Chapter 18: Out on Good Behavior

The next couple of days were filled with nothing too special. Bo continued to get bored from the restrictions that Uncle Jesse kept his youngest nephew under in an effort to keep him from having a return visit to the hospital. He had allowed Bo to help with some of the indoor chores, but he was still forbidden to help out with the ones outside. Bo was taking his frustrations out on some of the decorations that he was taking down in the living room. While Kira watched, she started to softly laugh at a thought that struck her.

"What are you laughing at?" Bo looked up and saw Kira trying to hide her laughter while putting some ornaments in a box.

"You realize that this is the second time in as many months that you've found yourself missing those same chores that you've hated doing all your life. You hate them when you have to do them and miss them when you can't do them. Make up your mind, Bo-Bear."

Bo just glared at his sister for her teasing. It didn't really seem all that funny to him. But, then again, he guessed he could see how it might would seem funny to her. Instead of acknowledging it though, he just turned back to the garland that Daisy had hung up on the wall around the room.

Kira was still chuckling softly when Jesse came in to check on their progress. He had hoped that by giving Bo something to do it would ease his antsyness. Walking in, he watched as Bo was practically demolishing the garland as he removed it from the wall while Kira seemed to find his attitude hilarious.

"Something wrong?"

"No, Jesse."

"No, Uncle Jesse."

The twins answered the eldest Duke together; one sullenly, the other still trying to keep herself from laughing at her twin. Jesse just shook his head; sure that he had missed something between the two. Just before Jesse left the room, Kira called after him.

"Jesse, is it still okay for all of us to go out to the Boar's Nest tonight?"

Bo looked up at the mention of the others going out. Great. Just one more thing that he'll not be able to do because of the stupid pneumonia.

Jesse looked at the twins then nodded. "As long as ya'll take one of the trucks, I don't see why not. Provided that the chores are all done, and this room's been finished by then."

Bo sent a questioning glance at his sister.

"I figured you were getting bored with being home bound. Daisy helped me convince the warden to let ya out of jail for the night." Kira winked at Bo as she turned back to the box of Christmas decorations. "Especially since this is Daisy's last night off before Judd and I head back to Atlanta after New Year's."

Bo grinned at his sister as he went back to the garland, a bit more careful and cheerful than he had been working on it.

Kira slid her boots on before looking in the full-length mirror behind the door. "Oh, why did I do that?"

Kira looked at her reflection and winced. She had decided to wear the pink sweater that Daisy had bought her. With it she wore a pair of hip hugging, black jeans and a pair of black boots with heels that could revile Daisy's typical heels. With them, her already tall frame could probably stand eye to eye with Luke.

At least while wearing the sweater, she wouldn't need to wear blush. Her skin tone would reflect the bright sweater.

After finishing her hair, pulling it back into a chignon, Kira headed out and waited for the others to get finished. The guys all came down together and it was more than obvious that Bo couldn't wait to head on out after being cooped up for so long when he looked to see if Daisy was with Kira and saw she wasn't. Kira let out a whistle at the guys as she took them all in.

"Hey guys, ya'll clean up good. Daisy and I just might have to make ourselves scarce once we all get to the bar."

Bo walked over and slipped an arm around Kira's waist. "Not too scarce, Darlin'. You can't make it too difficult for us to keep an eye on ya."

"I'm not the one that tends to need bail money after a night out. And you plan to keep an eye on me," Kira lightly jabbed Bo in the side as she spoke.

"Well hopefully, no one will need bail money this time." Luke, too, looked and saw that Daisy had yet to come down ready to go out. "Kira, this is the third time we've all decided to go out together and you've beaten everyone getting ready. How come you can get ready so quickly and it always takes Daisy forever to get dressed?"

"I guess it's because I really don't care what others think about how I look. I dress for myself and figure that if they don't like it, they can jump off a cliff as far as I care." Kira then remembered that the sweater that she currently was wearing was for Daisy's benefit, so she added, "Most of the time anyway."

Luke then hollered up to Daisy, "Hey, Daisy, how much longer? We're all ready."

"Just another ten minutes!" Daisy hollered back which caused Luke and Bo to both groan. They both knew that ten minutes to Daisy usually ended up being at least twenty minutes in actuality.

"Well, while you and Judd are stuck waiting on Daisy, Bo and I will head on out and meet ya'll there."

"Who says we're the only ones that have to wait?"

"I knew there'd be something good to come out of having to not ride in the General. Have fun waiting on Daisy." Bo laughed as he and Kira headed toward the door, leaving their cousins to wait for Daisy to finish getting ready.

When Bo and Kira walked into The Boar's Nest, they immediately spotted Cooter sitting over at a table by himself next to an empty table. They went over and pulled the next table over to make room for the others once they arrived.

"Hey, Cooter. How was Alabama?"

Cooter had gone to visit his recently married daughter Nancy Lou and had just gotten back to Hazzard that day. "It made me feel OLD! To have a daughter old enough to be married, I just wasn't ready for that."

"Don't worry about that, a little time runnin' around with Bo and Luke will cure that." Kira leaned in with a soft mock whisper before continuing, "Everyone knows that they both still act like kids anyway."

"I heard that. And it's better than acting like an old shrew any day."

Cooter began to laugh as the two Dukes started to pick back and forth. The three at the table were so engrossed in the banter that they hardly noticed when none other than Ernie Leadbetter walked up to the table.

