JadedPhoenixBurning- Thank you. I hope you continue to enjoy the story. I have been working hard on it.
DixieDavenport- Thank you. My family is from Logan County so that was part of the inspiration for that. You in Mingo County? McDowell County? I wanted to include the characters growing up together to show how close they are and why. It will come into play throughout the story.
Dimples73LovesJESUS- Thank you. I hope you keep enjoying the story.
Thanks for the reviews. Hope I get more. All reviews are welcome.
Chapter 2-
The next morning found Julia sitting between Bo and Luke in Uncle Jesse's pickup truck as they headed towards town to pick up her order of hay that would be waiting at the feed store. When Jesse heard she was planning to pick the hay up in several trips using her car, he insisted the boys use his pick up and help her pick up her order of hay.
"What time tomorrow are they bringing your horse in?" Luke asked.
"They said sometime before noon." Julia said.
"I can't believe you were gonna try making several trips to get your hay. We can get it all in the pickup." Bo said as he steered along.
"I guess I am just used to having to do for myself." Julia shrugged.
Bo pulled the truck into Hazzard Square and pulled around to the back of the feed store. They climbed out of the truck and Julia gave her order papers to the staff. Despite Bo and Luke's protest, Julia helped load the hay.
"You don't have to do that." Luke said.
"I have been taking care of Cannonball for three years now. I am used to it." She said.
"Still the tomboy." Luke chuckled.
"Yeah, but she sure cleans up nice." Bo said. Julia raised her eyebrows at him. "What? I remember how cute you were in that majorette skirt and you always looked nice coming to church."
"You never paid me any attention in my majorette skirt. You were always chasing three girls at a time, half the time in competition with Coy." Julia laughed.
Julia still chuckling hopped off the truck and walked inside to sign for her order.
"Actually I did notice her in that majorette skirt." Bo told Luke.
"But you knew Uncle Jesse would've whipped you with a hickory stick if you tried anything stupid with her." Luke chuckled.
"Ain't that the truth. And that would've been mild compared to what Daisy would've done to me." Bo chuckled.
"Miss Amanda wouldn't have done too bad herself. And we all know Arthur in his day could shoot like trained sniper." Luke laughed.
"Alright boys, just a quick stop at the post office and we can head back to the farm." Julia walked back out.
"Well come on. We can take you to the post office." Luke said.
Julia climbed back in the truck between the boys and Bo drove the truck around the square to post office.
"Suppose we better go and help her deal with Ms. Tisdale?" Luke said.
"We might as well." Bo said.
"Ms. Tisdale still act the way she did?" Julia asked.
"Yeah and as crazy about Uncle Jesse as ever." Bo chuckled.
The three of them walked into the post office. There was no one else in there except for Ms. Tisdale who was sorting mail. She looked up when they walked in.
"Bo and Luke, so nice to see you. And who is that…..Julia?" Ms. Tisdale recognized her.
"Hello Ms. Tisdale it is so nice to see you again." Julia smiled. "I just moved back to Hazzard and wanted to get my mail arranged."
"Oh...then you'll have to take a number." Ms. Tisdale said.
Julia looked around. "But there is no one else in here."
"Take a number and I will call you when I am ready." Ms. Tisdale said.
Luke nodded for her to take number. Julia took a number and looked at the boys confused.
"Number one!" Ms. Tisdale yelled out. Julia raised an eyebrow but handed Ms. Tisdale her number. "Now, what can I do for you?"
"As I said, I just moved back to Hazzard and I need to start having my mail delivered at the farm." Julia said.
"You will have to fill out some forms. And I will need to see some ID." Ms. Tisdale said.
"But….you knew me when I walked in. You have known me my whole life!" Julia said. "You know good and well who I am."
"Sorry, regulations. No ID, no mail delivery." Ms. Tisdale said.
Julia sighed, realizing Ms. Tisdale was still the same as ever. She dug out her ID and handed it to Ms. Tisdale.
