by: Trix

While Boss had made Rosco stay at the Dalton farm to look for the will left by Bry, the Duke cousins sped back to the Duke farm to talk to Uncle Jesse.

“What do you think Uncle Jesse?” Bo asked as they sat at the kitchen table.

Jesse sighed. “I don’t know. I mean, Bry had left a copy of his will at the house but his lawyer has the original.”

“What does the will say?” Daisy asked.

“It says that if anything should happen to him or Gus the property goes to Khas.”

Luke stood and rubbed his jaw as he paced, thinking. “Somethin’ just isn’t right here. I mean, why would Boss give a hoot about a will Bry had left? Why would he be so interested in Shelley, too?”

“I’m gonna go back to the house,” Bo said. “Watch Rosco.”

“I’m with ya on that one, cuz,” Luke said. “Daisy stay here with Uncle Jesse incase Khas calls for somethin’.”

“All right. Ya’ll be careful. I don’t have a good feelin’ about this.”

“We will,” Bo said as the walked to the General Lee.

Before they could take off, a familiar voice came over the radio. “Bo? Luke? Daisy? Can anyone hear me?”

Both Luke and Bo reached for the CB at the same time. They struggled over it before Luke won out. “Give me the darn thing, Bo!”

“Fine!” Bo shouted.

“Boys!” Uncle Jesse warned. “Khas needs us…”

“Hello…?”

At the sound of Khas’ voice, Luke said, “We’re here, Khas. What do you need?”

“I’m headed to the Dalton house. I can’t explain right now but meet me there…now. If we don’t get there soon, I’ll lose that house and land!”

“We’re on our way. Lets go Bo!”

“Me and Uncle Jesse are right behind ya’ll.”

“Okay,” Luke said as he and Bo sped off to meet Khas.

Meanwhile, Boss had made it to the Dalton house and was impatiently waiting for Rosco to find the hidden will. “I found it!”

Boss grabbed the paper out of the Sheriff’s hands and laughed. “I knew I’d find it!”

“Uh, Boss, what’re you goin’ to do with it?”

“Reap the rewards, you knitwit!”

Just then they heard screeching tires outside of the house. Seconds later, Khas burst through the door with her mother not far behind. “Hand it over right now, Boss!”

Rosco said, “Uh oh, proper language.” He knew what it meant it meant when Khas used proper words in such a tone. “I don’t think this is a real good idea, Boss…”

“Shut up, Rosco! This land is mine now, Ms. Dalton.”

Khas reigned in her anger. “Give it too me now, Boss. I know of your law but I am a living relative and this land is mine.”

“Not anymore.”

“Give the will to her, Boss,” Shelley said.

Boss laughed. “Did you tell the little lady of your sore did past? Then…”

“Yes, she did,” Khas interrupted him.

They all fell silent. Khas and Shelley were not going to let Boss or Rosco leave the house and Boss wasn’t going to give it back. Rosco, as much as he knew it was wrong, wasn’t going to interfere. He knew he had done something wrong.

After a few minutes of silence another car was heard outside and Bo and Luke walked in, soon after them was Daisy and Jesse.

“You can’t prove anything unless you have this will,” Boss smiled. “And I’m not handing it over.”

“Well,” Jesse said, “We’re not leavin’ here until you do.”

“Seems we have a standoff,” Luke said.

Rosco looked at the anger on Khas’ face, it was mixed with fear, he noticed. Fear of losing the only thing she had left of her family. He looked out of the living room window and tried to think of what to do. How could he fix this mess. As he looked out of the window, he saw Enos’ patrol car stop on the road. Enos waited for a familiar face to get out before driving off.

Rosco half smiled. Khas caught it. “What are you smiling at Rosco?”

“Nothin!’” he bellowed. “Boss, er, um..”

“Spit it out, you twit!”

“Enos is here.”

“What in Sam’s blazes is he doin’ here?”

