by: Susan Porter

Rosco Coltrane exited the home he had once shared with
his mother, his pet beagle Toodles, hugged to his
chest. Rosco was in a hurry. Once again he was late,
this time it was for an appointment with Doctor
Appleby, Jr. for his annual physical. He had
forgotten about it until his phone had rung a few
minutes before and a friendly voice, Appleby’s nurse,
reminded him of his forgetfulness.

Toodles bark brought Rosco to attention. At his feet,
he had nearly tripped over it, was a package wrapped
in brown paper. As he bent to pick it up he felt
something nick his ear. Irritably he flicked at it
as, nearby, a car back fired. The screams of a woman
across the street and the warm trickle of blood
alerted Rosco that he had been shot.

Putting a hand up to staunch the flow of blood, Rosco
quickly made his way to his car and drove himself to
the doctor’s office where he was met by his anxious
staff of auxiliary deputies.

“Did you see anything, Rosco?”

“Mrs. Murphy, the lady who lives across the street
from me, she was screaming when I left the house.
Daisy, could you go talk to her? Maybe she can help.”

When Daisy was gone and Bo and Luke had gone to
relieve Cletus and Cooter, Rosco and Enos, both
veteran lawmen, eyed each other uncomfortably. They
both knew the situation had just become much more
serious than they had anticipated. “Rosco, we have to
get them out of harms way. These guys are out to kill
us. Maybe we should consider calling in the FBI.”

Rosco shook his head. “We can’t do that, Enos. If we
were to call in the feds the first thing they would do
is call off the celebration. We have national media
coming in to cover the opening of the chest. I’m
hoping this will attract business. Hazzard needs
this, Enos.”

Enos sighed. Rosco was right. Hazzard needed all the
economic help it could get. “We’ve got to do
something, Rosco. I don’t want Daisy hurt.”

Rosco examined his repaired ear in the mirror,
wincing. “This sure hurts worse than it looks.
Enos,” he turned, “I don’t want to see civilians hurt
any more than you do. I agree that this has been
moved up a notch and that we need to do something.
But what? Tell them that we can handle this and that
they don’t need to serve as deputies anymore. That
should keep them out of the way.”

Enos shook his head, handing Rosco his hat. “You and
I both know the Duke’s aren’t going to quit helping
just because we ask them not to. No, we’re going to
have to draw those bad boys out. And we’re going to
need Bo and Luke’s help.”

“What about Daisy?”

Enos shook his head. “I want her out of this, Rosco.
Any way we have to.”

Rosco eased into the passenger seat of his patrol car,
allowing Enos to slip behind the wheel. “All right,
we’ll keep Daisy out of this. I can’t say I
particularly enjoy putting her in danger anyway.”

Meanwhile Daisy was interviewing a very frightened
Mrs. Murphy who had gotten a surprisingly good view of
what had happened. “I’ve never seen sucha terrible
thing in my life, Daisy! Someone shooting at Rosco!
Why, what are things coming to!”

“Did you see the man who shot at Rosco?”

“I should say I did! Got a good look at him when he
dropped that package off just before Rosco came out of
his house. Then, oh, he stood right on my sidewalk
and shot at poor Rosco…”

“He dropped off a package?”

“Yes, it’s still sitting there.” she nodded toward
Rosco’s front stoop where Toodles sat beside a small
plain wrapped package. “Oh, he was frightful looking
Daisy. And that gun, he just pulled it out of his
jacket pocket and shot!”

Keeping an eye on the package, Daisy tried to comfort
the frightened womnan. “What did he look like? Can
you remember any details?”

Mrs. Murphy chewed her bottom lip. “He was a tall
man, skinny. Dark hair, clean shaven, I think. He
was wearing jeans and a jean jacket. No hat. Oh, and
he had a scar on his face. Left cheek.” she ran her
finger down the length of her own cheek then shivered.

“Did you see where he went after he shot Rosco?”

