Chapter 36: Long Since Gone

The next morning, the family all worked over-time to finish the decorating for the wedding. Though no one complained about the extra work; everyone was just glad that they were able to do it. The women were even able to rope in most of the men into helping them to see to it that everything was ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner tonight. The last minute touches to the Boar's Nest would wait until tomorrow; one good thing about planning an evening wedding.

Daisy had never been to a candlelight wedding but the idea seemed very romantic to her. It also meant that they would have more time to get ready tomorrow. Now that the crisis was over from the misunderstanding over the flight schedule, the whole town seemed to be pitching in where they could for the Duke family affair.

When Thomas Hart's plane flew in, Jesse was at the airport to greet him and drive him out to the farm while Bo was at the hospital ready to bring Luke and Jo home.

"We'll be a bit more packed in than we were back at Christmas. Everyone is busy moving around. The men will stay here at the farm while the women will all be out at Jebb and Kira's place tonight so that everyone can get ready tomorrow for the wedding without there being any hitches in the plan. I'll let you choose where you'll want to bed down. Jebb and his father will have Daisy's room since they'll have the twins. I told that boy to let Kira keep them over at the other house so they can sleep in their own crib but he insisted that if the Duke Men were all over here then they should be too."

"Well you can't blame him for wanting to keep his boys away from all the mess that's bound to take place over there with all of them women under one roof. It's a matter of survival. A father looks after his kids." Thomas chuckled as he thought about the young man that he'd met on his last full day out after Christmas. He's spent the holidays with his folks but had returned before the general had headed back out to D.C.

Mainly he remembered how the whole family was so enamored with the small boys. Which he found totally understandable once his daughter told him all that she knew about the chaos surrounding their births. Jo had been told by Luke through his letters much of the events leading up to their arrivals so she knew quite a bit about what had happened then. About how the family had been scared for not only the lives of the babies, but the mother as well.

"I suppose so. No matter how big they get or think they are," Jesse said nodding. "Speakin' of watchin' after youngens, I'd better see what's keepin' them boys of mine. Oh, before I forget, I was plannin' on givin' you the use of my truck. That way y'ain't got to be stuck on the farm if ya don't want to be. The keys are in the ignition if you want to take it out."

"Thank you," Thomas said as he went on in to find a place to put his bag and garment bag that had his suit in it. From there the day was a non-stop circus as the preparations for the wedding were smoothed out.

Once Luke was released from the hospital, Jo decided to check in with Daisy and Stephanie over at the church before heading out to the farm. After thinking that he'd lost Jo for good and knowing that after the rehearsal dinner tonight he wouldn't see her again until the wedding, Luke decided that Jo wasn't going anywhere without him just yet.

Since Bo was driving, that meant that he, too, would have to stop by the church while Jo checked in with the Decorating Committee. Despite being set back by nearly a whole day, the decorating was coming along right on schedule.

Since there would be a big dinner that night the family all decided to do their own thing for lunch. Thomas met Luke and Jo in town for a small lunch at the diner since Jo didn't want to run back and forth from town and the farm just yet. There were still a few things that she wanted to see to before leaving town.

Luke had already sent Bo on back with the other men since there was no point in both of them being bored out of their minds with the wedding preparations. After all, where Luke was concerned, everyone could just wear their jeans and T-shirts as far as he cared.

When lunch was finished, Jo and Luke headed back towards the church for the last time before the rehearsal while Thomas headed back to Jesse's truck to go back to the farm. Crossing the street, Thomas looked up and saw an eerily familiar face. It had been nearly thirty years since he'd seen Jo's mother but he'd never forget her face, even with the years of age that now shown on it.

Forgetting about the truck, Thomas headed towards Tracy; fighting back the angry words that he'd love to holler out at her for daring to show her face as he moved toward her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Same thing as you, I imagine. I came to town so I could see my daughter get married. I thought that I ought to be there, being the mother of the bride and all." Tracy pulled out a compact to check her make-up as she spoke. She hadn't planned on running into her ex-husband quite so quick. If she'd known that he'd be here she would have made herself more presentable first.

"What makes you think that you'd be welcomed? She hasn't seen or heard from you in thirty years. You are as good as dead to her."

"Tom, don't be so dramatic. I saw her in Atlanta, she was perfectly sweet," Tracy said while rolling her eyes.

"I'm sure that you didn't tell her who you were, either."

"I told her my name. It didn't seem to ring a bell for her though. What's wrong, Tom? Afraid that she won't hold as big of a grudge as you?"

"How did you even know that Jo was getting married?" Thomas said with his arms crossed.

"Oh, I still have friends that keep me in the loop from time to time. Now, I plan to go see my daughter."

"I don't think that's a good idea. Jo has enough on her plate right now without having to deal with you and your need to be in the spotlight. This is her time. Leave her be."