"This is a West Virginia ID." Ms. Tisdale said.
"I just moved back, I haven't had a chance to get my Georgia ID yet." Julia said.
"Well I will need approval of the post master to approve mail delivery without a Georgia ID." Ms. Tisdale.
"Come on Ms. Tisdale, couldn't you help Julia out? You know her. And you know how crazy Uncle Jesse is about her." Bo winked at Julia.
"You know….since I am the post master around here, I can approve this for you." Ms. Tisdale chuckled.
"Thank you so much." Julia said as she started filling out the papers Ms. Tisdale handed her.
"Well I suppose if Jesse Duke trusts her, she must be okay." Ms. Tisdale said. "You will say hello to him for me, won't you?"
"Sure thing Ms. Tisdale." Luke smiled.
Julia finished filling out the papers and walked with the boys out of the post office. Luke opened the door to the pickup to let Julia climb in, when they heard someone yelling for them. Julia looked up to see someone running across the square to calling to the boys.
"Hey Cooter, what's going on?" Bo asked.
"I saw the truck over here and thought I would let y'all know those parts you ordered for the General came in and….Julia?" Cooter noticed her.
"Cooter Davenport! I haven't seen you in forever!" she leaped out of the truck to hug him.
"Whoa…what a greeting!" Cooter laughed. "My goodness just look at you…mother nature sure has been good to you."
"Thank you. How are you doing? Last time I saw you...was when I left Hazzard." She said.
"Doing okay. I got the garage and the farm, I get by okay." Cooter smiled. "It is so good to see you again."
"She is back in Hazzard for good. Just moved back out to her family farm." Luke said.
"And will be teaching history at Hazzard High School." Bo said.
"How's come we didn't any pretty young teachers when we were in school?" Cooter laughed.
"I sure would've paid more attention in class." Bo joked.
"We can stop by and get those parts….sometime on Monday. This weekend we will be out at the Collins' farm helping Julia get settled in and do some repairs around the place." Luke said.
"I will have them waiting for you." Cooter said. "Hey, y'all need any help out there, you let me know." Cooter said.
"Thanks a lot." Luke said as they climbed into the truck.
"See you soon." Julia waved as Bo started the truck and headed back out of Hazzard towards her farm.
(Collins' Farm)
When they pulled up to the farm they found Uncle Jesse and Daisy already there and Jesse was carefully looking over the porch for any loose boards or leaks in the roof.
"There you kids are. I was just checking out the porch." Jesse said as they climbed out of the truck.
"How do you think it looks Uncle Jesse?" Julia asked.
"The structure all looks good. It could use some paint." Jesse said.
"I could pick up some paint in town. Big job painting the whole porch." Julia looked around the porch.
"You got us; we'll help with that too." Bo said.
"Thank you so much. It means so much to me that you are helping out." Julia said.
"It's no problem. We help out our friends and neighbors." Jesse said.
"We better get started on the barn." Luke said.
"I figure we get the back half of it done first that way you can keep your horse back there until the entire roof is done. We'll fix up a stall nice and strong for him." Bo said.
"Thanks boys. Oh I think there is an extra box of nails in the house. I left them in the kitchen." Julia said. "I think everything else is in the barn where I showed you earlier. Got a great deal on supplies in Capital City."
"I'll get those nails." Luke said.
Julia tossed him her keys and headed towards the barn with Bo. She was halfway there when she heard loud barking and looked back to see Luke backing slowly out of her house. She turned and ran back towards the house.
"Elvis! Elvis, its okay!" she yelled as she ran.
She made it to the porch and pulled Luke back, kneeling down and calling the animal to her.
"Sorry about that Luke. Elvis is pretty protective of me and the house. I forgot he doesn't know you." Julia said as she patted the animal that was still eyeing Luke.
"Next time warn me. I thought he was gonna tear into me." Luke said.