“He got into a car and drove away toward town. I
think it was blue, maybe black. It was one of them
new sports cars.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Murphy.” Daisy patted the older
woman’s gnarled shaky hand. “You’ve been a great deal
of help.”

Mrs. Murphy’s keen eye, she had once been a school
teacher, caught the glint of Enos’ ring on Daisy’s
finger. “Is that what I think it is young lady?”

Daisy laughed uncomfortably. “Yes, ma’am. It’s an
engagement ring.”

“Enos?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Are you going to marry him this time or am I going to
have to return yet another wedding gift?”

“No, ma’am. This time I am going to marry Enos
Strate, nothing can stop me. I love him too much.”

“It’s about time, young lady. Your Uncle Jesse needs
some little ones around the house again, keeps a body
young. That’s why I still teach piano. Mark my
words, girl, that man will make you a fine husband.
And a good father. You take care of him.”

“Yes, ma’am. I will. Speaking of men, I’d better go
and check on Rosco.” she backed off the porch and
went to her patrol car, leaning in to get the c.b.
when she heard Mrs. Murphy call from her front porch
rocker.

“You will catch that awful man who shot Rosco, won’t
you?”

“Yes, ma’am. We’ll do our best.” she turned and
spoke into the hand unit. “This is Daisy calling
Rosco and any other deputies that might have their
ears on out there. I just talked to Mrs. Murphy and
she gave me a fair description of the man who shot
Rosco. The same man left a package on Rosco’s front
step. I’m going to get it right now. I’ll bring it
to the courthouse.”

“Daisy, this is Enos! Keep away from that package!
Rosco and I are on our way, we’ll handle it!”

“But, Enos, I’m right here, I can…”

“Do as I say, Daisy. You don’t know what’s in that
package.”

Fuming Daisy gripped the steering wheel, her anger
turning her knuckles white. Enos was treating her
like a child. She realized the danger that the
package posed and only meant to remove it from Rosco’s
neighborhood before anything further could happen.
But Enos wasn’t listening, he knew everything…

Rosco’s squad car pulled up in front of his house
followed by Cletus and Cooter in a separate patrol car
carrying a large metal box. Daisy sat in her car,
fuming, and watched as Enos and Cletus placed the
package in the box and carried it away from the house,
running to dive behind the car when the box rested on
the ground. The explosion that followed rocked the
box but left it intact. As the smoke cleared and the
others drew close to inspect it, Enos approached
Daisy’s car. Angrily she started the engine and put
the car into gear, revving the engine. “Daisy, I…”

“Save it, Enos. You already put me in my place.
Stupid Daisy, get herself blown up without you to
protect her.” she began to pull away but Enos stopped
her.

“Where are you going?”

“On patrol I’ll file my report on the shooter’s
description at the courthouse. Don’t worry, I won’t
mess that up!”

As she roared away, Enos stood in the middle of the
road, watching her as she disappeared in an angry
cloud of dust. If only she could know that he was
trying to portect her. “I love you, Daisy.” he
whispered before turning back to the men gathered
around the smoking metal box.

by: Susan Porter

That evening the entire Duke family spent time around
the dinner table, discussing the plans for Daisy’s
high school reunion and the opening of the Civil War
chest, both events having been scheduled to take place
at the same time. After dinner Bo and Luke went off
for their turn at duty guarding the chest while Enos
and Daisy did the dinner dishes and talked to Uncle
Jesse until the older man yawned widely and left the
younger ones to their fun. Enos wiped the last of the
dishes and looked over at Daisy who looked like she
hadn’t slept in days. “Why don’t you do out on the
porch and get some fresh air. I’ll finish here and
bring us some coffee.”

Daisy left the house, Sarge at her heels. The
crickets greeted her, breaking the stillness of the
evening. “Quite a guy, isn’t he?” she smiled,
reaching into her pocket and pulling out a cellophane
wrapped apple peel. She traced the S-shape with her
fingernail, remembering the words Enos had said to her
nearly one year before. “‘We belong to each other,
even fate says so. I’ll just have to wait til you
grow up.'”

