This one, from Boss Behind Bars, was mostly just fun. Luke was going through a phase of balking in here, so this one gave in to him. Sort of. And proved I'd win out in the end anyway.
Bo's got a mind like a steel trap. Luke just told him so, and Bo was fool enough to believe he was serious.
"Yeah, well once we get there, just be careful." See, now the left-handed suggestion that he's smart has already gone straight to Bo's head. "Remember, them Beaudrys are a handful." He obviously reckons it's his place to do the reminding about things that Luke's never forgotten.
"Ah, don't worry," Luke assures him. "I'll take care of Pa and Sledge."
"And then I'll," ah, there it is, that steel trap's just caught a drift of Luke's cleverness. "Take care of Milo." Bo's a good enough sport to let Luke laugh at him. "The last time he hit me I didn't wake up for a week."
Yeah. Joke over.
Luke signals a lane change, just like that. No need to fight if they can get one of the Beaudrys off alone and wrangle a confession out of him. Bo suggests Milo, and as crazy as it is to confront the biggest one, it makes perfect sense to choose the stupidest one. Unfortunately, Milo's fits both descriptions. At least this way it'll be two on one, which is the only chance the Duke boys have of taking Milo Beaudry anyway.
There's yet another quick lane change when Daisy and Jesse show up at the flaming remains of the pilfered still.
"Daisy." Oh Luke wasn't happy to see her at first, but this could save Bo from a beating. "You ever heard that one about how you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar?"
Jesse's got objections, like he figures Luke's sacrificing one cousin for another, but Daisy's game. With a promise from Bo that the boys are right here if she needs them, Daisy's off.
Guilt gets the better part of Luke; their uncle's concerns are pretty well grounded. "Come on, let's follow her up."
Daisy does an admirable job. It's a little bit disgusting to watch, the way she fawns over a man she can't stand, but she gets a full confession out of him, so it's worth it.
Funny how Jesse's opinion of Luke's plan changes when it works. "Let's get him and get out of here," the old man says. Milo is their star witness after all.
Two more lane changes (and how many lanes can there be on just this one road, anyway?) and there are a pair of patriarchs pointing shotguns at each other while their boys start slugging it out. True to his word, Luke takes Pa and Sledge, but only because they're closest to him. Bo's left with Milo.
Funny how Luke's opinion of his own plan changes when he hears Bo slam into the ground. Funny how much it galls him that Daisy's the one who comes to Bo's defense, smacking Milo with a broom. Funniest of all is how happy Luke is to hear sirens and watch a police cruiser come crashing through the Beaudrys' fence.
Call it a tactical mistake, but Luke lets the Beaudrys get away while he checks Bo over. Yeah, his cousin took a solid enough hit that he's sitting there shaking his head, but when Luke forces his chin up, Bo's eyes meet his just fine, and seem to track Luke's fingers without a problem. He's just getting his feet under him with an a steadying arm across Luke's shoulders when Boss starts blustering something about what's going on and why are they letting the Beaudrys get away.
Quick assessment seems to indicate that Bo's all right for the chase, but no way is Luke letting him drive until he's had a better chance to probe him for injuries. So it turns into Bo navigating them semi-successfully around revenuer traps. It's a good thing Luke knows about such things firsthand. If he was counting on Bo spotting the danger, they'd drive right into each of the nasty little tricks out here at a perfectly legal fifty-five.
Luke's life can be reduced down to fairly simple terms. He farms, races, looks after family and friends. Being successful at each of these things entails watching the skies, other cars, and people to figure out where things could go wrong, either for the Dukes or for whomever they're up against. Those few basic skills make this next part easy; wherever the Beaudrys don't want to be, that's where Luke's going to make sure they wind up.
Which is how a whole family, complete with pickup truck, winds up at the bottom of a revenuer trap. The dust flying around these Tennessee hills is about the prettiest thing Luke's seen since the Dukes had to stop moonshining for a living. The second prettiest thing might just be the way Bo looks, grinning and up here beside Luke – out of the range of where Milo can get to him.
All of Bo's insisting that he's in good enough condition to drive home only accomplishes one objective. While Luke drives, he decides Bo's healthy enough for them to take the long way out of these hills, finding old roads they used as delivery routes, back in better days. Bo needles him about being lost a few times, but is always proved wrong when Luke brings them directly back out onto a main road. The game gets old, so Luke pulls them off into the middle of nowhere and stops the car.
Bo starts to fidget when Luke scrutinizes the swelling of his face. This is where the simple terms of Luke's life always manage to trip him up. Looking after Bo is easy; it only nearly gets him killed about once a week. It's the watching him that gets really dangerous. Like right there, that squirm. Why is Bo pulling away from him now? And why does the guy just about climb Luke like a tree at other times, say when they've saved the day or won a race or spent the afternoon pulling weeds? Does Bo want him to or not to…?
"Luke?" Bo calls, and that's not a real good sign. The man ought to be growling or shaking him off, maybe pulling himself out the General's window, because Luke's been checking him over like he's too fragile to hold his own fight. But there's no frustration in the tone, it's more like concern, that tone Bo uses when he's about to ask Luke what's eating at him.
You are.
"He hit you anywheres else?" It's a ruse, an attempt to get them back onto their usual track.
"What's eating at you, Luke?" And it fails. Bo's got both hands on his shoulders now, staring back at him like he's the one with a bruised jaw.
It's a Bo Duke trap. Can't lie to him, it's against the rules. Can't stalk off and leave him here; Luke knows the way home and Bo doesn't. Can't even shake him off, not on the same day that Luke let Milo get a good shot in on him. And he definitely can't tell him.
Everything in my life is simple, except you.
"Luke?" Bo's attempt at gentle is cute and utterly fails. His big old hands are kneading so hard against Luke's tight shoulder muscles that it hurts.
"I'm fine, Bo." He is, he's fine, he has no desire to use that hand that's still on Bo's face to pull him closer, no interest in leaning forward to meet him halfway. No thoughts whatsoever of hugging him or kissing him, so he doesn't, not a bit. He's most surprised when his not kissing leads to Bo not kissing him right back, those big, old kneading hands not slipping off Luke's shoulders and around his neck. Luke's not running a thumb along the length of Bo's chin, nor trying to free his other hand from where it's pinned against the sticky nylon seat, either. Bo's not tugging on him to get him closer and they're definitely not doing this while trapped in the General's too tight steel body.
Which is convenient, because when they're not late for dinner, they'll have nothing to explain.