“I don’t know.”

Khas didn’t care. She only cared about one thing. “Give me the will Boss.”

“No.”

“Right now.”

“No.”

“Boss, I swear…”

“Swear at nothing, young lady.”

The male voice behind her made Khas nearly jump. She heard her mother gasp as the man walked into the middle of the room, between them and Boss.

“Well, well,” Boss smiled, knowing something none of them did. “Gordon.”

“What are you doing here?” Shelley asked, shocked to see him. “Where are the twins?”

“Twins?” Daisy mouthed to Luke and Bo.

Both shrugged their shoulders.

“They’re with your mother in Texas. Boss, may I see the will?”

Boss chuckled and said, “After I clarify something. Would you be so kind as to tell yer wife and step-daughter what you’re doin’ here?”

Gordon looked at Shelley, his eyes sad. “I’m the one who stole this piece of the will and stopped it from getting to Bry’s lawyer.”

“What? Why?” Shelley asked, shocked.

“I was hurt that you had an affair with Gus and when Boss told me you were expectin’ his child I guess doin’ the right thing was not on my list of things to do.”

Khas looked at him with anger. “I have had a lot of things thrown at me in the last few days. I want that will and I want it now. Why are you here?”

Gordon looked at the young woman in front of him. She had her mother’s skin tone but otherwise looked nothing like Shelley. He still could not believe that he had taken his anger and hurt out on an innocent child that was yet to be born. And now here he was, staring at the child nineteen years later. She was on the verge of losing something important, her heritage.

“I am willing to testify in court that I stole the will. That is, if Boss doesn’t hand it over.”

“Gordon,” Shelley gasp. “Your career.”

“Means nothing if I don’t right this wrong. We can talk at home, Shelley. Khas is what is important right now.”

Boss looked as if he was getting riled up. “I have no choice but to give back the will. But here this! I will tell all of Hazzard about you, Shelley. You will never be able to come back to this town again.”

Shelley squared her shoulders and faced off with Boss. “Khas is not a humiliation to me any longer. I realize I did wrong by her and I will accept any backlash from this town as payment for it.”

Boss huffed and gave the will to Rosco. “Lets go Rosco!”

“Yes, yes. Right away, Boss.” Rosco walked after Boss but stopped to give Khas the will. “I believe this is yours.”

Khas took the will and said, “Your forgiven, Rosco. Just go.”

When the two were gone, Shelley said, “Gordon I…”

“You made a decision, I made a decision,” he said. “We’ll talk through this.”

Shelley hugged him, then turned to Khas. “I am so sorry, Khas. I don’t expect forgiveness.”

“And you won’t get it. However, you did come back to try and right a wrong. Boss Hogg tends to interfere with things he shouldn’t. You just happened to be one of those things. Don’t expect me to call you mom. Maybe we can be friends on some sort of level in the future.”

“I’d really like that,” Shelley said as tears rolled down her face.

“As for you,” Khas said as she turned to Gordon. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For what you just did. I understand what betrayal is. If I were you, I would have done the same thing.”

“I am sorry. I should have never have taken it out on you.”

Khas nodded. “I meant what I said, Shelley. I want to know my twin siblings. Maybe, when you and I have worked some things through, you can come visit me and introduce me.”

“It’s a promise,” Shelley said.

“I know it’s a bad time but Shelley and I should head home. The twins will be wondering where their mother went off too.”

“I understand,” Khas said. “Goodbye, Shelley.”

Shelley took her hand and said, “I will phone you when I get home and we’ll discuss how we want to do this.”

“Sounds good.”

“Goodbye,” she said to the Dukes. “I’m sorry for the trouble.”

“Trouble can be a good thing,” Jesse said.

“Have a safe trip,” Daisy said.

“Thank you. Goodbye now.”

Khas watched from the porch with the Dukes as her mother and Gordon drove off. She sighed. Bo put an arm around her. “Are you alright, KB?”