“I’m grown up now, Enos.” she whispered.

“Did you say something, Daisy?” The screen door
opened and Enos emerged, two steaming cups of coffee
in his hands.

“Just talking to myself.” she accepted a cup from him
and took a sip, relaxing as she felt the caffeine
coarse through her system.

His eyes fell on the peel. “You kept it, the apple
peel, I mean.”

“Yes,” she nodded, smiling, “and I read your letters,
all 476 of them. They kept me company on cold winter
nights when I was missing you. Reading those letters
made me feel so close to you. I wish you had sent
those letters when you wrote them.”

“Would they have changed anything?” he set the porch
swing in motion, not looking at her.

“Yes, I think they would have. With each word, each
line, each letter, I missed you more. Loved you more.
Every line made me want to be closer to you. I’m
ready to be your wife now, Enos, if you still want
me.”

“I’ll always want you, Daisy, you know that. But are
you sure you’re ready?”

Daisy set her cup on the porch railing and crossed the
porch to kneel in front of Enos. She put her hand
over his and looked into his face. “Enos Strate, will
you marry me?”

“Daisy…”

She leaned her forehead against his. “Say yes, Enos.”

“Yes.”

Relief flooded Daisy’s face. She melted against him
blindly, her mouth seeking his. “I love you so much,
Enos Strate.”

He moved her to sit beside him on the swing, her legs
across his lap, her head resting on his chest. “I
love you too, Daisy Duke.” he laughed, a deep rumble
that vibrated against Daisy’s cheek. “It must be love
to make me willing to go through this a third time.”

Daisy laughed too. “We would have been married years
ago if it weren’t for your case of hives.”

His arm tightened around her. “No. Neither of us was
ready for marriage then.” He rested his chin on top
of her head, inhaling the honeyed scent of her hair.
He was thoughtfully silent for several minutes then,
“I have always loved you. That’s the reason I left
Hazzard and went to L.A.. I thought I could never
have you. I even told myself I could forget you. And
I tried, I really tried. But it wasn’t long before I
found myself comparing every woman I met to you. I
knew I had to try for your love. I bought your
engagement ring five years ago and I’ve been wearing
it on a chain around my neck. Speaking of which…”
he fumbled in the dark for a moment then dangled her
engagement ring in front of her. “I believe this is
yours.”

She gasped, “You told me you put that in a safety
deposit box.”

“I did. I got it out before I came to get you, hoping
that I could put it back on your finger where it
belongs.”

He slid the ring from the chain and onto the third
finger of her left hand, turned her hand over and
kissed her palm, sending shivers through her. “This
time, Daisy,” he whispered, “I won’t let you go.”

Daisy let out a harsh breath. “I’m counting on that.”

They sat in silence for several moments, his arms
securely around her, her cheek nestled against his
chest. He looked down at her, “Daisy?” and got only
a soft snore in response. Smiling, he stood with her
in his arms and carried her upstairs to her bed.
Covering her with an afghan he kissed her forehead and
told her, “I love you, Daisy. Goodnight.”

by: Susan Porter

When Daisy awoke the next morning she found herself
curled up in her own bed, an afghan covering her body.
The morning sun streaked across the room, kissing her
cheek. On her bedside table was a a note from Enos.

“Daisy, I’ve taken the General to the Capital city
airport to pick up Bo and Luke. We’ll be back about
eleven then we’ll go see Uncle Jesse. Love, Enos.
P.S. You’re beautiful, even in your sleep.”

Smiling, Daisy rose, showered, fixed herself a small
breakfast and was waiting on the front porch when the
General Lee pulled in, carrying Enos and the boys.
After quick hugs they left for the hospital, in two
cars, to check on their Uncle Jesse.

On arrival they found that Jesse Duke was with his
doctor so they were forced to wait until he tests were
finished. Once Jesse was back in his bed Rosco laid
out the problem he and Jesse had discussed two nights
before. He needed the Duke’s help.

