by: Kristy Duke

“When were you plannin’ to tell me?!” my cousin’s angered voice breaks the thick silence that had hung heavily over me while he was away, startling me. Taking deep breathes to calm my rapid heart beats I slowly turn around to find his dark green-brown eyes to be layered in concerned anger as he sets down a couple of brown paper bags. I watch speechlessly as he sets both of them down upon the hard wooden desk before he searches within the contents of one bag to bring out a thick bundle of newspaper. Angrily he sets the paper down on the edge of the open hood of the truck and points to a large picture and as I force myself to follow his finger, my heart comes to an abrupt halt at a mainly black and white picture of my old garage being eaten away by large evil red flames and dark black-gray smoke. Ahead of the picture in thick black bold letters read: LOCAL GARAGE BURNT TO A CRISP – MECHANIC MISSING, under the horrid picture in small black print reads: local Capital City garage was found a blaze by monstrous flames the other night while LB Davenport, the mechanic that owns the garage ends up missing. “Go on, read on,” Cooter urges me as I glance up at him from the paper.

I slowly nod as I glance back down at the large picture that captures a big piece upon the front page to send flash backs of the night rolling through my head. Reading the lengthy article I fight back the anger and the pain that the memory leaves within me as the article explains the situation with the McKleen Family Garage to someone spotting me limping out of the burning building, as if in pain, before being chased away by a newer model muscle car. Slowly finishing the article, I continue to stare at the picture as my thoughts run from the article to the night I had watched my hopes and dreams burn up in flames to my angered cousin who breathes heavily next to me.

“When were you plannin’ to tell me? Or were you ever gonna tell me that the reason why you are here, is because you are running away from something. . .someone?!” Cooter repeats himself as I force myself to look away from the article and from him, “Huh LB? Don’t you think, that I, of all people, deserve to know?”

I allow silence to come between us as I dare to look over at Cooter who stares angrily at me, clenching tightly upon the newspaper. “Yeah you do,” I finally answer in a half whisper as I fight back the images of Nathaniel and his brothers towering over me while I had been tied up to a chair, “I guess I figured you wouldn’t find out.”

“So you lied to me? Have I ever lied to you? About anything?” he questions and I slowly shake my head no at him, “Let me give you an answer, no I haven’t, because honesty is the best policy! Damn it LB!”

Forcing myself to look over at Cooter, guilt begins to soar within me at the sight of his brown eyes that are filled with concerned anger as well as hurt. “I am sorry Cooter,” I finally bring myself to say as I fight to grasp on what I should tell him, “I should have told you the truth when I had first arrived or in my letter, but I didn’t want you to worry.”

“You didn’t want me to worry?” he asks sarcastically as he straightens up to look at me for a long moment, “Well it’s too late for that, now isn’t it? You know, you being here puts me in jeopardy? My garage?” He glares angrily at me for a short moment as he draws silence into the room before taking a deep breath before saying, “Never mind about that…you mind telling me what happened? Perhaps the truth?”

I sigh deeply as I glance back down at the large picture that shows each detail I had witnessed as I drove away, perfectly. “You remember one of the last letters I had sent you a few months ago, perhaps a half a year ago? The one where I said that things were going great at the garage, perhaps too great? How I was gaining new customers?” I pause to look up at Cooter who slowly nods in recognition, “Well, them new customers came across town, customers that usually did business with the other garage in town, McKleen Family Garage, which is a family owned garage. A well established garage before I came around, I guess. Well, I guess throughout the year that my garage had been opened I slowly took their business away from them until they no longer could afford to keep the garage open any more…they were suppose to close sometime this weekend; I guess not any more.”

“So they burned your garage down to prevent you to do any more business?” Cooter questions, glaring at me with his crazy brown eyes, demanding truthful answers from me, “Just like that? No notice what so ever, just came and burned it down? Where them bruises come from? And don’t tell me that you got them from just a fight!”

I chew on my lip for a long moment as I glare down at his grease stained floor before I look up at him as images of the horrid night continue to run wildly within me. “No . . .I had plenty of notice that something like this would happen, which is why I had sent you the letter; to give me a place to run to. I just. . .just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly or so violently,” I force a pause to draw more silence within the garage, “They had given me threatening letters for over a couple of months or sent the three brothers over to give me the threat themselves. . .and then that one time someone had broken in during the night and trashed the place up.

“As for what happened,” I look at him from glaring over his shoulder, “I had been watching TV upstairs in my room when I heard something downstairs so I went to see what was going on. When I got down the steps one of them had thrown an arm around my neck and despite my fight they had gotten me tied up to a chair. From there, one of the brothers would continually hit me or threaten me while the other two brothers had trashed my garage to stealing most of my tools. When they had finished with that, they doused it in gasoline before they had thrown several lit matches upon it and as they all ran for their separate vehicles. Watching the flames build up I had began to work frantically at the large knot that they made at my wrists…I guess lucky for me they didn’t tie it too well and the knot came undone.”

He watches me for a long moment after I finish explaining the horrid night from the brothers’ entry to escaping from Nathaniel by slashing his tires and CB handle after knocking him out with a rock. “You are damn lucky you’re still a live,” Cooter finally speaks up glaring at me as his anger slowly numbs away from his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I finally say again as silence begins to reenter among us, “I should have told you…I just didn’t want you to think of me as a failure…that I failed.”

