Pauline got out of the car and hugged her only son. She knew that he’d been looking forward to showing off his new home. She just couldn’t bring herself to come before now. When she’d heard from Daisy that she and Kira were heading to Atlanta for a couple of days she figured that now would be a good time to make that long awaited trip. The girls were out of school for the summer and she wouldn’t have to run the risk of having a confrontation with her niece/daughter-in-law.

The girls both were eager to see their brother since they really hadn’t seen him since he’d come out for their birthday a couple of months ago. And it had been a quick trip since it was still in the middle of planting season and he wanted to get back to help Jesse and the others; though he had helped his father and uncle in Placid while he was there. When he showed them that they had their own room upstairs, they had screamed in excitement. Pauline had to admit that house looked nice. She went from one room to the next. Finished and unfinished; mostly unfinished, but she could see the possibilities of the old house. She could see why her son had chosen it, in addition to it being the farm right next to his uncle’s. It looked like she and her husband may end up coming to Hazzard more often.

When Pauline went to the door off to the side of the kitchen, she was surprised to be met by a locked door. Frowning, she hadn’t expected that. Jebb was talking to his father and saw his mother come to an abrupt stop by the closed, locked door.

“We keep that door locked Mom. That’s Kira’s office.”

“She keeps you locked out of a room in your own home?” Pauline didn’t like this one bit.

“No Mom. I have a key. It’s just with all of the case files and legal documents; we’re a little more careful with that room is all.” Jebb realized that his mother wouldn’t be happy until she’d seen the room so he went on over and unlocked the room and opened the door. He knew that Kira wouldn’t like this, but given the circumstances, she’ll just have to understand. He stayed in the doorway as his mother began to roam the office. It was really pretty straight forward. It had a desk where Kira usually sat behind, two chairs on the opposite of the desk, a few filing cabinets, and the shelves that he’d put in there himself. When he saw that his mother was going to the desk with the intent of opening the drawers, he figured that she’d seen enough. “Mom, are you satisfied?” Knowing that she wasn’t. She just sighed in response and left the room and watched as her son locked the door back.

“Well, I might as well get familiar with the kitchen. Though it’s probably the LEAST used room in the house. Go on. I’ll have lunch ready in just a little while.” Jebb and his father exchanged looks as they headed on outside. Both thinking the same thing. It was probably a good thing that Kira wasn’t here for their visit. Jebb figured that his mother couldn’t really get into any trouble since the only place where her snooping would cause any trouble was safely locked up tight. Calling out to the girls, they all headed for the creek that was on the property and figured that they’d kill a little time fishing before lunch.




Kira stumbled into her room under the weight of the bags that she was carrying. She really couldn’t bring herself to indulge in a lot of new clothes while out shopping but she had seen a bed-spread set that she’d liked so she’d bought it. When Daisy had seen it, she jokingly asked if she and Jebb had already worn out their sheets at home. Well, Kira only smiled at that, since that just might be pretty close to the truth. After Kira had bought the bed-spread though, Daisy had insisted that it wouldn’t match the curtains in the room so Kira needed to replace them as well. Kira just liked the bedding. It really hadn’t occurred to her that by buying the sheets that it would be a cause to redecorate the whole room, but it seemed that was exactly what had happened.

Kira put the bags down and collapsed on the bed. She wasn’t a seasoned shopper like the other two women. Of course, that had been her excuse when she had become so exhausted after the hours of shopping. If she didn’t get up now, she was sure that she’d fall asleep right where she was. Eying the phone, she figured that Jebb was probably out with his folks right now. She’ll have to wait to call home. Instead, Kira forced herself to change for dinner. Tonight the three were going to a little Italian restaurant that Lulu likes to go to whenever she’s in Atlanta. Going through her suitcase, Kira chose a hunter green blouse with long sleeves and black slacks. She hoped that the bruises would fade some before it was time to go home. She really didn’t want to have to explain where they came from to Jebb. At least not until the test results came back.




When the ladies all returned from dinner, the front desk manager stopped Kira and told her that she had missed a phone call. He then handed her the message. She figured that Jebb had called while she was out with the others for supper. When she read the message her blood froze. The doctor wanted her to come back. She’d never been called back so soon after an appointment. She’d left the hotel’s number on the off chance that they needed to call her back this week but she hadn’t really expected them to find anything so fast.

“Kira, are you alright?” Daisy came up after seeing Kira stop on her way to the elevator.

“Yeh, I just got a call while we were out. I have an appointment that I have to keep tomorrow. Looks like I won’t be leaving tomorrow with you and Lulu.”