Khas nodded. “I think so. A lot to digest in such a short time.”

“Well honey,” Daisy said. “You’ll have us and yer friends to help you through this.”

“That’s right. Now, lets get that will to Mr. Uton at his house than git some supper,” Jesse said.

“Sounds good,” Luke smiled. “Khas is with us!” he said as he grabbed Khas and got her to the General Lee before Daisy could protest.

Khas let out a laugh and said, “See you on the road!”

Balladeer: Well, that was an interestin’ ending. Mr. Uton filed the rest of the will in his papers and declared Khas the full and rightful owner of the Dalton land and everything on it. Boss is still smartin’ at his loss and takin’ out on no other than Rosco P. Coltrane. As for Khas’ mother and Gordon, they’re workin’ things out and their twins now know they have a big sister. Hmm, just another crazy time in Hazzard County.

The End

by: Trix

Khas was grooming her horse when her mother stepped into the barn. She wasn’t sure what to say to the woman, a stranger who did not feel like family, so she waited for Shelley to speak.

“Am I interrupting?”

Khas shook her head. “No.”

Shelley came to stand outside of Pumpkin’s stall, a little nervous. “There is something I wish to ask you.”

“Yes?”

After taking a deep breath, she asked, “Would you, that is, will you join me on a little weekend trip?”

“This weekend?” Khas asked as she stopped grooming her horse. It was a shocking idea but…

“Yes. It will be just Friday and Saturday, I’ll bring you back on Sunday.”

The words were a little rushed it seemed to Khas, but considering her mother’s sudden appearance back in Hazzard it did not seem odd. “I was supposed to work at the ranch but I guess one weekend away wouldn’t hurt.”

Shelley was so shocked that her mouth dropped. Khas was barely talking to her as it was and her daughter’s quick agreement was, to say the least, unnerving. “Are you sure?”

Khas thought a moment. “Yeah. My father didn’t raise a coward, and that’s what I’d be if I ran away from you. You gave birth to me and then dropped me off like you didn’t care about me. I deserve a real explanation from you. Maybe this little trip away will help the both of us.”

Shelley nodded her head. Khas did deserve to know the truth. There was no getting around breaking the girl’s heart. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow around nine o’clock in the morning?”

“That’s fine.”

“I’ll see you then. ‘Bye.”

“’Bye.”

Khas watched her mother drive away, wondering what made her mother suddenly want to leave Hazzard with her. She was so lost in thought leaning on the fence that she didn’t hear someone walk up behind her.

“Khas.”

She spun around to see Danny behind her. “Danny! I didn’t hear you.”

He smiled. “You’re thoughts were somewhere else. What’d she want?”

“She asked if I wanted to go away for the weekend with her. I said yes.”

Danny gave her a confused looked. “Why?”

Khas sighed, walking back into the barn to Pumpkin. “Because I need her to tell me the truth about why she left me. Why she abandoned me and left me with my father, not ever calling or writing. And something tells me that Boss Hogg has something to do with it.”

“Why wouldn’t that surprise me?” Danny shook his head, grabbing a brush and helping Khas groom her horse. “Are you sure yer ready for this?”

“No, but I’d be crazy to back away from a chance to find out the truth.”

Danny studied her. “Not going on this trip wouldn’t make you a coward, Khas. If yer not ready, don’t go.”

Khas stared at him, shocked he picked up on her thoughts. “I don’t think I am ready. But I promised I’d go and I will. Just…it means I can’t work this weekend.”

He didn’t miss her change of subject. “That’s fine. I can get one of my friends to cover for you. I’ll let my dad know.”

“Thanks.”

Later that night, at dinner, Khas let the Dukes know of her plans for the weekend. They were shocked, but mostly worried. They would stand behind her no matter what her choice ended up being.

After dinner, when Bo and Khas were alone in the kitchen cleaning up, Bo asked, “Are you sure about this, darlin’?”

