by: WENN9366 (EnosIsMyHero)

Chapter 19: Questions & Answers

 

Daisy knelt down in front of him, her eyes shining. “Enos Strate, what do you think?”

He looked nervously at her. “Honestly Daisy, if it’s all th’ same t’ you, I’d rather just hear ya’ say it than t’ guess.”

She wrapped her arms around him. “Yes, Enos. I want nothin’ more than t’ marry you.”

“Oh Daisy..,” he whispered. He held her tight, slightly dazed over the fact that she’d had agreed to marry him. In truth, he’d been afraid she might have said she wasn’t ready, or that heaven forbid her last experience would have put her off the idea forever. He’d had to try though, had to know where things stood between them because he honestly didn’t know how much longer he could stand only seeing her haphazardly through the week. He wanted her to be there when he went to sleep at night and woke up in the morning…and other things which he kept failing miserably at not thinking about.

“Enos…”

“Yeah?”

“Is this gonna give you th’ hives?”

He laughed and let her go. “Shoot Daisy, I plum forgot about that. Turned out it wasn’t you that gave me th’ hives after all.”

“Well if it wasn’t th’ thought of us gettin’ married, then what was it?”

“Well, it happened t’ me again out in California, – th’ hives thing that is, not th’ gettin’ married part. I’d been chasin’ this drug dealer through a nature preserve there, just a big swamp mostly, an’ by th’ time I caught him I was soaked to th’ bone. Th’ next day ya’ couldn’t see me for th’ hives.”

“What does that have t’ do with us almost gettin’ married?”

“‘Remember when ya’ asked me, an’ I almost fell outta th’ boat? Th’ doc there in L.A. said it’s some sort of algae that I’m allergic to. Reckon it must be in Hazzard Pond, too.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” she grinned. She got up from where she still knelt with him to sit on the hood of the General Lee, still warm from their drive. Enos took off his gun belt and set it in the car, then turned on the Charger’s lights and took a seat next to her. The sun was nearly down, and the last of the light fading from the tops of the hills. Daisy shivered as the wind blew across them.

He noticed and took off his coat, putting it around her shoulders. “I’m sorry for keepin’ ya’ out here when it’s gettin’ cold. We can go if ya’ want.”

“Oh, no, that’s alright. There’s no one at home anyway. I should’ve brought my jacket. I forget it’s still winter when it’s so warm during th’ day.” She glanced at the uniform he was still wearing. “You’re gonna get cold, though.”

“Shucks, Daisy. I ain’t never cold when you’re around.” She laughed, and he turned towards her, frowning. “That didn’t sound right.”

“Oh, so it’s not true?”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t true,” he said, self-consciously. “It just wasn’t what I meant t’ say.”

Daisy couldn’t resist teasing him. “Oh Enos, I’m sure there were plenty of girls out there in Los Angeles that coulda kept ya’ warm.”

“Why?” he laughed, knowing she was just trying to pester him. “‘Cause I was a detective for LAPD? Come on now, Daisy. How many’d still be around when they found out I’d rather be a hick cop and go fishin’ on Saturdays?”

“Well, I’m real glad they’re not.”

“‘Sides, ain’t a one of ’em could hold a candle t’ you, Daisy,” he said, quietly. “Ya’ don’t know how miserable I was tryin’ t’ convince myself t’ forget ya’. Th’ harder I tried, th’ more I missed ya’, an’ every night I’d dream I’s back in Hazzard.”

She closed her eyes, wishing she could take back what she’d done to make him leave. Just the thought of Enos trying to forget her and Hazzard was enough to break her heart. “No one woulda blamed you if you’d moved on, Enos. ‘Specially not after what I did t’ you.”

He looked out, into the dark beyond the hazy beams of the headlights, and Daisy got the feeling his mind was far away, seeing something else entirely.

“Why’d you wait for me?” she asked, honestly not knowing the answer.

He turned and put his arm around her, and she rested her head against his shoulder. They sat there in silence until Daisy began to worry that perhaps he couldn’t think of a good reason at all.

“Daisy,” he said finally, with a sigh, “that’s not somethin’ that I can tell ya’ in fifty words or less, ’cause I’ve loved ya’ longer than I’ve known what love is. When we was kids, wasn’t nothin’ I couldn’t do as long as you were with me. An’ y’ always knew just what t’ say…or what not t’ say.”

In those dark days after his father had died, it seemed everyone had thought they’d known what to say to him – to a fifteen year old boy who suddenly found himself in the position of being the man of his family. Everyone except Daisy. He didn’t know if she’d still ever mentioned what had happened, but she’d been there through it all while he’d struggled to work it out on his own.

“I don’t know if I woulda made it through my fifteenth year without y’ there.” She raised her head from his shoulder and sat back so she could see him. “You spent a year’s wortha hours an’ a decade’s wortha patience on me when I didn’t have any for anyone, an’ I know it couldn’a been easy on ya’. There were times when I felt like you were th’ only thing I had keepin’ me tied to th’ world.” He caught a lock of her hair and twirled it absently around his fingers as he spoke, a new habit he’d picked up to substitute for fidgeting.

She shook her head sadly. “But I never even said anything, Enos. All that time, I knew you were hurtin’ so much, an’ I’d lie awake at night wishin’ I could do somethin’ t’ make it better.”

His fingers stilled, and he looked up into her eyes. “But ya’ did, Daisy,” he said, confused. “Didn’t ya’ know that? An’ I could pick a thousan’ more reasons why I love you. But I took ya’ for granted all those years, an’ I thought nothin’ would ever change. Then I came back from th’ Academy an’ somethin’ was broke between us.”

“That wasn’t your fault.”

“Why didn’t ya’ just tell me, forevermore?”

“I don’t know, Enos. Honestly, every reason I have sounds like I’m scrapin’ th’ bottom of th’ barrel. We were both just kids, and at first I thought you’d tease me about it, so I played it off like I was just kiddin’. Then it got t’ be where it’d gone on for so long, I didn’t rightly know how t’ tell ya’,” she said. “I almost did once, though…when Norman Willis was after me, an’ I had t’ stay th’ night with you.”

Regardless of what he remembered about that night, she’d never quite forgotten it – or what it had felt like to go to sleep wearing his shirt and wake up in his bed…without him in it, of course. She hadn’t been able to stop herself from imagining was real, just for a little while. It had been a strange, almost painful thing to watch him walk away from her that next morning, knowing the ruse was over, but in the end she couldn’t make herself tell him what was in her heart. Perhaps, she thought, he wouldn’t of believed her anyway.

“I always wondered about that…,” he said dismayed. “When you called me back.”

“I didn’t want ya’ t’ leave.”

Enos could only imagine how different that day could have turned out if she’d only told him the truth then. He’d noticed something different about her that morning, and when she’d called him back and walked over to him, he’d thought until the very last second that she was going to kiss him on the lips instead of the cheek…something that he shared a love-hate relationship with. Loved them for what they were, hated them for what he believed they were not – which was the reason he’d never kissed her back. But now, tonight, it was different – a million light years away from that room and the longing that had hung unspoken and unshared between them.

“If you’d told me th’ truth, maybe I wouldn’t’ve,” he told her. ” I always thought ya’ were just joshin’ me, but ya’ dang near ’bout drove me crazy sometimes. If I’d…” He stopped short at the look on her face. “What?”

Daisy slid off the car to stand in front of where he sat. Her body blocked the light from that side’s headlamp, silhouetting her against the misty beams that spread out behind her – like an angel of darkness in the moonlight. His heart skipped a beat because she couldn’t know how so very alluring she looked, nor could she feel the fire that started where her hands rested just above his knees as she leaned forward and whispered to him.

“Enos…do I still drive ya’ crazy?”

He couldn’t hold back the nervous laugh that escaped him before his body recovered from it’s initial shock. His fingers tangled in her hair as his lips found hers in the darkness, and he kissed her hard – his mind spinning with all the years he’d ached for her and the desire he’d so carefully concealed for so long.

Daisy, who’d only meant to tease, found herself swept up in Enos’s passion. She realized how very wrong she’d been to think that a kiss was nothing more than a trifle – to be given away on a whim to any guy who came along, as she drowned in a yearning more boundless and deep than anything she’d ever known. A love lain in wait – biding its time for only her.

He stood, sliding from the car and drawing her closer into his arms. Time stretched away into nothing, as their past collided with their present, as though every kiss was fueled by a separate memory. She pulled his shirt loose from where it was tucked in, feeling his breath catch as she slid her hands up under it, over his chest, so lost in him she didn’t even feel them falling, until she collapsed with him underneath her, cushioning her from the gravel.

She felt him still, but she could tell from his heart racing beneath her fingers that he was anything but calm as he sat up and broke their kiss. Face to face, she saw the panic in his hazel eyes, and with a horrible premonition, she knew what he was going to say.

“Daisy,” he whispered, his breaths ragged and uneven, “Daisy…I’m s-”

Daisy clapped her hand over his mouth. “No, please don’t say it,” she pleaded. “You’ll break my heart if you tell me you’re sorry.”

Enos closed his eyes, torn between the fear of having acted upon what he’d kept hidden for so long and the longing for more. His introspection was shattered by her voice, whispering in his ear, telling him she loved him, unknowingly pushing him further towards the edge of what self-control he still possessed. He took a deep breath and forced himself to focus on something else – on the cold, for it was cold now that the sun had set completely and the wind blew over the hills from the north, and the gravel his hands rested upon. He opened his eyes to find Daisy watching him, no doubt worried that he might yet say what he had been going to say before she stopped him. She should know though, that he could never break her heart – even if he felt he should apologize for his behavior.

