“Garrett Duke,” the man’s hardened cold voice sends chills racing up and down my back a moment before a large hand lands upon my tense shoulder. “Slowly turn around, “the cold voice continues to whisper in my ear, “keep your hands in sight and don’t do anything stupid.”

Taking a long drink of my bottle of beer, I slowly glance up at the big TV to allow thoughts to rush through me. Thoughts of the fun-filled events of last night, to who could be behind me, and thoughts of ways to escape. Glancing across the splintered bar, I sigh heavily at seeing all the people gathered around to watch today’s race, as there is every race day. Abruptly, the man applies pressure to my shoulder to send sparks of pain down my arm. “Now Garrett,” he hisses impatiently into my ear.

I slowly nod before I hesitantly turn myself around on my barstool to find four tall and muscular men dressed in dark blue police uniforms, standing a foot in front of me. “Officer Durbank,” I flash a smile at the officer standing in the middle, the one standing directly in front of me. I allow a moment of silence to build as I cautiously take him in as well as the other three officers. Turning my attention back to Officer Durbank, I slowly break the silence, “long time, no see.”

“Too long,” he huffs as he crosses his muscular arms across his thick chest. “This time,” he pauses as a bold smile spreads across his aged face, “we got you by the book.”

“You think, huh?” I slowly question him while I elbow Landon on my right as well as elbowing Rod who sits to my left.

“No,” his smile broadens as he glances across at the other officers for support before eyeing me with hardened green eyes, “we know.”

“You can always wish,” I quickly throw back at him before glancing at both Rod and Landon to find them still watching the race. Turning back to Durbank, I slowly lean back against the bar before saying. “Meanwhile, what you want from me? Or is this a friendly visit to go over the past? You know, the good ol’ days.”

His arms flex as his dark eyes cloud over with intense anger before he quickly takes a threatening step closer to me. “You -“

”What is it, Garrett?” Landon snaps at me to interrupt Durbank as he half watches the TV while listening to me.

Continuing to stare at Durbank, I slowly respond, “We’ve got some rude company behind you.”

“Rude company?” Landon questions distantly before slowly glancing over at me and I motion behind him. “Damn,” I hear Landon cuss under his breath a moment after turning around to find the four officers behind him. A forced smile spreads across his face before he says, “Good afternoon officers. You here for the race? It’s a great race with thirty-six laps left to go with -“

”We’ve got better things to do than to waste time on a dumb race,” the officer in front of him smirks, causing anger to flare in Landon’s bright blue eyes. “We’re here to bring you all to where you deserve to be at.”

“Yeah,” the officer next to him chimes in, “to jail.”

Silence explodes between us as the announcers from the TV begin to talk excitedly about an accident to cause several people to yell out in anger. Slowly, I glance over to the TV in the near corner to watch the replay of a car slamming two cars into the wall, forcing all the other cars to drive far down through their cloud of smoke to avoid the accident. “Damn it!” Rod explodes besides me, jumping off his stool before turning to me, “you see that, Garr? I was betting on him to win!”

“Well Rod, I hate to break it to you, but he ain’t going to win today,” I sigh heavily as I continue to watch Durbank, “I also hate to be the one to inform you that we got some unwanted company.”

Rod’s excitement quickly disappears as he stares at me for a moment before turning around to stare at the officer who stands in front of him. “Damn it,” he says aloud before sitting back down on his stool.

“Don’t sound so happy to see us,” the officer in front of him quickly responds,” Where’s the rest of you at? We saw their vehicles outside, so we know they’re here.”

“Don’t know, “I quickly respond as I sit up in my stool, “we’re not their babysitters, we’re here to watch the race.”

“You haven’t changed, have you Garrett? Same friends, same car, and the same bad attitude,” Durbank throws back at me.

“Why’d I want to change perfection for, Durbank?” I shrug at him, “look Durbank,” I slowly continue while I grab my pack of cigarettes and my lighter out of my chest pocket, “I am tired of your games. Tell us why you and your friends are here for or stop harassing us and leave where you came in at.”

Once again a broad smile spreads across his face as his arms drop to his thick, leather gun belt. “I’ll be glad to tell you why we’re here for, Garrett. I’ve only waited six years to say this to you,” he pauses as I light my cigarette before letting out a puff of smoke at him. “You all,” he goes silent momentarily as he slowly looks at all of us before his attention once again falls upon me. “Are under arrest for breaking and entering, theft, and vandalism of Gary’s Auto parts Store.”

“You are really fishing for charges there,” I quickly throw back at him as adrenaline begins to build within me, “we don’t and won’t have a thing to do with Gary or any of his low life thug friends. Not alone with his trashy store. Sorry Durbank, I guess you’ll have to go back to fishing.”

“Is that right, Duke? That why we found his stolen auto parts on your vehicles? Or why we found Rod’s, Landon’s, Zavier’s, and Aaron’s fingerprints within the store? We didn’t find your fingerprints, Garrett,” he shrugs at me, ”but the way we see it, Is that you were the get away driver. A neighbor down the street from the store has identified your car going by just around the time of the theft.”

“You’ve got nothing,” I blow smoke in his face, “that car could belong to anyone. I’d love to say that I’m a lone owner of a car as my own, but I’ve seen a few others out there.”

“Maybe so, but that don’t explain the stolen tires and windshield we just found on your car. Now does it? As I said, it’s all by the book,” he smiles at me, “so why don’t you tell me where the rest of you is at? We know they are here, we found their cars in the parking lot.”

“As I said,” I mimic him, “I’m not their babysitter.”

“Your choice if you want to take the fall for them,” he shrugs as he yanks his handcuffs out and the other three officers does the same. “All three of you, turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

I silently watch as Rod and Landon reluctantly steps off their stools to slowly turn around and placing their hands behind their head. I grunt in surprise as Durbank roughly grabs my upper arm to harshly yank me off of my stool. Shoving him away from me, I say, “Hang on Durbank, let me put out my cigarette.” He glares at me as I take a last inhale of my cigarette before blowing smoke at him once again. “Sorry Durbank,” I apologize before throwing my cigarette at him and he yells in pain and surprise as it lands upon his lower right arm. Jumping back, he quickly brushes it off of him before yanking his gun out of it’s holster.

“All right Duke,” he forces a smile as he quickly steps forward, “you want to do it the hard way? We an do it the hard way.”

“Not this time,” I hiss at him as I quickly grab onto Landon’s handcuffed arm who grunts in surprise. “Sorry Landon,” I whisper into Landon’s ear before I abruptly throw Landon at Durbank before I quickly shove another officer away to begin running in between people to get to the back door.

Breathing heavily, I quickly run out into the chilly spring late afternoon to find the officers ‘ cars parked haphazardly to the left. Quickly turning to the right, I jump in surprise as a loud voice yells from behind, “Freeze!”

Startled, I slowly come to a stop to slowly turn around to find an younger officer standing a few feet behind me with his gun pointed at me. “Damn, how many are there?” I sarcastically ask as he cautiously approaches me.

“Obviously, not enough. Turn around and put your hands behind your head,” he demands.

