A/N: Thanks for the kind reviews. They mean a lot. I almost didn't post it here, because I wasn't sure how people would react to this story, since it is a deviation from canon, but the reviews have been very positive, and I appreciate it.
Three
The rumbling of the distant thunder was gradually growing nearer to Hazzard County.
Parked inside a brushy area of Rural Route 9, Enos glanced out the window toward the darkening horizon, and silently begged the rain to hold out for just a few more hours until he would be off duty and back at home. The storm had been threatening for some time now, but seemed to be advancing slowly. He glanced at his watch: Just a few more hours.
He had been placed in this position by Rosco, hoping to nail a few speeders passing through the county, but so far the road was quiet, with very little traffic passing his way. Enos was glad. He just didn't have the heart to issue citations on the day of a funeral. He had only seen one vehicle in the past hour, Widow Hanson driving her old 1957 Bel-Air well beneath the speed limit. Parked in the brush, she had not even noticed him as she rambled on down the road toward her small farm, so he had allowed her to pass on by without revealing his presence.
Turning his attention away from the gathering rain clouds, Enos turned the page of the novel he was reading to pass the time. It was a suspense thriller, one of those books that absolutely captivates its readers, and the mild-mannered cop was totally engrossed in the mystery that was playing out on the printed pages. All was quiet, until ----
Without warning, a powerful vehicle roared by so fast that the book jumped out of his startled hands and dropped onto his lap. He looked up quickly, but barely caught a glimpse of orange paint before the car disappeared around the bend in the road. There was no question about the identity of the vehicle, since no other car in the county sounded quite like it, or the driver, a fact which surprised him almost as much as its sudden appearance.
"Possum on a gum bush!" Enos exclaimed, his favorite expletive.
It had been a long time since he had seen the General Lee, and although he hated to do it, given the solemn events of the day, the deputy knew he could not let this one go past without a confrontation. The speed at which Luke was traveling was simply too dangerous, both for him and for anyone else who might cross his path. Tossing the book from his lap to the seat beside him, he flipped on his lights and siren and pulled out of his hiding place in pursuit of the car.
Inside the General Lee, Luke heard the siren and glanced in his rearview mirror to find the deputy's patrol car coming around the curve behind him, and gaining fast. "Where'd you come from?" he wondered aloud.
Enos continued to move closer, until he was right on the General's bumper. He was motioning for Luke to pull over.
In his grief and his weariness, Luke was in no mood to deal with the kindly police officer. Spinning the steering wheel abruptly, he turned the vehicle onto a narrow dirt side road. "Eat my dust, Enos," he said, pressing the accelerator. The General responded with a burst of speed, and the police vehicle disappeared into the cloud of dust kicked up by the race car's wheels.
Shaking his head with concern, Enos backed off to improve visibility and switched his police radio to the CB band. "Luke, I don't wanna have to give you a ticket today, buddy. Just slow down, 'n I'll let you go, okay?" He paused to give Luke time to respond. When he didn't, he continued, "Luke, what're you doin'? You need to slow down; this here's a dangerous stretch of road!" He paused again, but again there was only silence on the radio. "Dang it, Luke, pull over!"
The order was firm and professional, but the General Lee did not obey his instructions to pull over. Through the cloud of dust he saw the brake lights come on as Luke maneuvered the speeding car around the first curve.
With his radio off, Luke was unable to hear Enos's commands, but it was obvious from the lights and siren that the deputy wanted him to pull over, something he had no intention of doing. He was tired, way too tired to be driving that fast, a fact that he was well aware of, but instead of slowing down or pulling over, he pressed the accelerator harder, determined to shake loose from the patrol car.
The trees flashed past him in a dizzying blur of green and bronze, and the sound of the wind whipping through the open windows seemed to have a numbing effect on his mind. The next curve was coming up, and he was almost into it before his weary eyes recognized it. He wrenched the wheel around, and skidded through the curve. He shook his head and blinked forcefully in an attempt to improve his alertness.
