by: Kristy Duke

Staring through the thick darkness that heavily looms within my small bedroom I am slowly shoved into being awake as my thoughts abruptly turn to last night’s events. Thoughts of last night’s robbery at The Boar’s Nest to cornering them in their own car to send a sense of fear and dread to wash over my numb body. Fear and dread of what I may have gotten myself into by doing what I had, last night, watching them so confidently walking through the tables and then demanding the cash that they had came for, it had sent my thoughts recoiling back to my past with my old gang. It left me yearning for my old life back, for the rush of the adrenaline and excitement that each hit brought as well as the sense of belonging that had came with being in the gang. Something that I’ll never feel as long as I am in Hazzard. It had seemed like a good idea last night while remembering and missing my past, though now as thoughts of all that could go wrong with what I did and ask for, it doesn’t seem like such a good idea.

Sighing heavily, I fight back the questions that abruptly flood within me as I stiffly get out of bed to blindly find the light switch and the bright light chases the thick darkness away. Grabbing an old pair of jeans and a shirt for today Kristy and her kids’ voice silently reaches my room to bring guilt within me. Guilt for what I had asked for last night and the consequences that may follow if they do agree upon my joining them for what it would do to her though as I hear LB’s voice echo up the stairs, my guilt seems to lessen. Lessen in knowledge that if something were to happen while with the gun men from last night, that he would at least be here for her and for the kids.

Leaving my room to sneak into the bathroom, I slowly continue to get ready for the day while listening into the laughing and talking that seems to float up the narrow stares in a whisper. Looking into the large oval mirror that hangs over the bathroom sink I am almost startled to find a small smile cross my face, a smile from the mixture from the kids’ innocent laughter from downstairs and from the thought of belonging to another gang. Taking a deep breath, I quickly force the smile away while I comb my hair and my attention slowly falls onto the thick scar that runs down my neck, the thick scar that continues to remind me of the consequences of belonging to a gang may bring. Taking a deep breath, I quickly throw the comb down into the drawer to open the bathroom door to slowly follow the hall to the stairs to make my way to the kitchen.

“Uncle Garrett!” Jamie squeals while climbing off of her chair as I walk into the kitchen to find them all sitting at the table with their bowls of cereal in front of them. “Uncle Garrett!” she laughs as she quickly runs at me to hug tightly onto my legs, looking up at me with her green-blue eyes filled with innocence and excitement.

“Hey Jay,” I hug her back before looking up at everyone who smiles their good mornings at me, “see you all beat me downstairs today.”

LB grunts at the table and waits to swallow his food before saying, “You say that like it’s something different.”

“Morning Garrett,” Kristy smiles at me, “if you want something for breakfast, you are going to have to make it or get it yourself this morning. Boss wants me in the office today.”

“On a Saturday?” I question and she nods at me before she finishes her orange juice, “Next you know he’ll be having you work Sundays.”

She shakes her head. “He called this morning around seven,” she states and I glance at the clock to find it to be eight thirty, “to say that he wants me in by nine or so. He says The Boar’s Nest was robbed and that they had Daisy at gun point.” she goes silent as she looks up at me, “Where you there when that happen?”

I eye her and then LB for a long moment before nodding. “Yeah I was. In fact they made me spill my beer all over myself,” I state to force anger in my voice before taking a deep breath to look sympathetically at Kristy, “You talk to Daisy? How is she?”

She shakes her head slightly as she motions Jamie back over to finish her breakfast before looking back at me with worry in her gentle eyes. “I called her right after I got off the phone with Hogg. She says that she is fine, it just shook her up being at gun point and all. She said she had Shawn to thank for that, Luke’s old friend. Guess he stood up for her when the gunman wouldn’t let go of her,” Kristy gets up to walk to the sink to wash off her bowl and glass, “What a heroic move Shawn made trying to protect Daisy, especially from someone who has just returned to Hazzard after so many years away.” She goes silent for a long moment as she nervously glances back at the kids and then back at me. “Anyway, I told Daisy I’d stop by the farm for a little bit after work and maybe we could do something fun and relaxing to help her out. Maybe go see that movie that is playing in town or take her out to eat. Anything she wants to do. So that will leave the kids with you and LB if y ‘all don’t mind.”

I shrug. “Fine by me,” I slowly state, “though I may have to run into town for something later on today sometime.”

She eyes me questionably for a long moment before LB speaks up, “I already told you Kris, I got it covered. Cooter and Ethan are both at the garage today and this is my Saturday to have off. I’m free to be with them both for however long you need me to be with them. Maybe if it don’t rain again today I can take them up to the park for a while to play and then they can help me pick up this old mess of a house.”

Kristy smiles at him as he stands up and she walks over and hugs him for a moment before he gives her a small kiss. “Ewww you kissed mommy!” Jamie hisses from the table.

“Ebee kissed mummy,” Shay attempts to say LB kissed mommy from his booster seat at the table.

Kristy smiles at them both. “You both be good for LB or else you won’t be going nowhere with him. Understand?” they both nod, “OK. Mommy loves you both and will see you when I get home tonight.” She pauses a moment before she looks at LB, “Thanks LB. I owe you.”

He shakes his head at her, “No you don’t. You know I love your kids. We’ll have fun,” he smiles as he pats her on the back, “We’ll be fine. Bye  now.”

She nods at him. “Thanks,” she slowly turns to walk toward me to say, “feel free to join in and to help out. The kids would love to spend time with you too. . .at least before you have to go into town -” she starts to lecture me before my phone begins to loudly ring from it’s holster on my hip to cause me to jump slightly in surprise.

“I’ll help out as much as I can, trust me, Kris. I love them almost as much as you do, I’ve just been busy lately,” I quickly say as I yank the phone from my hip to read the caller ID that reads Private Caller. “Sorry, I have to take this. Bye Kristy.”

Opening the phone, I quickly walk out of the kitchen and into the family room before saying, “Garrett.”

For a long moment, the phone is silent and I begin to wonder if it is a prank call before a heavy voice states, “Meet me at The Boar’s Nest in a half hour in the back. You ain’t there, we’re gone.”

“OK,” I state a moment before realizing that he had already hung up. Sighing heavily, I put the phone back into it’s case as I walk into the kitchen in time to find Kristy walking out the front door already. “Hey LB,” I slowly state as Shay slowly walks to me to wrap his small arms around my leg and I slowly bend over to pick him up and he begins to play with my hair. “Would you mind if I leave right now? I know I said later on today, but the person I was to meet just called and said he wants to do it this morning. In like a half hour. I don’t know how long this will take, but I promise, once it is over, I’m on my way home.”

