Hey all! Just because work's killing me doesn't mean I can't post a chapter! Besides, being so busy makes my author's notes mercifully brief.
Thanks for all the feedback.
Oh, wait, here's a question. Is anyone else experiencing this weird phenomenon? I upload the chapter, then type these author's notes straight into the document manager. After I do that, I hit "save" and the first line of the original document (in this case, my chapter title) disappears. I wind up having to retype it. Anyone else have that problem? It didn't used to happen.
Don't own 'em, don't earn anything.
Chapter 4 - The Mountains Take Care of Us
Rhuebottom's was not exactly the pleasant, small town General Store that Daisy had shopped in since childhood, at least not today. As soon as she shoved the door open, the young woman could hear far more chatter than the small building usually contained, and it sounded a lot more anxious than the usually cheery morning greetings to which she was accustomed. Everyone in the store seemed to be in a foul mood, from the small cluster of elderly men whispering about past storms and lost homesteads, to the knot of young mothers squabbling over the dwindling supply of diapers and baby food. In the midst of growing chaos, a calm Mr. Rhuebottom seemed to be everywhere, tidying shelves, mediating disputes, and checking people out as quickly as possible.
The only surviving female Duke was a favorite customer in this store; Bruce Rhuebottom had watched her grow up from a sassy little girl into a spunky young adult. In fact, generations of Rhuebottoms had served generations of Dukes from behind this very counter, and old Bruce had been around long enough to know Jesse's father. Younger than the current Duke patriarch, Bruce had been but a pre-teen when the store had fallen on hard times. Deliveries of goods to be sold had stopped coming from Atlanta in 1942 during the war to end all wars. Rationing had been hard enough on the community, but on top of that, the Rhuebottom's truck driving delivery boy had been conscripted into the Army, and his truck sold, stranding the Rhuebottom family's supplies in a city two hours away. Jesse's father had lent out one of his boys at a time, as well as the Dukes' only car, to make the trip until a new driver and vehicle could be found. Bruce Rhuebottom figured he owed his continuing livelihood to the Duke family, and he made sure to take special care of the entire clan.
Leaving the now mostly quieted diaper-grabbing group, Bruce moved to see to Daisy's needs. As usual, the young woman favored him with her winning grin and told him she'd be fine, thanks. Today, however, the store's owner was not taking no for an answer.
"Daisy, darlin', I've got some things behind the counter for you." Leading her by the elbow, the stocky man showed the prettiest customer in his store a number of canned goods and a large bag of oats that he'd put aside for her family.
"Oh, Mr. Rhuebottom, thank you! But I can't take all this. Why, Uncle Jesse said…"
"Young lady," the proprietor did his best imitation of an angry school principal scolding a naughty child. "I don't care what your uncle told you. You will be taking all of this home with you, and immediately."
Though she was very fond of old Mr. Rhuebottom, Daisy wished that his son had been working the store that day. The younger Rhuebottom was still markedly older than the only surviving female Duke, but he couldn't intimidate and charm her in the same breath like his old man. Daisy would have been able to resist him.
"But Mr. Rhuebottom, I ain't…"
"Don't be worried about havin' enough money to pay me just now. We'll square things later. You just take this," he said, beginning to bag her goods.
"You don't really think this storm's comin', do you Mr. Rhuebottom? I mean, from what they were sayin' last night, it seems like it could do a million different things."
"All I can tell you Daisy-girl, is that these things don't always miss. Best be prepared. There now, you're all set," he said, handing her the bags he'd just packed. "Now sweetheart, you be safe, you hear?"
Embarrassed by the whole exchange, especially since it had been witnessed by some of the anxious patrons in the general store, Daisy just thanked the man and hustled to her car. She was going to have some explaining to do when she got home.
"Bo, will you just quit it? I told you it's no big deal." Luke was unusually testy by this time. Normally he took his cousin's teasing in stride, dishing back some of his own in return, but between the lack of sleep last night and the way the day was sticking to him like a hot blanket, he was ready to say some unkind things to his annoying little cousin.
"Sure, Luke. No big deal. Except, for once, your plan didn't work," Bo said in a tone that tried, and failed, to be joking. It was hot, yes, and humid, too much so to be working so hard. But they'd worked though worse. There was just something about the work they were doing, emptying a barn to be dismantled, that put the blonde on edge. He didn't mind destruction, not when it was done quickly and with a fast-moving automobile, like the fence on the old Kelly property that they'd demolished last week while cruising in their orange stock car. But normally what they razed, they rebuilt, and in this case, they were going to disassemble this barn without replacing it. Something about taking it apart without planning to restore it, made Bo less than calm. And his chosen method of relieving unwanted stress was picking at his cousin.
Normally, banter between the boys was friendly, if a little raucous. Today, however, neither was having fun, a fact which Luke's tone of voice betrayed.