She nodded. “Yes Bo, I am. I know yer worried, but I’ll be fine. Take care of Drifter for me.”

Bo smiled. “Yer only goin’ to be gone for two days, Khas.”

“I know but he gets cranky if he’s not driven everyday.”

Bo almost dropped a plate he was drying. “Yer gonna let me drive’im!?”

Khas laughed. “Yes. Just on the back roads, though.”

“I’ll do my best to keep’im in line for ya.”

Khas shook her head, chuckling. “I’m sure you will. Oh, and take care of Pumpkin, too.”

“I will,” Bo laughed. “Don’t you worry about a thing. Everything will be fine when you get back.”

“I’m counting on it,” she said under her breath. “I’m counting on it.”

The next morning, Shelley arrived at nine and, after saying goodbye to the Dukes, she and Khas head on their way.

“Where are we going?”

“Well, there’s a nice hotel a few towns out. It has a swimming pool and great breakfasts and dinners. I thought it would be a nice place to stay, private and relaxing. So we can talk.”

Khas nodded. A couple of hours later they were at the hotel. It was beautiful and cozy. The room was fairly spacious, with two beds that looked like heaven to sleep in and a nice bathroom. A great view of the country side out the window.

“Would you like to grab some lunch, then maybe a take a swim in the pool afterwards?”

Khas nodded. “That sounds nice.”

When they arrived back in their room, after the swim, Shelley asked, “Would you like to have dinner in the room? That way we can talk in private?”

“Yes.”

As they ate, Khas asked, “Do you have a family?”

“What?” Shelley asked, surprised by the question.

“I was wondering if you had a family now?”

Shelley took a deep breath and put down her fork. “Yes, I do.”

Khas wasn’t prepared for the sudden wave of hurt that swept through her. She had thought that the answer wouldn’t have mattered but it did. Her mother had a family and yet she was abandoned? “Children?”

“Yes. Twins, Gordon Jr. and Rebecca.”

She had siblings! “May I see a picture?”

Shelley appeared shocked for a moment, then she reached into her purse and took out a picture of her children. They looked like her mother, Khas thought. While Khas had the Dalton traits, she did have her mother’s pale, creamy-white skin instead of the Dalton’s olive skin tone.

The twins looked little like her, but she wondered if they knew they had a big sister? “Do they know of me?”

Ashamed, Shelley lowered her head. “No, they don’t and neither does my husband. His father was once the mayor of Hazzard and he followed in his father’s footsteps. He was the mayor in an east Texas town and is now looking to be one in the town we just moved to.”

“I think you need to tell me something, Shelley,” Khas said. If she was going to the entire story, now was the time. All the bombshells at once, she figured that was the easiest way to go.

Shelley stood up and walked towards the window. She began to speak as Khas moved over to the bed. “I was dating Gordon when Gus and I had an affair. It was unexpected but not something I regret. When I found out I was pregnant, I didn’t know what to do. The Dalton’s moved after the death of Bry’s other child, shortly after me and Gus had an affair. I moved to Texas to stay with my grandmother, and I told Gordon I was leaving because she was ill.”

“What did your parents say?”

“That I should stay with my grandmother until I had my baby and then give you up for adoption, never telling your father,” Shelley said. “I did stay with my grandmother until I had you but I couldn’t give you to strangers so I found out where Gus and Bry were living and drove up to New England and gave you to him and Bry. With them, I knew you’d be safe and be loved.”

Khas swallowed, hard. “Why haven’t you told your husband?”

“Because, it would ruin his chance of becoming mayor and it would hurt him too much to tell him now. All these lies for so long…”

“So I was a dark secret to be hidden away?”

Shelley braced herself for the anger in Khas. “You were never a regret, Khas.”

“Then what was I?”

“A…you were a treasure I couldn’t have. And didn’t deserve.”

