by: Marty Chrisman

Shelby looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had already changed clothes twice unsure what to wear. Finally, she settled for jeans and a blue denim shirt with her hair pulled back into a braid that hung down the middle of her back. Today was the day she met with the attorney in Atlanta about her case. Luke had volunteered to drive her and to stay with her for moral support. At the moment, she needed all of that she could get. She was scared to death.

Jesse and the rest of the family was gathered in the living room when Shelby came out of her bedroom. Daisy smiled encouragingly and gave Shelby a big hug,

“Good luck, sugar.” She said

“Yeah, good luck.” Bo said giving her a big hug of his own “It’s all gonna be okay. I know it.”

“I know it too” Jesse told her with a smile “Now you two best git going, you don’t wanna be late.”

“Thank you all for everything…” Shelby said as Luke waited patiently for her come with him. She gave Jesse a kiss on the cheek then turned to follow Luke outside to the General.

“Nervous?” Luke asked as they climbed into the General.

“As nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rockers.” She told him with a grin

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by: Marty Chrisman

After supper, Luke asked Shelby if she wanted to take a walk. She hesitated for a moment, and then agreed. As they left the house, Bo looked at Daisy and grinned. “I think Luke’s might be getting sweet on her.” He said

“I hope he is.” Daisy said, glancing out the window and watching the two of them walking towards a trail beside the barn that led into the woods that bordered the rear of the Duke property. “Luke deserves to be happy again.”

“And that little lady might just be what he needs to get all better.”

Luke and Shelby walked along the trail in silence for awhile, and then Luke said

“You thinking about Cory?”

“You doing your mind reading bit again?” Shelby asked him with a laugh “I thought that was my specialty.”

“It’s not hard to figure out. I know you have to be worried about him.”

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by: Marty Chrisman

After breakfast the next morning, Shelby and Luke set off for the mountain. First, Luke drove Jesse’s truck to the neighboring farm, the Prichards. Charlie Prichard raised some of the finest horses in the area and the boys often helped him out by exercising them and even helped to break them sometimes. He readily agreed to let Luke and Shelby borrow two of his horses for the day. Luke chose a big bay named Sassy and Shelby chose a gray mare named Pepper. Leaving the truck parked at the Prichard farm, Luke and Shelby set off on horseback towards the mountain. They were both excellent riders with a gentle but firm hand.

Luke let Shelby take the lead, knowing that she was more familiar with the mountain and would have a better idea where to look for the black stallion than Luke would.

“Have your folks always lived up here on the mountain?” Luke asked as they rode along. It was a beautiful day so they were taking their time.

“Far back as I can remember.” Shelby told him “The Lynns never much cottoned to having any neighbors around. There’s been Lynns here in Hazzard County for 5 generations.”

“Dukes too.”

“Was your grandmother really a medicine woman?” Luke asked remembering a conversation with her when he was in the hospital.

“Yeah, she was.” Shelby told him “Folks from all over used to come to her for doctoring…..or to have their future read….”

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by: Marty Chrisman

After supper that night, the Dukes gathered in the living room to hear Shelby’s side of the story. Jesse sat in his favorite chair with Daisy perched on the arm beside him and the boys sat on the sofa. Shelby stood in front of the fireplace, chewing on her bottom lip, a nervous habit she’d had since she was a child. She wanted to tell them her version of what had happened but she wasn’t sure how to begin. Finally, she took a deep breath and started her story.

“First of all, I want y’all to know that I didn’t know nothing about the drugs….Cory was the one who got messed with that….not me. I didn’t find out about the drugs until Cory was in so deep that he couldn’t get out and he had to tell me.”

“How did Cory messed up in it?” Bo asked

“Money and too much pride.” Shelby told him with a deep sigh. “He met these guys at a bar in Atlanta. He had too much too drink and started talking about living on the mountain. Anyway, these guys were looking for a place to land a plane. A plane that was coming in from Mexico with a load of drugs. They offered Cory a lot of money to let them use part of our land. At first he refused but then they start razzing him about being a dumb hillbilly and saying he wouldn’t know what to do with that money anyway…..and one thing led to another and he finally took the money. After he did the first time…it was easier to do it the second time…”

“And the third time and the fourth time…” Bo said dryly

“It wouldn’t been so bad if he’s let it go at that but he didn’t. When they found out that he hauled shine, they talked him into doing some deliveries for them. And then he started sampling the merchandise.”

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by: Marty Chrisman

Shelby stretched and opened her eyes, blinking against the sunlight that was streaming in through the window. At first she didn’t remember where she was, she didn’t recognize the room she was in. Then she remembered that she was at the Duke farm. Luke had bonded her out of the Atlanta jail the night before. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, she glanced at her watch and saw that it was almost noon. The Dukes had let her sleep in. She must have been more exhausted then she had realized.

Shoving herself to her feet, she saw a pile of clothes lying on the dresser along with a note from Daisy. Shelby, here are some clothes that shrunk so much I can’t wear them but they should fit you. I know you don’t have anything with you.  Daisy. Shelby smiled as she opened the bedroom door and stepped into the living room of the farm house.

Daisy was in the kitchen getting lunch ready. She smiled brightly when she saw that Shelby was awake. “Hi, sugar.” She said “You hungry? Lunch will be ready in about fifteen minutes.”

“Yeah, I am.”

“There’s lemonade in the fridge or coffee on the stove. Take your pick.”

Shelby opted for a glass of lemonade. Pouring herself a glass, she sat down at the table just as the back door opened and the two boys came into the house, followed by Uncle Jesse. They had been out in the back field working all morning. They all greeted Shelby warmly. The boys went upstairs to wash up before lunch. When they came back down, everyone took their place at the table and Jesse said grace before they ate. Daisy had fixed ham sandwiches, potato salad and cornbread.

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