Chapter 4: An Unhappy Anniversary

When Kim finally heard a car behind her she turned and wasn't sure if she was pleased to see that it was an orange stock car or not. When she saw through her rear-view mirror Bo Duke climbing out of the General Lee, Kim got out of her Jeep to talk to him.

"Kim, looks like you could use some help. What seems to be the trouble?"

"Just reapin' the rewards of buying a used vehicle that no one took care of before I got it. My Jeep decided to wait until Friday night to strand me on the side of the road, again. I think it's the electrical system. I swear, by the time I'm done with this thing, the only original part left will be the chassis. I just need you to call Cooter and have him come out and tow the Jeep back to town. If this time is anything like the last several times, he'll have to send out for parts."

"I can do that. I'll tell ya what. I'll do you one even better. Why don't ya hop in the General and I'll give ya a lift. You were plannin' on headin' out to the Boar's Nest weren't ya?"

"Well I was... But I'd hate to get out there and have to bum a lift home later-"

"Don't worry about that. I'll get ya home when you're ready," Bo said with a lopsided grin.

"I don't know. I-"

"You ain't really goin' to stand out here and argue in the rain are you?" Bo said as he cocked an eye at Kim. "Come on. I'll make sure you get home." Bo leaned against the car as he waited for her to decide to take him up on his offer.

"Alright, let me grab my bag," Kim said as she returned to her broken down Jeep to retrieve her medical bag.

When she returned to the race car, Bo stepped around and surprised Kim when he picked her up without any warning. She tensed instinctively but didn't have any time to really react since before she knew it Bo had helped her into the car through its wielded door's window. Once Kim was in the car, Bo went around and slid in behind the wheel. Then he started the car and headed toward the old roadhouse. He and Kim discussed some of the ins and outs that had happened over the last few days since this had been the first time that Bo had been out since last weekend. What with being busy with the planting and all.

The whole time, Bo's mind was going over Kim's reaction to him when he hefted her up to help her into the car. That hadn't been a reaction of being surprised by him picking her up. He'd surprised enough women by doing that same thing to know the difference. If he had to describe Kim's reaction he'd almost swear that it had been one of fear. Fear of what though? She didn't have any reason to be afraid of him. Heck, there hadn't ever been a woman that had ever been afraid of him. When Bo pulled up at the Boar's Nest, he got out and helped Kim out of the car and once again swore that she'd tensed up when he reached for her. He wasn't sure if he should call her out on it or not.

"Thanks," Kim said as she got her feet under her and stepped away from Bo giving him a timid smile. "I don't know how you make that seem so easy."

"Practice. Come on; let's get out of the rain." Bo put a hand at the small of Kim's back and led her inside, mentally noting that she didn't react quite the same way she had when he'd picked her up. He'll have to ask her about that later.

~01~

Luke had been looking forward to heading out for the evening with Jo since he really hadn't gotten to spend much time with her, or anyone else for that matter, this week. He didn't even mind the sudden shower that started just as he and Jo headed out to the Mustang. Shoot, he'd been missing being out so much that he didn't even mind it when Rosco pulled in behind him when he passed his speed trap. Luke reckoned that he needed a little excitement too. Luke pressed on the gas as Rosco gave chase and both cars went whipping around the curves of the wet clay roads. Luke was well out in front; in fact he could easily lose him once he got to the creek and jumped it. Luke headed toward Fox Hill Road since he knew the bridge was out on that road.

"Lukas? What are you doing?" Jo asked since it seemed that Luke was taking the long way out to the Boar's Nest, prolonging the game of cat and mouse with the Sheriff.

"Don't worry, Angel. Just havin' a little fun with 'ole Rosco. I'll lose 'em once we jump the creek. He won't try jumpin' across that part of the creek."

"Luke, you can't jump the car," Jo said just a bit worried. She'd planned on telling Luke tomorrow that she was pregnant over dinner but it looked like she won't get the chance to tell him the way she'd planned.

