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.

Even at fifteen, Kelly was a beautiful girl with long honey blonde hair that hung half way down her back and the body of a full grown woman. Boys (and even grown men) were always coming on to Kelly. But it was Luke that Kelly chose to be with. Even as children, there had been a special bond between them. They were so much alike in personality and temperament, that they seemed more like blood kin. In the last couple of months, the bond between them had begun to change, deepening into something more than just friendship. They had shared a few stolen kisses but that was as far as things had gone. Uncle Jesse had taught the boys that women were to be protected and respected. And, he also taught them that if they did get intimate with a girl, they had better be man enough to take responsibility for what could happen.

“Hi,” Luke said as Kelly joined him under the tree.

“Hi” she said quietly, her head hung down in a gesture that Luke had learned to recognize. Gently, he cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her head so that he could look into her face. A dark bruise marked the side of her cheek. Luke’s eyes darkened and his jaw tightened in anger.

“He hit you again, didn’t he?” he said with a sharp edge in his voice that he struggled to control.

“It’s not so bad.” Kelly said, shrugging her shoulders “I got away from him before he could hit me more than once.” She smiled and grabbed Luke by the hand, “I don’t want to talk about him. It’s too pretty a day to let anything spoil it.”

“What do you wanna do?” Luke asked with an amused smile

“You got your chores done?”

Luke nodded. Uncle Jesse was strict about the boys doing their chores before they did anything else. Luke had gotten up earlier than usual that morning to make sure he had his done so he could spend most of the afternoon with Kelly.

Kelly grinned playfully “Then let’s go to our place.” Luke grinned back as, hand in hand, they walked across the field towards the woods. It was dark and cool under the trees and Luke could hear the gentle sound of the nearby stream. The two of them walked deep into the woods until they came to a hidden clearing with an old wooden shack. Uncle Jesse was the best old ridge runner in three counties and he had still sites hidden throughout the woods. This was one of the sites that Jesse no longer used. The boys often came here with their girlfreinds when they wanted to make sure they wouldn’t be disturbed.

Kelly and Luke went into the shack. Muted sunlight drifted in through a small dusty window over the old wood burning stove sitting in the corner of the room. They paused for a moment to allow their eyes to adjust to the dim light. There was no furniture, just an old feather tick mattress lying on the floor covered with a faded old quilt.

Luke pulled Kelly down onto the feather tick, gently cradling her in his arms. They lay there in silence for several minutes, comfortable and secure, feeling the warmth of their bodies pressing against each other. Kelly sighed in contentment and laid her head on Luke’s shoulder. The only time she really felt safe and protected was when she was with him. It had been that way ever since they were kids.

Since Luke was older than Kelly and his two cousins, he was the one who looked out for all of them and took care of them. It just seemed to come naturally to Luke, almost like second nature. Since he was the oldest, Uncle Jesse had always taught him that it was his responsible to take care of and protect the younger ones. Nobody bothered Kelly when Luke was with her.

Luke turned his head and kissed her lips gently. Kelly loved it when he kissed her. His lips were warm and firm, yet so gentle. Unfortunately, Kelly knew the difference between gentle and rough. When her father got drunk, he was always grabbing her and rubbing himself up against her and kissing her against her will. He had been doing it ever since she could remember. That was one of Kelly’s secrets that only Luke knew about.

His kisses made her want more but she knew that Luke would never go any farther than she wanted him to. And, even though her body wanted him to, she wasn’t ready for that. Not yet. But in her heart, she knew that when the time was right, Luke would be her first. Kelly was not naïve or innocent when it came to the facts of life. Her parents never seemed to care if she saw them together or not. But lately, she had seen her father looking at her the way other men did sometimes and it scared her more then any of the beatings he had ever given her.

Kelly could feel Luke’s hands starting to wander as he kissed her more insistently. She opened her lips to his kiss, trembling slightly as she felt him slip one hand underneath her shirt. This was nothing new she had let Luke touch her there before. Her skin burned at his touch, her heart pounding in her chest as her excitement grew. But she knew that was as far as Luke would go. For now, it was enough.

Kelly let her hands wander too. She felt Luke’s muscles tense as she slid her hand under his shirt, running her fingertips across his flat, tightly muscled stomach, then up across his chest. Breathlessly, Luke whispered in her ear “We’re going to have to get back soon. Jesse’s expecting you for supper.”

“We still have a little while, don’t we?” Kelly whispered back, nuzzling the side of his neck playfully.

“Not much.” Luke said, knowing that he was going to have to stop her soon or he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. He had never felt this way about any other girl that he had been with before Kelly. And he had been with several. Like most of the other boys his age, he been with his first girl when he was thirteen. She was eighteen and had a local reputation for “breaking in” the more inexperienced boys. Luke had to admit, he had learned a lot from her in the brief time they had spent together.

They kissed feverishly for a few more minutes, then Luke reluctantly pulled away. Kelly sat up and rearranged her clothes, while Luke did the same. Then they left the shack, slowly walking back towards the Duke Farm.

The Duke family had lived in Hazzard County for five generations. Jesse Duke had been born and raised on the farm where they still lived, and so had his father before him. Jessie was the oldest of ten children, five boys and five girls. His sisters and one brother were still living. Three of his brothers were dead. Adam had been Luke’s Father. He had died along with wife, Sara, when Luke was four years old. There had been a fire at their house and they couldn’t get out in time. Jed and his wife, Amy, been Bo’s parents. They had died in a car accident when Bo was just 4 months old. Jesse’s youngest brother, James, had been Daisy’s father. Her mother had died giving birth to Daisy and James had been killed making a moon shine run when Daisy was six. All three brothers had appointed Jesse as the guardian for their children in case anything ever happened to them. Since all of them had been so young when they came to live on the farm, Jesse was the only father that any of them remembered.

When Daisy had brought Kelly home to visit for the first time, Jesse had immediately recognized the need for attention and love in the young child with the sad and knowing eyes. He had welcomed her with open arms into the family and for the first time in her life, Kelly found the stability and support of a loving family that she so desperately craved. Sometimes Kelly would stay at the farm for three or four days in a row before returning home to her parents, who never even seemed to notice or even care that she had been gone.

In the beginning, Kelly had tried to hide her father’s abuse from them just like she had been doing all her life. But Jessie had seen the bruises and he knew what was going on. One day when her father had come to the Duke farm looking for her, already ranting and in a drunken rage, Jessie had met him at the door with his shotgun and made it clear that as long as Kelly was in his house, her father would have to get by Jesse first to get to her. Her father had left and had never come back to the Duke farm again. In that one simple act of compassion and support, Jesse had shown Kelly how much he really cared. After that, she had started calling him “Uncle Jessie” just like the rest of the kids.

Kelly and Luke made it to the farmhouse in time for Kelly to help prepare supper while Bo and Luke did their evening chores.