I sigh heavily in defeat as I slowly do as I am told to do while listening to him put his gun away while taking out his handcuffs. As his sweaty hand grabs my wrist, I heavily step on his foot and he grunts in pain before bending over for me to elbow him in the face. I watch as he falls harshly onto the hard pavement before I once again begin to run for my car only a few feet away.

Climbing into the driver’s seat of my Mustang, relief floods th rough me as I turn my car on just before the officers quickly exit the sports bar, escorting Landon and Rod to their cars. Feeling the power of my muscle car, I quickly speed out of the parking lot and into traffic as the piercing siren begins to cry through the city behind me.

JEREMIAH DUKE

Fear and anger continues to race thickly through me as I stare blindly at the small, thick business card that I hold tightly onto with shaky, weak hands. Disbelief, once again, washes heavily over me as I stare at the two names that lies printed boldly in the thick black ink across the middle of the bright white card. “Damn,” I sigh heavily to interrupt the silence that had inevitably welcomed itself into my small office upon the officers’ departure. Reading the officers’ names that lies boldly upon the card, intense questions ripple through me as the officer’s questions rolls across my mind. Questions of my son’s guilt that lies deeply within the officers’ bold accusations of my son’s activities within the last two nights.  Questions that sends my mind falling back into the painful memories of my son’s troubled past and other times he had gotten in trouble with one sort of authority or another.

Abruptly a dull knocking sound draws me out of my thoughts and relief slowly begins to melt through me at seeing Ricky Lark standing on the other side of my closed metal door, through the small thick window that lies in the middle.  I slowly motion in my long time friend as my attention slowly drifts toward the long rectangular shaped window the covers most of the walls surrounding the door, entrapping me in a clear box. Half heartedly, I watch as my well trained mechanics systematically works upon the damaged cars that they are assigned to before I casually glance over at Ricky. “Hey Jer,” Ricky offers a small smile across his oil stained bearded face as he closes the door, “Leon told me you had two big men in uniform visit you an hour ago.”

“Regretfully so,:” I sigh heavily before sitting up in my chair to allow the card to slip through my sweaty hands and onto my messy desk, “second visit within seven hours.”

“Second Visit?” he questions as he sits down upon a metal fold up chair on the other side of my desk where he leans back to place his boots on the corner of my desk.

“First one was at two this morning,” I sigh heavily as I shake my head in disbelief as the worry scared across my wife’s face looks back at me through my vivid imagination, “looking for Garrett. Asking if I knew where he was, since he wasn’t at his apartment or at his girlfriend’s.”

He looks heavily at me for a moment through his bright blue eyes before he grabs his hard box of cigarettes out of his chest pocket with his lighter. “Damn Jer,” he sighs as he pulls out a cigarette before placing the box back into his torn pocket, “What he do this time?”

I stare at him for a long moments in attempt to organize my thoughts while fighting off strong emotions that continue to race rapidly within me. “They’re saying that him and his friends broke into an auto store here in town, stole a bunch of goods as well as trashing up the whole store. Broken windows, broken equipment, stolen company van.  Pretty much, things were either stolen or broken,” I pause heavily as the officer’s thick accusations once again begin to echo inside me, “they said that Garrett’s car and his friends’ vehicles were found with stolen goods on them from that store. The store belongs to a group of guys that Garrett and his so-called friends don’t get along with and are known to get into fights with.”

“Busted,” a small smile flashes across his face before it quickly disappears as he looks up at me and a hint of sympathy enters his eyes, “Sorry Jeremiah, I really am. I just knew this was comin’.”

“Yeah. Me too,” I breathe heavily out, “just wish it wasn’t now that it came. They came back here to see if he came to work this morning, obviously Garrett isn’t here. I called his apartment and his girlfriend’s house. Nothing. Jenni hasn’t heard from him for three days now, says she was beginning to think he was planning on leaving her without a good-bye or anything.”

“Poor girl. She’s the best girl he’s found so far and all he does is treat her poorly and like this. He just don’t know what’s good for him, is all,” he says before smashing out the butt of his cigarette upon my plastic ash tray. “I’m sorry Jeremiah.”

“Yeah, me too,” I repeat as I glance down at the card on my desk, “I am to call them once I hear or see him.”

“Are you going to?” he sits up in his chair before a greasy hand goes through his thick brown hair before he places on a hat he had strapped onto his belt.

“How the hell am I to turn in my own son? Send him to jail?” I pause heavily for a long moment as a flash back of my own troubled past flashes at me, “Damn, I was the same way when I was his age. If not worse. Difference is the times has changed and I was in a small town where you could get a way with more than the city.”

“What about Atlanta?” he raises an eyebrow, “That ain’t no small town and we all know the trouble you got into there.”

“Except there,” I sigh heavily as my older brother’s icy blue eyes flashes in the back of my mind, blue eyes full of anger, resentment, along with a hint of hatred; of the way he had last looked at me before I had ran off. His wise words spoken of anger yell back at me as my actions once again begins to replay themselves in my vivid imagination. “Where I got myself into plenty of trouble and escaped from trouble with pure luck. He may not be as lucky.”

“Well back then,” Ricky sighs heavily while nervously adjusting his hat, “people got away with more than what they do now. All that rime and violence changed all that. We both have done worse than what Garrett is accused of and have gotten away without a look from the cops. In Hazzard and Atlanta both.”

“Garrett has gotten away with plenty of his own things,” I slowly respond, “and nothing I do or say with ever get through to him. Heck, I sent him to boot camp and then onto the Army where they sent him to war. What he do? He gets himself thrown out and back home when they found drugs in his barrack.”

Ricky shrugs. “Well maybe jail would be good for him. Know it changed my attitude when I got thrown in there for the first time. Real fast too.”

“That’s what I told Rosa which had started a fight between us. She thinks it would ruin him and his out look on life,” I shake my head in disbelief, “When asked what to do, she only says that he’ll outgrow it. Just like I did. Trouble is, is that I was able to leave my friends behind, will he be able to? I can’t see them just allowing him to walk away if he ever wishes to do so. Right now, I can’t see him changing without a reason to do so. Jail seems to be the only answer left to do. I hate to do it myself, but what else can I do?”

“Turn him in,” Ricky boldly responds, “call it tough love. He’ll love you for it later, trust me.”

“Just like you love your ol’ man for doing that to you thirty years ago, right?” I quickly throw back at him before slowly growing serious, “I’ll have to do something that’s for damn sure.”

“Hey Jer, if there is anything I can do, tell me. You know I’m here for you,” he starts to say before his small cell phone begins to ring on his hip.

“Thanks Ricky,” I say as he starts to stand up while taking it off it’s clip, “if you see Garrett, make sure he makes his way to my office; even if you have to knock him out to do so.”

He flashes a smile at me and nods before opening the phone and says, “Ricky Lark here.” It goes back to thick silence as he walks out into the garage and closes the door behind him.

