A/N: Once again, I am so utterly happy for all those beautiful reviews I got for this story. I love you all for it and I hope you'll read this part and review to it even if you've never reviewed to it before, it's not to late to start now! So read this, all you awesome people, and then review when you're done. PLEASE?
Chapter 3
Daisy drove Dixie to work in deep thought. She was worried about Bo, and she just couldn't believe that her baby cousin was gonna die. She kept thinking that there had to be something she could do, but deep down she knew there wasn't.
She felt guilty. She couldn't stand that Bo was dying at such a young age. He was only twenty-one, after all. Being twenty-four herself, and Luke being twenty-six, she felt bad that Bo was going to be the first one to die.
She was in the middle of wallowing in her guilt when a (I mean the) red sedan pulled up behind her. She didn't think anything of it, until he kept honking at her. Finally, she pulled over to let them pass, but they rammed into her before she could get over.
"Gosh dang it!" she exclaimed as they drove away. She picked up the CB. "Breaker, breaker. This is Bo Peep callin' Lost Sheep, ya'll out there anywhere?"
"Right here, Daisy," Luke replied. He found a CB right near his jail cell, close enough where he could reach out and grab it.
"Ya'll bin seein' a red sedan in a hurry 'round here?"
"Yup. Bin responsible for wreckin' poor General Lee twice now. Just today."
"Well, whoever it belongs to, they just ran me off the road."
"Ya alright?" Luke was worried Daisy might be hurt.
"I'm fine Luke. Wonder what they're up to though."
"Me an' Bo have bin tryin' ta figure that out all day."
"You boys be careful. Over and out."
"Ten-four, Daisy." He turned to Bo. "Did ya hear that?"
"Yeah, I heard it," Bo said, obviously preoccupied at the moment. "We should keep lookin' for 'em."
"Ya know," said Luke. "Maybe we should go to the Boar's Nest when we get outta here. It might be possible that they stopped for a little pick-me-up somewhere along the lines, and someone has seen 'em. Do ya know what either of 'em look like?"
"Hm?" Bo said. "Oh. Uh, the driver was black, and the other one had really red hair."
Luke nodded.
Jesse was outside feeding the chickens when it hit him for the first time. Bo was really gonna die. To him, Bo, Luke, and Daisy were his children. Knowing ahead of time that Bo was sick was tearing him up inside.
He started to remember the day Bo came to live with him and Luke and Daisy and his wife, Caroline.
"He sure is tiny, Uncle Jesse," said four-year-old Daisy.
"We's all been that small, Daisy," Jesse said, referring to his one-year-old nephew, Bo.
"No way. Really?" Daisy asked innocently.
"Why sure Daisy. In fact, he'll pro'ly be taller'n all of us one day."
Daisy eyed him curiously. She didn't buy it.
"Why don'cha go see if yer Aunt Caroline needs any help with supper?"
"Okay!" Daisy said happily. She ran into the kitchen, giving Jesse a moment alone with the newest member of his growing family.
Luke and Daisy had been with him and Caroline for two years now. Daisy had been two, Luke four. Bo, only a year old, would be different. Jesse would raise him from almost the beginning. Bo would grow up to be a man Jesse could be very proud of.
From that day on, even though all Dukes loved each other equally, Jesse, Caroline, Daisy, and Luke all held a special place in their hearts for Bo.
Jesse couldn't bear it. He had to get his mind off this, somehow. He went on feeding the chickens that were now angry with him because he had been standing there staring off into space.
When Caroline had died, about a month after Luke's tenth birthday, it had been awful. Though Jesse had the children to keep him going every day, he had still been miserable. He hated to go through this all over again. He wasn't sure if he could survive it himself.
But for now, all he could do is let Bo live his life to the fullest. Set and determined, Jesse decided that that was exactly what he was gonna do.
Charlie and Nicodemus were working on a new plan inside the Boar's Nest.
"Hey Charlie," said Nicodemus in a hushed voice, body leaning over the table so no one could hear. "Remember when we first rammed those guys off the road? They called some dude with a tow truck to come help them. If I'm not mistaken, the one who was talkin' had a voice that sounded a lot like yers."
"Yeah, what's yer point?" Charlie asked.
"Well, we could easily get them off our backs with this. It'd be easy."
Nicodemus went on to tell Charlie his plan. Bo and Luke better watch out.
Boss Hogg was taking his afternoon nap in his barber chair. Nicodemus snuck in and laid a small wooden horse down on its side on the CB. Then he snuck out.
Boss woke up with a start when he heard Luke's voice over the CB. "Dang, we should have tried harder to outrun Rosco."
Ah, so it is Charlie! Apparently he learned the name of the Sheriff before doing this. "We shouldn'ta bin caught. Now he's gonna figure out our whole plan."
Boss started talking to the CB. "What plan? Tell me!"
"Rosco and that fat marshmallow buddy a his are gonna figure out we kidnapped ol' Doc Watson."
Uh-oh. Them boys is really in trouble now.
Bo and Luke heard it all through the CB in their cell. "Bo," Luke said, "I think now would be a good time to try callin' Uncle Jesse again."
Bo nodded. "Enos!" he called out. "Luke made his phone call already. It's my turn now."
"Why sure, Bo. Come on out." He opened the jail cell.
Enos turned his back to Bo and started talking to Luke. "Howdy Luke. How ya doin'?"
Luke sighed. "Not too good Enos."