Instead he put his arms back around her and hugged her, hardly daring to believe that three weeks ago, he’d still been in L.A. It would have been Thursday, January 19th – the day before Daisy disappeared. He thought back over all that had happened since then…and all that could have played out so differently, not only finding her at all, but the night at the cabin. What if she’d never said anything while she thought he was sleeping? They could have very well gone the rest of their lives believing that what they both wanted could never be.

“Ya’ know, we don’t have t’ stay here t’ be alone,” she said, softly. “There ain’t no one at th’ farm tonight.”

He sat back and gave her a long look. “Maybe I oughta stay somewhere else.”

Daisy leaned forward and kissed him gently. “Maybe ya’ oughta take me home.”

 

Enos noticed right before he climbed into the car that the headlights had noticeably dimmed since he’d turned them on, and since he’d lost all track of time, he had no idea how long ago that was.

“I hope th’ battery ain’t dead,” he told her, “or else we’re gonna be walkin’ home.”

He turned off the General Lee’s lights before he turned the key. It cranked once, sluggishly, and then again. His eyes met Daisy’s as they waited nervously. On the fourth try, the engine finally turned over and roared to life. She laughed.

“It ain’t funny,” he complained. “Five more minutes an’ we woulda been walkin’.” He backed the car up and spun it around, heading back down Ridge Road. “See now, you’re pickin’ up right where ya’ left off when we was in school.”

“What’re you talkin’ about?”

“Shoot Daisy, you was always gettin’ me in trouble.” He didn’t hear what she said in response, his attention was diverted by a car, less than a half mile ahead of them. By the random movement of it’s headlights, he could tell the driver either wasn’t paying attention or was drunk, and being that they were driving through the heart of moonshine territory, his bet was on the latter.

“Daisy, fasten your seatbelt.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Gosh dang, Daisy, just do it!”

“Okay, okay…” A ‘click’ sounded as she fastened the lap-belt.

He flicked the lights onto the bright setting for a moment, illuminating both sides of the road in front of them. Any other road in Hazzard and it wouldn’t be as big a deal, even if they had to run off into the ditch. Any other road but this one – with one side a hill even the General Lee couldn’t climb and the other side a sheer drop-off into oblivion. He could just make out a turn off ahead, between him and the other car whose lights still wandered crazily back and forth.

It was like one of those damned math problems he’d always hated…th’ ones where you had one car traveling north at 55 mph and one car traveling south at 35 mph and you were supposed to figure out where the blamed things were gonna meet. He’d been cocky one time and written “They don’t ’cause the smart one turned around first before they got there” – for which he’d received an ‘F’ and a couple whacks on the backside.

“Enos…,” Daisy noticed the car in front seemed to be swerving quite a bit. “Enos, th’ car…”

“Yeah, I know, I see it, but there ain’t nowhere t’ go. Hold on…”

He down-shifted and floored it, knowing the only hope of coming out unscathed was to try and make it to the turn-off before the other car. The Charger surged ahead, and Enos struggled to keep one eye on the car in front of them and another on his escape route. Three hundred feet, 200, 100, 50… The other car swerved, but the wrong way and back into their lane. Lights exploded in his vision as he cut the car hard to the right, and Daisy’s scream was the last thing he heard before the crunch of metal…

 

by: WENN9366 (EnosIsMyHero)

Chapter 18: I Can’t Drive 55

 

Warning: This chapter contains fluff. You have been warned.

 

Daisy and Enos hadn’t seen much of each other in the days after he returned, not from lack of wanting to, but Rosco had decided that if Enos wanted his old job back so much, he could work Friday to the next Wednesday from sunup to sundown. Enos had moved out of the guest room at the Duke farm and back into town to be closer to the Police Station. All the apartments at the boarding house where he’d lived before were taken, so he’d rented the room above Jake’s Garage – even though having tires beside his bed drove him batty – until he could find something else.

During the day he had patrol duty, which amounted to sitting in the middle of nowhere in his car, waiting for some unsuspecting speeder to come through. Problem was, everyone in Hazzard knew all the speed traps so on Saturday, Rosco had stuck him all the way out on Eagle Rock Road. He hadn’t seen but one vehicle the entire day, save ol’ Ben Hanson on his tractor who lived two miles up the road.

Even his nights were spent working. On Friday evening he discovered that no one had apparently been filing anything since he’d left to go to L.A. years before. It took him working till the wee hours of the morning both Friday and Saturday nights to catch up on it. On Sunday evening, Charlie Adam’s cat got stuck in a drainpipe and it took Enos five hours and three cans of sardines to coax her out.

Monday morning, he backed his patrol car into the speed trap at Eagle Rock at 7:00am and settled in for another long and uneventful morning and afternoon. He’d been woolgathering for nearly two hours when an idea – a horribly brilliant and devious idea entered his mind. He spent the next two hours trying to convince himself to forget it, but bolstered by mind-boggling boredom and having not seen a car in four hours, he eventually gave up on that account and spent the last hour before lunch working up the courage to do it.

“What are you grinnin’ about?” teased Daisy as she watched him eat his lunch at the Boar’s Nest.

He laughed nervously. “Nothin’. Just thinkin’…”

She leaned over the bar, resting her chin on her elbows. “What’cha thinkin’ ’bout?”

He blushed, finding it difficult to keep his eyes on her face. “Thinkin’ about how gosh awful boring it is out on Eagle Rock Road.”

“Is that where Rosco’s got you set up? There’s nothin’ but cows on that road!”

“I saw a tractor yesterday,” he amended. “Say, you get off at three don’tcha?”

She looked at him sadly. “Yeah. Ya’ know, it’s not fair Rosco makin’ you work six days straight day an’ night, Enos. You look like ya’ could sleep for a week.”

“Ah, it’s alright, Daisy. He ain’t had a break in a while anyway just bein’ him an’ Cletus. I reckon it’s th’ least I can do for him givin’ me my job back on no notice.”

She smiled and shook her head. “You’re too sweet, you know that? …I miss you, though,” she said, softly.

He smiled at her, not his typical smile, but one that gave her the distinct impression that Enos Strate was up to something, however unlikely that usually was.

“I’ve gotta get back t’ work.” He slid the tip he normally left her across the bar to her fingers, his eyes catching hers. “Don’t speed down Eagle Rock Road on your way home,” he said, quietly, “or I’ll have t’ pull y’over.” She looked at him, confused, since Eagle Rock wasn’t on her way home. “See ya’ later, Daisy.” He picked up his hat and left the Boar’s Nest.

Daisy wasn’t sure what to make of what he’d said until she looked at the tip he’d given her. On pay day’s he’d always tipped her five dollars, which was more than his meal came to and other days he left two. He’d passed her a twenty dollar bill. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized what he wanted her to do – twenty dollars was the price of a Hazzard speeding ticket.

 

The hours rolled slowly by as Enos waited at his speed trap. Part of him was having trouble coming to grips with the fact that he’d asked Daisy to break the law in order to see her today. Not only that, but he was on duty, and if Rosco found out, he was libel to be working down with the spiders in the records room for the next six months. The other parts of himself were too wrapped up in feeling giddy and nervous to think about much at all.

Of course, he supposed, she might just think he was kidding or not take the hint. It certainly wasn’t something anyone would imagine him doing – of course no one knew what he’d thought about while waiting at Hazzard speed traps for all those years, either. He honestly couldn’t remember a time when he’d pulled Daisy over unless Rosco or Boss had told him to…it was just a little too close to his daydreams to be comfortable with. He checked his watch – 2:55pm.

 

Like clockwork, Bo and Luke stepped into the Boar’s Nest right before 3:00 pm.

“Hey boys,” said Daisy, bringing them each a beer. “I’m outta here. I’ll see ya’ at home later.”

She threw her jacket on, even though it was warm enough again today not to need it and hopped into Dixie. Her heart raced as she started the Jeep’s engine and drove out onto Mill Road in the direction on home. She followed it all the way past Stillson Canyon but instead of continuing straight towards the farm, she turned off to the right down Eagle Rock Road. There was no telling where Enos would be parked since this wasn’t a normal speed trap out here, so she floored it.

 

Enos gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white as he watched the empty road in front of him. Nothing. His nerves made him feel slightly nauseous, and he began to think just maybe this really had been a dim-witted idea when Dixie suddenly tore past him doing well over the speed limit. His heart seemed to stop as he pulled Hazzard #2 out behind it and turned his lights on.

Daisy didn’t pull over, but kept going past the turn off for Canyon Springs, down to where Eagle Rock turned into Jimson Lane. She took a side road off that split off to the left and Enos knew she was headed to the small pond at the end of it. Two miles later, the Jeep skidded to a halt at the edge of the water, and he pulled the patrol car pulled up behind her, blocking her in, and flipped the lights off.

For a long moment he couldn’t move, temporarily stunned at what he had done.

He forced himself to take a deep breath and open the door. There would be no one around for miles, he knew. There weren’t any fish in Jimson Hollow or nearby Quarry Lake to lure anyone out this far and the scenery wasn’t great either. Daisy had put the top and doors back on Dixie for the winter, but he caught her reflection in the Jeep’s side view mirror and schooled his features to look as serious as he possibly could.