"Luke, you dang near missed that curve!" Enos pleaded into the microphone. "I ain't kiddin', now! Pull over!"
At the Duke farm, Jesse and Daisy had been listening to the transmissions with growing concern, and they exchanged alarmed glances at the urgency in Enos's voice. They could hear his siren wailing in the background during his communication, and it was easy to deduce that Luke was not obeying the order to pull over.
Reaching for the CB again, Jesse said, "Enos, this here's Jesse. I've been tryin' to reach him too, but I think he's turned off his CB. Where are ya? What's he doin'?"
"I'm on that old farm road up near the old sorghum mill off Route 9, and General Lee just shot past me goin' way too fast for this road. He knows I'm behind 'im, but 'e ain't pullin' over. He's pullin' away fast!"
"The sorghum mill?" Jesse said to no one in particular, but because he had not pressed the transmission button, Daisy was the only one who heard the query. "What's he doin' up there?"
"I don't know, but that's a dangerous road," Daisy replied. "Him and Bo used to practice curves up there, an' I worried about 'em even then, but he's in no state of mind to be drivin' up there now. If he misses one of those curves, he'll wreck the General for sure! Uncle Jesse, we have to stop him!"
"I know." Pressing the transmission button again, Jesse said, "Try to stay with 'im as best you can, Enos! I'm headed that way now. I'll see if I can find a side road where I can cut 'im off. If we can get that boy pulled over, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind! Keep me informed."
"I'll do my best, Uncle Jesse."
Jesse almost responded with the usual I ain't yer Uncle Jesse, but refrained. At the moment, Enos was his only link to Luke, who was clearly not behaving in a rational manner. He needed the deputy's help, and admonishing him did not seem proper under the circumstances. Snatching the keys off the hook near the kitchen door, he rushed outside and climbed into his white pickup truck.
"Don't fail me now," he begged as he inserted the key in the ignition and turned it. The old truck sputtered and backfired before it kicked into life, and Jesse shifted into drive and accelerated onto the road toward the old mill. Snatching the truck's CB, he asked, "Enos, what's 'e doin' now?"
"Still the same, Uncle Jesse. He's slowin' down a little bit on the curves, but not much, and then he speeds up again on the straightaways. I'm tryin' t' stay up with 'im as much as I can."
Enos continued to follow behind the General, keeping an eye on the plume of dust kicked up by the race car's tires. Every once in a while, whenever the scenery opened up, he managed to catch a glimpse of the orange car in the distance, still traveling at a high rate of speed.
As he neared a particularly sharp curve in the road, Enos said aloud, "Slow down, Luke! Yer goin' too fast for the curve!"
Luke had already realized that, as well as the fact that he was not driving with his usual finesse. He blinked rapidly in an effort to drive away the drowsiness that continued to blur his vision. His reaction time was slower than normal as he gripped the wheel tighter and applied the brakes to slow the vehicle.
General Lee skidded on the loose dirt, sliding sideways as it took the sharp curve. Luke rotated the wheels into the skid, but the rear bumper barely missed one of the trees before he regained control.
Yer a better driver than this, he admonished himself as he stomped the gas pedal again. Glancing in his rear-view mirror, he saw the police cruiser's flashing lights penetrating the cloud of dust in his wake, still behind him, but following at a more sensible speed.
"No one can say you ain't tenacious," Luke said with a trace of admiration for the deputy's resolve. "Jus' like old times."
Wrenching the wheel to the right, he accelerated off the road and cut across an open, unfenced stretch of land toward a narrow tributary called Schubert's Creek. Its nearly insignificant breadth would make it a simple jump, but the execution of it would be complicated by the grove of trees growing on both banks. He would have to line the car up just right to avoid crashing right into one.
He glanced into his mirror again. He was not surprised to find that Enos was still there. With less dust being produced on the grassy field, the cruiser increased its speed, and was gaining rapidly. Luke felt certain that Enos would not attempt a jump in such a dangerous spot, so he accelerated toward it, focusing on the trees he needed to go between on this side and the trees he needed to land between on the other. He adjusted his advance to a slight angle, then braced himself in preparation.