“This is more than a celebration of those two
historians finding that Civil War chest at the bottom
of Hazzard Pond. Last month two of Boss Hogg’s former
partners, men Enos and I arrested, were released from
prison. Three days after their release, I got this in
the mail.”

He showed them the paper onto which letters had been
pasted, clearly a threat against Rosco, and Enos.
Luke examined the note, playing with the words.
“There’s something… familiar… about some of the
words. Almost as if they’re taunting you.”

Enos looked over Luke’s shoulder. “I got one of these
last week, I thought it was a crank. Police officers
tend to get them from time to time.”

“There’s something about a trunk here, could that be
the chest those two guys recovered?”

“That’s the only think I can figure. That’s why I
need your help, all of you.”

Rosco laid out the plan he and Jesse had discussed.
“Enos, I want to swear in you, Bo and Luke as Hazzard
County Auxiliary deputies, to guard the chest until
the ceremony. Jesse, Cooter, Cletus and I will try to
find the men who sent the threat.”

“What about me?” Daisy asked. “I want to be apart of
this too. And I was a Hazzard deputy once, don’t
forget.”

“Daisy, honey, this might be dangerous.” Enos warned.

“Yeah, Daisy, this sounds dangerous. Maybe you should
just…”

“Luke, if you don’t mind,” Enos spoke quietly, “this
is between me and Daisy. Honey, could I speak to you
a minute, alone?”

The two of them stepped out into the hall. “Enos…”

“Daisy, honey, you know I love you, and I would never
deny you anything you set your heart on, but this,
this is different. You could be putting your life in
danger.”

“I love you, too. But how could I be in danger if I
just take over patrol duties to free up Rosco and
Cletus?”

There was a light in her eye that told Enos she would
be doing her own investigating, but he knew that there
wasn’t a thing he could do to stop her. “All right,”
he nodded finally, “I won’t stand in your way if you
want to do this, but, it’s been a long time since you
were a deputy. If anything happens…”

“Nothing is going to happen to me.” she laid her hand
on his cheek, knowing she was getting her way. “Not
with my big, handsome guy to protect me.”

Enos smiled, knowing he was being buffaloed but also
knowing he could deny Daisy nothing. “All right,
honey.” he bent and kissed her mouth. “Damn but you
can talk me into anything.”

Arm in arm they reentered Jesse’s room. “All right,
we’ve talked it over and it’s okay with me if Daisy
gets a uniform and goes on patrol But no
investigating, right?”

Daisy smiled sweetly, fingers crossed behind her back.
“Right.”

by: Susan Porter

Rosco hugged Daisy when she end Enos entered the
Capital City hospital a hurried four hours later. His
eyes were red–rimmed and showed bags from lack of
sleep. “Daisy, Enos, I’m so glad you’re here. Jesse
scared me.”

“He scared us too. Rosco, are you all right? You
look dead on your feet.”

“Between trying to run the county, being sheriff,
spending time at the hospital and splitting farm
chores with Cooter I haven’t had much sleep. I was
due at a meeting… somewhere… ten minutes ago.
I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

As Rosco shuffled off Daisy and Enos exchanged uneasy
glances. Together they entered Uncle Jesse’s hospital
room and found him sitting up in bed, a tray of
half–eaten food in front of him. “How do these
people expect a body to eat food that can’t be
identified? Which is the meat, the brown stuff or the
tan stuff?”

Daisy smiled at Cooter as Enos spoke. “The brown
stuff is the meat, Uncle Jesse. the tan stuff is
supposed to be gravy.”

“Daisy! Enos! About time the two of you showed up!
I’m gettin’ tired of looking at Cooter and Rosco.”

daisy laughed at her uncle’s blustering then hugged
him. “There’s not a thing wrong with you, you had me
worried!”

“I would have been out of here and back at the farm
last night if those fool doctors didn’t insist on
running more tests. Now the nurses say I’ll be here
until tomorrow.”

