by: Marty Chrisman
Jesse awoke and stared into the darkness. He heard a noise downstairs and realized that someone was up and moving around in the kitchen. Jesse had always had a sixth sense when it came to knowing if one of his kids was upset or in trouble. Even as he shoved himself to his feet and went downstairs to investigate, he already suspected who he would find down there.
And he was right. Luke was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a glass of milk. Jesse opened the refrigerator and poured himself a glass of milk too. Sitting down beside his oldest nephew, he looked at him and said,
“Can’t sleep?”
“No….” Luke said shaking his head.
“Are you thinking about Shelby?”
“She didn’t do it, Jesse. I know she didn’t.” Luke said firmly “Something just don’t sound right about the whole thing.”
“Well, the paper didn’t give a whole of details either.” Jesse reminded him
“I owe her, Jesse. She helped save my life…..twice. Maybe I can pay her back somehow by helping to get her out of this mess.”
“Why don’t you call that friend of yours that works for the Atlanta paper?” Jesse suggested
“Norm?” Luke said thoughtfully “Yeah, I can give him a call first thing in the morning.”
“Maybe he can find out what’s going on for you.” Jesse knew that there was a connection between Shelby Lynn and Luke (Even if Luke didn’t realize it yet) Jesse had taught all three of his kids to help out a friend in need especially if it looked like they were being used or framed by the system. So he was not surprised at Luke wanting to try and help Shelby now. Jesse stood up and poured the rest of his milk down the sink and rinsed out the glass. As he turned to go back to his bedroom, he looked at Luke and said,
“You best be getting some sleep. Five thirty gets here mighty early.”
Luke nodded but did not reply as Jesse left the room. Instead he let his mind drift back to when he had first met Shelby and her brother, Cory. He had been alone on a camping trip in the mountains when he accidentally stepped into a bear trap. He would have died if Cory hadn’t found him and took him back to the cabin he shared with Shelby. Shelby had taken care of Luke while Cory went for help. That had been over 6 years ago.
Then around 6 months ago, he had accidentally run into Shelby again. The boys had been entered in a race and Shelby happened to be one of the other drivers. She came dang close to beating The General too. A few days after the race, Luke had been taken captive by two men pretending to have car trouble. On the orders of a girl name Christy Lane, they had intended to kill him and dump his body in a lake. Shelby had helped save his life for the second time that day. She had been on the ridge above the road where the men had captured him and had seen the whole thing. She had immediately alerted Jesse and the rest of the family, giving them time to find him before the men had a chance to kill him. It had still been touch and go for awhile and Luke had even ended up blind for almost a month due to a severe head injury.
Reluctantly, Luke left his thoughts drift farther back. To another time, another place and another woman. T o memories that he had locked away deep within his mind where they wouldn’t drive him crazy. Kelly had been his first real love but their love seemed destined to fail from the start. They had met as children and grown into lovers as teenagers, and then she had disappeared from Hazzard for over ten years. When she finally returned, Luke had fallen in love her all over again and they had been married. But then she had run down by a car on their wedding day and died 6 days later. Luke was the one who had to make the decision to pull the plug on the machines that were keeping her alive. Shelby Lynn was the only women he had even come close to being attracted to since Kelly’s death.
Luke didn’t realize that he had been sitting there all night until Daisy came into the kitchen to start breakfast.
“Luke,” she said in a surprised voice “Have you been up all night?”
“Yeah…I guess I have.”
“Why don’t you go to bed? I’m sure Bo won’t mind doing your chores this morning. Heck, I’ll even help him.” Daisy said as she got out the old iron skillet she used to cook eggs in.
“No, I’m fine.” Luke said offhandedly “I’ll catch a nap later.”
“Then you’re going to need a couple of cups of this.” Daisy said, sitting a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee on the table in front of him.
“Thanks, Daisy.”
They were soon joined by Uncle Jesse and Bo. Daisy dished up breakfast for everyone, Jesse said grace and they all started eating. After breakfast was over, Bo and Luke went out to do the morning chores.
Shortly after 8 A.M., Luke called his friend Norm at the newspaper in Atlanta. It took a few moments to put Luke’s call through to Norm’s extension. When he answered, Luke said, “Hey, Norm. It’s Luke Duke.”
“Hey, Luke” Norm said in a pleased voice “It’s been a coon’s age, boy. How are you?”
“Fair to Middling.” Luke told him with a smile
“We’re gonna have to go hunting again real soon. It’s been a long time.”
“Yeah, we’ll have to do that.” Luke agreed “Look, Norm, I need a favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“I need you to find out everything you can, and I do mean everything, about a drug operation that was suppose to be operating here in Hazzard County. Federal investigation, not local. Two arrests so far…Cory and Shelby Lynn.”
“Are they friends of yours?”
“Yeah, they are.”
“I’ll see what I can find out. It may take a few days.”
“That’s okay…just let me know what you find out.”
“You got it.”
Luke hung up and absently rubbed his fingers against his temple. Jesse, who was sitting in his chair by the fireplace, glanced at Luke worriedly. Luke had suffered from severe migraines ever since almost being killed a few months ago. The whole family had learned to recognize the subtle signs that meant Luke was getting a headache.
“Why don’t you go get some sleep?” Jesse told him “Bo and I can handle things this morning.”
“Okay, thanks” Luke said with a crooked smile. When he didn’t argue about lying down for awhile, Jesse knew the headache must be a bad one. Stifling a yawn, Luke headed for the stairs and his bedroom.