This one comes from that moment in The Law and Jesse Duke after the boys have escaped and are trying to run away from the evil Alabama Jones. She's no dummy, waiting for them with a bucket of cold water to chill their hot ideas.
Well. They'd been set up, kidnapped, set up again, then allowed to escape. They were left with no idea what really happened, much less why. Certainly the most important thing Bo Duke could be doing was standing in front of the mirror, fixing his hair.
Oh, it got mussed, got stood straight up on end, when that sweetheart Alabama Jones doused them with water. Might have been the first time Luke was ever glad that Bo outgrew him; his cousin made for an excellent shield against a good drenching. Oh, some of the water made it all the way around his cousin's body, but not much, nothing in comparison to how much landed on Bo's body. Hard water, full of minerals, made a mess of that soft, blonde hair.
And fixing it was the most pressing need, a great deal more important than figuring out who had really set them up and why.
In truth, Luke didn't know what Bo's complaint was. The man was uncannily cute, even soaked to the skin. Miffed little look on his face, hair sticking out every which way, water still shining on the surface of his shirt and tight jeans, not even properly soaked in yet. In fact Luke gave a passing hope that his cousin's pants wouldn't shrink, because there was already a frightening dearth of space in there. And then banished the thought from his mind as Alabama marched her soggy guests back to her favorite post and retied them there. It was only a matter of time before they escaped and made their way home to an empty house, where Bo couldn't get enough of his reflection in the bathroom mirror.
"Here." As much as Bo's hair didn't need quite so much attention, Luke took pity on him. "Stand still." Pulled the comb out of Bo's fingers and used it to rake the hair back out of Bo's eyes. Pretty little waves, back and away from his face. Probably wouldn't stay that way long, gravity and hard water would win out soon enough, but for now, at least the one side looked good. Luke moved over to the other, less tame side, opposite from where Bo parted it, and the worst of Alabama's damage had been done. Tangled there and—
"Ow." Sad little complaint, not angry, just pained.
Funny how Luke ought to have laughed at him or reminded him to be still, but found himself shushing him and using the fingers of his left hand to knead at the nape of his neck in distraction, while his right worked at untying the knots.
"There you go," he heard his own voice soothing, even as he felt the softness of Bo's hand finding purchase on his rib cage. "Just about got it." Odd that he even knew how to do this; he'd never spent this much time taking care of his own hair. Honestly, he should have been suggesting the best cure for a bad case of tangles that he knew: Marine regulation high and tight. Couldn't imagine that on Bo, never wanted to see anything of the sort.
Snarls got straightened, then combed back away from Bo's face to mirror the soft waves on the other side. Luke leaned back to admire his handiwork and felt the warmth of Bo's arm around the small of his back.
"Well?" The vain one asked. "How do I look?" Gave Luke his sweetest grin.
Set up, kidnapped, set up again and allowed to escape. No idea of who was behind it or why. They really ought to get on with solving the mystery of the week. And Luke reckoned they would, just as soon as he got done kissing his pretty cousin.