“Now Uncle Jesse, Enos and I are here and Bo and Luke
are on their way. the time will fly by.”

“I got work to do at the farm.”

“Rosco and I have been doing your chores Uncle Jesse.”

“And now that we’re here,” Enos assured him, “we’ll
help too. You need to rest.”

*******************************************************

Several hours later Rosco returned to the hospital and
stayed until the night nurse came in and kicked them
out. Exchanging good nights they left Jesse to sleep,
Rosco to his office to finish paperwork, Cooter to the
Hazzard hotel and Enos and Daisy, with Sarge, returned
to the Duke farm where, working as a team, they
completed the night chores and prepared dinner.

Midway through dinner the phone rang. Daisy answered
it and listened for a few minutes, her expression
getting increasingly sour. When she hung up she
refused to face Enos, instead running out onto the
porch and hiding in the shadows. Enos followed her.

“Daisy, are you all right honey?”

Daisy looked up at Enos through tear swollen eyes.
“I’ll be all right in a minute. I guess the stress is
just getting to me.”

He moved to stand behind her, his hands massaging too
tense shoulders. “Tell me, maybe I can help.”

She leaned against him. ‘The call I just got was from
the university. They want me to write a paper for the
scientific journal. It would involve a lot of time
and research but it would also mean a lot of prestige.
The EPA wants me to do research for them, Uncle Jesse
needs me and to top all of that off, my ex–husband
called my attorney, he wants to get married again and
needs his alimony payments reduced.” she sighed.
“It’s been a long week.”

Enos was silent for a monet, massaging. “I know the
perfect stress reliever.” he said at last. “Wait
here for a minute.”

He disappeared into the house for a minute then
returned, dangling the keys to the General Lee. “Come
on, honey, let’s take a ride.”

Enos was mysteriously silent as he drove them through
the back roads of Hazzard and up to Blindman’s Bluff.
He pulled up to the cliff, turned on the radio and got
out of the car, beckoning for her to join him as he
lay back on the hood. Daisy lay beside him, her head
nestled against his shoulder, her eyes closed, her
breathing even. Enos had begun to think she was
asleep when she whispered, “So, when does this stress
relief begin?”

“As soon as you let it. Look out there, honey, the
way the stars shine on Hazzard Pond. It all looks so
calm, as if nothing in the world could disturb it.
It’s all so peaceful, Daisy. This is my favorite
place in the world, and now I’m sharing it with you,
the love of my life.”

Daisy smiled against his neck. “You’re right, it is
peaceful, but I don’t know what’s helping me more,
being here or being in your arms.”

Enos snuggled closer to her, kissing her forehead.
They were quiet as the night and the music from the
radio moved around them. Daisy was nearly asleep
against him when the disc jockey came on the radio and
announced, “This song goes out to our favorite couple,
Enos and Daisy who are out there somewhere tonight
falling in love all over again and, hopefully,
planning their wedding.”

“May I have this dance,
my you’re lookin’ pretty,
Is there somethin’ wrong
Did he leave you hurtin’,
I don’t mean to pry but
those tears in your eyes,
gave you away…”

Enos looked down at her, amused, “Shall we dance?”

She gave him her hand and allowed him to guide her
into the moves of a slow, intimate dance.

“You have
the right to remain silent,
anything you say as I hold you against me,
will forever remain a secret,
between us two.
I’ve been wanting you,
but you didn’t know it,
and now that he’s gone
at last I can show it…”

(The song is You Have the Right to Remain Silent by
Perfect Stranger)

by: Susan Porter

Rosco entered the dark hospital room and approached
the side of the bed, touching a sleeping Cooter on the
shoulder. “I’m back Cooter. Why don’t you go on out
to the farm and get some sleep?”

Cooter yawned and stretched. “What time is it?”

“Ten. I know I said I’d be here sooner but…”

“Did you get ahold of Daisy?”