"Like I keep telling you, it was just Plan A. I still got Plan B. Now just quit talkin' and start doin' some work, wouldja?"
The boys went to opposite sides of the barn, pretending not to hear one another's mumbled complaints. They were hot, they were uneasy, but neither of them really wanted to fight.
She'd have to face her uncle soon enough, and admit that she hadn't been strong enough to tell Mr. Rhuebottom no. In the meantime, Daisy was putting the guilt-inducing groceries away, after which she'd clean the kitchen and head out to the fields looking for her kin. It seemed odd, cleaning up like usual, when in town, especially in the store, everything had seemed so nuts. She still didn't believe there'd be a hurricane in Hazzard. She'd heard talk since childhood about how Hazzard, though poor, was well situated, being at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains like it was. She smiled, remembering some of the local lore.
Six-year-old Daisy Duke was glad she didn't have to share a room like her cousins did. At least, that was what she told herself, especially when she could hear them talking in there at night, even though they were supposed to be sleeping. She wasn't lonely.
Most nights she could convince herself of that, and be content to drift off in the peace of her own bedroom. But this night was anything but peaceful. Lightning flashed often enough that it almost seemed like daylight outside, and the thunder followed so quickly that she couldn't even count one Mississippi between flash and crash. Finally, after one particularly close series, the little girl jumped from her bed and ran for the stairs. She moved so fast that she almost didn't register the sound of Bo's voice as he told their older cousin how scared he was. Daisy knew that the younger boy trusted that Luke could make anything better, but she hadn't lived here as long as the two of them, and she didn't yet look up to the oldest boy in quite the same way. When she was scared, she wanted an adult.
Taking the stairs as quickly as she could, she didn't stop running until she landed in her aunt's lap. It must be early yet; neither of her guardians had gone to bed for the night.
"Daisy, sweetheart, you ain't scared of a little thunder, are you?" her uncle scolded gently, with a chuckle.
"You just hush, Jesse Duke. I heard tell about how when you was little, you was once found hiding in the closet during a storm like this," Lavinia rebuked.
A small snicker escaped Daisy's lips before the next big clap left her clinging even more tightly to her aunt. Jesse snorted and left the room to get himself a midnight snack. Sometimes it wasn't so helpful that he and his wife had known each other since they were as young as their little niece.
"Now, child, you listen to me," Lavinia began, lifting Daisy's chin and forcing the little girl to look into her wrinkle-rimmed eyes. "You ought to be thankful for the thunder. Do you know why?"
Sun-streaked hair flew as the youngster shook her head. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing good about a thunderstorm.
"Well, it's just one of the ways the mountains take care of us."
"The mountains?" Daisy looked skeptical. Mountains just sat there. They didn't do anything like fighting bullies or chasing away nightmares. Why, they couldn't even prepare a simple meal, which Daisy thought was probably the first step in taking care of someone.
"Yep. Did you ever notice how in winter it snows up there a lot more than down here?"
Daisy hadn't really thought about it before, but now that it had been said aloud, she realized it was true. It almost never snowed in Hazzard, but the mountain tops were frequently whitened in January and February.
"Them mountains, they catch the snow for us, so's we can look at it, but we don't have to slip and slide in it. And them mountains, they also send us thunderstorms."
"Well, how is that good? I don't like thunder and lightning."
"Well, child, you may not like them, but the rain that comes with them is good for the corn that grows out there," Lavinia gestured out towards the lightning-streaked fields. Daisy buried her head again for a moment, as the crash of thunder followed.
"It can rain without thunder," she squeaked out.
"True," her aunt answered. "But the best, truly soaking rains come because the cool mountain air blows up and over the warm air down here. And all that air mixing up makes the thunder… and the rain," Lavinia simplified. The children would learn the science behind storms in school, when they were fully awake. For now, the middle aged woman just wanted to tell Daisy enough to give the girl half a chance of getting some sleep tonight.
"Besides," she informed her niece, "Them mountains there, they send us little storms like this one, and they protect us from bigger storms. See, child? This storm is almost over already."
Listening, Daisy realized it was true. The thunder was neither as constant nor as loud as it had been a few moments earlier.
"So the mountains give us little things like this, and they watch over us and much sure we don't get bigger, longer storms."
"What kind of bigger storms, Aunt Lavinia?"
Lifting the child off her lap and standing, Lavinia led Daisy by the hand towards the stairs.
"Nothing you need to worry about tonight, sweetie. You'll learn about them in school. For now, let's head on up to bed, and I'll stay with you until you fall asleep, okay?"
Just as her aunt had promised, Daisy learned about hurricanes in seventh grade science. By then her aunt was gone, but the little girl understood, as she learned about the giant storms, how the mountains had watched over and protected them from such things.
Of course, Daisy knew that it was theoretically possible for a hurricane to survive this far inland intact. It just rarely happened, and she was trying to believe it wouldn't happen this time, either. But her heart was starting to tell her otherwise.
