It was a few moments before anyone said anything. Jesse, Daisy, Thomas and Tommy sat with excited grins on their faces, waiting to see how the boys would react to what they considered fantastic news. However Bo and Luke couldn't react, not as long as their mouths hung half-open.
Finally Jesse couldn't stand it anymore. "Well aren'tcha gonna say somethin'? I'm finally in a position where I can let ya go off with my blessin'. I figured you'd be grabbin' the shine jug out from under tha sink by now so's we could celebrate."
"Well uh..." Luke managed, looking at Bo. "...it's just that he's already turned Mr. Tucker down, Uncle Jesse."
"Is that all?" Jesse grinned. "He couldn't a turned him down no more than four, five hours ago. Now if that Tucker fella's been lookin' for a driver for months like them newspapers said, then it's doubtful he's found somebody else to drive for since he talked to Bo. So you boys jist call him and tell him you've changed your mind."
"So that's what we do?" Bo asked, finally coming out of his shock. "We just call Mr. Tucker up and then we take off?"
"Of course that's not it." Daisy replied, noticing the hint of anger in Bo's voice. "We realize it will take awhile for the two of you to make arrangements and pack your things. No one expects you to just take off."
"Expect? No one would HEAR of you just takin' off." Jesse validated. "You boys have spent your whole life on this farm and I wouldn't dream of sendin' you off no where without a proper goodbye."
"Yeah!" Daisy beamed in realization. "And you know what Uncle Jesse's talkin' about when he mentions a proper goodbye. Fella's, we've got a party to plan!"
"A party?" Thomas asked.
"All right!" Tommy beamed. "Can we have balloons, grandpa?"
"Balloons and streamers and cake and the biggest ham in the freezer, with all tha trimmin's." Jesse verified with a smile. "I might even have to whip up a big batch of my crawdad bisque."
"Now that's somethin' I'm lookin' forward to." Thomas beamed. "I've been wanting to know if all the rumors I've heard about the famous bisque are true."
"Oh they're true, trust me." Tommy grinned.
Daisy turned in Tommy's direction and pointed to a drawer behind him. "Tommy, will you get me a pad and pencil out of that drawer? We need to make a guest list."
Bo and Luke simply looked at each other as the rest of the group excitedly shared ideas and made plans for a grand farewell party in their honor.
"Okay, who do we want to invite?" Daisy mused, tapping the pen on her temple. "We have to invite Cooter and his brothers, L.B. and B.B." She began, writing down names. "And we couldn't leave out Russell and Brent McCamey."
"Or Chris Ridley and his dad, Abner." Jesse added.
"And Doc Appleby would wanna come. Oh, and I suppose ya'll wouldn't consider it a good party unless Becky Sue, Suzanne, and Lilly showed up, huh?" Daisy asked, smiling at her cousins in amusement.
"Can we invite Ms. Davis and them from the camp?" Tommy asked.
"I think they would be disappointed if we didn't invite them, seein' how Bo here helped to get the camp goin'." Daisy commented as she added the names to the bottom of the list. "And we have to ask Miz Tizdale."
"Emma?" Jesse snarled. "Oh don't invite her."
"Uncle Jesse!" Daisy exclaimed, the tone of her voice alone scolding her uncle.
"I'd be a sittin' duck! Now Emma don't run marathons no more, but me and these crutches wouldn't stand a chance against her."
Everything was happening so fast that Luke was a bit bewildered. Still, he managed to call his uncle on his lack of manners. "Now Uncle Jesse, don't you realize how disappointed Miz Tizdale would be if she found out there was a party here and she wasn't invited? Trust me, a couple of hours with her that day is gonna be a whole lot shorter than the couple of years she'd be goin' on about it if she wadn't invited."
Jesse looked at his nephew before he sighed. "Fine, Luke. I guess considering the occasion it'd only be proper for me to show Emma my hospitality. And seein' how it's fittin' to invite her, then I think it'd also be fittin' to invite…………..J.D. and Rosco."
"You want us to invite Boss Hogg? Willingly?" Luke asked, a sudden sour expression appearing on his face.
"Of course. What about you, Bo? Wouldn't you say that's fttin'?"
"I'd say this is gonna be one terrific party." Bo replied with the most sarcasm he could muster up. Before anyone had a chance to respond, he turned and opened the kitchen door before he stomped out of the house.
"Bo?" Jesse asked.
"I'll go after him." Luke announced, turning to the door himself.
"Let me, Luke." Thomas requested, putting a hand on Luke's shoulder. "I know it's hard to get Bo to open up, and while it's ironic to think that people will open up to strangers easier than their own kin, the fact is I'm still more or less a stranger."
Luke simply swallowed and nodded as he moved aside to allow Thomas to pass.
Once Thomas was outside he only had to scan the yard a few moments when some stray bits of hay falling from the barn loft clued him in to where Bo had gone. Looking through the loft opening he saw Bo sitting leaned up against the door frame, one leg bent and the other one laying out straight. He chewed on the piece of hay that dangled between his lips and caught sight of Thomas, replaying the smirk he had offered before leaving the house.
As Thomas walked toward the barn, Bo quickly got up and climbed down a couple of the ladder rungs before he chose to jump the rest of the way down. Once he landed on his feet, it coincided with the instant Thomas entered the barn.
"What is it now, Thomas? What did Uncle Jesse send you out here for?" Bo asked, holding his arms out in a questioning manner. "Does he need more hay stacked? Does Maudine need to be fed? Oh wait, I know, he wants the barn painted. A pretty apple red by your suggestion, no doubt." Bo continued. "Well whatever it is, you can go on back in the house to tell him I'll take care of it. Because from what I recall there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the job Luke and I was doing before the…..prodigal son showed up." Bo spat out.
"Bo." Thomas said, blinking in surprise. "Bo I came here because I wanted a job where I could be closer to Tommy, and I did all the work I did so you and Luke would have time to do what you needed to do to end that race. And you did. And you won, and it's paying off in a big way. And this is the thanks I get? Insults?"
"Yeah you worked all right. You worked your way right into this house and this family. You even worked so good that you worked your way right into my room!"
"Bo believe me, I had no idea that Jesse was my father but now that I've learned the truth, it's only natural that I would want to be with him. And as far as moving into your room, we were gonna build a room on but now that you're leaving, it makes more financial sense to just use yours. Surely you can see all that."
"Who said I was leaving?" I never said I was going anywhere. Luke told you I'd turned Alan down."
"Bo, it's your dream. Pa's known that for ages." Thomas replied, watching as Bo visibly cringed at hearing Jesse being referred to as 'Pa' by a man he had grown to despise. "You don't have to be stuck on this farm anymore. You don't have to be stuck with these chores anymore. You've been given the golden opportunity. Take it."
"Who are you, Superman?" Bo smirked again. "Luke and I barely have any free time runnin' this place. Having you around is just going to lighten the load. It would be impossible for one man to handle it all."
"I'm pretty sure I could handle it. And if I couldn't I'd just hire some help or something."
"With what money?" Bo asked.
Thomas swallowed, thinking that the tough approach might work better. Putting a hand on Bo's shoulder, he looked at him sternly. "The problems of this farm are not the concern of you and Luke anymore. I'll take care of it and Jesse. After all, he's my father."
And in response, Thomas received a look of rage as Bo used one arm to knock his hand away and the fist on his other to deliver a right cross, sending Thomas to dreamland!
Ya know, I don't think that was the smartest thing ole' Thomas could'ave said. I bet he'll say the same thing……….as soon as he wakes up.