Beauty is Only Skin Deep
Hey folks, I'm back and with a different type of story for me – a love story (Hazzard style of course). Anyway, it starts off kind of slow but it will pick up, I promise. Hope y'all like it!
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, just playing with 'em for a little bit.
Chapter 1
Blonde haired, Bo Duke walked into the Boars Nest, smiling when he saw his pretty cousin Daisy working behind the bar. He sauntered over and grinned at her when she noticed who it was that was standing there.
"Hey Bo," Daisy smiled back as she quickly placed a beer in front of him.
"Hey Daisy," Bo greeted her before taking a swallow of the watered down beverage.
"All by yourself?" Daisy asked in amazement, knowing that Bo had a date scheduled for this evening with Betty-Lou Thomspon.
"Yeah, unfortunately," Bo grimaced, partly from the broken date and partly from the taste of the beer. "Betty-Lou's Grandmother got sick so she had ta go take care of her for a couple of days. So I decided ta come on down here and see what's going on."
Turning in his seat, he saw his other cousin, Luke, enjoying himself with his date, Mindy Carver, who also seemed to be enjoying herself as well, grinning to himself when he saw the expressions on their faces. Looking around some more, he noticed that Cooter Davenport was I the middle of arm wrestling his own cousin, BB, but neither one of them was making any headway.
"Hey Bo?" Daisy called out to get his attention. He quickly turned back to face her. "Can ya do me a favor?"
"Sure. What is it?" he smiled again.
"Since you're here by yourself tonight, I was wonderin' if ya wouldn't mind keepin' someone company for a while."
"Who do ya have in mind?" asked Bo, his curiosity peaked.
"See that girl over there in the corner booth?" Daisy said as she pointed.
Bo turned his attention to where Daisy was pointing and saw a girl sitting there by herself, just watching what was going on around her. He could see the she was about his age and that she had dark brown hair and greenish-blue eyes that seemed to change color depending on how the light hit them. She wasn't the prettiest girl that he had ever seen, but she wasn't the plainest either. She was slightly heavy and her round face held an air of confidence that he didn't see in the other women he had met, which told him that she was more grounded in her ways of thinking than most of the girls that he had been with in the past.
"Who is she?' he asked, finding himself intrigued by her.
"Her name is Madeline Weiss and she's new in town. She only moved here a few weeks ago and has been busy getting her house set up."
"Do ya know her?" he questioned as he continued to stare at her.
"A little," Daisy smiled back even though her cousin didn't notice it. "She seems real nice the couple of times I've talked ta her. Kinda quiet though. Always comes in here by herself and just sits in the corner booth watchin' everyone else. I thought it would be nice for her ta actually meet someone and talk ta them instead of just bein' by herself. "Will ya do it?"
Bo shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Sure, why not?"
Together, the two cousins headed over to the booth that Madeline was sitting in and she turned in surprise when they stopped in front of her. "Hey Maddie, this is my cousin Bo Duke. Bo this Maddie Weiss."
"Nice ta meet ya, Maddie," Bo said with a grin as he shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Bo," Maddie smiled shyly, taken aback by his blue eyes, blonde, curly hair, and wonderful smile.
"Mind if I join ya?"
Bo and Daisy both saw the look of shock on her face when Bo slid into the booth beside her. "Uh no, sure," she stuttered.
"Hey ya two, I've got customers waitin' for me so I'm gonna get back ta work," Daisy said as she quickly took off back towards the bar. Maddie stared at Daisy as she walked away, not quite sure what to say to this man. Her attention was quickly drawn to him when he spoke up.
"So, Daisy tells me that you're new in town. Where abouts do ya come from?" Bo asked as he took another sip of his beer.
Maddie, still in shock that this man was even talking to her, quickly took a sip of her own drink. "Uh, actually, I'm from Pennsylvania."
"Wow, that's some move ya made. What made ya want ta come all the way down here?"
"Well, work mostly," Maddie smiled sadly. "I got a job in Capitol City working for a law firm and found that the houses here in Hazzard were very affordable, so here I am living down here."
"Oh, so you're a lawyer?" Bo inquired, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
Maddie couldn't help but chuckle. "No, I just work for them."
"I take it that ya miss your home?" Bo asked seeing the look of homesickness in her eyes.
"Yeah, very much," she admitted. My family and I are close so this was one of the hardest things that I ever had to do."
"Yeah, I know the feelin'. One time my cousin Luke and me were on the NASCAR circuit for a year. Even though we had a great time, we sure did miss our Uncle Jesse and Daisy."
"You were on the NASCAR circuit?" she asked suspiciously.