He shrugs at me while giving me a crazy smile. “Of course not. As I said, I’m free to be with them both for however long need be. I’ve already got it planned out,” he smiles as he takes Shay from me and Shay begins to play with the hair under his chin. “So go, have fun…stay outta trouble.”

I eye him for a moment. “Thanks.”

 

Nerves race thickly through me as I pull my motorcycle to a halt behind the deserted Boar’s Nest to glance at my cell phone to calculate that I am ten minutes early. Sighing heavily I silently grab a cigarette from it’s box with my lighter to light my cigarette, allowing it to calm my nerves. Once again, my mind goes back to last night while I attempt to envision all that could happen when they arrive, what their phone call means. Thinking of the guns that they all confidently carried and aimed at everyone in their way, despite them lacking the nerve to actually kill Daisy as they threaten, I begin to wonder what they would do to avoid witnesses. Now that Darrell had mentioned Shawn’s name to me last night and I had quickly admitted to knowing Shawn and drawing the vivid picture of what Luke would do if I were to tell him he was part of their gang, that would leave me as a witness. A witness linking Shawn back to them. Perhaps their phone call didn’t signal their acceptance of me, perhaps it was their way of luring me to them so they could take care of Darrell’s mistake.

Breathing in deeply, I force the kickstand up to slowly get off of the seat of my bike, stubbornly forcing myself to stay put and to see what they want instead of driving off in  hopes that they would forget last night. If they had intentions of killing me now, they would only go after me to kill me if I decided to chicken out now. Might as well as face up to what I had started last night. Their call could also mean of them wanting me to belong to their gang. But why would they want a local, they don’t know, to join in what they already established?

Sighing heavily, I throw the butt of my cigarette down upon the damp mud parking lot and as I step upon it, the soft sound of an oncoming car brings my attention to find the black Lincoln coming rapidly towards me. Leaning back upon my back, I take a deep breath, I attempt to put on the attitude of confidence in order to hide the fear that uncertainty brings forth within me. I silently watch them approaching for a few moments before they come to a halt a several feet to the side of my bike, in front of me of how I am standing. The man I recognize as Darrell from last night along with Cliff quickly steps out from the back seat to come to a silent halt a foot in front of me and I slowly stand up to greet them. “Glad to see you’ve thought it through,” I say, my voice strong and confident, as I force a cold smile at them.

“I wouldn’t be counting your lucky stars just yet,” Cliff hiss at me, “the boss wants to meet you for himself before he makes any decision on whether you’re in or out. But boy,” he shakes his head at me, “you better hope that he wants to accept you for your future don’t look too bright if he doesn’t . If you know what I mean.”

I swallow heavily as I continue to hide my emotions as I remind myself how things like this went down in Knoxville with newcomers to calm myself down. “Yeah sure,” I coolly state, “what we waiting for?”

Darrell gives me a sarcastic laugh. “Glad you’re so anxious plowboy,” he states as he pulls out a thick rope and a thick black piece of material that almost looks like a scarf from within his black leather coat. “First off we’re going to have to tie your hands behind your back and blind fold you before loading you between us in the back seat. We don’t want you to know where we’re going until we get there…that way if he does, for some miraculous reason, allows you to live if he rejects you, you won’t know where our hideout is. That’s privileged information that you have to earn.”

“The boss will remove them when and if he’s ready to once we get you to our hideout,” Cliff states besides him as Darrell steps aggressively towards me and I attempt to step backwards out of reflex only to have my motorcycle to stop me, “If you were in the gang you had claimed you were in, I’m sure you understand.”

I eye them both for a long moment before eyeing the thick rope and blindfold to remotely hint remember doing about the same thing when I was twelve when I first joined my original gang in Knoxville. Looking up from the rope and blindfold in Darrell’s hands, I nod at Darrell as I quietly step forward to him and turn around to place my hands behind my back together for him to tie. “OK, let’s do this,” I state and I tense up as he grabs my wrists and begins to tightly to tie them together, “but you all better be legit about all of this. I wind up dead somewhere, it’ll upset a whole lot of people that you would not want to mess with.”

Cliff grunts besides me as Darrell finishes tying my hands together tightly. “Yeah? Like that hick family of yours?” Cliff asks as the black blind fold is shoved over my eyes and Darrell begins to tightly tie it around my head. “We’d be real afraid of them.”

“Maybe them and they can be pretty frightening if they want to be,” I confidently state, silently wonder how they would act if I had showed up dead. Probably relieved. “but I was talking of my old gang. I may have been forced away from them, but they still consider me one of their own and I am pretty sure you all know how that sort of thing works when someone kills or wrongs one of their own.”

“Thanks for the warning,” I recognize Cliff’s voice as they both grab onto my upper arm tightly and force me to walk forward with them. “but we’re just here to deliver you to the boss. If someone were to do anything to you, it’d be him. Here’s the car, step up.”

I slowly step up just as they shove me down and in before shoving me across and a moment later feel squished in between them as their doors close and I feel the car jump forward.

 

*                              *                              *

 

                                                                ATLANTA

 

Fear and anger resonates within my numb body as I stare blindly up at the large white house that stands proudly upon the steep hill almost as if mirroring the man who had once lived within the thick walls. The man who had lived proudly within the four outside walls up until two days ago when he had been violently robbed of his life for his valuable possessions that was entrapped within his mansion of a house.  Robbed of his life for another’s greed and envy.  Sighing heavily, I slowly take a step backward to the cracked sidewalk that lies parallel to the curb and more emotions seem to swirl within me as his wife’s tearful voice cries out from within me while her green eyes plea back at me. Her story continues to taunt me with questions of what ifs and whys.  Phil had returned home to grab his son’s lucky ball glove that had been forgotten about on their rush out the door  and never returned. Instead of grabbing his son’s glove, he had been shot to death as he had innocently walked in on the robbers that was in the middle of robbing him. If only his son hadn’t forgotten his lucky glove. . .

“We going in, Sergeant?” I jump slightly as a hand lands upon my tense shoulder and I quickly turn around to be facing my partner, Treyton Mueller, who holds tightly onto the folder he had left me to retrieve from another agent.  “I got the folder from Reives.” He states after a moment of silence as he waves the manila folder in front of me as he eyes me as he awaits for my command.

