PHONE CALLS AT THE BOARDING HOUSE

The sunlight was entering the window when Daisy slowly woke up; Enos' regular and deep breath lulling her as he slept, his face still buried in her chest and her arms wrapped around his waist, Daisy looked at the clock on the night table.

8 a.m.

Enos'd have already been at work at that time. Had she to wake him up? Thinking at the night before with a shiver, the picture of Andy Flanagan stuck in her head torturing her, she decided to stand up: she had to dispel that poisonous deadness diving in any day activity. She slowly moved away from Enos in order to let him sleep; since he kept on sleeping so deeply, she decided he probably needed that sleep to recover probably from a long wake and from a huge distress. Besides, he seemed quiet and peaceful: she'd have woken him up if she had seen him flounder during his sleeping.

8.15 a.m.

Daisy headed to the phone, she took the receiver on dialing a number and she waited for an answer, her eyes on Enos.

"Rosco, this is Daisy Duke speaking"

A pause.

"I'm at Enos'. He can't work today, it's better for him to have some rest", she nervously coiled the phone's wire around a finger, her eyes down at the floor.

"Yeah. I watched the news, and Enos too. It's why…", her heart started beating faster and faster, the receiver pressed against her ear.

"I don't know if he's right. He's sleeping right now, but yesterday… No, I think he's not right at all, Rosco. He needs some rest, I think he's not able to work right now".

On the bed, Enos rolled on his back keeping on sleeping, and Daisy looked at him, his chest going up and down as he breathed regularly. In Daisy's mind suddenly his figure changed to the one she was used to see at the Hospital, the paler version of him, the bruises scattered on his bare chest and arms, a liquid slowly entering his vein through a drip; Daisy closed her eyes fighting with a rush of nausea, but, fortunately, when she opened her eyes again, he was there, on his bed at the Boarding House, his red checked shirt and his blue jeans on.

"WHAT?", Daisy's voice raised as she opened her eyes wide. A short moaning from Enos made her hold her breath, her knuckles turning pale as she gripped the receiver, listening silently to Rosco.

"Did he really beat that stranger up? Enos? But… it's not the kind of…", there's no need to go on; Enos wasn't OK at all, she knew it, Rosco knew it, and probably Enos knew it too, even if, as usual, he pretended everything was OK. She thought of that blood on his uniform, and of his way to dodge her questions 'bout it, and how Enos could be the "king of dodging" things he didn't want to talk 'bout.

"OK, thank you, Rosco. Yeah, I'm goin' to take care of him". She put the receiver down with a sigh and she looked carefully at Enos.

She had a deep breath, she took the phone's receiver on again and she dialed the farm's number, waiting for uncle Jesse's voice. She had to explain him 'bout the night spent at Enos': uncle Jesse knew she was goin' to have dinner with Enos at the Boarding House, but her staying there for the night wasn't planned, and, even if uncle Jesse trusted Enos (in effect, last night, no uncle Jesse nor her cousins came to check everything was OK, nor they called her, whereas they'd have acted pretty different if she had been with someone else), she had to tell him everything.

When the phone rang at the farm, uncle Jesse already knew who's calling.

"Hi Daisy, everything's OK?"

Bo and Luke entered the living room as they heard uncle Jesse answering the phone, they sat on the couch and they looked silently at him.

"Yeah. The news. We know", a worried looked rebounded from uncle Jesse to his nephews.

"How's Enos?", uncle Jesse scratched thoughtfully his beard, his look on his nephews.

"Don't worry, Dais. When we heard the news, yesterday evening, well, we were wondering if we had to check everything was OK at the Boarding House, but we knew that if you or Enos had needed some help, you'd have called us, so we decided to wait instead of making things more… complicated… you know". There was no need to tell Daisy she could take care of Enos better than anyone else, and uncle Jesse knew Enos enough to wonder if their presence at the Boarding House in such a moment would have been helpful, useless or… even worse.

