Chapter Eleven
The Dukes plus Mrs. Archer sat at the dining room table, enjoying a wonderful meal that consisted of steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, plus green beans and hot rolls.
At the head of the table sat Mrs. Archer, with Bo and Luke to her left and Uncle Jesse to her right.
The dining room table itself was cherry wood, with silver and gold edges. The surface itself shined thanks to Mrs. Archer and her fantastic cleaning.
The dining room was just a big as the entire Duke farm house and them some!
After Luke had finished a mouthful of his dinner, he turned to Bo, who was seated next to him.
"I can't believe the size of this house! You're dad built this?" Luke asked.
Bo smiled and calmly laid down his fork and knife before he looked at Luke.
"No. Ma dad inherited the place from his dad. When ma dad first arrived, the place was a wreck, but he fixed it up just 'fore I was born. When dad died, he passed the place down ta me." Bo explained.
"What are ya gonna do with it?" Luke asked.
"Don't know. I ain't gonna sell it if that's what'cha mean!" Bo replied.
Luke smiled and nodded his head slightly.
"I'll probably keep er' and move back in when I'm older." Bo said before he popped a bite of his steak into his mouth.
"Ya mean..you've made up yer mind?" Luke asked.
Bo nodded his head gravely.
"Yeah. I'm a gonna move back in with you an Uncle Jesse." Bo said.
Luke could not keep the huge, dumbfounded smile off of his face as he hugged his younger cousin.
Bo smiled and returned the hug greatfully.
After dinner, Uncle Jesse and Sarah sat in the family room chatting while Luke was upstairs in Bo's room talking with Bo.
"Never knew yer dad raised horses." Luke said, looking at a picture of Bo atop a race horse with his father holding the reins.
"Yeah, that's how dad got enough money ta fix up th' place." Bo replied as he took out a small notebook and began writing in it.
Luke tore his gaze away from the picture and looked around the room.
The bedroom was as big as Luke and Bo's bedroom back home at the farmhouse and then some!
The wallpaper had racecars all over it, something that Luke knew Bo injoyed.
Clearing his throat, Luke walked over to the bookcase and looked at the books that lay there.
Spotting a huge book, Luke took it out and saw the words Duke Family printed in gold on the cover.
Going to the huge king sized bed, Luke sat on it and flipped the book open.
The book was a photo album with hundreds of picture's of Bo's great grandfather's as they built the house.
Luke looked at the construction pictures until he saw the end result. The house in the picture looked slightly different than the house of now, but only slightly.
Flipping several pages, Luke saw Bo's grandfather, and his father.
On the next page Luke saw Bo's mother, pregnant with her soon to be born son.
He also saw a picture of Bo when he was two minutes old!
Bo was thin, red and covered with a blanket and cap. His small eyes were closed and he was crying as his mother held him.
Luke smiled as he closed the book and looked at his cousin, who was still writing in his notebook.
"What'cha writin?" Luke asked.
Bo's head shot up and he fixed Luke with a blank stare.
"Why do ya wanna know?" Bo asked.
"I jus' do, cuz'." Luke replied.
Bo shrugged his shoulders and scooted closer to his cousin to show him what he had been writing.
Luke looked at the paper which was covered in Bo's scrawling handwriting.
The notes were full of plans.
Bo's plans on his future car.
There were accessories, stats, all sorts of information on Dodge Chargers in general, and there at the bottom was a name.
The General Lee.
"You buildin' a car?" Luke asked, handing the notebook back to Bo, who nodded his head.
"Once I get enough money ta buy a Charger, I will, then I'll fix er up and turn er inta the best racecar in the world!" Bo said proudly.
"Would...would ya need any help building er?" Luke asked timidly.
Bo looked at his cousin as if he had grown two heads!
"Ya offerin' yer services?" Bo asked.
Luke nodded his head and replied, "Yeah, guess I am."
Bo thought about Luke's request for a second, before a genuine smile grew on his face.
"Sure cuz', I need all the help I can get." Bo replied.
Luke turned on to his stomach, matching Bo's position as they both began tossing suggestions at each other as to the color and make of the General.
Finally, after four hours of planning and drawing, Luke and Bo had come up with the perfect car.
Luke who had been drawing the car, showed Bo the finished result.
There, right in front of them, was the car of their dreams.
The General Lee! Her body would be all orange with white on black 01's on both doors. The horn would be the dixie horn. On the roof of the car would be a huge rebal flag that would take up the whole roof, and on the back would be two crossed racing flags.
Above the door's on either side would be the General Lee's name, painted on in blue.
Bo smiled as he gazed at the picture.
While drawing it, he had given Luke his colored pencils so the picture could be in color, not just black and white.
Now, Luke still lay on his stomach, rubbing his tired wrist as he looked at the picture.
"It's perfect Luke! It turned out jus' as I imagined it!" Bo said happily.
"Glad ta hear that cuz'. Now, about buyin' the car. How much money do ya have?" Luke asked.
"Well, 'fore I left I had $200 saved up, but now I have about $4,000,000,000." Bo said.
Luke's eyes grew as big as saucers when Bo told him how much he had in the bank.
"I think if it's all the same ta you cuz'. We could go out shoppin for the car tomorrow." Luke suggested.
Bo nodded his head, glad that he would be spending time with Luke as a friend and not as an enemy.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea' cuz.'" Bo replied.
Just then the bedroom door opened and Uncle Jesse poked his head in.
"Alright boy's it's time ta get ready fer bed." He said.
"Yes, sir. Uncle Jesse." Both boys said in unison as they walked to the bathroom to brush there teeth.
Ten minutes later Bo walked back to his bedroom and climbed in to bed while Luke grabbed his sleeping bag and headed into Bo's room.
He placed the bag on the floor and started to unroll it when Bo said, "Come on up here Luke, there's plenty of room."
Luke smiled and climbed up on the left side while Bo slept on the right.
"Jus remember to stay on yer side." Bo said.
"Oh ha ha." Luke replied.
Soon, both boys were sound a sleep, and in their minds, they could already see their car, sitting in the barn of the farm back in Georgia.
