Beauty is Only Skin Deep
Chapter 5
Over the next few days, Bo and Luke would head over to Maddie's house while she was at work and continue to fix up and paint whatever needed to be done, finishing up most of the major work. Maddie was thrilled with what they had been able to do in a single week and couldn't thank them enough. But what always surprised her is that she would find either Jesse or Daisy or sometimes both there every night with several covered dishes with enough food for all of them to eat. Jesse himself was pleasantly surprised by the changes he saw in the old house, having been there many times before visiting the former owners, and he was quite impressed with what Maddie herself had done before the boys had started helping her.
"I take it ya got a good deal on the old place here ta be able ta fix it up like this?" Jesse asked as he looked around.
"That and I was able to get the law firm I work for to float me a loan so that I could make the place livable. It was structurally sound but still needed a lot of work."
"Where is it that ya work again?" Jesse questioned.
"Oh it's a law firm in Capitol City."
"But surely ya could have gotten a job closer ta your old home than all the way down here in Georgia?" Daisy remarked as she and Maddie cleaned up the dishes.
"True, but there were some things that happened back home that I'm trying to forget and I felt that coming down here was the best move."
"What kind of things?" Daisy inquired.
"If it's all right with you, I'd rather not say," Maddie evaded. "It's just…too hard."
"I'm sorry, sugar. I didn't mean ta upset ya," Daisy said as the normally jubilant Maddie became quiet.
"It's okay, Daisy."
Luke suddenly spoke up, quickly changing the subject. "Say, why don't we all head down ta the Boars Nest tonight. It's Friday and I think we all deserve a break after all the hard work we've been puttin' in this week."
"That's a great idea, Luke," Daisy answered, glad to see that that suggestion perked Maddie up some.
"Yeah, we haven't been jukin' for some time now," Bo smiled.
"Jukin'? What's jukin'?" Maddie asked confused.
"Well, ya seen all those couples dancin' at the Boars Nest, right?" Luke asked her.
"Yeah."
"That's jukin'. Dancin' ta the jukebox."
Maddie shook her head as she chuckled. "Is that the Boars Nest idea of a live band?"
"It sure is, especially since Boss Hogg is too cheap ta pay an actual band ta play there," Luke added.
"Boss Hogg? Is he some kind of king pig?"
Bo shrugged and grinned. "You're not that far off."
"What Bo is tryin' ta say is that Boss Hogg is the commissioner of Hazzard County."
"Ohh," she said in understanding. "Oh yeah, I think I've seen the man but I've never had the good fortune to meet him yet."
"When ya do, just hold onto your wallet," Bo said. "If there's money in there, he'll sniff it out like a boar sniffs out truffles."
"And once he discovers that ya might actually have some, he'll come up with some kind of scheme ta get it from ya," Luke filled in.
"Now boys, quit tryin' ta scare the girl," Jesse scolded. "JD may be a crook, but he's…he's…oh who am I tryin' ta kid. That man is more crooked than a back country road."
The small group chuckled as they all headed for the door. "Sounds like an interesting man. Remind me to avoid him as much as possible," Maddie chuckled as they got to the cars.
"Ya ready?" Bo asked Maddie as they stood by the General.
"I'm ready," she said as she surprised everyone and hopped into the General by herself. Leaning back out the window she grinned. "Do you ever think about un-welding these doors?"
"I do!" Jesse hollered as he headed over to Dixie. The rest laughed as Luke and Daisy crawled into the jeep, Daisy driving of course, and Bo slipped into the General. They were soon all on their way.
01 01 01 01
The Dukes and Maddie arrived at the Boars Nest and found the place packed like usual for a Friday night. Daisy was really enjoying herself since it was one of the few times that she didn't have to work, so she also found herself out on the dance floor. Bo, Luke, and Cooter, who Maddie just met that evening, were teaching her the finer points of jukin', after her protesting that she couldn't dance to save her life. She soon realized however, that she was having a wonderful time.
After finishing another dance with Cooter, the two of them went to sit down with the rest of the family. The small group was laughing and having a good time when Bo felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Sarah Jane standing behind him. "Oh hey Sarah Jane," Bo smiled but inside was cringing.
"Hey Bo," Sarah cooed. "Was wonderin' if ya wanted ta dance?"
Bo quickly looked at Maddie, who nodded slightly while giving him an understanding smile. "All right, but just one dance then I gotta get back here. We're celebratin'."
"Oh? What are y'all celebratin'?" Sarah asked, hoping to get herself invited.
"We're almost done helpin' Maddie fix up her house," Bo smiled proudly.
"Oh," Sarah answered as she glared at Maddie. "Come on, Bo, let's go."
Bo reluctantly got up and followed Sarah as she dragged him by the hand. The rest of the table sat there chuckling at the youngest Duke. "Good ole Bo," Cooter laughed. "He's never had a problem getting the girls ta dance with him."
"But he's having a hard time trying to get out of dancing with them," Maddie absentmindedly said.
The rest of the table stared at Maddie as she watched Bo and Sarah. "What do ya mean, Maddie?" Daisy finally asked.
