Well, the "last chapter" got a little long during the editing process and I decided it worked better as two chapters, so there will be ten chapters in all. But here's number nine, hot off the presses! Thanks to everyone who has left comments so far. I'm glad you've liked the story…and the last chapter (for real this time!) will be coming soon!
- Flynne :)
– Chapter Nine –
"Repairs and Reconciliation"
Well, things got sorted out proper over the next few days. Enos put in a call to the state police, who came to pick up A.J. Brock an' take him to prison so's he couldn't do no more harm. Boss didn't have to give the gambler his money back, but the state wasn't gonna let him keep it, seein' as he didn't exactly earn it legal—so Jesse arranged for it to be donated to a hospital in Atlanta. It made Boss feel pretty outta sorts, but made a whole lot more people feel a whole lot better.
The dog got himself an official home with the Duke family, which is 'bout as good as he could get: he got Jesse to look after him, the General Lee to cruise around in, Bo an' Luke to wrassle with, and sweet Daisy to love on him. He also got a trip to the vet for his shots, which he weren't too happy about, but he forgave Bo an' Luke for it when they shared a hot dog with him on the way home. Right now, 'bout the only thing he don't have is a name. You'd think the boys would get crackin' on that. Even their car's got a name.
And, speakin' of which, last but not least, the General Lee got himself more bodywork. Y'all think there's anything left on that car that ain't been bashed up?
Several days passed before Bo and Luke made it into town together. Bo spent most of the time working on the General, methodically pounding out dents and making what repairs he could to fix the damage that had been inflicted on the car during the past week. Luke could usually be found sitting nearby, watching his cousin work while the dog leaned against him, hoping to get his ears scratched.
It was difficult for Luke to slide into the General with his arm bound up and his chest and shoulder still painful, but when it came time for Bo to take the car to Cooter's to get a new rear window and touch up the paint, Luke didn't want to be left at home. He was tired of hanging around the farm anyway, so Bo helped him climb in the window and get settled in the passenger seat.
The dog had seen them heading for the car at once and bounded ahead of them, springing through the open window to plant his furry behind smack in the middle of the front seat. The boys hadn't planned on taking him along, but once he was inside they couldn't find it in their hearts to kick him out. So the three of them sped along the dirt road to town, stirring up a plume of dust behind them. The day had dawned bright and blustery, and the wind whipping through the windows seemed even stronger than usual as they raced along.
Cooter was outside his garage waiting for them, and he greeted them with a broad grin as they drove up. "Hey, y'all! Good to see ya!"
"Howdy, Cooter! You ready to get started?"
"Almost. I gotta finish up Miz Tisdale's bike, yet…she dropped it off this morning. She needs it by noon to start deliverin' mail and if it ain't ready she said I'd have to do my civic duty and take her around in my truck—and y'all know it ain't no use arguing with her."
Luke laughed. "She's a feisty one, all right. Should we just park it here?"
"Actually, could you park it somewhere on the street 'til I'm ready for ya? The gas truck is supposed to come today to service my pumps and I need the driveway clear."
Bo nodded. "Sure thing." He cruised down the street and cringed when he saw the only spot open was near city hall, right smack dab behind the gleaming mass of white metal that was Boss Hogg's convertible. "What do you think?"
Luke shrugged. "Ain't nowhere else to park. We shouldn't be here long…and it is a legal space."
"Whatever you say." Bo parallel-parked with practiced ease. He waited while Luke scooted across the seat to climb out the driver's side and leaned down so his cousin could hook his left arm around his neck. Bo stepped back and helped pull him out of the window, putting his arm around his waist to steady him as he put his feet down.
"You sure are a lot of trouble," he teased.
Luke gave him one of his charm-your-socks-off grins. "Maybe, but I'm worth it."
Bo laughed. "You ain't that pretty." They made their way across the street to the garage, the dog trotting at their heels.
Bo folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the gas pump, brushing his wind-tumbled blond hair out of his eyes. "So what's wrong with Miz Tisdale's bike?"
"She done wore out her shocks. Said the ride was gettin' too bumpy. And she needs an oil change."
"I think she's almost as rough on vehicles as Lulu is," Luke said with a grin.
Y'all see that face Bo's makin'? He's rememberin' the one time they let Lulu behind the wheel of the General Lee. Both cousins felt more'n a little green by the end of the trip, an' they swore a solemn vow to never again let Lulu behind the wheel. She wore out their shocks like they was goin' outta style.
"Um…hey, Cooter?"
