by: Sarah Stodola

Early evening found the Brandon team and friends huddled around their cars, waiting for word and wondering what they were going to do. Frank had placed himself in charge, a move Bo didn’t complain about at all. He was much more comfortable as one of the followers, rather than trying to be a leader.

They were getting nowhere fast. Frank and Henry were poring over the map spread across the General’s hood by the light of the setting sun, which by its very nature was growing dimmer and dimmer. The race drivers were sitting in a group over to the side. Bo had moved off by himself, standing in the desert and looking out across the sand and scrub. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and his lower lip was between his teeth thoughtfully as he watched the sunset.

They had traveled to Henry’s motel, the start of all this, and then spread out to search around casually for a while, careful not to go too far or attract too much attention, at least not more than the General and the NASCAR racers would attract anyway. It was a risk they were forced to take. But no one had found anything obvious, and they had all chosen to meet out here to compare notes.

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by: Sarah Stodola

Candy Brandon did indeed know where Luke Duke was staying. Hidden behind a hedge, she’d listened to his conversation with his cousin, then watched him go to his room. The twelve-year-old grinned to herself. This was fun! Just like in books or on TV.

Of course, she knew (how could she help it; everyone was always telling her) that it was probably dangerous for her to be doing this. But, hey, dangerous how? She’d just get out of the way of bums and the like, and the crooks her dad was looking for wouldn’t know she was his daughter, would they? Probably not.

Candy yawned and stretched, batting a stubborn fly away from her face, where it searched for the moisture so rare in the desert. She had to admit one thing, though. The idea of playing detective was fun… but stakeouts, she’d found, were boring. Especially since not a thing had twitched in the past hour and a half besides the bushes in the hot wind. She wiped her sweaty forehead and looked over at the lobby, longing for cool air and a drink. But she couldn’t leave her post. So, she’d survive. Miserably, but she would survive.

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by: Sarah Stodola

“Hey, Bo.”

He jumped, hitting his head on the underside of the General’s open hood, and winced. “Ow!” He moved back carefully before standing up, rubbing his head gingerly. “What? Oh… hi.”

Jennifer Garret stood by the orange racer’s passenger side door, smiling slightly. “You okay? I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

Bo couldn’t help a smile. “Aw, naw, I’m fine.” He fingered the sore spot, then decided it wasn’t worth worrying about and brushed his hair away from his eyes. “What’re you over here for? I thought you’d be out practicin’ or somethin’.”

She shrugged, slightly. “I’ve already done my fair share today. I decided to come see what you were doing, since you disappeared after lunch.”

“Oh.” Somehow, he wasn’t quite sure how to take this girl. He’d never met anyone like her… and he wasn’t quite sure he meant that in a real nice way, either. Then again, he wasn’t sure he didn’t. She was pretty, yes, very much so, and he couldn’t help being attracted both to that and to the spunk that kept her holding her own against her male teammates. But she seemed to have a hardened bent about her too, one that made him a little uncomfortable at times. Of course, maybe that was just because she was such a city girl. Or maybe even from being on the track permanently at such a young age. Jennifer was only five months older than himself, just enough older to be actually nineteen. “I’m tunin’ up the General.”

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by: Sarah Stodola

At seven o’clock sharp, the first time in months that the Dukes had been exactly on time for anything and not either early or late (usually the latter), Luke, Bo, and Candy came through the door into the driver’s club at the track. There was quite a group of men there, and Luke cast around for a familiar face.

“Hey,” one of the men sitting at the nearest table greeted Candy. “How’s it goin’, kiddo?”

“Hi, Ted, fine,” she answered. “Hi Jerry,” she waved at his drinking buddy.

“Nice to meet you,” Luke pushed his way into the hellos, smiling and holding out his hand. “I’m Luke, and this is Bo, and where’s Frank?”

Ted and Jerry both shook his hand, and then Bo’s. “Heard you’re drivin’ on our team,” blond Jerry commented.

“For a while, yeah,” Bo nodded, grinning.

“Aren’t you a bit young?” red-headed Ted came in next.

The teenager’s eyes narrowed slightly.

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by Sarah Stodola

Originally written 1998-2000. Edited/reposted March 2005

Author’s note (updated): This story is a sequel to my fic “Cousins”. It’s set a couple of years after that one, and is really quite a ride (buckle up, khee-khee! 🙂 ). It took a very long time and much effort to write, so I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks especially go to Margaret, who helped me figure out several times where the story was going to go next, and Rose, who helped me fine-tune it. Both these lovely authors have now left the online Hazzard community, but may blessings follow them wherever they may now be.

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“Hey Bo! Bo Duke!”

Huh? Oh. The blond eighteen-year-old lying on his stomach along a wide, near-horizontal tree branch shut his book and shoved it in a sharp V where two branches grew together, and gripping the branch with his legs and hands, agilely swung himself partly out of the oak tree to hang upside down. He glanced over, and grinned and freed one hand to wave at the lady who’d been calling his name. “Hey Anna.”

Anna Darren shook her head, her fists on her hips. “Where’ve you been?”

“Right here. Why?”

“Luke’s been looking for you.”

“Luke?” He perked up, eyes widening in delight, and gripping the branch firmly with both hands, swung his legs down out of the leaves and finally dropped to the ground. He stood, brushing dirt off himself. “He’s home?!”

The brunette chuckled. “Yep. Got home about half an hour ago, but nobody could find you. I almost started to worry, but he said you were probably fine.” Anna shrugged. “He’d like to see you.”

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