by: Marty Chrisman

            Over the next couple of months, the bond between Luke and Kelly deepened. They snuck away as much as they could to be alone and Kelly practically lived at the Duke farm. If anyone else noticed the shift in their relationship, nobody said anything to either one of them. It was getting harder and harder to hide the way they really felt, but Kelly was terrified of her father finding out that she was in love with Luke.

“What can he do?” Luke asked Kelly with just a trace of impatience in his voice  “You’ll be eighteen in a couple of years. Then he can’t stop you from leaving and doing whatever you want.” They were hidden away in the hayloft, where they had been discussing the same thing for almost an hour.

“Luke, you don’t know my father. He’d kill me if he found out about you and me.” She sighed with a far away look in her eyes “He keeps trying to keep me from coming over here as it is.”

“Why don’t we talk to Jesse? I’m sure he could help us figure something out.”

“No, I don’t want to involve Uncle Jesse.” Kelly said in a determined voice.

Continue reading →

by: Marty Chrisman

After supper was over and the dishes done, the family gathered in the living room. Daisy and Kelly watched TV, while the boys played a game of checkers. Around nine o’clock, Jesse left to make his deliveries, reminding them all to make sure they were in bed by ten. When Daisy went upstairs to take a shower, Luke walked over to Kelly and bent down, whispering in her ear “Meet me in the barn after Daisy goes to sleep.” Kelly smiled and nodded

They all went upstairs at ten o’clock. Kelly and Daisy went to Daisy’s room, which was across the hall from Uncle Jesse. The boys went to their room at the other end of the hallway. The girls got ready for bed and climbed under the covers. Kelly lay there in the darkness listening to the sound of Daisy’s breathing, waiting for her to fall asleep.

An hour later, Kelly slipped out of bed and quickly pulled on her jeans and blouse. Barefoot, she left the bedroom and quietly made her way down the hallway in the dark. Opening the back door, she ran across the barnyard and into the barn. A couple of chickens squawked then settled back on their perch, momentarily disturbed by her presence. She climbed the old wooden ladder that led up to the hayloft. She paused for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness of the loft, the only light in the barn was from the moonlight that filtered in through the cracks in the walls.

She yelped in surprise as she felt Luke suddenly wrap his arms around her from behind. He laughed softly, as she leaned back against him, knowing that he was lucky she didn’t sock him for scaring her. For the last couple of weeks they had been meeting like this in the loft after everyone else had gone to bed. With Jesse gone on a run, they knew they’d have several hours alone before they would have to sneak into the house and go back to bed.

Continue reading →

by: Marty Chrisman

Luke Duke leaned against the old Oak tree, his sapphire blue eyes focused on the ridge off to his left. At seventeen, Luke was already a handsome young man with a lean build and well developed muscles earned from working for years on his Uncle Jesse’s farm. Luke had lived in Hazzard County his whole life with his Uncle Jesse and his cousins, Bo and Daisy. Luke couldn’t remember his real parents, they had died when he was four and he had been sent to live with Jesse and his wife, Martha. All he really knew about his life before coming to live on the farm was that his father, Adam, had been Jesse’s younger brother and that his parents had died when their house caught on fire.

As far as Luke was concerned, he couldn’t have asked for a better life than the one he had. The Dukes may not have much in the way of material things, but they had each other and that was all that they needed. Daisy was just like his little sister and Bo, well Bo and Luke were as closer than brothers. Uncle Jesse kept a tight rein on the three cousins, but he did it with love and with kindness. Although Bo and Luke were almost full grown, Uncle Jesse didn’t hesitate to take a switch to their backside if he felt they needed it.

Luke’s eyes brightened and a huge smile crossed his face as he saw a girl coming over the top of the ridge. Kelly Dalton lived in a rundown shack just on the other side of the ridge with her violent, abusive father and her mother. The Duke cousins had met Kelly almost 8 years ago when her parents first came to Hazzard. Since then, Kelly had become part of the family, spending more time at the Duke farm then she did at home. The Dukes all knew how violent her father was, they had all seen the bruises Kelly sometimes had after one of his beatings, but Luke was the only one who knew all of Kelly’s darkest secrets.

Continue reading →

by: Marty Chrisman

            “So, where are we going?” Kelly asked, as she settled back in the front seat of the General beside Luke.

“Some place quiet.” Luke repeated without really answering her question. He kept his eyes on the road, concentrating on his driving. But he could still sense Kelly’s closeness to him in the confines of the car and smell the faint aroma of her perfume. Asking her to go some place with him so they could talk had been an impulsive gesture on his part. But watching her on the stage tonight and singing with her the way they used to do, brought back old memories and emotions that he knew he had to deal with once and for all. Not only for his sake but for Kelly’s sake too.

When Luke turned onto a deeply rutted dirt road and began driving slowly along the path to the east, Kelly knew exactly where he was headed. Hazzard Pond. It was one of the boys’ favorite fishing spots (not to mention a favorite skinny dipping spot for the local teenagers) Luke was right about one thing. It was quiet alright.

Luke pulled The General up close to the edge of the pond and turned out the headlights, surrounding them with darkness. Staring out through the windshield, he tried to gather his thoughts and put into words what he was feeling. It was harder than he thought it would be. When they were younger, they could share their most private thoughts with each other, but Luke had changed over the years. He had learned to close off a part of himself, to protect himself from the intensity of his own emotions. He sighed softly, while Kelly waited patiently for him to say whatever he had to say.

