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 31 ….. Spiders
Bo took the first chance he got to run outside, finding a spider on the barn wall and ushering it into the match book, grinning as he thought about what he would do. The way Daisy had called him silly and everything she deserved a spider in her bed.
He sneaked in there to put it under the cover while Jesse was changing the dressing on Luke's eye. Since Jesse had already put him to bed, he didn't realize Bo might sneak up. Daisy was in the bathroom so she didn't notice either, and Bo had learned this kind of things from Luke, how to sneak around good.
Empty out the spider, then put the cover just like it was before, so she couldn't see someone had been there. Then he padded back to his bed, changed his mind and went over to Luke's instead. If he was lucky, he wouldn't get chased back to his own when Luke came.
He lay hugging the teddy bear when he heard a scream from Daisy's room, and smiled as he leapt out of bed. Jesse was already running there, with Luke on his heels.
Daisy was standing beside the bed, screaming and pointing at the spider she had seen as she pulled back the cover. She hadn't even gotten into bed, but spotted it directly.
"What's wrong Daisy?" Jesse asked her worriedly.
"There's a huge spider!" Daisy cried, throwing herself at her uncle.
"Cute," Bo declared as he stepped closer to look. "Cute little spider."
"Bo, why don't ya take it outside?" Luke suggested, knowing Bo might have a hard time to keep a straight face.
"Okay, come here little cute spider," Bo said sweetly as he gently took the spider in his hand. Talking to it the whole time he took it outside on the porch and let it go.
"There Daisy, the spider is gone," Jesse soothed her.
"I don't wanna sleep there, there's spiders there," Daisy wailed.
"Luke, pull back the cover so she can see there are no more spiders," Jesse told him, and Luke did as he was told.
"What if they are hiding?" Daisy demanded.
"Then they'll come out when yer sleeping an' come crawling all over ya," Luke said brightly.
"Luke!" Jesse snapped. "Ya git to yer bed now," he commanded as Daisy started wailing again, and Luke thought it served her just right. He did as he was told though, while Jesse slowly comforted Daisy until she dared to crawl into the bed to sleep. Once it had been throughoutly searched by Jesse.
Then he went into the boys bedroom where Bo lay curled with his teddy bear, chased back to his own by the expectation of Jesse, and Luke was sitting on the edge of his bed.
"Luke, come here," Jesse told him sternly.
Slipping down from Bo's bed Luke shuffled over to him.
"Now why did ya do that for?" Jesse asked as he sat down on the edge of Luke's bed. "Daisy was scared by the spider, why did ya say that to make it worse?"
"Cause that's the kind of thing she does to me an' Bo," Luke declared with a stubborn set to his jaw.
"Do ya remember what the good book says Luke?" Jesse asked him. "Do onto others as ya would have them do onto you," he stated when Luke didn't answer. "That wasn't nice Luke, an' tomorrow I want ya to apologize to Daisy."
"Fine," Luke muttered.
"Now come here, I think there is something we need to do," Jesse stated, letting the boy lean over his lap as he gave him a good swat on the bottom. Not so hard he'd hurt him, but hard enough he'd feel the sting, then he sat him upright on his lap, looking into moist eyes.
"Ya know why I had to do that Luke, don't ya?" he asked softly.
"Yes sir," Luke told him sourly, and Jesse wasn't sure if he really did.
"Ya shouldn't have said that to Daisy, no matter what they did to you in school, ya shouldn't say nasty things to yer cousins," Jesse explained to him
"Yes sir," Luke agreed in the same tone of voice.
"I hate to do it Luke, but ya know I still love ya as much as always?" Jesse asked.
"Yes sir," Luke pouted.
"Don't be sad now Luke, ya apologize to her tomorrow, an' it'll be over an' forgotten," Jesse assured him.
"Yes sir," Luke repeated again and Jesse hugged him.
"Goodnight now little boy," he told him.
"Goodnight sir," Luke told him, sliding down onto the floor and crawling up into his bed.
"Luke, ya shouldn't go to sleep being angry," Jesse cautioned him.
"Ain't angry," Luke muttered while Bo lay quiet listening with his thumb in his mouth.
"Luke, I told ya why I had to do that, saying what ya said to Daisy was mean," Jesse explained.
