Chapter 14: His Father’s Son
When the doctor finally let Enos out of the hospital two days later, Rosco insisted on picking him up and taking him to Jake’s so he could pick up his car. The sheriff was happier than anyone could remember seeing him – not only did Rosco get to flaunt it that he’d arrested a wanted fugitive, but Enos had apparently told whoever was in charge of those kind of things that Rosco, Bo, Luke, and Amos were the ones who were responsible for the capture of Andy Higgins. Turned out there was a sizable reward out for it and split four ways still left each of them with $5000. Rumor had it that Amos’s son had a nice new still set up somewhere in the hills. Bo and Luke donated most of theirs to the mortgage on the farm.
Jake had offered to let Enos stay in the loft above the garage free of charge while he was there, but Uncle Jesse had refused to hear of it.
“Ya’ ain’t packin’ up yer bags just so you can stay where ya’ got no one t’ talk to besides Rosco an’ Cletus,” he’d told him. “‘If ya’ think you’re bein’ a burden, you can always go out an’ do some chores in th’ mornin’ t’ set your mind at ease.”
So Enos had agreed to stay at the farm, at least until he had to go back to California. He’d never said when that was, some obscure date that floated out in the future. Daisy had decided to just forget about whenever that was for now and spend as much time around him as she could…without appearing to. She’d never had a problem hiding her feelings for him from anyone before, but whether it was the circumstances that had brought them both together again, or just that she’d missed him so terribly over the last four years, she couldn’t seem to stand to stay away from him.
Enos put on his coat, which Daisy had cleaned and mended for him, grabbed a cup of coffee and then headed out the door – purposefully letting the screen door bang shut behind him. He needed to go up Capitol City and pay off his ma’s mortgage this morning before he forgot and she lost the house. Walking slowly, he started counting to 10.
“1..2…3…4…5…6…”
“Hey Enos, where ya’ goin’?” called Daisy from the doorway.
He grinned and turned around. “I’ve gotta go up t’ Capitol City to pay my mom’s mortgage before she has t’ move in with you.”
She laughed. “Don’t let me stop ya’.”
He rested his arms on the roof of the car before getting in. “You wanna go with me? I sure could use th’ company.”
“Sure thing, I don’t have t’ go back in to work ’till Monday. Hold on an’ let me grab my coat.” She whisked back through the door and grabbed her coat from her room. As she was leaving, she passed Uncle Jesse sitting in the living room and back-tracked.
“Hey Uncle Jesse, I’ll be back after while, I’m gonna go with Enos up to Capitol City,” she said, kissing her uncle’s cheek.
“Uh…alright,” he said, surprised, but Daisy was already gone. He heard the ‘thunk’ of the front door as it closed behind her. “Somethin’ odd goin’ on with that girl lately,” he murmured to himself.
“Hey, thanks for comin’ with me, Daisy” said Enos after she’d gotten in. “I’m probably gonna need your help at th’ bank anyhow.”
Daisy couldn’t understand why he’d need her help. “At the bank? What for?”
“Oh…you’ll see. I’ve been sendin’ my ma’ money to pay th’ mortgage for three years now, and all she did with it was bury it in th’ backyard.”
“Oh no…” She was well accustomed to his mother’s eccentricities.
He shot her a sideways glance. “There’s 14 cannin’ jars in the trunk.”
The clock on the courthouse read shortly after ten o’clock when they finally pulled up in front of the Capitol City Savings & Loan. Enos and Daisy got out and went around to the trunk. He sighed and popped it open. There were 14 jars, all quart sized and stuffed with cash.
“You weren’t kiddin’,” said Daisy, incredulous. “How much you reckon there is?”
Enos shrugged. “I’m not sure, all I know is that I sent her enough over th’ last couple years to pay off what my pa’ owed.”
Daisy took off her coat and used it as a sling to carry some, and Enos did the same with his. Between the two of them, they managed to carry all 14 jars of money into the bank in one trip. The teller wasn’t too keen on counting it all by herself and called over two of the junior tellers to help her. It took three tellers over twenty minutes to count it all, but after all was said and sifted, the total came to $36, 451.42.
Daisy was floored. “Enos, that’s…that’s a lot of money.”
“Yeah, but that was over three years.”
“Still…”
He brushed it off. “Inflation’s higher in California, so ya’ get paid a lot, but it doesn’t go very far. Believe me, it wouldn’t look like much out there.”
“Mr. Strate,” said the teller, looking up from the logbook she had been searching through, “the mortgage on the property and house for Otis and Agnes Strate is only $13,450. Would you like to start an account with the rest?”
