Straightening the Curves

Chapter Five: Party of Three

Balladeer: Luke had hitched a ride to town with Jesse, who had to pick up a few groceries for the house. He had already said his good-byes to his uncle, Daisy, and to Bo an' Rachel. He just filled Cooter in on the fact that he was, without a doubt, accompanying him to Atlanta to try and solve the case himself.

"Luke, I appreciate you wantin' to help, I really do, but I just don't think—"

Luke held up a hand to silence his best friend. "Cooter, ya ain't talkin' me outta this one. You've done plenty of small favors for me over the years, an' I aim to repay you for them all by helpin' you out here. I'm gonna find that killer, Cooter, an' prove ya didn't do it."

"Uh, Luke, that's kinda why I have Eve. She's supposed to be gettin' me outta this."

"But she's gonna be in court with you all day, while the real criminal runs free. I'll be the one goin' out into the public tryin' to find this guy while you two do all the courtroom drama. It wouldn't hurt." He gave Cooter a puppy-dog look. "Please, ol' buddy, ol' pal? I even brought my own bag," he added, holding up his duffel bag that he hadn't hardly had time to empty from his trip back from Virginia.

One look at Luke's big blue eyes and Cooter just couldn't find it in his heart to say "no". "Dang it, Luke! All right, fine, you can help."

"Thanks, Coot."

"No, thank you."

"Honey, grab these two bags off the couch when you get through loading those three up!" Eve called out the front door to Rosco, who was at present trying to pack all her luggage up in her car. Flash was trotting around her feet as she ran around the house trying to see if she got everything she needed for however long she would be gone in Atlanta.

"Brownies!" she exclaimed to herself, rushing to the oven in the kitchen when she heard the timer go off. She quickly turned the oven off, grabbed a few potholders and brought the delicious treats to set on the stove.

"You said these two on the couch needed to go?" Rosco shouted from the living room as Eve tried to cut her brownies into equal-sized squares.

"Yeah, just throw 'em in there!" she called out, throwing her cutting knife into the sink and grabbing the plastic wrap to cover the baking pan with. She made a quick run of the house to make positively sure she had everything, grabbed her purse and strolled outside, Flash right at her heels.

"Okay, that's all," she said as she made it to her car. "Brownies are wrapped on the stove, don't eat 'em all in one day. Don't forget about the bills, clean the house, and go to church."

She paused to let her racing mind wind down before she allowed herself to get in the driver's seat. "I think that's about it." She looked at her husband, who had a forlorn look about him. "Sweetie, what's the matter?"

"Oh, nothin'," he said quietly, looking at the ground. "It's just that—it's the first time we'll be separated since we've been together."

Her face softened from the panicked look she'd had all morning, took his head in her hands and pulled him down for akiss and gave him a hug. "You're just too sweet sometimes, y'know that? I'll be back—in a month of two, dependin' on how things go. You can always come visit. I'm gonna call from our hotel so you'll have the number, although I probably won't be there during the day." She gave him another kiss. "You'll be fine, hone," she assured him, straightening his tie a little and smoothing his jacket lapels. "And don't eat all them brownies in one sittin'."

"I heard ya the first time," he smiled.

"That doesn't mean you'll listen. Don't think I don't notice you sneakin' off in the middle of the night to have a bite of whatever it is I made," she grinned, patting his stomach.

Flash was sitting by Rosco's feet and let out a mournful howl. Eve smiled and bent down to scratch her ears. "I'm gonna miss you two, Flash dear. Take care of your daddy for me, all right?"

The dog mumbled some kind of answer.

"Okay, I better go," Eve said, standing up. "Cooter probably didn't take too long to pack anything, knowin' him. I'll call ya when we get down there, all right, baby?"

"All right."

"Take care of yourself," she told him, giving him one last kiss before she left. "I love you. An' keep an eye on Rachel for me."

"I love you, too. An' I will if Bo'll let me ten feet near her."

And with that, Eve took off in her sedan to go pick up her cousin at his garage, leaving Rosco and Flash behind standing on the sidewalk in front of the house. Rosco looked down at his dog, who was still sitting at his feet, and sighed.

"Well, Flash. Looks like it's gonna be just you an' me again for a while."

Later on that day, after the trio had already left, Bo left the garage for lunch at the Boar's Nest. It gave him a chance to see Rachel more during the day and also to make sure some guy didn't decide to get fresh with her. It seemed not to matter to some men if a woman was married and pregnant or not.

He came in, sat down on a stool, and waited patiently for her to get done serving someone's shot of whiskey. At last she made her way over to him and he got up to place a kiss directly on the mouth. "Busy?" he asked, sitting back down.

"It was earlier, but not now," she answered, looking around the almost emptied bar. "Ooh!" she exclaimed lightly, placing a hand on her stomach.

Bo's heart skipped a beat and he jumped up. "What? What's wrong? You goin' into labor? Do I need to call a doctor?"

Rachel started laughing. "No, I just felt a kick. Here, feel." She grabbed Bo's hand and placed it on her stomach. Like she said, the baby was kicking. Bo got a big grin on hisface and wrapped his hand around Rachel's.

"Seems like Bo Junior's gettin' restless in there."

"We are not namin' this baby Bo Junior," she insisted with a smile. "I won't have everybody callin' it B.J. or Bo-Bo. 'Sides, what if it's a girl?"

He pretended to think. "Rachel Junior."

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "I doubt it. Stay here, I gotta run to the bathroom. One thing I hate about bein' pregnant, always gotta go."

Bo chuckled and watched his wife make it to the bathroom okay without falling over into contractions or anything. He u sed his two pointer fingers as drumsticks to beat the bar with as he sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Well, hi there, Bo Duke," he heard a rather sultry, and familiar, voice say from behind him. He turned his head to come face to face with an old "female acquaintance" named Luanne Watson—a gorgeous raven-haired girl with pale blue eyes and looks to kill. "Been quite a while since I seen you, hasn't it?"

He gave her a smile and a look that he still liked the way she appeared. "I reckon it has been. How've ya been?"

"Oh, y'know, same-ol, same-ol," she told him, looking down at her nails then looking back up at him. "Hey, y'know, I ain't seein' anybody, an' I've got nobody 'round here to hook up with," she said in a pouty little voice. She got closer to him. "I was thinkin' maybe you an' me could—" She ran a finger across his lips. "Pick up where we left off."

Bo's mind drew a blank, trying to get out the words, "Sorry, Luanne, but—hey, y'know, I'm married!" but he was interrupted from thinking when he heard the angry voice of a pregnant woman ring out,

"Beauregard Duke!"

Bo's head jerked over to the side and he sawa Rachel with both hands on her hips and an extremely angry look on her face.

Balladeer: No matter what, trouble seems to stick to them Dukes like red on a rose.