"Yeah, Luke?"
"How long did you say you'd be with that bike?"
"I told ya, not long. You boys got fire ants up your shorts or something?"
"No…but Rosco's fixin' to crawl up our tailpipe."
Bo let out an exasperated huff. "Will you look at that?" Cooter followed their gaze and saw the sheriff tiptoeing along the sidewalk with his rubber fire hydrant. He casually placed it on the curb beside the General and pulled out his ticket book with a mischievous smirk on his face.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Looks like we'd better set him straight." He and Bo started walking across the street, but Cooter followed and stepped in front of them.
"Hold on, y'all…I wanna see what's gonna happen."
Bo and Luke looked again and saw that Boss Hogg had come waddling hastily out of the courthouse, waving his cigar in an attempt to catch the sheriff's attention. They couldn't hear what was being said, but Rosco was looking mighty confused. A moment later he snapped his ticket book shut and picked up the fake hydrant with a grumbly expression on his face.
Bo stared. "Did I see what I think I just saw?"
Cooter's contagious laugh bubbled up from his belly. "Y'all, I think Boss Hogg's done been scared straight. He must really feel bad about almost gettin' y'all sent up to that Big Still in the Sky."
Luke looked over at Bo and saw the beginnings of a reluctant smile on the young man's face. "That's Boss for ya…can't live with him…"
Bo gave him a sideways look. "Don't push it, Luke. I sure as shootin' could live without Boss Hogg."
Luke snickered. "Don't I know it."
Then Bo sighed, gave a little smile, and shook his head. "But it sure would get boring around here if we did."
A wicked gleam came into Luke's eyes. "Hey, Bo…let's see just how warm and fuzzy Boss is feelin' today."
"I'm comin' with you!" Cooter tossed his wrench into the garage where it landed somewhere out of sight with with an echoing clang. "I don't wanna miss this." He followed his friends across the street. Boss grimaced when he saw the three young men approaching and started back toward the courthouse.
"Hey, Boss, don't walk away!" Bo called after him. He jogged ahead of Luke and Cooter to head off the pudgy commissioner before he made halfway up the walk.
Boss scowled, angry that he had been caught in a rare moment of guilt-induced leniency. "Bo Duke, you get outta my way before I have Rosco arrest you for—for impedin' pedestrian traffic!"
Bo didn't move. He just folded his arms across his chest and smiled sweetly down at the other man. "Boss, did you tell Rosco not to give us a ticket just now?" he asked in a sugary voice.
"I did no such thing!" Boss said grouchily. "Rosco was just—just…testin' a new hydrant design!"
"Yeah, I was testin' it!"
Luke and Cooter came up to stand next to Rosco's patrol car with the Dukes' dog at their heels. Flash perked up when she saw the newcomer and climbed laboriously out of the open car door to plop onto the sidewalk. The other dog took notice of her and the two pets met next to the patrol car for a friendly sniff.
"Testing it? What for?" Luke asked.
"Never you mind!" Rosco huffed. "This is secret police business! It's not for civilians to know." He glanced at the hydrant and gave a yelp of alarm as he saw that the two dogs had finished sniffing each other and were now eyeing the rubber hydrant with intense interest.
"Hey, now—don't you scuff that!" He hurried over and whisked the hydrant out of the way. "That's police property! It ain't meant for…for common use." He narrowed his eyes at Bo and Luke suspiciously. "What are you boys doin' in town, anyway?"
"Oh, it don't matter why they're here!" Boss said brusquely. "Dukes in town always means trouble." He glared suspiciously at the two cousins, who were rolling their eyes. "I suppose you're really here after that reward money that came from catchin' Bulldog Brock, ain't you?" he demanded.
Bo and Luke exchanged a surprised look. "Uh—we didn't know there was one…" Bo started to say.
"Oh, never mind!" Boss said sharply, cutting him off with a wave of his hand. "That's all you Dukes are here for—money! Well, here!" He dug into his wallet and slapped a thick cluster of bills against Luke's palm. "One hundred dollars. And you Dukes ain't gettin' no more than that, no matter how much it takes to fix that orange clunker car! I came up with the plan to catch Brock, therefore I decide who gets what cut of the take!" He popped his cigar in his mouth and stuffed his hands in his pockets before turning to walk back to the courthouse, leaving a baffled pair of cousins behind him.
The boys looked at each other in confusion. "What reward?" Bo asked skeptically.
Luke shrugged and scoffed. "What plan?"
