Chapter 10: The Fool of the County

Luke woke up early the next morning before the alarm went off. He went ahead and switched it off before it could sound and rolled back over and thought about waking Jo up before he had to leave. After enjoying the comfort of staying next to her for a while, he decided that he'd better get on up and start the day. He quietly got dressed and then, with one last look to Jo sleeping in the bed, headed on out of the room and back toward the farm to get the chores done for the morning.

He knew that he might not see Jo again; that was probably why he couldn't bring himself to wake her up before he left out. Because today, she was leaving. Plain and simple. It made him feel like he was taking the coward's way out but if he didn't do it this way, he might end up asking her to stay instead. He couldn't do that. She didn't belong in a small town like Hazzard.

Now Luke was beginning to wish that she hadn't come to Hazzard at all. Things had been just fine the way that they were. He had looked forward to her letters, and lately, her phone calls as well. It had worked perfectly for years. Now, things just won't be the same again.

~01~

Hours later, Luke was out in the fields, checking on the crops when he looked up to see a small commercial airplane fly overhead. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was just after eleven. Luke stopped what he was doing and watched as the plane disappeared from sight.

"Something wrong, Luke." Uncle Jesse eyed his oldest as he watched the aircraft.

"No sir." Luke turned away from the direction that the plane had been heading and placed his attention back on the corn that desperately needed some more rain. The summer shower from a week ago just hadn't been enough for the parched crops.

"Luke, is the capt'n comin' over for dinner tonight or are you two goin' out instead? That way I'll know how to plan for dinner."

"She won't be comin' out, Uncle Jesse. That was her plane that flew over," Luke started walking the field again as he spoke. He really didn't need to get into this with his uncle right now.

"What do you mean she ain't comin' over? What do you mean that was her plane? What are you talkin' about?" Jesse said a bit flabbergasted at what Luke had just said.

"She was offered a job in D.C. So, that's where she's goin'."

Jesse looked hard at his nephew trying to gauge just how he was taking the departure of the young woman in question. "When did this all happen?"

"When she went to go see her father last week, he had a job offer waiting for her. She came back and told me about it Saturday."

"And what did you say about the job when she told you about it?" Jesse asked while studying his oldest.

"I told her it was a great opportunity for her. That anyone would fall all over themselves to take it."

Jesse took Luke by the arm and stopped him from walking. "You didn't try to talk her out of it? I kinda thought that she'd be hangin' around by the way you two were gettin' along."

"No I didn't try to talk her out of it, okay?" Luke turned away from his uncle hoping that he'd drop the subject.

Jesse's face fell as he realized that Luke was just going to let Jo leave without so much as a fight. "It ain't too late to call the airport and leave a message for her to call you when she lands. You can still ask her to come back."

Luke turned back to see his uncle standing with his arms crossed giving him the same look that had worked when he was younger to get him to apologize for various misdeeds, usually to Bo or Daisy. A look that told him that a suggestion was a veiled order. But this time, Luke just won't be able obey the silent order.

"I can't do that, Uncle Jesse. It would be selfish to expect her to give up the job. A job like that is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"So is finding the right woman to spend your life with, Luke," Jesse said firmly. "I still think that you should call her and stop her. At least let her decide for herself after she has all of the facts, like how much you care for her. Seems like you're making all of the choices for Jo. She needs to know that you want her to stay."

"Uncle Jesse, I just don't want her to pass up on anything that she'll regret later on."

"Well answer me this. Do you love her?"

Luke looked back at his uncle and thought about the question. "I don't know. Now can we get back to the crops? I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Jesse shook his head at the stupidity of his oldest. "Well, all I can say is if you don't go and at least try to see this relationship through, then I guess that I'll have the privilege to say that I raised the biggest fool in the county."

With that, Jesse turned and left Luke to think about what he'd said. Funny how he could be so dang smart most of the time but not have a lick of sense when it comes to matters of the heart.

~01~

That evening, Luke was quiet during dinner. Jesse kept eying him but he didn't say anything. He hated that his boy was so bound and determined to learn such a bitter lesson the hard way. That he was having to experience the pain of losing someone that he cared about after only beginning to realize just how much Jo meant to him. And mainly due to his own stubbornness.

Jesse wasn't the only one to notice the change in Luke though. Daisy was so mad that she could spit nails. She knew that Luke was going to get hurt. If she ever sees the captain again, she'll be certain to teach her a lesson or two on what happens when you mess with a southern girl's family. How could that woman just come in here and turn everything upside down and then just waltz on back out without batting an eye?

Daisy watched as Luke headed out to take care of some of the chores out in the barn after only eating half of his dinner. Her heart broke for her cousin. He wasn't the kind to give his heart away to just anyone. She wished that there was something that she could do for him. Dang it, she told Jebb that Luke was going to get hurt.