~GARRETT DUKE~

A steady rush of emotions heavily floods through me as I stare blindly through my bug splattered windshield at the small and old garage that lies across the paved parking long. For a long while I glare through the dark shadowy garage to watch several well talented mechanics working systematically upon the damaged cars that are parked within. Sucking nervously upon my half smoked cigarette, I hesitantly direct my attention towards the far right corner where my dad’s office lies to find him sitting behind his desk; looking to be working on his worn computer or working on paper work. I sigh heavily as my thoughts once again fall upon last night’s events of being caught and escaping from the local law enforcement while watching them drag away a couple of my best friends. Dragging them away to spend the next several years in jail while I escaped thinking of only myself.

“Damn it,” I hiss in frustration as I flick the butt of my cigarette out through my open window as my dad stands up from behind his desk to yank my attention away from last night and on what lies ahead. Once again, dread thickly flows through me at the thought of walking in and facing my father and his stubborn temper and I slowly begin to wonder if I should just turn around. Struggling with the thought of turning around and giving up, I quickly open my door to step out into the bright sunny summer day to slowly look around the familiar surroundings while I silently close the door.

“Hey Garrett,” Jed offers a sympathetic smile as I hesitantly trade in the bright summer sun for the dark shadows that linger heavily within the stuffy garage. Abruptly, the normal background noise that normally filters through the garage comes to a halt as they stop what they were doing to bring an awkward thick silence across the garage. Nodding at Jed, I slowly begin to look around to find everyone intently watching me with a growing anticipation of what will happen next with a hint of surprise. “Good luck.” Jed silently says towards me.

I slowly nod at him as I silently begin to wonder what they all know, bringing a sense of panic rushing through me. If one were to call Durbank. . .

“Garrett!” a loud voice echoes throughout the garage to shatter everyone’s silence and my thoughts while forcing my heart to an abrupt halt with surprise and fear. Grudgingly I glance up from Jed to find Ricky standing in the back of the garage urgently motioning me to come to him while staring at me with angered eyes. “Come here!”

Staring back at my dad’s best friend and supervisor, I quickly take a deep breath as intense anger explodes within me, anger that quickly rushes into resentment. Resentment of the authority that he notoriously abuses upon everyone under him and his attitude he holds against me. “As I said,” Jed says with more sympathy, “good luck.”

I nod back at him before a pounding directs my attention back onto Ricky who impatiently hits a metal shelf while his own anger towards me is clearly visible upon his body language. Sighing heavily, I slowly begin to walk along the side wall while attempting to predict ways to escape from his wrath or to respond to his anger as well as my dad’s anger. Approaching him, I stare unblinkingly at him while saying, “Sorry Ricky,” I flash a smile while ignoring his angered look, “I don’t know what happened. My alarm clock didn’t go off this morning and when I woke-“

”Cut the crap Garrett!” he harshly snaps to interrupt me, “If that were the case, you’re a hell of a sleeper to sleep through the cops pounding at your door at one this morning and all the phone calls that’s been going to your apartment!”He grunts while shaking his head in disapproval at me while his green eyes seem to stare through me, “No. After escaping the cops last night,” he sarcastically laughs, “you’ve been hiding out. In fact, I’m rather surprised to see you stupid enough to show your ugly face here at work after last night. If you’d be smart, you’d be outta state by now.”

“Gee Ricky, you’re full of compliments today aren’t you. First I’m stupid and now I’m ugly as well,” I lend out my own sarcastic laugh at him, “the last one to call me a name as those, later ended up regretting to say it. But hey,” I shrug as I glance back around the garage to find them all still watching me, “we all know how you are and how you have a hard time communicating with others. So I guess I’ll be nice this time and pretend I didn’t hear you.”

“You think you’re so tough,” he shakes his head before glancing over his shoulder to where my dad’s office lies, large windows surrounding him. Looking back at me, he continues, “well, you’re not as tough as you think you are. I’d be glad to be the one to show how weak you really are. . .love to hear you pleading for your daddy in there to come and save your sorry -“

Full of angered adrenaline, I abruptly send a sharp right hook and as my fist hits solidly upon his left cheek he yells out in pain and surprise as he stumbles backwards into the sharp metal shelves. He quickly stands up with his hand up to his cheek with anger flaring through his dark green eyes before he slowly takes his hand down to find blood streaking down his hand. Blood that flows rapidly from his nose and into his mouth. Recovering from the shock of my punch he rashly attempts to send a punch at me and I quickly duck down before shoving another fist into his ribs to send him bending over in pain. “Perhaps it will be you that will finding out just how weak you are. Weak, ignorant,” I say as I send a knee into his forehead and he yells out as he falls onto the concrete floor, “and stupid. It’s you, not me.”

“Garrett!” my dad’s voice explodes behind me to echo off of the brick walls as I send an angered kick into Ricky’s stomach. After staring down at Ricky for a moment, I slowly glance up to find my dad standing just outside his door with an angered and surprised look spread across his face while he looks from Ricky and onto me. “In my office. Now!”

“Look -“ I start to yell after my dad to be interrupted as a hand abruptly wraps around my ankle. I yell out in surprise as Ricky yanks me down and pain explodes within me as I fall down, hitting my head on the concrete. “Get off me!” I yell at Ricky to start kicking his hand before grabbing a metal wrench off of the ground shelf.

“Garrett! Ricky!” my dad yells a moment before he looms over us, “Enough. Both of you!” He glares down at Ricky for a moment before he lets go of my ankle and onto me. I stare grudgingly at him and then at Ricky for a long moment while feeling the throbbing pain grow consistently in my head and down my back where I had landed. I reluctantly place the wrench back onto the shelf after Ricky slowly stands up holding his stomach while placing an stained handkerchief to his bloodied nose. “Ricky,” my dad turns to Ricky while holding out a ring of keys, “I want you to take the call for a tow on Forty-Second Street. Use the time in the truck wisely to clear your head and your emotions. When you return, I should have another errand for you to do for me. A personal one,” with that he glances at me while Ricky takes the keys, “As for you Garrett, get up.” I slowly sit up to force the garage to blurrily spin quickly around me before my dad places a firm grip upon my forearm to yank me to my feet. “I want to see you in my office. Now!”

I stiffly nod before watching Ricky walking out of the garage to where the tow truck lies parked while everyone within the garage slowly one by one return to their work. Figuring it is over for now at least. “I’m going,” I impatiently respond as he places another firm grip upon my shoulder while leading me into his office. Once in his office he slams the door shut to walk ahead of me and glares angrily at me.  “He got what he deserved,” I slowly break the silence that had awkwardly built between us.

“Is that so?” he asks looking at me disbelievingly, “I guess I’ll have to ask Ricky when he gets back to hear what he has to say about that. But until then,” he goes silent as he slowly sits down upon the edge of his desk to glance out the window behind me. The window that shows his garage and the activity that goes on within. Looking back at me he slowly continues, “Meanwhile there is deeper matters that we need to talk about. Isn’t there?”