Khas felt the tears coming but she held them back. What could she say? Her mother had just told her the ugly truth and yet there seemed to be something missing from the story, something big. She was about to ask what she thought it was but she held back. Could she really handle the whole truth in one night? The pain in her gut was large enough at the moment to choke her.

“Khas…”

“Shelley, let’s just eat dinner and get some rest. It’s been a long day. We can talk tomorrow.”

Shelley nodded. She had expected anger and harsh words. Instead, Khas had remained calm, choosing not to lash out at her. They enjoyed their dinner in silence and sleep came soon after, relieving both of them of the hurt for few short hours.

When she woke up, Khas took a shower and dressed. As she looked in the mirror she almost didn’t recognize herself. She was Khas but something had changed and she couldn’t figure out what it was that made her look different. As she waited for Shelley to finish with her shower, Khas wished she was home with the Dukes. Her home. How she wished she had Uncle Jesse with her now, he’d know what to do, what to say. She’s wondered what the were doing right now?

Balladeer: What indeed. I believe I would like to know that, too.

Back in Hazzard, Bo, Luke and Daisy were trying to figure out why Boss Hogg was so interested in Shelley. They followed Rosco after he left the Boar’s Nest. To their surprise, they ended going down the road to the Dalton house. They watched from the bushes as Roscoe got out of his car.

“What is he doin’?” Daisy whispered.

“I don’t know,” Luke said. “No doubt it’s something Boss came up with.”

“It looks like he’s searching fer somethin’,” Bo said.

They appoarched the house slowly and as quietly as possible, so they wouldn’t startle Rosco. They couldn’t understand what he was looking for so they went back to the General Lee.

“Let’s go back to the farm. Maybe Jesse’ll know what Rosco and Boss are looking for,” Luke said.

“Good idea,” his cousins agreed.

Back at the hotel, after they had eaten lunch, Khas and her mother were walking around the property. “So, are you going to tell your husband I exist?”

Shelley took a deep breath. “Honestly? I don’t know if I should. Not after all these years.”

“So, you’re willing to keep your husband in the dark and your twins go on living not knowing they have an older sister?” Khas kept her voice in check, not letting her anger seep through.

“Yes. Are you saying that you’d like to be a part of their lives?”

Khas thought a moment. She had her family, her friends. She belonged somewhere. But she now had a brother and a sister. Her father would roll over in his grave if didn’t acknowledge it! “Yes, I would. I know I can’t see them often because we live in different states, but I would like to know them.”

Shelley could have cried. As angry as Khas was at her, she was willing and wanting to know her siblings. “I promise to tell my family about you if you are serious about what you just said.”

“I swear to you, Shelley, that I want to know my siblings.”

“Then…I’ll speak to my husband and children when I get back home.”

Khas nodded. She realized that it wouldn’t be easy for her mother to tell her family the truth, and for that Khas’ anger lessoned and became more of a numb feeling. Maybe, just maybe, if she could not feel love for her mother, she could feel understanding. And maybe after a few years, she could forgive her and they could be friends on some level.

Shelley knew that if she didn’t tell Khas the whole truth it would haunt her until the day she died and any friendly feelings Khas had towards her would be false. And, she realized, that if Khas lost the Dalton house and land, her daughter would have a huge hole inside of her soul for the rest of her life. “Khas, there’s something you should know.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Khas said as she stopped walking.

Shelley turned to her and the words came rushing out. “Boss found out I was pregnant with you and promised me that if me and my family left town that he wouldn’t tell a soul about me and Gus…and you. So, I left town, to my grandmothers- as I said before. When I came back to see you, Boss found me and…”

“And what?”

“He said that if I didn’t help him do something he would tell the entire town of Hazzard, as well as my husband, about me and Gus and the child we had together.”

“And what was that something?”

