the shop. That was the third time that she’d dropped it since she’d begun work on the Dodge Charger. She flexed her fingers and examined them. It was a good thing she hadn’t put on her class ring that morning. The swelling wasn’t bad, but it was enough to make her clumsy and give issues with holding onto things. It seemed worse than normal though, and her knee was bothering her. She had a bad feeling that beneath her jeans, it too was swollen.
The past few days had been the worst as far as the swelling went, ever since the doctor had prescribed birth control pills to help combat her acne, among other problems. The acne had cleared up of course… which was why it had been prescribed.
Hilery reached below the vehicle and picked up the wrench to get back to work, wincing as she moved her left knee. She didn’t want to complain for fear of being sent back to the Davenport farm to rest, or sent to the Emergency Room where she would have to go through waiting for several hours and x-rays, only to be prescribed nothing stronger than Ibuprofen. It wasn’t worth it. Besides, she had no answer as to why her knee was swollen. She hadn’t twisted it, fallen on it, dislocated it, or anything else.
Unfortunately, Cooter had seen her wince. He didn’t say anything, understanding why she hadn’t mentioned it, but he was concerned. He went in his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of pain relievers to give to her. As he did, another party arrived at the garage: The owners of the Dodge Charger.
Cooter stopped short and raised an eyebrow as he got a better look at his little cousin’s face. It looked puffy to him, but it could also have been the fact that she’d put on weight. He wasn’t sure so he didn’t say anything about it, instead turning to his good friends.
“Hey Bo, hey Luke, how y’all doing?” Cooter greeted, handing Hilery the bottle of medication. “Go sit down, butterfingers.” he added softly to his cousin. She gave him a dirty look.
“Alright Cooter, but I won’t forget that comment. Just hope you don’t wake up tomorrow to a pink tow truck.” she griped as he took over working on the car and she sat down on the work bench.
“We’re doing fine,” Luke replied. “We were hoping you guys had that new part installed on the General.”
Bo took a seat next to the towheaded Davenport as she rubbed her knee. He had noticed her discomfort, but knew she didn’t like a big deal made about injuries.
“No, sorry Luke.”
“Yeah, it would be done if Hilery didn’t keep dropping the wrench.” He looked at her, concerned. “I’ve been busy doing invoices.” He added.
“I only dropped it three times Cooter.” She pointed out. She was really irritated.
“And you usually work a lot faster.” He replied. Hilery crossed her arms and shot him another dirty look, even though it was true. She had been working a lot slower. He sighed upon seeing the look on her face. “Listen, why don’t you just take the rest of the day off Hil; Hang out with Bo and Luke.”
“I am sure they have plans Coot.” The young woman replied.
Bo and Luke looked at each other. “Well we were going to go to the Boar’s Nest,” the younger cousin said. “You could come along.”
Hilery shook her head no. She wasn’t sure she could climb into the General Lee when Cooter was finished. No, she would rather go home and put some ice on her knee, and aside from that, she wasn’t yet twenty-one years old. She still had a few weeks before her birthday.
“Are you sure?” Luke asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure Luke. ’Sides, you two are probably going to flirt with the waitresses anyway, and I don’t want to cramp your style. I know you’re both looking the girls over to see who to take to the upcoming spring dance at the Boar’s Nest.”
Suddenly a loud engine was heard and Cooter looked at the clock. It was time for Hilery to get off and the woman who took the next shift to start… even though said woman was twenty minutes late. “Hil, go on and get out of here. Go to the Boar’s Nest or home or over a friend’s house.” She nodded and opened the bottle of Ibuprofen, shook out two tablets, grabbed her soda from under the work bench, opened it, and took the medication. As she walked out to go home, her co-worker entered to start her shift. She waved to the brown-haired woman before climbing into her Ford Mustang and driving off.
“Sorry I’m late Coot. Aunt Ann called and wouldn’t get off.” Kendra said as she walked over to the work bench. She threw her bag underneath and turned to face the three men. “Hey Luke, Bo, how’s it goin’? I haven’t seen the two of ya since yesterday morning.”
The two Duke boys laughed at the comment. “We’re fine.” The elder cousin said.
Kendra sat down on the bench beside Bo. He put an arm around her and gave a gentle squeeze. “Yeah, and since the General’s here, we have had to drive Uncle Jesse’s truck.” Bo told her. “I’m just glad Rosco or Enos hasn’t seen us yet.”
Kendra laughed at the comment and hugged Bo back. Cooter looked at the two and cleared his throat to get their attention. “Speaking of the General, you need to finish what Hilery was doing so I can finish my work.”
“Alright.” She let go of the blond and stood up so she could work. She walked over to the tools that were by the car and seen what Hilery had been using.
“Guess we’ll leave you to finish.” Luke said, indicating to Bo that it was time to leave. He looked at him, a little angry, but knew he couldn’t fight Luke.
He stood up and walked to Kendra. He tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. She could get in her own world when she was working on the cars. She spun around and looked up at his blue eyes that were at least a head higher than hers. “You still coming over for dinner?”
“Oh course. Why would I miss it?” He could seem so stupid at times.
“I was just making sure. Don’t get angry at me.” The last part was just to bug her. She shook her head and punched his arm. She just hated it when he told her not to be angry. He knew how to pick at the right nerves. He stepped back with a smirk on his face. “See you later.” He said as he walked out of the garage.
The brunette watched as the Duke boys walked out of the garage and got in the old truck. Cooter stood by the bench and watched the girl as she watched the cousins leave. He shook his head as he read her face. He could tell that she had feelings that no one knew about. He wanted to ask, but knew she wouldn’t say anything.
“Get to work Kendra,” he told her. She jumped and looked at him. She glared at him then turned back to the car to look under the hood and get to work. He chuckled, and then went back to the office so that he could finish his work and not stay later than he had to.
As Bo and Luke drove home from the Boar’s Nest later that day the radiator on the pickup truck suddenly started spewing steam. Bo immediately pulled over and looked at Luke. “I thought you fixed that,” he said.
“I thought I did too.” Luke grumbled, getting out of the dirty white pickup truck at the same time as his cousin. As they did, a black sedan came into view. It was one of Bo’s girlfriends. “Hey Bo, hey Luke.” She said as she pulled to a stop. They hadn’t even had a chance to open the hood of the truck. “What seems to be the trouble?”
“Radiator, Sandy Mae.” Bo replied, smiling.
“Yeah, and the CB radio ain’t working at the moment.” Luke said, running his hand through his hair. “Stopped working this mornin’ for some reason.”
“Want me to give you a ride into town Bo? I’m headin’ that way already.” She batted her lashes at him as she spoke.
“Sure sweetheart.” Bo replied. He had a goofy grin on his face. He looked at Luke who rolled his eyes. “Go ahead, cousin. I’ll see if I can’t fix it while you’re gone.”
“Alright.” Bo said as Sandy Mae climbed back into her car. Bo climbed into the passenger seat and they were gone.
When they were out of sight, Luke grabbed the tools from the behind the seat and went around to the front of the pickup to open the hood. What he saw made him stop cold. The steam wasn’t coming from where it should during an overheat, which caused him to examine the front of the radiator. A bullet hole sat in the front of it. “Holy smoke,” he mumbled, his stomach turning.
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