I slowly shrug only to force the pain to increase and to spin the room around me once again. Sighing heavily, I slowly say, “I’m sorry I’m late, I  -“

”I don’t want any of your damn excuses!” he angrily cuts me off as he jumps to his feet, “You know damn well what I am talking about so don’t go playing stupid with me, it won’t work!” He falls back into silence once again as he runs a hand through his hair, “I bet you know who gave your mother and I a wake up call at two this morning and another visit to the garage a few hours ago.”

“I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?” I ask to receive an angered look from him, “Durbank,” I slowly give him the answer he was looking for.

“Sergeant Durbank and his partner Officer Jackson,” he forces out while staring angrily at me, “you can’t imagine the pain you are causing your mother and I by all that they said that you are being accused of,” he breathes in deeply, “not to mention how bad it makes my business look when there is a police car parked outside with it’s lights on while they come into my office to see me!”

“So that’s what all this is about,” I glare up at him, “about the reputation about your little shabby garage?”

He abruptly slaps his desk before he begins to pace the floor momentarily before coming to a stop a few feet in front of me. “It has to do with a lot of things and part of it is the reputation of this garage. The garage I worked damn hard for, too damn hard for to be ruined by your stubborn ways! It has to do with the pain this is causing your mom and the ripple effect your action has done to our family, as it has always in the past,” he continues to yell, his temper growing steadily, “and it has to do with your future. The future that you are damn insistent to throw away just so you can belong to those group of thugs you call friends!”

“Call them what you want, dad, but your so called friend, Ricky out there ain’t much better!” I yell back at him as I feel my anger accelerate within me.

“This ain’t about Ricky or me. It’s about you and your activities the last couple of nights,” he shakes his head in disbelief at me, “I’ve got Durbank’s story on what happened, now let’s hear your’s. What happened?”

I sigh heavily as I turn my back to him and for a long moment I watch the other mechanics work upon the cars that is parked within the garage while I allow my thoughts to gather while fighting back emotions.  “They got what they deserved. Gary and his store,” I slowly start before forcing myself to turn around to face my dad, “Friday night while we were at Marty’s Sports Bar watching a baseball game. When we came out we found our cars smashed and broken into. My CB was stolen, my windshield smashed, and my tires slashed. Zavier, Landon, Aaron, Collin, and Rod had similar things done to their cars. They also had cut up Landon’s and Aaron’s upholstery real bad and shredded up Rod’s personal information that was in his glove box as well.” I pause as I find myself un-consciencely tracing my scar that runs down my neck. Shoving my hands into my pockets, I continue, “Rod got to his truck just in time to find Gary getting out and running to join the others in their van, waiting for him.”

“That’s not the story Durbank had to tell me this morning,” my dad quickly throws back at me before falling into silence while he tiredly looks over my shoulder. After a long moment, he lets out a deep breath while glancing back at me before saying, “Durbank made sure to make the point that they had found stolen auto parts on your vehicles, stolen parts from Gary’s Auto Store. You know what that means?”

“That,” I sigh heavily as the pain continues to grow, racing from head and down my back, “that they got evidence.”

“Rock solid evidence that places you and your friends being the thugs that broke into their little ol’ store and stole and broke everything in sight. Rock solid evidence that will place you and your thug friends solidly in jail for the next few years of your life. Years that will be wasted sitting behind bars for a little revenge. Hope it was worth it,” my dad shakes his head while lending me a look of sadness and disgust at me. “Hell, you’ll be locked in jail way past Rod and Landon, because on top of theft and vandalism, you’ve got assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest on top of your charges.”

“Well I’m not just gonna sit down and allow them arrest me when I wasn’t the one who started it,” I quickly respond while fighting off another wave of exhaustion, “Gary’s the one that started it Friday night by breaking into our cars and damaging all they could get their hands on. What? You expect us to just roll over and pretend it never happened, let them get away with it? Like you’d let someone get away for doing something to your beloved Trans Am you’ve got parked in the garage.”

“Yeah, well,” my dad shrugs, “did you go to the police? Fill out a complaint report against them and all that you saw?” He eyes me momentarily awaiting an answer, not getting one he continues, “ I didn’t think so. You’d rather take it into your own hands and do the punishing yourself. You do that, you risk the chance of getting caught in the act as y’all did.”

“Well then, maybe it was worth the risk,” I force a nonchalant smile at him, “I mean we got to have fun while giving them payback for what they did, as well as getting what was due us from the damages they done. We got a three for one bargain if you ask me.”

My dad’s dark blue eyes seems to harden as his pacing comes to a halt near his desk while his right hand flexes tightly into a fist before he forces his fingers out before curling them back into an angered fist. “You just never learn, do you Garrett?!” he yells while angrily shoving his fold up chair out of his way and I silently watch the chair tumble backwards before coming to a stop a few feet away, “Or perhaps you forgot who Sergeant Durbank really is? That he’s Gary’s over protective dad who’s been following you for the past six years in hope of you messing up just so he can be the one to slap the cuffs on you and locking you away within a small jail cell.” He shakes his head once more at me, his anger seeming to grow within him, “So what do you do? You go and mess up. Big time. You break into his son’s store and steal and break everything in sight, giving him solid evidence and every reason in the book to arrest you. Again.” He pauses dramatically, “You can damn bet you won’t get so lucky as you did six years ago when they let out for a stupid technicality!”

Silence abruptly fills the small office as my dad runs his hand through his thick sandy blond hair before his attention falls back onto the window behind me. I slowly follow his attention to find everyone in the garage at a stand still and watching us with anticipation of what will happen.  “That don’t give Gary no damn reason to go and do what he did. Just because his dumb dad is a damn cop!” I abruptly break the silence, refusing to lose ground to my dad, “No,” I shake my head to be reminded of the throbbing pain from falling harshly onto the cement ground. Taking a deep breath, I continue, “Gary got what he deserved. Six years ago and now.”

“Is that so?” my dad calmly asks as he takes a seat upon the edge of his cluttered desk, “I hope you feel that way while you spend your time in jail.”

“They’ll have to catch me first,” I smugly remark while once again tracing my scar, “which they won’t.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you,” my dad slowly responds as he once again stands up and his angered eyes seems to fade into sadness of some sort, “Sergeant Durbank told me to call him once you came in or once I’ve seen you. Well,” he shrugs silently at me, “here you are.”

Abruptly, I feel my heart come to a painful halt as reality heavily begins to settle in. Reality of spending the next few years locked in a jail cell with little ways of escaping. “Here I am,” I slowly let go the breath I had been holding before staring boldly at my dad in attempt to hide the fear that accelerates within me, “You going to call Durbank? Give your own son up?”

“Well,” my dad falls into silence as he nervously runs a muscular hand through his dark blond hair before eyeing me with saddened eyes, “you’ve left your mother and me no choice.” He shrugs before he quietly walks behind his desk to slowly glance over the cluttered mess before picking up a small off white card. “We’ve done everything we can think of to help you and yet nothing seems to work. Nothing else has gotten the message across to you, perhaps jail time will.”