~01~

Jo threw her bag down and collapsed on the bed after finally getting to her hotel room in Maryland just north of D.C. and she was beat. Her flight had been delayed out of Atlanta and she was just getting in and she was tired from traveling. She eyed the phone, trying to decide if she should call Luke. She decided against it though as she thought back to this morning and how heartbroken she'd felt when she woke up alone.

That was the Luke that she'd expected when she went to Hazzard. The one that would duck out to avoid an awkward morning after scene. It just seemed that she was given mixed signals while she was in Hazzard. At times it seemed like Luke didn't want her to leave, other times he did. Especially when the job offer had come up. He as much told her that she should take the job. And of course if she takes this job that would pretty much put an end to any further pursuit of a real relationship between them.

Going over to the phone, she picked up the receiver and dialed a number to New York instead. It had been a while since she'd checked in with Stephanie. Maybe she could help her decide what she should do.

~01~

Luke sat out on the porch alone. He had been looking out at the horizon as the sun set, thinking about the last week and a half. Now he stared off at the distance in the dark. Two weeks ago he had been perfectly happy to work during the day, go out to the Boar's Nest for a beer or two, go out with one of the women in town when he wanted a little company for the evening, come home and sleep in his bed in the room that he'd shared with his cousin for most of his life. Fowl up the occasional plot of Boss Hogg's and wake up and do it all over again the next day. That was his life.

Now his life just didn't seem the same. Now he didn't look forward to going into an empty bed. Oh sure, he could find a quick and easy substitute but it wouldn't be the same. Luke took another swallow from the mason jar that he'd brought out with him. He started to think about how he could have done things differently. He could have asked her to stay. He could have let her pass up on the great opportunity only for her to regret it later. And if he had, she eventually would come to resent him for it.

No, this way was better. Somehow.

~01~

"You're kidding! The same Luke Duke that I think that you're talking about?"

"Why are you so surprised? You knew that I've stayed in contact with him for years."

"Yes, but staying in contact by letter and going down to Georgia for a little recreational sex are not the same thing."

"Steph! It was not like that!" Jo kicked her shoes off and rolled onto her stomach on the bed as she got comfortable as she spoke. Funny how she could be over thirty years old and be reduced to a teenager by just a few minutes on the phone with her best friend.

"Uh-huh? So..ooo..O?"

"So what?"

"You know what I want to know. Did he live up to his reputation from when he was in the Marines or has time started to take its toll on him?"

Jo thought back to her time in Hazzard and started to grin to herself. "Well..." Jo started to giggle. "Let's just say that if time has started to affect him, I wouldn't have survived being with him when we were both in the Marines."

"Really?" Stephanie than began to dig every detail that she could out of Jo about her time in Hazzard with the tall dark and handsome Duke. In turn, that led to discussion about just how and why she'd left Hazzard and ended up in (as is commonly known) Fort Fumble. "Well, are you going to really take that job that the general arranged for you? I mean. Is that what you want?"

"I don't know. What else can I do? I wouldn't have thought twice about it if..." If Luke had asked her not to take it.

"You really expected Duke to ask you to stay?"

"No. I wanted him to but I knew that he wouldn't."

"Well, let's take him out of the equation. Forget about the fact that you two have gone from being friends to friends with benefits-"

"Steph!"

"What? There isn't anything wrong with that."

"Quote the Walking Mattress."

"Watch it. Anyway, as I was saying; let's forget about Duke for a minute. If you were offered this job three weeks ago, would you have taken it?"

Jo stopped as she thought about the question. Would she have taken it three weeks ago?

~01~

Jo had her appointment in a few hours but she had one last thing that she wanted to do before she kept it. Picking up the phone, she dialed a number that she'd wanted to dial the night before but hadn't wanted to appear needy and desperate like other women who had gone in and out of Luke's life before. If she did, she just might end whatever kind of relationship that they still had. Even if it really was just a casual relationship.

"Duke Farm. Bo Duke speakin'."

"Hi, Bo. Is Lu...is Luke around?" She had to remember that no one else called him Lukas very often.

"Captain? I mean Jo. Is that you?"

"Yes. It's me. So, about Luke?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, darlin'. He headed out to go get some feed in town. He's gonna hate that he missed ya."

"I should have known that this would be a busy time of the day. I'll just have to call some other time."

"I'll make sure that he knows that you called. Any particular time that he can expect you to call back?"

"I don't know. I'll probably wait until Sunday. Things don't seem as busy then. Thanks, Bo."

"No problem, darlin'."

~01~

Jo shook hands with the director and walked out of the door. She made her way to the elevator and waited for the door to close behind her and leaned heavily up against the wall as the car began to move downward. She hoped that she'd made the right decision and that she wasn't going to end up regretting what she'd done today.

Talking to Stephanie had helped last night. She'd helped her to clear away the mess in her mind and had her answer one simple question. Would she have taken the job three weeks ago? Forget about anything else that had happened past that time frame. When it was put that way, she knew what the answer would have been then and that it should be the same now.