Guided by Luke's experienced hands, the General sped through the trees and roared up the slight incline that would provide the lift he needed. In the creek bed below, two shirtless barefoot young boys, searching for crawdads in the murky water, looked up in astonishment at the underbelly of the vehicle as it soared directly over their heads. The General landed on the other side, successfully maneuvering between two maples on the opposite bank.
"Wow! Did you see that?" one boy asked.
"My daddy tol' me all about that car! That was the General Lee!"
They scrambled up the bank for a better look at the vehicle that had become a local legend.
"Like threadin' a needle!" Luke said to himself, pleased with the car's performance. "General, you are still one helluva piece of machinery, even when yer driver ain't at his best!"
Enos was an excellent driver and a fairly good jumper, but he knew that it would be foolish to try to jump a creek with so many obstacles, and the two young boys peering over the rim of the bank at the race car was the deciding factor. Since they had been squatting down in the creek bottom, Luke clearly had not seen them, but knowing that they were there was enough to bring the deputy to a halt. He skidded to a stop and watched the orange car disappear through the trees. He was shaking his head with dismay as he reached for the CB again. "Uncle Jesse, he's gone plumb crazy. He went off the road at Devil's Curve and jumped Schubert's Crick."
Jesse felt a twinge of fear, visualizing the dense grove of maples and poplars that lined the banks. "Schubert's Crick? What about all them trees?"
"Well, it was close, mighty close, but he didn't hit none of 'em. I hope you don't mind me sayin' so, Uncle Jesse, but Luke's behavin' plumb reckless! Him 'n Bo used to take a lot of chances, but not like this. There was two little boys playin' in that crick when Luke jumped it."
"Are they okay?" Jesse inquired with mounting concern for his nephew's welfare and the welfare of anyone he might encounter on the road.
"Yeah, they're fine. I don't think he saw 'em, but we gotta stop 'im 'fore he either hurts hisself or someone else! I'm gonna hafta cut back to the road and take the bridge. Makin' that jump is just too dangerous."
"All right. I'm comin' up on Pritchard's farm," Jesse said. "I'll cut through it. That'll save me some time getting' up there to ya. When ya catch up to 'im, let me know if he turns, so's I can try an' get in front of 'im."
"Will do, Uncle Jesse."
Amos Pritchard owned a large tract of land on which he ran some dairy cattle and beef cattle, and instead of gates, he had installed cattle guards at several locations, allowing his farming vehicles easy access to the property. When Jesse reached the nearest one, he turned his old truck into the entrance and eased it across the bumpy metal rails, casting an apologetic glance at the No Trespassing sign that was nailed to the fence post beside the cattle guard. Once inside the pasture, he accelerated again and drove right through the middle of it.
A herd of black and white Holstein cows lifted their heads from their grazing and watched with placid brown eyes as the unfamiliar vehicle sped through their pasture. As he neared the other exit on the other side of the property, he saw old Amos standing by the fence looking perplexed. He had obviously seen the vehicle from the barn, and, apparently thinking it was a group of kids planning to spook his cattle for fun, had come out to confront them. Then he recognized the white truck and stopped in surprise. It wasn't every day that his farm was used as a thoroughfare, especially someone as respectful of other's people's property as Jesse Duke.
"Sorry to cut through yer property, Amos!" Jesse hollered out the window as he slowed down to cross the cattle guard. "I got myself an emergency!"
Amos waved to show that he had heard, then pushed back his cap and scratched his head. "Anything I can help ya with?" he shouted back.
"Nope, just the access through yer property."
The truck rattled over the next cattle guard, crossed the dirt access road that separated the herds, and sped into the next pasture, spooking the black angus steers and a few saddle horses, sending them loping away to the other end of the field.
-()-
Alone in the General Lee and with no one behind him now, Luke found a shaded spot beneath a grove of willow trees and allowed the vehicle to coast to a stop beneath it, and shut off the engine.