“Oh… No, I don’t live around here anymore. I guess ya’ can just put what ya’ don’t need back in th’ jars,” he said. “Um…maybe in bigger bills than one’s an’ five’s, though, if you’ve got ’em.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like a cashier’s check, sir?”
Enos shook his head. “My ma’s a little suspicious of checks. If you can just leave it in cash, I’d be mighty obliged.”
“What are ya’ gonna do with it?” whispered Daisy.
He shrugged. “I reckon I’ll give it back to my ma’. It’s her money, she can bury in th’ yard again for all I care.”
The teller handed him three of the jars back. “Here you go, sir, $23,001.42, and a receipt for the mortgage payment. They’ll have to mail the deed to your mother. Do you want the other jars back?”
“No, I reckon you can keep ’em. Thank you kindly, ma’am.” He turned to Daisy. “Come on, let’s grab an early lunch somewhere. My ma’s buyin’.”
“Where th’ heck did Daisy run off to?” complained Bo, as he searched through the fridge for lunch.
Uncle Jesse looked up from his sandwich. “What’s eat’n you? Daisy ain’t normally home this time o’ th’ day anyhow.”
“Yeah but she usually makes sandwiches ‘fore she heads off t’ work in th’ mornin’.” He took the leftover ham out from the night before.
“You know, son, it ain’t your cousin’s job t’ feed your face. She just does it outta th’ love of her heart. ‘Sides, she went off somewhere’s with Enos this mornin’.”
“Enos! You know, I swear she hadn’t let him outta her sight since he got back,” he griped. “It ain’t like he’s gonna fall apart or nothin’. Heck, his arm don’t even seem hurt no more.”
“Maybe that ain’t what she thinks needs fixin’,” answered Uncle Jesse, quietly.
Bo looked up from the bread he was slicing. “Now what’s that supposed t’ mean?”
Uncle Jesse shook his head. Bo wouldn’t understand, and even if it were true, he didn’t think Daisy would appreciate him explaining it to him. “Nothin’. Fix yer lunch, then you can help me with that gate over on the north end.”
Bo sighed. “Yes sir.”
Enos pulled the car off Highway 20 onto the unpaved Morgan Lane, which ran alongside the old airfield. He grinned as the tires spun and then caught on the loose gravel. It reminded him of all the Saturdays spent racing on the dirt-track when he was younger. He’d been a pretty decent driver, but his cars were never anything but old beaters…nothing like this car could be. Sure, it looked like a hunk of junk from the outside, but whoever had rebuilt the Javelin’s engine had known what they were doing. He glanced over at Daisy with a look in his eyes that reminded her of when they were kids, planning out some sort of mischief.
“Think I should see how fast she’ll go?”
She looked at him warily. “As much fun as that sounds, Rosco’s favorite speed trap’s right up where this meets Mill Road, an’ you know he’ll give you a ticket.”
“He’s gotta catch me first. Buckle up, Daisy, ”
She laughed and buckled her seat belt. “You’re somethin’ else, Enos, you know that?”
He gunned it all the way to Mill Road, but instead of stopping, he downshifted and swung around the corner. The car skidded and then took off. The road was nice and straight here and he was doing nearly 65 on the hardpack when when he passed the Sheriff. Rosco flipped on his lights and siren and pulled out behind him. Enos didn’t slow down, but led the patrol car through the turns on Mill Road, gradually pulling away.
“We’ll go around Stillson Canyon an’ loose him on th’ backside,” he told her.
The CB came to life with the Sheriff’s voice. “Enos? Enos I know that’s your mangy ol’ junk-heap I’m a-chasin’. You pull it over right now, boy, or I’m gonna cuff ya’ an’ stuff ya’!”
Daisy picked up the CB. “Hey there, Rosco'” she said, happily. “I always knew Enos was a better driver than you were.”
“Daisy Duke! Ooo…you…Enos, pull that car over or you’re in deep sheep-dip!”
Enos just laughed.
“Bye Rosco!” Daisy hung the CB back up and turned around to watch Rosco.
Enos hung a left at Stillson Road. “How far back is he?”
“Oh, a quarter mile easy. You’ve got plenty of time.”
“Okay, around the next corner, hold on,” he said. “Bo and Luke always used to disappear on me through here an’ it took me forever till I figured out where they went.”
He rounded the corner at the top of the canyon where the forest was deepest, and slammed on the brakes. Throwing it in reverse, he backed up onto an old road, obscured by the overgrowth. Ten seconds later, Rosco’s patrol car came speeding around the corner and kept on going as they laughed. Enos pulled out and went back the way he’d come until he reached Mill Road. He turned left in the direction of the Duke farm, but driving the speed limit.