Bo and Luke exchanged a knowing look; the three Dukes men know very well Enos' pride besides his apparent shyness and clumsiness, and his way to pretend everything was OK, any time, bein' Daisy the only one really able to get over all his resistances, and even Daisy having sometimes some difficulties in it. Their presence at the Boarding House, last evening, could have been more a restraint than a help to Enos letting his emotions out, and they knew it, so deciding, even if they're worried for both of them, to stay at the farm waiting for a call for help from Daisy if she needed it.

"OK, Daisy. Let him sleep 'till he needs it. And stay there with him 'till he wakes up. Then, ask him to come to the farm for a while".

Uncle Jesse had a deep sigh while, on the couch, Bo and Luke were shaking their head.

"Yeah, I know, but… have at least a try. You are the only one who can convince him".

Bo looked at Luke smiling, a both amused and tender smile, holding all their memories 'bout Daisy convincing Enos to do what she (and they) wanted him to do.

"WHAT?", uncle Jesse's voice suddenly resounded in the living room, making Bo and Luke start.

"Did he really beat that man up, punching him and breaking his nose? Enos? OK, OK Daisy. But… If you need help, call us, and… call Doc Appleby"

Daisy spent her time at the Boarding House to do the cleaning, even if there was no need at all: the apartment was very small and already neat since Enos didn't spend much time in it, and, despite his bein' so clumsy and sometimes such a bungler, he was very tidy and thorough. Sometimes she stopped and she sat on the bed near Enos, looking at him and wondering if it was safe and normal to sleep so deeply and so long, but he seemed so quiet she preferred to let him sleep how much he needed to; the more he slept, the less he had to face Andy Flanagan's death and the news 'bout Ewan McCoy.

In the dark and cold room Enos looked in shock at Andy Flanagan's telling him Ewan McCoy had stabbed him several years ago, and so, since then, he was after him, day by day and robbery after robbery. Enos wanted to ask that cop how he felt that day, why he wasn't able to defend himself, if Ewan whispered something in his ear while he was stabbing him, how much time he needed to recover, if he dreamt of that day even now; all these questions crowded in his mind but he could ask nothing, a dark and viscid mud goin' up and down from his stomach to his mouth, preventing him to talk. He closed his eyes and he tried to relax: breath in and breath out, breath in and breath out, it was the only body's function he could control, bein' his voice off and his movements too.

When he opened again his eyes he was looking at a cloudy sky (where was the ceiling of the room?) and a pesky and lashing rain was entering his nose and his mouth, so even his only body's function left, breath in and breath now, was now hard. His body was heavy, and he was lying on the ground on his back; he could smell the wet soil around him, and he could feel the viscid mud under the grass. It was cold, and his uniform was totally soaked so that coldness was moving from his skin to his bones. He tried again to move, rolling on his belly, but it was useless; he couldn't even move a finger.

A shiver of fear rose all over his spine to his nape as he saw a black figure sitting astride on his lap, its all weight on him as he subsided into the mud under him: was it a woman or a man? The figure pressed its knees against his waist, and his breath became more and more difficult. He wanted to shout, but he couldn't.

The black shadow leaned over him, its fetid and cold breath entering his ear and reaching his mind, freezing it in terror. Its left hand grabbed his right wrist, a strong and icy grip stopping his desperate effort to move his arm to reach his gun.

Then, a blade, firmly in its right hand, sparkled in the darkness.

4 p.m.

Daisy looked at the clock and she sank into the couch, exhausted after all that (useless) cleaning; she looked around at the little room were everything was tidy (almost sparkling) and smelled clean… like before her cleaning. She didn't even have lunch, except for a cup of tea: the only idea to eat something disgusted her. Staring at Enos still sleeping, Daisy wondered if she had to follow his example and to try to sleep for a couple of hours, or even more, maybe 'till tomorrow morning.

