Tom Dewberry ended his conversation with Dr. Foster and hung up the phone. He then began walking across the square toward Bo. He had only taken a few steps when the boys pushed the hood down and jumped into the windows of the General.

"Keep it 'tween the ditches ya'll, ain't got no new parts shipment in over two weeks!" Cooter yelled toward them as they peeled out of town.

Dr. Dewberry ran back to his car and got in. Throwing it in drive, he took off after the departing General Lee, intent on finding out where Bo lived.

After several minutes at speeds that could make even the bravest nascar driver a bit edgy, he spotted the General ahead, traveling at only a slightly slower speed.

"That Cooter sure knows what he's doin'." Luke announced, jerking the wheel to the left, the General throwing some dirt in the air as it spun. "That camshaft adjustment did the trick."

He then increased his speed once more as he took off down the new road. Looking in the rearview mirror, he spied Dr. Dewberry's car.

"Wonder who the heck that is?" Luke asked.

Bo turned around from the passenger seat to look back. He then shrugged his shoulders. "Car doesn't look familiar. You reckon he's after us?"

"There's only one way to find out." Luke replied.

Luke veered to the right, taking the next road. He barreled forward in a burst of speed. Looking into his rearview mirror. He saw the car struggling to keep up.

"Yep. He's following us." Bo nodded.

"Well let's see if he can follow this." Luke announced, switching the gears on the General as a ramp over the Conasauga River loomed ahead.

The General hit the ramp, sailing over the river in one smooth gesture, the sun glistening off the windows.

Landing on the other side, Luke drove on a few feet before skidding to a halt. He and Bo then sat up on the door frames and watched as whoever was chasing them slammed on their brakes just short of the ramp.

Seeing that the boys had their eye on him, Dr. Dewberry ducked down in his seat, threw his car in reverse, and left, hoping that the younger Duke had not recognized him. His plan had only been to find out where Bo lived so he could talk to him later. He needed to gain the boy's trust, and that would not work if Bo were leery of him.

XXXXXX

After the boys had doubled back to town to let Cooter know the camshaft was in good shape and to pick up Bo's prescription, they arrived back at the farm and found Uncle Jesse on the phone.

"J.D., I'm tellin' ya, you're just gonna hafta deal with it for today. The boys have been gone all mornin' and we're two days behind on takin' care of the crops as it is."

As Bo and Luke looked at Jesse quizzically, he continued. "If that's all ya got to worry about ya old buzzard, yer……" Uncle Jesse stopped and snarled, handing the phone to Bo. "He wants to talk to you."

"What about?" Bo asked, taking the phone.

"About how he don't care if he gits his mortgage payment on time this month. 'Cause that's how it's gonna turn out unless we git in that field today!"

Bo frowned in confusion as he spoke into the phone. "Hello?"

"Bo this is J.D. Hogg. I just got over here to the Boar's Nest for the first time in two days and you know what I saw?"

"Uh, there ain't no tellin', Boss."

"The paintin' skills of a kindergartner! I ain't never seen such sloppy trim work in all my life. I bet you if we'd took that fleabag Flash and dipped her tail in paint and let her wag it against the wall, it'd turned out better that this mess."

"Well I'm real sorry about that Boss but if you got a problem with the trim, then you need to talk to Suzanne, 'cause she's the one who took care of that." Bo replied, receiving a hard stare from Luke as his girlfriend's name was mentioned.

"Did I say trim? I meant wall. The one you painted."

"How do you know I's the one who painted it?"

"Well which one did you paint?" Boss asked.

"The one in the back, behind the pool table." Bo replied.

"See? There ya go. It was the one you painted. Now I got important people comin' in tomorrow and I gotta have this office lookin' good. So you high tail it over here and fix that wall or else!"

"Or else what?" Bo had to ask.

"Or else I'll arrest that cousin of yours! If it hadn't a been for my generosity last week, he'd a been sittin' in the state pen even as we speak. Now you don't want me changin' my mind, do ya?"

Bo sighed. "I'll be there in a few minutes." He replied before hanging up the phone.

"Good job, Hogg." Dr. Dewberry announced, standing next to the commissioner. He pulled out his wallet and put two hundred dollars in Boss's hand. As agreed, here's a refund on those sessions you and your wife had this afternoon. And…." He pulled out another bill. "…..another hundred to see that we're left alone."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Well, the old Boss is back." Bo announced back at the farm. Unless I go over there and fix what he considers a botched paint job, he's threatened to have Luke here put in jail."

"Ah, I knew that'd all come back on me just as soon as it's convenient." Luke sighed. "I'll run over there and help you with it."

"Now just hold it, Luke." Jesse began as the boys ran for the door. "It's bad enough that J.D.'s snookerin' Bo away from the farm today, but we still got a lotta work to do around here. Bo can handle things by himself."

Luke looked from Bo to Jesse. "But Uncle Jesse…." He trailed off.

Jesse shook his head. "I know it's kinda scary sendin' him off by himself again. But ya gotta remember, he's a grown man and them troublemakers are in jail where they belong. Now, we gotta lot of work comin' up in the next couple of months and we won't have time for any babysittin'. Now's as good a time to get used to the idea as any."

Even though he was going to paint, Bo smiled the smile of freedom. "Thank you, Uncle Jesse!"

"Um, Bo?" Jesse asked, holding up his finger. "Ya got yer inhaler?"

"Yes sir!" Bo replied, picking the bag back up that he had just set on the table.

"And the CB in the General stays on?"

"Yes sir." Bo nodded.

"Well, there's just one more thing then." Jesse added.

"What's that?"

"Hurry up 'n get back!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that night, around three, Bo got up from his bed. Taking his blanket, he tiptoed out of the room away from Luke.

Eventually he made his way outside where he walked to the barn. Once there, he opened the door and went inside, ascending the ladder to the hay loft.

It'd taken a long time for Luke to fall asleep. As tired as Bo had been, he'd simply laid in the bed with his eyes closed, waiting for his cousin to stop hovering over him expecting something to happen. How he hated to think of his family worrying about him like that.

Which is why he found some hope in his conversation with Dr. Dewberry at the Boar's Nest. When the doctor offered him a guaranteed way to end the dreams, Bo figured only fate could have put him there at that exact moment, having just finished with Boss as far as he knew. Still, while the idea of being rid of the dreams was tempting, he knew Uncle Jesse frowned on things such as that, and he decided to sleep on it a couple of nights.

Those are the thoughts that was running through his mind when he finally drifted off to sleep there in the hayloft, far from where the family could hear him if another dream came.

And came it did. Bo lay on the blanket, thrashing around as he rolled slightly in the hayloft. As he continued to roll and thrash, he eventually rolled right over the side!

Ya know, It'd take a Duke to figure out how to hurt yourself while sleepin'.