Life Ain't Always Beautiful

Chapter Two: Starting Point

Shannon Cooper didn't know what had hit her when she walked out her front door and found the grass stained with egg yolks, baking soda, and messy toilet paper strewn around her mother's beautiful garden. Horrified, she stepped out the front door and saw a giant purple gift bag sitting on her front steps, which was moving around and making some strange noises. Cautiously she turned the bag over to shake out what was inside when a crazed cat jumped out and sunk his claws in her hands, causing her scream and try to shake the wild animal off before it finally released her and ran off yowling down the driveway. Shannon screamed and ran inside crying.

Chelsea and Ali were sitting in Ali's car laughing their heads off. They had somehow managed to pull of the stunt of the year without getting caught. They could still hear Tabby yowling angrily as he streaked on down the road for home. Lizzy was giggling in the backseat, still ducked down because she didn't want anyone to see her. Ali put the car in drive and sped off towards Bo and Chelsea's house, still laughing about it.

"That was too perfect!" Chelsea laughed. "It was better than I planned!"

That'll teach her to mess with a Duke!

"Oh goodness, I hadn't done that since I was eighteen!" Ali chuckled, shaking her head. She put a fist to her mouth and started coughing some. Her chest was hurting her again. "Lizzy, sit up in your seat, baby. Buckle up."

She coughed some more and Chelsea gave her a strange look. "Ya sick, Aunt Ali?"

"No, I'm fine," she smiled, not wanting her niece to worry. "All that laughing tickled my throat is all."

Why do grown-ups always say that there's nothin' wrong when there is? Do they think that we younger ones can't handle the truth or somethin'?

Chelsea didn't press the matter, although she winced everytime she heard her aunt cough some more.

"Eww, germs!" Lizzy squealed, covering her mouth with a hand.

Chelsea rolled her eyes at her cousin's childish behaviors and turned around in the seat. "Y'know, your hand has all them germs from the store an' there you are stickin' it on your mouth. Tsk tsk tsk."

"Guys, I'm fine, really. Sheesh. Who's up for ice cream?"

And why do they always have to change the subject?

The garage had been dead for another hour or so until finally a small black BMW pulled up to the gas pumps. As Luke promised, Jesse was allowed to go pump the gas for the driver. The boy ran up excitedly, his father close behind him. Bo had gone to the Boar's Nest for lunch, Luke staying there until later.

The driver of the BMW stepped out, the first thing coming into view were some very shapely legs that were barely covered by some thin pantyhose and her bottom almost hanging out of a black miniskirt. Her top half was covered by a tight black haltertop and her dark raven hair hung loosely over her shoulders. She removed her shades which revealed gorgeous ocean-blue eyes. She may have been half his age, but Luke still thought her attractive.

"Hi, ma'am!" Jesse greeted as he halted in front of the beautiful stranger. Any other boy his age would've stood there and had his jaw hanging down, but Jesse was raised to keep things like that to himself. "Do you need 'er filled up?"

"I sure do, young man," the woman smiled. Judging from her accent, she came from somewhere North.

Jesse grabbed the gas pump and proceeded to fill the lady's car up. By this time, Luke had caught up, whom the woman smiled upon seeing.

"I hope ya don't mind, miss," he said. "He's been wantin' to do that all day."

"Of course I don't. I love children. He yours?"

"Yep, sure is. The name's Luke, what's yours?"

"Isabella Sinclair," the woman replied. "I'm heading for New Orleans, where my family lives."

"Really? Ya sound more New York than Cajun to me."

"I just graduated from NYU, so I guess I picked up their accent. I majored in business, and I'm hoping to start taking over our family's shipping business once I get back home."

"Wow, congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Dad!" Jesse called. "She's filled up!"

"Good job, pal!" Luke told him. "Ya wanna take the money from her?"

Jesse bounded up and asked, "That'll be ten dollars and twenty five cents, please."

Isabella smiled as she dug through her handbag. "My, what a little gentleman you are! You must have picked that up from your father, huh?" She looked up at the man with the baby blue eyes. Even though he was almost twice her age, he was still a rather handsome man. "There you are, ten dollars and a quarter exactly. And here's another quarter for yourself."

Jesse's eyes bugged out. "Gee, thanks, lady! Dad, I gotta tip!"

"Yeah, I see that."

"How long ya stayin' in Hazzard?" Jesse asked Isabella.

"Now, Jesse, that's not too polite---"

"It's perfectly all right, Luke," Isabella said. "Actually, I was planning on staying here for a few weeks. It seems like a nice town, it should give me some peace and quiet until I figure out my gameplan until I get home."

"Well, in that case, I suggest the Hazzard Hotel," Luke told her. "Ya just keep goin' down this road, then turn right at the post office and you'll see a big two story building with Hazzard Hotel written all over it."

"Why thank you. You've been most kind. Maybe I'll see you boys around sometime, huh?" she grinned, giving Luke a wink before shimmying off to her BMW.

"She was awful nice, Dad, I can't believe she paid me!" Jesse said once she had started her engine.

Luke felt a little funny. Married men shouldn't think the way he was thinking about that little hot rod in the expensive car.

"Yeah, she was nice," Luke told Jesse who decided to go back inside the garage. Luke stood there and shook his head to get the impure thoughts out of his head.

"Daddy, stop lettin' these people cut you off!" Rachel Strate argued as she sat in the front seat of Enos's police car. They were trying to turn off to get to the house but other drivers kept preventing them from doing so. "Just ram one an' ticket 'em from obstructin' justice!"

"Now, Rachel, y'know I can't do that," Enos smiled, who waved at the next driver who drove in front of him. "They all must have somewhere real important to go if they're in such a hurry."

"Daddy, y'know there is such a thing as TOO nice, right?"

"Oh, no, there's never such a thing as that."

"Holy smokes, check out that BMW!" Rachel pointed as they watched the fancy car drive in front of them. "Remember that call we got 'bout a stolen one of them? I bet whoever's in there is the robber!"

"Just 'cause they have a BMW doesn't mean they stole it, Rachel."

"But that's no reason to not check it out. What if it IS the stolen one?"

"The one that we got the call on was white. That one's black."

"So? They coulda painted it! If I see that fella 'round town anywhere, I'm gonna interrogate the snot outta them."

Enos rolled his eyes and chuckled. Sometimes he thought his daughter was a little TOO ambitious.