"Give it a little more, Bo." Cooter said as he stood in front of the General with the hood opened.
As Bo revved the engine, the sound blended in with the dozen or so other cars that were going through final adjustments in preparation of the Hatchapee County race.
As the sound of the engine's power built up and faded away, Cooter listened intently as he made adjustments with his wrench, correcting discrepancies which resulted in a slightly different sound that only a trained mechanic could distinguish.
"I think that's got it." Cooter said with a big grin, slamming the hood closed and walking toward the driver's side where Luke leaned against the General. "I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you two won the race today."
"Not that it really matters." Bo smirked from the driver's seat.
"Well I don't know about you but I know it would matter to me if I thought there was a chance I could be takin' home that thousand dollar first prize!"
"Aw don't pay any attention to him Cooter. He's been this way ever since he found out that Alan Tucker's supposed to be here today."
"Alan Tucker?" Cooter let out a low whistle. "If this Alan Tucker you're talkin' about is the same Alan Tucker that's out lookin' for a new driver to represent Benchfield Auto Parts, I could think of a whole lotta worse things to be sour about."
Further conversation was interrupted when the impending beginning of the race was announced over the loudspeakers. "Guess that's my cue to go. Good luck, ya'll. I'm gonna go see if I can squeeze in somewhere around Uncle Jesse."
"Thanks for everything, Crazy C!" Luke called out as Cooter jogged away.
As soon as Cooter had left, Luke put on his helmet and adjusted the orange racing uniform that matched Bo's. Satisfied with both his safety and comfort, he climbed into the passenger's seat next to his cousin before Bo steered to the starting position.
"There's Uncle Jesse!" Luke exclaimed, pointing into the stands after he had caught sight of Cooter again, watching as he took a seat. Bo looked in the direction in which Luke was pointing and recognized Jesse's trusty red cap.
"Looks like he's got plenty of company." Bo said with a smirk when he noticed Thomas seated next to Jesse, along with Daisy, Tommy and Cooter. When he noticed that Bo was looking in their direction, Thomas stood up and took off the hat he was wearing, waving it in the air in a friendly greeting. Bo pasted an insincere smile on his face and returned the wave for the sake of his uncle.
"Gee Bo you think maybe you can turn down your enthusiasm?" Luke asked.
Bo sighed. "I'm sorry Luke. It's just that….well what am I looking for an excuse for? You already know how I feel about havin' Thomas around."
"Aw c'mon, give the guy a break. You know as well as I do that we wouldn't be anywhere near as prepared for this race as we are if it hadn't have been for him takin' over almost all of our work on the farm."
"Well I know, and to be honest I really don't mind that part." Bo revealed, managing a chuckle. "But he's doin' an awfully good job of takin' over Uncle Jesse too."
"It does seem that way." Luke confirmed. "But it's not like he's replacing us or anything. The best way to look at it is to compare it to..." Luke thought a minute before snapping his fingers. "It's like when Great Aunt Minnie came and stayed with us back when her house was bein' remodeled up in Tennessee. You remember how Uncle Jesse was. At first they's doin' everything together, talkin' all the time, goin' everywhere together…..then after awhile things settled down and they both got to doin' their own thing. That's the way it'll be with Thomas. 'Fore you know it he'll blend right in with the rest of us."
"I hope you're right." Bo admitted.
"Hey I KNOW I'm right." Luke added, raising his eyebrows in a knowing expression.
Bo shook his head and grinned, letting out a chuckle. He then raised his hand in the air, inviting his cousin to slap/grasp it. They then squeezed each others hand in a silent wish of luck shortly before the starting flag was waved.
XXXXXXXX
"Well it may be a little lopsided, but any way you cut it, it's still a victory cake." Daisy announced with a smile, setting a delicious, albeit imperfect chocolate cake in front of Bo and Luke as they sat at the kitchen table.
"I helped make it." Tommy emphasized. "I'm the one who cracked the eggs. I even got them outta the chicken coupe myself, didn't I Dad?"
"You sure did, Tommy boy." Thomas replied, patting Tommy on the back before pointing at him. "This here kid is a firecracker egg-cracker."
"I don't doubt that." Luke confessed.
"Thanks everybody." Bo added, offering Tommy a smile.
"Well it was the least we could do for the newest champs of the Hatchapee County race!" Daisy said, admiring the trophy that sat on the table one more time.
"Well ain'tcha gonna eat it?" Jesse snarled when Bo made no effort to cut the cake.