Daisy watched him in the mirror as Enos nonchalantly got out his car and made his way around to the Jeep, looking for all the world like he’d never planned it all out. She leaned on the door as he came up to her side and tried her best not to giggle. “Hi there, officer,” she said. “Is there a problem?”

“Ma’am, do ya’ know how fast you were goin’?” he asked, straight-faced.

“No, I wasn’t payin’ a bit of attention, How fast was I goin’?”

He frowned. “Shucks, I forgot t’ look. I’m gonna have t’ ask ya’ t’ step outta th’ vehicle.”

“Oh sure, no problem.” Daisy climbed out out of the Jeep, and followed Enos as he walked back to his patrol car and grabbed the ticket he’d already written out off the dash.

“Here ya’ go,” he said, handing it to her. “I’ll be at th’ station tomorrow mornin’ an’ you can come by an’ pay me…uh, pay th’ ticket.”

“Is there anything else I can do for you?”

She saw him fight back a grin as he put his hands on her waist and hoisted her up to sit on the hood of the patrol car. “You also tried’ t’ evade an officer of th’ law. Got somethin’ t’ say for yourself?

“Oh, I’m definitely not guilty of that.” Daisy took his hat from his head and set it gently beside her.

“An’ theft of property,” he added, stepping up close to her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ll have t’ do community serv…” was as far as she got before he kissed her.

In everything else, his demeanor had always been patient and reserved, but in Daisy’s arms it was as though all the years of waiting and wanting washed over him, and he could think of nothing else but loving her. Some people had vices, addictions that ruled their every thought and action – Daisy was Enos’s, and he craved her lips on his, and her hands in his hair, and her arms around him – and he found having a little only made him want more. Neither of them heard Rosco calling him on the CB for several minutes.

“Enos!” Enos’s eyes flew open. “Enos, you knuckle-headed dipstick, where th’ heck are you?” yelled the Sheriff.

Enos tried to pull himself away from Daisy, and would have fallen over if she hadn’t still had her arms around him. For a split second, he thought he’d been caught and that Rosco was actually behind him.

“Enos,” said Daisy, “it’s your CB.”

“If you’re asleep on th’ job, boy, I’m gonna stick ya’ in th’ records room ’till you’re old an’ gray!”

Enos grabbed the CB from his car, cleared his throat, and took a deep breath. “Hey there, Sheriff. This is Enos. Were you callin’ me? Over.”

“You numb-skull! I’ve been callin’ ya’ for five minutes.”

“Sorry, sir. I was uh…outta th’ car for a bit.”

“Doin’ what?”

“Well sir, there are things ya’ just don’t do in a patrol car,” said Enos, enigmatically. Daisy nearly fell off the car, doubled over in silent laughter. “Did ya’ need somethin’?” He asked the Sheriff, grinning back at her.

“Tilly Smith says she’s hearin’ funny sounds in her chimney. She thinks it’s th’ ghost of her husband, an’ I ain’t got time for that crazy ol’ bat right now. I need ya’ t’ go an’ check it out.”

“Uh, sure thing, Sheriff. I’ll be right there. Over an’ out.” Enos tossed the CB haphazardly back through the open window of the car and returned to where Daisy still sat, waiting for him. “Sorry, Daisy,” he sighed. “Guess I’ve gotta get. Thanks for vis’tin’ my speed trap, though.”

She grinned at him. “I feel like I’m a teenager, sneakin’ around like this. I keep waitin’ for Uncle Jesse t’ show up an’ drag me home.” She picked up his hat and set it back on his head.

“You’re welcome t’ tell ever’body whenever ya’ want.” he said. He wasn’t sure how it had happened that way in the first place – the not telling anyone bit, though it was kind of fun sneaking around.

“I’m sure they’ll figure it out on their own, Sugar.” She brushed his cheek with the back of her fingers. “We used t’ sneak around all th’ time when we were kids.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Hmm…somehow I remember less kissin’ an’ more fishin’.”

“Really?” she smirked. “I know for a fact you went parkin’ once with Amy McCollum.”

Amy had always been head over heels for him, but other than being friends, he could have cared less about her. “Now Daisy, you know good an’ well that ain’t true. She just happened t’ have car trouble down at ‘Cory Canyon an’ I was th’ only one she knew t’ call.”

That night had been nearly fifteen years ago, but she talked like it had been the day before. He’d never told her or anyone else what had really happened, only that Amy had a loose battery cable that he’d fixed and left, but in truth, that was the night he’d made his choice. He’d politely declined her offer and walked away, knowing that Amy wasn’t the one he wanted.

“You sure that’s all that happen’d?”

Something in the way Daisy asked him struck Enos as strange. When it had happened, she’d teased him about it, and he remembered getting the impression that she hadn’t cared one way or the other. She wasn’t teasing anymore, though. Her cheeks were stained by a faint blush, her eyes cast down away from his, and he realized that this was how the conversation should have gone all those years ago. He was finally seeing her honest reaction, and he wondered – surely she hadn’t been jealous or thought that he…

“No, Daisy, that’s not all that happened,” he answered, quietly. She looked back up at him, and he knew he was right about what she’d thought. “I made a choice that night…an’ I chose you.” He smiled sadly at her. “And if you’d asked me about it when it happened instead of actin’ like ya’ didn’t care, I just might of told you that.” She put her arms around him and he hugged her, wondering how many other things she’d kept inside all these years.

“I’m sorry, Enos. I…just, I was afraid to know the truth. Didn’t know how t’ ask ya’ anyway.”

He shook his head and sighed. “Aren’t we a pair? I could always tell ya’ how I felt, but I was too scared t’ show ya’, an’ you were always flirtin’ with me and never told me how ya’ felt.”

She leaned back and took his face in her hands as he looked down at her. “I love you, Enos Strate.”

“I love you, too, Daisy Duke,” he answered, giving her a quick kiss. “…but if I don’t get back, Rosco’s libel t’ kill me.”

“Okay,” she laughed.

“Thursday evenin’, there’s somewhere I want t’ take ya’.”

“Where?”

“You’ll see.”

 

Wednesdsay afternoon, Luke walked into Jake’s garage, mainly waisting time and looking to see if Cooter was still around. He found both of them hunched over the engine of Enos’s Javelin, arguing about air flow and carburetors.

“Hey y’all. What’s wrong with Enos’s car?”

Both men turned to look at him. “Oh, hey Luke. Ain’t nothin’ wrong, far as I can tell,” said Cooter. “In fact, me an’ Jake were just admirin’ it.”

Luke glanced at the mismatched primer panels and dented, rusty chrome. “I’m gonna take it y’aint talkin’ about th’ outside.”

Cooter waved that aside. “Ain’t you never heard beauty’s on th’ inside? Naw, shucks, whoever rebuilt th’ engine didn’t spare no expense, that’s fer sure. How much you say Enos gave for this?”

“I think he said $400.”

Jake looked like he might piss his pants. “Gosh dang, Cooter,” he said, “th’ engine alone’s worth a couple grand!”

“Man, Enos’s one lucky SOB.”

An idea struck Luke. “Say, Jake, Cooter…how long do ya’ think it’d take to fix th’ rest of it up?”

Cooter shrugged. “Well, pretty much ever’thing but the engine’s had th’ tar beat outta it. Needs a new suspension, exhaust, re-chromed, all that good stuff. A couple weeks. Why?”

Luke smiled. “If we all pitched in, think we could get it done by Friday?”

Cooter looked at him like he’d gone completely off his rocker. “Friday! …No, huh-uh. I ain’t spending another 48 hours like we did on th’ General puttin’ him together.”

“Now, just hear me out, Cooter. I know it was hard work, but me, Bo, Daisy, an’ Uncle Jesse have been tryin’ t’ come up with some way we can thank Enos for all he did savin’ Daisy. This’d be th’ perfect thing. Poor Enos ain’t had a decent car all his life.”

“Well, yeah, I know…but…”

“Come on, Cooter. You’re leavin’ Friday. It’s th’ least we can do.”

“Oh, alright,” he sighed, knowing himself for the pushover he was. “I guess one last Hurrah before I go back to th’ stiffs in Washington might do me good.”

Luke patted him on the back. “Thanks Cooter, I’ll let everyone know.”

“Well, now, just hold on a minute. How’re we gonna go bangin’ around on Enos’s car here when he’s stayin’ upstairs?”

“Well, Rosco’s got him workin’ late again tonight so he won’t be here until after dark. We’ll just do the parts he won’t notice first.”

Luke called Daisy, Bo, and Uncle Jesse to meet him over at the garage and filled them in on the plan.

“Oh Luke!” cried Daisy “That’s a great idea! Enos ‘ll be thrilled.”

“Well now,” said Uncle Jesse, “I can help ya’ tonight, but I promised t’ pay Holly Comfurt an’ her family a visit on Thursday an’ I won’t be back ’till Friday afternoon.”

“What’re we standin’ around for?” asked Bo. “Cooter, hand me a screwdriver an’ I’ll start takin’ off th’ trim.”

