Author's Notes: This one's a bit, ah, touchier than the last few, less action, more drama, and I can definitely see some readers seriously disliking this first chapter especially. But, that's why it's my story. Props to the recent Brooks & Dunn song "I Believe" and Brad Paisley's "When I Get Where I'm Going" - though they weren't direct inspirations, they were stuck in my head all through this. Feedback is welcome and encouraged, as always - praise, criticism, flames, raves, rants, anything. Hope you enjoy!
When It Rains, It Pours
Chapter 1: A No Good Very Bad Day
Howdy, friends! Welcome to Hazzard County, where that old saying "expect the unexpected" was coined well before the county was even so appropriately named. There's another old saying, though, that's a little better suited to this story, and that's "when it rains, it pours". Those of you familiar with Hazzard ought to know already that the trouble meant by both those sayings always has something to do with the Duke family, and I'll bet this time is no different. Let's watch and see.
Thunk!
It was raining. Bo was sure of that before he even opened his eyes, though the windows were closed and he couldn't hear the soft patter of raindrops outside.
Thunk!
Bo knew it was raining because that annoying sound had to be Luke, outside chopping wood.
Thunk!
It was no use to pull the covers over his head and try to go back to sleep, he knew. He'd tried it half a dozen times before.
Thunk!
With a sigh, Bo shoved away the blankets and sheets and climbed out of bed, reluctantly heading for the shower to wash and dress and greet another day.
Thunk!
Bo didn't understand it in the least. It was June, and for three months now, since the turn of spring, every warm rainy day put Luke in a bad mood, and for three months, Bo had known the weather report before he even climbed out of bed. If Luke was still sleeping, it was a bright, sunny day. If Luke was outside chopping wood, it was sure to be raining cats and dogs. Luke had shrugged him off when he first asked about it, with the excuse that there wasn't anything better to do on a rainy day when they couldn't work the fields, and they could always use the stock of wood for the winter. Since he seemed fine the rest of the time, Bo stopped asking.
Bo was back in the bedroom, half-dressed, when he realized the sound of the axe had stopped. Buttoning up his shirt, he looked out the window towards the barn. Oddly enough, Ms. Tisdale, the Hazzard County postmistress, was standing out there in the rain with Luke, who was bare-chested and leaning on the long handle of the axe. Bo saw him thank her as she handed him a bundle of mail and a separate envelope, and then she headed back to herdirtbike in the driveway. Bo tucked in his shirt and pulled on his boots, and headed for the kitchen.
Luke was just coming inside, dripping wet, and since Uncle Jesse and Daisy weren't up yet, Bo started a pot of coffee and pulled out a frying pan to make breakfast.
"What was Miz Tisdale doing here this time of the day?" Bo asked over his shoulder.
Luke set the bundle of letters down on the table, drying himself off with his shirt. "Dropping off the mail," he replied.
"Since when does she do mail runs at dawn?" Bo asked.
"Since about five minutes ago," Luke answered crossly, and headed down the hall to the bedroom they shared, shutting the door behind him.
Bo stared after him, more than a bit taken aback, but then shrugged, and headed outside to the chicken coop to gather eggs. By the time he got back, Daisy and Uncle Jesse were both sitting at the kitchen table, and the coffee was ready on the stove. With Bo's cooking skills in mind, Daisy stood and took the eggs from him, setting about making breakfast while he poured them all coffee.
"Where'd the mail come from?" Jesse asked, picking up the bundle and removing the rubber band. It was the usual assortment – a letter or two from friends out of town, the electric bill, a Sears catalogue, a car magazine for Bo, and a ladies' magazine for Daisy.
"Luke said Miz Tisdale dropped it off a little bit ago," Bo answered, happily accepting a plateful of toast and eggs from Daisy.
"I thought I heard him outside this morning," Daisy commented, cracking a couple more eggs into the pan.
"I'm surprised the Kellers down the road didn't hear him," Bo remarked, still sore at being woken up early.
Jesse turned a stern look on his nephew. "Now Bo, you leave your cousin alone. We've all had our restless nights, and he's got a right to his."