Swallowing back my rough emotions that claw heavily within me, I slowly nod before motioning up towards the house for a short moment before taking the first step towards the cement stairs that lead up the steep hill to the long and well painted white front porch that lines the entire front of the house. “We’ll have a look at ’em when we get inside,” I slowly respond as I quickly begin to walk up the stairs, skipping every other step with my long strides. Walking quickly up the stairs my mind abandons all my what if questions and whys to begin working over the evidence and knowledge that we have gained upon the crime within the last couple of days. Going silently over everything over and over again in hope of finding some little information that I had overlooked before that may find some significance in now.  Coming to a halt on the front porch, I feel my heart beat rapidly within me from walking quickly up the stairs without stopping and I watch Trey quickly following me. As he comes to a halt in front of me, I state, “Hopefully there is something new within that folder that we don’t already know.” I fall silent as he nods and I quickly turn around to walk through the open door to find a couple of agents within the living room. “What have we got?”

An agent in the far corner looks up from the empty CD rack, shrugging his shoulders he states, “Nothing new that we already didn’t have or know before,” he pauses for a long moment, “we went through this house, room to room, outside and inside  when we had gotten called to the scene to begin with. We’re wasting our time, Sergeant.”

Anger rises within me at the young agent’s willingness to just give  up  with their impatience at finding nothing of value right away. “What’s your name, Agent?” I swallow my anger in attempt to gain his respect.

“Thomas Klensing,” he slowly responds, lowering his head.

“Agent Klensing,” I state his name and go silent until he looks up at me before continuing, “let me remind you that when you were here last going over this house inside and out, as you put it, it was getting dark outside and the house was packed with investigators searching for all sorts of evidence. Can you confidently assure me that nothing was missed at that time?”

He shrugs his shoulders as he eyes his older partner who was wise enough to keep out of it and continue his own search that he had been doing when we walked in. “Not with a hundred percent confidence,” he finally confides in us, “but am pretty sure we didn’t miss anything.”

“I don’t want a pretty sure or a maybe. I want a bold and confident yes, we got everything!” I snap at him, “Now, until we come upon some evidence that will lead us to the murders of Phil and his guards, I want you and your partner here at the house searching through everything and anything. Tear this place apart. We got full approval from Mrs. Brandon to do what is necessary to this house to get the scum that ripped their lives apart yesterday. Understand me? I want you two at this house searching and following through with the small evidence that we have until otherwise stated! Understand?”

Klensing nods silent. “Yes sir.”

I nod him back to his work before silently taking in the large living room that lies shattered with thrown  shelves, furniture, and items that had been thrown by the robbers in their hurry to get what they had wanted. Staring at the scene in front of me, I once again envision what may have taken place from the evidence we had gathered as I had done yesterday when I had been first assigned to the mayor’s case. Not coming up with anything new or of value from yesterday, I turn to Trey and put my hand out and he hands me the file without asking me anything. I nod at him before I throw the cover forward and a colored glossy of a thick and expensive pocket watch stares back at me. The same pocket knife we had found lying behind the couch where we believed where the first shooter had been positioned at. The shooter that had shot Phil and the first guard at. The thick handle of the knife is of a clear red color and in the middle of the handle the letters SMG are boldly italicized in gold lettering. “The knife,” I state as his turn the large photo over to look at the white paper that lies behind  it and excitement instantly hits me at seeing the  black and white picture that takes up most of the top left corner of the paper. The picture is of a mug shot of a white male with light brown tasseled hair and a thin beard and mustache, the man stares at the camera with hardened eyes.  Besides and under the photo lies the neatly printed information of the man who had last touched the pocket knife that had left clear finger prints all over the handle and sharp blades.

“Liam Fredrick Brock,” I dryly state, reading from the paper, “thirty years old and six one and one hundred and eighty-five pounds.. Dark green eyes and light brown hair. American.” I slowly read on silently before I come to Liam’s crime summary. “Was arrested three years ago for robbing a bank in Austin, Texas but had  been found innocent by the jury. Not enough evidence to tie him to the robbery. Too coincidental.”

“Yeah,” Trey slowly states to break his silence, “read on, it gets more interesting.”

I eye him for a long moment before reading, “Has been  suspected of hanging out with Andre  Zarlo. Who is wanted for robbery and homicide.” I go silent as I flip the page and I am greeted with a similar sheet with Andre Zarlo’s picture looking up at me from his mug shot from over fifteen years ago.

“Andre and the rest in the pack there are only suspected of the men that our boy Liam hangs out with. The gang or group or whatever you call these guys have been hard to come by and to catch. By what the reports claim, they are smart and greedy. Liam is the last one of them to have been arrested lately and that didn’t stick.  Cale Tuttle had been arrested ten years ago and spent two years in jail before being released on good behavior for bank robbery in Michigan. Other than that, there is nothing much to go by. They don’t leave much behind. Their styles change from hit to hit so it’s hard to link the robberies together.”

I nod as I glance through the rest of the pack of papers that match the first two but with different photos of different men, their stories are similar to one another. All being suspected of being part of the gang that has gotten away with bank robberies in many states with a  couple of shootings when someone had attempted to stop them. “If they are accused of bank robberies,” I silently state, “why would they leave banks to be robbing people’s houses?”

“It’s the mayor’s house,” Trey states, “and everyone around here knows he’s not short on his own personal money. Just look at the house. The house alone shouts ‘I’m rich!’ to everyone who sees it,” he goes silent for a long moment, “plus, maybe they have robbed other stores and people to get money and goods in the past. They just haven’t linked them to them.”

I nod as I glance up from the file to stare at the large painting of the mayor and his family that hangs proudly over the fire place and a lump of sadness drowns within me as I take in their large smiles. Large smiles that will seem like a distant memory to all of them now that they had  been robbed of their father and husband. All for money. “Well,” I state as I turn back to Trey while taking out the picture of the knife, “they may have been clean and  smart in the past, but Liam just messed up. Now all we’ve got to do is find him. But why he have the initials SMG printed on the knife when Liam’s initials would be LFB?”

Trey shrugs. “Perhaps he stole it from someone,” he offers up, “or maybe Liam, Cale, and Andre aren’t their real names.”