"Well, why not?" Enos asked.
"We actually got caught by Rosco. Plus the whole thing with Bo."
Enos's curiosity was sparked. "What thing would that be, Luke?"
Luke spilled his beans to Enos. Enos looked rather shocked when he was done.
Meanwhile, while Enos wasn't watching, Bo didn't make a phone call; he left. He snuck over to Cooter's where he was working on the General Lee, even though it was going to go to the impound lot.
"Hey, Cooter," Bo whispered from out of sight behind the General.
Cooter didn't see Bo, and he looked all around him and then found him behind the General. "What're ya doin' behind that car?"
"Hidin'. Look Cooter, do ya think I could borrow yer truck?"
"Okay, but you seem to be wreckin' a lot today, so yer payin' fer any damages."
"I can't afford to pay any damages on yer truck!"
"Then don't wreck it!"
Bo thought about this for a moment. "Alright. I won't."
Jesse was in deep concentration with feeding Maudine the mule, but it was broken by the sound of Cooter's truck pulling up. Only he was surprised to see that Bo was behind the wheel, not Cooter.
"Bo, what in tarnation-?" he began.
"Luke and me got arrested. I sorta—left. While Enos wasn't lookin' I just left."
"What about Luke?" Jesse asked.
"Well, he was the one that was distractin' Enos."
"Now, Bo, you know this wasn't the best way ta do this. But right now, it's just too dang hard ta be mad atcha. So let's go down and pay bail on the two of yas."
About five minutes after Bo left the police station, Enos noticed that Bo was taking a really long time with his phone call. He left Luke to go check on him.
Another two minutes later, Enos came back. "Luke, did you and Bo by any chance plan an escape?"
"An escape? I don't remember Bo saying nothin' about no escape. Why?" Luke's curiosity was aroused, as were his suspicions.
"Cause I went up there, an' Bo wasn't there."
Luke shrugged. Enos told Luke that he was leaving to go look for Bo, so he didn't get fired. So Luke was left alone, deep in thought.
Why Bo? He wondered. What did he ever do to deserve this? Nothing, he concluded. Bo had done nothing to deserve this. His life shouldn't be taken so soon.
God. Sometimes he hated that word, and this was one of those times. He heard many times that God had a plan for everything; that everything that happened for a reason, but right now, he didn't believe it.
He started to remember teaching Bo how to drive when he turned fourteen.
"Alright Bo, easy now. Nice and easy. Just gently push down the gas," nineteen- year- old Luke said to his fourteen-year-old cousin.
"Don't worry Luke, I ain't gonna crash," Bo said, slightly irked at his cousins repeated warnings."Just makin' sure."
Bo sighed. He eased on the gas. They were just going for a small drive around the Duke farm.
It was cut short when Bo was busy trying to shift gears, and when he was looking down, he crashed into a tree. Bo just sat there for a minute, flabbergasted, and it took a minute to register the sharp pain in his right shoulder because of it hitting the steering wheel.
"Bo?" Luke asked, afraid that his cousin was seriously hurt. After no reply, "Bo, are ya alright? Answer me, Bo, are ya alright?"
Bo finally came out of his dazed state. "Yeah, I'm alright Luke, but my shoulder hurts real bad."
"Well, let's go have Uncle Jesse take a look at it."
"Luke?" Bo asked, slightly afraid. "Ya ain't mad, are ya? For wreckin' the General?"
"No Bo. I ain't mad. I'm just glad yer alright."
Luke sighed as he thought back on that moment. Now, he thought it was ironic that Bo was the one who normally did the driving, and he was the only Duke to crash on his first try. He found himself laughing about that.
A few minutes later, Uncle Jesse showed up, Bo close behind him.
"Where's Enos?" Bo asked him.
"Out lookin' fer you. Where were you?"
"I borrowed Cooter's truck and went ta get Uncle Jesse."
Luke sighed. Just then, Boss Hogg and Rosco came in. Ol' Boss don't look too pleased to be seein' Bo on the outside of the jail cell.
"What're ya doin' on the wrong side of the jail!"
Bo just laughed. Even Luke and Jesse chuckled.
Rosco spoke up. "I have more charges ta add against ya. The kidnappin' of a Henry Watson."
Jesse got a little worked up by this, to put it lightly. "Now ya know my boys did nothin' of the sort! Ya don't have any proof! Besides what right do ya have of puttin' Bo behind bars when he's livin' on his last few weeks! Ya could at least let him enjoy what little time he's got left here! Don't pretend ya don't know, either, I seen ya sittin' up there in that tree, Rosco!"
Rosco looked shocked at Jesse's outburst. "I'm sorry, Jesse." He turned to Boss. "I think we should let them boys out on bail."
"A very hiiiiiiiiiiiiigh bail," Boss Hogg added.
"J.D. I-" Jesse began.
"Boss I think it should just be a regular old normal bail." Rosco objected.
"Alright, alright. $500 a piece. That's my final offer. And Rosco?"
"Yes, Boss?"
"I ain't splittin' none with you. And the charges still stand."
Friends and neighbors, Boss Hogg must care about them Dukes deep down if he kept the bail from being ridiculously high. But them bad guys is still out there. Ya'll stick around now, ya hear?
A/N: Okay thanks for reading, now like I've said before, and I'm probably annoying you with all this, but just please keep reviewing and make me as happy as you have before. Okay as Rosco would say, "I'm gone."