They had about five hours worth of work time before Daisy, down the road in Jake’s car, radioed them shortly after 11:00pm to let them know Enos was on his way. Everyone stopped what they were doing and found somewhere to hide while Jake flipped off the lights. Enos used the outer stairs to enter the loft and was asleep the minute his head hit the pillow, and the work downstairs resumed…quietly. By noon on Thursday, they had finished everything except the paint and trim.

“Jake” said Bo, looking through paint cans, “Please tell us you have somethin’ besides orange around here t’ paint a car with.”

“Oh, yeah,” he replied, “some new company sent me a couple sample cans. I think I put ’em over here.” He rummaged around in the corner under some metal signs. “Hey, here we go. There should be plenty.”

“There’s only one problem, y’all,” said Cooter.

“What’s that?” asked Luke.

“There ain’t no way Enos can sleep here while we’re paintin’ his car. It’s loud an’ it smells horrible.”

“Well, we’ll come up with somethin’. Say Daisy…”

“Yeah Luke?”

“Why don’t you pick up Enos when he gets off of work? I’ll give him a call and let him know he’ll need t’ stay out at th’ farm.”

“Sure thing. He’s gonna want his car when he gets off work, though.”

Bo tossed her his keys. “Here, tell him he can drive th’ General, just keep him away from Jake’s.”

Daisy pocketed the keys and grinned. “Don’t worry y’all, I’ll keep him outta here. You boys want me t’ leave th’ porch light on for ya’ if you’re gettin’ back late?”

“Ah, naw, don’t worry about it,” said Bo. “You’re gonna have th’ General anyways. Me an’ Luke ‘ll just crash over at Jakes an’ you can come by an’ get us in th’ mornin’.”

Daisy stared at Bo. “Um…oh…okay. I’ll get you in th’ mornin then,” she said. “I’m gonna go wait on Enos.”

Luke picked up the phone and dialed the Sheriff’s Department.

 

Enos walked out of the Courthouse at 5:00 that afternoon and breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a long, long week, ending with a strange phone call from Luke letting him know that he and Bo were going be helping Jake out with some project tonight and that he’d be better off staying out at the farm than sleeping above all the racket. Not only that, but apparently his car was trapped behind all the mess so Daisy was picking him up in the General Lee. It all sounded a bit squirrelly to him.

He walked down the steps to where the orange Charger was waiting on him, and climbed through the passenger’s side window into the car.

“Hey Enos.”

“Hey yourself, Daisy,” he said, setting his hat on the back seat. “What’s goin’ on? Luke called an’ said I needed t’ stay out at th’ farm.”

“Yeah, they’ve got something they’re workin’ on with Jake an’ Cooter. Trust me, you wouldn’t get a wink of sleep with all their racket.”

He smiled knowingly at her. “An’ your job is t’ keep me away from there?”

Gone were the days when they could pull anything over on Enos. The man had learned somewhere along the way to read between the lines. “Are you gonna quit worrying an’ askin’ questions or would ya’ rather Bo keep you company instead?”

“Shucks Daisy, I didn’t mean nothin’ by it. I need t’ get somethin’ there first, though.”

“I’ll drop you by, but use th’ outside stairs.” She drove around to the other side of the square and Enos got out and went up to the loft. He wasn’t gone for more than a minute when he came back down to the car and leaned down to the driver’s side window.

“I’d be much obliged if you’d let me drive.”

Daisy laughed and climbed out the window, but held the keys behind her back.

He held out his hand. “Keys.”

She grinned up at him. “For a kiss.”

“Ya’ know, Cooter’s lookin’ out th’ window.”

“So?”

So he took her face in his hands and kissed her lingeringly.

 

Cooter, who just happened to be looking out the window, squinted and rubbed his eyes.

“Say y’all,” he called to the guys behind him. “Is there something goin’ on between Daisy an’ Enos I don’t know about?’

“What d’ ya mean?” asked Luke.

“Cause, either I’m goin’ blind, or they’re out there kissin’ each other.”

Bo and Luke scrambled over to the window just in time to see what Cooter was talking about.

“Well, I’ll be…,” whispered Bo.

Luke shook his head. “You know, there’s some things ya’ just take on faith…an’ then there’s other’s you gotta see t’ believe.”

 

“So, you never said, where’re we goin’?,” said Daisy.

Instead of heading in the direction of Mill Road, Enos turned right onto Highway 20, heading north, and a few miles later he turned again onto Ridge Road. Daisy didn’t know what there was up here other than old shacks and stills and no idea what Enos would want her to see, but then again he knew the area better than she did.

“It’s not much of a place, just th’ end of th’ road. It ain’t far, couple more miles.”

As they drove, the elevation got higher and higher until she could catch glimpses of other hills to the left. On the right was a steep ravine that was too close to the side of the road for her comfort. She was looking down at the right side when Enos pulled the car off on a small section of gravel. She’d never been up this far, not all the way to where the road ended – she hadn’t even been aware it did. Most of the country roads out here just wound around forever until they met up with something larger or you came to a spot that was impassible from wash-outs or fallen trees.

“This is it,” he told her and climbed out the window.

She climbed out as well and looked around her for the first time. The beauty of it made her breath catch. In front of them, the land fell away into an immense gorge, but to the left, she could see the taller foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, rising up from the already dark land below them until their peaks caught the sunset and lit up like gold.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, awestruck.

He pointed to the northwest. “See th’ cleared place on th’ side of that hill?” She nodded. “That’s right above Choctaw.” He turned her around and pointed southwest. “An’ that’s Hazzard, with Highway 20 beside it.” A shadow passed quickly across his face and drew his eyes back over the land around them.

“What’s wrong, Enos?”

He shook his head, as though trying to dismiss whatever he’d been thinking of. “The last time I was up here was th’ night before th’ storm hit,” he said. “I looked out over these hills, an’ I knew somewhere you were out there, but I didn’t know how I was ever gonna find you. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so helpless in all my born days.”

Daisy put her arms around him and hugged him. “Oh, Enos…” She’d never really had much chance to think about what he must have been going through. With him knowing that no one else knew the area as well as himself, not to mention that it had been her who was missing, he’d taken all the responsibility onto his own shoulders. She knew better than anyone that he’d held her life in his hands and it was because of him and his choices that she was standing there instead of six feet under.

He stroked her cheek gently. “I thought I’d lost you, Daisy,” he said. “An’ I swore t’ God if He let me find ya’, I’d leave ya’ alone if that’s what you wanted – just t’ know you were safe.” He stepped out of their embrace and took her hands in his. “Whatever happens, Daisy, I don’t ever wanna lose you again. You’re the only girl I’ve ever loved an’ wanted, an’ I swear I’ll do my best t’ make it worth your time.” He knelt down in front of her, and she blushed as she realized what he was going to ask. “Daisy, someday, would ya’ please marry me?”

by: WENN9366 (EnosIsMyHero)

Chapter 17: While You Were Sleeping

 

It was shortly after 12:30pm Pacific time when Daisy boarded a TWA bound for Atlanta from LAX. She had enough money to stay in Los Angeles overnight and leave in the morning, but she figured if she was going to be miserable, it might as well be in Georgia than in California. The time difference would put her home late, but she didn’t care.

There had been several empty seats on the flight back and she’d ended up in a window seat. She wrapped her arms around herself in Enos’s shirt and rested her head against the glass, watching as the urban sprawl of Los Angles melted away slowly into the arid hills and valleys of the desert southwest and eventually into plains that stretched on as far as the eye could see. Like the cropland they flew over, still brown and barren in late winter, so Daisy saw her future – desolate and alone, and all the things she’d dreamed of one day having seemed forever out of reach.

The flight to Atlanta took four and a half hours and it was nearly 8:30pm Georgia time when she found Dixie and drove out onto the interstate. She followed I85 to Gainesville, then north up Highway 23 until she hit Chickasaw County, then turned up Spruce Creek Lane at Raleigh, down the dirt roads that had been a part of her life for as long as she could remember. It was past eleven when she pulled into the driveway of home. The entire farm was illuminated – someone had turned the pole light on, just in case she came home she supposed, and though she wished she could just slip in without anyone the wiser, she knew her Uncle Jesse would be sitting up waiting for her.

Instead of going inside the house, she walked to the barn, hoping anyone that saw her drive up would take the hint and leave her alone. The night air was heavy and humid, feeling more like spring than than the 8th of February, and the barn was stuffy with the smell of the hay and animals. She opened the large double doors at the other end and slipped out. On the field side of the barn she sat down under the eave on the dry, packed earth, leaning her back against the wall. The post light’s rays shone around the building, casting strange shadows out into the pasture. Far to the north, the lightening played out across the sky, illuminating the boiling storm clouds that were quickly rolling in over the Blue Ridge Mountains. A breeze with the scent of rain caught her hair and she closed her eyes, letting it whip across her face instead of holding it back and thinking how fitting it was to come home to rain, to a storm that would mirror the anguish she felt inside.

She heard the front door of the house open and shut quietly, whoever it was had caught the screen door on the way out. It would be Luke or Uncle Jesse, and her money was on her uncle since he hadn’t talked to her before she left. The footsteps crossing the gravel drive were quick and even though, not the sound of his steps, and so she resigned herself to having to talk to Luke again about what had happened. Just thinking about it made the tears start again and she tucked her knees up to her chest and buried her head in her arms, willing him not to find her. Listening for footsteps in the barn instead of the grass, she didn’t notice anyone was there until he knelt down quietly beside her. She didn’t bother to look up.

“Please, just leave me alone.”