Turning back to the table she blinked and her face flushed slightly as she realized that she had spoke out loud. "Oh, it's just that he doesn't really like Sarah Jane all that much."
"He doesn't?" Cooter asked in surprise. "I always thought that there wasn't a girl that Bo didn't like."
"Well, Sarah Jane is one of them," Maddie answered. "That night that I met Bo, he was talking to me and she came over wanting to dance. When she wouldn't take no for answer, Bo had to get rude."
"Rude?" Jesse bristled, knowing that he didn't raise his boys to be rude to anyone.
"Oh nothing bad, Uncle Jesse," Maddie explained. "He just had to tell her quite bluntly that he was sitting with me and that he would take a rain check." Luke and Daisy exchanged a quick glance and smiled. "That's when he told me that he really didn't care for Sarah Jane." She then turned back to stare at the dancing couple. She could tell that Bo wasn't having as much fun as he let on. "Guess he's just making good on that promise of a dance."
Daisy couldn't help but smile at her friend and the way she was looking at Bo. "Don't worry, sugar. I'm sure Bo knows how ta handle Sarah Jane." Daisy then looked at Maddie in surprise when she heard the girl gasp. "What's wrong?"
"She just slapped him!" Maddie answered through gritted teeth.
"Who?"
"Sarah Jane just slapped Bo's face."
Daisy looked up in time to see Bo holding the side of his face and Sarah Jane storming away. She watched as her cousin came back over to the table and sat down, his face showing a distinct hand pattern on his cheek. "Bo what happened?" Daisy asked before anyone else could speak up.
"Oh Sarah Jane didn't like it when I told her that I didn't want to go out with her," Bo said, his face still stinging. "She said that I promised ta take her ta the Spring Dance next weekend. When I reminded her that I never asked her ta the dance, she got mad. Told me that she had already bought her dress and everything, and then she hit me."
"Wow. Sounds like someone was a little confused about things," Luke said as he shook his head.
"It wasn't me," Bo protested.
"I didn't say it was you," Luke laughed. "Anyone lookin' at ya can tell ya don't care a thing for Sarah Jane except Sarah Jane herself."
"Well I wish someone would have told her before she hit me," Bo answered as he rubbed his face.
"Oh, poor baby," Maddie said and quickly leaned over and kissed his offended cheek. She quickly sat back with a surprised look on her face. "Oh, sorry," she said embarrassed about what she just did.
"Don't be sorry," Bo grinned back and threw his arm around her shoulders. "I liked it."
"I don't know, Lukas," Cooter grinned. "Do ya think Bo just put on a show for us just sos he could get kissed by Maddie here?"
"You could be right about that, Cooter," Luke agreed, grinning widely at the self-conscious girl.
"Stop it ya two," Daisy scolded but still smiled.
"Come on Maddie, let's dance again," Bo said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. Both of them missed the glaring look that Sarah Jane was throwing their way as they walked past.
"Bo, I'm really sorry about what I did back there," Maddie said, as they began dancing to the slow song that was playing on the jukebox.
"And like I said, don't," Bo grinned. "I really did enjoy it."
Maddie looked away for a moment before speaking again. "Bo, can I ask you something?"
"Sure"
"Why are you treating me like this?"
A confused look crept over Bo's face. "Like what?"
"Special," she answered shyly.
"Well, that's easy. It's because ya are," he smiled back.
Maddie looked up into Bo's eyes and saw that he was being sincere. "But with all of the other girls around here, why is it that you like me so much?"
Bo thought about it for a few moments and looked her right in the eye. "Well, like I told ya the other night, I think you're smart, funny, talented, and beautiful. You're not like the other girls I've dated. They always go out with me because they only want ta have a good time, and after awhile, they usually end up dumpin' me and go on ta the next guy. Ya know out of all the girls I've dated, not one of them was a serious relationship?" Maddie shook her head. "I know that I have a bit of a reputation for bein' a playboy, date 'em and leave 'em type of thing, but usually it's the girl that leaves me. You on the other hand are different. I can tell ya want more from a relationship then just a good time. Ya want a friend, someone who appreciates ya for who ya are, and contrary ta popular belief, that's what I want too."
"Thank you, Bo." Maddie said quietly.
"For what?"
"For being so wonderful, for being you," she grinned.
Bo looked back at her as an impish smile formed on his face. "Ya better get ready then."
"For what?"
"For all of the attention that I'm about ta give ya," Bo whispered as he leaned in to kiss her.
Back at the table, Daisy elbowed Luke and pointed to the dancing couple's direction with a grin on her face. "See, what did I tell ya? Told ya that they would become more than just friends."
"That Bo. He always gets the girl," Cooter chuckled.
Luke sat there watching his cousin with Maddie and smiled. "Ya know, I think I'm jealous."
"Ya should be boy," Jesse said sternly. "Not everyday that a good woman comes along."
"Just once I wish I could meet her before Bo does though," Luke chuckled.
"Ya might have a chance now," Jesse smiled. "Looks like he's smitten."
At another table, Sarah Jane watched the couple on the dance floor, fuming at the thought that Bo overlooked her for someone like Madeline Weiss.