"Oh nonsense. A mother has the right to inspect her future son-in-law doesn't she?"

"A mother, yes. But you gave up the right to call yourself a mother when you walked out on us. Especially out on Jo."

"Well, what else was I supposed to do? You wouldn't leave the Corps, even after I agreed to have Jo. If you wouldn't give up the Corps, why should I have to stick around?"

"Is that the only reason that you said that you wanted a family? You knew that I planned to stay in the Marines when we got married."

"Lots of men say one thing and then change their minds later on. How was I supposed to know that you really did want to stay a Jarhead?" Tracy spat the last word out harshly.

Thomas took in a deep breath. He'd prefer not to get into this with his ex-wife right here on the street. "I'm not going to have this same old argument with you. But you could have at least stayed in touch with Jo. It was hard for her to not have anyone other than my mother when I was on a tour of duty. Then once she died... Jo could have used a mother around, Tracy. But you weren't there."

"Well, maybe you should have done something about that. Besides, I'm here now. I thought I saw Jo with you a few moments ago. I'm assuming that the man with her is her soon-to-be?"

"Stay away from her, Tracy!" Thomas's eyes flashed.

"Or what? Besides, shouldn't it be up to her on whether or not she wants me to leave?"

"Leave her be. She deserves tomorrow to be perfect, which it won't be if you go trying to act as if the last thirty years hadn't even happened. She has everything the way she wants them-"

"Good. That means that I won't need to change anything. Now, unless you intend for both of us to stand out here in the cold until Jo comes out of the church, I would appreciate it if you'd move."

"Not until you promise to behave."

"Oh, pooh! I am just here to see my own daughter before she gets married. I have to make sure that she knows just what she's getting into. At least she has better sense than I had. At least she isn't marrying a Marine."

"Actually, Luke is a former Marine. He served in Vietnam. Now he's a farmer," Thomas said just a bit defensive. What was so bad with being a Marine? "And if you'd ever bothered to come around, you would know that Jo just got out of the Marines herself just a little under a year ago."

"Oh, Lord. Well I guess it is true, daddy's girls go looking for a man just like their father."

"Then I guess that I should be glad that we didn't have a son."

Tracy narrowed her eyes at the indirect insult. Without saying another word, she walked past her ex-husband and headed toward the church in search of her daughter. Thomas cursed under his breath. She would want to do this now! He'd hoped several times that Tracy would take an interest in their daughter over the years. Jo had the right to know her mother, but this wasn't the time for Tracy to be making her grand entrance.

When Tracy marched up the stairs of the white church, Thomas braced himself; for what he wasn't sure of. Fortunately, when he stepped across the threshold, he didn't see either Jo or Luke in the sanctuary. Looking around, Thomas saw that everyone in the family was still out for lunch and hadn't gotten back to the church to finish decorating.

Not really caring exactly where Jo was at the moment, he was just glad that she wasn't in the church right now. At least this bought some time before the shit hit the fan.

~01~

Luke and Jo had walked over to the courthouse to pick up the Marriage License. With Jo having been in New York, this was the first chance that they'd had to run in and get it. When the license was issued one could almost hear the collective sigh of dozens of worried daddies all over Hazzard. Their daughters were safe from yet one more Duke Boy; though if one listened carefully, an outsider might also hear the cries of the disappointed single women who had held out the hope of being the one woman who could tame the eldest Duke Boy. Afterwards, the couple decided to head off for some time alone before the wedding rehearsal knowing that once that was over they'd not see one another again until the wedding. No one in the family would hold it against them if they decided to bail on the last bit of the decorating since it was already mostly done.

Luke drove out to the cabin where he and Jo snuggled up on the couch together enjoying this brief reprieve from the rest of the family and friends who had come in from all around for the wedding. When Luke's hands wandered and found their way under Jo's sweater to unfasten her bra, she reluctantly looked toward the clock.

"Lukas, people are going to be looking for us soon. We don't have that much time before we have to get back to the church."

"We have plenty of time," Luke murmured against the side of Jo's neck as he started placing kisses along it.

"You're selling yourself short, Lukas. There isn't any way that we'll get back in time if we get started." Despite her words though, Jo shifted and leaned back on the couch pulling Luke with her.

"So what can they do? It's not like the others can get started without us."

Jo giggled at Luke's logic, though in a matter of seconds all thoughts of any others were expelled from both of their minds.

~01~

It had been hours since anyone had seen either Jo or Luke and it wasn't hard for Jesse to figure out where those two had gone. In a way, Jesse couldn't blame them but they only had one more day before it would all be right and proper. You'd think that they could survive that long without going into a total meltdown.

Glancing down at his pocket watch, Jesse saw that the couple was already nearly fifteen minutes late for the rehearsal. He'll give them another fifteen minutes before he'll go after them himself.