I reluctantly take the card from him before slowly taking my attention away from my dad to look down at the card to find Durbank and his partner’s name printed boldly down the middle with a couple of phone numbers below each name. “Damn you too, Dad!” I cuss angrily and as I go to rip the card in half, my dad angrily grabs it out of my hand to place it in his back pocket. I stare at him for a long moment full of anger and hatred towards him before I quickly walk to the closed door and as my right hand lands upon the metal door knob, I slowly turn around and say, “Fine dad, you can go ahead and call the cops. By the time they get here, I’ll be long gone…from them and from you!”

He sadly shakes his head at me as his attention goes onto the ground beneath his feet before he looks up at his window and back at me. “You’re not going anywhere outside of this garage until I let you do so,” he finally responds, the sadness that once was tinted in his words have known fallen back into sternness, “you walk outside this office as of now, Lyle will be bringing you right back in. With force if need be.”

He motions his head to behind me and I slowly glance through the small window that lies in the door to find Ricky’s older and stronger brother Lyle standing a foot behind the door. “Damn you, dad!” I yell at him once again before turning to stare at him, thoughts rush through my head of what to do next. “I came here because I trusted you! I trusted that you of all people would understand me and where I came from. That you’d at least lend me your protection, and this is what I get for coming to work?”

“Don’t do this, Garrett,” he firmly responds, “you’ve done this to yourself. Not me, but you and your gangster friends that you hang around with.” He goes silent for a little while as he takes his small cell phone off the clip of his belt. “And yeah, I understand a bit of where you are coming from. I hung out with the wrong crowd and did a lot of things I highly regret. The difference is, is that I walked away.” He pauses once again for a short moment, “And I never did half of the things you have done or to the extent you and your gang takes it. One of these days someone is going to get really hurt. . .again. Either it be you, a friend, or someone you hurt fighting against. Then you won’t be going away for vandalism and resisting arrest. That’ll be assault or to whatever extent it goes. No,” he shakes his head sadly as he boldly stares at me, “I’m not going to sit around and do nothing in hope of you coming to your senses. In hope of no one getting hurt or anything worse to happen. No. We’ve waited over fifteen years for you to come to your senses and yet you haven’t. Time’s up Garrett.”

I slowly shake my head in disagreement before I glance back out to find Lyle watching me with his muscular arms folded across his thick chest, his dark green eyes stare back at me, daring me to try something. “You’re wrong, dad,” I angrily hiss out before grabbing my pack of cigarettes out of my stained chest pocket. “Nothing has happened and nothing will happen. Gary’s the one that started it, we ended it.”

He gives a sarcastic laugh. “There is no end, Garrett. I’m not stupid, I’ve been where you’ve been. One person does one thing, the other gives retaliation, and then the other person strikes back. It’s a non ending process as it has been with you, Gary, and all the other gangs around Knoxville you don’t get a long with. If it isn’t with a gang, then you all go out and look for trouble on your own. Whether it is stealing something, racing on the highway. . .it’s always something Garrett. So don’t give me your crap about you ending it, there is no end,” he shakes his head as he opens his cell phone, “I really don’t want to do this Garrett. I hate this as much as you. . .but something has to be done before it’s too late. This is our last option. It was your call, Garrett, not mine.”

Lighting my cigarette, I slowly breathe out smoke into his face as all that he has said begins to roll smoothly through my mind, fueling my anger and my emotions. “Your last option?” I yell out at him, “You talk as if I’m a child, a pet, an after thought! I’m a grown man and can handle my own self! I don’t need you holding my hand and telling me what to do or leading me to where you want to go. I apologize that I’ve been such a burden to you and mom, but it’s my life! My life to do whatever I want to do with it!”

“Enjoy it in jail, then,” he shrugs before he quickly grabs my cigarette out of my hand to shove it into his plastic ash tray. “If I hear right, that was part of your problem with Sergeant Durbank, how you assaulted him -“ he grunts in surprise and fear as I abruptly grab hold of his greasy shirt to shove him harshly against his thin walls.

“Duke!” I hear Lyle yell behind me as he throws open the door.

Ignoring Lyle, I glare at my dad while holding him tightly against the wall as he stares at me in surprise and fear. “Don’t think you’re all that now, do you dad? You think you’re so much better than I just because -“ I grasp in surprise as Lyle’s strong hands land upon my shoulder and I yell out in fear as he abruptly throws me down upon the ground to force the throbbing pain to resurface.

“You don’t think you’re so strong, now do you Garrett?” Lyle gives me a crooked grin as my dad slowly joins him while dialing in a number off of the card, “Where’s your bravado at now Garrett? Must make you feel real strong and proud now that you attacked your own father.”

“It’s none of your damn business, ape face!” I yell at him as I quickly stand up and as Lyle moves defensively towards me, my dad steps in between him and I to stop a future fight.

“Enough.” He sternly says as he stops pushing buttons after dialing the number, meaning he has yet to place the call. Looking at Lyle he says, “Thank-you Lyle, I can take it from here.”

“Yes sir,” he nods, “I’ll be outside the door if this chicken decides to attack again.”

“Thanks Lyle,” my dad says firmly and Lyle eyes me momentarily before he walks back out, closing the door behind him.  “Don’t you think for a minute that any of your little outbursts like that one scares me. Because it don’t. You’re not as tough as you make yourself out to be,” he hisses angrily at me, “Understood?”

“What I understand is that you’re putting me away. . .so maybe you are afraid,”I shrug and a rush of dizziness once again washes over me, “you’ve dialed, what are you waiting for? I’m waiting for my escort.”

“Your escort?” he mimics me as he rolls his eyes, “You won’t be so sure of yourself once you get your sentence and realize that this time you won’t be getting out and that you’ll be stuck in a cell with a bunch of men who’ve been put away for harsher crimes that your’s.”

Despite the pain, I force another shrug as I light another cigarette to blow another cloud of smoke into his face and he quickly steps away from me. Silence quickly captures the room as I slowly walk over to the far corner while looking out the window, watching the other workers pretend to work while watching us. I shake my head as I quietly envision all that will be said once I am led away by Durbank and his men, with hand cuffs locked tightly around my wrists. Momentarily, a vivid image of Durbank and his men leading Landon and Rod away comes to mind and I slowly realize just how mad they’re going to be at me. For using them as I had to escape and then to top things off that I had escaped without helping them to escape themselves.

“I never realized how selfish you are, Garrett,” my dad breaks the silence from behind me, “Sergeant Durbank tells me that you used Landon to trip him in order to escape.” He pauses, talking as if he is reading my mind, “You are always talking about what good friends they are and how loyal everyone is to each other. How loyal is it to use your own friend to escape? I surely wouldn’t call that friend a friend no more if that were me. . .if I were Landon.” He muses out loud and I slowly turn around to find him to watching me, “I never thought of you as being selfish, but that was a selfish thing to do; especially to someone as close as Landon was to you. Or all that he’s done for you.” He shakes his head in disbelief, “I’d hate to be the one to face him again, after what you did. I’m willing to bet my Trans Am that he’s more than angry at you. And in your line of so-called friends, that angry at a certain person seems to be contagious. If you know what I mean.”

