Bo drove quickly and blindly through the countryside, not really caring which way he went. Deep down he knew he should be careful as he neared the elementary school, but his anger didn't let him care as he barreled past at over 80 m.p.h.
Roscoe smiled in victory as he sat in his patrol car in his hideaway near the school. He wasted a few moments putting his sandwich down and getting Flash out of his lap. He wasted a few more wrestling Flash for what was left of his uneaten sandwich. He then hit the siren and began to give chase.
Although the General was traveling fast, Bo wasn't attempting to outrun the law. It wasn't long before he looked in his rearview mirror and saw Roscoe giving chase.
"Alright, Bo Duke. Pull it over I got you this time." Roscoe said over the C.B.
"What for?" Bo asked, although he already knew the answer.
"Bo, where are you?" Luke asked, who was out in Jesse's pickup looking for him.
"Luke Duke, you hush!" Roscoe exclaimed. "I got yer cousin this time fer speeding past the school. Now that's naughty naughty."
"Well we've paid plenty of fines on Boss's illegal speed traps. Why don't you just apply some of that money to this incident and we'll call it even." Bo said sarcastically as he continued to speed along with Rosco in pursuit.
"Bo Duke, you pull over right now or I'm gonna place you under arrest!"
"Roscoe, leave him alone. He just left Boss's office and Boss got him all tore up about something." Luke said.
"How do you know that, cousin?" Bo asked.
"Never mind how he knew what!" Roscoe exclaimed again. "Now I'm telling you again, pull it over. I'm getting mad!"
"This is J.D. Hogg callin' Roscoe P. Coltrane." A new voice said over the CB. Luke rolled his eyes. All that was left was for Jesse to call in and Cooter to roll up in his tow truck. "Boss, don't you think you've done enough today?" Luke asked.
"Well you sure seem to know a lot today, Luke!" Bo called back.
"Roscoe P. Coltrane here. You want me to arrest him, Boss?"
"No nit-wit. I want you to leave him alone."
"What?" Roscoe asked, with the equal expression of surprise shared by the cousins.
"You heard me I said let him be."
"But Boss he was speeding through the school zone! We got him fair and square this time!"
"And school's out for the summer. Now cease and desist before somebody gets killed!"
"Ten four." Roscoe said, slamming on the brakes and turning around to go back to town.
"Bo, where are you?" Luke asked again, glad that Boss was showing a little sense in the situation.
Bo didn't answer. He took the opportunity of freedom to make a couple of jumps. First over Critter Creek then across the Mojabie River, where he startled some of the fisherman on the bridge there. One shook his fist toward Bo as the action startled him, causing him to loose his pole in the water.
Having burned off some steam, Bo found himself passing the farm and decided to go ahead and stop. He climbed out of the General and walked toward the barn, the chickens scattering in his path.
Meanwhile, Luke had stopped at a country store to use the payphone to call Jesse. He didn't want to take the chance of Bo hearing their conversation. "I didn't hear what was said, but I think Boss may have told him, Jesse."
"I can't believe J.D. would say anything, Luke. Although this would be the perfect opportunity for him to open his mouth, I swore him to secrecy years ago with a spit and shake. Even J.D. wouldn't go back on his word when a spit and shake is involved."
"Alls I know is Bo is terribly upset about something right now." Luke replied as Bo pulled up outside the farm in the General.
"Luke, he's back. I'm gonna talk to him you git on home."
"Yes sir." Luke replied before the pair hung up.
Jesse sighed and headed toward the barn, confused that he was hearing a banging sound as he went. He arrived to find Bo driving loose nails back into the barn wood, more so to burn off additional steam than to accomplish a task.
"Jesse, we got any oil for that tiller?" Bo asked.
"What do you want the tiller for?" Jesse asked.
"Because I'm gonna use it in the back field. We got crops to raise don't we?" He replied as he continued to drive the nails.
"That all depends. What did J.D. say to you?" Jesse asked as Luke pulled up in the pickup and rushed toward the barn and the banging sound.
Bo stopped using the hammer as Luke arrived. He turned to his Uncle and looked to be on the verge of tears. "He said you don't want this farm anymore."
"What?" Jesse asked.