"He would've too. Like I said he is very protective." Julia chuckled. "Once he gets to know you he is just as sweet as pie and will protect you too."
"I never seen a dog like him before. What kind is he?" Bo asked as he had walked over to see what the fuss was all about.
"He's a coydog." Julia petted him.
"A what?" Luke asked.
"A Coydog…he is hybrid Coyote and domestic dog, Siberian Husky in his case." Julia stood up and Elvis staying close to her.
"Where did you find something like that? I never heard of such a thing." Bo asked.
"A friend of mine in college…her family raised and sold Siberian Huskies. One spring their female had a litter and one of the pups looked very different than the others. The vet informed them that the pup was half coyote. Apparently a few coyotes had been hanging around their farm and took an interest in the female husky. And which can happen in animals, more than one male sired her litter. She had 3 husky pups and 1 coydog pup. Well my friend's family wanted to kill him and be done with it. I begged them not to and let me have him. They finally agreed, despite their worries that his coyote half would make him dangerous." Julia explained.
"He is awfully pretty." Daisy said.
"Thanks, and he is a real sweetie." Julia patted him.
"Well, we better get to work." Bo said.
(Later)
"Where did you get so many chickens?" Jesse asked as he patched up the chicken coop and Julia tossed scratch down for the chickens to eat.
"I got them all from the humane society at one time or another. My ducks and rabbits too." Julia smiled.
"I didn't know humane societies took in animals like that." Jesse said.
"They usually get an influx of them in May and June. People buy chicks and ducklings and baby bunnies for Easter and then don't want them once they get bigger and aren't cute or they realize the work involved in caring for animals." Julia explained.
"You still got a soft spot for animals. You always did. Arthur had the hardest time with you when it was time to butcher animals on the farm." Jesse laughed.
Julia chuckled and looked up at the barn, seeing both boys on the roof doing the patching that was needed.
"Go on Johnny….I know it's a new place." Julia said to her big black rooster.
"You named your chickens?" Jesse chuckled.
"Sure….the rooster is Johnny Cash, because he's the man in black." Julia chuckled. "And my big white hen, she is Minnie Pearl. The red hen, her name is Tammy Wynette because she is always near Johnny…standing by her man." Julia chuckled.
Jesse chuckled as Daisy walked up to them.
"I think I got most of the kitchen sorted out. You already had it cleaned up pretty well." Daisy said.
"Oh thank you so much. I should probably get the boys something to drink. It is hot as hades out here." Julia said.
"Is it safe to let Elvis near the chickens?" Daisy asked noticing Elvis lying nearby.
"Oh sure. He knows they are part of the family. He actually keeps an eye on them. I have seen him put more than one raccoon out of my yard." Julia said.
"Your cat kept watching me. She sure is pretty." Daisy said. "Orange with long hair, wait till you see her Uncle Jesse."
"That's my kitty, Orange Blossom Special, but I call her Blossom for short. I found her in the humane society too when she was just a baby. They hadn't had her long and was so sick they were gonna euthanize her. But you know me, I wouldn't hear of it. They let me take her and with some TLC, she turned out just fine." Julia said.
"I am starting to get the feeling this is a farm for hard luck animals, named after country music….and knowing Julia, it doesn't surprise me." Jesse chuckled.
"I am gonna get the boys something cold to drink. Daisy, would you mind taking some of that day old bread out to feed my ducks by the pond. They are friendly and will come right up to you." Julia said.
"Sure thing. It is nice you got a little pond here on your property." Daisy said.
"Their names are Larry, Steve and Rudy." Julia said.
"After the Gatlin Brothers?" Jesse chuckled.
"You got it." Julia laughed and took off towards the house, Elvis following behind her.
Julia walked into the house and Elvis followed her in. She walked into the kitchen, excited to see how much Daisy had done for her. Blossom jumped up on a kitchen chair and started meowing at her. She petted the kitty then hurried and poured some cold iced tea for the boys. She walked back out of the house and headed for the barn.
