Hey guys! So the main part of this story takes place in the Dukes teen years or "young adult" so not quite as old as they are in the show. Imagine them in the intro as maybe 7 or 8, and then later more like 17-19. Please read and review!
There had been many Hazzard Sundays that have passed since church was first introduced to the Duke cousins. Many times as children they had sat next to their Uncle Jesse, many times they heard the preacher drone on for a good hour about Jesus coming back, Noah's ark, something about the walls of Jericho.
Occasionally Luke would nudge him if he noticed Bo was falling asleep, but mostly it seemed like all three cousins could spend an entire service giggling and being completely distracted.
The older they got, the less important church became to them, although all three cousins believed in God and each could be found every once in a while reading a bible quietly off to themselves. It wasn't exactly that church got less important, it was just there were more important things- demanding things that needed to be done.
The boys were old enough now that they did most of the hard labor for their uncle, although Jesse had plenty of other easier chores to do around the farm, and Daisy managed the house hold chores like laundry and cleaning.
Many Sunday's go by now with the Dukes working, or spending time together on the farm.
Today was a one of those sunny Hazzard Sundays, and fortunately they hadn't had much of any run ins with Rosco or the boss this week.
"Do you remember your cousin Elijah?" Jesse said kind of out of the blue as they all sat together on the porch.
"Yeah I remember him!" Daisy grinned, "He was always real cute as a button when we were kids!"
"I remember him too," Bo scowled, "He stole my homemade fishin' pole and broke it."
"Mine too, and he always intentionally slacked off on his share of the chores when he stayed over." Luke added.
"Yeah, and he always got out of it too. Some preachers kid he was, his Ma and Pa never knew nothin' about it either. They always thought he was some sweet angel made a gold." Bo complained as he shucked another piece of corn.
"Okay, okay, he wasn't the nicest or the most respectful," Jesse started, "But, I got a letter in the mail from Elijah's aunt Ruthy a couple of days ago. His mom and dad have both died in a car crash."
There was a long pause and silence from the cousins, Bo and Luke feeling somewhat bad for talking bad about Elijah even though it was true.
"Elijah is really needing some support, and some time away from home. His parents funeral was last week. Ruthy is going to need some time to organize all of their things and move Elijah's things into her house since he will be living with her. She thinks that spending some time here will do him some good." Jesse finished.
Bo looked to his older cousin for a moment. Sure, he felt bad for Elijah, but he knew what Elijah was like and honestly didn't want him coming to stay for awhile.
Luke held the same expression, Bo could tell.
Jesse could sense the forming tension. "Elijah should be arriving sometime tomorrow, and I want you all to treat him the same way you treat one another."
No one said anything.
"Is that understood?" Jesse raised an eyebrow.
"Yes sir." The cousins chorused.
"Good," Jesse leaned back in the porches swing, "I've already, washed a quilt and some sheets, I'd like you boys to climb up into the attic and grab the cot. Make a space in your room for him to sleep."
"Yes sir." Bo and Luke said as they stood up from the porch, dropping whatever corn they had in their hands into the big dirty white gallon bucket all of the corn was in.
-Luke pulled the string hanging down from the ceiling, the closet door slowly coming down until its hinges extended as far as the could.
Luke then pulled the folded up wooden steps towards him until they were straight and could be used.
"Well, let's head up." Luke sighed.
"Yeah..." Bo said, dreading the job.
The attic was always extremely hot, not that the boys weren't used to the heat, but it was also a favorite place for waspers.
Bo and Luke sat across from each other, their feet hanging down from out of the ceiling.
"Where do you think it is?" Bo asked looking around at the various boxes and things.
"I don't know, it's gotta be around here somewhere." Luke replied, beginning to shift boxes around.
"How do you feel about Elijah coming. I know his parents died, but why does he have to come here?" Bo sighed.
"Bo, you might not remember you parents, but someone who has spent their entire lives with their parents and then just suddenly looses them... Imagine how you would feel if all at once we lost Uncle Jesse... It can change a person drastically. Besides, it was almost 10 years since we saw him last. He could be totally different from what he used to be. We should at least give him a chance." Luke replied jerking around on a metal pole he assumed was part of the cot.
The cot jerked free, Bo and Luke grabbing a side and trying to get it back down the rickety stairs.
Bo sighed, "I guess you're right Luke. I'll try not to be snippy with him."
The cot was set, a camping pad, sheets and quilt was all put together to make a respectable temporary bed.
All the Dukes could do now was wait.