I know…I know…I'm sorry…I didn't intend to take so long but life took over… the next chapter will not take 3 months I promise! Thank you to all my patient readers… enjoy.

The days that followed were hard ones for the Duke family. Jesse and Bo carried on with work as usual, but when chores and breakfast were finished, Bo always found some excuse to leave the farm and was gone all day long. No one knew for sure where he was, but everyone had their own speculations. Ever-positive Daisy thought that perhaps he was at the Atlanta Speedway, running laps with old friends and finding comfort behind the wheel; Jesse took a more sober outlook, imagining his youngest getting in touch with nature and thinking tender thoughts about his brother, finding reassurance from a babbling brook, a sermon from the Georgia sun, and strength as he looked at the mountains. Both were far from the truth…

Bo was searching, but not for comfort or reassurance. He wanted answers, and though he would never admit it to Jesse, he wanted revenge. His uncle had always told him that Dukes took revenge out on property, not people, but Bo felt that no property could come close to the value of Luke and that, whoever had hurt his cousin, deserved whatever Bo could dish out. He hated worrying his family, but he told himself that the sooner the truth came out, the sooner everyone could move on. This motivation drove him onward, despite the obstacles of not knowing who he was looking for, or where to look for them.

Ever-faithful Cooter had pledged his help from the very beginning. His reasoning was two-fold really…without Bo and Luke around business had dwindled down, giving him more time on his hands than he knew what to do with; the other reason was that Bo and Luke had always been like the brothers he never had…and he wasn't about to lose another one.

"You sure you don't wanna tell your family what we're doing buddy-roe?"

"Cooter, the last thing they need is t' be more worried about me…"

"I guess you're right," admitted Cooter as the two once again pulled up to the place that Enos had found Luke. "Why are we here again? We been over this place with a fine-toothed comb…"

Bo shook his head. "I dunno…I just got a feeling that…we missed somethin'…somethin' obvious…"

Cooter sighed but with Bo hopped out of the truck. The General would have been faster, but Bo refused to get in it; the General had belonged to both of them… and without Luke, the team was incomplete.

Bo bit his lip thinking. Cooter was right…they had turned the area upside down and searched all over for clues of any kind. Tire tracks were long gone due to the recent rains…anything that had been alongside the road now gone too. Still…Bo walked off the road into the thick underbrush nearby, kicking weeds aside with his boot. Nothing. He slowly headed back to the truck, hating the fact that Cooter was right, when something white caught his eye, waving from where it had snagged on a rock. Bo bent down to lift it up his eyes widening.

Bo heard the sound of sheep bawling anxiously some yards away. He hurt…and he felt hot…too hot. He tried to open his eyes but only managed to squint, starting to cough as smoke filled his lungs. He couldn't move, but he had to move…and he had to move quick. He tried reaching from his knife, but it was gone from his belt. Shadows danced on the walls, as he coughed drying out for help desperately as he tried to free himself. He didn't know how he got here, but there was no time to think about it. He somehow managed to slide up against the wall when something sliced through his shoulder. The Duke boy hissed in pain realizing that it was a thick nail sticking through the wood. With all his might he rubbed vigorously against it until he felt the ropes breaking that bound his hands. Driven by adrenaline, Bo soon had his arms free and had yanked the rope from his legs as well. He made for the thin ray of light peeking through what he could only hope was the doors of the barn he was in. A crack was heard overhead. Bo looked up to see a piece of the roof falling down on top of him. With a desperate scream, he ran for the doors despite the fact they were blocked by the fire. Uttering a prayer he threw himself at them, landing with a sickening thud outside the barn, his body engulfed in flames.

He screamed, tears of pain burning his eyes as he rolled on the grass, trying desperately to rid himself of the heat that surrounded him. He eventually managed to tear off his shirt, crawling as far from the barn and towards the sound of the sheep, reasoning to himself that where there were sheep, there may be water…

"Bo"? You okay? Bo?" asked Cooter coming over worried at the far-away expression on Bo's face.

Bo showed him the wool in his hand.

Cooter frowned. "That's funny… ain't a sheep farm around here for miles..."

Bo shook his head. "The…the barn…the barn I was in…was a sheep farm…"

Cooter looked at him. "What…"

Bo looked closer at the wool. "There's grease on it," he said softly as he fingered it. "It…it musta been stuck on the car…or under the engine or somethin'"

"Bo you sayin' you think …you think that there piece of wool…"

"How else would it get here Cooter…there aren't many sheep around Hazzard…you said so yourself!"

"I know buddy but…"

"We're lookin' in the wrong spot… we don't gotta look where Luke got hurt to find them…we gotta…we gotta get to that barn…"

Cooter scratched his head. "Well…someone had t be livin' there…if they had sheep…but…who would set their own barn on fire?"

"I dunno…but I'm gonna find out…let's go…"

Now I don't know about y'all, but I wouldn't go to the refrigerator now…

The next one won't be so long in coming…I promise. Please let me know how you like it…and rest assured…this story is faaaar from over!