"Break time boys! I got cold drinks for you!" she yelled up to them.
Bo and Luke carefully came down the ladder and dusted off their hands on their jeans. She handed them each a glass, noticing how muscular both boys were with their shirts off.
"Whew, right on time too." Bo said.
"How is it going up there?" Julia asked.
"We shouldn't have no problem getting the back half of the barn done by tomorrow when your horse gets here. You might wanna think about replacing the whole roof." Luke said.
"That is great. I wanna have Cannonball's stall all ready when he gets here." Julia said.
"Looks like Uncle Jesse has the chicken coop well in hand." Bo said.
"How did you manage to keep all these animals in West Virginia?" Luke asked.
"Elvis and Blossom of course were in the house with me. But my chickens, ducks and rabbits I kept under the house. We lived in one of those old coal company houses along the river and it was built on...kinda like stilts to avoid flooding. And I had to board Cannonball at a stable." Julia said.
"It's nice to see you haven't changed any. Five years away and been to college but still the same Julia." Luke smiled.
"Of course, I will always be a Hazzard girl." Julia chuckled. "But you two certainly have changed."
"What do you mean?" Bo asked.
"When I left you were a scrawny teenager and just look at you now. All filled out and muscular." She chuckled and touched his bicep.
Bo chuckled. "All the ladies love my gun show."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Don't make his ego worse. He already thinks he is the Hazzard Romeo."
"He always did. Between him and Coy…I know they dated most of the girls in my graduating class." Julia chuckled. "I am gonna move my rabbits to the area of the barn you already have fixed. I wanna get Ronnie in one place and leave him there. I think the move shook him up."
"Your rabbit is upset?" Luke raised an eyebrow.
"Well, he is more skittish being blind and all. He does pretty good having Eddie as a companion though." Julia said and walked over to where she had her rabbit pen on the barn floor.
"A blind rabbit? Why is he blind?" Bo asked.
"I dunno. But the humane society said he was healthy otherwise and no one else wanted him. And he is so pretty, how could I not love him?" Julia took Ronnie out of his cage and cuddled him against her. "He knows my voice and scent, he is so gentle."
"Ronnie the blind rabbit." Bo said.
"Yup, named after Ronnie Milsap. And his buddy Eddie…get it, Eddie Rabbitt." Julia giggled.
Luke chuckled. "Is all your animals named after country music?"
"Of course. You know me and music. Besides, I thought it was a cute theme to keep running." Julia smiled.
"Fits in perfect here in Hazzard." Luke smiled. "I think break time is over. We still got a lot to do."
"Yeah, we better get back up there." Bo said. "Thanks for the drinks."
"No problem. Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you." Julia said.
She watched as the boys headed back outside and up the ladder.
(Evening)
That evening Julia was talking to the Dukes as they were getting ready to head home for the evening.
"Uncle Jesse the chicken coop looks great. Thank you so much." Julia hugged him.
"It was no problem. I am glad your critters will be safe now." Jesse told her.
"And Daisy, thank you so much. The kitchen is all cleaned and organized and the living room is getting there." Julia hugged her.
"And boys the back half of the roof is done and Cannonball's stall is all ready and my bunnies are all safe and secure." She hugged them both.
"We are glad to help." Bo said.
"And we'll be back in the morning. We'll work some more on the barn roof and get some of the fence mended." Luke said.
"Y'all are so good to me. I just don't know what to say." Julia smiled.
"You don't have to say anything. You're like family." Jesse said.
"Thank you, so much." Julia said.
"We'll see you first thing tomorrow morning." Luke said.
"I'll have breakfast waiting for you, I insist." Julia smiled.
"Sounds great. We'll be here." Daisy climbed in the pickup with Jesse.
"I'll see you then. Come on Elvis." Julia waved to them and walked up to the porch as they pulled out.