“Think of you as a failure? You failed at what LB? The only damn thing I see that you failed to do was tell me the truth!” he lets out a long breath before he glares out the open garage door to watch Rosco quickly running up the cement stairs of the court house with a white small bag from the local bakery, “I would never think of you as a failure. . .I know you too much to know that the word failure isn’t even in your dictionary. You have worked too hard NOT to be a failure, to succeed. . .and you did. You had a great garage up there in Capital City and by the sounds of it you did a great job on working on vehicles and at attracting new and loyal customers. Where is the failure in that?” He goes silent for a long moment as he continues to stare at me, all the anger that he had been in his eyes when he had walked in, has now evaporated into pride and worry. “There is no failure in that. . .and you know it as well as I do. The only part of failure I sensed in that story belonged to the people at the McKleen Family Garage up in Capital City.

“Talking of which,” he changes the subject, “have you gone to the police? To tell them what all had happened?”

I glare up at him from staring at the old engine lying in the hood of the old truck as he searches me silently for his answers. “No I hadn’t,” I finally respond and he glares coldly at me for along moment, “it wouldn’t matter if I did or didn’t tell them…other than to waste time, and at leaving Capital City I didn’t have no time to waste.”

“Well then,” Cooter breaks in, his eyes filled with determination, “we will go now to tell them all that had happened.”

“As I said, it would be a waste of time,” I repeat and Cooter gives me a quizzical look, “The McKleen’s brother’s dad’s best friend is the sheriff, they date long back since early child hood. I’ve heard they even lived down the road from one another while they grew up. Their dad is still alive and helps out at the garage as much as he can, though he suffers from lung cancer. . .the sheriff is equally protective of them three apes they call his sons…the sheriff is practically family to all of them, celebrate everything together.

“Oh I’ve tried to complain to him,” I shrug as I go back to chewing on my cheek, “I’ve shown him the letters and he makes nothing out of it, says it could be anyone that had a problem with my business and when my garage had gotten trashed that night, no it wasn’t them boys, but perhaps some school vandals. It all is just a huge coincidence that their business is going out of business due to the lack of customers…that have changed to me as their ace mechanic. Heck the guy even had the nerve to blame me for it all last week, started writing me tickets for illegal parking even when I parked rightfully. By crossing the McKleen Brothers and their family, I have crossed paths with the sheriff and everyone who is under the sheriff.”

“Sounds like the sheriff here…the writing out tickets for nothing part,” Cooter finally speaks up after a few minutes of silence, “Damn that is some hole you had yourself in…ain’t much fun being on opposite sides of the law while being lawful about everything. What do you plan on doin’ now?”

I silently shrug as Cooter’s radio switches to a different song by a different singer and I go back to glare at the ugly picture that stares back at me. “I really don’t know,” I finally answer, “I no longer have anywhere to go. . .I mean all my belongings. . .they all were burnt up in that fire, even poor Keifer got caught in the evil flames…I think he died quickly though.” I sigh as my heart tightens painfully at mentioning my four year old yellow lab’s name, “Alls I got left is what I got on and that dang truck there.”

Cooter looks up at me at the mention of my dog’s name and sorrow replaces his anger before he glares back down at the picture. “Poor Keifer,” he says silently before he falls into silence once again. “Well tell you what…you remember my parents’ house that I’m renting out?”

“Yeah,” I finally answer skeptically.

“Well it has been vacant for about a year now. . .the last renters I had, moved to Atlanta in order to get a better job to support their growing family,” he answers thoughtfully while taking me in, “you could work for me and rent my parents’ old house, keep it in the family?”

“Work for you?” I glance up to see how serious he is, “I would love to move here for good, to work for you, and to live in your old place. That place is filled with memories as is Hazzard, but you are doing great here by yourself, I am sure you don’t need someone like me to mess things up for you.”

“That is nonsense!” he says giving a comforting hand upon my thin shoulder, “You are a great mechanic LB, my garage would do great with you around, and better yet, you are a great person. You don’t give yourself enough credit. I may not necessarily need any help, but I would love your help and to have you around.”

“Really?” I ask looking up at him for approval and he nods while smiling his crazy smile, “Even after not telling you the truth?”

“You know I’d always love to have you around. . .all them years of you spending the weekends at the farm should show you that without a question,” he answers as he returns to the sacks he had set on the desk, “I mean this all is up to you, but wouldn’t you think that this would at least be better than having no where else to go? I mean you got family and friends that reside here and would stand up to them jackasses you’re running for without giving them a reason to.”

“The only family I have here, is you…which is enough,” I back myself up as I turn to face him, leaning against the truck, “and well as for friends, I have never had much friends, not alone here.”

“I see you forgot them two weeks you were here to replace me?” he questions as he pulls out a few items from his paper bags, “You had made several friends while you were down here in that short amount of time…like Dobro and Brodie, and the Duke family…especially Bo. They’d all love to have you around. It is all up to you…but you would be more than welcomed into Hazzard permanently by almost everyone. The choice is yours.”

For a short moment I reside into silence as I recall the short two weeks I had spent in Hazzard working for Cooter and how welcomed I had felt, how I felt like I belonged as I had before I had left to be on my own. “That is a really nice offer, Cooter,” I sigh, “but you know as well as I do, that, that farm is too big for just one person. I’d get lost in it all by myself, I’d be better off renting one of them apartments in town…no matter how bad they are.”