"Yes, sir."
Jesse, Daisy, and Bo were halfway through breakfast when Luke emerged from the bedroom and joined them, dressed in dry clothes and looking quite pale.
"Are you alright, Luke?" Bo was the first to ask as his cousin sat down at the table.
"I'm fine, Bo." Daisy served him up a plate and he bowed his head briefly in prayer before picking up a piece of toast. The table was silent for several minutes until Jesse spoke up.
"Well, with this rain, there's no sense in going out into the fields. I'll call the feed store and see if that shipment came in - maybe you boys can go pick it up. I've also got some work needs doin' around the house and yard, after that."
"I'll take the truck into town, Uncle Jesse," Luke said in a tone that distinctly excluded Bo.
A little hurt, Bo looked down at his plate. "I guess that leaves me here with you, Uncle Jesse."
"I'm due at the Boar's Nest by lunch, but I'll help you out here until then, Bo," Daisy offered.
The Duke family rose from the breakfast table shortly after that, stacking the dishes next to the sink while Daisy ran some hot water to start washing. Bo stood for a moment with a frown, looking out the front door after Luke, before heading out the back door to join Jesse in the barn and see what needed doing.
It was nearly lunchtime by the time Luke came back. By now, Bo had changed out the oil in Dixie and the General, mucked out the stalls in the barn, and was working on patching a few leaks in the barn roof when the white pickup came rumbling up the drive. The rain had eased off to a drizzle, but he was still extra careful moving around on the slick shingles.
"You need a hand with that, Luke?" Bo called down to his cousin, who had pushed back the blue tarp covering the bags of feed and was leveling a fifty-pound bag on each shoulder.
"Nope!" Luke called back, headed into the barn. Bo shook his head and went back to work.
Lunch was a quiet affair. Daisy had already headed out to work, and none of the male Dukes had much to say by way of conversation. Afterwards, Jesse had nothing more for the boys to do, so Bo drove the General Lee into the barn for some tinkering, with hopes that Luke would join him. When he didn't, Bo went ahead and worked on the General anyways, resolved to have some fun even if Luke refused to. As the afternoon wore on though, Bo got bored, and went outside in search of his cousin.
Luke was back at the chopping block with the axe. He'd harnessed Maudine up to haul some fallen logs over from the woods, and then worked for a good hour to hone the axe blade to a sharp point. Thunk! The axehead was just biting into the first log when Bo walked up.
"You gonna be at that all afternoon?" he asked.
Thunk!
"That's what I figured," Luke replied without looking up.
Thunk!
"I thought I might go get in some target practice on the bow, you wanna come?"
Thunk!
"No thanks, Bo."
Luke didn't see his cousin's crestfallen expression as he walked away. Working on the General and archery practice just weren't as much fun without Luke. Bo went inside, looking for something to do. Jesse finally set him to peeling potatoes and carrots for dinner, while he heated the oven and seasoned a pot roast. When that task was finished, Bo idled away the time until dinner reading his newest car magazine in the family room. It wasn't until Jesse pulled the roast from the oven that Bo noticed the woodchopping sounds had stopped some time ago, and Luke was nowhere in sight. Jesse called his name out the back door before joining Bo back at the table. They waited for a good ten minutes in silence, looking at the empty seat, before Bo stood up.
"I'm gonna go look for him."
Jesse was frowning, but he shook his head and motioned for Bo to sit. "He'll come in when he's ready," he told his youngest nephew, and folded his hands to say grace. He hadn't missed Luke's unusual behavior, but the retired Marine was never one to be very open about his feelings, and Jesse thought it best to let Luke come to him in his own time, whatever the matter was.
Dinner was quieter than lunch, with just the two of them. Bo ate quickly and it was obvious that he itched to be excused, to go find his cousin, but Jesse said nothing. Once the leftovers were put away and dishes washed, though, he had no excuse to keep Bo any longer, and the blond was off in search of Luke. Living room, bedroom, and bathroom were empty, as was the front porch, the driveway, and the oak tree out front. The white pickup was still there, and Bo had the keys to the General in his pocket, so Luke was somewhere on the premises. A quick look in the barn showed an empty hayloft, and the animal yard was full of nothing but clucking chickens. With a frown, Bo took off at a jog down the path between the fields – maybe Luke had gone for a walk, out to the creek or the old north barn.