 

.                                               *                              *                              *

 

HAZZARD COUNTY

 

Intense anger and worry storm within Landon Felton’s dark eyes as he glances around the old and well worn abandoned house that Shawn had help locate as the perfect hideout for them. And despite his dissatisfaction of having to admit of anyone other than him to be right, he had to agree that the old abandoned house was perfect for their hide out. The big abandoned house was located in the middle of a large area of woods, surrounded by thick and heavy trees and shrubbery with the only hint of it’s location being of the thin lane that lead to the old house. Not only that, but several feet away, surrounding most of the woods, lies the swamp; a place that not many people like to venture out towards due to the alligators. Not only was the location perfect, but the house was big enough to store everyone as well as their belongings that they refused to leave behind; such as the goods they stole from the mayor’s house, and had a small shack out back big enough to hold their van and a car. The entire place was a perfect hiding place for them and yet he remains skeptical of being so close to Atlanta, of being in the hometown of one of his members. Despite how perfect the location is, Landon hates everything about it. Living each and every day in one city or another surrounded by buildings and people, he had grown accustomed to being surrounded by people, cars, and buildings. He had lived his life of crime hiding amongst people as he hopped from one city to another, several cities he has hid or lived in several different times. Such as Atlanta which he had always considered to be his favorite of all.

But now they are well hidden in the middle of a thick and wide woods surrounded by heavy marshland, surrounded with animals of all sorts living around them and not a single person living within ten miles of the place. It was definitely different from anything else they have done before. Sighing heavily, he attempts to find solace in the fact that it is different from anything they’ve done in the past, solace in the fact that the feds would least expect them to be hid out in the woods of a little hick town of Hazzard. Though being a person who finds comfort in normalcy and routines, his solace is brief and short while he continues to fear people recognizing Shawn. No, he shakes his head at himself, not Shawn. After all, Shawn lived his first eighteen  years here in Hazzard, everyone would know and recognize him. What he fears is people recognizing Liam from Shawn, the person Shawn has became once he joined the gang ten  years ago. Or that Shawn may want to revert back to his old ways now that he is lodged up with old friends. If he were to change his ways. . .

Landon’s thoughts are abruptly interrupted as the front door squeaks open and Landon turns around to find Shawn slowly walking into the open room to close the door. “What I tell you?” Shawn asks looking around, “Looks like you all have moved in.”

“You know how I feel about this. It makes me nervous,” Landon confesses as he pulls out a cigarette, “especially after last night. Darrell told me what you did at the bar. . .how could you be so stupid to step in like that?!”

Anger flashes within Shawn’s eyes. “You weren’t suppose to be there…or they weren’t! You keep talking about sticking to the plan, but last night, it wasn’t part of the plan. Unless,” Shawn goes quiet, “unless you all have plans of your own that you aren’t telling me. Do you?”

Landon shakes his head as he blows a cloud of smoke in Shawn’s face. “Nah. Last night was a sporadic move on our part. Then again, you were suppose to be at your hick friend’s house,” he answers as he begins to walk around Shawn. “Darrell had it all under control until you showed up…I see he did pretty good job getting his point across.” He points to Shawn’s dark bruise and cut covering most of his right half of his forehead.

“Yeah he did,” Shawn admits, “and I decided to hang out with old friends while I was there. To revisit old times. Heck…they’d think it odd I come like that and not want to go to The Boar’s Nest. That’s everyone’s favorite hang out place around here. It’s something that is silently expected. But maybe if I knew you all were gonna be there, I would have talked them to staying at the farm.”

“Well I guess this means we will have to work on our communication while we are here. Hope you know this is only a temporary fix,” Landon states, “Talking of which, where do they think you are right now?”

“They think I’m at my old house visiting my brother,” Shawn shrugs as he moves over to a cracked window to glance out, “I told them I’d be back later tonight.”

“Very good. I want you to be open and honest with me, Shawn. If any one of them or any one of this hick town gets even a slightest hint of who you really are or who you became, we are packing up and leaving. Understand?” Landon says and waits for Shawn to nod, “I know we went over this, but I want to make the point clear. There is no turning back for you. You go back to them, you don’t tell us the truth about them,” he goes silent as he pulls out his gun and points it at him, “you’re finished. I’m not going down because of you. Neither is any of our gang.”

“You already made the point clear,” Shawn angrily states, “you’ll be the first to know if any of them know or think differently of me than the person they know.”

“Hopefully so. But in the meantime,” Landon’s pacing comes to a halt in front of Shawn, “you know a Garrett Duke?”

Shawn’s eyes widen in alert and fear. “Uh,” he states, thinking of lying before deciding else wise, “yeah. He’s Luke’s cousin. Bo’s twin brother.”

“Know anything about him?” Landon casually asks.

Shawn shakes his head. “No, I don’t. I have never seen him until yesterday when I arrived. Guess he lived in Knoxville before his old man forced him to move down here with his older half sister and her kids. Guess he was in some gang and in some trouble in Knoxville which was why his old man wanted him out of Knoxville and down here,” Shawn nervously states, “Why?”

“I thought you said you didn’t know anything about him?” Landon asks to get a quizzical look from Shawn, “Well you just said he was in a gang in Knoxville and his old man forced him to move down here with his sister. That is some information on  him…information I was hoping to hear,” Landon slowly explains and Shawn lets out the breath he had been holding. After a long moment of silence Landon continues, “As for why…because Darrell was dumb enough and let your name slip. Guess Garrett was in the get away car last and forced them all to think he was Cliff while he had Cliff knocked out in the backseat. Garrett, I guess, wants to join our little gang,” Landon states as he begins pacing again, “Darrell made a statement about how you had to step up to help that waitress. Something like that and Garrett instantly knew who you were and threatened to tell Luke, your buddy, the truth about you if we didn’t accept him into our gang.”

Shawn watches Landon for a long moment, his thoughts whirlwind within  him as he thinks of all that this could mean. Why would Garrett do such a thing and then want to be in with them? What he have to gain by it? “So,” he finally speaks up, “what are you going to do?”

“Well Cliff and Darrell have gone to pick him up, they should be on their way back as we speak,” Landon responds, “and I was thinking, another member wouldn’t hurt. Figure I’d let him join or let him think he has joined and have you be his watch dog. I may have some use for him. He messes up, you confront him and then tell me and let me do what I need to do. It’s either that or kill him and I’d rather not have to worry about  hiding his body if you know what I mean. What you think? Can we trust him?”

Shawn shrugs. “I am with whatever you want to do and I’ll be glad to watch him while you have use for him,” he slowly responds as he watches the Lincoln come down the narrow lane and slide into the shack before he turns to Landon and continues, “As for what I think of him or trust him. I really don’t know. I only met him once and that was for a little while, so all I know is what I have already told you.”

Landon sighs audibly, his angry eyes glancing over Shawn’s shoulder to silently watch Darrell and Cliff dragging a tall blond haired man in their direction with their customary blind fold and hands tied behind his back. “Well,” he states taking a step backward to eye Shawn, “we are about to find out.”