But the soft voice that answered her wasn’t Luke’s. “Daisy…oh Daisy, don’t cry.”

She raised her head. Overcome with emotion, she couldn’t speak even to say his name, as Enos pulled her into his arms and held her tight.

“Daisy, I’m so sorry.” he said. ” Luke told me what happened. I didn’t mean t’ scare ya’. You weren’t even s’posed t’ know where I went… that’s why I left so early, ’cause I was flyin’ right back.”

He had left the Duke farm before sunup, driven into town, and woken Rosco up – to much griping and complaining until he’d explained to the Sheriff what he was doing there, and offered him a dollar a mile to drive him to Atlanta and pick him up later that day. Rosco had phoned Cletus to tell him where he would be, but Enos hadn’t counted on the deputy heading off down Mill Road to talk to the guys that morning.

He’d left his car at Jake’s to get new tires, and Rosco had dropped him back at the farm that afternoon. Luke had nearly (literally) rung his neck when he’d walked into the kitchen shortly before supper time. He’d explained everything to them, which had put theirminds at ease…but not his. Never in all his life would he have thought she’d follow him. The idea of Daisy wandering around alone in Los Angeles only brought to mind cases he’d worked at the Homicide Division – the ones of beautiful women in the wrong places at the wrong times. He’d sat at the window looking nervously out onto the road for the rest of that evening and into the night, watching for headlights and praying she was safe.

“I thought you’d left.” Her face buried against him muffled her words.

“I’d never leave without tellin’ you, not again – not like before.”

“Cletus came an’ told us you’d flown off t’ L.A. What was I s’posed t’ think?

“Daisy, Cletus ain’t never been accused of usin’ th’ brain God gave him. Don’tcha know better than t’ take his word on somethin’?” She gave him a rueful grin as he brushed the tears from her cheek. “Now what was so all-fired important that ya’ had t’ chase me all th’ way t’ California for?”

His eyes met hers and suddenly she realized what that look in them had been the last week that she couldn’t figure out. He knew.

She looked up at him suspiciously. “Why do I get th’ feelin’ you already know?”

No matter how happy she’d been to see him thirty seconds before, Enos knew he was about to tread on thin ice. He looked down, knowing what he was about to say would change everything forever. “‘Cause I wasn’t asleep,” he said quietly. “When you were talkin’ to me…I wasn’t asleep.”

Daisy’s mind raced through the times she’d been around him while he was sleeping, and stopped dead in it’s tracks. She pulled back from him and stood up as he dropped his arms from around her and did the same. “What d’ you mean?” she asked, though she surely knew what his answer would be.

He took a deep breath and sighed heavily. “At th’ cabin…you were all set on talkin’ about what had happened when I’d left Hazzard, an’ I figured if I just played possum, I could get back t’ California without gettin’ my heart put through th’ ringer again. But then you started sayin’ th’ gosh-darn most beautiful things I ever heard, an’ I…I couldn’t bring myself t’ stop you. Sorry, Daisy.” He winced as though he expected her to whack him, but she just stared at him, speechless, as a bright flash of lightening raced across the sky above them.

Enos had been sure she would have figured out that he was awake. His heart had been racing and it had taken all the concentration he could muster to breathe normally as she’d told him things he’d only dreamt of hearing her say. He hadn’t slept a wink that night. For the last twenty years, Daisy’s flaky behavior towards him had been a mystery… until she’d given him the answer while she thought he was sleeping.

He could see her face, burning red, even in the dim light and her eyes flash angrily with embarrassment as the rain began to fall beyond the eaves of the barn.

“Gosh, Daisy, don’t look at me like that. It ain’t like I meant t’ snooker ya’ or nothin’.” He tried not to fidget and failed miserably.

She shook her head. “If you heard what I said, then why did you just walk away from me yesterday at th’ pond? …You were tryin’ t’ teach me a lesson! Ooo! You’re impossible, Enos Strate!” She turned and walked off, out into the rain.

He followed her, caught her arm and pulled her back in front of him. “No, Daisy! You’re not walkin’ away from me again.” She looked up at him, the rain striking her cheeks as though the sky were adding its tears to her own. “I wasn’t tryin’ t’ teach you a lesson, I just… I have t’ have more than a dream t’ come back to, Daisy. Promise me someday I’ll have you, an’ I’ll come back, an’ I’ll wait forever… but I have t’ know, and it has t’ be real. I love you, Daisy, and nothin’ will ever change that – but if you tell me t’ go, I’ll go, an’ I swear I’ll never set foot in Hazzard again.”

In the light of his ultimatum, at last she saw plainly between them the wall that she had built. Had she thought he had changed? He had always been there, waiting for her. It was she who had pushed him away, and who at fifteen had begun playing a game that had changed their lives forever. She reached up and put her hand against his cheek, and he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch.

“Oh Enos,” she said softly, “I have no idea why you’d still want me after all I’ve done t’ you. But I do love you, and I’m yours if you’ll have me.”

He looked down at her, and she didn’t have time to tell whether it was the rain or tears that fell from his eyes before he gathered her in his arms and hugged her tight. She laced her own around him, under his coat.

“Daisy…,” she heard him breathe into her hair. “…oh Daisy…you’re all I’ve ever wanted.”

Neither of them knew how long they stood there in the rain, locked in their embrace. It beat down upon them, drenching them, washing away the wasted years. He moved back but not to let go, keeping one hand on her back as the other drew her wet hair away from her face. He tilted her chin up to look at her, with eyes full of love and longing, before they closed and his lips met hers. He kissed her once, soft and hesitant, and then again. Daisy, afraid he would stop and let her go, took his face in her hands, pulling his mouth back harder against hers. She felt him smile, and the world and the rain and all the years between them melted away as his kisses changed from cautious to passionate. He pulled her against him, and she knew from the taste of salt that they had been tears on his cheeks and not the rain.

They finally parted, breathless, still clinging to each other.

“So…you want me t’ stay, right?” he whispered, teasingly.

Daisy laughed and hugged him tightly. “Yes Enos, I want you t’ stay.” She slid her hand into his. “Come on, we’re gonna catch our death of cold out here.” She pulled him after her around the barn, across the gravel, and up to the porch, hitting the switch to turn off the pole light on the way.

He picked up the blanket from the porch swing and draped it around her shoulders.

“Aren’t you cold?” she asked him.

“Nah, just m’ coat’s wet.” He took it off and sat down at the far end of the swing. She followed, curling up next to him in the blanket as they sat, contentedly listening to the rain.

“I’ve missed you,” she said, quietly. He was about to answer her, but she continued. “And I don’t mean just when you were gone. I missed us, Enos, th’ way it always was when we were kids…when no one could tear us apart.”

He put his arm around her and she lay her head against his chest. “I’ve missed you, too, Daisy Mae,” he whispered, nearly making her cry all over again to hear the name he hadn’t called her since they were kids.

“What are you gonna do, now that you quit your job in L.A.?”

“Well, I talked t’ Rosco on th’ way to Atlanta. For now I’ve got m’ old job back, but he’d like t’ retire as Sheriff.”

She leaned back and frowned at him. “Enos, you deserve better than workin’ for Rosco as a deputy! That’s a pretty big demotion, an’ you know he’s not gonna quit as Sheriff with no pension.”

“That’s okay, Daisy, th’ perks are better,” he said, kissing her temple. “‘Sides, Cooter’s come up with an idea of how t’ get Rosco his pension back.”

“Cooter! Enos Strate, did everyone know what was goin’ on but me?”

He grinned, and she felt him laugh quietly. “No, I just happened t’ mention to him that I was movin’ back when I dropped m’ car off at Jake’s this afternoon. You didn’t seem t’ be around,” he teased, “or I would’a told you, too.”

“Uh huh,” she grumbled good naturedly. “So what’s th’ plan?’

“Well, o’ course Cooter ain’t gonna be around Hazzard much longer, but he’s gonna help get it on th’ ballot come March for a Special Election. He figures if we spread th’ word around that th’ Sheriff’ll step down if he gets his pension back, it’ll pass with flyin’ colors. Bo an’ Luke ain’t th’ only ones tired of his tricks.”

“Well, you’re not kiddin’ there,” she said. “I don’t know why no one thought this up years ago.”

He paused, then added shyly, “I thought I might put my name in for th’ next election after that.”

“Oh Enos, there’s not a soul in Hazzard that wouldn’t vote you in as Sheriff!”

“Be kinda strange, wouldn’t it? ”

“Hazzard would finally be respectable again.”

“Th’ Georgia State Patrol offered me a job, too, assigned to th’ Tri-County area, but I think if I had my choice, I’d rather be Sheriff than a State Trooper. Until then, I reckon I don’t mind sittin’ out in th’ woods waitin’ for speeders. It’ll be a nice break from California, that’s for sure.”

She laughed and lay her head back against him. He felt her breathing gradually become slower until he realized she’d fallen asleep. Enos wasn’t tired at all, having slept most of the time on both flights earlier that day . The rain slowed and then stopped as the storm played itself out and moved on towards the south. He kissed the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her shampoo, marveling how the girl in his arms had changed the entire course of his life. He’d waited so long for a moment that he’d never really believed he’d see, dreamed so many dreams that he thought would never see the light – and yet here she was, his – the way it should have been all along. In the clarity of hindsight he wished he’d gone after her that day – the day he’d learned she was getting married to L.D., but he couldn’t have known then what he knew now. That was just one of the many things that he wished…he shook his head. There was no sense in going there, and he would just as soon close the book on at least the last four years.