Sleeping on his back, Enos filled almost all the bed, a very small bed, just for his size; the previous night they managed to sleep together in that bed only because they were lying down on their side, face to face (or, it was better to say, Enos' face to Daisy's chest). Now, the only place left for Daisy was the bed's part near the wall, where Daisy could curl up against him trying to fall asleep, lulled by his scent and his breath, whereas, for sure, she couldn't fall asleep on the couch, away from him.

Placing her right leg on his left side in order to cling over him and to reach the place of the bed near the wall, Daisy found herself sitting astride on Enos' lap, a compromising position if someone would have seen them in that moment, but there was no malice in it, it wasn't time for malice now, and Daisy, indulging in that position, regretted every time she flirted with Enos, coming closer to him, touching him in her malicious way and making him blush; they were goin' to be husband and wife, she knew it and she was really happy for it, and their way to look for each other and to approach physically was now more natural and easier, more mature and serious, but, anyway, she regretted their joking innocently of their past days, dramatically lost after that day, lost after she decided to date someone like Ewan only to have a try and to better understand her feelings for Enos, lost after it brought to Enos' nearly dying. How immature and fool she'd been, Andy was right; thinking of Andy Flanagan, again, made Daisy feeling sick, her mind remembering her the days at the Hospital, and how Enos could had been one of the cop died in a robbery because of Ewan and his gang, Enos' picture overlapping on Flanagan's one in imaginary news running on her mind's screen.

Enos moaned moving slowly, his right arm sliding outside the bed; Daisy, still sitting astride on his lap, automatically leaned over him, her left hand reaching his dangling right arm and gently grabbing his wrist, her voice whispering his name in his ear, the same whispering she used the previous night to calm him down.

But it didn't work.

Enos suddenly opened his eyes, looking in confusion and fear at the figure sitting astride on his lap, he shouted and he pushed it away from him. Sitting on his bed, his breath quick and his skin all covered in cold sweat, he finally looked down at Daisy on the floor, realizing that, fortunately, he only had a nightmare, but, unfortunately, he really hit Daisy.

Shocked and worried, Enos knelt down near Daisy lying on the floor, his mouth so dry he could barely talk, "Daisy, I… I'm sorry. How are you?"

Daisy sat up, her left cheek red and aching after its meeting with the floor, "Enos, sugar, I hope you're not goin' to kick me out of bed every night after our wedding. It's very dangerous to sleep by your side". Realizing the fear in his eyes, and remembering his look, totally terrified, when he woke up, she tried to play down and to smile, in order to calm him: it wasn't the case to upset him more than he already was, more than SHE already was.

"I… I had a nightmare, Daisy, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you, I swear".

She could feel all his pain in his words. She looked into his eyes, "Enos, I know you'd never hurt me on purpose. So, what's your nightmare was 'bout?". She held her breath; a dangerous and direct question, he could answer it but he could also dodge it.

"I… a nightmare I've already had. I was in that glade, and, someone… a dark shadow… was sitting astride on me, so I couldn't move. Then, I saw a blade sparkling in the dark. When I woke up, you were…", he blushed, "… I'm sorry".

Hiding her blushing, Daisy sighed in relief; he wasn't avoiding her question, maybe she was finally goin' to force her way through his protective shell.

"And… this nightmare remembers you 'bout…", step by step, she was gingerly moving through that gap; he was still a bit sleepy, and maybe his defenses were temporary down.

"Uh? I… well… that day…"

The phone rang in the little apartment, waking Enos up from that state of guard's lowering, and Daisy, bothered by that unwelcome suspension, bit her lower lip, as Enos stood up heading to the phone.

"This is Enos Strate's speakin'"

A deep silence filled the room as Enos, the receiver pressed against his ear, became pale.

Thank you for ALL your reviews (especially WENN and Enos'sGal); I hope you're enjoying this story. 'Bout the last phone call at the Boarding House, be patient 'till the next chapter.