"What are you talkin' about, Jo? 'Course I can. This car may not be the General but it can still make that jump."

"That's not what I mean. I'm saying that you can't jump it with me in the car." Luke gave a sideways glance at his wife in confusion. She'd never had anything against him jumping the car before. When Jo saw the look on Luke's face, she went ahead and added, "I'm pregnant!"

Luke slammed the brakes and turned the wheel sending the car into a three-sixty. When the car came to a stop in the grassy meadow beside the road Luke threw the car into park and turned and just starred at Jo for a moment.

When Rosco rounded the corner, he was surprised to find Luke's car parked on the side of the road. "Oh, goody, goody, gumdrops. Flash, we got em." Rosco giggled was he got out of his patrol and strolled through the light rain over to the black Mustang. "Alright, Luke Duke. I caught you going thirty-five in a fifteen back there. Boss is goin' to be so happy with me when he hears that I got you on a speeding violation." Rosco already had his ticket book and was filling it out when he realized that Luke hadn't come back with a remark about how the charge was unfair or anything of the sort like he usually did. Rosco ducked down so he could look into the car and saw both Luke and his new bride staring at one another. "Is something wrong?"

Jo moved her eyes to look at the older man in uniform and simply said, "No, nothing is wrong. We'll be in Monday to pay the ticket."

Rosco eyed the newlyweds but didn't say anything; figuring that the couple must have just had a fight. Something that he had no desire to get in the middle of. He just tore the ticket out of his notepad and put it on the dashboard as he turned and headed back to his patrol car.

"Pregnant," Luke said when he finally found his voice. Jo nodded to confirm that he'd heard her right. "But... How? I mean-"

"You were there, Lukas. I didn't think that I'd have to explain it to you," Jo said with a small laugh.

"I know that! But... It's just that we were being careful for right now."

"Were we? I can rote off a list of at least a dozen times that I know very well that we weren't careful."

Luke gave a slow grin as he too could remember the times that Jo was referring to. He didn't know why but those times seemed to be more fun (from what he could remember). Suddenly, it dawned on him just what Jo was telling him. She was going to have a baby. His baby. And she was waiting for him to react to the news. Reaching out, he pulled his wife to him and gave her a deep long kiss. Only breaking the kiss when both of them needed to come up for air.

"When is the baby due? I mean, how far along are you?"

"Well I got pregnant right around the wedding. So that means the baby will be here in early November."

"Around the wedding? The night of the rehearsal?"

"Or when we went swimming in the ocean while we were on our honeymoon," Jo grinned.

"Oh yeh, I forgot about that time," Luke said as he got an image of how he convinced Jo to go skinny dipping in the ocean. Shaking his head slightly to clear it, Luke threw the car back in gear. "We'd better get movin', we've got some news to tell everyone."

"Lukas, I was hoping that we could wait before we went and told the world."

"What? Why?" Luke asked in confusion.

"I just want to be safe, is all. I mean after last fall..."

Luke cursed under his breath. Of course she'd be worried about the possibility of another miscarriage. That was one of the reasons that they'd tried to be careful, well most of the time anyway.

"Alright, I guess it won't hurt to let it be our secret for a little while," Luke said as brought Jo's hand to his lips as they headed down the road toward the local bar. Taking a different route this time. Taking one that he'd have to keep all four tires on the road along the way.

~01~

When Daisy looked up to seeing her baby cousin walking into the bar with the town's lady doctor she had to smile. Especially when she saw that she wasn't the only one to notice the two coming in. There were at least a half a dozen women that were shooting daggers at Kim Appleby as Bo walked with her over to an empty table. With her curiosity getting the better of her, Daisy put a soda and a beer on her tray and headed on over to the pair.

"Hey you two, I think this is the first time that you've ever shown up at the same time." Daisy grinned at her cousin. Bo groaned inwardly, knowing that she was bound to have a lot more to say once they were alone.

