by: Marty Chrisman

Jesse frowned as he watched Luke throwing the bales of straw off the truck. He was worried about him, he couldn’t deny that. It had been over a week since Lynn’s murder and Luke still refused to talk about it. Since she didn’t have any family, Jesse had arranged for a small simple service and a neighbor had donated a plot in the cemetery but Luke had refused to go. Jesse knew that he was holding everything inside which wasn’t healthy.

Of all of the kids, Luke had always been the most reserved. He seldom displayed his emotions and tended to keep things bottled up until he exploded. But Jesse knew that this was one time that he needed to open up and share his feelings with someone before they festered away inside of him and killed that part of him that could love again someday. He wouldn’t even talk to Bo about it and that was a bad sign. If nothing else, Luke had always been able to talk to Bo but now he was even shutting out Bo.

Jesse sighed and went into the house wondering what else he could do to help Luke get through this. Enos had stopped by that morning and told them that Roger Malone had been caught. He had confessed to shooting Lynn but even that didn’t seem to penetrate the wall that Luke had built around his emotions. Jesse knew that Luke had been sneaking into his shine at night so he had hidden it somewhere else to protect Luke from himself. Drinking would only mask the pain it wouldn’t make it go away and Luke needed to deal with the pain not run away and hide from it in a bottle.

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by: Marty Chrisman

Luke was sitting on the top step on the back porch. Lynn was sitting one step below him, leaning back between his legs with her head resting against his chest. Luke had been released from the hospital earlier that day. He still had a slight headache and the doctor had ordered him to take it easy for a few days, so Bo was doing all the chores. He had six stitches in the gash above his eye. So far there had been no sign of Roger Malone.

“You’re staying right here until Rosco finds that guy.” Luke insisted. Lynn had been arguing with him for the past five minutes about going back to her house.

“I don’t think he’d be stupid enough to come back to the house.”

“You never can tell with somebody like that.”

“You could always stay at my place with me.” Lynn suggested, leaning back her head so she could look up at his face.

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by: Marty Chrisman

Lynn had just put a pot of coffee on when there was a knock on the back door. Smiling, she walked over and opened the door assuming it was Luke. “It’s about ti….” she started to say with a warm smile on her face. That smile faded when she saw the man standing on the porch. A man she had hoped she would never have to see again.

Roger Malone smiled and gave Lynn a quick kiss on the cheek before she pulled away, her eyes flashing with anger. He was a handsome man with brown hair and blue eyes who bore a slight resemblance to Luke. “What the hell are you doing here?” Lynn snapped, glaring at him.

“Looking for you, darling.” Roger said ignoring the fire in her eyes and the anger in her voice. He pushed past her and stepped into the house. “I must say it wasn’t easy to find you. This place is really in the middle of nowhere.”

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by: Marty Chrisman

After Cooter picked up Lynn’s car to tow it back to the garage, Luke drove Lynn to her house where she quickly threw together a picnic lunch consisting of some cold fried chicken, some cold cokes, and some chips. It wasn’t much but it was the best she could do on such short notice. The idea of a picnic had a been a spur of the moment impulse and Lynn hoped she wouldn’t regret it. She really didn’t want to fight with Luke anymore. They shared too much of a past together. Lynn had very few childhood memories that didn’t include Luke.

Luke drove to Hazzard Pond, a secluded spot that was a popular place for picnics and midnight make-out sessions. As teenagers, Lynn and Luke had come here often for both reasons. Lynn spread a blanket out on the ground and they sat down on it, careful not to get too close, both of them still testing the waters. Here in this place that held so many happy memories for both of them it felt strange to feel so awkward with each other. Lynn was the first to break the silence. “Well, this is awkward.”

“Yeah, I guess it is…” Luke told her with that killer smile that melted her heart the first time she ever saw it.

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by: Marty Chrisman

Luke started avoiding going to the Boar’s Nest when he knew that Lynn would be working. He knew he couldn’t avoid her entirely, not when she still dropped by the farm to see Daisy fairly often. But at least when she showed up to see Daisy, he could find an excuse to go to another room or outside to do some chores. Which was why he was outside making some minor adjustments to the General Lee’s engine.

It was a hot day so he had stripped off his shirt and thrown it down on the picnic table. He didn’t realize that he was no longer alone until someone rapped sharply on the General’s fender. Startled, he straightened up too fast and cracked his head on the hood latch. “Ow!” he yelped, grabbing the back of his head where it had slammed into the raised hood on the car.

Lynn stood off to the side laughing at him for not paying attention. Glaring at her, he said as he rubbed the aching spot on the back of his head “What are ya trying to do? Give me a headache?”

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