"Sure was. I was the driver and Luke was my chief mechanic. Even got a winnin' trophy ta prove it too," he smiled proudly. "Do ya watch NASCAR?"
"I'm afraid that I'm not into it that much. Just know a few of the big time drivers' names and that's mostly because my brothers watch it."
"Oh yeah? How many brothers do ya have?"
"Maddie found herself relaxing a bit at the easy conversation that she was having with the man. "I've got four brothers and one sister, all older than me. I also have five nephews and five nieces too."
"Wow, that is a big family. I don't have any brothers or sisters unless ya count Luke and Daisy."
"I thought that you said that you were cousins?"
"We are, but the three of us all lost our parents when we were little so our Uncle Jesse and Aunt Lavinia raised us instead."
"I'm so sorry," Maddie said, clearly upset about the situation.
"Naw don't be," Bo smiled back. "When Aunt Lavinia was alive, she was a great substitute mom, and Uncle Jesse made a great substitute dad. In fact, he still ain't afraid ta tan our backsides if we get out of line." Maddie couldn't help but laugh. With each second that passed talking to the handsome man, the more relaxed she became. "Anyway, Luke found out a while ago that his brother, who he thought was killed in a fire when he was a baby, is actually alive and we all finally got ta meet him. He comes back every once in a while for a visit, plus we have a whole bunch of cousins livin' around the area too."
"Well that's good news," Maddie smiled. Bo found himself staring at her when she did that and he liked what he saw.
He was shaken out of reverie when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Sarah Jane Peterson looking back at him. "Oh hey Sarah Jane," Bo said with a smile.
"Hey Bo. I was wonderin' if ya would care ta dance with me?" she asked as she gave him a wink.
"Uh, that would be nice, Sarah, but I can't at the moment," Bo answered politely.
"Why not?" Sarah asked, confused that he turned her down.
"Because, I'm busy talkin' ta Maddie here," Bo answered, his voice taking on a frustrated tone.
Sarah quickly looked over and saw the woman that Bo was talking about and frowned slightly. "Ya don't mind if I dance with Bo, do ya?" she asked, clearly not impressed with Bo's choice for the evening.
Maddie started to reply when Bo broke in. "She might not but I do," Bo replied angrily. "I already told ya that I'm busy."
"But Bo…" Sarah whined.
"It's okay, Bo. You can go and dance if you want," Maddie spoke up, causing Sarah to smile at the prospect of getting her hands on Bo.
"No it's not, Maddie," Bo answered. "Sorry Sarah. I'll have ta take a rain check. See ya around." Sarah stood in shock for a moment when Bo turned his back on her. She stomped her foot and quickly huffed away, angry over what just happened.
Bo looked over at Maddie, embarrassment written all over his face. "I'm sorry about that, Maddie," Bo said. "She had no right ta treat ya that way."
"No Bo, it's okay. If you really want to dance with her, go ahead. I'll be alright."
"No, it's not okay, Maddie. Sarah Jane was just plain rude and ya know it. Ta tell ya the truth, I don't even like the girl all that much."
"But she's so pretty."
"Just because she's pretty don't mean that I want ta dance with her," Bo answered. He noticed the confusion that was written on Maddie's face.
"But I thought…" She broke off her question realizing that she had spoken it out loud.
"Thought what?"
She turned her head away in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Bo. It's just that it seems that guys like you always want to be with girls like her."
"Guys like me?" Bo asked, anger building again.
"I…I'm sorry," Maddie cried out. "It's just been my experience that most guys like to date pretty, skinny women, not someone like me."
Bo's anger immediately fled as he saw the look of sadness on her face. "Even though I may act that way at times, what if I tell ya that I'm not like every other guy?"
This time her anger flared. "Oh come on," she answered. "Don't give me that old line. Tell me, if you saw me and say Daisy walk into the room at the same time, who would you notice first?"
"Oh definitely Daisy," he answered with a grin. "'Cause if I didn't, she'd wallop me on the side of the head 'til I did."
Maddie laughed at Bo's answer. "Okay, you got me there. But Bo, I am sorry. I guess I shouldn't have lumped you in together with every other man."
"You've been hurt before, haven't ya?" Bo asked, a serious expression on his face.
Maddie was somewhat surprised by the question but decided to answer anyway. "Not really hurt, no, just really never noticed."
"Now why's that?"
"Most likely because I'm not the skinny, little, helpless twig you see running around everywhere," she answered with a shrug. "Most men I've ever met like me but that's as far as it goes. They never take the chance to get to know me just because I'm big."
Bo saw the expression of hurt on her face. "Well, I've noticed ya and I'm really glad that I'm getting the chance ta know ya better."
"Oh you're just saying that."