He’d spent the last week and a half relearning Daisy Duke. There had been a time, back when they were both in school, when he’d known her better than anyone, a time when they barely had to talk to know what the other was thinking, and he found that the bond he’d thought had been lost forever was still there. In the light of what he secretly knew they shared, he could finally see what had been there all along – love, subtle but strong, coloring every look, every smile, and every touch however innocent that she’d ever given him. Enos found himself loving her more deeply than he’d thought possible as the days passed by. He hugged her gently to him as she slept. Daisy…his Daisy, and as God as his witness, no one was ever going take her away from him again.

 

He must have dozed off, thought Enos, as he watched a streak of gray on the horizon grow lighter and gradually change to a soft pink as the night waned and morning swiftly approached. As loath as he was to wake her, and as much as it was nobody’s business what they were doing on a porch swing at dawn, soaked to the bone, he had to go to work and it would be easier on Daisy if she didn’t have to endure her family’s teasing.

He stroked her hair back from her face, a part of him fearing she’d changed her mind after sleeping. “Daisy,” he said, gently, “Daisy, wake up.”

She woke startled, and sat up, wondering why she was outside until she saw Enos and remembered the night before.

“Mornin’, Daisy,” he said, shyly, “I’m sorry t’ have t’ wake ya’, but I have to get to work soon unless I want Rosco t’ fire me before I even start.”

Daisy laughed, and brushed her hand across his cheek, knowing he was probably worried that she’d changed her mind overnight. “Mornin’ t’ you, too..” She stood up and held her hand out to him to pull him up as well. “I feel like I slept in a swing all night,” she said, rubbing her back.

“I’m sorry, Daisy, I should’a woken you up so you could go t’ bed,” he said, contritely, looking away from her.

“No, Enos, you should not have.” She recognized the characteristic shyness settling into him, and knew she had to do something to stop it. She looped her arms around his neck and leaned into him as she pressed her lips to his. For a split second he was still, but then he took a breath, put his own arms around her, and kissed her back.

“You didn’t dream it, ya’ know,” she said when they’d parted.

“I know that Daisy, I’m just not used to it’s all. I’ve spent th’ better part of my life tellin’ myself not t’ touch ya’.”

She grinned up at him, thinking how much things had changed in the last 24 hours. The blanket she’d had around her was damp and she draped it over the back of the swing. “Come on, I’ll fix ya’ some breakfast before you have t’ leave.”

Enos looked warily at her damp clothing. “Ah, shucks Daisy. You go on an’ get some dry clothes on, I think I can manage not t’ burn coffee an’ ham.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, go on.”

“Thanks, I’ll hurry.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and headed out of the kitchen towards the bathroom to take a shower.

Shortly thereafter, Bo walked into the kitchen, roused by the smell of food. He did a double take at the slightly disheveled Enos standing at the stove, cooking breakfast.

“Uh…mornin’ Enos.”

“Mornin’ Bo.”

“Daisy get back okay last night?”

“Yeah, she did,” said Enos, not turning around.

“Where is she?”

“Takin’ a shower, I think.”

“Um…okay…”

Luke came into the kitchen and walked over to the window. He saw Dixie setting in front of the house, smiled to himself, and reached for the coffee. Uncle Jesse walked in, sat down at the table, and picked up the paper from the day before.

“Mornin’ Luke,” said Enos, cheerily.

“Enos. Ya’ don’t look like ya’ slept…much.”

Enos blushed faintly. “Oh, well, it’s hard t’ sleep after sittin’ on a plane all day.”

“Or in a swing all night,” agreed Uncle Jesse, not looking up from the paper.

Bo and Luke glanced questioningly at their uncle, but Daisy breezed into the kitchen just then.

“Mornin’ y’all.”

Her cousins and uncle greeted her while Enos grinned. She came over and took the skillet from him.

“Thanks for makin’ breakfast. You’d better go get dressed, though.”

“If ya’ could give me a lift into town, Daisy, I’d be mighty obliged.”

“No problem, Sugar.”

They smiled at each other, neither moving until Luke cleared his throat and they looked away.

“I’ll be ready in a minute, Daisy,” said Enos and left the kitchen as Daisy watched him go.

“So,” said Luke, “You work things out with Enos?”

She turned back to the stove to hide her grin. “Maybe.”

“You two sure are actin’ awful gosh-darn strange this mornin’, that’s for sure,” said Bo. Luke had told them where she’d gone, but not why exactly. Bo figured Daisy following Enos to California had a whole lot more to do with a guilty conscience than it did anything else, but seeing them standing too close together and getting all dreamy looking at each other this morning was making him wonder if he was missing something.

A couple minutes later, Enos came back in, dressed in a uniform he hadn’t worn in nearly four years. Daisy’s face lit up as he fastened the buttons on the black Hazzard County coat. She crossed over to him and straightened his tie.

“Feel strange?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Feels like home,” he said, quietly.

 

by: WENN9366 (EnosIsMyHero)

Chapter 16: California Dreamin’

 

It took Daisy an hour and a half to get to Atlanta, and another twenty minutes to actually get into the airport parking lot. The last time she’d been here, she’d been going the same place – Los Angeles, but back then she’d wide-eyed and excited, going across the country to drive in the Baja Auto Race, with the perk of seeing Enos again while she was there.

He was just Officer Strate back then, somehow always getting caught up in wild adventures with his fellow officer, Turk Adams. She’d stay up late into the night, reading the letters he’d send her every week of the world outside of Hazzard. She would write him back occasionally, but not often. There just wasn’t much to say about home. Nothing ever changed, and about all she could tell him was that she missed him, though she had phrased it as “we miss you” instead of “I miss you”.

“When’s the next flight to Los Angeles?” she asked the girl at the ticket counter.

The woman checked a log-book next to her on the desk. “We have three seats left on our 10:15. It’s boarding in about ten minutes, though.”

“I’ll take a ticket for that one, please.”

“Will this be one-way or round trip?”

“Uh…” she hadn’t thought that far about it. “Just one-way for now,” she said. “I’m not sure when I’ll be comin’ back.”

She paid for the ticket, checked the gate number, and rushed off to find it. Her ticket was for seat 37B, which meant she ended up flanked on either side by two strangers. To her left, in the window seat was a pimply-faced teenage boy, whose first reaction to Daisy sitting down beside him was to oggle her chest. On her right was a woman dressed in a smart business suit with too much makeup, reading the Wall Street Journal.

Daisy closed her eyes and lay her head back against the seat, trying to think of what to say Enos when she found him. The truth,…but what was the truth, exactly? It had been so long since she’d been honest even with herself about it, she hardly knew where to start. And what if he’d left because he really didn’t want to talk about it? What if he didn’t want to hear what she had to say? What if he just wanted to forget her?

No, she resolved, he had come back, and whether he’d set out in the beginning for anything to happen between them or not, something almost had. She determined she was just going to think positive about the whole thing. After all, this was Enos, not some stranger- however long he’d been gone.

The hours dragged on and on until, after a little over four and a half hours, the plane finally landed at LAX. She stepped out of the plane and into what might just as well have been a foreign county. Surrounded by strangers, her courage wavered, feeling like someone who had no business in such a place.

This was what she’d sent him to, her conscience reminded her. On June 7th, 1985, on a rainy night in Georgia, Enos left his home and came here – to this sea of people who all seemed to be in a hurry. Sweet Enos, who she knew would have rather stayed in Hazzard than have all the money in the world. She took a deep breath and walked through the giant terminal until she saw a sign directing her to the main entrance and the taxis.

The driver of the cab gave her an odd look when she asked him to take her to the Metro division of the LAPD, but shrugged his shoulders and said something in an accent that Daisy couldn’t quite catch. Driving into the heart of L.A. took it’s toll on her nerves, and each mile seemed to take an eternity. The buildings rose around her like massive sentinels of concrete and glass. Finally, the taxi pulled over at 150 North Los Angeles Street in front of the Parker Center, the headquarters for the LAPD. She paid the driver and got out.

Her footsteps on the granite floor echoed through the lobby as she made her way to the elevators. She read through the information posted on the wall, found the Homicide Division, and hit the ‘up’ button for the elevator. It dinged softly as it opened, and three officers exited past her. The door nearly closed again before she could make herself move. She caught it just in time and slipped in as it reopened, and leaned against the wall, thinking that she couldn’t remember in all her life being so nervous, and still having no idea what she was going to say. After a short ride, there was another ding and the door slid open onto a small landing. Across from the elevator was a glass door that read “Homicide Division”. She opened it and went inside.

The rest of the building had been mostly quiet. She supposed the evening and night saw more activity from the LAPD than the morning hours did, but here there was a flurry of activity. Rows of light brown metal desks and file cabinets scattered with stacks of folders sat in the slightly cluttered and chaotic room. The acrid smell of print toner and coffee hung in the air, and if the room had been any larger it would have been overwhelming. As it was, it looked like the Robbery/Homicide Division had outgrown it’s living space.

“Ma’am,” said a woman at the front desk, “is there something I can help you with?”

Daisy tore her eyes away from the rest of the room and looked at her. “Yes, ma’am. I’m lookin’ for Detective Enos Strate.”

