Chapter 26: Moving On

After his futile trip up to the college town that Kira lived in, Jebb started out the season while keeping one eye out for her but never saw her again until after he'd crossed the finish line at the last race of the season. He looked up as his friends (even his father had come to the final race of the season) all congratulated him on his win. Jebb was in the middle of laughing and kidding with his well-wishers as he caught sight of the distinctive red hair that he still found himself dreaming about in his sleep.

Off to the side, nearly hidden by the bleachers that lined the track, Kira was leaning against the metal framework with her arms crossed. She made no motion toward him but Jebb almost felt her watching him before he saw her. He made promises to meet up with his friends at the party after the race and told his father that he'd be right back before making his way off toward the abandoned section of the bleachers. Once he reached Kira, he wasn't quite sure what to say. It'd been more than a year since the last time that he had actually been able to stand face to face with her.

"Hi."

Kira nodded in reply, "Hi."

"I went up to try to see you back in the spring," Jebb said as he tried to find a way to ask Kira what he wanted to know.

"I know. Brent told me that you were up in Cambridge." Kira saw the reaction that Jebb had when she gave Brent's name. His eyes had widened a bit and his brows had creased. She almost smiled at the proof that he still cared.

Jebb couldn't understand why but the very way that Kira casually mentioned the other guy sent a jolt of jealousy coursing through his veins. Was this Brent guy the reason that Kira had just fallen off of the map with not so much as a goodbye?

"I see. So he told you that I was looking for you? I mean, you just stopped answering my letters and…well… How have you been? I haven't seen you since last August."

"This is the first time in over a year that I've been back to Georgia. I had a few things to take care of." Kira hated that just being close to Jebb again made her feel as if she needed him back in her life. She didn't want to need anyone. Life was much easier that way. Still, Brent had been right. She owed Jebb at least one last final goodbye face to face; especially if she wasn't sure if she planned to return to Georgia again. "I probably won't be coming back to this state again after I leave out for school in the morning. It's just too hard."

"So that's it? You're just goin' to leave out again?" Jebb's mind started to race since he had no doubt that if Kira said that she didn't plan to come back that she wouldn't. "That Brent guy, is he your new boyfriend or something?"

"No. He's just a friend." Even after denying the accusation Kira could see that Jebb didn't believe her but she wasn't here to get him to believe her. She was just here to give him closure so he could forget that he'd ever met her.

Back where the other racers had been left behind, John watched as his son spoke with a young woman that he'd never seen. Curious, he asked his son's friend, Blake, just who the redhead was.

"Huh? Oh, that's Kira. She and Jebb used to go out together, for more than two years. She ain't been around this past year, though. It's a long way from that fancy school that she goes to." Blake scratched his head as he spoke. "I'm kind've surprised that she's here now."

John was shocked to hear that his son had gone out with someone, anyone, for such an extended period of time. He would have thought that if his son had been serious about a girl that he would have brought her home to meet him and Pauline. If he had, John was sure that his wife would stop needling him about finding some nice girl to settle down with if Pauline at least saw Jebb out with a girl or two. As it was, Jebb had kept his personal life close to his vest and had said nothing during any of the times that his mother had asked him about who he was dating.

John waited and watched as his son spoke with the young lady that he'd not even known about. After quite a lengthy discussion, Jebb finally made his way back to his bike where his father was still waiting for him despite the fact that the other racers had already left out for the after party that all of his friends had made plans to attend.

"You alright, Son?" John asked once he'd gotten close enough.

Jebb looked up at his father and tried to give him casual grin. "Sure, Pop. Just fine. So, are you still planning to try to keep up with guys half your age tonight? You might end up hurtin' and wishin' that you hadn't by the time the morning comes around."

John eyed his son, he knew that his son always teased and joked when he felt defensive. John was willing to bet that the girl that had just got away had meant more to him than Jebb was willing to admit. "Son, I've been going to parties rougher than this one that your buddy is throwin' tonight since long before you were born. I think I can handle it."

"No offense, Pop, but that was sort of my point," Jebb snickered. Right frankly, he'd rather not go out and pretend to have fun tonight but he knew that he just couldn't do that.

Kira rode her bike as fast as she could down the back roads of a nearby town. She'd finished her last report that she'd have to write before graduating from law school. It had been a bittersweet experience to finish that paper. She had completed college out of respect for Ben but now she didn't know what she'd do. All of the plans that she'd had for the last several years seemed to be ineffectual going forward. Life just didn't seem to hold the same sway it had when she'd first eagerly applied for law school.