 

GARRETT DUKE

 

“We’re here plowboy,” Darrell states as the car comes to an abrupt halt and I hear doors beginning to open around me. “Follow our lead and you’ll make it inside alright.”

I feel myself nodding before a rough hand lands upon my upper hand and I am roughly yanked out of the car and onto my feet before another rough hand lands upon my other upper arm. “Let’s go,” Cliff hisses in my ear as they begin to drag me forward and I struggle to keep up. A moment later chills wash over my tense body as a chilly wind hits my face and I realize that they must have parked in some sort of a garage or something and now have dragged me outside. I grunt out in surprise to interrupt the silence between us as my foot  harshly lands upon something hard and I feel myself jerk free from their hold upon my arms. Through the blindfold and my tied hands behind my back, fear instantly rises within me as I am  harshly thrown downward before I roughly land on something thick and squishy; mud.  “Darrell!” Cliff yells somewhere close by as they both grab tightly onto my upper arms once more to jerk me up, “You were to tell him to watch his step!” He sighs audibly. “Sorry Garrett.”

I am filled with disbelief towards  his apology as anger swells rapidly within me as I silently remind myself it is I who got myself into this mess. I should know best of all from past experiences that the new member of any gang is the very least trusted and respected and is the one the worst treated, at least until he or she proves himself or herself worthwhile of their respect and acceptance. It shouldn’t have surprised me. I should have expected it.

After hearing a door squeak open, Cliff states, “There’s stairs.” Silence follows as I struggle up a few stairs before hearing the door slam closed behind us and the chill wind resides as I assume we are now inside their hideout. “Well Boss,” Cliff states and my mind falls back onto the Boss that I know, though know it is not him. At least with the Boss I know, I know what to expect. Taking a deep breath, I force myself to stand tall and put on the face of confidence as I bury my dread and fear deep within me. “Here is Garrett Duke. The one we had told you about last night.” Cliff finishes.

“Very well,” a deep voice harshly replies, “you all can leave now. I’ll call you if I need any of you here. Meanwhile you all have jobs to do in order to push the plan ahead, go do them.”

“Yes sir,” several voices states before they slowly let go of my upper arms and I feel them leaving while I hear their foot prints echo away from where I remain standing, awaiting for him to address me.

I stand in place for what seems to be forever until their foot steps evaporate into still silence to reinforce my thoughts to turn back to all that could go wrong now that I am here alone with them. With no one knowing where I am at. If they wanted to kill me, the could easily do it and no one would know any better until I didn’t show up.  “Well Duke,” he finally states to interrupt the silence, “I don’t know what I should think of you. You are either really stupid to do what you did last night, really foolish, or maybe just think of yourself as just plain brave. I don’t know what you want or think you’ll achieve by bullying yourself into our group as you are attempting to do, but I do know that you are damn lucky,” he pauses for a long moment before I feel the icy cold metal end of a gun press to my temple to send chills down my back. Despite the fear that trembles within me, I continue to stand still and not to flinch at the gun pressed tightly to my skin, knowing any sign of fear would be a neon sign of weakness for him. “You are damn lucky I don’t just blow that ugly head of yours off right here and now! In fact, I don’t know why I don’t. I mean,” he pauses to remove the gun from my head, “I mean if I were to beat you to death right here and now, who would know? I buried your somewhere within the marsh, no one would ever find you. You know that right?”

I feel myself nod at him as my mouth goes dry. “I am full aware of what may happen and you right, no one would find me. As I told Darrell and Cliff last night, I ain’t afraid of dying or being killed,” I boldly proclaim, continuing to feel vulnerable with my eyes blindfolded and my arms tied tightly behind my back, “I am just tired of being trapped in this hick town and not having a gang to belong to. Watching your boys last night made me remember how it had felt to belong. . .so here I am.”

He goes silent for a long moment. “Yeah, so here you are alright. You are here and I am left wondering what I should do with you. If you are telling the truth about belonging to a gang in Knoxville, then you know how it is about not wanting to leave behind witnesses then. And thanks to Darrell’s big mouth you recognized Shawn and that leaves you a witness,”  he finally states what I had thought about while waiting for them to arrive, “So as I said, I am left wondering what I should do with you. I could kill you easily right now, which would leave me very little risk once I hid your body. Or I can risk trusting you into my group and hope you’ll keep your mouth shut and do what you are told to do. What would you do if you were in my place?”

“Obviously I would like you to chose the risk and to have me in your gang, otherwise I wouldn’t be here,” I calmly state, “but if I were in your place, I’d imagine it would be easier to kill me and get me out of your way.”

He goes quiet once more as I hear him walking back and forth in some sort of nervous energy. Finally he takes a deep breath and seems to come to a halt in front of me before stating, “Normally I’d follow my gut instinct and take care of you once and for all, but as I said, today’s your lucky day,” he pauses as I hear him walk around me and he roughly yanks my blindfold off my face and am surprised to find Shawn standing against the back wall, watching silently. Taking a deep breath I glance down to find myself covered in mud from tripping over something outside and I quickly wipe my face with my hands when he cuts the rope from my wrists to find my wrists bruising and cut from the ropes. “I think I’ll give you a try, see what you got to give us. Though I wouldn’t try anything stupid if I were you. Shawn there as well as everyone else is gonna have their eyes and ears glued onto you. You mess up once and you will be buried in the marsh. Understand?”

“Completely,” I state as I pull a cigarette from the box as well as my lighter to light it up and after a couple of inhales, I feel my emotions begin to calm deeply within me. “Just tell me what you want me to do.” Eyeing Shawn momentarily, I slowly turn around to look at the man they call boss squarely in the face to find him to be a couple of inches taller than me with long brown hair tightly pulled back in a pony tail. His dark eyes stare harshly back at me as he flexes his thick muscles that are covered in dark tattoos.

“That’s the right attitude,” he flashes a cold smile at me, “Shawn take him in the back and inform him of our gang as he puts it.”

“Sure thing, Boss,” Shawn says behind me before taking walking towards me to place his hand on my shoulder to motion me to follow him, “This way, Duke.”

I eye Shawn questionably as anger resonates in his eyes towards me before I reluctantly begin to follow him toward the back of the room where a small hall way lies with a couple of closed doors. “So what happens now?” I attempt to casually ask as we approach the hallway just as the boss exits out the front door. Looking back at Shawn, I am once again surprised to see him staring coldly and angrily at me before he abruptly comes to a halt and grabs tightly onto my shirt and before I can do anything he violently shoves me against the thin walls.