“Oh, he was just in a couple hours ago, but he left. I could leave him a message if you’d like.”

“No. No, that’s okay. Do you know when he might be back?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t.” she answered.

Daisy sighed. “Okay, well…thanks. I guess I’ll check back later.” She pushed the door back open and hit the elevator button, wondering where she could go to wait when she heard the door behind her open.

“Excuse me…Ma’am?”

She turned around to see a young woman, barely past her teens, with long black hair coming towards her. “Um…yes?”

“You’re her, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry,” said Daisy, confused. “I’m who?”

The girl smiled. “I’m sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m Connie,” she said sticking her hand out, “and you have to be Daisy Duke.”

Daisy shook her hand awkwardly. “That’s me. How’d you know?”

“Well, I’d know you from your picture on the news, but you’re the same girl Detective Strate had a picture of in his top drawer.” She blanched as though she’d been caught red-handed at something. “Not that I was snooping! I just…I had some papers for him a couple months ago, but he wasn’t in his office, and I needed a pen, and… Ooo, sorry, I’m rambling.”

Daisy grinned. “That’s okay, I’m sure he wouldn’t be that upset.”

“Oh no, he doesn’t seem like the type that would.” The girl’s face turned suddenly serious. “Ms. Duke…”

“Daisy.”

“…Daisy, what are you doing here?”

“I need t’ talk to Enos. Do ya’ have any idea when he’d be back?”

Connie shook her head, a puzzled look on her face. “But that’s just it. He quit this morning.”

Daisy thought she might need to sit down. She leaned back against the wall behind her. “What d’ya’ mean, he quit?” she whispered.

“He came in here about 7:00 this morning, turned in his badge to the Chief, and cleaned out his desk. Of course he’s still on paid leave right now for the next month and a half, but pretty much that means he’s done, I guess. He told me it had been real nice working with me and left.”

“But…where…”

“Gosh, Ms…I mean Daisy, I don’t really have a clue. I know he got a job offer from the Montana State Patrol a few weeks ago. We were all trying to talk him into taking it – not that we wanted to get rid of him or anything, I mean he’s a great detective, but we know how much he hates Los Angeles. He gets that look sometimes, you know, and you can tell he’s missing something.”

“Montana…” How th’ hell was she gonna find him there?

“Look, we’re not supposed to give out personal information, but I’m sure he’d want to know you’re here. He doesn’t have a phone, but this is where he lives,” she handed Daisy a scrap of paper with directions on it. “I put down directions on it. The quickest way to get there is taking the subway if you don’t mind walking. Just turn left when you leave the building, then turn left on East 1st, and Civic Center Station is three blocks. You can’t miss it. It’s the only other place I know to tell you to check.”

“Oh, Connie! I can’t thank you enough.”

“I’m just glad you’re safe, ma’am,” she said, her face clouding. “Detective Strate…he was really broken up when the Chief told him you were missing.” Someone in the office behind her called the receptionist’s name. “I’ve got to get back. Good luck to you, Daisy.” She opened the door and disappeared back inside before Daisy could reply.

She looked down at the piece of paper clutched in her hand. The subway was three blocks away, and she had a sinking feeling she needed to hurry. She jabbed the ‘down’ button again on the elevator in a useless attempt to make it faster. At last she made it back into the elevator, down to the first floor and outside the building. She started towards the station, not even realizing that she was running by the time she made it there. It took her a couple minutes to figure out the ticket vending machine, and she ended up buying a day pass instead of a one-way ticket. She stepped into one of the cars on the Metro Purple Line, and fifteen minutes later, she was at her stop. Checking the directions again, she turned left and walked about half a block until she found Pinehurst Street.

She wasn’t sure if these were what people called condos or if they were just apartments. She supposed at one time the old, tall, brick houses that seemed awfully crammed together might have just belonged to one family – back in California’s more prosperous days and less populated days. 1141 Pinehurst was no different that any of the rest, stuck between two other houses that looked exactly the same, save for their trim. She stood at the door, feeling dreadfully out of place as she tried to figure out how people got in, until she saw the list of names and buzzers on a panel in the brick facing. Second from the bottom read “3C Strate”. She pushed the buzzer next to his name and waited, but there was no answer. Subsequent buzzings were met with equal silence, and she was just about to give up when the door opened and another man came out.

“You need in?” he asked.

“Yeah, thanks,” she said as he held the door for her.

“No problem, half the time those buzzers don’t work for crap.”

The door closed behind her and she found herself in a cramped alcove with a narrow metal staircase leading up to other floors. She supposed 3C would mean the third floor so she headed up. C turned out to be the very last apartment on the floor, and the way it was situated in the building, Daisy was fairly sure it couldn’t be much larger inside than a broom closet. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

A man stuck his head out from the next door apartment to look at her. “Yo, girl! If you’re lookin’ for Enos, he’s done gone.”

Her heart sank. “How long ago?”

“Aw, dude..prob’ly three hours ago. The door’s open if you want to check. He told us we could have the furniture if we wanted. Guess he was in a hurry.”

“He just left everything?”

“Yeah, bummer, too. It was nice havin’ a cop livin’ around. Our apartment hadn’t been robbed but once the last six months.” The man disappeared back inside his room and she heard the sound of a chain lock fastening from the other side.

Daisy put her hand on the knob and turned it, slowly opening the door. “Enos?” she called, though she knew from the silence the place was empty. She went in and closed the door behind her. Like his room at the boarding house in Hazzard had been, the place was neat and tidy, and sparse. There was nothing more than a bed, a tiny bathroom, and a half-stove, the kind you’d expect to find in a small cabin with only two burners. The closet was open and he’d taken his clothes, but that appeared to be it. The bed was still made and what little furniture he had was still there.

She took the pillow from his bed and sat down, hugging to to herself and looking out the window that didn’t show much of anything outside. His pillow smelled of the aftershave he wore and it made tears spring to her eyes. It was all she had left of him…and it was nothing. Nothing at all.

Her eyes caught a piece of fabric sticking out from behind the bed post, something that had gotten left behind. She knelt down, pulled it out, and smiled sadly. It was one of his favorite fishing shirts, a soft blue and gray flannel that she’d always thought made him look so…huggable, and she thought she might have even told him that one time. Daisy sighed, remembering the shy, pleased smile he undoubtedly would have given her for such a comment. She pulled the shirt on over her own, got up, and left the apartment, closing the door behind her. For a minute, she debated where to go, but in truth there was no where left for her to look. Whether he was still somewhere in L.A. or on his way to Montana, he might as well have been on the moon. A warm breeze blew past her, smelling of brine and tasting of the tears that filled her eyes.

“I’ve lost him,” she thought, and in doing so she knew she’d lost a piece of herself forever.

At least before, she’d known where he was – all those years she could have driven or flown to California and found him and told him the truth and begged him to come home to her. What she wouldn’t give to turn back time.

Now the only thing left was to go back to Hazzard. She could call the Montana State Patrol and see if he’d taken the job – if they’d even tell her such a thing over the phone – and try to track him down, but it would be an uphill battle with little chance of ever finding him again.

She went back to the subway station and studied the line maps until she figured out how to get back to LAX and a home that wasn’t where her heart was.

by: WENN9366 (EnosIsMyHero)

Chapter 15: Best Laid Plans

 

Dawn rose over the little farmhouse in Eastern Hazzard County like it did every other morning. It wasn’t a holiday, it was no one’s birthday, it wasn’t even a ‘Sunday morning ‘go-t’-meetin’-day’, but Daisy climbed out of bed with a feeling of anticipation like a kid on Christmas morning, dressed, and went to the kitchen to start breakfast.

“Mornin’, Uncle Jesse,” she said, happily.

“Mornin’ Daisy,” he answered. “Feelin’ better?”

She’d forgot she had left supper in a foul mood. “Yes sir, nothin’ a good night sleep didn’t cure.”

Bo and Luke stumbled in, bleary eyed as usual. “Mornin’ fella’s. Ya’ know, y’all should go t’ bed earlier if you’re gonna look that worse for wear this early.”

Luke shot a sour look at Bo. “I’ll just be happy when I can have th’ guest room back. Can’t nobody get a wink o’ sleep with Bo’s snorin’ all night long.”

“Me? I’m not th’ one who had t’ get up in th’ middle of the night. Why th’ heck’d ya’ have t’ turn the gosh-darned light on for at two in th’ mornin’?”

“I though maybe you were dyin’ or somethin’, you were so loud.”

“Boys, quit your fussin’,” said Uncle Jesse. “Just sit down an’ have yer breakfast.”

“Yes sir,” griped Bo.

Luke poured himself a cup of coffee and looked out the window. “Huh, wonder where Enos left off to this mornin’. Ain’t like him t’ get up early.”

Daisy frowned. “What’d ya’ mean?”

“Well, his car ain’t here,” shrugged Luke. “I don’t reckon it drove itself off somewhere’s.”

“He didn’t say anything about going anywhere this mornin’,” she complained. That effectively knocked her plans out of the water.

“He probl’y wanted t’ get away from you for a while,” teased Bo, “You been fussin’ over him like a mother hen ever since he got hisself shot.”