“Does this have to do with that stuff that you were working on yesterday?” Daisy asked.

“Yes.” Not the paperwork but the other stuff.

“Well, I can stay ‘til you go home.”

“I doubt that Boss would give you another day off Daisy. Besides, I’ll be away from the hotel for most of the day. I’ll be alright if you go home. Though I should go check to see if the hotel has a room available for the extra night. You go on upstairs. I’ll be up in a minute.” With that, Kira headed back to the front desk. Her feet feeling like they were filled with lead the whole way. It looks like she wasn’t being paranoid after all. She was right, something was wrong. The doctor found something.




Jebb hung up the phone after talking with Kira. She was going to have to stay in Atlanta an extra night. He’d really not wanted her to stay away anymore but he understood that work had to be done. Of course when he’d told his parents that Kira wouldn’t be coming in the next day as expected, his mother had began to speculate that Kira must be cheating on him instead of working. When he tried to tell his mother that she was being ridiculous, she waved him off saying that he was too blinded by love to see what was right in front of him. Of course since Kira was staying out of town, Pauline figured that she and the family might as well stay an extra night as well. After all, someone had to look after her boy.




The next day, Kira said good-bye to Daisy and Lulu and promised that she’d be home the next day. The front desk sent someone up to the suite to help Kira move into the smaller room that she’d gotten for the night. Her appointment at the doctor’s wasn’t until two so she had plenty of time to sit and worry about the news that she was about to get. Because she knew that whatever the doctor was going to tell her, it would change her life. This had to be the longest morning of her entire life. She wasn’t sure if she wanted the morning to speed up or slow down though.

All too soon, it was time for her to head on out toward the hospital where her doctor’s office was located. Kira drove on over and then settled into the waiting room of the office. She had thought about bringing a book to read while she waited but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on it anyway. So instead, she sat with nothing to do but wait. Both dreading hearing her name called out and wishing that the nurse would hurry up and get it over with at the same time.

“Mrs. Kira Duke?” A nurse came out in search of her patient.

Kira stood up and left the full waiting room behind and steeled herself as she followed the nurse to the office of Dr. Robins. There’s no turning back now. Kira was taken into the office where Dr. Robins gave his consultations. She then set to the task once more of waiting for the doctor. Why a person is done this way at a doctor’s office, she’ll never know. You wait forever and a day out in the waiting room and then you’re called back and have to start waiting all over again. As if coming here wasn’t hard enough. Kira lost track of time before her doctor had finally made an appearance. He motioned for her not to get up and shook her hand.

“I’m sorry about the wait. I hope you haven’t been here too long.”

“Long enough.” Kira didn’t want to bother with niceties. Just get it over with already.

“I’m sorry that I missed you when I called yesterday. The test results came in right at closin’ time and I figured that you’d want ‘em before you left town.”

“You found something?”

The doctor nodded. “Oh, we found something alright. Something that would explain all of the symptoms that you listed in your complaint. But the cancer hasn’t returned.”

Kira’s brows scrunched down, unsure of what Dr. Robins was getting at. “Then what did you find?”

“I’d like to congratulate you. You’re pregnant.”

Kira stared open-mouthed for a solid minute before she could respond. “I’m what?”

“I said, you’re pregnant.”

“I don’t understand. I’ve been on the pill for years. And isn’t a woman suppose GAIN weight, not lose it, when she gets pregnant?”

“Well, the pill isn’t a hundred percent fool-proof. Women do, on occasion, still conceive while taking the contraceptive.”

“I always just thought that was said so that women who don’t take the pill right couldn’t sue.”

“Well, that is part of it. But sometimes, nature just can’t be prevented.”

“What about the weight?”

“Some women get so nauseous in the first trimester that they lose weight at first just like you have. It’s perfectly normal. It’ll pass though. Now, if you’ll give me the address to the doctor you’ll be seein’, I’ll send your medical records to Hazzard. You can’t exactly be coming to Atlanta every month.”

“I’ll have to get back to you on that.” Kira sat back in the chair. This certainly wasn’t what she’d been bracing herself for. PREGNANT?

“Now, if I remember correctly, you race your motorcycle. Do you not?”

“Yes sir, Dr. Robins. I do. I’m guessing that I won’t be for a while now, though, huh?”

“I’m afraid not. Now I won’t say that you can’t ride at all. Around town in a SEDATE manner should be alright. In fact, they’ll be very little restrictions until you get a little further along. Just no jumpin’ that thing.” Kira nodded her understanding. “I’m sure that you’ll be in good hands in Hazzard. I will go ahead and get you a prescription for some prenatal vitamins before you leave though.”