“Don’t you dare get all buddy, buddy with me after your fool stunt you just pulled! If I were him-” he cuts himself off to point where the boss had just been standing before he applies more pressure, “I’d have beat you to death while he had opportunity! We don’t need the cowardly likes of you in -”

Abruptly I cut him off by spitting in his face and throw my arms up in between his two arms that clings to my shirt to harshly shove them away and shove an elbow harshly in his face. As he stumbles backwards, I rush in at him and tackle him onto the floor to pin him down and send a couple of back  hands violently across his face. Blood begins to flow from his mouth and nose while he struggles against my pressure to get up and away from me. “Cowardly likes of me, huh?” I grin down at him, “The last thing I am is a coward nor would I want to be all buddy, buddy with an dirt bag as yourself.  You want to see a coward?” I ask down at him while punching him in the chest to force him to cry out again, “You should look in the mirror at yourself. Only a coward would join some gang or group or whatever you call yourself and then run to your hometown and hide behind your old best friend when things don’t go your way. I am definitely not Luke’s friend or on his side, nor do I even like him, but he deserves way better than you or how you are using him.”

“It’s the only way,” he grunts from below, choking on his own blood, “our plan will work. You either go along or you’re dead. You so much as hint towards it to Luke or anyone else in Hazzard, I will beat you so badly you wished you were dead. Then Landon can finish you off!”

I laugh at him as I send another back hand across his face and his head is thrown back onto the floor to send his eyes watering in pain. “You’ll beat me just like you are now, huh?” I ask him sarcastically, “You don’t have to worry about me saying one word about your dirty secret. . .I could care less about Luke, Bo or any of them or what they think. Go ahead and hurt Luke. Use him as you are. I just won’t stand here and talk dirty about me as I am some worthless piece of trash as you are. Understand?”

I send my hand up to punch him again and he quickly nods. “OK, ok. I’m sorry,” he spits blood out, “I just don’t take it kindly you cutting in as you did. Threatening to blow my cover, to blow our plan to get in as you did. I don’t take it kindly that the boss just let you walk as he did either. But you proved your point of not being a coward, because you have no clue what you just brought upon yourself by attacking me as you did. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.”

I smile coldly at him. “I am full aware of how it works and I say, bring it on,” I state as the door behind him opens and Darrell walks in with Cliff and I quickly roll off of Shawn to slowly stand up.

“Shawn!” Cliff states startled as he rushes over to Shawn to help him up before they both look coldly at me. “What you think you doin’? He allows you in and you just go in and attack Shawn? Wait until we tell -”

I sarcastically laugh to interrupt his angry statement before I turn around and walk back into the main room where their boss stands silently watching. “Before they go tell on me like a wimpy five year old,” I state as I feel Shawn and Cliff joins in behind me, “I’ll tell -”

“No one will be telling me nothing!” he barks as he threatenly walks up to me to stop an inch or two away. I stand tall, refusing to budge a muscle. “I heard what was said and saw what had happened!”  He goes silent as he pulls his gun back out and places it to my head once more and I glare into his hard eyes, watching for any sign of how serious he is.  “You try to attack him or one of us again, we’ll be burying you in the marsh. You understand?”

Swallowing hard, I nod. “You’d have to kill me first,” I force a smile at him as he pockets the gun and more anger enters his eyes, “and before you do that, maybe you should warm your own men to leave me alone. Shawn attacked me first by shoving me into the wall, I was only defending myself. Besides, I don’t take it none to kindly him calling me a coward as he had.”

He stares coldly at me for a long silent moment. “You are damn sure of yourself aren’t you. You think you are tough stuff, huh?” he asks back instead, “I could shoot you right now and trust me, I won’t feel bad about it either. You know that as much as I do, so why  so sure I won’t do it?”

“If you were gonna kill me, you’d have done it when they pushed me in here…while I had my hands tied behind my back. Not in fear of me escaping…you all out number me and I’d have little chance of getting far,” I pause, “but it’d be a lot more neat and more convenient for you to kill me with my hands tied behind my back than now when I would more than likely attempt to fight you. Leaving you a mess and a hassle to deal with.

“Now it is my turn to ask a question,” I shoot back at him, “what you want with me so badly that you didn’t have me killed?”

He laughs coldly as he finally walks away. “Well you did prove your point of not being a coward as Shawn pointed out, but also,” he pauses, “that you know your stuff and how things work. We may not be the sort of gang you were associated with in Knoxville, but you proved yourself that you were part of a gang. As for what we want with you,” he comes to a halt back in front of me, “you will help Shawn keep an eye on that nosey family of yours. Keep an eye out in town. Alert us when you think anyone is onto us. It is your job to keep them all away from us and unknowing of our plans and so forth.” He walks over to Shawn and Cliff. “Shawn and Cliff, take him back and inform him how it works and some of our plan. I feel he can be trusted. After that is done, drop him off at his car and let him know when and where to meet us next.”

“Yes sir,” Cliff nods, “we blindfold him again?”

“I said he can be trusted!” the boss snaps and Cliff hangs his head. “Shawn…you better cool yourself. I don’t want to see what you just done to him again. You understand? Next time I’ll allow him to kick your sorry butt as we all know he would have. Despite what you may think of your ability to fight, your fighting skills are very slacking compared to what I just saw from him. Understand?” He goes silent as Shawn obediently nods at him. “OK go to it!”

“Let’s go Duke,” Shawn mutters at me and I force a smile at him before turning and following them both down the same hall we were just in.

 

***UNCLE JESSE***

 

My old dirty white Ford truck complains loudly as I shove it into park next to my nephews’ orange racing car and I sigh heavily as I stare ahead at the old farm house as exhaustion slowly melts deeply within me. Exhaustion with thoughts mixed of all the work that still needs to be done to the old farm house and around the farm and thoughts of all that had happened  yesterday; from Shawn’s arrival, Bo’s attack, to Daisy’s story of being held at gunpoint at work last night. Chills roll down my back as my thoughts fixate upon Daisy’s story, of her big tears that had rolled down her wet cheeks as she came home early from work last night with Shawn and Luke to enforce anger within me. Anger that anyone would want to even think of hurting Daisy. And for what? For a little money that remains in the cash register.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly open the door to step out into the cold and damp mid morning to force myself to look upward to find dark thick gray clouds covering the sky, threatening to bring upon another rain storm.  After a moment, I slowly walk towards the house and up the few stairs to the porch where I stiffly bend down to pick up a rolled up newspaper that lies in a tightly tied clear bag.  For a moment I stare at the damp bag before taking a couple of steps to open the front door.  “Uncle Jesse,” Daisy smiles at me before walking over for a hug.

