ANYTHING FOR YOU
Chapter 10
Bo seemed rather subdued, even to Jesse, later in the evening.
As the cousins sat in the living area watching TV, Jesse looked over the top of his paper at them. They all seemed to be lost in their own separate thoughts. The last few months had been a drain on the entire family. No one had escaped the effects of Trish announcing her pregnancy.
He knew his kids were strong, but Jesse worried daily that this would divide them in ways never before known to Dukes. Whenever they had fallen out before, it hadn't taken long for a reuniting. Right now, both Bo and Daisy were hurting too bad to see past their own wounds.
Three months and they'd barely spoken a civil word to each other. It was unheard of, and yet Jesse had refrained from interfering. He and Luke knew exactly what was happening, though they didn't try to pry into either Bo or Daisy's thoughts. Many nights Jesse had sat on the porch with his eldest charge and discussed the trouble and how they could best help. Right now the best thing seemed to just keep watch from a distance, and be ready to step in when needed. Sooner or later things would come to a head.
The phone rang, breaking Jesse's train of thought.
Luke leaned over the back of the couch that he and Daisy occupied and picked up the handset.
"Duke farm, this is Luke"
He was quiet for a moment then said, "Okay, I'll tell him"
"What was that about?" Jesse asked as Luke replaced the handset.
"Well, seems Trish would like to see Bo at her place"
Bo looked up from his puzzle book, frowning. "Tonight?"
"No" Luke smiled. "Tomorrow at 6pm"
Bo shrugged and went back to his puzzle.
Daisy and Luke looked at each other, both quick to catch Bo's lack of enthusiasm.
"Something wrong, son?" Jesse asked, folding his paper over.
"No' Bo said simply.
With that the room fell into silence again.
The next day Bo picked Matt up after lunch with the aim of helping him collect some things from Atlanta. Matt and Skye had turned their late parents shack into a beautiful four-bedroom cottage with two bathrooms, a huge lounge dominated by a stonework fireplace, office and plenty of room to move. Matt was using his recovery time to do extra painting around the house and to finalise building plans for what would become the main barn. He had done a lot of the building around the homestead himself, including the addition of the wrap around porch that Skye so loved.
Bo had helped out whenever he could, which seemed to be less these days. Knowing that Skye loved to work on the home's spacious gardens in the early afternoon, Bo had been hoping to catch up with her. Especially after their time together at the Boars Nest. He was starting to get the feeling that he really didn't know Skye at all. She had blown him away with her ability to dance, her seemingly effortless conversation with him all night, and mostly her transformation from tomboy to vixen. After spending a sleepless night wondering who the guy was that had caused the change in Skye, Bo had decided to simply ask her today. He was a little put out when Matt told him that she had left early to go jogging.
"Jogging?" he scoffed. "What on earth for? There's hardly anything of her as it is"
Matt smiled, as he checked the house was shut up before jumping into the truck beside his old friend. "She seems to think that Mr Right will pass her by if he detects even an ounce of body fat on her"
Bo frowned as he drove down the Hardy's drive. "Well then, Mr Right is a jackass"
Matt reflected for a moment on the tone of jealousy he'd just detected in his friend's voice. Was it possible that Bo had suddenly noticed that Skye wasn't a child anymore? Matt was sure that his sisters transformation had everything to do with Bo and nothing to do with the make believe Mr Right she had told him about this morning when he had asked her about the changes she was making.
Of course, Bo had never had reason to know that he was the object of his best friend's kid sister's affections. He had never been anything more than a trusted friend and another big brother to Skye. Maybe she was letting him know in that timeless woman way that she wanted more.
The only thing that worried Matt was that his rather naïve and sensitive sister had decided to make her intentions known a little too late.
The drive back from Atlanta was as bad as it could be. The boys got held up in traffic on the way in. They got held up at every store they went to. Another store waylaid them because the specific order Matt had requested couldn't be found.
Finally, three excruciating hours later, they were loaded up and on the way back to Hazzard.
Bo figured he could still meet Trish at six despite being pressed for time.
A loud bang from the rear of the truck made him think again.
He pulled to the side of the road and got out to inspect the damage. The right back tire was completely useless. Looking in the bed of the truck, he discovered there was in fact no spare and told Matt to give Luke a call on the CB.
Trish was not going to like this, he thought as he looked at the tire accusingly.
"We're going to be here a while" Matt said a little while later.
He explained to Bo that Luke was at a neighbours helping him to refit his main gate back to the fence.
"That storm last night blew the thing off its hinges and half of the herd got free. So Luke went over first thing to help regroup the stock and repair the fence. He reckons he'll be at least another hour"
Bo sighed loudly. "That's just great" he fumed, kicking the tire for good measure.
He tried to get Trish on the CB, but to no avail. He then got hold of Skye and asked her to contact Trish by phone instead.
"No problem, I'll let her know" Skye agreed.
"You're a life saver, honey," Bo teased.
Sure, Skye thought, dialling Trish's number.
She answered on the second ring. "Hello"
Sitting by the phone Skye thought, then quickly chastised herself for being so mean spirited.
"Trish, it's Skye. I just got word from Bo. There's been some trouble outside Hazzard"
"What kind of trouble?" Trish cut in.