Rosco shook his head. “There’s no answer at her
apartment and by the time I reached the university she
and Enos had already left.”

“I’ll page Enos from the farm. You’ll call if there’s
any change?”

Rosco nodded.

Silently they both eyed the older man lying peacefully
asleep on the sterile sheets. Jesse Duke’s heart
attack the previous afternoon had shocked them both.
Though his doctor had assured them both that the
attack had been mild and that Jesse wouldn’t suffer
any ill effects, Rosco and Cooter had been taking
shifts at the hospital, watching over him.

Trying to juggle the jobs of county commissioner and
sheriff was beginning to tell on Rosco. there were
heavy bags under his eyes and he was beginning to miss
appointments.

As Cooter left the room, Rosco sank to the chair that
Cooter had just vacated. “Jesse, I don’t know if you
can hear me, but, I’ve got a problem. Boss always
said that if I needed help…”

*******************************************************

When Daisy and Enos entered her apartment, Sarge was
at the door to greet them, running around and between
their feet, sniffing at Enos’ pant leg, wagging his
short tail furiously as he recognized his master’s
scent. Daisy laughed, eyeing the pup. “I think he
likes you.”

The pup circled and settled between them with a
contented sigh. “He seems happy.”

“He should be. He’s spoiled. He gets the best food,
all of my neighbors love him, and bring him presents.
He even gets to sleep with me in my bed.”

“Lucky dog.”

The sensual undertone of his voice made Daisy’s breath
catch in her throat. She looked up into his eyes,
reading their silent message. “Enos…”

He put his arms around her waist, drawing her to him.
His mouth hovered over hers, “I love you, Daisy Duke.”

Daisy’s heart raced as she draped her arms around his
neck. “I love you too, Enos Strate.”

As her lips blindly sought his, the pager clipped to
Enos’ belt started to beep. reluctantly he pulled
away from her, sighing, “Why don’t you get your things
ready and put Sarge in his carrier while I answer
this.” he moved toward her phone, reading the number.
“It’s Uncle Jesse.” he called to her as she moved
into her bedroom to retrieve her luggage.

“Cooter? It’s Enos. Are you staying with Uncle
Jesse?”

“Not exactly. Where are you? Is Daisy with you?”

“Yeah, we’re still at Daisy’s apartment. I figure we
should be in Hazzard before nightfall. Cooter, is
something wrong?”

“Enos, I’m glad you’re with Daisy. She can lean on
you and you can get her home in one piece. Enos,
Uncle Jesse is in the hospital. He had a heart attack
yesterday.”

Enos heart skipped a beat. “Is it serious?”

“It was relatively mild but he’s gonna need us for a
while. Bo and Luke are on their way but they won’t be
here until tomorrow morning. Rosco and I have been
taking turns with him.”

“We’re on our way, Cooter.” Out of the corner of his
eye, Enos saw Daisy in the kitchen, coaxing Sarge into
his carrier. “Take care of him.” he said quietly
before hanging up.

“Is Cooter staying at the farm?”

“In a manner of speaking.” he reached for her hand.
“Sit down a minute, hon. I have something I have to
tell you.”

Daisy sank to the sofa beside him, trying to read his
expression. “What’s wrong Enos?”

“Honey, Uncle Jesse had a heart attack. He’s in the
hospital. Rosco and Cooter are with him.”

Tears melted down her cheeks. “Bo and Luke…”

“Are on their way but they won’t be in until tomorrow.
The attack was mild Daisy, he’s gonna be okay.”

He rocked her in his arms as she cried. After several
minutes he forced himself to hold her at arms length.
They had to leave. “Daisy, we have to leave now if we
want to get home in time to see Uncle Jesse.”

She nodded, sniffing as she dried her tears. “Take me
home, Enos. Uncle Jesse needs me.”

As she moved around the apartment, gathering the last
of her things, and Sarge’s, Enos’ eyes followed her.
Sighing, “I need you too, Daisy.”