“Hey Dais,” I state worriedly, “how are you this morning?”

“I’m fine. . .I was just a little shook up last night,” she shrugs it off before glancing back as Luke walks into the room with a cup of coffee in  hand, “Where’s Bo?” Daisy changes the subject with worry in her eyes.

I look at Luke with expectancy of his answer before he finally shrugs at both of us while he takes a long drink of his hot coffee. “I’m not his keeper,” Luke finally responds to send surprise within me towards his coldness towards his cousin, the cousin that he had considered his best friend growing up.

Daisy rolls her dark eyes at him before looking over at me. “They got in a fight this morning,” she finally says in a way of explanation to cause worry to thickly explode within me.

Worry as my thoughts fall back onto yesterday and how bad Bo had taken Shawn’s return to Hazzard and how it had upset Luke in return. “A fight?” I question to look over at Luke who shrugs again as he throws a chair back before quietly sitting down in it while he looks away, attempting to ignore the question. “Over what?”

Luke sighs audibly before taking another long drink of his coffee, procrastinating. “I told you this morning, Dais, it was between Bo and I,” Luke finally hisses at Daisy as he directs his attention towards her, “it was nothing. Bo’s an adult now…he’ll get over it.”

“He’ll get over it?” Daisy asks, anger thick in her voice, “Maybe with time and a nice apology from you he might. And maybe to you it was nothing, after all it wasn’t said to you, but I can guarantee you that it meant a lot of something to Bo!” She pauses to wipe at her cheeks as tears begin to run down her tan cheeks. “Adult or not, what you said to him this morning was harsh…real harsh! And him looking up to you as he does, it will -”

“Stop feeling sorry for him, Daisy. He’s the one that started it…as I had told you earlier,” Luke interrupts her, “he got what he had coming to him. Fair and square…harsh or not. If only he were smart enough to stop and think about  -”

“Wait a damn minute there!” I finally yell out and the room goes quiet, “Stop your fighting and tell me what was said and done this morning with Bo!”

“Yes sir,” Luke sighs heavily, bowing his head as he had done as a child when in trouble. Finally he looks up at me and says, “I got him up as I always do and as he was getting dressed, I told him of what happened last night at The Boar’s Nest. Of the men holding Daisy at gun point, of Shawn coming to her rescue to get attacked himself. He was all worried about Daisy, but when I got to what happened to Shawn he only shrugged it off. He said that Shawn probably had other alternatives for doing what he had than to help save Daisy…that Shawn always thinks of himself before doing anything!” He goes silent before eyeing Daisy harshly again, “I’d think after what happened last night and what Shawn did for you, that you of all people would be upset at Bo for saying what he did. For acting the way he did! That you would be more appreciative towards Shawn!”

“I am Luke,” Daisy stiffly states, “and you just said it yourself. That was said in y’all’s room where I wasn’t at, so how’d I to know what he said that made you that upset? If I remember right, each time I asked you why you were so upset at him, you told me to mind my own business and not to worry about it!”

I watch them two for a brief silent moment before breaking the silence to ask, “So what you do, Luke?”

He silently looks into his cup of coffee for a long moment to allow the awkward silence to re-enter the kitchen and I slowly look down at the paper in my hands. “I told him that was the most selfish and immature thing I heard him say, that I couldn’t believe he would say or think such a thing about Shawn or anyone!” Luke states as he stands up, “He got upset that I would call him on it and he angrily walked out of the room…that’s where Daisy was to hear what was said. You started the story, Daisy, you can finish it.” He eyes her for a moment before he walks silently past me and steps out onto the porch, allowing the screen door to slam shut behind him to force my anger to rush within me.

“I should never have said anything,” Daisy finally states to interrupt my thoughts of following Luke to tell him once again how I hate them doing that, even when upset. “now he’s upset all over again. He’s right. I didn’t hear what started it, just what was said when Luke followed Bo out of the room. He was upset and told Bo to come back and face him like a man. When he didn’t he grabbed Bo’s arm and threw him into the wall and wouldn’t let go. Told him to stop being so immature about Shawn being at the farm, that if he couldn’t be mature enough to accept Shawn at the farm, then maybe it was time for Bo to find his childish self another place to live, because as it is, Luke would rather have Shawn at the farm than Bo. At least he’s mature enough to put up with Bo’s childish ways and man enough to do the right thing.

“That was when I finally stopped yelling at them to stop and attempted to push Luke off of him. I guess I broke Luke’s concentration and he let go, told Bo he better go before he does something that they both would later regret,” she pauses for a long moment as she takes a deep breath before hugging me once more, “I can’t remember the last time I saw Luke that upset at Bo. Or saw the look in his eyes that he had for Bo. Or the hurt look Bo had towards Luke.”

I sigh heavily. “It’ll be OK, Daisy. They’ll work this out and when they do, they’ll be back being best friends…like they always do,” I finally respond, hoping desperately that I am correct about it, “Where’s Shawn at?”

“When Luke let go of Bo, Bo quickly walked out the back door without a word to anyone, so Shawn helped Luke with the chores…told him he wanted to help out to earn his stay here, plus it would give him another opportunity to catch up on things,” she shrugs, “when Luke got back from his morning chores, he said Shawn went over to his old place to make his arrival known to Shane and to get reacquainted with his brother. I guess he’ll be back tonight or this afternoon sometime.”

I slowly nod as I give her another hug to give her some comfort before walking over to the table to slowly sit down and begin untying the bag. “It’ll work itself out, Daisy, it always does,” I finally state as I pull the bag open and grab the day’s newspaper out of the clear bag and unfold. My attention abruptly falls upon the large black and white photo of Atlanta’s mayor smiling up at me and as I read the big black and bold title of the article, my heart comes to halt in shock and in terror. ATLANTA MAYOR, PHILLIP ROCKHOLSE , AND GUARDS KILLED WHILE ENTERING MAYOR’S OWN HOUSE.  Silence enters the house as I slowly begin to read the article and learn how Phillip was shot and killed while he walked in on some robbers that was robbing his house while he went back to retrieve his son’s lucky baseball glove. Instantly my thoughts fall back to the several times I’ve seen or read about him in the paper or on a local television channel, of how happy and outgoing he was, of the numerous charities he gave and worked volunteering for.

“What is it Jesse?” Daisy asks as she comes to look over my shoulder and after a moment, she says, “That’s horrible. Isn’t he the one that attempted to run against Hogg back when I was in school?”