When the elevator came to a stop at the lobby, she left and found her way to her car. She then got in and pointed it towards the hotel.

~01~

Luke pulled back up in the farmyard and carried the bag of feed on into the barn. Once he was done, he headed back towards the house to find Bo standing on the porch.

"Shouldn't you be off of that ankle of yours?"

"You had a phone call. Jo called."

Luke's eyes went wide briefly, "Jo? When?"

"About twenty minutes ago. I told her that you'd gone out to town for the feed. She said she'll call back this weekend when it ain't so busy around here."

"Thanks, Bo." Great. Jo calls and he wasn't even here to take the call. Today was Tuesday and now he'll have to wait all week to try to catch her next call. "Bo, I'll be back in a little while."

With that, Luke headed back over to the General Lee and tore back out of the farmyard.

~01~

A little while later, Luke pulled the car up at the old still site on the outer edge of the Duke Property that had a small cabin that the family used to use when they had an overnight cook. It was just a small, one bedroom cabin but Luke liked coming here when he wanted to get off by himself and think alone.

He headed over and sat on the porch trying to decide what he should do about him and Jo as he thought about the time that they'd spent together, both in the Marines and here in Hazzard. And then he started to think about the question that his uncle had asked him yesterday. He supposed that the answer to the question, 'Do you love her?' would have to be a yes. But how do you know when you are in love with someone. After all, not every kind of love was the same. He'd known of other women that had Loved him but none of them had been IN LOVE with him and he knew it.

So the big question is, 'How do you KNOW?'

~01~

The days went by slowly but eventually Sunday came and Luke tried not to look like he was waiting for the phone to ring all day. Once when Lucinda called Jesse shortly after lunch Luke had been certain that the phone being tied up would make him miss Jo's call again. Finally, after dinner, the phone rang again and he quickly carried the phone cradle back into the guest bedroom so he could speak to Jo in private without the whole family listening.

"Uncle Jesse, how could she just come to town, stir up all kinds of trouble and leave Luke like this? I ain't ever seen him pine away like he is for Jo."

"Don't waste too much pity on that boy, Daisy. It's his own fault. She asked him his opinion and he told her to go. So if he's miserable, he only has to go as far as the mirror to see who's to blame," Jesse said as he started to clear the dishes away.

"He what?"

"You heard me. He said that he told her that she'd be crazy not to take the job all of the way up in Washington. He didn't even try to ask her to stick around. He as much as pushed her right out of his life with one quick swoop. I tried gettin' him to call her back at the airport when she left but he was just too damn stubborn. Certain that he was doin' the right thing. The blasted fool."

Daisy glanced back to the door to the bedroom and tried to figure out why her cousin would tell Jo to leave when it was obviously making him miserable.

~01~

"So, have you started to settle in yet?" Luke looked out the small window to the farmyard as he listened to Jo reply.

"Not yet." Jo paused on the other end. "I just hoped that I did the right thing. I guess I'm having second thoughts. Are you sure that you think that I should be in Washington?" Jo knew that it might be a little weak but she just needed to hear one more time that Luke wanted her to take the job, thus, not able to be in Hazzard with him.

"I don't think that you could hope for another shot like you're being given right now. You shouldn't pass it up." Especially just for me. He couldn't bring himself to say that last bit. "I'm sure that you'll be an old pro in no time. And you already know D.C. like that back of your hand so it's not like you're likely to be gettin' lost; a lot that is." A weak statement but he hadn't been prepared to reaffirm that Jo leaving was the right thing.

Jo looked around the small room that she was in and sighed. She was a sucker for punishment wasn't she? She just had to let Luke tell her to stay away again.

"I'm not really worried about getting lost, Lukas. I've never been lost a day in my life and you know it." Luke laughed at the way Jo to offense at the notion that she was walking around D.C. like the common tourist holding tightly to a map while trying to find her way around. "Of course, with the way you're talking, maybe I'll get lost on my way back to Hazzard as I'm driving through in a few weeks."

"You'll be coming back?" Luke started to smile at the thought of seeing her again.

"As soon as I find a decent apartment I'll have to go back to Georgia to get my stuff out of storage. I was thinking about stopping over for a night or two. But considering that you think that I'm so directionally challenged, maybe I won't be able to find my way back after all."

"Come on, I was just teasin'. When do you think you'll be able to come back out?" Luke said grinning into the phone.

"I don't know. A month maybe."

"Hey, that'll be good. Bo will be off of his crutches by then. I'll stick 'em with my share of the chores for a couple of days as payback for having to do his share right now. Not to mention, I think I can come up with a way for us to enjoy your time while you're here."

"Boy, that didn't take long for you to start to getting your wheels a turning."

"That tends to happen with the right kind of motivation." Luke laughed as he already started to make plans for when Jo came back to Hazzard.