"He said that you didn't want us around anymore. He said you were hoping that we would join the Nascar circuit and that you had been encouraging Daisy to marry Enos. That……that foreclosure notice was your idea so it wouldn't look like your fault, and he went along with the whole thing because he owed you a favor. And it all because you want to marry Laura and move into her house"
Jesse wanted to grin and would have had Bo not taken the situation so seriously. "Bo, since when have you ever believed a word that came out of J.D.'s mouth?"
Bo wiped his eyes with his sleeves and sniffed. "Well it seems true. I mean you know how much Luke and I love Nascar, and you're always worried about Daisy not settlin' down. And you just ain't worried about the farm this time, and that's not like you."
"And what of Laura?" Jesse asked. "I thought you kids knew that those rumors about Laura and I were just that, rumors. We're not interested in one another. She's not even over her husband's passin' yet."
Bo started to relax a bit. "Then none of it's true?"
"No boy." Jesse replied, hugging him. "I'd never do anything to send you kids away. Now it does look like we are gonna lose this farm, but if we leave here we're leaving as a family. Understand?"
"Yes sir." Bo laughed in relief. "But I still don't understand why you don't want to fight for the farm."
Jesse sighed. "Bo, it's been a long day. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Why don't you boys get that stuff on down to the orphanage before something happens to it?"
"Yes sir." They replied in unison.
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A bit later they arrived at the orphanage and met up with the Sanderson Sisters, who talked them into joining them on a picnic.
"Elizabeth, I think you get prettier every time you come to town." Luke said, running his fingers through the girl's long blond hair. "Is there any way I can convince you to stay this time?"
"Hmmm, I'm open to suggestions." Elizabeth smiled as she and Luke began to kiss.
"Isn't that disgusting?" Bo asked as he and Amelia watched the couple.
"Terribly." Amelia replied as she planted her own kiss on Bo's lips. Bo laughed and pulled her down on the blanket with him.
"Bo! Luke!"
The boys immediately jumped up. They saw Adam Humphrey waving them down. Adam was over the orphanage and also their former high school principal, which explained why they still jumped to attention.
"Boys, I'm so sorry but I forgot to include that mower on your receipt."
"Oh. No problem." Luke replied, taking the receipt out of his shirt pocket. In doing so, he accidentally pulled out Jesse's paper which dropped to the blanket.
"Luke, you dropped this." Elizabeth said, picking up the paper.
"Oh." Luke replied, snatching the paper from her rather forcefully.
"Well Luke, you didn't have to be so rude about it." Bo scolded as Adam jotted on the receipt. "Why'd you act like that anyway?"
"No reason Bo. Sorry, Elizabeth." Luke apologized.
"It's no problem, Luke." Elizabeth replied.
Bo suddenly grinned. "Wait, I know what's going on!" He jumped up and plucked Jesse's paper from Luke's pocket.
"Bo! Give that back right now!" Luke commanded chasing Bo as he playfully ran from his cousin.
"What? You don't want Elizabeth to see your love notes? Who's this from? Mary Beth? Dixie?"
"Bo, I said give it back. I mean it!"
Bo continued to run, opening the paper all the time. As he began to read he slowed and stopped all together.
"Bo…" Luke said in a coaxing voice.
"No…." Bo said, shaking his head.
"I didn't want you to….."
"Is this a sick joke?" Bo demanded.
"Bo, I wish it were but…."
"I though when I left Boss's office this morning, I'd heard the worst news ever. But this beats it, beats it ten fold!"
"Bo…."
"This isn't true!" Bo said, crumpling up the paper and throwing it back at Luke, a new set of tears pooling in his eyes. "I know you like to play jokes on me Luke Duke but this ain't funny. If you don't' apologize to me right now I'm gonna beat you into the ground!"
"Bo, I wish I could, but I can't. I found that just this morning in Jesse's things when I was up in the loft. He confirmed it."
Bo stood shaking his head. He walked backward away from his cousin and turned, taking a full sprint into the woods.
"Here we go again." Luke muttered, about to give chase to Bo. He was stopped by Adam, who grabbed his arm.
"Luke, you didn't take your receipt." He looked toward Bo, who had disappeared into the woods. "What's wrong with your cousin?"
"Can you keep a secret, Mr. Humphrey?" Luke asked.
"Sure, Luke. You've always known that."
Luke sighed and looked toward the woods before answering. "Bo just found out that the man he despises most in this world…….. is his father."