            After Kelly had disappeared, Luke went half crazy missing her and blaming himself for not making her stay with him that night. And what made it even worse was that he didn’t have anyone to talk to about what he was going through because nobody knew about his true relationship with Kelly. He had never told  anyone about the days he had spent searching the woods around her parent’s shack looking for a shallow grave, praying that he wouldn’t find one and yet, terrified that he would. He had a ring that he planned on giving Kelly but never got the chance, a simple gold band. Instead, he now wore on the pinky finger on his right hand. His pain over losing her had prompted him to join the Marines and leave Hazzard for four years.

*   *   *   *

            “Luke?” Kelly said softly, cutting into his thoughts.

“I’m sorry” Luke said, realizing that she had been waiting for him to say something. “I’ve had a lot of time to think since the other day……..about what you told me…….about us.” He paused just long enough to gather his scattered thoughts “I was hurt because you never told me about the baby.”

“Luke, …” Kelly started to say something more, but Luke stopped her with a look. Gently, he put his fingertips against her lips to stop her from speaking.

“Let me finish.” He told her with a lopsided smile “Or I’ll never be able to get it out.” He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I was hurt because you never told me about the baby.” He repeated “I had the right to know. For years I blamed myself for what happened that night, for not making you stay with me instead of going home.”

“You couldn’t have stopped me, Luke.” Kelly told him, breaking her silence. “Nobody could have. I didn’t intend for what happened to happen.”

“When I found out that you were alive and not dead like I thought all these years, I was hurt about that too and I was angry. But at the same time, I was never happier about anything else in my life.” He pulled his gaze away from her face and stared out through the windshield again. “When you told me everything that happened that night, I didn’t know how to deal with it. I didn’t know how I was supposed to feel……..” He fell into an uneasy silence for a few moments before continuing    “I’m still not sure about that part.”

“I never meant to hurt you, Luke.” Kelly said softly

“I know that.” Luke told her, turning his gaze back to her face. He shifted positions in the seat so that he was facing her, resting his right arm on the back of the  seat behind her. “There’s part of me that understands why you did what you did and there’s another part of me that wants to shake the daylights out of you“

“Does that mean you forgive me?” Kelly asked, tears pooling in her beautiful eyes.

“There’s nothing to forgive.” Luke told her quietly “There never has been.”

“I was afraid that you’d hate me when I told you the truth about everything.” Kelly admitted, the tears slipping from her eyes and falling down her cheeks. “That’s the biggest reason I was scared to come back. I couldn’t have handled it if you hated me.”

With a gentle smile, Luke wiped the tears from her face, letting his fingertips linger on her cheek for a few moments longer than was necessary. “I could never hate you, Kelly.” He whispered “I love you………..I’ve always loved you and I always will.”

Kelly began to cry as she heard Luke say the words she had convinced herself that she would never hear him say again. Without a word, Luke put his arms around her and held her while she cried. He made gentle soothing sounds as he gently rubbed her back.

Kelly’s sobs slowly quieted as she sat there, leaning her head against his chest, comforted by the warmth of his embrace. Finally, she raised her head to look at him questioningly.

“So where do we go from here?” she asked

“Take it one day at a time……” he said quietly, looking deeply into her eyes, eyes he could easily and willingly get lost in. “Get to know each other again.”

Tilting his head towards her, he let his lips gently brush against hers. For just the briefest moment, Kelly tensed in his arms, then relaxed, as his mouth became more insistent. Luke kissed her deeply, savoring the warmth and the sweetness of her mouth. His arms tightened around her waist as he pulled her closer. Reluctantly, he pulled away, stopping himself before he got carried away and let things go too far. It was too soon.

Kelly looked at him, understanding just as she always had. The emotional bond between them was still there, just as strong as it had ever been. And this time, there would be no hiding and no secrets.

THE END (FOR NOW)

by: Marty Chrisman

Kelly examined the various clothes lying across her bed. She had to be at the Boars’ Nest in less than an hour and she still hadn’t decided what to wear. She was already wearing a pair of blue jeans and suede squaw boots, but couldn’t make up her mind on a shirt. Finally, she choose a white shirt with black stitching on the yoke and long black fringe on the sleeves. Slipping into the blouse, she quickly brushed out her hair, deciding to leave it loose tonight instead of pulling it back like she usually did.

Satisfied with her appearance, she grabbed her guitar case and headed out the door.

Fifteen minutes later, she entered the Boar’s Nest through the back door, which led directly into Boss Hogg’s office. That was where the band was already gathered, tuning their instruments and waiting for her to arrive. Jake introduced her to the rest of the band members, a drummer, a fiddle player and a steel guitar player. Jake played lead guitar and was the lead singer for the group. The other men in the band eyed Kelly apprehensively, Jake had already told them about her but none of them were prepared for someone so beautiful.

“How about some Loretta Lynn, some Tammy Wynette, and maybe some Dolly.” Kelly suggested, naming her favorite singers. Jake agreed with her suggestions and they began picking the songs to do. The plan was for Jake and the band to go on first and sing for about half an hour before introducing Kelly to the audience. Since her appearance was a surprise, she would stay in the back room until she heard her cue. By the time the band was ready to go on, they had a forty five minute set worked out featuring Kelly.

Continue reading →