by: Marty Chrisman
After supper that night, the Dukes gathered in the living room to hear Shelby’s side of the story. Jesse sat in his favorite chair with Daisy perched on the arm beside him and the boys sat on the sofa. Shelby stood in front of the fireplace, chewing on her bottom lip, a nervous habit she’d had since she was a child. She wanted to tell them her version of what had happened but she wasn’t sure how to begin. Finally, she took a deep breath and started her story.
“First of all, I want y’all to know that I didn’t know nothing about the drugs….Cory was the one who got messed with that….not me. I didn’t find out about the drugs until Cory was in so deep that he couldn’t get out and he had to tell me.”
“How did Cory messed up in it?” Bo asked
“Money and too much pride.” Shelby told him with a deep sigh. “He met these guys at a bar in Atlanta. He had too much too drink and started talking about living on the mountain. Anyway, these guys were looking for a place to land a plane. A plane that was coming in from Mexico with a load of drugs. They offered Cory a lot of money to let them use part of our land. At first he refused but then they start razzing him about being a dumb hillbilly and saying he wouldn’t know what to do with that money anyway…..and one thing led to another and he finally took the money. After he did the first time…it was easier to do it the second time…”
“And the third time and the fourth time…” Bo said dryly
“It wouldn’t been so bad if he’s let it go at that but he didn’t. When they found out that he hauled shine, they talked him into doing some deliveries for them. And then he started sampling the merchandise.”
“So they sucked him in a little at a time.” Luke said grimly
“Something like that.” Shelby admitted “By the time he came to me and told me what was going on….he knew that if anything ever went down…he was going go down too. And he was afraid that I’d get drug into the middle of it.”
“Which it looks like you did.” Jesse said somberly
“I still ain’t sure what happened there. I didn’t even know that Cory had been arrested until these feds came banging on my door and told me I was under arrest for making and selling moonshine.” She paused for a moment and then continued “Thing is…they never found our shine we had stored or any of the still sites.”
“What?” Jesse spluttered “They can’t arrest you for making shine without finding any evidence to use against you!” If there was one thing Jesse knew about it was shine and the law when it came to making it and hauling it.
“Well, they did and the next thing I know….I’m in jail in Atlanta and that’s when I found out that I was suppose to be involved in this big drug operation with Cory.”
“None of that makes sense…” Daisy said
“It does if somebody trying to set her up.” Luke said grimly
“Or trying to use her to set somebody else up” Jesse added somberly
Luke looked at Shelby “You got a lawyer?”
“Yeah, a public defender out of Atlanta named Charlie Barnes. I’m suppose to meet with him next Tuesday at two o’clock.”
“I don’t see how they could have that big of an operation going on without somebody in Hazzard knowing about it.” Bo said
“Yeah, like Boss Hogg.” Luke said dryly
“Now, boys…” Jesse said in a scolding tone “J.D. Hogg might be as crooked as a dog’s hind leg and he might do a lot of dirty dealing…..but even J.D. has enough sense to stay away from drugs.”
“Cory told me they didn’t do any dealing around here….they just used this as their home base. They did most of their dealing in Atlanta and some over Sweetwater and some in Ceder City.” Shelby said
“Well it wouldn’t hurt to do some asking around…see if anybody knows anything about it.” Jesse said thoughtfully “Anything that might be able to help Shelby here.”
“I appreciate this y’all.” Shelby said somewhat self consciously “I don’t know how to thank you…”
“You don’t need to thank us.” Jesse told her “You helped save Luke’s life…not just once but twice…..so we’re the ones that owe you. And a Duke always repays their debts.” He shoved himself to his feet “Daisy and I need to go to town and do some shopping. And I want you boys to finish cleaning out them stalls while I’m gone.”
“Yes, sir” the boys chorused jointly.
Jesse and Daisy left to go to town and the boys went out to the barn leaving Shelby in the house to occupy herself. Shelby tried to find chores to do to keep busy and to help out but there wasn’t much to do. Daisy was an excellent housekeeper. Finally, she made a pitcher of lemonade and put it on a tray along with three glasses and carried it out to the barn.
Bo and Luke were both busy cleaning stalls. They both had their shirts off and a light sweat covered their chests and backs. “Hey,” Shelby said “I brought you something cold to drink” She sat the tray down on a workbench next to the stalls, then sat down herself on a bale of straw beside it.
“Great.” Bo said with a big grin, anxious as always to find some excuse to take a break. He helped himself to a glass and drank it in one long swallow. Luke smiled and continued working.
“You going crazy in the house by yourself?” Luke asked Shelby with a crooked smile
“Yeah,” Shelby said grinning back “So I figured I’d come out here and watch you guys work.”
“Yeah, well you better be careful or we might put you to work” Bo teased her
“Not cleaning stalls you ain’t” Shelby told him with a laugh. Luke couldn’t help but laugh too. Cleaning stalls was not a very pleasant job and both boys tried to put it off for as long as possible. “That reminds me…do you think you could borrow a couple of horses?”
“Yeah, sure.” Luke told her “Why? Do you wanna go riding?”
“No, I wanna go up on the mountain and get Lobo. I had to let him go the day they arrested me and I don’t like the idea of him running loose up there by himself.”
“Yeah, I can get a couple of horses tomorrow if you wanna do it then” Luke said
“I’d like that.”
“Are we about done here?” Bo asked
“Yeah, as soon as you finish cleaning out your stall.” Luke said. He had finished with his. He leaned the shovel against the wall and helped himself to a glass of lemonade. Shelby tried not to stare at his lean muscular build and flat taunt stomach, a body that had been developed from years of working on the farm.
After Bo had finished cleaning his stall, the boys and Shelby went back to the house. Shelby decided to watch a movie on TV while the boys went upstairs to shower and change clothes. Daisy and Jesse returned shortly after that and they all spent the rest of the evening watching TV and eating popcorn that Daisy had popped on the stove. Shelby could feel the love they all had for each another and the unique closeness they all shared. She and Cory were close, but not nearly as close as the Duke Family. And they weren’t as openly affectionate with one another either.