Luke took a drink of his coffee to keep from laughing at the blush that stained her cheeks. He’d always wondered about his cousin on that subject. Everybody’d always known how Enos felt about Daisy – he’d worn his heart on his sleeve since they were kids, but Daisy…now she was harder to read.
As he’d told Bo before, he’d always thought like everyone else had, that she wasn’t interested in him at all. Hindsight was 20/20, though, and he’d been the one to have to tell her Enos was gone after she’d married L.D. The change in her had been immediate and lasting, like someone had stolen the sun from her sky, and for all he knew it had been raining over his cousin for the last three and a half years – until Enos had showed up one night outta the blue to come and save her. He wondered if it was as apparent to everyone else as it was to him that she was in love with the man.

“Well, now,” he said, watching for her reaction, “I don’t recall Enos ever havin’ a problem with Daisy’s attentions before.”

The easy smile and smart comment he would have expected to have heard from her five years ago was gone, replaced only by an even deeper blush and exasperated look his way as she turned her back on them, which only served to further confirm his suspicions.

“He said he had t’ go down to Atlanta sometime this week t’ do some paperwork with th’ State Patrol,” she said. “He prob’ly just got up and left early t’ get it over with.” She opened the front door and went outside to feed the animals.

Luke turned his attention back to the table to finish his breakfast when he noticed Uncle Jesse watching him. “What?”

“Stop pickin’ on yer cousin,” he said sternly, and Luke knew his uncle had picked up on her odd behavior as well.

“I…”

“Luke…”

“Yes, sir.”

 

Daisy was in the barn when she heard the sound of a car coming across the field. As much as she hoped it was Enos, she wasn’t surprised when she saw Cletus’s patrol car jouncing along over the uneven ground. Wondering what kind of charge Rosco had thought up for the boys this time, Daisy ran back into the house.

“Cletus is comin’,” she told them.

Bo groaned. “This better not be about that dang school crossin’ sign Rosco put out on Skunk Hollow Road th’ other day. I’m about t’ give that man a piece of my mind if he’s done sendin’ Cletus out on house calls fer tickets now.”

“Now Bo,” said Uncle Jesse, “Just calm down and lets see what he wants.”

They heard the car door open and shut, the footsteps on the porch, and finally the knock on the door. Daisy waited a few seconds and opened it.

“Hey Cletus, you sure are out bright an’ early this mornin’,” she said.

“Mornin’, Daisy,” he replied shyly, removing his hat. He turned to the others. “Hey fellas, hey Uncle Jesse.”

“I ain’t yer Uncle Jesse, Cletus. What brings ya’ here?”

“If this is about that ticket Rosco says we owe him for,” said Bo, “you can just take it right back to him. Ain’t no school on Skunk Hollow Road.”

Cletus laughed and waved his hand dismissively. “Oh no, this ain’t nothin’ like that. I just come by t’ let ya’ know that you’ve got a brake light out on th’ General. Saw it when you were pulling outta th’ Boar’s Nest yesterday. Thought I’d let ya’ know for I have t’ pull y’ over for it.”

“Well, we’re much obliged, Cletus,” said Luke. “but I don’t think Rosco’s gonna take kindly to ya’ bein’ out here warnin’ us.”

“Oh, that don’t matter none. He’s not around today on account of he had t’ drop Enos off at th’ airport in Atlanta early this mornin’.”

Confused looks surrounded the table.

“Th’ airport?” asked Uncle Jesse, baffled. “He didn’t say nothin’ about leavin’ th’ other day.”

Cletus shrugged. “I don’t know anything about it, I just heard him sayin’ to Rosco that there was somethin’ he had t’ take care of back in L.A. ‘fore it was too late.”

The slam of the door startled Cletus as Daisy ran out of the kitchen. “Jumpin’ Jeehosaphat! She done nearly gave me a heart attack.”

Luke and Uncle Jesse both got up from the table. “Hey, Cletus,” said Luke, steering him out towards the door, “Thanks for lettin’ us know about that brake light, we’ll be sure t’ take care of it.”

“Oh, no problem,” said the deputy, not taking the hint to leave. “Say, ya’ think I might be able t’ get a bushel of apples from ya’ this spring? My momma’s wantin’ t’ put up some fresh applesauce.”

“Uh, sure, Cletus…no problem. Ya’ know, I think I heard Rosco callin’ ya on your CB. You’d best be getting’ outta here.”

“Oh! Thanks Luke, I’ll see y’all later.”

Luke waved as Cletus got in his car, turned around, and pulled out towards the road.

“Luke.” Uncle Jesse called to him quietly from the doorway and pointed to the barn.

He nodded to his uncle and walked over to the barn and the door that was partially open. He found Daisy sitting against the wall. He walked over and knelt down in front of her.

“If you’re here to make fun of me, you can just go away.”

He looked at her confused. “I wouldn’t do that, Daisy, you know that.”

“I don’t need any advice, either.”

“That’s fine. How ’bout you tell me what’s goin’ on.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.”

She sighed and leaned her head back against the wall. “Tell me somethin’, Luke. If there was a girl you really wanted t’ be with and she led you on all the time an’ acted like it didn’t mean anything to her, would ya’ still want t’ be with her?”

“Well, I don’t know. Is she pretty?”

She gave him a disgusted look, stood up, and walked out the other side of the barn into the field. He ran after her and stopped her.

“Wait, Daisy…Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to joke. I…just… I don’t know what you want me to say. Just talk to me and stop with th’ ‘what-if’s’.”

She turned back to him and in the daylight he could see the tear tracks on her cheeks. “Enos left because of me.”

He shook his head. “I’m not followin’ you. Did somethin’ happen between you two yesterday? You were all down in the dumps, but he didn’t seem like anything was wrong.”

“No, Luke, nothin’ happened yesterday.”

Luke knew her well enough that that wasn’t the whole story. “Daisy, I’m just a guy. I’m not good with riddles. Can’t you just tell me what’s wrong?”

She looked up at him and took a deep breath. “If I tell you what I’ve done to that man, you’ll understand, but it won’t make me an angel, that’s for darn sure.”

“Daisy, we’ve all done things we regret. Just tell me, I swear I won’t talk about it t’ anyone else, not even Uncle Jesse if ya’ don’t want.”

She hesitated, trying to find the right words, but eventually just settled on the simple truth. “I love him, Luke.”

“Well, alright…I kinda figured that out on my own.”

“That’s not the bad part. The bad part is how long I’ve loved him.”

He shrugged. “A lot of people find out how much they love someone when they go away. Y’ain’t been th’ same ever since he left Hazzard.”

“It wasn’t this last time he left that I figured it out.”

“What? When he came back from LA the first time?”

She shook her head, ashamed to even say it aloud. “Remember when he left for the Academy?”

“Daisy, that…that was…nearly twenty years ago.”

“Puts things in a whole different light now, doesn’t it? I’ve spent twenty years making him believe he never meant anything to me, and now, when I’ve finally come to my senses, he’s given up on me.” Her eyes filled with tears as she remembered.

Luke just stared at her, bewildered. It was a lot to take in because if she’d felt this way since they were kids, there were a whole lot of things that took on new meaning. It also meant that… “Daisy, why’d you marry L.D. if you loved Enos?”

She looked away, shaking her head. “I don’t have a good answer for that one. I guess I thought he could do better than me, an’ his ma’ said some pretty nasty things about it, too. I thought he’d just find someone else, not move to California. Pretty awful, huh?”

He hardly knew what to say to her. Truthfully it gave him a queasy feeling to think of how Enos must have felt, and any way it was sifted it sure looked like she’d waited too long to say what needed to be said. “Look,” he answered finally, “what’s done is done. You’re not gonna be able to change th’ past, so you’d better start workin’ on th’ future.”

“What are you talkin’ about?”

“Just come on.” He took her by the arm and steered her back to the house and through the now empty kitchen, into the room he’d been sharing with Bo. “Stand there and don’t run off,” he told her as he opened the top of the dresser drawer and took out a wooden box.

She knew that box, it was where he’d put the rest of the money he’d gotten from the reward for catching Andy Higgins. As she watched, he took several $100 dollar bills from it, folded them together, and closed it back up. “Luke, what’re you doin’?”

He turned back to her. “Take this. Go to Atlanta, get on a plane to Los Angeles, and you go tell him the truth.”

“Luke, I’m not gonna take your money.”

“Daisy, it ain’t hardly mine in th’ first place. Me an’ Bo were just along for th’ ride when we got Andy. If you wanna know, it’s more Enos’s money than mine. He’s the one who did all th’ hard work findin’ th’ guy.” He pressed the money into her hands. “I ain’t takin’ no for an answer. You go and find him and tell him what you should’a told him a long time ago.”

Daisy could have stood there and argued, but more than anything she wanted to go after him. She threw her arms around her cousin’s neck. “Oh Luke…thank you.”

“You just do what you need t’ do, Daisy.” he said, hugging her back. “and be careful.”

 

Luke walked back behind the house where Bo and Uncle Jesse were working on untangling a roll of bailing wire.

“Hey y’all, need some help?”

“Yep. Get them snippers over there an’ cut this part here,” said Uncle Jesse, holding a rusted knot of wire. “You talk t’ Daisy?”

“Yes, sir.”

Just then Daisy’s Jeep pulled out from the front of the house and sped down the drive towards the road. The three of them turned around to watch.

“Where’s she off to?” asked Bo.

Luke’s eyes followed the dust trail behind Dixie until she was out of sight. “Lord willing, t’ do a whole lot of explainin’.”