Meanwhile, Thomas was more worried about whether or not Tracy would show up again tonight than about his daughter stealing a few minutes alone with the man who in just twenty four hours would be her husband. This was supposed to be Jo's time to shine. He'll be damned if Tracy will steal the spotlight.

Tracy had never even bothered to be there for Jo on any of her other special days throughout her life. Whether it was her first day of school, her first sleepover, her first broken heart, her prom or even when she'd decided to join the Marines. A day that had made him very proud of her. Through each of those events though, the noticeable absence of Jo's mother was always present.

It would have been better if it had been because Tracy had died in some accident or something. Instead, Jo grew up knowing that her mother just didn't care for her enough to stay a part of her life. Why should today be any different? No. She isn't here for Jo. She is here for Tracy.

When Luke and Jo showed up with still no Tracy, Thomas relaxed slightly though he knew that it was only a matter of time before she showed back up. Fortunately, the rehearsal went off without a hitch and the whole family went over to Jebb's for the rehearsal dinner where the women had put together a dinner that could rival the grandest Thanksgiving dinner that the Duke Clan had ever had. All of the spare cots in the house had been put up and nearly the entire lower level had fold-up chairs and tables to accommodate the massive group for dinner.

Jesse gave a speech on how proud he was of Luke for settling down (finally) and Bo teased in his usual manner, though it was toned down a bit since both Jo and her father were present. Once the dinner was cleared away the men all took down the tables and chairs and set the cots back up for the night. All too soon, it was time for the men (Luke included) to head over to the other farm house. Leaving the women behind to get the dishes up and make sure that any last minute touches were taken care of.

Once all of the men were gone, Tracy made her way to the door. She knew that the only way that she'd get to speak with Jo was if Thomas wasn't around. She'd watched as the caravan of vehicles had driven out of town after the rehearsal and it wasn't hard to follow them out to the back roads where the house was for the dinner.

Walking up the walnut finished stairs to the porch, Tracy knocked on the door. When the knock was finally answered, Tracy was met with a woman roughly her age with a touch of gray mixing into her chestnut hair. The woman seemed to evaluate Tracy with a mere glance. Something that Tracy wasn't comfortable with.

"May I help you?" Pauline asked the unexpected visitor at such a late hour.

"I was hoping to speak with Jo Hart. She's here, isn't she?"

Pauline raised an eyebrow at the request. Jo hadn't mentioned that she was expecting anyone. The friends that she'd invited to the wedding were at the hotel in Hazzard. Stepping aside, Pauline allowed the stranger into the house out of the cold.

"Emma, run up and get Jo. Tell her that she has a visitor."

Tracy watched as the blonde tween ran up the stairs. Oddly enough, Tracy thought that the girl looked much like she imagined that Jo had looked like at her age. Tracy declined the offer to sit as she waited for her daughter to come down stairs.

When she finally reached the main level of the house and saw just who the woman was that was here to visit her, she was more than a little confused. It was the woman from the airport in Atlanta.

"Hello. I wasn't expecting you. Can I help you with something?" Jo asked as Stephanie, Daisy, and Kira all came downstairs behind her.

"I was hoping to get a chance to speak with you again," then adding after seeing the crowd that was gathering in the livingroom, "Alone."

"Oh, well, we're all just a bit crowded here. I, uh ..."

"You can go to my office if you want," Kira spoke up from behind Jo. She looked back to the redhead and nodded her thanks.

They didn't know this woman but at least in the office, as opposed to the only other place that could offer some privacy being in the barn, Jo and the woman wouldn't be too far away in case she needed help. Kira couldn't help but be suspicious and untrusting of strangers. Some things you just don't unlearn.

Kira went and unlocked the office and turned back to the kitchen which oddly enough, was now full of women who had suddenly decided that they wanted a snack or a drink before going to bed. Exchanging a look with Daisy, Kira snickered slightly as she accepted a glass of milk from her cousin. Well, looks like no one would be heading off to bed just yet.

~01~

Inside the office, Jo felt a bit uncomfortable standing in front of the stranger whom she'd only spoken with briefly the day before. Not sure why she was here, Jo moved around the office; the one room in the house that she hadn't seen yet.

"So...well...Have you enjoyed your time in Georgia so far? Have you seen your daughter?" Jo asked, taking the initiative since the stranger seemed to go mute now that they were alone.

"Well, I've been spending the day trying to track her down. I missed her when I thought I'd found her earlier today."

"I'm sorry to hear that. But why are you here?" Jo'd had a long day and she was going to have another long one tomorrow. She definitely wanted to head up to bed as soon as possible.

"Alright, right to the point. Joanna, what do you remember about your mother?"

Jo was taken aback by the question. Why would she... Taking a harder look at the woman in front of her, Jo's eyes widened. It couldn't be.

"What are you doing here?"