"Bo found me on the side of the road when my Jeep decided that it wanted to go on vacation. He offered to give me a lift."

"Did he?" Daisy knew full well that Bo would have done the same for anyone that had broken down but that wasn't about to stop her from having a little fun with her cousin. "Wasn't that sweet of him?"

Daisy said as she put their drinks down on the table as she gave Bo a questioning look. She wanted to know if there was anything more to it than just giving Kim a lift. After all, he could have gone his own way once they'd gotten here but instead they were here at the same table despite the fact that there were empty tables still left in the bar.

"Alright, Daisy; thanks for bringing the drinks over. You can leave now," Bo said with annoyance clear in his voice.

"Ah. I get it." Daisy giggled at the face her cousin was giving her. "I'll just leave you two alone."

"Ignore her. Anyone who has half a brain does," Bo said just before Daisy connected the back of Bo's head with her tray none to gently. "Though sometimes it ain't easy," Bo added with a touch of a soured note in his voice.

Daisy left her cousin alone with who she wished was his date for the evening. Of course, she was too busy to pester them very much. Shortly after leaving Bo and Kim the bar began to fill up with other customers quickly. It was only after Luke and Jo showed up and joined those two at their table that Daisy was able to break free to head over again.

"Hey, y'all. I'll be right back with your drinks in a minute."

"Daisy, I'm really not in the mood to drink any of Boss's watered down beer. Could you just bring me a soda instead?" Jo said.

"Sure thing, honey. I guess Boss's beer is something that is a bit of an acquired taste." Daisy headed off to retrieve Luke's and Jo's drinks.

By the time that Daisy had come back to the table, Jo and Kim had headed off to the ladies' room together. Luke figured that he best get used to the fact that Jo would need to make a lot of extra trips there for a while. He also guessed that his face looked like the cat that ate the canary since as soon as their female cousin left Bo started to prod him to tell him what gives.

Luke eyed the door to the restroom then looked back at Bo. Well, he had to tell someone about what Jo had told him in the car. And right now, he could also think of a little bit of revenge that was owed. Bo didn't know that he'd discovered the tampering to his stash of condoms that he'd packed for his honeymoon. Now seemed like a good time to get his cousin back for his little prank.

Luke leaned in and acted as if he was reluctant to share with his cousin. "Alright, but you can't tell no one right now. The real reason that Jo passed on the beer is that she's pregnant." Luke grinned as Bo spewed his own beer across the table.

"Pregnant!" Bo whispered as he leaned in towards his cousin.

"No one else knows yet so you can't go telling anyone 'kay? I tell you though. For the life of me, I can't see how it happened. We were being so careful." Luke saw his cousin's eyes shift around the room. Oh yeh, he was going to enjoy this.

"When... When is the baby due?" Bo asked. If Jo didn't get pregnant right off then he could reason that Luke should have caught the tampering that Coy had done while he'd kept Luke busy on his wedding day. It was supposed to just be a joke. Luke should have noticed that something was off.

"Early November. Best Jo can figure, she got pregnant as soon as we got married. At least this time I had the ring on her finger first but it's still a bit soon."

Luke would have said more but he caught the sight of the women coming back from the restroom in the corner of his eye so he leaned back and took a sip of his beer as Bo swiped at the liquid that he'd spat out with a napkin. Luke got up before Jo could sit down and pulled her over to the dance floor. He just knew that if he stayed at the table right now he would start laughing at the shuck 'n jive that he'd just pulled on his cousin. Bo was left at the table feeling mighty guilty over his and Coy's little joke that had been concocted over a quite a bit of 'shine. Of course he could plead innocence. After all, he wasn't the one that had done the actual tampering.

Meanwhile, Kathy Griffith stopped by the table and asked Bo if he'd like to dance. When he declined, Kim eyed him as she put her glass down. "You know, there is no reason for you to be sittin' the dances out. I can still bum another ride home if you'd rather look for some company for the evening."