"And here I didn't think that you'd show back up around Hazzard; what with the rumors that are going around about you and all. Guess I was wrong." Ernie snickered as Bo moved to get in Ernie's face when he suddenly stopped. Instead, he looked at Kira as she merely lifted her glass that the waitress had just brought her with a knowing smile on her face as she avoided her brother's hurt look.

"What rumor would that be, Leadbetter?"

"The one going around about how you really can afford those fancy clothes you've been wearing around town. Anybody who knows anything knows that no Duke would ever actually make it as a lawyer."

"And just how do I supposedly earn my money?" Kira said with a raised eyebrow.

"From what I've heard you're nothing but a two-bit hooker. And from what I've seen, I believe it," Ernie said as he cast a leering glance up and down Kira. Bo had begun to move toward Ernie and then once again was stopped by an unseen force and Cooter had gotten ready to move to defend Kira's honor as well when she sent him a look that stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Ernie, I've worked hard to get where I'm at in life. I'd appreciate it if you'd help set the record straight. I am not a two-bit hooker. I am a high dollar call girl." Kira took a sip of her drink to help her keep a straight face as Cooter and Bo looked at her as if she had just lost her mind.

"What's the difference?" Ernie sneered.

Kira smiled as she answered, "Ain't it a shame that you'll just never get to know. 'Cause even if you saved up for a year, it's for damn sure that you could never afford me. Of course, if I charged ya for a whole hour, I'm pretty sure I'd have to find something else to do to fill the rest of the fifty-eight minutes and thirty-nine seconds."

Cooter choked on his drink as Ernie turned a bright red from anger.

Just at that time, Rosco walked in and saw Ernie Leadbetter over at Bo's and Kira's table. Everyone knew that none of the Dukes got along with Ernie; Rosco was sure that the fault lay solely with the Dukes. It appeared though that it was Kira and not Bo who was talking to the other man, who was changing all shades of red and purple. Rosco couldn't see why Boss didn't care much for Kira. True she was a Duke though she didn't cause any of the kinds of trouble that her brother and cousins did. Walking over, it was clear he was interrupting something.

"Well, howdy, Miss Kira. Everything alright over here?" Rosco looked at the four people around the table. Cooter looked half-strangled, Ernie looked mad enough to chew nails, and Bo looked like he was barely keeping himself from jumping up and attacking Ernie. Kira looked somewhat pleased with herself though about what was anyone's guess.

"Sure is, Sheriff. Ernie here was just on his way back to his own table. Which reminds me, if memory serves; I still owe you a drink. Care to join us?"

Bo glared at Kira, drinking with Rosco was not how he had planned to spend his evening.

"I'm sorry, I can't. If Boss came out here and saw me drinking with a Duke, he'd have my badge."

"Well how about havin' one at the bar and tell them to put it on my tab instead. Hogg couldn't have a problem with that, now, can he?"

"I reckon that'd be alright, thank ye."

"Bye, Sheriff," then Kira turned her attention back to Ernie and spoke with exaggerated sweetness. "Bye, Ernie."

With Rosco right there, all Ernie could do was stalk back to his own table. Cooter busted out laughing once the other men were gone.

"Buddy-roo, I'm proud of ya. I didn't know you had that kind of self-control. I was about ready to stand up and knock his block off myself."

"Self-control, HELL! Kira dug one of her damned heels into the top of my foot. If'n I'd moved it probably would have cut right through. My best pair of boots, too." Cooter watched as Bo pulled his foot up and began to rub the top of his foot to try to get the circulation going again.

"So, I'll buy you a new pair. Besides, YOU are the one who gave me the idea last month when I asked what Daisy would do if you didn't let her handle someone like Ernie."

Realization hit as Bo looked down at the awful boots that had been the source of so much pain just a few moments ago. "You bought those things just for tonight, didn't you?"

Kira grinned evilly, "Damn straight I did. It worked, too. Kept you from fightin' my battle, didn't it?"

"And you still got Rosco thinking that you're an angel. I couldn't believe he came over here like he did." Cooter laughed as he saw the others walk in and he waved them over.

"Yeh, an angel with a crooked halo," Bo added as he finally got some feeling back into his foot.

"He's just compensating since he still feels guilty for not finding me when I was little. It'll wear off eventually."

"Did we miss something?" Luke asked as he sat beside Cooter.

"You could say that. Kira had another face off with Ernie. Next time I'll have to remember NOT to drink anything 'til it's over. I about strangled on my drink. Of course, Kira, don't 'cha think you were hittin' a little below the belt there?"

The others just looked on, uncertain of just what they had missed.

"That was the point, Cooter."

"Would someone tell us just what ya'll are talking about?" Daisy asked as she took in the looks on her cousins' faces as well as Cooter's.

"Daisy, if you hadn't have taken forever to get ready you would have been here and wouldn't have missed anything."

Daisy gave Bo a crossed look while still waiting for one of the three to tell her just what they were talking about.

"Well while you two are filling these guys in, I think I'll go up to the bar to order some drinks for everyone."

With that, Kira indulged in a self-satisfying grin as she heard Cooter's retelling of her encounter with Ernie with more than just a little exaggeration. Bo added his viewpoint into the mix and how he had nearly lost all feeling in his foot during the whole ordeal.