Well This Is Just Swell
Chapter 2 – Trouble for Bo
Bo sat in the passenger seat, relaxed, watching Sandy Mae drive. “You know, sweetheart, I am currently lookin’ for a date this Saturday for the spring dance,” he told her. She stopped the car, causing Bo to look around right fast; what he saw made him nervous. There were three other cars parked nearby, each with one of his girlfriends sitting on the hood.
“Out.” She told him as one of them got off a hood to come over. She opened the passenger door. He looked from her to Sandy Mae only to discover Sandy Mae had pulled a pistol out. “I said out.” She repeated.
Bo complied. “Now girls… what’s this all about?” he asked. “There’s plenty of me to go around….”
The other girls walked over. As Bo studied them, he noticed everything from crowbars to bats in their hands. His stomach sank.
“We don’t appreciate being played, Duke boy.” A redhead said to him. She had a crowbar in one hand and was tapping the other with it.
“You really thought you could get away with it, didn’t you?” a blonde said. She had a tire iron.
“Now girls, I can…”
“We ain’t girls. We’re women, ladies.” Sandy Mae said. “Ladies which you defiled.” She said.
“Can’t we talk about this?” Bo asked.
The brunette girl, who hadn’t spoken, hit Bo in the upper arm with a baseball bat. It started a free-for-all. Bo was beaten to the ground, refusing to hit any of the girls because that’s the way he was raised. He curled up in the fetal position as they beat him. Suddenly a gunshot rang out. “Alright girls, that’s enough.” Sandy Mae said. Bo was a bloody mess as he uncurled a little. He was breathing hard, fairly sure he had at least one broken rib, and possibly a broken wrist where he had tried to grab one of the weapons. “Playboy, you have until the count of five to make it to the tree line.” She said. Bo struggled to his feet and immediately moved toward safety. At the count of three another shot rang out and, in addition to the pain he already had, Bo felt a very sharp pain shoot through his right shoulder. He collapsed and the girls started laughing. “Oops, my bad,” Sandy Mae laughed.
“FREEZE!” the girls all froze, seeing Rosco emerge from the woods with Enos and Cletus. The farmer who owned the property had ‘no trespassing’ signs up, and had called the sheriff twenty minutes earlier when he saw the cars on his land. Rosco had been nearby at one of his favorite speed traps; Enos and Cletus had been on the other side of the property at another. “Cuff ‘em and stuff ‘em.” Rosco told his deputies as he knelt down to check on Bo. The wound was foaming a little, which wasn’t a good sign. He had a portable CB at his side which he picked up. “I need an ambulance on the Perry farm. One of the Duke boys has been shot!” he rolled Bo off his stomach to his side. “C’mon Bo, stay with me,” he said to him gently. “Deep breaths, boy.” Rosco didn’t dare move him any more than he already had.
“Rosco, this is Jesse Duke, what happened to my boy!?” the CB crackled.
“Jesse, this isn’t something to be discussed over the CB. The best thing you can do right now is meet the ambulance at Tri-County Emergency,” he replied. He took the shirt to his sheriff’s uniform off and applied it to the hole in Bo’s back, which elicited a groan from the boy. Enos came over, Cletus having taken the prisoners back toward the patrol cars. He too removed his shirt and handed it to Rosco, who applied it to Bo’s front.
Jesse, Daisy, and Luke arrived at the Emergency Room at the same time that the ambulance did. Jesse and Daisy had come across Luke on their way to the hospital. Bo was rushed straight into surgery.
Four hours later, a kind doctor came out, still in his surgical smock. “Family of Beauregard Duke?”
“That would be us.” Jesse said, getting up with his nephew and niece. “How’s my boy?”
The doctor looked around. The waiting room was empty but for the Dukes, so he decided to speak candidly. “Your boy is very lucky. The bullet was through and through so we didn’t have to locate it, which saved us time. The projectile passed through his lower right shoulder region which caused it to nick a lung, which we repaired. He also has several broken ribs, a broken right wrist, and a concussion.”
They weren’t ready to breathe a sigh of relief until they saw him. “We are moving him to a room now.” The doctor stated. “If you’ll come with me, I’ll show you the way.”
Bo was asleep when the Dukes arrived at the hospital room. He had been given some pretty powerful pain relievers which put him to sleep after he left recovery. The poor young man just couldn’t keep his eyes open. Luke and Daisy took seats on a small sofa that sat at the foot of the bed, and Uncle Jesse sat down next to Bo, at his bedside. He ran a hand through his blond hair which caused Bo to stir a little before settling back down. It caused the old man to give a sad smile. “It’s alright Bo, we’re here now,” he whispered. “Me, Luke, and Daisy.”
“Uncle Jesse,” Daisy said, “I’m going to go call the Davenports and Kendra.” Truth was, she didn’t like seeing her cousin in the condition he was in. His face was pretty bruised and cut up. The doctor hadn’t mentioned the stitches near his hairline.
Jesse nodded. “Why don’t you kids go get something to eat while you’re at it.” He said.
“I’m fine Uncle Jesse.” Luke stated. He kinda blamed himself for what had happened. If only he’d insisted on going with his cousin, this might have been prevented.
Jesse nodded again. He didn’t like Luke not eating, but he understood how his nephew was feeling. “Daisy, why don’t you bring something back for Luke?”
“Sure thing Uncle Jesse.” She said, then gave Luke’s shoulder a squeeze before leaving the room.
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