“I’m not stupid,” I quickly spit out while blowing out a breath of smoke, “and yeah it was selfish and a stupid thing to do. But hell it was survival. Landon or Rod would have done the same to me if they found the opportunity to do. . .as would anyone of my friends.” I pause momentarily, “So hopefully with a couple of days, they’ll be a bit understanding of my situation.”

“Yeah,” my dad smirks sarcastically, “lucky for you, you got to escape. Where as they’re in jail.”

“For a little while,” I shrug as my mind continues to fall back onto last night’s events and then onto the near future. Chills rapidly run up and down my spine as my thoughts fall back onto six years ago when I had to spend a couple of months in jail before my trial had began and had to be let go on the technicality. Of spending day in and day out in a small cell with four other men and fighting for everything I got or to stay alive. Fear accelerates even more as I force myself to see that they’ve got me solid and I’ve got little to no chance of seeing freedom for several more years once Durbank shows up. “Damn it,” I slowly cuss aloud to turn my back on my dad in hope of covering up my raw emotions that burns roughly within me.

“There may be another way,” my dad speaks up after a long moment filled with an awkward silence, silence filled with both of our emotions.

“Another way?” I reluctantly ask before slowly turning back around to face him where he stands, leaning against his desk, “How’s that?”

He slowly looks up from staring down at his stained boots and the floor to look at the cell phone in his hand and back onto me. “You move down to Hazzard, Georgia with Kristy and her kids,” he slowly responds, hesitance thick in his voice.

Slowly shaking my head, I ask, “Where you came from?”

“Where I came from,” he nods in agreement and sighs before continuing, “Kristy got this letter in the mail the other day,” with that he pulls out a folded computer paper out of his back pocket, “from Trevor.”

“Trevor?” I sullenly repeat as dread heavily floods through me as my thoughts abruptly change from me to my half sister and her abusive ex-husband. I reluctantly take the paper away from him to dreadfully begin to read the taunting and threatening letter that he had sent my sister to send more chills rushing down my back. This time chills of fear for my sister and her kids. “Damn,” I silently say while staring blankly at the paper in my hands, “the damn jackass is taunting her!” I yell angrily to force my dad to step back in surprise, “Not only is he demanding the kids and threatening her, he’s also taunting her by sending the letter. . .letting her know he knows where she’s at!”

I slowly force my attention away from the paper that shakes in my trembling hands to look up at my dad who nods sadly with fear shining through his eyes. “That’s what we figured as well,” he drifts into silence as he takes the letter back from me to shove it back into his back pocket, “so,” he shrugs looking hopelessly up at me, “she and the kids can’t stay at the house any more and feel safe. Now that he knows. . .”

“So you want me to move her to Hazzard,” I finish his thoughts out loud.

“No,” he shakes his head, “I want you to move down to Hazzard with her. Be there for her and the kids. If he can find her here, who’s not to say he won’t find her there. At least with you down with her, we know she’ll be protected.” He pauses for a moment, “She’ll be protected down there by family and friends. Everyone pretty much sticks up for one another in Hazzard, but you’ll know what you are up against and you can help everyone prepare as well.”

I slowly begin to shake my head as anger continues to accelerate within me, anger towards Trevor and the damage he has already created for my sister and the threat that continues to loom over her and her family and now anger towards my dad for blackmailing me. “No way am I going to go down to that hick town!” I yell angrily taking a few steps away from my dad, “If you’re so worried about her, why don’t you go down there with her? I’ll stay at the garage and keep it up.”

“Look,” he sighs heavily while sitting back down upon the edge of his desk, “I would love to return home and visit my family and friends. Go over old times,” he forces a smile, “damn I had some good times in Hazzard. But those days are over due to my attitude and all the trouble I created when I was younger. After all the damage I had done when I was younger and how upset my older brother was last time I saw him,” he shakes his head at a bad memory, “I don’t know if I could ever go back. At least go back and look him in the eye without being reminded of all I had done and how bad I hurt everyone. Let everyone down.”

“That’s not my problem. It’s your’s,” I quickly throw back at him and he only shrugs.

“Maybe so and maybe one day I will return to Hazzard, but not right now,” he slowly walks towards me, “so it’s up to you. You either go home and pack for an hour and so, meet Kristy at the house and leave around four this afternoon or I’ll push send on my cell and have a nice conversation with Durbank. I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear from me.”

“You idiotic jackass!” I harshly yell at him, “You can’t do this to me. . .I’m not going to Hazzard or jail! You can’t blackmail me like this!”

“Watch me Garrett. Kristy and the kids need your help and I think a change of scenery would do you some good,” he slowly responds as he shows me the cell phone, “so what’s it going to be, Hazzard or jail?”

I sigh heavily as I glance out the window to look at Lyle, surveying my chances before looking back at my dad who watches me impatiently. “Neither,” I sigh heavily, “I am happy right where I am at where I know I belong. There is no way I’d ever belong in a small hick town where there is nothing to do but watch the damn grass grow!”

“There’s plenty to do and you’ll fit in just fine if you let yourself fit in,” my dad sighs heavily, “but it’s your choice. You don’t pick soon I’ll be pushing the send button to tell Durbank just where you are at. You go to Hazzard, I’ll tell Durbank the next visit he lends me that I heard you say something of wanting to move to New York and perhaps you headed that way. Which isn’t too much of a lie since that is where you always threaten to run away to.”

I glare angrily at him while silently thinking of my options. “And I chose Hazzard,” I slowly speak up, “you’ll have Kristy keeping tabs on me, right? Make sure I don’t run.”

“Nah,” he shakes his head, “not Kristy.  Lyle there will follow you to your apartment to help you pack all that you will need and make sure you make it to the house. Then, Lyle and Ricky have both agreed to make sure you stay put and once you leave Hazzard without a proper reason, I’ll be giving ol’ Durbank a call. That and I’d need your phone. You’ll have no contact with your old friends or your old life. . .that is another reason you’d be going. Leaving your old life behind.” He pauses for a long moment as his attention drifts over my shoulder and out into his work place, “I really hate doing this Garrett, but you’ve left me with no choice.”

Once again, I slowly turn around to take in the garage behind me to find Ricky parking a damaged Chevy truck into an empty stall while Lyle continues to watch me, awaiting for another foul move on my part.  “I’m not going back to jail,” I sigh heavily as I once again begin to nervously trace my rugged scar to force my thoughts back upon the knife fight I had badly lost years ago. “I guess,” forcing my hand away from the scar I run a hand through my gelled hair before turning to face my dad once again, “that leaves Hazzard.”

“Great,” he lets go a deep sigh of relief while snapping his phone shut, “I appreciate this and I know so does Kristy and the kids. I hate,” he pauses once more as he steps up to me, “doing this to you, but I don’t see any other option.”

“So you’ve said,” I respond as I attempt to shove thoughts of myself aside for my sister to only force my anger to arise within me towards Trevor, “though I’d love to get my hands on Trevor and show -“

”I think we all would,” he nods as he takes a step back while placing the phone back into it’s clip, “but Trevor is too clever for that. So until then we need to make sure Kristy and the kids are safe. Hazzard is a safe place,” he cuts himself short, “you’ll get to meet your Uncle Jesse and a couple of cousins. And,” he goes silent as he turns his back to me while his shoulders seem to shag. Turning back to me he slowly continues, “and you’ll get to meet your twin brother.”

