by: Marty Chrisman
It was always noisy in the Boar’s nest. The jukebox blaring, people laughing and yelling, laughter and curses. Hardly a night went by that someone didn’t start a fight with someone else. And, once in awhile, things could get really rough when some irate wife (or husband) came in looking for a straying spouse. Since it was still early, there were only a few hardcore regulars sitting at some of the small tables scattered throughout the room, drinking the watered down beer that Boss served to his customers. Daisy was standing behind the bar, washing glasses, when Kelly came in. She smiled brightly as Kelly sat down on one of the barstools. She was glad to see her best friend again.
“Hi sugar!” she said brightly “Can I get you anything?”
“A coke.”
“What are you doing? Out taking in the local scenery?” Daisy asked as she pulled a 12 ounce can of coke from the cooler and popped the tab. Pouring it into a glass, she sat the can and the glass on the bar in front of Kelly.
“Something like that.” Kelly said, taking a sip of her drink
Daisy grinned mischievously as she leaned in close to Kelly and whispered “Looks like some of the local scenery is checking you out too. Good thing the boys aren’t here or some good ole boy might be picking himself up off the floor.”
Kelly laughed easily, feeling herself beginning to relax in Daisy’s company. The two girls had been closer than sisters, sitting in Daisy’s room and giggling half the night whenever Kelly stayed at the Duke farm, until Jessie finally ordered them to hush and go to sleep so that he could go to sleep. It seemed that most of her childhood memories included the Dukes, at least the good memories.
The door to the back room, which doubled as Boss Hogg’s office at the Boars Nest, opened and Boss came out, followed closely by Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane, who also happened to be Boss Hogg’s brother in law. Now ole Roscoe had been an honest lawman for over 30 years, until Boss refused to give him his pension, so now he was as crooked as Boss Hogg (although every once in awhile, the honest lawman re-surfaced) Roscoe was a tall man with brown hair that was rapidly turning gray at the temples and steely blue eyes.
Boss Hogg, on the other hand, was a short little fat man with a fringe of gray hair around his head. He was always dressed in white from his head to his feet, complete with a ten gallon white Stetson cowboy hat. Jefferson Davis Hogg was the wealthiest man in Hazzard County and the most crooked. He was the County Commission, the Mayor, The justice of the peace, the dog catcher, and the police commissioner. He owned most of Hazzard County and what he didn’t own he held the mortgage on. (He also owned the only bank in Hazzard County)
“Well, Well, Daisy” Boss said with a big smile, sweeping his eyes over Kelly as she sat at the bar. “Aren’t you going to introduce me this your friend?”
:Sure, Boss” Daisy said, trying hard to hide a smile “You remember Kelly Dalton, don’t you?”
“Kelly Dalton?” Boss stammered in a startled voice. Quickly, he regained his composure and pasted the phony smile back on his face “Well, I sure do. What are you doing back in Hazzard, Child?”
“Kelly bought that house out on Cripple Creek Road” Daisy told him with a grin “She’s back home to stay.”
“Boss,” Roscoe said “Ain’t that……” Roscoe grunted as Boss jabbed an elbow in his stomach and threw him a dirty look to shut him up. Roscoe shut up.
:Oh,” Boss grunted “So you’re the one who bought that old place” Although he kept his smile firmly in place, his eyes narrowed. He’d had his eye on that property and had been mighty disturbed when somebody bought it out from under him. Now he found out that it was Kelly Dalton of all people that had snookered him. “Welcome back to Hazzard.” Boss said, the polite tone fading from his voice. He glared at Daisy, realizing that she was enjoying herself at his expense. “If you’re smart, you’ll stay away from riff raff like the Dukes here.”
Boss turned around and stomped back to his office with Roscoe scampering along behind him like a little puppy dog. Both girls burst out laughing as Boss slammed the door behind him. “I don’t think Boss is very happy to see me.” Kelly said, once she was able to stop laughing.
“Boss never changes. Always cooking up some scheme to try and swindle somebody out of their money or their farm and usually trying to find a way to pin it on the boys so he can violate their probation.” Daisy told her with a grin
“What did the boys get put on probation for?”
“They got caught running a load of shine. And so Uncle Jessie mad a deal with the government. He agreed to stop making shine if they would let the boys go, so they got 5 years probation instead of going to prison for 10 years.”
“How on earth did the boys ever caught running shine?” Kelly asked “Aside from Uncle Jessie, they’re the two best drivers around.” Kelly should know, Uncle Jessie had taught her to drive just like he had the boys and Daisy.
“It was just one of them things” Daisy said with a shrug. “They were being chased and before they could lose ‘em, they blew a tire and ended up in the ditch. They were jail in Atlanta for almost two weeks before Uncle Jessie could make the deal with the feds and get ‘em out.”
Their conversation was interrupted as a tall, lanky man in his late twenties sat down on the barstool beside Kelly. He was a ruggedly handsome man with bright blue eyes and long brown hair and was dressed in blue jeans and a blue western style shirt.
“Hey, you’re Kelly Dalton. Right?” he said with a smile. At Kelly’s confused and puzzled expression, he said, “I’m Jake Sanders. We went to school together. I used to play in the band with the boys, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.” Kelly said, the image of a skinny kid with braces coming to mind. “Hi, Jake.”
“I didn’t know you were back in town.”
“She just got back a couple of days ago.” Daisy told him, as she sat a glass of beer on the bar in front of the young man.
“Hey,” Jake said, a pleased look crossing his handsome face “I got me a band and we play here on the weekends. Why don’t you come this weekend and sing a few songs with us. It’d be just like old times. I’d sure love it and I know the crowd would.”
“Yeah, “ Daisy said enthusiastically “You should do it, Kell.” Her tone turned teasing as she smiled fondly at the young man sitting beside Kelly. “They’d sure rather hear you sing than ole Jake here howling away.”
“Will you do it?” Jake asked, ignoring Daisy’s good natured teasing.
“Come on, Kelly.” Daisy said, siding with Jake “Jake’s right. It’d be just like old times.”
“Why do I get the feeling I’m outnumbered here?” Kelly said with a laugh.
“Will you do it?” Jake said once more
“Sure, why not?” Kelly agreed, giving in graciously.
“Great. Be here about seven Friday night. We go on at nine. That’ll give us time to work up some songs.” He grinned as he downed his beer in one long swallow. “See you then” he said, as he slid off the stool and walked towards the pool table at the rear of the room.
“Looks like you’re fitting right back into things.” Daisy told Kelly with a laugh. “It’s almost like you never left.”
“I gotta go.” Kelly said, sliding off the bar stool. “I’ll talk to you later, Daisy.”
Daisy smiled as she watched Kelly leave the bar. She couldn’t wait to tell the boys and Uncle Jessie that Kelly was singing with the band Friday night. She knew they’d all want to be there to hear her.