He lets out a sarcastic laugh at the thought of living in the old apartments in town that lies above the hotel that Kristy is staying at, looking just as bad as their room, if not worse. “Well what about that new lady friend you have?” he finally questions seriously, “Kristy? Is she here for just a visit or a place to stay?”

“I think they all are looking for a place to stay. . .to hide from her ex-husband,” I answer, looking at him skeptically.

“Ahh everyone running away to hide in Hazzard, all on the same day,” he smiles sarcastically at me before growing serious, “But seriously, I think this could work out for everyone. You and them could rent the old farm house together? They’re Dukes and most Dukes are dependable.”

For a long moment I watch my older cousin slowly move to his bags of groceries as I fight to decipher just how serious he is by suggesting such an idea. Silence erupts within the cold dark garage as he slowly grabs the few items out of the crumpled bags to put them away as my mind slowly begins to wander. Staring blankly at the horrid picture upon the front page of this morning’s newspaper, my mind rushes from thought to thought, thoughts of my new future, of living in Hazzard, and of living in the small farm house I had spent so much time at as a child, growing up. “The house is sure big enough for all of us,” I finally answer to break through the thick silence that had welcomed it’s way into the chilly garage.

“Well, as I said,” Cooter begins to say as he slowly moves to the driver’s door of the large truck only to be interrupted by a large powerful engine pulling up outside of our closed garage door. “As I said, it all is your choice to make and I am not trying to talk you into anything, it is just an offer that I wish you’d take. I mean if you are askin’ me, I would say it is a pretty damn good offer. Not only do you get a farm house with low rent, but you get to share it with a pretty lady that is obvious that you like.”

Momentarily I watch silently as he bends into the cab of the truck to pull a lever on the floor that causes the hood to pop open before he stiffly stands up to walk up to me. A couple of car doors slam shut outside of the closed garage door to force us to glance at one another before Cooter raises the hood to take in the large engine that lies within. “It is a very tempting offer, Cooter,” I finally answer and he glances up at me, “but it isn’t only my decision to make. It also relies on what all Kristy and Garrett thinks of the idea. . .they may see it differently.”

He lets out another sarcastic laugh as he reaches in to work on an engine part before speaking up, “And seeing how it is you they’d be sharing the house with, I wouldn’t blame them for seeing the offer differently than we do. Though with every positive point of a decision, there is generally a negative point, you’d just be the negative point in my offer.”

“Very funny,” I respond as the old wooden front door slowly creaks open to allow an array of sunlight and a gust of cold air into the dark chilly garage. A small smile begins to grow on my face with the child-like excitement that begins to rush through my body at watching Kristy step into the shadowy garage with Garrett. For a long moment I watch them slowly approaching us as I take in Kristy’s natural beauty along with the clothes and the winter coat that seems to fit her perfectly. “Well howdy Kristy,” I smile friendly at her before glancing at Garrett who stands protectively close to her, “We was just talking about you…you two.”

She lends me a friendly smile as she glances from Cooter to me before stepping away from Garrett who continues to watch her. “You were?” her smile broadens before she slowly reaches up to rub her bruised face before the smile slowly disappears, “I hope it was all good.”

“Oh of course it was all good,” I slowly respond as I nervously readjust my red hat with little thought, “I highly doubt anyone could talk badly about you.”

“Oh there’ve been a few that have,” she shrugs as she shoves her small petite hands deeply into the pockets of her dark blue thick winter coat, “but what do they know anyhow?”

“Apparently not much,” I respond as I spot Garrett rolling his hardened grayish blue eyes as he steps away from Kristy to take in her truck.

Silence slowly begins to build between the four of us while Cooter slowly turns his back on us to get to work under the hood of Kristy’s expensive truck. “How’s her truck coming along?” Garrett finally speaks up, his right hand back up by his neck to trail his thick scar while his left hand remains deeply buried in his thick NASCAR racing coat.

“It’s comin’ along rather smoothly,” Cooter is slow to answer as he stands up to face both Kristy and Garrett who watches him intently, “it still has some work that needs to be done, but give or take, I should be done within a day or two.”

Once again my attention returns to Kristy who slowly runs her hand through her thick reddish blond hair that holds natural large curls at the ends, for the first time noticing that she still wears her wedding ring. Watching Cooter, taking in the damages that remains deeply in her truck, she slowly nods in understanding while Garrett stares coldly at Cooter with untrusting eyes. “I have shown you the money they have given me to cover the cost of damages to my truck, ” Kristy slowly states as she glances from her truck to Cooter with questioning greenish brown eyes, “is that enough money to cover the damages to my truck?”

“Yes ma’am,” Cooter answers while wiping his grease stained hands upon a grease stained rag, “you should have more than enough money there to cover for them damages to your truck.”

“It better be enough,” Garrett finally speaks up to force everyone’s attention onto him due to the thick attitude that his voice was filled with. His cold gray eyes shifts rapidly from person to person before he slowly takes a couple of steps back to sit on the edge of Cooter’s desk.

“Relax Garrett, he said it was enough,” Kristy finally says after allowing a wave of silence to follow her brother’s statement, “we just figured we’d stop by to check on how things are going… with my truck.”