“Daisy…are you in an awful hurry t’ get back? Would you mind if we took a detour first?”
“No, I don’t have t’ be back for a while before I start supper. That is unless you want t’ eat Luke’s cookin’,” she teased.
“Now come on, Daisy, he’s libel t’ make ya’ wish I was cookin’.”
“Enos, you can’t boil water.”
He scowled at her. “I’ll have you know I learned how t’ do that. I can also heat soup outta th’ can now.”
“Well, you’ve surpassed Bo’s culinary skills then,” she laughed.
She was about to ask where he wanted to go, but then he turned right onto the road that led to Hazzard Pond. It was the last place she would have expected him to go – a place that she knew held more memories for the both of them than she could count. If anywhere would feel like coming home for him, it would be here. Enos pulled the car up to the bank and cut the engine.
Like a typical Georgia February, the temperature which had hovered in the lower 40’s that morning was now in the 70’s. Small patches of ice at the base of the trees, sheltered in the shade and the cooler air near the water, were all that remained of the storm which had wreaked havoc the week before.
Enos threw his coat back in the car beside Daisy’s, and scooped up a handful of pebbles from the bank before joining her where she sat on the hood. He handed her half of them and they sat together, unspeaking, as one by one they tossed them out into the water.
If he closed his eyes, he could imagine they were kids again, sitting in the sun throwing rocks into Hazzard Pond, a ritual they’d once overlooked as nothing but wasting time. Just the two of them – before everything had gone to hell in a hand-basket.
“Why’d you do it?” she asked, breaking the silence of his daydream.
He frowned, not understanding. “Why’d I do what?”
“Why’d you want Rosco t’ chase you?”
“I don’t know, Daisy,” he said, shrugging. “Why not?” He threw the last of his pebbles as far out as he could.
“It’s just…you’ve always been such a stickler about the law, that’s all.”
He didn’t answer, but sat looking out over the pond, and minutes passed before he spoke again.
“Did I ever tell you ’bout th’ time Rosco almost caught me runnin’ shine on th’ way back to the Academy?”
“Yeah, I remember. With Dewey an’ some other guy. You were drivin’, though, it wasn’t like you had a choice except t’ run from him.”
Enos shook his head. “That’s the story…but that ain’t what really happened.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
“Rosco wasn’t anywhere near us. We could’a gotten t’ ol’ man Tillson’s easy. But, well…I wanted t’ know what it felt like – to do what my pa’ had done. Just once.”
“You mean…you picked up Rosco on purpose?” That was so far removed from the Enos she’d always known, she didn’t even know what to think.
“The other guy’s didn’t know hide from hair up there in them parts, they never knew I back-tracked.”
Daisy was dumbfounded. “You never told me that.”
He looked down at his hands, fidgeting nervously. “I never told anyone…mostly ’cause of how much it scared me.”
“Being chased by the police?”
Enos looked back up at her. “No…it scared me ’cause I loved it.”
There was no doubt in Daisy’s mind that he was telling the truth. His eyes took on a far away look as he relived the memory. Gradually, they focused again, though not on her face, but on an errant strand of her hair. Unthinkingly he brushed it back from her face, his fingers slowly following the length of it.
“You know what Bo an’ Luke used t’ say to me when I got hired on as a deputy? They used t’ ask me how come I was on th’ wrong side of th’ law when I knew good an’ well my daddy’d been a moonshiner like every one else up in th’ hills.”
“Oh, now, Enos, you know they they didn’t mean any harm by it. They were just joshin’ you was all.”
“I know that, Daisy. Thing is,” he said, “there is a part of me that’s on that other side. I’m th’ son of a ridge-runner, and as much as I used to want to believe it, no badge is ever gonna take that part away.” His hand moved from where it absently toyed with her hair, to gently cup the side of her face. “No matter how far away I run, there are some things that will always be a part of me…”
He pulled her closer to him, and her breath caught as she realized he was going to kiss her. As the thought raced through her mind, he stopped – only an inch away, and snatched his hand away from her face. He sat back, obviously surprised by what he’d almost done.
“Gosh, I’m…I’m sorry, Daisy.” He shook his head slightly, as if clearing away the remainder of whatever had possessed him, and jumped down off the car. “Come on, we’d better get back unless we wanna eat Luke’s cookin’.”
He shot her a grin, but Daisy could only stare back. She slid down from the hood, shell-shocked and confused. The ghost of a memory from long ago swirled around her – of 17 year old Enos, looking up at her from from the shore as she climbed the bank, with eyes full of confused passion. As she got into the car, she thought she knew how he must have felt that day.