It was peaceful here, one of the most peaceful spots in Hazzard county. This was his and Cindy's favorite picnic spot, a place where they had shared a meal of her homemade fried chicken, homemade bread, and cans of her favorite soda pop, and had talked for hours beneath the long leafy tendrils that waved gently to and fro in the mild Georgia breeze. Once, he had made her a tiara from the long vines, winding the stems of wild flowers into it. She wore it as proudly as if it had been made of precious jewels.
"I'm so sorry, Cindy," he said, his voice breaking. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry!"
Surrendering to his grief, he folded his arms on the steering wheel, buried his face against his sleeve, and sobbed uncontrollably, expelling the sorrow that had built up inside him over the past two days.
Outside the window, birds chirped in the treetops as they flew to and from their nests in a rust to feed the babies in their nests before the rain showers started, oblivious to the suffering of the man inside the vehicle. And in the distance, thunder rumbled again, low and soft, reverberating across the landscape.
-()-
Cruising rapidly in the direction in which he was certain that Luke had taken, Enos kept a sharp eye out for the tell-tale signs of dust that would pinpoint the General's location, but so far his searching had turned up no sign of the orange vehicle.
"Enos, talk to me," Jesse said over the CB. "Any sign of him?"
"No, no sign of him at all," Enos replied. "I've lost him."
Another familiar voice came over the CB: "Uncle Jesse? Enos? This here's Bo. Daisy just filled me in on what's goin' on. Luke told me once that he 'n Cindy had a favorite picnic spot up near Widow's Leap, a small grove of weeping willow trees. From the direction he's headed, it sounds like he might be goin' up there."
Jesse nodded to himself. That would be just like Luke to seek a private spot where he might feel closer to Cindy. "Good guess, Bo. You could be right."
"I'm not too far from there now," Enos said. "I'll go have a look."
"I can see yer dust up ahead of me, Enos," Jesse said. "I'm maybe three minutes behind ya."
"Look, I'll hop in my truck and join you," Bo suggested, shoving his hand into the pocket of his jeans for his keys.
"No point in that, Bo," Jesse replied. "Yer too far away. 'Sides, Lisa Mae might be needin' ya. Best stay where ya are."
"Her folks just dropped by," he explained. "They understand that Luke's goin' through a rough time right now, and they'll be here if she needs anything. I need to help him through this."
"Okay," Jesse relented, "but I still say it's pointless to drive all the way up here. Why don't you go on over to the house? That's where we'll be headed once we find 'im."
That was not what Bo wanted, but he understood the logic in Jesse's words. It would take him a good half hour to reach the grove of willows that Luke had told him about, and by then they might be back at the farm. "Okay. Headin' over to the house. Over and out." He climbed into his truck and with tires squealing, he sped toward Uncle Jesse's house.
A few minutes later, Luke was roused by the siren from the approaching patrol car. Lifting his head from the steering wheel, he wiped his sleeve across his eyes to dry them and looked to his right, the direction of the siren and saw Enos's car speeding toward him.
"I see him!" Enos announced to the others on the CB. "He's parked right under them willows, right where Bo said he'd be."
In his truck, traveling toward the farmhouse, Bo gave a nod of satisfaction, pleased that his hunch had panned out. "Enos, better turn off the siren and approach him slowly," he advised. "When we were younger, hearin' a siren sort of triggered our flight reflex, so if he hears ya comin', he might take off again."
Enos turned off the siren, but the damage was already done.
A surge of annoyance shot through Luke at being disturbed once again, bringing with it an irrational response. Instead of waiting for the deputy and facing the consequences of his behavior, he turned the key in the ignition and shifted the car into drive. Spraying grass and dirt from the tires behind him, he sped away from the police vehicle.
"Uh-oh," Enos said in response to Bo's suggestion. "Too late. He's takin' off again! Oh, Lord!" he added, breathlessly, realizing the direction the orange car had taken.
