Author's Note: This is a story I wrote about the Dukes and their first years at the farm. I tried to keep it with them from the point where they got to the farm, and carry on throughout a couple of years. It's a growing and learning experience for all of them. There are also notes at the end of each chapter, a credit of sorts to a father from his son.
Warning: The warning is placed here for vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen.
Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….
Learning To Love…
Chapter 5: …..A New Brother
Jesse wasn't sure what had happened, Luke had been in the living room with Bo, then suddenly the boy was storming outside. He saw him run across the yard and head for the barn, knowing he would be heading for the hayloft. He had been doing that more and more lately.
Jesse never really knew what it was about, Luke just wasn't much for talking that way. Yet as it happened more and more times the boy was growing more and more quiet and withdrawn, and that couldn't be a good thing. He didn't know if it was the death of his parents that was catching up with him, or if it was something else bothering the boy. Either way, a five year old who kept storming out into the barn to climb up in the hayloft and would stay there until he was dragged down was not good.
Jesse gave him an hour while he finished, but then he climbed the ladder to the loft and searched the boy out.
Luke was in a corner of the loft with his back against the wall.
"What's wrong son?" Jesse asked softly sitting down beside him.
Luke looked up at him, and he knew that not answering was impolite, but his uncle didn't seem to be very mad at him. Anyway he didn't want to say anything about it.
"Luke, what happened?" Jesse insisted. "I know something made ya upset, now tell me what."
"Bo tore up my drawing," Luke mumbled.
"He did?" Jesse frowned. Martha had bought some crayons for the kids to play with and both of the older ones seemed to enjoy drawing things.
Luke gave a small nod. "I didn't think he could reach that far, but then Aunt Martha said something made me look at her, an' he got it an' tore it up."
"An' ya got mad at him?" Jesse frowned. Bo, the nickname Luke gave his cousin was sticking, he didn't have any idea that he had destroyed something. He couldn't be held accountable for those things yet, but for a five year old boy, that wasn't so easy to understand. All Luke knew was that the baby had destroyed something he had been working hard at.
"I can't," Luke pouted. "I can't get mad at him."
"Luke, Bo didn't do that to be mean to ya, but to him that was just a paper to play with," Jesse explained softly to him.
"I can't get mad at him," Luke repeated. "I don't want him to go away.
Jesse frowned thoughtfully. "Luke, why would Bo go away if ya got mad at him?"
"I was mad when they told me I'd have a little brother," Luke wasn't looking at Jesse. "I told them I didn't want no' brother, an' I was mad, an they took him. I can't get mad at Bo cause they might take him to if I do."
"Luke, that ain't so son," Jesse scooped him up and put him in his lap hugging him. Lord, the boy couldn't think his little brother had died because he was mad about getting a brother. Luke was just a little boy who was used to having his parents all to himself. Of course he wouldn't want to suddenly share them with someone else. Not right off, but if the boy thought he was responsible for that, of Lord he hoped not.
"Mamma said that it was bad to get mad, an' if I got mad it would make bad things happen," Luke stated. "I don't want Bo to go away."
"So when ya feel like yer getting mad, ya go out here instead?" Jesse asked.
Luke nodded slowly, leaning a little against his uncle.
"Luke, I want ya to listen really good here," Jesse told him softly, gently cupping his chin in his hand. "What happened to Jud had nothing to do with what ya was saying or thinking. Even if ya get mad at Bo, there ain't no one gonna take him away for it. It's true it ain't good to be mad, but nothing that bad happened just cause ya was, I promise."
"Mamma said it was naughty," Luke stated.
"Luke, even if ya should get mad at Bo, that don't mean yer gonna lose him." Jesse told him softly. "It don't work that way."
"But Jud went away, an' Mamma always said I got too mad," Luke told him quietly. His Mamma used to tell him that whenever he got mad. He could get very mad and she didn't like that cause then she had to punish him. He knew it was wrong but he never could help it. It wasn't as if he got angry all the time, it was just that when he did he got so very angry. She had told him that it would make bad things happen when he did.
"This is complicated son," Jesse told him. "Getting too mad can be a very bad thing. Ya know how small Bo is, now if ya got mad at him an' hit him that would be very bad since he is so small. An' Daisy, she's a girl, so ya can't hit her either, but I'd be lying if I said they'd never do things that'd make ya mad. See Luke, it isn't always if ya get mad or not, it's what ya do when ya get mad."
"So if Bo does something really bad, I can be mad at him?" Luke asked frowning confused.
"I would like ya to try not to." Jesse stated. "Even if he did something bad he don't understand it, an' he'd be hugging ya just like he always does even if he tore yer drawing up. But I do understand it wasn't no' fun fer ya, an' I'm sorry it happened."
Luke nodded slowly, trying to understand. "He's just too small to understand that it was a bad thing." He nodded slowly.
"Do ya want to make a new drawing?" Jesse asked hoping the boy was feeling better.
"I dunno, I don't feel much like it right now." Luke shrugged.
"Well, then ya need to go inside an' put the crayons away." Jesse told him giving him a hug, "then I'm sure that we can find ya something to do."
"Can I hammer some?" Luke asked hopefully.
"Sure ya can," Jesse smiled, he had put all the bits of wood in an empty wooden crate and told Luke that he could use the wood in that crate anytime he wanted. The only rule was that he had to let Jesse know when he wanted to use some of the tools. The hammer was okay, and he had even given the boy a tin with some nails in it that he could use, but if he wanted a saw or anything else ha had to go and tell Jesse.