"No I'm not. I really mean it."
"Listen, I realize that it was Daisy that talked you into coming over here and sitting with me because she felt sorry for me and thought that I was lonely. She's right in a way, I am lonely, but I am not desperate. I came here tonight mostly to get out of my house to try and get over this feeling of homesickness that I have, not to meet anybody."
"Well, I'm glad that ya did come," Bo smiled back, "and I'm glad that Daisy talked me into comin' over here ta talk with ya too. I'm havin' a great time talkin' with ya."
"That's nice of you to say, Bo," Maddie answered, her cheeks flushing slightly at the comment. "But really, you don't have to stay here and keep me company if you don't want to."
"Will ya stop," Bo ordered, softening his tone when he saw the look of shock on her face. "Am I that bad that you're tryin' ta get rid of me?"
"N…no!" Maddie stammered, looking away from him in embarrassment. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," Bo quietly said as he reached out to take her hand, a slight tingling sensation hitting him. "Just try and have a good time, will ya?"
She looked up and saw the smile on his face. "Okay," she smiled back.
"Now, tell me, is that feelin' of homesickness disappearin' yet?"
Maddie grinned again. "A little, but that's not the only reason I'm here. I'm also here because I ran out of the material I need to finish my project and the stores are closed until tomorrow morning."
"What kind of project are ya workin' on?" Bo asked, thinking she was talking about some sewing project.
"I'm making myself a new china cabinet."
"A what?" Bo yelled back in surprise. Maddie couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face.
"A china cabinet," she repeated. "I like to build things out of wood. I've got my barn set up with all of my equipment."
"You can do that? I'm impressed," Bo answered in awe. "I don't know of too many girls that can glue two pieces of wood together let alone build something."
"I'd love to show you my work sometime, if you'd like," Maddie answered shyly.
"That would be great! Let's go," Bo said enthusiastically.
She looked back at him with a stunned expression on her face. "Now?"
"Why not? We got nothin' else goin' on."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. I'll follow ya in my uncle's truck since Luke's got our car."
"Well, okay," Maddie smiled in agreement, not quite believing that she was going back to her house with a prefect stranger, but her instincts were telling her that she didn't have to worry about him doing anything to hurt her.
Standing, Bo helped Maddie out of the booth and hand in hand, they headed towards the door, only stopping when they heard Daisy calling out to them.
"Hey, where are y'all goin?"
"Oh, uh Maddie and I are goin' back ta her place. She's gonna show me the china cabinet that she's building," Bo announced excitedly.
"You're buildin' a china cabinet?" Daisy asked wide eye.
"I sure am," Maddie smiled proudly.
"I'll have ta come over sometime when ya got it finished," Daisy smiled. "I'd love ta see it too."
"Give me another couple of weeks or so to work on it and I'll invite you and your family over for supper."
"That sounds great, Maddie. Now, ya two go and have a good time."
"We will, Daisy," Bo answered with a smile, as the two of them headed out the door.
Daisy stood there smiling and shaking her head in amazement. "I knew I could count on Bo ta cheer that girl up." She looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder and someone kissing her cheek.
"Hey Daisy," Luke said as she turned to see who it was behind her. "Who's that girl that Bo's with?"
"Oh, that's Maddie Weiss. She's new in town."
"Oh yeah? Where are they off ta already?"
"She's takin' Bo back ta her place."
A look of shock covered Luke's face. "Boy she sure moves fast," he answered.
Daisy laughed and slapped him on his arm. "It's nothing like that, silly. She wants ta show him the china cabinet she's building."
"She's building a china cabinet?"
"What's so surprising about that?" Daisy asked as the look of shock returned to Luke's face once again.
"It's just that ya don't hear of many girls building a china cabinet," Luke shrugged.
"Well she is and I think it's great."
"I think so too. It just sort of surprises me that Bo was even interested in talkin' ta her let alone goin' back ta her place."
"Well if ya would quit lookin' at all the girls on the outside and see what's goin' on inside, ya might be surprised," Daisy answered slyly. "She's a very sweet girl and I think it's great that Bo's interested in her."
"She's just not who I expected Bo ta be hangin' around with tonight, especially when I saw Sarah Jane head over ta his table earlier."
"Luke!" Daisy yelled. "I always thought that Bo as being the more shallow of ya two, now I'm beginnin' ta wonder."
"What?" Luke asked not knowing what he said wrong.
"Mark my words, Luke Duke," Daisy warned. "I see those two becomin' fast friends and maybe a bit more."
"Ya think?"
"Sure do. Wait 'til ya meet her, then you'll know what I mean," Daisy smiled and turned to go back to work.