“Well there is nothing to worry about here, everything is going better than planned,” Cooter gives her a comforting smile before glancing warily over to Garrett who has an un-lit cigarette out and running it through his fingers. “LB here says you two are looking into moving here, is that right?”

“I am interested in moving here if all comes our way,” Kristy is slow to answer as she glances from Cooter to me, “What I mean is, I would love to move here, to make this place my home; make it my children’s home. Of all the memories I have of growing up, the memories I cherish the most, happen in Hazzard. It all is hard to explain. . .after my parents’ divorce I hardly spent time here, the only time I got to be here was every other weekend with my dad, and when he disappeared for such a long time, well I never got back to being in Hazzard; until now. Of what I remember it being, is being peaceful and carefree. I want that for my children. So yeah, we are looking into moving here.”

“It is a great place to grow up at,” Cooter speaks up after a brief silence as he leans up against Kristy’s truck, “a great place to live.”

“Yeah right,” Garrett quickly interrupts from behind us at the desk to draw our attention back to him where he continues to run his fingers over his cigarette, “and pigs fly.”

A thick air of silence arises in the dark room as Kristy slowly takes a step toward her brother with anger hanging thickly over her before she slowly stops to take a deep breath. Turning her back to Garrett to look at Cooter and me, she says, “You’ll have to forgive my rude and disrespectful brother who had promised me he would give this a fair shot of acceptance. As I tol’ LB yesterday morning, he wouldn’t know what was good for him if it came and hit him in the face.”

A thin smile forms on Cooter’s face as he watches in amusement for a brief moment before he steps up to me in order to get closer to Kristy. “Don’t worry about it. . .he isn’t the only one to feel that way,” Cooter finally speaks up and as Kristy turns to face us her anger seems to drain out of her, “But if you are interested in moving here and interested in finding a place to live at, I have a place I rent out that is currently empty. It isn’t much, but it is better than nothing.”

“Really?” Kristy asks, her soft eyes lighten up in excitement at hearing Cooter’s offer.

“Yeah really. When my parents’ died several years ago, I inherited their old farm,” he pauses for dramatic effect, “and I already have my own-”

“Shack,” I interrupt to make myself noticeable.

“Call it what you want, but it is big enough for me and a guest if I were to have one, along with my dogs. I don’t need anything big or fancy,” he continues as he glances over at Garrett in search of a reaction to find none, “with that and the garage, I really don’t have much need for their farm house . . .which is big for just one person. So, I have been renting it out. It has been empty for at least six months to a year due to the last family moving to Atlanta in order to get more money for their growing family. I don’t charge that much in rent and I tend to be understanding when my tenants are unable to pay rent for a month or two.”

Disbelief covers Kristy’s face as she glances from Cooter to me with questioning eyes before her excitement slowly seems to leak out of her. “That is a great offer,” she finally speaks up looking back at Garrett, “but neither one of us has jobs nor any sign of getting one soon, and we don’t have much money.”

“As I said, I tend to be understanding when a tenant can’t pay rent for a month or so. . .we can make a deal of some sort to make it right. Trust me. Money isn’t really the issue with me with renting out the farm…though it is nice,” he pauses to find a smile forming on Kristy’s face once again, “The house has an upstairs and a downstairs. The upstairs contains the rooms, it holds four bed rooms with one full bathroom. Downstairs holds the kitchen, a living room, and perhaps a dining or office area, with a half bathroom. It is very well kept up with…at least I try to. It also has a pretty decent size yard that you could fence in if you wish to do so…I am not picky of much things. I even allow pets…as long as they taken care of, as far as messes go.”

“This is almost too good to be true,” Kristy says silently glancing back at Garrett who slowly stands up to join her.

“Well it is true,” Cooter gives away a small smile before he steps besides me to elbow me slightly in the stomach, “but the negative part of my offer is, is that you would be sharing the house with LB here. I offered it to him…since he, too, is down on his luck at the moment. But as he pointed out, it is too big for just him to live in. So I figured, perhaps if you are willing, you could both rent together. Kinda like roommates.”

“That is a great offer, Cooter…even with LB,” she turns to me to lend me a teasing smile, “I’d love to see the place…with Garrett of course.”

“Of course,” Cooter nods in agreement, “perhaps tomorrow afternoon we could all take a tour and what not.”

 

***Kristy Duke***

 

Glaring out the passenger window at the small flakes of snow slowly melting from the dark dreary gray sky and slowly drips down onto the frozen ground. Chills race quickly up and down my body despite the thick winter coat that I hug closely to me as I stare down at the thin layer of snow that already covers the ice covered ground. Excitement rushes through my body as I watch an old farm house go by my window at the thought of the prospect of once again living in Hazzard, of my children growing up in Hazzard. Watching a pasture full of cows of assorted colors, my thoughts race through me of all that my future will hold, what my children’s future will hold now that we are in Hazzard. Hesitantly, I glance ahead at the old brown tow truck that drives carefully a few feet ahead of us as it’s break lights brighten up momentarily as it takes an abrupt left turn onto another dirt road.

A smile brighten up my face as I slowly take a seat in an old lawn chair as Shay wobbly walks over to me from playing in the small sand box that Garrett had helped put in. A few feet in front of me, Jamie swings highly on the rubber seated swings of the swing set. Shay’s bright blond hair seems to radiate in the bright spring’s sun that shines brightly over the back yard. “Mommy,” he smiles as a small hand reaches up and touches my lower right arm, his blue eyes sparkle with the large smile that spreads across his toothless grin. “Drink.”