Did she just enunciate those words? Skye thought. Talking with Trish had never been her strong point. A stutter she'd developed after her parents death had been the bain of her childhood, and Trish now enjoyed making her recall how bad she had felt those times during her horrific school years.
"Um, well, um"
Skye frowned and concentrated on what she wanted to say. Bo and Matt had spent countless afternoons coaching her on how to say what she wanted without stumbling. There were many days that the three of them would sit on the porch after school and practise full sentences from books. Skye had worked hard to rid herself of the weakness, and then Trish had come to town and Skye had seemed to loose her vocal power almost overnight.
"Apparently the tire blew out and the truck doesn't have a spare, so, um, he has to wait for Luke to pick them up"
"Okay" Trish drawled.
"Well, the problem is that Luke is over at Mr. Randal's. Seems the gate came off his main fence last night and most of his stock got out. Luke went over there to help him do the repairs and round up the stock lost during the storm…"
The silence on the other end of the phone only heightened Skye's anxiety, making her stutter all the more pronounced.
"So, Luke won't be able to get Bo for at least an hour, which means Bo will be late getting to your place"
More silence.
For a moment Skye thought Trish might have hung up. But then her voice came across the line, cold, lethal and terrifying.
"If I find out your lying, Skye Hardy, you will never bat those over painted eyes of yours at him again. Do I make myself clear?"
Without waiting for a reply, Trish disconnected.
Skye starred at the phone feeling chilled to the bone.
What the heck had bought that on?
Trish slammed down the phone.
That little upstart was lying through her teeth. She never could string together enough words to make a coherent sentence. All the more reason for Trish to believe she'd been coached. She froze, a sudden thought coming to her.
Was Bo there with Skye? Is that why he was going to be late?
She clenched her hands so hard, her nails drew blood.
There was only one way to find out what was going on.
It was well after six by the time Matt and Bo were on the road again.
"Trish is going to be furious" Bo sighed.
Matt laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "It's that fatal charm of yours, bro"
"Not funny Matt," Bo frowned, becoming serious for the first time in months.
"She's becoming all possessive, wants to know where I am every moment of the day. She freaks out if I talk to another girl. Turns up at the farmhouse when I'm the only one there. It's … freaky"
Matt frowned. "You need to sit her down and read her the riot act, man. This is getting out of hand. If you guys get married she probably won't let you out of the house"
Matt suddenly bit his tongue, worried that his outburst would awaken anger in Bo that had been buried for weeks now. But Bo didn't even flinch.
"There will be no marriage" he said simply, "of that, at least, I'm sure"
As the boys came up to the Boars Nest, Bo directed Matt to park so he could call Trish from the pay phone there.
The two walked into the community hub to find a party in full swing.
"Bo" one of the revellers called out. "You and Matt come and have a drink on the house"
Bo glanced at Matt.
Matt could see that Bo was dying to do what he had done many times before; kick up his heels and join in the fun. But now his mind was on what Trish would say.
"I better not" he said hesitantly.
"Come on" the goading, continued.
Bo looked at Matt and finally decided.
"I'm in hot water as it is, may as well turn the heat up a little more."
Matt laughed, slapped Bo on the back and accompanied him to the bar.
"Where is he Skye? Huh? Is he under the bed?"
Skye blinked back tears as Trish all but turned her room upside down looking for Bo.
At six months pregnant, Trish could still move like lightening thanks to those years of cheerleading.
And Trish in any physical condition scared Skye. Girls like Trish had made her life a frequent hell. The fact that she had been able to be relaxed and comfortable with Bo that night at the Boars Nest had given her fragile heart just a flicker of hope.
For a long time Skye had hoped that the childhood affliction had passed, but Trish had been quick to pick up on it and had only reaffirmed that Skye would never be able to hold her own with someone in Bo's league.
As Trish wandered around Skye's spacious room, knocking things over, mocking Skye for trying to steal her man, vowing revenge when she found out what was going on; Skye couldn't utter a word. Her mouth moved, her mind screamed, but her vocal chords froze in terror.
And when Trish, exhausted from turning the room upside down, started advancing on a helpless Skye, it took all her strength not to curl into a ball of fright.
"You will never have him Skye" Trish seethed. "Look at you, quivering like a leaf. You're not a woman, you're a child. Bo needs a woman; he has needs only a woman can fill. How do you expect to have a relationship with him anyway? You can't even talk to him!"
As Trish advanced, Skye inched further towards the far side of her room. She backed her way into the bathroom, hoping to be able to get out the large window in there. Instead, she hit the bathroom wall. The cool feel of the tiles against her back had her huddling inside herself, wishing that Matt would hurry home.
"I saw Bo making eyes at you that night at the Boars Nest. He thought you looked real pretty Skye"
Hope flared again in Skye's heart. She raised her eyes to meet Trish's. And saw nothing but evil and hate. And a large pair of scissors in Trish's hand.
"Wh-what are you…are you d-do-doing?"
Trish laughed. "See how pathetic you are? I could grow old waiting for you to say a simple sentence"
Trish moved closer. Skye squeezed into the corner more. There was nowhere left to run.
"I'll show you what happens to girls who try to muscle in on my men! Bo will never want to look at you again"
Skye squeezed her eyes shut to block out the evil in Trish's eyes and the gleam of the scissors as they came closer to her face.