“Twin brother?” I ask as shock ripples through my body as I watch him nodding.

“As you know you were born two months premature. So was he, but he had health problems and was the weaker of you two. Both were addicted to drugs due to your mother and I’s bad habits,” he pauses as he stares into space, looking back into his past, “and you both were born addicted. We were going to put you both up for adoption, but after a couple of visits with you, your mom couldn’t part with you. Your twin,” he looks up at me, “Bo. Jesse named him Beauregaurd. Your twin was more needy and fussy. Jesse made sure you both were taken care of once he came up to Atlanta to meet us, but especially Bo. They got some bond. Anyways, you were released after a month at the hospital, while Bo took two and a half months. We tried to take him home,” he shakes his head with sadness, “but after a week or so, we couldn’t do it. He cried all the time, was needy. Nothing we could do would satisfy him. So we took a drive down to Hazzard and we abandoned him on Jesse’s porch and ran, didn’t leave a note or say anything. Just left. We knew,” he goes back to staring into space as he fades into silence a moment, “we knew Jesse would take good care of him and would be able to love him better than us. At the hospital, Jesse would just have to smile at him and he’d stop crying. . .it seemed like the only option.”

For a long moment I just stare at him in shock while I allow all that he had said to slowly sink in before a rush of emotions to explode within me. “Does Kristy know?” I slowly ask and he slowly nods at me, “And not me?”

“It’s not easy for me to talk about,” he confesses, “and especially hard on your mom. All that could have been, all the questions. One of many reasons why I can’t go down to Hazzard and face that and all I did. Which is another reason why I want to take you away from your situation before you find yourself where I found myself at so many years ago. Not that it all ended badly,” he continues, “we got you out of it. But we were all real lucky that you were healthy and Bo wasn’t worse than what he was. The doctors were surprised you both were able to survive on how small you were and how early.”

I slowly nod in understanding while listening into the silence that begins to settle in. “Yeah,” I painfully shrug once again before turning around to find Lyle and Ricky to talking on the other side of the door.

“Well we are wasting time. Kristy was wanting to leave around four this afternoon,” he pauses as he motions Lyle and Ricky in, “it’s already three fifteen. Your last chance, Garrett.”

I shrug as I angrily eye the two brothers before looking at my dad to say, “I guess Hazzard it is. Anything has to be better than jail.”

“Good choice,” my dad says as he motions at my phone that is clipped to my belt line. Sighing heavily I unclip it and reluctantly hand it to my dad. “Thanks. I’ll meet you at the house in another hour. . .your mom and I will take care of everything left behind and deal out your apartment for you. Your landlady already said it would be ok as long as it is ok with you.”

I nod. “I see you did your research,” I slowly move to the door before turning around, “I’ll need the trailer for my bike.”

“I figured on much. Lyle already has your bike loaded onto it at the house along with a few other things at the house we thought you might want,” my dad nods at me before I slowly walk back out into the garage. Slowly making my way to the parking lot I reluctantly take everything in as everyone is either working or pretending to work while watching me. I wave to a couple of friends before I walk back out into the sunny afternoon to find Lyle’s big truck parked next to my car.

“Ricky will be riding with you,” Lyle snorts as he digs out his keys, “so don’t get lost.”

~KRISTY DUKE~

Raw emotions continue to build thickly through me as I stare in disbelief at my truck and at the loaded extended bed, loaded with boxes of all shapes and sizes. Boxes full of clothes, toys, and other accessories that we had spent the long morning dreadfully packing. “Why are you crying, mommy?” my three and a half year old daughter innocently asks me while pulling on the bottom of my untucked shirt. “You said you were excited to move to . . .” she goes silent as she looks at me for a thoughtful second, “Where are we moving to?”

“Hazzard, Georgia,” I smile at her while drawing her into a tight hug while forcing myself to shove back the emotions that tug at me, “and I am excited. It is just hard for mom to say good-bye sometimes.”

She nods understandably at me as she slowly lets go to take a step back, taking everything in with her green eyes for a hint of uncertainty crosses her slightly freckled face. “Well Grandma says,” she slowly comes to a stop as she turns around to watch Rosa shove the screen door open with a shoulder before walking out into the summer heat with Shay in her arms. Turning back to me, Jamie continues, “Grandma says her and Grandpa will visit us as much as they can. Isn’t that right, Grandma?”

“You can’t get rid of us that easy,” Rosa forces a worried smile as she lends a supportive hand upon my shoulder before Shay abruptly throws himself at me and I slowly take him from my step mom, “we’re just a phone call away and your dad just called to say that Garrett has agreed to tag along. Ricky and Lyle are helping him pack, he should -“

”Uncle Garrett is coming too?!” Jamie squeals in excitement to start jumping excitedly up and down.

I look at Rosa with uncertainty of my own as relief slightly flows through me at the thought of someone coming down with the kids and I for help, for someone to turn to for help along the way. “Garrett moving to Hazzard?” I slowly ask in disbelief and she slowly nods to force a look of sadness through her brown eyes, “How’d he get that to happen?”

Rosa shrugs as she silently watches Jamie run to a plastic climb and slide equipment a few feet away before looking back at me. “By blackmailing him,” she slowly continues to explain of their two o’clock visit this morning by the Knoxville police and of the police showing up at the garage asking about Garrett, “Jeremiah gave Garrett the option of moving to Hazzard with you and the kids, in order to remove him from everything that’s going on here, or jail time.” She sighs heavily as she fades into silence as my dad’s car comes into sight. Turning back to me she says, “He reluctantly chose Hazzard. He’ll be unhappy about it. . .I hope it won’t cause too much trouble with you.”

I nod in understanding as my dad’s car pulls along side the curb while I silently envision Garrett in a small town and away from the city life he loves and has lived his whole life in.  “No trouble here. I’m glad to have someone to tag along with,” I force a smile as my dad approaches with his hands in his pocket and a look of stress wrote across his face, “I’m just sorry to hear him back in trouble and having to be black mailed into do it against his will. Hopefully he will like it there.”

“He’ll have to,” my dad smiles back as he takes Shay from me who laughs while pulling at his nose, “or return to jail. I don’t know what else to do with him.” He shakes his head in disbelief for a moment as he falls into silence while watching Jamie on the slide. “Damn am I going to miss you all. It was great having you here for the past year. . .after so many years apart. I’m sorry I was absent for so many years. . .for disappearing like I did.”

I slowly nod as the past year quickly displays vividly in my mind, from frantically searching for a place to hide from Trevor to finding my dad and his wife in Knoxville with a help from a friend that is a private investigator. I was surprised to find that I had a brother who had a twin that had been abandoned in Hazzard due to his illnesses and his unwillingness to be soothed or helped by either Rosa or dad. A year of getting to know my dad after he had disappeared from Hazzard and from my life when I had been three or four years old, when I had stopped visiting Hazzard. I had only been three or four when I had last been to Hazzard and seen my cousins and uncle and yet I still have a few vivid memories of the old farm, carried through a few pictures. Pictures that I had always kept close and visited while allowing myself to dream of returning to Hazzard to meet my cousins and at the time, to meet my dad.

