Author's Note: There will always be the memories of those Golden Times.
Big thanks to Vinsmouse for beta work.
Warning: The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen.
Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix…
Golden Times
Chapter 1: There Will Always Be
"Look Uncle Jesse, I'm gonna catch him! I'm gonna catch him!" Bo squealed happily and Jesse turned to look. Just small children and they were already all for chasing and racing. Bo was chasing after Luke and running as fast as a four year old could.
"You get him Bo!" Jesse called back as he turned around on the ladder and sat down on a rung.
Bo was the youngest one in the bundle of boys running around in the yard. The kids were playing moonshiners and revenuers, with Luke and Cooter as moonshiners and Enos as a revenuer. The lanky and slightly clumsy boy had claimed Bo for his deputy and while Bo seemed to think that revenuer was a dirty word he jumped at the chance to catch his cousin.
Cooter had already been caught and drug off to the jail, which was the tree, and now it was only Luke left to catch. While the older cousin would have no trouble outrunning Bo he chose to cut down on his speed to let Bo catch him for once.
The reason he kept being chosen for deputy was because he was so much smaller than the other three kids and they all would give him a break every now and then. Jesse was very proud of them for that but they all liked Bo so he wasn't really too surprised.
He watched and laughed as Bo threw himself at Luke grabbing him around the waist and jumping up and down shouting as he had caught Luke. Actually sitting down on him to wait until Enos came to make the arrest.
"Boys, when yer' out o' moonshine there's some lemonade in the kitchen." Jesse called to them as he turned back to the work he was doing.
"Can we have cookies Uncle Jesse?" Bo asked hopefully.
"Later Bo, not right now." Jesse told them sure that they would be getting plenty of cookies later.
As the boys headed to the kitchen Bo ran over to Cooter and leapt at him to cling to his back for a free ride to the kitchen. Cooter grabbed him by the shirt back to sling him over his shoulder. Having a few years even on Luke it was no trouble for Cooter to carry Bo around as he pleased.
"Faster Cooter, faster." Bo shouted as the kids headed inside and Jesse smiled to himself.
"What are ya doing Uncle Jesse?" Bo came over as Jesse was working on his pick up truck and hitched up to sit on the radiator.
"I'm trying to fix this thing." Jesse explained patiently to the ever curious boy.
"Is it broken?" Bo asked slightly worried.
"Bo, do ya really think I would be fixing it if it wasn't broken?" Jesse asked him wanting to make the boy think before he asked questions. He wanted to know everything and had his nose everywhere and Jesse was just trying to make him think first at times.
"But it can't be broken now." Bo looked at him with big eyes. "It can't be broken now Uncle Jesse."
"It's not broken bad Bo, but I have to fix it before we can go anywhere." Jesse explained knowing very well why the boy was worried.
"But we were gonna go to the picture show Uncle Jesse." Bo whined slightly. All three kids had brought home some very good report cards and as a reward he had decided to treat them to a picture show and some candy. Even if it was in the middle of the week.
He had learned that it was a kind of reward that worked the best with them. He never really promised them anything even when he let them know that he expected them to work hard. Then on occasion he would give them some treat. Like seeing a picture show in the middle of the week.
"Bo, I will have it fixed by then." Jesse told him softly. "Besides you know that you still have to deserve it."
"I know that." Bo nodded. "Can I help fix it?"
"Not right now Bo, run along and play." Jesse told him with a smile. There were times when Bo helping made it take longer since the boy tried so very hard but didn't always know what to do.
"Okay Uncle Jesse." Bo stood up on the radiator to give his uncle a hug before jumping down and taking off at top speed.
Sitting reading his newspaper Jesse looked up as there was a loud shout coming from the boys room and in just a second Bo came running through the living room with Luke in hot pursuit.
While he had no idea what it was they had done Jesse just shook his head and kept reading. As long as it didn't get too violent he would leave them to themselves. Most likely Bo had done something he shouldn't, or, Luke had been bored and decided that chasing his cousin would be fun. With the two of them you could never really tell.