After an hour and a half of searching every corner of the Duke farm that Bo could think of, the drizzling rain turned back into a downpour, and he made his way back across the fields at a run. The barn was closer than the farmhouse, so he made for it, reckoning to take shelter until the downpour slackened off. He was drenched when he got there anyhow, but he went inside and closed the barn door after him just the same. Standing at the hood of the General, Bo was wringing rainwater out of his shirt and hair, when he saw a pair of boots from the corner of one eye, and a mass of dark curly hair leaning against the driver's side of the orange racecar. Still dripping, Bo stepped around the car to find Luke sitting on the dirt floor against the rear wheel, holding a mostly empty mason jar in one hand, a half-dozen yellowed letters in the other, and completely oblivious to his cousin's entrance.
"Luke!" Bo walked over towards his older cousin, who jumped at the sound and looked up with a squint. Bo knew by the strong smell of whiskey and the glazed look in his cousin's eyes that he was very definitely drunk, and something was very definitely wrong. With a sigh, Bo sat down next to him.
"What are you doin' out here?"
After several minutes' silence, Bo closed his eyes and softly asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Nope," came Luke's short reply, followed by a swig from the mason jar. Before he set it down again, Bo reached over and pulled it from his hand, found the lid, screwed it back on, and placed it out of reach. Luke let him take it without a fight, squinting at him with another searching look before going back to staring at the wall.
The Duke cousins sat like that for a solid half-hour, in silence, neither looking at the other. Bo had enough life experience to know how useless it was to argue with a man when he's drunk, and he knew arguing was all he'd do if he tried to pry the problem out of Luke now. So he sat there and kept his cousin company, clothes slowly drip-drying, as he searched through every memory of the last few days for a hint. He glanced at the letters lying limp in Luke's left hand, and realized it had to have been something Ms. Tisdale brought that morning. Come to think of it, Luke had been getting a number of letters in the last few months, and had sent off more than a few in turn. About a month ago Bo had teased him about writing to an old girlfriend, and Luke had laughed, but said nothing more of it. Bo wasn't laughing now.
Then Bo felt Luke leaning on his shoulder, and he looked down at his cousin's dark curly hair and realized Luke had fallen asleep against him. Bo sighed and reached over and shook him.
"Luke, come on, let's get inside."
Luke muttered an incoherent response and didn't move.
Bo sighed again and pulled himself to his knees, steadying his cousin with one hand. Taking Luke's arm across his shoulders, Bo slowly pulled him to his feet, stopping long enough to grab the letters and the mason jar in one hand. The movement jarred his cousin a little, waking him enough to only half lean on Bo as the blond guided them both to the barn door, outside, and into the farmhouse through the back porch.
It was only maybe nine o'clock, and Jesse was sitting in his favorite armchair studying the Sears catalogue when they came in. "What in tarnation…!" he began to say, at the sight of his youngest nephew half-carrying his oldest nephew inside, both dripping from the downpour outside. But Bo shook his head and set the near-empty mason jar on the shelf as they passed, and Jesse held his questions as Bo guided his cousin down the hallway.
In the bedroom, Bo got Luke into bed, pulling off his wet clothes and turning him on his side in case he got sick. Then he covered him with warm blankets and found a trash can to set next to the bed, just in case. Luke was asleep and snoring within moments. Before he turned out the lights, Bo looked down at the letters he'd set on the nightstand. He looked from his cousin to the letters and back with a pained expression, then picked them up and slipped out the door, closing it gently behind him. Bo hated invading Luke's privacy, when there really was very little privacy between them, but this was serious, and he had to know. By the hallway light, he looked at the topmost letter, dated yesterday and marked urgent. It told him as much as he needed to know.
Now friends, I think we've seen it rain, and it's just about to start pouring.