“Almost won if Hogg hadn’t cheated his way in,” I grunt aloud, “what a tragedy. Hopefully the FBI will be able to catch those guys that killed him, grant Phillip’s family at least some justice for what they did.”

“Yeah,” Daisy nods in agreement, “Oh Kristy said she was going to drop by after work this afternoon so that we could hang out, do girl things. So she said. Unless you need me to -”

“I’ll always need you, Daisy. But I don’t need you to do anything other than go out and have yourself a good time tonight,” I smile up at her as I shove the paper aside, my thoughts still entangled within the events I had just read about. Standing up, I state, “I think I’ll go try and find Bo, see what he has to say.”

Daisy nods. “OK Jesse.”

 

Walking into the dark barn, my thoughts fall from the article and onto the many times I have found Bo attempting to hide from me and his problems in the dark corner of the loft. Of sitting with him and listening to him tell me what is wrong while trying to help him feel better. Ever since he was old and brave enough to climb the old rickety ladder up, he had always ran there for solace and comfort in his time of need or when wanting to be left alone. As he gotten older and into high school, he had also found the dark caves to hide in to be alone. But seeing how his car was parked out front when I got home, that leaves the loft for his most likely place to be hiding out at.

Taking a deep breath, I glance up the old wooden ladder that leads up to the loft for a long moment before gaining the confidence to slowly begin climbing up the ladder to loft.  Reaching the loft, I slowly stand up before standing still for a long moment as I allow my eyes to adjust to the thick shadowy darkness that looms around me. After a moment the boxes lining the wall slowly come into focus and the sound of Bo’s raspy and wheezy breathing becomes audible to remind me of the attack he had yesterday and to make me wonder if he had another one due to the fight he had with Luke. Sighing heavily, I slowly begin to walk towards the large open door, where the sound of his wheezing is coming from; coming from the dark corner where he always sits while up here. In the front right corner, enough to hide in the dark shadows and yet able to look out over the farm.

After a few steps, I can make out his dark shadowy figure that leans against the wall and hugging his knees tightly to this thin chest. Making my way to  him, I slowly and silently begin to think of what I should say and how I should handle this. Reaching him, I slowly bend over and as I place a hand upon his tense shoulder he jumps and gasps in surprise to make me pull my arm back. “Bo,” I slowly state before stiffly sitting down next to him, “sorry, didn’t mind to sneak up on you like that. Mind if I sit here?”

H shrugs before he violently begins to cough into his elbow for a long moment before his coughing resides back into his heavy wheezy breathing. “Like it matters. You’ll sit there whether I mind or not,” I finally responds as his attention remains out the opening and away from me. “And before you begin in on me on how much of an idiot I am and how rude I was to make the comment I did to Luke,” he pauses for a long moment to look back at me, beating me to the topic I had sought him out for, “let me tell  you something that I am sure Luke conveniently forgot to tell you. Right after I opened my big mouth and he got that look in his eyes, I realized what exactly I had said and just how wrong it had sounded and I apologized. But it was too late, the damage was already done, and Luke wouldn’t accept it. So I don’t know what else he or you wants me to do about it.”

Feeling his anger and frustration through his words, I slowly place a comforting hand upon his tense shoulder and he quickly shrugs my hand away. “First of all, I didn’t climb up that dang ladder up here just to tell you how rude you were or how much of an idiot you are as you put it,” I slowly state, struggling to know what to say that would help comfort him and help the boys get along better at the same time. “Secondly, I just got Luke’s and Daisy’s side of the story of the fight between you and Luke; I came here to hear your side of the story. Be upset at Luke, but don’t take it out on me, you hear?”

“Yes sir,” he says in a whisper before falling silent, leaving me to listen into his breathing to enforce my worry to accumulate within me. “Luke’s right,” Bo finally speaks up, “I said what he said I said about Shawn…about him having other alternatives for saving Daisy, that he always has himself in mind before doing anything. And perhaps I should be sorry for feeling that way, but I don’t. He was that way in the past and he has yet to prove that he has changed any since then,” he goes silent as he casts his attention out over the farm, “but that was then…who am I to say he hasn’t changed? It don’t matter what I think or feel about him, I should never have said what I said about him aloud. Especially to Luke. It just sorta came out. Like Luke said,” he goes silent for another long moment. “I need to learn to think before saying or doing anything, that’d save us both a lot of trouble and hurt in the end.”

“You and Shawn never did get along. Guess it shouldn’t be any different now,” I hear myself stating, “but you’re right, you shouldn’t have said what you said, especially when you don’t have anything backing you up.” I sigh heavily, wondering if I should go on or ask what else happened or if I should just drop it.  “But you apologized?” I finally decide on asking, too surprised that through Bo’s easily upset temper and pride, that he found it in him through it all to apologize whether knowing he was wrong or not.

“For what little it was worth,” he lets out a deep breath he had been  holding, “he kept saying what was said, was said. That I need to change my attitude about Shawn, more accepting. I told him he could either take my apology or leave it, the choice was his and when I went to leave he got more upset at me and threw me against the wall. Said a whole bunch of stuff before telling me to leave before he done something we both would regret.”

“Daisy filled me in on what was done and said after you left your room,” I slowly state before falling silent to watch him struggling with his asthma to breath. “You use your inhaler?”

He quickly looks over at me before looking away. “I’m fine,” he stubbornly states before silently adding, “I just wish it would all just go away.”

Through the shadows of the loft, I silently nod while recalling many conversations that had Bo falling back onto that line, whether it was his asthma, problems at school, or at home. “I know. Me too,” I finally state, “but it isn’t going to on it’s own. Luke has his reasons for being upset for what you said, but he shouldn’t have done what he did or said what he did. Not that this gives him an excuse to do what he did, but we both know he said what he said out of anger, from being upset. Give him a few minutes or so and let it pass and I am sure he will feel otherwise.

“In the meantime,” I slowly continue, feeling my legs stiffening up, “either give Shawn a chance or stay away. You know him and Luke are friends so maybe while he’s in town you can give them both space. Hang out with LB, Brodie, or Dobro…or perhaps with Garrett. Give him a chance and get to know him better. Anyone or anything you decide, but I think it would be best for everyone if you just let them both alone while he’s in town. Let them do their own thing.”

“Sounds good to me,” Bo slowly agrees with me.

“Good,” I give him a small smile while patting him on the back and this time he doesn’t flinch or shrug it off, as I slowly and stiffly stand up. “Let’s go in and grab a bite to eat…maybe Daisy stored the left overs.”

Bo slowly nods before he gradually stands up and I allow him to walk past me before I follow him to the ladder and back down onto the solid ground.