One thing was for sure though, with the two boys in the house life was never boring. Hearing a fairly loud crash though made him go to the window and look out. Shaking his head he smiled softly, how did someone manage to trip over a goat?
At least the boys had not been fighting but only bored because Luke was hurrying over and picking Bo up. At least they should not be bored for a bit since re-stacking the wood should take them a bit of time.
Tripping over a goat and overturning a pile of wood... Trust those kids to find a way to amuse themselves. They loved running around and chasing each others. A part of him shuddered every time he thought about them doing the chases on wheels. He was no stranger to driving or driving fast nor to being chased. In fact until the kids came along he used to really enjoy being chased occasionally on the runs.
A lot of things changed when the kids came. Afraid of being caught and what it would mean to them Jesse became far more careful on the runs. Back then the boys bedroom had been where they kept the kids as the family got together. Luke and Daisy had often been there for family dinners and sometimes to stay a few days.
It was however very different to have the kids there to be their kids compared what it had been like to have them visiting.
Well, looking out the window where Bo put the last bit of wood in place and then jumped down into Luke's waiting arms made him smile proudly at them. Of course as soon as the youngest had both his feet on the ground he took off chasing Luke.
It was with both pride and worry that Jesse watched his two boys getting ready for the race. Cooter had scrounged up a second motorcycle from somewhere and Bo was now entered in his first official race. While it meant gathering up twice the entry fee it also gave them twice as much chance at winning.
Jesse just couldn't help but being a bit nervous since Bo had never been in any bigger race before. He was a natural on wheels no matter how many, but he still had never dealt with this kind of competition before and a young boy could get seriously hurt in there.
For one thing he wished that the boy had kept both wheels on the ground as they started the race, like Luke did. As soon as the race was started Bo didn't really pay any heed to any wishes his uncle might have.
The two boys drove their own race so that they would not be accused of helping each others and blocking someone else. Both wanted to win and both wanted to win fair so while they minded each others that was the only thing they did.
Where he stood Jesse could not really see all of it, but he saw first Luke then Bo sailing over a ridge as a few of the first ones on the lap. Of course they were amongst the first ones. It didn't really surprise him though it filled him with pride.
Most of them clung together but there was a half dozen of them in front of the others and a few more trailing behind.
A young kid sponsored by J.D. Hogg was pretty rough on the others and seeing a cloud of dust where someone fell Jesse only prayed that no one was hurt bad and it wasn't either one of his.
Of course, he actually got to see the same kid try to push both Bo and Luke off the track but both of them refused to yield and in the end the kid found himself being the one who went off the track.
When the checkered flag fell no one could have been prouder than Jesse as Luke took first place and Bo finished third. With Cooter between them on second place it seemed many from the neighbor counties were quite disappointed.
"Come here boys," Jesse said softly as the boys pulled up by the farm and climbed out of the General with their heads hanging. It was one race that they had not won. It had looked good the whole time until the front tire blew out for them.
Now both boys stood hanging their heads and Jesse knew it wasn't so much losing as it was the two thousand dollars they so badly could have used, and the fifty dollar entry fee that they had lost.
Draping one arm around each pair of shoulders he held them both close. "Now, you boys know that winning ain't everything." He told them softly.
"We know that Uncle Jesse, but…" Bo started but was cut off.
"But the two of ya were counting on winning us up some seed money." Jesse nodded. "An' we could've used it too."
"If it wasn't fer the dang tire we would've won it too." Luke muttered.
"Maybe." Jesse allowed. "But, the two of ya tried an' there ain't nothing more to it boys. I'm as proud of ya now as I was when ya's little league an' winning or losing ain't making no difference. I'm proud of ya, cause yer my boys."
Both of them nodded, their uncle's love was something they never had to doubt.
"Now, we are just gonna scrape up that seed money, an' until then why don't cha both go to the barn an' start working on that there plow." Jesse told them hugging them close. "When yer done I's gonna have supper ready an' see if some crawdad bisque can't cheer ya up."
He watched as they headed to the barn and Luke put his arm around Bo. Winning or losing didn't matter, nothing could make him more proud of either one of the three kids than he already were.
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