Jesse didn't like the sound of that. "What is it?" he asked, alarmed by the fear he heard in the deputy's voice. "Enos! What's going on?"
There was panic in the deputy's voice as he replied, "He's goin' straight for Widow's Leap!"
Jesse's blood turned to ice water. Widow's Leap was a rocky cliff without much depth, but according to local legend, a young woman, grieving over the husband who had been killed at Spotsylvania during the Civil War, had thrown herself over the edge so that she might be reunited with her lost love, giving the cliff its name. Jesse did not know if the story was true or not, but he was well aware that traveling at a high speed in a vehicle, the fall would almost certainly be fatal.
His thumb hovered on the CB button without pressing it. "No, Luke, don't do this!" he pleaded, even though he knew that his nephew could not hear him.
Bo was listening to the transmissions with disbelief, and rejected any notion that his cousin would commit suicide. "No way," he said into the CB. "He'll pull up before he gets to the cliff."
Luke was aware of the flashing lights on the police car behind him, and knew that he was facing a stiff citation for traffic violations, but he didn't care. He paid little attention to landmarks, and hardly even noticed where he was or where he was going. He was simply driving, a purely mechanical activity.
He brushed his hand across his eyes in an attempt to clear his vision. Directly ahead of him was a huge old oak tree. He swerved abruptly, narrowly missing the massive, gnarled trunk. The dry grass provided little traction for the General's wheels, and he skidded slightly before regaining control.
The fatigue that he had been fighting was finally overpowering him. His vision swam in and out of focus, and he blinked and shook his head in an attempt to clear it, but his body was rebelling against him, demanding the rest that he was refusing to give it. He pressed the accelerator harder, unaware of the danger that loomed just ahead.
Through the CB, Jesse and Bo could hear Enos shouting frantically, "Uncle Jesse! He ain't pullin' up! He's goin' straight for the cliff! Looks like 'e's gonna try an' kill hisself!"
Bo reached for the CB microphone again. "Luke wouldn't do that. I know him! If he's going for the cliff, then he's unaware that it's there."
"He's lived in there here parts all 'is life," Enos reminded him. "He must know it's there! He's goin' straight for it!"
"No!" Bo contradicted. "I won't accept that! I'm tellin' ya, Luke would never deliberately take his own life! Honk yer horn or somethin' to get his attention! See if that pulls him up."
Enos responded instantly, pressing his hand hard against the horn. It blared loudly, spanning the distance that separated him and the General Lee, and the distinctly different sound caught Luke's attention. Enos pressed it again and again in an effort to alert him to the fact that something was wrong.
As the world swam back into focus, Luke saw the cliff looming just ahead, and realized where he was. Beyond the edge, there was nothing but open space. In moments, he and the General would plunge all the way to the bottom.
"Damn!"
With his eyes wide with horror, Luke slammed on the brakes. The tires locked as momentum and the loose dirt and gravel pulled the vehicle closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Frantically, he spun the steering wheel, turning the car to the left for greater resistance, hoping it would not cause the vehicle to flip over. The General Lee skidded sideways, leaving long skid marks on the dirt, and sending up a fountain of billowing dust. Finally, after several terrifying moments, the General Lee came to an abrupt halt near the edge of the cliff, sending a spray of dirt and gravel over the edge.
Suddenly, there was near-silence. The only sounds were the idling of the powerful engine and Luke gasping for breath. His heart pounded wildly in his ears with the realization of what he had nearly done, and when he glanced to his right, he saw that he was less than six yards from the edge of the cliff, a realization that left him feeling light-headed, weak, and a little sick. Closing his eyes with a low groan, he rested his forehead on the steering wheel, fighting the nausea in his stomach and feeling grateful that he had not eaten.
After resting for several moments, he reached down and turned off the engine, then slowly pulled himself out the window of the vehicle, and staggered a few steps on wobbly, rubbery legs. His body shaking uncontrollably from the overwhelming exhaustion and from the knowledge that he would have been dead at that very moment had he gone over the cliff. Finally, his legs gave out completely, and he sank heavily into a seated position on the hard ground. Leaning forward, he wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to control the shaking.