"I'll go an' put the crayons away then," Luke scrambled from his lap and headed to the ladder. Hurrying inside to put the crayons away Luke then headed back to the barn. Since Jesse was outside and could keep an eye on what he was doing he told him he could use more of the tools.
It seemed to make the boy happy and he was even drilling. Jesse wasn't sure what he was doing, he didn't even know if Luke knew. He seemed to be learning what he had to know in order to be able to use the tools more properly later. The boy was making him proud, when he was done with something he took it back into the barn to put it in its proper place.
When he called the boy inside for supper Luke made sure to put everything away in the proper places before going inside. Martha had made one meal she was sure that the kids would love. Sloppy Joes, basically a ground meat sauce in a bun. It was messy food and Jesse wasn't sure if he cared much for it, but the kids sure loved it that much was sure. Luke was eating more than you thought a five year old kid could have room for in his stomach.
Daisy was grinning with food smeared all over her face and Jesse supposed that it wasn't the last time they were being served 'kids' food. At least it had Luke more cheerful and as down as he had been earlier that was what Jesse wanted the most.
"Now, ya kids save some room," Martha smiled at them. "There is a cherry pie fer desert, would be a shame if the two of ya were to full to eat it."
"I want cherry pie," Daisy beamed.
"How about ya Luke, do ya want some cherry pie?" Martha smiled at him as she took the plates off the table and carried them to the sink.
"I dunno," Luke frowned thoughtfully.
"Did ya eat too much?" Martha smiled at him ruffling his hair. "Ya made away with so much there that I'm surprised that it ain't coming outta yer ears."
She turned around to get the pie and put it on the table.
"Daisy!" Hearing Luke she turned around to see Daisy half standing in her seat and grabbing after Luke, who was not happy with it.
"Daisy, what are ya doing?" Jesse asked trying to hide how amused he was by her.
"I wanna see if it's coming outta his ears," Daisy declared grinning. "I can't see any Aunt Martha."
"It's just something ya say Daisy," Martha chuckled. "That don't mean that it will. All I meant is that for one that small Luke made away with a lot of the food."
Daisy giggled while Luke gave her an annoyed look. "I ain't so small," he told the defiantly.
Martha grinned and started cutting up the pie passing the plates out. She made Daisy's and Luke's pieces slightly smaller guessing they wouldn't be able to eat too much.
Daisy dug into hers as soon as she got it but Luke ate more carefully. He took small bits on his fork and ate them slowly.
"Ya really are full, aren't ya?" Martha smiled seeing him.
"I don't know if I like cherry pie," Luke mumbled quietly.
"Ya don't like it?" Martha frowned, she had never heard of a kid not liking cherry pie, or any kind of pie for that matter.
"Not very much, sorry," Luke mumbled.
"Ya don't have to eat it if ya don't like it." Martha assured him.
"But not eating it would be wasting food," Luke put another small bite in his mouth and swallowed it.
"I don't think it will be going to waste," Martha assured him. As soon as it was in the fridge it would be fair game for Jesse, and then it wouldn't last too long.
"Would ya rather like a cookie?" Jesse asked him, he knew that Luke liked the chocolate chip cookies.
"Can I please?" Luke looked between them.
"Yes Luke," Martha took his plate and put two cookies from the cookie jar in front of him instead. Luke shone up and started munching on the cookies.
"Is there any pies that ya like?" Martha asked, she hadn't known he didn't like the cherry ones.
"Ah like apple pie," Luke told her smiling a little. "I just don't really like cherries."
"So that is why," Jesse leaned over and ruffled his hair.
"Can I have cookies too?" Daisy wanted to know as Luke finished his last one.
"Well, Luke got the cookies instead of the pie, so not right now Daisy," Martha shook her head. Three kids all at once were proving to be a handful and raising them wasn't gonna be too easy either. She dreaded the day the kids would start getting into arguments with each others. This far things had been running pretty smooth. Daisy and Luke would occasionally get annoyed at each others but it was nothing that couldn't be solved. It was mostly just small things like when she had tried to see if the food would be coming out of his ears.
It was just hard for her and Jesse to start raising three different children.
Just after supper Luke got the crayons again and sat down on the floor to draw while Daisy was playing with her doll. Martha put down Bo on the blanket and asked Luke to keep an eye on him while she washed the dishes.
"Bo ain't staying put," Luke suddenly stated from where he was sitting. Bo was on his stomach but slowly inching his way towards Luke. He threw out his arms in front of him and was pulling himself forward, though it didn't work all the times he tried it.
Jesse looked up from his newspaper. "Oh, he's beginning to crawl," he beamed grinning at the boy.
"Crawling?" Luke backed away, he didn't want to get this drawing to torn up by his baby cousin. Bo gurgled something and continued his incredible slow trek.
Martha appeared in the doorway to look, wiping her hands. "My, my, he really is starting to crawl." She was getting teary eyed from looking at him.
"He's trying to get to my drawing," Luke declared backing away even further.
"It ain't yer drawing he wants Luke," Jesse grinned, to him it looked as if Bo was trying to make his way over to his cousin.
Daisy had abandoned her doll to come look at Bo. She sat on her haunches on the floor and peered at him with her head tilted to the side.
"Luke, why don't ya pick him up a little," Jesse suggested. "I reckon he knows it's his bedtime an' he wants a cuddle first."
Luke gave a small sigh before he picked his cousin up and sat him into his lap. "Ya just can't let me draw in peace can ya?" he asked the baby.
In credit of the man who taught me all problems was solved better with a hammer in your hand….
TBC
Please review, the Cricket is hungry….