Bo and Luke weren't the only ones who were befuddled. Rosco's face folded into a puzzled frown and he hustled after the commissioner, tapping his shoulder with one finger. "Uh, Boss…maybe you should put on that little white hat of yours to cover up that little bald head…you're gettin' swimmy-headed from all this sun. There weren't no reward offered."
"Rosco! You hush!" Boss hissed. "I am the boss and if I say there was a reward, there was a reward!" Both Rosco and Boss had meant to speak quietly but, as usual, they were poor judges of their own volume and an increasingly astonished Bo and Luke had heard every word.
Cooter leaned forward to speak into Luke's ear. "Are my ears plugged with motor oil, or did I just hear Boss say he gave y'all that money to fix the General?"
"I think you just heard Boss say he gave us money to fix the General," Luke answered in the same tone. "Here, why don't you take it? We gotta pay you anyway."
"Well, I don't think I'll need all of it." Cooter reached out to take a few bills from Luke's hand, but the gesture pulled something white out from the wad of money and it fluttered down to the sidewalk. He bent to pick it up, unfolding the thick paper. "Hel-lo, what's this here?" he said curiously.
Boss heard the comment and turned around, noticed what the mechanic was holding, and zipped over to snatch it back. "Dah! You give that back! That is official police evidence!"
"Oh, no it ain't," Cooter retorted. "I saw what it is. That's a picture of the General Lee."
Luke's eyes widened. "It's what?"
"The General," Cooter repeated. "And I'm willin' to bet my tire iron it's the same one y'all told me about last week!"
"What? Oh, you mean this little old thing?" Boss asked innocently, holding up an ominously familiar Polaroid.
Bo's mouth dropped open. "That's the—hey, you said you'd—Boss! Luke, do—do you believe this?" he sputtered, too mad to string his words together.
Luke just stared for a second or two as his expression darkened. "Wish I could say I didn't, but I do," he answered grimly.
"You Dukes oughta know that this ain't no slipshod sheriff's department here in Hazzard. When we catch probation-breakers, we make double sure we can nail 'em—and this here trunkful of shine is enough to do just that." Boss gave the cousins a gloating grin. "I'm just savin' it for when I need it. So I'd watch my step from here on out if I was you."
Well, don't that put the piccalilli on the pig's feet? Just when you think Boss has tried to change his spots, you find out all he did was hide 'em in another coat of mud.
Bo and Luke just exchanged a look of anger and dread, left speechless by this latest stunt. Cooter, on the other hand, didn't have any trouble finding his tongue. "Boss, you dirty ol' rat! I can't believe after what you did last week you'd even think of pullin' somethin' like that again! I oughta use your necktie for a grease rag with you still in it!"
Boss skittered back a step. "You watch your language, Cooter! It just so happens that I got this evidence fair and square, so—" But Boss never finished his sentence. As he lifted the picture triumphantly above his head, another strong gust of wind rushed down the street and snatched it from his fingers. He let out a gasp of alarm as it was whisked beneath the patrol car. "Rosco! Quick, get the evidence!"
Bo pushed his way past the startled sheriff and hit the pavement, groping underneath the car for the escaped picture—but someone had gotten there first. A pair of mournful brown eyes surveyed him with mild interest, peering down a long, droopy snout.
"Don't you worry, Little Fat Buddy!" Rosco crowed happily. "Look at what Flash did!" Bo let out an exasperated groan as he saw the pudgy Bassett hound waddling out from underneath the car with the picture in her mouth. He climbed to his feet and leaned against the patrol car, exchanging a "do-you-think-we-should-run-for-it?" glance with Luke as Flash sat down calmly next to their dog.
"Well, get it back from her, you numbskull!" Boss ordered, stomping his foot in agitation.
Rosco took hold of the picture and gave it a gentle tug, but Flash kept her teeth firmly clamped together. "Flash, give the evidence to Daddy. Come on, Flash." But Flash didn't let go. She just tugged back and growled a little in protest. Rosco grinned over his shoulder at Boss. "She's—she's got a real flair for police work—really likes helpin' with evidence."
"She's droolin' all over it!"
"No, she's—she's helping! Come on, Velvet Ears, give it to Dadd—yeee!" Rosco stumbled backwards as something finally gave way, and he held up his hand excitedly. "See, Boss, Flash gave it over just like I—gkhu—ooh…" He stopped abruptly as he realized he was only holding the thick white strip at the bottom of the Polaroid. Flash looked placidly up at him, munching away on the remainder of the picture. When she finally spat it out, it was a sodden mess of paper, chewed beyond any hope of recognition.