Dust drifted lazily along the road, obscuring the vision of the wide-eyed deputy who continued to hurry toward the cliff. He had seen the General Lee skidding sideways before it disappeared into a cloud of dust, but had heard no sound of a crash to indicate that the General had plunged over the edge. Tensely, he listened carefully for any sound that would indicate the fate of Luke Duke and the General Lee.
"What's going on, Enos?" Jesse asked, urgently on the CB, alarmed by the silence on the radio. "Talk to me!"
Enos snatched up the microphone. "I can't see 'im, Uncle Jesse! I can't see 'im!"
Jesse's heart clinched with fear. "Did he go over?" The question was spoken quietly, dreading the answer.
"I can't tell. I didn't hear a crash, or nothin', but . . . ." A speck of orange appeared through the swirling, drifting dust. "What a minute. I think . . . ." The dust continued to thin, and through it he saw the bright orange car sitting at the edge of the cliff. "I see the General!" he shouted, excitedly. "I see it! It's parked right on the edge."
"What about Luke?" Bo asked. "Can you see him? Is he all right?"
A moment later, Luke came into view sitting on the ground near the race car.
"Yes! I see 'im! Looks like he's okay!"
At exactly the same moment, miles apart, Jesse and Bo had the same reaction. They both closed their eyes, briefly, and offered a prayer of gratitude. "Thank you, Lord."
Enos slowed the car and stopped a short distance away from the man who was still seated on the ground. After a moment's hesitation, he shut off the engine, opened the car door and got out, wondering how he should approach him. Luke was typically very affable, but something in his posture suggested to the deputy that he would not welcome intrusion.
"Luke, are you okay?" he asked, hesitantly taking a few steps toward him. It seemed a stupid question even as he spoke the words; of course he wasn't okay, or he would not have been driving like a maniac and he wouldn't be sitting on the ground like that. But it was the only thing he could think to say at that moment. "Luke?"
Luke did not answer, but continued to sit silently, rocking slightly back and forth in rhythm to his rapid breathing. He heard the query from the concerned deputy, but at that moment he was unable to find his voice.
Enos stopped a short distance away, feeling helpless, uncertain what to do, so he hung back, waiting for Jesse to arrive. Jesse would know what to do, he was certain of that.
He did not have long to wait. Only a few moments later, he heard the sound of the old white truck approaching, and he watched as it stopped beside his police car. Jesse got out, his eyes fixed on his nephew. "How is he?" he asked.
"Well, physically he seems fine," Enos replied. He gestured toward Luke. "That's how I found 'im. Jus' sittin' there. I spoke to 'im a few times, but he ain't said nothin'. I think 'e hears me, though."
"Luke?" Jesse spoke softly as he approached his nephew. "Luke, its yer Uncle Jesse." Luke did not answer, but he turned his head slightly toward him, indicating that he had heard. Reaching out, he knelt down beside him as placed his callused hand on his shoulder, and felt the trembling. "Enos, you got a blanket in yer car?"
"Yeah. We keep 'em in case of accidents and stuff."
"Get one, please."
Enos ran back to the car, popped open the trunk and withdrew a blanket, which he carried to Jesse. Jesse opened it up and draped it around his nephew, drawing it together under his chin, an action which seemed to revive him somewhat. He looked up, his exhausted, bloodshot eyes meeting the worried eyes of his uncle.
"I almost went over the edge," he said, softly, his voice shaking. "I forgot all about that cliff bein' there!"
"I know," Jesse said, his eyes filling with tears. He tightened his grip on Luke's shoulder.
"How could I forget such a thing? I shouldn't've been drivin'," he admitted, shaking his head with regret. "I'm so tired." He sighed heavily and rubbed his fingers in his eyes. "I'm just so tired."