“He…he kept a legal paper from getting to your father’s lawyer in New England. It was a will that Bry had saying that if anything happened to him and Gus that the house and land went directly to you. Mr. Uton, the lawyer in Hazzard, never saw that part of the will because Boss had someone intercept that addition to it before Mr. Uton could receive it.”

“Who could have done that?” Khas asked. “If it was witnessed by my father than it was legal. Did the person who intercepted it hide it?”

Shelley shook her head. “I think so because all Boss knows is that it’s hidden in the house.”

Khas wondered who could have done such a thing. But that wasn’t important right now. “What else?”

Shelley went on. “As I said, the will stated that you have the house and land, even before you turned 21. But Boss has a law that states if a piece of land is abandoned for eighteen years that property belongs to him. But if there’s a living relative, no one can claim it unless or until that person is 21. You are 19, Khas.”

It suddenly dawned on Khas what her mother was telling her. “Are you saying that I own the Dalton land outright but because Grandpa’s will was never found it will belong to Boss because it has been abandoned for 18 years?”

“Yes.”

“You lured me out here so that Boss Hogg could find the will and take away my family’s land from underneath my feet!?”

“I…I..”

“How could you!?” Thoughts ran rampant in Khas’s mind. She couldn’t lose that house and land. It was her past, her future, her entire soul was attached to that house since her father and grandfather past away. “Take me back to Hazzard, right now!”

Shelley had to run to keep up with Khas. They packed their bags and checked out. When Shelley started the car she turned to Khas and said, “I am truly sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Khas gave her an angry stare and said, “Just put your foot to the floor and don’t stop until we reach the Dalton house.”

Shelley didn’t hesitate and did as Khas told her to do. She knew she had just lost her daughter for the second time.

“Just so you know, you will never be forgiven for this. Ever,” Khas told her as her heart raced with fear. She couldn’t lose that land. It would kill her. They had to get there and fast. “Stop!”

Shelley slammed on the brakes and pulled off the road, thank the lord no one was on it with them. “What?”

“Get out and switch sides. I can get there faster. I know the back roads better than you.”

As soon as she was back on the, Khas began to map the fastest way to the house. She’d get the Dukes on CB as soon as she was sure they’d be able to reach the house as soon as she did. An urgency on like any other gripped her insides as she drove.

“Darn it!” she hit the wheel. “I wish I had Drifter!”

Balladeer: Anyone but me feel the same way as Khas? Drifter sure would come in handy right now. Yes, he would.

by: Trix

Khas sat silently in her cell. What had she done to deserve this day was beyond her. And it wasn’t even supper time yet! How much worse could it get today?

“Khas!” she heard someone call from upstairs.

“She’s downstairs,” she heard Rosco say.

She heard footsteps and finally saw Daisy, Luke and Bo come around the corner. Daisy asked, “Are you alright, honey?”

“Don’t ask. Can you get me out of here?”

Bo said, “No. Rosco informed us that you are here for twenty-four hours.”

“Man!”

“Just stay calm, Khas. We’ll git you out.”

“How?”

“Tomorrow,” he said. “Until then why don’t you tell me what’s going on.”

“I don’t know. I was going to my car from seeing mom, and Rosco told me that Boss wanted to me. So, I figured I’d come because how much worse could my day get? All I know is I asked Boss what the point was about my mother and he threw me in here.”

“He asked about Shelley?” Bo said.

“Why would Boss want to know about Shelley?” Daisy wondered.

“I don’t know.”

“Look, Khas,” Luke started, “We’ll go see yer mother and you hang tight. Lets not git Boss riled about about…..whatever he’s riled up about until we know the story.”

“That okay with you darlin’?” Bo took her hand between the bars.

Khas nodded. “I guess.”

“Alright,” Daisy said. “If you need anything make sure Rosco calls us, ya hear?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

“First thing, sugar,” Daisy gave her a comforting smile.