"I ain't gonna tell her I'm sorry either," Luke stated angrily, "I ain't, cause it's mean, an' she's mean to, an' I ain't sorry. It served her right."
His outburst surprised Jesse, but then he realized Luke had started crying, it was probably the reaction that he had been trying so hard to hold in from school that was coming now.
"Bo, go to sleep, I'll take care of Luke," Jesse said softly. Picking his oldest up and carrying him outside to the couch where he could comfort him without keeping Bo awake.
He sat with him for a bit until Luke calmed down.
"Do ya feel better now?" Jesse asked as Luke calmed down.
Luke nodded slowly. "Didn't mean to be bad, but when Daisy said mean things I got mad," he mumbled, sniffing and Jesse pulled out his handkerchief.
"Here, blow," he told him, holding it to his nose. Luke did as he was told and then rested his head against his uncle for a moment.
"I know Luke, but even if something bad happens to you, ya can't make bad things to someone else. That was why I had to spank ya, an' that's why ya should tell Daisy that yer sorry. Can ya do that now?"
"Okay," Luke agreed.
"That's a good boy," Jesse smiled hugging him. "Shall we put ya back to bed now?"
"Okay, goodnight Uncle Jesse," Luke told him, giving him a quick hug and slipping down on the floor while Jesse reached out for a second hug.
"Love ya little boy," he told him, using his nickname.
Love ya to Uncle Jesse," Luke said as he headed for the bed room. Bo had fallen asleep, having tried to stay awake and see what would happen to Luke but not having been able to, so Luke crawled into his bed. His eye still hurt, he still thought it wasn't fair, but he wasn't mad anymore.
He didn't feel very good though, and curled up under the cover to try and go to sleep. Wishing he was as little as Bo, so that he could have someone older he could crawl down by to make him feel better. There was times when he really hated being the oldest. A lot of times when he wished that he didn't have to be, like now. Bo always found someone to comfort him, it was so much harder for himself, and as he thought about how his uncle spanked him because of Daisy he started to get mad again.
He hadn't spanked her last week when she laughed because he fell off his bike into the mud puddle, nor a few days before that when Bo got real sad because she said his way of playing cars were silly. He jumped his car ahead of Luke's so that it won, and Daisy told him that he was being silly because cars couldn't jump. Bo got real sad and didn't want to play anymore, but did Jesse spank her? No, he didn't, and Luke was starting to get pretty mad again.
He kicked of the cover and turned in the bed, to restless to go to sleep. Slipping out of the bed he tiptoed over to the door, pressing his ear to the door to try and figure out if Jesse was still up. He was too restless and too angry to sleep, he wanted to go outside and burn it all off so he could sleep when he was through.
Opening the door a tiny crack he peeked out inside the hallway, it was all dark, so he supposed his uncle had gone to bed. Quietly he slipped towards the door, pushing it open and getting down from the porch, walking around the house he went up on the front porch instead. Sitting down on the front porch swing. He knew that he wasn't supposed to be outside after dark, or he would have left the porch, but the defiance felt good. It made him feel better, and he started kicking his legs off the swing to burn off some energy. Never realizing that the swing started moving, and that it was creaking, not until it stopped with a sudden jerk and he was pulled clear of the seat and stood on the porch so hard his teeth clattered.
"What in Sam Hill do ya think yer doing boy?" Jesse demanded angrily. "Creeping around out here, ya ain't even supposed to be up, don't ya know that? What's the matter with ya, trying to scare the life outta me?"
Luke didn't answer, he was too scared, and too mad.
"Well? What ya got to say fer yerself?" Jesse demanded. "Answer me Lucas!"
Luke stood like rooted to the spot, realizing how much trouble he was in when his uncle was that mad.
"Why does it always have to be me?" he asked, it wasn't fair.
"What are ya talking about Luke?" Jesse wanted to know. "Ya'd better start making sense boy, or I'm dragging ya right over to woodshed." Then he frowned, looking at Luke where he stood, Jesse could tell he was scared, but the boy covered it up with a mask of defiance. There was anger in his eyes, and what did you do with a boy like that?
One thing was for sure, he wouldn't get any further with anger, so he took a slow breath and started counting to ten.
In credit of the man who could lay down the rule, now, if he had only explained it, things would have been easier…
TBC
Please review, the Cricket is hungry….