"Just not much in the mood for cake right now." Bo replied.
"Wadn't much in the mood for supper either, was ya? And after I made your favorite dish, chicken and dumplins. I thought that combined with the fact that you'd won that race would give you some of yer appetite back, but you probably ate less tonight than ya did the last few nights."
Bo sighed. "I'm sorry Uncle Jesse. It's just that……it's…….."
Jesse sighed himself. "I wish you'd tell me what that 'it' is 'cause whatever it is, ya been ponderin' over it for the last few days and I'm 'bout to have appetite problems of my own tryin' to figure things out."
Bo let out another big sigh. "Okay Uncle Jesse, it's like this. Well, first of all, have you ever heard of Alan Tucker?"
"Can't say as I have." Jesse admitted.
"He represents Benchfield Auto Parts. That's them stores that have been poppin' up like crazy in a whole bunch of places these past couple of years. There's two or three of them in Atlanta and another one over in Chickasaw."
"I recognize the name." Jesse nodded.
"Well, when me and Luke here went over to Hatchapee the other day to pay the entry fee for the race, we got word that Tucker would be showin' up on race day, checkin' everybody out as potential drivers of the Benchfield car. Well sure enough, he's there today."
Jesse smiled. "Well that don't seem like nothin' to get upset over. I figured you'd like showin' off for somebody who had the authority to put you in Nascar. You looked good out there today too. Bet he was impressed."
"That's just it, Uncle Jesse. He was impressed."
Jesse slightly shook his head. "So why the long face?"
Luke took it upon himself to answer after Bo had failed to. "Tucker was real impressed. So impressed, as a matter of fact, that he offered Bo the job."
Jesse blinked a couple of times. "The job as the driver of the Benchfield car?"
"Yes sir." Bo replied.
"So……." Jesse replied. "For the past few days you've known that you's gonna have the chance to show off for the feller that had the ability to offer you your dream job, and today after a fantastic performance he actually did offer you that job, and you sit here lookin' even more depressed than you have the last few days? I don't understand it."
"It woulda been good if he'd never come in the first place." Bo replied. "But it woulda been even better if he'd never offered me that job."
Daisy was confused. "Bo, I don't understand what you would have against racing in front of him but if it was a problem, then why did you do it?"
"Because problem or no problem, they were payin' out a thousand dollars to the winner of that race, and we needed the money."
"All that aside, why would bein' offered this opportunity be so depressin?" Jesse demanded.
"You know why, Uncle Jesse." Bo replied, rising from his chair and pushing it under the table before he ran a hand through his hair. "Me 'nd Luke can't leave this farm. I mean there's….." He stopped and sighed. "There's just too much that needs doin' around here to leave you all by yourself. I tell ya, Nascar might be my dream, but I can 'bout guarantee you I'd be a whole lot better off if he'd just got up and left and never said a word to me."
After a few silent moments, Thomas asked. "So what you're saying is that you can't take the job because you've got to take care of the farm?"
"Yeah, that's what I said." Bo confirmed.
Thomas and Jesse gave each other a knowing look before Thomas asked. "Shall we tell them?"
Bo and Luke offered each other a glance before Luke asked. "Tell them what?"
"Fellas." Daisy began, looking at her cousins. "Thomas and Tommy, they're movin' in with us!"
"They are?" Bo asked as he and Luke looked at one another again with surprised expressions.
"Yeah! Isn't it great?" Tommy asked with his gap toothed grin.
"Um... yeah. Well I mean it is good, but it'll be a might crowded, won't it?" Luke asked.
" Well I wadn't gonna have us packed in here like a bunch of sardines. Tommy was gonna stay over at the camp and Thomas was gonna keep sleepin' in the barn for awhile. They wadn't gonna move in 'till we got that new addition put on."
"New addition?" Bo asked.
"Yeah." Daisy explained. "We all thought that the best thing to do would be to expand Aunt Lavinia's old sewing room and turn it into a bedroom for the two of them." Daisy explained.
"But we don't have to worry about that anymore." Jesse added, turning from Daisy to his nephews. "Since Thomas 'ill be staying here permanent, if you boys wanna go ahead and fulfill them Nascar dreams of yours, I'll send you with my blessin'. And as for the sleepin' arrangements, we'll just put Thomas and Tommy in your room."
Well, looks like ole' Bo just got everythang he ever wanted handed to him on a silver platter. Ya'll reckon he's gonna be jumpin' for joy?