Five minutes later, they pulled up in front of the farmhouse. Enos hopped out, greeting Bo who was working on something under the hood of the General, as though nothing in the world had almost happened. It was nearly enough to make Daisy question her sanity and wonder if she’d just imagined the whole thing.
She was so distracted, she nearly ruined supper. It was saved only by Uncle Jesse’s quick hands taking the skillet from her and moving it off the burner.
“Daisy, you alright?” he asked. “You’re actin’ like ya’ ain’t here at all.”
“I’m sorry, Uncle Jesse,” she said. “I’m fine, just tired, I guess.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, knowing well enough an excuse when he heard one. “You sure? You ain’t been yourself since ya’ got back.”
“No, I’m okay. Would ya’ call th’ guys for supper for me?”
“Yeah, I’ll hunt ’em up.”
“Thanks, Uncle Jesse.”
It was the strangest meal she could ever remember sitting through. Enos, Bo, and Luke were talking about the Hazzard dirt-track, laughing and reminiscing over races and wrecks they’d had growing up. Uncle Jesse even joined in, reminding them that he’d won more races there than any of them had ever run…back when he was young and stupid, to which Bo commented he didn’t know they had cars back then.
Daisy felt like the odd duck. She had no heart to join in and instead sat, watching Enos out of the corner of her eye, wondering how he act so all-fired normal. As dinner wound down to a close, it suddenly struck her that their roles had somehow reversed. He was the one who was supposed to be sitting shyly at the table while she rattled on about something. An idea, one that threatened to shed light on everything that had ever happened between them, began to take shape in her mind.
“Ain’t that right, Daisy?”
Her eyes snapped up to meet Enos’s and she realized she hadn’t heard a word of what he’d been saying to her.
“Sorry, what?” she asked him.
Bo whistled at her. “Yoo hoo, hello… Daisy, if I didn’t see ya’ sittin’ here, I’d swear you’d gotten lost somewhere’s out yonder,” he said, gesturing at the door.
“I’m sorry, y’all. I think I’m gonna turn in.” She got up and left the table. The sound of her bedroom door closing echoed through the house.
“Wonder what’s gotten into her?” asked Luke.
Bo shrugged. “Darned if I know. Prob’ly just one o’ those woman things.”
Enos said nothing. Today it had all seemed so clear again, almost as though the day itself had been drenched in sepia tones of the past. He’d gotten caught up in his own reminiscing, though, and in real life he’d played out his dream unawares, coming to his senses only just in time. His fingers ached with the memory of touching her, and it had taken all the will he could muster to let her go and walk away. If there were to be a second time, he didn’t trust himself to stop again. He knew the time had come to make a decision. It had to be done sooner or later, and sooner would be infinitely easier than later.
Long after everyone else had gone to bed, Daisy sat at her window, looking out over the barren winter field. What had started off as a flicker of insight at supper had grown to an astral, and the clarity of that light illuminated everything that had ever happened between the two of them. If he’d been anyone else, any other guy, she would have put his actions down as designed to teach her a well deserved and cruel lesson. It was Enos, though, and Enos had never had a vengeful bone in his whole body – except when someone had threatened her safety, her conscience duly noted.
Unintended or not, Daisy finally understood how he must have felt all those years she’d played with his heart, never acting like any of it meant anything to her. Still, he’d come back – time and time again, a glutton for more punishment at her hands.
His actions today had shown her something else as well. When he hadn’t been thinking about what he was doing, there had been no hesitation in his touch, none of the former insecurity he had always shown around her. After 20 years, she finally realized that his reticence towards her was not because he was innately shy about such things… he just had no earthly idea what she was playing at. Yet, ever since that morning he’d slept in her arms at the cabin, something had changed. There was a bond between them that she thought had once been lost forever. She’d caught him watching her a couple of times, not in the same manner that most of the guys down at the Boar’s Nest watched her, but with a perceptiveness that made her uneasy. She couldn’t shake the feeling that at times Enos saw right through her, down to her very soul.
She’d never known anyone like him, and never would again. Even after she’d left him without a word and married L.D (and the magnitude of that she couldn’t bear to think about), he’d come across the country to rescue her.
He still loved her.
“He still loves me…,” she whispered, incredulous, into the night.
And yet, she was about to let him go, about to let him leave her again, and she knew the next time he’d never come back.
“He loves me…and I love him.”
Tomorrow, come hell or high water, rain, sleet, snow, ice, or any other disaster she could think of, she would tell him. After 20 years of her breaking his heart, Enos Strate would finally know that Daisy Duke loved him.