The Next Morning:
Khas, as patiently as she could, waited for one of the Dukes to come and pick her up from the jailhouse. What she had done, she still didn’t know but for now all she wanted was some breakfast and to go home. As she breathed in and let out a heavy sigh she heard footsteps coming downstairs. She walked to the bars hoping it was a Duke…what she got was a Hogg.

She sank back from the bars and waited for Boss to say something. “You can go now, Miss Dalton. Your keys to your car and…your car are waitin’ upstairs.”

He was acting too nice for her liking. She kept cool and said, as Boss unlocked the cell,
“Thanks Boss.”

“No problem dear.”

Dear?

“Oh,” he added, “and your mother is outside too.”

Mother?

Khas took another deep breath and walked out of the jailhouse and to her car, after Rosco gave her back her things. Her mother was waiting at the sidewalk. “What’re you doing here?”

“Daisy called so I decided to come and see if you were okay,” Shelley said.

“Now you care?” Khas retorted, but regretted her tone immediately. “Sorry. It’s been a long night.”

“It’s alright. Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Khas said. Then added, “By chance, do you know why Boss Hogg was asking me about you?”

Shelley thought for a minute, then answered, “Well…no. The last I saw of Boss was before I left town. He said that the town of Hazzard would miss me.”

“Anything else?”

“Let me think for a few hours. It’s been nearly twenty years since the day I left.”

Khas felt like saying ‘left to get rid of me’ but bit her tongue. Nothing was going to be solved if she got snappy or angry. “Do that and I’ll call you around lunchtime.”

Shelley nodded and watched Khas get into her car. “This was your fathers’.”

“I know,” was all Khas said and gave a half smile to her mother and then drove off the the Duke Farm.

On the way, the General Lee drove up behind. Luke came over her CB. “Is that you, KB?”

“Yes,” she said.

“We were coming to get you out?” Luke said.

“Boss let me out earlier than expected.” There was a pause before she added, “My mother was waiting for me.”

“Did she know…”

“She said no. She came to check on me and that’s it.”

“Well, lets go back to the farm and talk some more about this.”

“Alright. I’m out.”

When she arrived, Daisy immediately hugged her and Jesse made her sit at the table for some breakfast. She told them everything about Boss Hogg and her mother. They too were suspicious about Boss. It was what her mother would remember that had them guessing.

“In a few hours we’ll know what she does remember so just keep yer pants on,” Jesse told them. “Khas, dear, what happened with yer mother the other day? Before Rosco and Boss…”

Khas shrugged. “She explained to me why she gave me up to daddy and grampa. I’m very angry but I understand and that’s why, I think, my anger isn’t as great as it used to be.”
“In time, suger, in time,” Daisy said.

“For now what I need from her is her memory. Why is Boss so interested in her anyway? It was nearly twenty years ago.”

Bo said, “Like Uncle Jesse says, we’ll wait until lunchtime and find out.”

“But I need to do something now,” Khas stressed. “I need to busy my mind.”

“What about one of your friends?” Daisy suggested. “Rita, Violet, Danny?”

Khas rolled her eyes. “Danny is out of town for until Monday and Rita and Violet are worried enough about me as it is. I don’t need them frettin’ over me right now.”
Jesse patted her hand and said, “Alright then. Why don’t you go out and ride Pumpkin. You’ve been neglectin’ ridin’ that mare since yer mom showed up. I have a feelin’ she’s not happy with you.”

Khas nodded. It was true. She’s been neglecting her horse, Pumpkin, for some time now. Khas only got her two months ago from Danny’s family, for helping at their farm, and loved the horse to death. “Okay. Daisy, want to come with me?”

“Of course, sugar!” Daisy smiled at her. “Sounds like fun.”

Balladeer: I bet Boss isn’t losin’ much sleep over this whole thing…

“Boss,” Rosco started to ask as he walked into Boss Hogg’s office at the Boar’s Nest. “Why’d ya put lil’ Khas in jail?”

Boss looked annoyed at the question but answered anyway. “ ‘Cause, I had to get her outta the way.”

