by: Marty Chrisman
“Sierra Dawson?” Bo exclaimed in a startled voice looking at his older cousin with wide eyes, not sure how to react to his confession “You almost married Sierra Dawson?”
Luke nodded, not sure if he could trust himself to speak in a normal voice. After telling Jesse the truth, he realized that he had to tell Bo too. He knew he’d hurt Bo’s feelings by not confiding in him sooner but Luke had never intended to confide in anyone. His intention had been to continue to keep his past relationship with Sierra a secret and find some way of avoiding her while she was in Hazzard. But now he knew that was no longer an option.
“Well, I guess that explains a lot of things….” Bo said slowly “Except for one thing….do you still love her?” Instead of answering Bo’s question, Luke turned his head and stared out the window which in a way was enough of an answer. Wisely, Bo decided to let the subject drop.
After confiding in his cousin and his Uncle, Luke’s mood seemed to improve and he actually started to get into the spirit of things as Homecoming Week began. But he was still nervous wondering how he was going to feel when he saw Sierra Dawson again after eight years. Even if he hadn’t admitted it to Bo or to Uncle Jesse, he knew that she still had a hold on his heart and that she always would. But eight years was a long time and people change. He sure had changed, especially after his experiences in Viet Nam. And Sierra was a big star now, being that famous had to change some things about a person. Deep down, he knew that was one of the reasons he had never tried to contact her. He was afraid that he’d find out that she wasn’t the same girl he’d fallen in love with so long ago. He wasn’t sure which he was more afraid of finding out that she didn’t love him anymore or finding out that she did.
Daisy, Bo, Uncle Jesse and Luke all went to opening day for the homecoming. The streets of Hazzard were crowded with people and all the downtown streets around the square were blocked off to traffic. The Dukes stopped to talk to friends and neighbors, including some people they knew who had left Hazzard years ago but still returned each year for the homecoming. The big event for opening day was the beauty pageant. Daisy, as usual, was one of the contestants and one of the favorites to win.
Bo and Luke found front row seats for the contest and cheered on their favorites as they strutted their stuff on the stage. For most of the men in the audience the best part of the show was the swimsuit competition. Nobody was that surprised when Daisy won the contest and was named Miss Hazzard Homecoming. For the next week, she would proceed over the various events including introducing the performers at the concert Friday night. After the beauty contest, the boys spent the rest of the day checking out the different booths and exhibits, flirting with the local girls, and just having a good time.
Later that evening, the talent contest was held in the middle of the square. Luke and Bo were entered, both as solo artists, and as a duet. Luke sang Lying eyes for his solo and Bo sang It’s now or Never for his. For their duet, the boys got together and sang Mama’s Don’t let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys (although they changed Cowboys in the song to Duke Boys, which got a loud round of applause and laughter from the audience.) No one was too surprised when they walked away the winners.
But what surprised the boys was finding out that as winners of the talent contest, they got to sing a couple of songs at the concert Friday night. That definitely made Luke uneasy because he was fairly certain that there was no way he was going to avoid running into Sierra Dawson now.
“Cousin,” Bo said with a grin as the boys walked back towards the General after the evening’s festivities were over “It’s beginning to look like someone up there is determined to make sure you get together with Sierra Dawson while she’s here.”
“Yeah, it sure looks that way….” Luke said with a thin smile.
“Well, then I guess you better take advantage of it.” Bo told him with a sideways glance at his oldest cousin “It might be last chance you get.”
When they got back to the farm, Bo went into the house but Luke decided to take a walk before turning in. He had a lot on his mind and some serious decisions to make. He slowly walked around the side of the barn and followed a path up the hill to the Duke family cemetery. It might seem like a strange place to go to think for most people but to Luke it was a place where he felt at peace. Pushing open the old rusty gate, he went into the family plot where five generations of Dukes were buried, including Luke’s parents and Jesse’s wife, Martha. Luke walked to the far end of the cemetery and paused in front of two slate headstones. The inscriptions read:
James Monroe Duke Yvonne Marie Duke
July 13th,1930 April 10th, 1058 December 15th,1932 April 10th, 1958
Beloved father, husband and brother Beloved wife and mother
Luke’s parents, the mother and father he barely remembered. He had only been five years when they were killed in a car accident and he had come to the farm to live with Uncle Jesse and Aunt Martha. It wasn’t long before he was joined by Bo and Daisy when their parents died too. Luke couldn’t have asked for better life than the one he’d had on the farm. There may not have been a lot of money or material possessions but there was more than enough love. Gently, Luke reached out to touch each headstone in a silent gesture of respect and love for the parents who had given him life. He often wondered if they would have been proud of the man he’d grown up to be and the ways that his life might have been different if they had lived.
That was one of the things he’d had in common with Sierra. She’d been orphaned at an early age too but unlike Luke who’d had Uncle Jesse to take him in and raise him, she didn’t have anyone and so she had been raised in and out of foster homes and institutions. She’d never been in one place long enough to form any lasting attachments and had never known the love of a family the way that Luke had. She’d been on her own since she was sixteen when she’d ran away from her last foster home, lied about her age, and got job bartending.
Luke had turned 21 when they met. She worked a club near the Marine base where he was stationed. She was one of the reasons that the club was a popular hangout for the off duty Marines. Not only could she sing better than anybody Luke had ever heard before but she was so beautiful that it almost hurt to look at her. Some friends of his had talked Luke into going with them to the club one night when they had an open mike night. Luke had entered the contest and won. The prize was singing a few songs with the band that weekend and that was how he had met Sierra.
It hadn’t taken long for them to get together, bonded at first by their mutual interest in music and their natural talent. But as the weeks passed, their feelings had deepened into the first real love that Luke had ever known. They had talked about getting married when he was discharged from the service and she had planned to move back to Hazzard with him. But then, she was offered the recording contract and he was sent to Viet Nam.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as let his thoughts drift back to the last night they had spent together before he was shipped out. They had made love all night and fell asleep the next morning wrapped in each others arms. And even though he knew it was a rotten to thing to, he’d snuck out while she was still asleep so he wouldn’t have to face saying goodbye to her.
He’d been in Viet Nam for almost three months when he heard her first record on the radio. He’d been so excited and happy for her. He’d written her letters but they’d been sent back stamped Moved, no forwarding address on file. Then he’d been taken prisoner and was P.O.W. for almost four months before he was finally rescued. And he’d spent another 3 weeks in a military hospital before finally being sent home to Hazzard.
By that time, Sierra was hot…she was on her way to becoming the major recording star that she was today. So Luke had decided to try and get on with his life and forget about her and what they’d had together. But the truth was he had been afraid that he would no fit into her life and he didn’t have the courage to find out if he was right or wrong. But now, he couldn’t run from the past any longer. She was coming to Hazzard and he was going to see her again. That much was inevitable. But what was going to happened after that was the real question.