“Please,” I correct him as I lean over and grab his reddish orange sippee cup that is filled with lemonade and he giggles as his small hand curves around the small cup. I watch as he takes a couple of long sips before he softly hands it back to me with a smile on his pale face. I return the smile as he slowly wobbles over to the green turtle shaped sand box. From behind me, the old wooden screen door slowly squeaks open and I slowly turn to find Garrett stepping out with LB who slowly stands besides where I sit.

“Uncle Garrett!” Jamie screams excitedly as she jumps off of her swing and runs up to Garrett, hugging onto his muscular leg.

“Hey Jay,” Garrett smiles, using the nickname he had picked out for Jamie the day she was born and Jamie giggles at hearing him say it aloud to her. He slowly sets her down and she grabs his hand, yanking him towards the swings, pleading with him with her green-blue eyes for him to push her on the swings. Her favorite activity.

“Can you please push me on the swings, Uncle Garrett?” she asks aloud and he gives her a broad smile.

“Of course I can,” Garrett nods at her as LB kneels down besides me in the grass and I turn my attention towards him as I realize that this is the happiest my children and I have been in a long time. Even Garrett seems happy without a hint of attitude that he generally carries heavily displayed upon his face, now lightens up with the smile of Jamie.

 

“Damn it, isn’t there any other roads in Hazzard that’s paved?” my brother asks aloud in a thickly aggravated voice to break the silence and to drag me out of my vision of what the future may be like.

“I thought we went over this already?” I return his question with a question as I bring my attention to Garrett who’s tension radiates off of his muscular body, “You tol’ me, no you promised me, that you would give Hazzard a decent chance and have you? No you haven’t. All you have done since we stepped foot in this town is gripe and complain.”

“And you keep throwing that in my face,” he glares angrily at me before staring back out through his snow speckled windshield, “this wasn’t my choice.”

Slowly I force myself to take a long deep breath to control my temper that threatens to heat up as I glance out my side window once again. “I know,”I answer silently as a patch of trees pass by before a medium sized farm house comes to view after a lengthy narrow driveway that connects to the dirt road. Glancing up through the windshield once again, my anger melts into excitement as Cooter’s tow truck slowly turns into the thin drive way. “That must be the house,” I finally speak up to interrupt the silence that had made it’s way between us.

Garrett slowly nods as he reluctantly follows the old tow truck down the dirt covered drive way as I excitedly take in the farm house that we may be moving into. Garrett abruptly swings his prized car into park a few feet from Cooter’s tow truck as LB and Cooter slowly climb upon the old chipped front porch. I slowly glance over at Garrett who grabs a tight hold upon the black leather steering wheel, his knuckles are pale white. “C’mon Garrett,” I urge him as I grab a hold of the door opener, “please give it a chance? If not for yourself, then for Jamie and Shay? If not we’ll be locked in that small hotel room for who knows how long.”

Abruptly he glares over at me with hardened smokey gray eyes that seem to stare through me for a short moment as he silently weighs his choices. Slowly his cold gray eyes lighten a notch as he continues to look at me, his anger and attitude seems to slowly melt away within him. “Anything to get out of that damn hotel,” he silently mutters as he glances up at Cooter and LB who stands on the small wooden front porch, talking silently to one another as they wait for us to join them. Glancing back over at him a small, ornery smile begins to form on his face before he slowly speaks up, “You just wanna move here so you can be closer to that guy,” he motions towards LB who leans against an old scratched post, chewing on something that looks like a tooth pick, “that hillbilly, LB.”

“That is not true and I resent you saying such a thing,” I snap playfully at him while giving him a shocked and hurt expression before I slightly nudge his muscular shoulder. I slowly grow serious as I look back at the old farm house as my mind continues to search for the future that may lay ahead of our futures. Glaring back at him I finally speak up, “I want a place that my kids and grow up and play without worrying about them getting hurt. . . or worse. Hazzard holds so much opportunities for us all, Garrett, yes even for you. You just have to give it all a chance.”

He gives me a disbelieving look before he lets out a long deep sigh as he glances up at the farm house, silently taking it in with watchful eyes. “You’re right…not that I like to admit that,” he glances over at me, “but I did promise you and dad to give it a chance and I haven’t, because I don’t want to,” he pauses for a long silent moment as he glances down at the steering wheel and he forces his fingers to let go of the steering wheel, “if I had my way none of this would have ever happened and we’d all still be in Knoxville. . .but it did happen, and it is my responsibility to help make sure you and the kids are happy and safe. And if you want me to give it a decent chance, the house, LB, the family, Hazzard, I will attempt to give it a chance. No more promises though.”

Silence builds up between us in his old car that he had built with dad a couple of years ago as I am surprised and filled with disbelief at hearing him speak the words he just spoke. It isn’t who Garrett is. “Really?” I ask and he reluctantly nod, “Thank-you, Garrett, you don’t know how much this means to me. Ever since I heard about Bo a few years ago, I had thought, dreamt of coming back here to meet up with Daisy, Uncle Jesse,” I glance out my window as I fight the tears of mixed emotions that scratch at my eyes, “and it took Trevor to make it all happen,” I shake my head in disappointment as I fight back images of the horrid night, “I know this isn’t what you want and I really appreciate that you are here and that you are at least attempting to try to give it a chance. Thank-you.”