As she hit the various bumps in the road, Kira used the momentum to jump her motorcycle to release the pent-up restless energy that she seemed to never be rid of lately. The more dangerous the ride, the more it helped to ease her mind. Kira sped along the winding road as if she was in the middle of a race back on the motocross circuit. As the road straightened, she also began to practice some various stunts that she'd seen others do and had begun to teach herself. From doing a fender grab, a nac nac, a hyperspin and a twelve o'clock wheelie. When she approached a natural ramp, Kira pulled up on her bike and made a full rotation in mid-air before landing safely just past the ramp. She then sped further down the road without realizing that she'd had audience to her impromptu stunts.

Kira continued to ride until she got to a small diner where she stopped for lunch. She was in the middle of eating a BLT when a stranger sat in the booth across from her. When he did so, Kira tensed and prepared to stand up.

"Excuse me for just barging in but I saw you out there riding and performing those stunts. I had to some talk to you."

Kira hadn't thought that she'd been seen by anyone. The fact that not only had this man before her had but had clearly followed her to the diner had her curious. Kira picked her sandwich back up and prepared to take another bite as she spoke icily, "Then talk. I'm almost done with my lunch."

"You're good. Have you ever thought about riding professionally?"

"Why? You plan to offer me a job?" Kira asked while she chewed her bite of sandwich.

"Actually, yes."

Kira sat back in the booth as she listened intrigued to the proposition that the man had for her. It was one that she couldn't help but think about even after the man had left her alone with her sandwich and her thoughts.

More than a year later, Jebb sat back in his chair as his cousins all laughed around him while drinking their beers. He'd gone to Hazzard for a race and had ended up joining in with his cousins trying to get one over on Boss Hogg after he tried to steal a historical relic only to try to sell it. In the end, it was just another day in the life of a Duke in Hazzard.

This had been his first visit to Hazzard since his cousins had gone out on probation for running moonshine and he'd forgotten just how much fun he'd always had back when he'd come to Hazzard on a regular basis. Truth be told, he'd stopped coming to the family outings back when Kira had dumped him. He just hadn't wanted to have to answer the same questions that well-meaning relatives always seemed to hold on the tip of their tongues.

Have you met a nice girl yet?

When do you think you'll settle down?

So, Jebb, you got a girlfriend stashed away that you ain't told the rest of us about?

Jebb, a good lookin' guy like you must have the girls beatin' down the door, huh?

He knew that they asked him the same questions that they'd ask his cousins but they just felt a bit more personal back when Kira had first left. Now, nearly two years later, he had come to terms with the fact that she had moved on and he likely wouldn't ever see her again. He'd started back to racing which he had let slide a bit for a while (he'd only raced in local races rather than taking off on trips across the state lines for the last two seasons) and it was as if the abrasive red-head with a bad attitude to cover her heart had never walked into his life.

Across the bar, he saw some of his friends that he'd known for years all carrying on like they were still kids in high school. A couple of the guys were flirting shamelessly with Daisy while the women were enjoying Bo and Luke's company. They had all come to race in the Hazzard Derby and had even made plans to hit a few more races after they left the backwoods county. In the corner, Jebb saw Debbie trying to make eye contact with him just like she usually did. He supposed that he'd probably end up with her before the end of the night but he was always sure to let her know that it wouldn't go further than a couple of hours of fun before they parted company once more. At least until the next time.

Kira looked at the brown envelope in her hand. It was so hard to believe that something so important could be concealed by something so innocuous. As she held the envelope that she had been sent she thought about the ceremony that was going on across town. Without Ben, she hadn't seen any point in attending without anyone to watch her walk across that stage. She'd gotten her degree; she'd fulfilled Ben's wishes that he'd left in his will. Now that she had she was faced with finding a new purpose in her life. One that, for now, seemed to have been handed to her.

After putting the envelope in her bag, Kira looked around her apartment that had been nothing but a place to sleep and do her homework while going to college before she walked out to the parking lot where she'd left both her truck as well as her motorcycle strapped to the back of it. She hadn't collected many personal items while living in Massachusetts so the few that she had packed up fit neatly beside her in the front of her truck. She'd chosen to leave while the rest in her building, including her friend and neighbor from across the hall, were out attending their own graduations. She didn't want to be weighed down with telling anyone goodbye nor did she want to hear yet again why her plans were a bad idea.

Kira knew she had a long drive ahead of her and the last thing that she wanted was to doubt herself before she even left out for Mobile. As she drove away from the small apartment building, she allowed herself to fell saddened for just a moment before putting her truck in gear. Kira pointed her truck southward and drove for hours before stopping at a small motel for the night.

By the same time the next day, she'd be in her new place to live and preparing for her new job. It wasn't one that she'd gone to college over the last several years for. A fact that she felt just a bit ashamed of. But the fact was, she just couldn't think about walking into a courtroom just yet.