by: MacSas

“Don’t panic Shawna” Luke admonished. “I can handle this”

Considering what she’d seen him go through at the creek, Shawna didn’t bother hiding her look of doubt.

Luke sighed. Handling the truck and her would be impossible. He needed to focus on the truck for now; later he’d work on reassuring her he wasn’t as mad as he’d seem a while ago. His skills enabled him to take the tight curves easier than most would have found it. Still, the truck was old and unpredictable. And this wasn’t a racetrack; it was a hill with tight curves, a deadly drop on one side and a solid cliff face on the other. He thought about scrapping the side of the truck along the cliff to try to slow down, but quickly dismissed the idea. There was too much of a risk that the motion would cause sparks. On Shawna’s side there was a patch of gravel that ran alongside the drop. He aimed the wheel towards the gravel and allowed the truck to coast along it. They were close to the bottom of the hill. He could see the road that led to the Duke farm. Just a few more turns.

Shawna looked sideways at Luke as she clung to the dashboard. The movement on the gravel had slowed them down a little, but not enough for her liking. The sensation of being out of control was sickening. The sound of the gravel crunching under the tires was almost deafening. The whole truck vibrated with movement, and Shawna was it was about to fall apart. She couldn’t stand to look out the front window, instead she focused on Luke. He held the wheel with assurance, while alternating between watching the road in front and the drop beside them. He could do it, she assured herself. Surely he’d been in tighter spots? She wanted to weep and beg that he get them to the bottom alive. But she dared not make a sound.

Luke was aware of Shawna’s terror. He could almost hear her heart beating. He was also aware that she was too terrified to look out the window. He pursed his lips in concentration. The last turn was coming up; unfortunately it was a hairpin turn and the worst on the hill. All his skill and experience now flowed into his moving of the wheel. He turned it just enough to meet the turn. Without warning the truck skidded, it’s back tire slipping almost completely off the edge. Shawna gave a startled yelp. Luke gripped the wheel, turning the truck back to its original position. Halfway into the hairpin turn he decided to forgo the gravel and moved the truck into the centre of the road. It would be safer to negotiate the rest of the turn from here. As the truck coasted through the last bit of the turn, Luke fought to keep the wheel steady in his hands. The wheel vibrated in protest, his grip tightened. Finally the turn ended and a long straight stretch of road came into view. Luke now moved the truck off the side of the road and onto a rugged dirt edge. As the truck bumped over the uneven surface, Luke pulled the emergency brake.

All was silent for a moment. Luke exhaled loudly.

“Well” he smiled, leaning back in his seat. “That was different”

Shawna shook from head to toe. She opened the door and practically fell out of the truck. She backed away from the travelling coffin and sat in the dirt, head in hands. She was barely aware of Luke sitting beside her and gently taking her in his arms.

“We’re okay, honey,” he whispered.

Shawna shook her head.

“Someone tried to kill us Luke”

When Luke remained silent she looked up at him.

“I know,” he said simply. “There’s no way those brakes would have failed like that. Unless they had been tampered with”

Luke went to the truck and stuck his hand underneath it. After feeling around for a moment he bought his hand out. Shawna wasn’t surprised to see that he had brake fluid on his fingers. Luke walked back over to her and sat down. She closed her eyes and put her head on his shoulder.

“It’s because of the note, isn’t it?”

He rubbed her back in a soothing motion. “Possibly”

Shawna sighed. “I shouldn’t have come here. I should have just let the past go, moved to my new home and got on with life just like I planned”

“Sssh” Luke put a finger to her lips. “Have I ever broken a promise to you?”

“Considering you never promised to marry me, no”

“Ouch” Luke smiled. “I promise you that we will get to the bottom of this. Okay?”

Shawna looked at him for a moment; sure that he could do anything.

“Okay” she finally agreed.

*   *   *   *

Luke and Shawna had made it back to the farm by the time Daisy had dinner on the table. Luke had called Cooter to have the truck taken to town for repairs. He’d dropped the pair off at the farm on his way back to the garage.

Bo exuberantly welcomed Shawna to the “Duke family Mansion” then was dismissed by Jesse with a reminder that he still had chores to finish.

“But it’s dinner time” Bo had argued.

“Those who don’t finish their chores, don’t get to eat” Jesse replied.

A lover of food, Bo needed no further convincing.

Shawna sat at the table and watched Luke and Daisy interact. The two were obviously very close. They bantered with each other with the kind of familiarity that only close family members enjoy. An only child, Shawna had always slightly envied Luke his ties to his family. Daisy was bemoaning her latest romantic disaster. Apparently, Bobby Joe had stood her up the previous night, and still hadn’t called to say why. Shawna smiled at Luke’s “Want me to say Howdy to him?” reply.

“No” Daisy admonished, swatting his arm with the towel she held. “It’s hard enough for me to get a date with you hovering in the background. The last thing I need is for you to go tracking down any guy that stands me up”

“What do you mean?” Shawn asked. She could easily see that Luke would do anything for his family, which made what she had to tell him all the more harder. They were their own little army, take on one and you took on all of them.

“Well,” Daisy smiled, “folks round here know that Luke was a Marine. So the guys that want to ask me out are usually too terrified to do so”

Luke gave a look of mock disgust as he sat at the table. As she offered Shawna more coffee, Daisy took up her case again. “How about that time I came home from a date a little later than usual. What do I see? Luke here trying to look like he wasn’t watching out the window”

“Luke” Shawna admonished with a laugh.

“She was more than half an hour late” Luke shrugged.

“He broke the blind trying to get a look at what I was doing”

Shawna laughed out loud. Luke snorted, “And what were you doing, little cousin?”

Daisy blushed. “Something you shouldn’t have been watching”

“Something you just shouldn’t have been doing, more like it”

Daisy sighed loudly. “Luke, I am a grown woman …”

“…You think you’re a grown woman …”

“…and I have the right to see who I want and when I want”

Luke shook his head.

As the two started a friendly debate that Shawna could tell they’d had a thousand times before, Bo walked into the kitchen.

“Well, hey there Miss Shawna” he smiled, pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Has my ugly cousin deserted you in favour of losing the same old argument with Daisy?”

Shawna laughed.

*   *   *   *

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!

He had been so close. They should have died. That stupid old truck should have fallen off the side of the hill easier than an old nag.

But no! Mr Hero has to show what he thinks he’s made of and rescue the day.

Agh!

The man put a cloth to his forehead to stop the flow of blood caused from banging his head against the wall. He felt no pain, barely even registered the bright red spot on the cloth in front of him, or even the stain on the wall.

His mind was already focused on his next move. He was a patient man. The years had taught him how sweet revenge could be when it was least expected. He was so tired of Luke Duke getting the better end of the deal.

No more. He clenched his fist as he hit out at the wall. No more!

He could wait for his revenge. Waiting was what he was good at.