"Nah. I'm good. But as far as sittin' out the dances, I think you're right." Bo stood up and held out a hand to Kim.

"What are you doin'?" Kim as she gave him a skeptical look.

"Come on. No reason why a couple of friends can't take to the dance floor for a song or two is there?"

From behind the bar, Daisy watched as Bo turned down an advance from Kathy. Then Bo turned right around and asked Kim to dance instead; an action that seemed to tick Kathy off since she crossed her arms across her chest when she saw the blond Duke take to the floor with the thin brunette that he'd been sitting with. Next to her behind the bar the bartender nudged Daisy.

"I didn't know that Bo was seeing Kim Appleby."

"Honey, neither did he." Daisy laughed lightly before turning back to her customers.

Kim walked out on the dance floor with Bo and despite her reluctance, she had to admit that she was having a good time. She ended up staying out for several songs as they were played from the juke box. When a bit of a slower song came on, Kim expected Bo to lead her back to the table; instead he pulled her up closer to him.

Bo was still waiting for Kim to tense up like she'd done earlier in the evening. But she appeared relaxed, if not a little self-conscious. Nothing like the reaction that seemed to spring from fear when he'd picked her up to get her in and out of the stock car. Maybe he'd been wrong about the reaction. Bo was nearly convinced that he'd imagined it all right up until he went back out to the General to take Kim home. Once again, the moment Kim's feet left the ground, he felt her entire body tense up tighter than a coiled spring. When he helped her back out at the boarding house that she called home, Bo couldn't keep his curiosity in check anymore.

"Kim, is something wrong?" Bo asked as he gave Kim a questioning look.

"Why would you ask that?"

"Look, call me crazy but a few times tonight, it just seemed that something was off. That's all."

"Everything's fine, Bo. Thanks for the ride home."

"You sure?" Bo asked as he used a finger under her chin to lift her eyes to meet hers. Looking into her brown eyes, Bo tried to see if she was hiding anything from him.

"I'm sure, Bo. As far as something being off, I just don't like having to depend on someone else for a ride is all."

Bo kept a lock on her eyes for a few seconds, not sure if she was being completely honest with him. It sure hadn't felt like frustration at having her Jeep break down again that had caused her to react the way she had while getting in and out of the General. "Alright. But if something was wrong, I hope you'd tell me." Bo leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on the top of her head much in the way she'd see him do to Daisy.

"I will, okay? I'd better head on inside. I'm getting soaked," Kim said as she stepped away from the man that she still couldn't figure out. What had made him ask her that? Why did he seem so concerned for her? It's not like they were more than passing acquaintances. Even if he did have the annoying habit of making her stand up and take notice of him every time he walked into a room.

Kim walked up to the porch and saw that it was only after she opened the door to the boarding house that Bo got into his car to drive away. Kim gave a shake of her head as she went up the stairs and passed Enos's room in the boarding house as she headed to her own room at the end of the hall. Enos was still out on the late patrol so his room was dark and quiet. She had to admit that she liked knowing that there was a cop in the same building. It made her feel safe.

Kim got to her room and turned as she walked through the door to lock it behind her. Then without turning on the lights, Kim reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it off as she headed toward the bathroom to get ready for bed. She tossed the shirt in the laundry basket that she kept just outside of the door since the bathroom was too small to keep it inside. As she reached for the back zipper of her business like skirt that she'd worn to the clinic today and began to undo it, she glanced up and saw the reflection of a vase on her small desk that she had in her room. In that vase, was a single rose. Kim's hands froze where they were as she had begun to push her skirt down.

"Don't stop on my account, Kimmy. Keep going."

Kim spun around and saw her ex-husband sitting on her bed, looking perfectly at home. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to celebrate our anniversary."

"We're not married anymore, Ted, and I want you out of here."

"I never signed nothing, Kimmy. As far as I'm concerned, we're still married." Ted got up and head toward Kim as she tried to gauge her chances of making it to the door before he could reach her.