“Well,” I break the silence to give him a hug of reassurance, “the main thing is, is that we met back up again and we can put that behind us. We all have our reasons to do what we do and I am sure you had yours back then that seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

“A lot of bad choices and being led astray by the wrong crowd. I guess you can say, like father like son,” he sighs warily as Garrett’s beloved old modeled sports car comes to view down the road, closely followed by Lyle’s big truck, “talking of which, here he is.”

“Grandpa!” Jamie yells excitedly as she runs from the slide to my dad to give him a tight hug and he quickly gives her a hug in return. After a short moment, Jamie sullenly steps back while looking up at my dad she asks, “Mom says we’re moving.” She pauses sadly, “Will you and Grandma visit us? Grandma says you will. . .”

“Of course,” he smiles down at her before bending down to her level to gently brush away a tear that began to roll down her cheek, “I’m going to miss you, but you know what?”

“What?” she asks quietly.

“We will always have our memories to hold onto when we get lonely or sad when we are apart from one another. Like I’ll remember you by all your hugs and of all the fun times we’ve had playing with your babies,” he kisses her on the forehead before looking up to watch Garrett parking in the drive way, “plus, you can always give me a call.”

Jamie nods. “I’ll miss you and Grandma,” she says before she begins to play with Shay’s thin bright blond hair, “Shay will too. He just doesn’t know how to say it.”

“We’ll miss you too,” my dad hugs her once again before stiffly standing up, “but you’ll love it in Hazzard. All the farm animals, the farm to run and play in. You’ll have fun.”

“That’s what mom says,” Jamie smiles before her attention falls upon Garrett who slowly steps out of his car, leaning against his door with his arms crossed across his muscular chest.  “Uncle Garrett.”

“Hey Jay-Jay,” Garrett forces a smile as Jamie gives him an excited hug and he slowly gives her a hug, “how’s my favorite niece doing?”

She shrugs as she takes a step back and grins as she notices that she is now the center of attention. “I’m ok. Grandma says,” she says excitedly once again, “that you get to come too.”

“Yay,” he responds sarcastically as he glares angrily at his parents and at feeling Garrett’s attitude change, Jamie silently slinks away from him to hug onto Rosa with uncertainty, “sounds like fun, now don’t it?”

“Garrett, drop the attitude,” Rosa firmly responds while hugging Jamie, “you are scaring the children. I must agree with your father,” she sighs heavily, “you did this to yourself. Perhaps if you drop your attitude and give Hazzard a chance, you may just find you like it there. Perhaps better than -“

”Dream on! You can’t black mail me forever,” he starts angrily as his arms cross back over his chest and his look hardens, “and the first chance I get, I’m back here. Not here with you,” he shakes his head, “but with my friends who accept me for who I am.”

My dad shakes his head in disapproval and in sadness before he averts his attention down at his watch. “It’s almost five. An hour late,” he says reluctantly before turning to me, “Tell me, Rosa, or Lyle and Ricky over there if Garrett gives you or anyone else a hard time. I’m sorry I am putting this on you. If it’d be easier to go without him, tell -”

“No, we’ll be fine,” I try to reassure my dad while attempting to ignore my brother’s angered attitude, “everyone will be fine. Won’t we, Garrett?”

Garrett abruptly looks angrily at me and then at our dad before saying, “Easy for you to say, this is what you want!”

“Well Garrett,” my dad takes out an off white business card, “if this is not what you want, I can always give Durbank a call right here and now. So you better make up your mind what you want and be happy with your decision.”

Garrett lets go a deep breath before glancing over at Jamie and at Shay who now is asleep on my shoulder. “I’ll go,” he pauses heavily before glaring back at Lyle and Ricky who stands a foot behind him before glancing back at the kids, “for them. Not for you or your ape body guards.”

“Good enough for me,” dad nods in understanding before he slowly kneels down to Jamie’s level once again to draw her into a tight hug and reading Jeremiah’s cue, Rosa silently walks over to take Shay away from me. “This will be so tough, kido,” my dad breaks the silence, “but like you said, we’ll be seeing you. Meanwhile you will get to meet my brother, Jesse. You’ll have to tell him hello for me. Can you do that?”

“I think I can,” Jamie nods forcing on a brave face.

“Oh good,” dad says picking her up, “You also get to meet a couple of cousins of your mom’s and Garrett’s…as well as meeting another uncle of your’s.”

“Another uncle?” she questions squishing up her small nose, “Like Garrett?”

“Yep. His twin brother. . .which will make him your uncle as well,” my dad nods giving her another tight hug, “you’ll have to tell them all hi for me. You think you can do all that for me?”

“Uh huh,” she nods enthusiastically at the thought of meeting more people and being able to do something for her grandpa, “Say hi to a Jesse, a couple of cousin’s, and Garrett’s brother.”

“You got it,” my dad grins at her before giving her a big kiss on her cheek. Setting her back down on the ground he says, “Now go tell Grandma good-bye. . .she needs a super big hug from you.”

I watch sadly as Rosa hands dad Shay who tightly holds onto his greasy shirt while Jamie runs and jumps into Rosa’s arms where they hug tightly onto each other.  Once again raw emotions rush rapidly through me forcing fear, sadness, and excitement to dance rapidly with one another; sadness at having to leave, fear of what the near future may hold for us, and excitement at the thought of returning to Hazzard. Of meeting back up with Jesse and Daisy. “Well Kris,” my dad approaches me with Shay, “we’ll be keeping in touch with your cell phone. And perhaps one day we’ll make it up,” he pauses for a long moment before he tightly hugs onto me and I return the hug. Letting go, he says, “But for now, I guess it’s good-bye.”

“I guess it is,” I nod as Rosa joins us with Jamie, “we’ll be keeping in touch and things will be OK. I’ll give you a call when we reach Hazzard to let you know.”

“That’d be great,” Rosa gives me a hug along with Jamie, “you take care.”

“You all do the same. Thanks for everything, you’ve been great,” I force a smile at them as we all let go of each other to allow another awkward silence to begin to build between everyone. “It won’t get easier. I’ll talk to you later. You tell them bye Shay?” Shay tiredly says something before I slowly move to the truck to open the door and climb into the back to begin to place him in his car seat and buckle him up. I glance up as Rosa opens the door across from me to slowly help Jamie up into her car seat and they once again hug before Rosa tells Jamie and Shay good-bye and closes the door shut. “Well the kids are all packed,” I respond nervously as I step out to find them telling Garrett good-bye who only shrugs them off.

“Let’s go if we’re going,” Garrett says over dad’s shoulder to me before he climbs into his car while dad walks back to make sure they’ve got his car hooked up right with the trailer that holds his beloved motorcycle.