“Outta yer way fer…”

“Nevermind, Rosco! Just call up Khas’s mama and git her down here.”

“What do I tell you want her for?”

“She’ll know,” was all Boss would say on the subject.

Not wanted to get yelled at again, Rosco did as Boss asked. Shelley was on her way to see Boss. Rosco had a bad feeling about the whole thing and did not want to be a part of whatever Boss was brewing. It was one thing to put Khas in jail for becoming a Duke, that was justified, but it was another to use Khas’ mother to hurt the young girl. Again. Rosco remembered the Dalton’s with great admiration and respect and was sadden by the news of their deaths. For the first time since he wa with Boss, he realized that he might not be able to go through with whatever Boss was thinking of doing. He just knew he wouldn’t be able too.

“Rosco! Git in here!” Boss bellowed from his office. Shelley had arrived while Rosco was sitting at the bar counter. He never saw her come in. He walked into the office and shut the door.

“Miss Shelley, welcome back to Hazzard,” he smiled. “Won’t you sit down?”
Shelley sat in the chair opposite of the desk, Rosco leaned against the wall. “Hello Boss, Rosco.”

“Miss Shelley.”

“How can I help you Mr. Hogg?”

Boss leaned forward and rested his hands on his desk. “I hear yer in town for a few days…”

“Yes, to see Khas.” Shelley knew where this was going and didn’t like it one bit.

“Nice young lady you have there in Khas.”

Shelley interuppted him. “What do you want, Boss?”

“You to return the favor you owe me from before you left.”

“What do you want?” she repeated.

Boss smiled smugly for he knew he was about to trap Shelley for the second time in her life. “I did you a favor when you learned you were expecting, didn’t I?”

“Yes.”

“What did I do?”

“You promised that if me and my family left Hazzard you wouldn’t tell anyone that I was pregnant. So if we ever came back I wouldn’t be ashamed.”

“In this town I have a law, that if a property is abandoned for more then 18 years that property is to belong to whoever claims it first.”

“What’s the catch?”

“Of course, the catch. You know me well, I see. I made the law. The catch is is that if there is a living family member to claim it, or it has been left to someone, no one can claim it until or unless that person is 21,” Boss smiled before continuing. “As you well know your daughter is 19. In part of his will that his lawyer didn’t receive because someone stopped it from being mailed.”

“From here in Hazzard?” Shelley was shocked that Boss would do such a thing.

“Yep.”

“What are you getting at Boss?”

“Khas has started to clean up the property and such for some reason and there is a copy of that will signed by Bry and witnessed by Gus that should anything happen to them the property would go to Khas. I do not want her to find that will because her lawyer can use it in court. I want you to get that girl outta my town so that I can use that property for my own use.”

“For something illegal no doubt.”

“Watch yer tongue. If you don’t do this I’ll make sure that every citizen of this town knows that you and Gus Dalton had an affair and Khas was the result. How would this town feel if they found out that Miss Shelley Blakewood had an illagediment child while she was dating the Mayor’s son.”

“It would ruin Gordon’s life if you did that! He thinks I left because my grandmother was ill. This would kill his chances of becoming mayor in Leewood, Texas.”

“Yes. His wife, the temptress.”

Shelley couldn’t believe this. She hadn’t even told Khas she was married. No one knew. Her and Gordon Pruitt, once a mayors son, had married after the family moved from Hazzard and their friends behind for Texas. No one could know. It would kill Khas to learn of the real reasons she left her and it would kill Khas to learn that she had two more children, twins- a boy and a girl. What was she going to do?”

“Well?” Boss grinned in triumph.

“Fine. I’ll try an coax her into leaving town for a few days with me so that you can find the will.”

“Good girl!”

And Shelley never felt so disgusted in herself. She just made a deal with the devil.

Balladeer: Well, looks like things are going to get uprooted around her. And Khas will pay the price…