“When is the baby due?” The doctor scanned the notes in front of him before he answered.

“Let’s see, somewhere around early February. Any other questions for right now?” Kira shook her head, since she was still just trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was pregnant in the first place. “I’ll walk you on out to the front desk. And congratulations again. It ain’t often that one of my patients comes in here to get this kind of news.”

“Thank you. And no, this isn’t what I was expectin’, but I ain’t goin’ to complain none.”

Dr. Robins walked Kira to the front area and bid her good bye. After Kira paid her bill and grabbed the prescription, the receptionist took a glance at Kira’s file. Seeing the diagnosis, she figured that her cousin’s husband will want to know that Kira was pregnant. He and his sister and been worried about just this sort of thing earlier in the year. Well, now it finally happened.




On the way back to the hotel, Kira stopped by the bookstore. She’d never had any reason to learn anything about babies and being pregnant before. Looks like she’d better start cramming now. When she’d called Jebb to check in with him for the day, she nearly told him over the phone but this was one bit of news that she wanted to tell him in person. The look on his face ought to be priceless. When she got back to her room, she grabbed her birth control pills and tossed them in the trash. No point in taking them now. She reckoned that this is one birth that just wouldn’t be controlled. Picking up one of the books that she’d bought that afternoon, Kira started reading. Might as well find out just what she had gotten herself into now.




“Now what are we going to do? She couldn’t wait just one more year could she? If she’d waited until this time next year, there’d be no problem. But NO! She had to get pregnant NOW!”

Liz couldn’t believe what her brother had told her. She knew that he’d been keeping tabs on the charity case that her father had taken in. Especially after she’d hooked up with that farmer. Who would have thought that she’d take up with a country boy? What a match. A country bum-kin and a street urchin; married and expecting a baby. Though she doesn’t know why anything that girl ever does surprised her anymore.

“Well there’s too much at stake to let anything get in the way now that we’re so close to the deadline. We’re only a year away until the blasted clause in that will expires. I ain’t gonna just sit back and let her ruin things anymore than she already has. It wasn’t enough that she got a whole third of all the money. Now she had to go and get knocked up so close to the deadline, too.”

“What are you planning?” Liz eyed her brother.

“Don’t worry about it. You just leave everything to me.” Shawn slammed the door behind him as he left his sister’s house. He’ll take care of everything alright.




Kira checked out the next morning and made sure that both, her luggage and the part that was needed for Uncle Jesse’s tractor, were secured in the back of the truck. She then made her way back to Hazzard, and if she was driving a bit more careful than usual, well, she reckoned that no one would blame her none. Her drive was a long, uneventful one right up until she hit the Hazzard County line. Coming in from route seven, the road was blocked by the Hogg Construction Crew. They were doing some sort of road work.

Now ordinarily, any Duke would just jump them. Kira included, since her truck had more than enough power with its HEMI. Considering the doctor told her no jumps on her bike, she figured that would include the truck too. It looked like she’ll have to take the detour into Hazzard by way of Iron Mountain. It’ll add time but she guessed that there really wasn’t any choice in the matter.

Once Kira got about halfway around Iron Mountain, Kira caught sight of a large white moving van that was driving behind her. She noticed how careless they were driving. They were tailgating her way too close for this curvy mountain road. Some people just don’t know how to drive on old country roads. And those same folks ought to learn to stay off of them. Kira tried to speed up to get away from the reckless driver behind her but the van sped up to match her.

Concerned, Kira eyed the van in her rear-view mirror to see if she could see the driver. Looking through their windshield, she became more than just concerned. She’d moved right into a little frightened. Pushing her foot to the accelerator, Kira reached over to the CB that Luke had insisted to be put into the truck right after she and Jebb had moved to Hazzard to call for help. That is until she remembered that she was told that CB’s don’t work on Iron Mountain.

‘BO!’

‘What’s wrong Darlin’?’

‘I’m up on the bypass coming into Hazzard on Iron Mountain and some nut is trying to run me off the road!’ Kira felt the truck lurch forward as the van rammed her. She struggled with the wheel trying to keep the truck on the road since that wasn’t a ditch off to the right side of the truck. And it was a long way down if she didn’t stay on the black top.

‘Hang on! Luke and me are on our way. Can you see who it is?’

‘No. He has on a mask. He’s drivin’ a white...’ Kira lost control of the wheel as she was spun toward the mountain-side, crushing the driver’s side door before the truck ricocheted off of the mountain and headed off the right-side of the road.

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