"Atta girl, Flash!" Bo exclaimed with a laugh. He knelt to rub behind the long ears as she smiled up at him and wagged her thick tail. "I knew you liked us!"
"Rosco!" Boss gave his brother-in-law an outraged slap on the arm. "Look what that fleabait of yours just did!"
"Oh, now, it wasn't her fault!" Rosco protested. "If your little fat fingers had more stamina, that little bitty breeze wouldn't have pulled the picture away."
"Boys, I think we'd better get while the gettin's good," Cooter muttered. Bo nodded his agreement and started to move away, but he stopped when Luke suddenly burst out laughing and tagged him with the back of his hand.
"Hey, Bo, take a look over there." Bo looked—and immediately dissolved into laughter. The dog was standing next to Boss Hogg's car, balancing his weight on three legs while his left hind limb was cocked strategically against the gleaming white fender.
Boss Hogg noticed a split second later. "Dah! Hey, you mangy mutt! Get away from my fender!" The dog spared him a single friendly glance before lowering his leg and trotting over to sit next to Flash. Boss glared after him and pointed angrily to his dripping car. "Rosco! I want you to arrest that animal!"
"Boss, you can't arrest a dog!" Cooter said, still chuckling.
"Now, I think he's right, Little Fat Buddy," Rosco said thoughtfully. "I don't know if we got a rule in the books about that—"
"It's vandalism!" Boss bellowed. He flinched as Flash cut in with a loud "roowroouf!".
"Aw, he didn't scuff your vehicle none. Besides," Rosco finished with a smile at his pet, "I think Velvet Ears is fond of him."
Boss' bald head grew red with frustration. "What do you mean he didn't scuff my car? Look at my fender! I gotta go get my car washed now before every dog in Hazzard gets a whiff of it and gets the same idea!"
"May as well give up, Boss," Luke said, holding his side and trying not to laugh as his cracked ribs reminded him rather sharply that they didn't appreciate the sudden burst of activity. "Rosco's right—he didn't do no harm. Besides," he smirked, "that dog's a Duke. You'd never get any charges to stick."
Boss ignored him and frowned stubbornly. "I ain't kiddin', Rosco!" he insisted. "If you can't arrest the dog, you just ticket them Duke boys for loitering in front of a public building and—and aidin' and abettin' a vandal!"
The sheriff immediately snapped to attention. "Alllll right, you Duke boys! You heard the boss! Now, you've got exactly two seconds to scoot before I ticket you up, down, and sideways!"
"Y'all, I think we done wore out our welcome," Cooter said.
"Truer words were never spoken," Luke agreed, backing away.
"And when you're done with that," Boss continued, "you can just give Flash a ticket for tamperin' with police evidence and lettin' those criminals get away."
Rosco turned indignantly to his brother-in-law. "Boss, you can't ticket a police dog," he protested.
"I know I can't! You're the Sheriff! That's your job!"
Bo hurried to slide inside the General, wanting to get the car away from Boss and Rosco while he still could. Cooter snagged Luke by the arm and led him away, trying not to trip over the dog as he hovered around Luke's feet.
Luke glanced over his shoulder at Rosco and Boss, but the two men had turned away and were arguing heatedly over dog legislation as they headed back into the courthouse. Rosco still had the rubber hydrant under his arm.
Bo parked back at Cooter's, deciding he could just move the General when the gas truck came. He perched in the window, folded his arms on the hood, and rested his chin on his wrists as he waited for Luke and Cooter to join him there. His cousin stepped up beside him and leaned against the car.
"Whattaya say, Bo?" he asked.
Bo just shook his head. "I can't believe he actually chipped in to pay for the General's repairs."
"Never look a gift Hogg in the mouth," Luke said with a shrug.
"He'll probably just arrest us next week and we'll have to pay it back to him as bail," Bo predicted. Then he sighed, smiled, and gave a resigned shake to his blond curls. "Well, I don't like him none…but I guess we can put up with him if he's that sorry, huh?"
Luke smiled and put his good arm around Bo's shoulders. "I guess we can at that." He tipped his head toward Cooter. "Now, how 'bout you help that grease monkey with Miz Tisdale's bike so he can get started on the General?"
Bo grinned as he hopped down from the car. "Yes, sir!"
Well, one thing's for sure…no matter how Boss Hogg picks 'em up, shakes 'em around, and drops 'em back, those Duke boys always manage to land on their feet.