He silently nod before he gives me a comforting smile before he rubs his hand over his thin sandy blond goatee as he slowly opens the driver’s door. “Well,” he gives me another small smile, “let’s get it all over with.”

I silently nod in agreement as I slowly open the passenger door to send a chilled wind rushing into the car and into my face. Hugging tightly onto my coat, I slowly step out into the cold winter day as I fight back the emotions that boil within me, the excitement I fight to hide from everyone else. LB and Cooter slowly turn silent as I meet Garrett in front of his car and together we silently walk to the three small steps that lead up to the open porch. “Sorry it took us so long,” I shrug as I fight for an explanation for forcing them to wait on us, “we got lost in a discussion.”

Cooter shrugs as he remains standing still a couple of feet in front of LB who silently watches Garrett and me with uncertain soft green eyes. “Me and LB were havin’ our own discussion, there’s no hurry,” Cooter shrugs as he readjusts his grease covered yellow hat that covers his thick brown hair that rest over his ears, “Should we go in and out of the cold? I turned on the heat last night so the house should at least have a little heat to it.”

For a short moment everyone glances from person to person, awaiting for someone to break the silence that starts to build between us. “Sounds good to me,” LB finally speaks up as he stands up from leaning against the post and I slowly nod in agreement.

Shivering from the icy cold wind that tickles the back of my neck, I slowly follow Cooter to the front door where he gently pulls open an old white screen door. Resting a oil greased brown leather boot upon the door step, Cooter yanks out a key ring full of several keys out of his tight fitting pants. He fumbles through several gold and silver keys before finding the one to stick in the rusted gold door handle of the dark oak wooden door, a large square window lies in the middle of the door. Momentarily, I glance back as LB slowly grabs the screen door from Cooter, to hold it open for Garrett and me.

Looking ahead of me, I slowly follow Cooter into the house to find myself standing in the middle of a small hallway that leads into a room to my right, to my left it turns into what looks to be another hall way. Straight ahead of the front door lies a flight of brown polished wooden stairs leading up to another floor, the walls are painted a light bluish color, looking almost white. The floor looks to be freshly polished of old wood, an colorful square rug matt lies in front of the door. I casually glance around as I step to the left of the mat, next to Cooter, to allow room for Garrett and LB to walk in and close the door.

“I’ll show you the kitchen and the down stairs bathroom first,” Cooter slowly speaks up after a long moment of silence that he had allowed us to take everything in. I slowly nod and he slowly walks to the left corner and we follow him to find another hall way that lies a little longer than the entry hall way. We follow him down the wooden floor hall way a few steps before he stops in front of an open light brown wooden door and we all gather around him, as if in some museum, looking at some famous art work. “This is the down stairs bathroom, the half bath.” Cooter slowly leans in and a light displays an old white sink with large silver pipes leading into the white wall on the opposing wall of the door. A small rectangular shaped mirror hangs on a small medicine cabinet over the sink. The old white toilet lies in the right corner of the open door.

Cooter silently looks around for reaction before Garrett slowly nods and Cooter hesitantly turns and walks farther down the hall where a large entry way lies on the left wall a few feet down the hall. “The kitchen,” he smiles and we follow him into the large kitchen that is painted a light yellowish white color. A medium sized rectangular shaped table sits in the middle of the room with four large chairs, a closed closet door lies in the back right corner while in the back left corner lies an old washing machine and a dryer. On the far back wall lies an lengthy counter of an ugly greenish yellow color, underneath it holds a couple shelves to store food at with only a curtain to cover it. Next to the closed closet door on the far right corner lies an old rusted white refrigerator, another counter of the same color meets the refrigerator with an old silver sink in the middle with a large window that displays the back yard. On the left wall by the old set of the washing machine and dryer lies a short piece of counter before meeting an old white stove and oven that I stand next to in the corner of the entry way. The floor is the same polished old wooden flooring.

“Nice and big, just like I remember it bein’,” LB slowly speaks up to break the silence that had invaded the room as we had taken it all in.

“Of course,” Cooter slowly responds before he exits the room and back into the hall and we all slowly join him where the hall abruptly comes to an end. To the right lies another large entry and we enter an medium sized room that lies empty of any furniture with the light bluish white colored walls. “The last people that lived here, used this room, kind of like an office type area, but I can see it as being a play room or so,” Cooter speaks up. The room is carpeted with thin carpet of an old yellowish brown color. An old dark oak door lies in the middle of the left wall that I assume leads to the back yard while a window lies a few feet away on both sides of the door. On the far wall lies another window that shows an empty pasture. The right wall remains clear of anything but holds a couple of holes where pictures or so had hung. In the far back right corner lies another corner.

“The living room,” Cooter slowly speaks up as he walks through the room and leads us to the other room that holds the same yellowish brown carpet. The room is the same size as the other room, holding an old burgundy couch against the wall to the left, a window lies directly above. On the opposing wall of where we stand in the entry way lies a brick fire place that holds a few logs in it, bricks are cemented into the ground a few feet around it. A large window lies to the left of the brick fire place, showing the front lawn and the drive way and to our right lies another empty wall. “Y’all have plenty of space in this farm house…more than some of the others.”