"I know ya are, son. Ya ain't slept in days. It was only a matter o' time 'fore it all caught up with ya." Jesse placed his hand behind Luke's neck, and pulled his unresisting body against him. "Don't ever do somethin' like this to me again, ya hear? I couldn't bear it if I lost ya."
Luke leaned into him, welcoming the older man's embrace. "I'm sorry. I guess I wasn't payin' attention to where I was headed. I was just runnin'. I don't even know what I was runnin' from." His throat constricted, painfully. "I just miss her so much." Bowing his head, silent tears spilled from his eyes.
Enos lowered his gaze and moved respectfully back to the patrol car, where he radioed Daisy and Bo to let them know that Luke was okay.
"I know it hurts," Jesse said gently. "But you still have me 'n Bo 'n Daisy, and we all love ya, too. And you have that beautiful little boy, who is a living breathing part of Cindy. I couldn't love ya more if'n ya was my own son. I got the same amount of love for all you youngin's, but you were my first, and there is always somethin' special about the first. An' when I'm gone, it'll fall to you t' hold the family t'gether. You'll take my place as the family patriarch."
Luke's tears gradually abated, and he was quiet for a long time, content to remain in his uncle's comforting embrace, and thinking about the things Jesse had said. He could not imagine taking over the reins as the family patriarch, but deep in his mind somewhere, he presumed he had always known that eventually he would do just that. At the moment, however, he had serious doubts of his qualifications to be the head of the Duke clan. His mistake, his carelessness, and his lack of attentiveness had nearly cost him his life.
Jesse seemed to read his mind and his doubts. "We all make mistakes, Luke. The thing that determines what kind o' man ya are is how ya learn from 'em."
Luke nodded his understanding. The trembling had subsided and he drew back, breaking the embrace. "I'm okay, now," he assured his uncle. He struggled to his feet, stumbling slightly. Jesse grasped his arm to steady him, but Luke nodded and raised one hand, indicating that he was okay.
With Luke on his feet again, Enos got out of the car and approached him, feeling guilty about addressing the issue at that moment, but he knew it had to be done. "Luke, I outta arrest you fer the way you was drivin'. That was plumb foolishness, and you could'a hurt someone. There was two little boys playin' in that crick you jumped."
Luke's surprise was genuine. "There was? I didn't see 'em."
"I figured ya didn't." Enos shrugged, and glanced at Jesse and then back at Luke, who appeared genuinely remorseful. "Well, there weren't no harm done, an' you prob'ly gave them the thrill o' their lives, seein' the General an' all. I'll get in trouble with Rosco if he finds out about this, but I'm gonna let you off with a warnin' this time. After every thing ya been through, I just don't have the heart to take ya in. Just don't do nothin' like this again, hear?"
"I'm sorry, Enos," Luke said, sincerely, realizing the uncomfortable position he had placed the deputy in. "You're right. I was behavin' foolishly. You'd be justified in haulin' me in, but . . . I appreciate that you ain't." He shrugged, uncomfortably. "Thanks for honkin' yer horn when you did. It brung me back to my senses. I wasn't thinkin' about that cliff bein' there, an' I'd've gone over, if not for that. You saved my life."
"I wish I could take credit for that, but I cain't. It was Bo that suggested it. He seemed to know that you was unaware of that cliff ahead o' ya."
Luke closed his eyes, briefly. Bless you, Bo. "Still, you're the one who did the honkin', and I do appreciate it."
Enos smiled, and gave a single nod of acknowledgment.
Luke started toward the General, but Jesse clutched his arm and pulled him back around. "No you ain't. Enos, would you call Cooter 'n have him come pick up the General?" To Luke, he said, "You ain't in no shape to be drivin'."
Luke knew that was true. Without a word of protest, he climbed in the passenger side of Jesse's truck and waited for the older man to join him.
"I owe ya, Enos," Jesse said, meaningfully.
"Jus' doin' my duty, Uncle Jesse."
This time, Jesse said it in a gruff but friendly voice. "I ain't yer Uncle Jesse." Then he patted Enos's upper arm with great affection, and walked back toward his pickup truck.
tbc