I slowly nod as I take in the living room as Cooter slowly walks to the far wall where another entry way lies open to show us that we are back to the front door. I slowly follow Garrett and LB out back into the hall way, where we had started. “The rooms and the full bath is upstairs,” Cooter nods and LB begins to walk up the narrow stair way that is of freshly polished wood. Gripping onto the light brown railing, I follow LB with Cooter and Garrett behind me. After a short moment we arise to the top floor which is another wide hall way with a polished wooden floor, a closed white door lies directly to my left while another white closed door lies directly across from that closed door. Ahead of me lies another white closed as well as another closed door to the right of me and another closed door across from that door. “Any questions as of yet?” Cooter asks as he joins us in the hall way.

“I don’t have any…you make a pretty good tour guide,” I give him a smile and everyone nods in agreement.

“Well then,” Cooter grins as he takes his hands out of the pockets of his stained dark blue denim coat and walks to the end of the left half of the hall way, “let me show the bed rooms and the full bathroom.”

For a short moment, Cooter slowly and silently takes in our reactions before he turns to walk down the left end of the hall way until he reaches a dead end. Reaching over to the closed door on the left side of the hall way, he slowly turns a shiny gold door handle and slowly pushes it open and we follow him into what looks to be a bed room. An old grayish brown carpet lies gently on the floor as yellowish white color paints the wooden walls and a large closet with two scratched wooden sliding doors that covers it, in the back corner of the left wall. A couple of small windows are separated on the opposing wall as well as a couple of windows positioned a few feet from one another lies on the far right wall. An old queen sized bed lies proudly against the left corner a few feet from the door.

“This was my parents’ old bed room,” Cooter slowly speaks up, old memories flash vividly in his dark brown eyes before he snaps out of memories of the past to the present, “I had taken a couple of beds for the two bed rooms that I have in my house, the other beds I have left where they were. So some rooms come with a bed, one or two don’t have a bed in them. I had also taken most of the furniture to my place, the last people that lived here couldn’t afford to move all their stuff that they have, so I bought it off of them. So it comes halfway furnished at least.”

He gives a slow shrug before he slowly backs out of the room and back into the hall before slowly opening the closed door that lies directly across from the room we just looked at. This room holds the same carpeting as well as the walls being the same color as the last room. Another sliding door closet lies in the far right corner on the right wall, a bare single sized bed lies a few feet from the door in the nearest right corner. Two windows lie equally separated on the far wall while on the left wall only holds one window toward the back corner. This room lies a few inches shorter than the last room we had just walked through.

After a short moment, Cooter leads us out back into the hall way where he walks to the closed door that lies across the hall from the stairs. “The bathroom,” he says as if introducing us to someone as he swings the door open to show the old white tile flooring. We follow him into the medium sized bathroom to be crowded against one another. In the left corner on the wall ahead of us, lies a white sink with two silver metal nobs lying on each side of the silver faucet, the sink is embedded in the middle of an old off white small sheet of counter, two sliding metal green doors lie underneath the sink. Above the sink lies another mirror medicine cabinet like the one down stairs. On the wall to the right lies another white toilet and a foot and a half away from the toilet lies a white small bath tub slash shower that connects the right wall to the wall across from us. An old dark navy green sheet lies on the rack for a shower curtain and Cooter slowly shoves it aside to show us a normal bath tub with silver nobs and a removable shower head held highly above. On the opposite wall a cross from the toilet lies a small window under a white curtain, a few feet under the window lies a built in silver toilet paper holder.

After a short moment, we follow Cooter out of the bathroom where he leads us to show us the last two remaining rooms of the farm house. The last two rooms that lie across the hall from one another on the right side of the stairs look like the last two rooms we looked like, with the room next to the bathroom being smaller than the room across the hall. The last two rooms, though, lie abandoned of any bed or furniture.

After a short moment of silently taking in the bedroom that lies right of the stairs on the same side of the hall Cooter slowly speaks up to break the silence that had invaded us all for a while now, “Well,” he pauses looking from LB who stands to my right to Garrett who stands to my left, “there’s the end of my tour of my parents’ old farm house. Any questions?”

“Bigger than I imagined,” Garrett slowly speaks up as he slowly wonders to a window looking over the drive way.

“My great grandpa built it years and years ago,” Cooter slowly answers, taking in the back of my brother’s coat that faces us, “he was a mayor of Hazzard at the time…a very successful man Fought in several wars. He had a big family and wanted to start in the farming business…so he found it easier to build his own house the way he wants in order to have more room. I think he had like eight kids or so, all young when he built the house. It was handed down from generations to generations…like the Duke farm. I inherited because my brothers and sister moved away with bigger ambitions, ” he silently shrugs, “so I got the farm while they got the little money my parents had when they died. I got the better end…Hogg would love to get his hands on this old house, turn it into one of his money earning deals. He’ll have to fight me for it.”

Silence grows amongst us a my excitement rushes through me as plans of the future rushes through my head, where I would put everything if Garrett would agree to rent here. “LB spent several summers and weekends here as well…we shared the room across the hall from my parents’ old room,” Cooter speaks up, “if he rents out, at least one Davenport would still be living in it.”

“Lotsa memories,” LB grins besides me, “do you rent out the land or did you sell it off?”

Cooter silently shrugs as he leans against the light chestnut wood siding of the door way before slowly answering, “I still have the land. I had rented it off to the last people that had lived here until times got too rough for them. I hold some of it to myself and made it into my junk yard where all my busted down cars go…old car parts. Whether you want to rent the land or not, is your choice.”

Garrett slowly joins us once again and I can sense him silently taking me in, searching for my reaction to the place. “I love it,” I grin, making my opinion known.

“How much for rent?” Garrett slowly asks, his voice quivers with uncertainty.

“Hmmm,” Cooter says softly, giving him a chance for thought, “how about four hundred a month? That would not include anything else, so it is up to you to pay for the water, electricity and so on. I don’t think it would be too hard with all three of you once you two got jobs. As I said, I am flexible on the payment.”

I silently await for someone to awaken me from this unrealistic dream as I glance over at Garrett, wanting him to make the decision in order to see what he really wants. “It looks nice,” Garrett slowly speaks up as he notices everyone’s attention on him, “I am sure Jamie and Shay would enjoy having more space like this to play, especially a back yard when it gets warm. If this is what, Kristy wants…then I am in, I guess.”

“Really?” I ask barely over a whisper as I glance at Garrett in surprise to hear his answer despite our conversation in the car. He slowly nods as he rubs his thin goatee thoughtfully before he nervously plays with the silver ear ring that hangs in his right ear.

“You don’t have to make the decision now if you don’t want to…you can take it home and think about it too if you want,” Cooter speaks up as he steps back into the hall way while grabbing out a folded newspaper from an inside pocket of his coat and slowly hands it to me, “oh I picked this up. You said something of looking for a job and I happened to get a paper, so here is the Hazzard classifieds. There ain’t much but a few odd jobs or so…I do see there is a spot open for a secretary for the sheriff and county commissioner. Must be a new thing, they never had a secretary before.”

I slowly follow Garrett and LB out into the hall to join Cooter who slowly turns on the light switch by the stairs to display three lights spread across the white ceiling of the hall way. “No…like I said before, this all is too good to be true. I love it,” I smile as I fight to hide my excitement, “I would like to rent it. . .and look for a job. Thank-you so much.”

“Hey it should be me thanking you…it is you who will have to put up with my cousin there,” he motions to LB who has remained silent for most of the tour, “and not me. Plus I’ll have a Davenport in the house, to keep it in the family, and Dukes…it can’t get much better if you ask me. I have papers out in the kitchen for you to sign, if you are interested.”

“We’re interested,” Garrett slowly answers, his voice low and unenthusiastic; we had agreed for him to sign any contract and to deal with the papers, he is much better at understanding it than I. Plus it gives him the opportunity to lend his opinion, if he wants to do it or not. About now with the threat of staying in the small hotel with two young kids any longer is enough for him to sign for rent of the house with little thought. Enough space for the kids to play and not drive everyone crazy.

Cooter nods as he heads towards the stairs and we all slowly follow him down into the small hall way. Walking into the kitchen he pulls a green folder out and hands Garrett some papers to look over before glancing at LB. “We’ve already went through this,” LB speaks up and Cooter smiles before handing him his set of papers, “you know I’m interested.”

“Had to make sure,” Cooter nods as he leans against the counter, “it is ok with you two that LB here rents with you? He causes any problems, just let me know.”

I glance across at LB who silently studies the papers Cooter has handed him and I am instantly reminded of our first meeting with him after the Jaguar had ran into me. A smile is forced upon my face as I silently recall the next day meeting him at our hotel door, asking if he could do anything to help, but most of all remembering how well he had dealt with Jamie. Or how well Jamie took to him. “It’s great with me,” I smile and LB glances up at me for a moment, “shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Then it’s settled?” Cooter glances around as both LB and Garrett slowly nods over moving pens and moving eyes that read over the small print. A short moment floats through the farm house’s kitchen as Garrett and LB slowly finish reading the legal terms and signing and dating where they had been instructed to do so. Garrett slowly hands his papers to Cooter before LB hands his in a few moments later, gathering the papers back into the folders, Cooter glances up, “Where’s the kids?”

I glance up at the mention of kids before it slowly dawns on me that he is talking to me, asking me where my children are at. “At Jesse’s farm,” I slowly respond, “With Jesse, Daisy, and the boys.”

“Well then,” Cooter smiles around the kitchen, “how about I take my new renters out for a drink at the Boar’s Nest?”

“Now you’re talkin’,” LB smiles as he walks past Cooter out into the hall way and Garrett nods in agreement as we all head towards the door. I slowly follow LB and Garrett back outside into the windy snowy winter day to find snow still melting onto the frozen ground as Cooter slowly locks up the door. Shivers of coldness rushes up and down my back under my heavy coat and heave sweatshirt as LB moves closer to me to lend me a smile before saying, “it’ll be great.”

I watch him descend down the small wooden stairs wondering if he is thinking of renting together or going out for a drink. Reaching our vehicles, Cooter slowly glances over at us, silently asking if we are tagging along. “We’ll follow,” I smile as I open the passenger door, “Thank-you.”

“No,” his grin widens, “Thank-you.” He gives a crazy laugh as he sends us two thumbs up while climbing into the driver’s seat of the two truck. Watching him slowly close the door to start up a noise engine, we slowly follow him out of the narrow path that connects the drive way to the dirt road. We continue to follow Cooter and LB down the dusty dirt road, covered in a thin layer of snow, to the local bar and restaurant that my dad has spent so much time at when I had been visiting him in Hazzard as a child.