CHAPTER 18
"Hi Enos," Daisy walked to Enos and smiled, "time to have some rest."
Enos stretched his arms above his head and sat down, waiting for her.
When she reached him on the porch's stairs and she sat down by his side, the wood gently creaked, "Ruebottom farm is better and better. Jones and his men are doin' an amazing job."
"Strate farm, now," he turned to her, smiling, "and not just Mr. Jones and his men, but also I, Bo, Luke and uncle Jesse."
She grabbed his right hand, "I see," she gently caressed his hand's palm, her forefinger lingering on any corn, "you're working a lot, honey."
"Ouch," he removed his hands from her attention, "wait, Daisy, a splinter of wood."
Daisy grabbed again his hand, "Hey, let me help you." Patiently, she located the splinter and she removed it, then she kissed his hand, both the palm and the back, "Safe and sound."
"Thanks," he grinned, "may you check my lips too?"
She gave a gentle punch to his arm, "Oh Enos," she laughed and she came closer him, forehead against forehead and finally lips on lips in a sweet and long kiss.
After the kiss, Enos stood up and stretched out his arm to her, helping her to stand up, "Come in. I want to show you how work is goin'"
Her hand in his one, Daisy followed Enos inside the farm, listening to his words and staring amazed at every progress; it was the first time she liked so much wet paint's smell.
After a full month of work, the old farm was changing in the house Daisy was dreaming of, their nest. She glanced at Enos: after a full month of work, he was cheered up, L.A. was far away and he was finally focusing just on their farm and upcoming wedding.
Coming out the farm, they sat again on the porch's stairs and they silently stared at the landscape: the sun was setting and, in the air, they could feel the characteristic scent of that late winter, a scent with a touch of spring in it.
"Spring is coming. I love spring," Daisy inhaled the fresh air.
By her side, Enos lay down and stared at the blue sky and at the pinkish clouds, his arms under his head like a pillow, "You're right."
She turned her head to him and she rested her hand on his chest, "You know, Enos, some time ago I dreamt of me and you living in a small farm; I kissed you before you left to go to work, and… I was pregnant," her hand slid from his chest to his belly, enjoying his skin's warmth through his shirt's fabric, "did you ever dream of me and you this way?"
"Oh Dais, I've dreamt of me and you this way since the third grade."
"What a precocious child," she laughed, "what kind of dreams, exactly, Enos?" her forefinger traced an imaginary circle around his bellybutton as she turned into the sweet and skittish woman she used to be so many times in their past, when he was always nervous around her: old times.
Old times: Enos glanced at her and grinned, no more nervous, "At that time I dreamt of offering you an ice cream and watching you while you ate it. Growing old, my dreams changed a bit, I confess, but it isn't proper to talk 'bout it."
Daisy kept on playing her old role, "Really? And what…"
The characteristic horn of The General Lee and Bo's voice interrupted her, "Daisy! Enos! Uncle Jesse is waiting for us, at the farm, for dinner. Hurry up, I'm hungry."
Daisy had a deep sigh and stood up, "Bo is always hungry," she bent forward and she stretched out her arm to Enos, "Come on."
The General Lee, Dixie and Enos' patrol car moved to the Dukes farm, happy and calm procession.
"Do you stay for the night, Enos?" Daisy walked closer Enos, "Please…" her question turning into a request.
Sitting on the porch-swing, he glanced at her, "In effect, I'd like to stay here for the night. I'm too tired to drive back to the town, now."
"Great!" Daisy rejoiced at his answer and she sat on his lap.
Along the last month, Enos was working hard at Ruebottom farm (now, finally, Strate farm), driving from the town to the farm early in the morning, then driving back to the Police Department, and, in the evening, driving again from the town to the farm and keeping on working until the sunset and then going back to the town: since Ruebottom farm was near the Dukes farm, for Enos it was more easy to sleep at Dukes, driving to Ruebottom farm early in the morning and then to the town, and, in the evening, driving from the town to Ruebottom farm and finally from Ruebottom farm to the Dukes farm.
Enos yawned and rested his head on her chest, closing his eyes, "I'm really tired."
Daisy caressed his nape, "Time to go to sleep, sugar."
When Enos stayed at the farm, he slept in the guest-room: a silent agreement between Enos and Daisy and their natural respect for uncle Jesse and his house didn't allow them to pass a symbolic border, so Enos never entered Daisy's bedroom and Daisy never entered Enos' bedroom. Despite that symbolic border, anyway, Daisy enjoyed the idea of having Enos sleeping under the same roof, just the living room between their rooms; she enjoyed to have dinner with him and, in the morning, to have breakfast with him.
A symbolic border existing just at the farm but not at the Boarding House where, from time to time, Daisy met Enos (when he wasn't busy with his job or at Ruebottom farm, and it meant their meetings were really sporadic), sweet and intense meetings, usually during Enos' lunch-break: a silence agreement between them and their natural respect for uncle Jesse didn't allow them to stay at the Boarding House for the night, instead.
Looking at Enos sleeping in her arms, Daisy regretted they weren't married, yet.
Uncle Jesse sat on the porch-swing, glancing at Enos, "He's really tired. He's working really hard to help Mr. Jones at the farm," his voice a whisper, respecting Enos' sleep.
Daisy blushed a bit at uncle Jesse's look: she was still uncomfortable at uncle Jesse looking at her and Enos during their intimate, though innocent, moments (like that moment). She pushed away that discomfort and she smiled at uncle Jesse, "I'm really proud of him, uncle Jesse, and you too should be proud of him."
Uncle Jesse's eyebrows rose in surprise, "Of course, I'm proud of him, and I've always been, Daisy. You should know it."
Daisy blushed for another kind of discomfort, "I know uncle Jesse. Sometimes I think that, in the past, I wasn't proud of Enos as much as you were, and I'm ashamed of it."
FLASHBACK
"What's so wrong about a Duke becoming a police officer?" uncle Jesse stared at Daisy, trying to fight against Daisy's hesitation in becoming a deputy, "Us Dukes aren't raised to be against Law Order. We're a peaceful and loving family, and we're just against police officers disrespecting and betraying their badge. So, being Enos the only Law officer around we can trust…"
Daisy's defence was down, and she decided to become a police officer.
01 - 01 - 01 - 01 - 01 - 01 - 01 - 01
Stomach in, chest out, his chin up, uncle Jesse walked in front of Boss, standing in all his height and overlooking the shorter and rounded Boss, his forefinger against him, "J.D.! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"
Uncle Jesse's passionate defense of Enos against Boss after Boss decided to fire Enos because of Scanlon's escape.
"I was so busy to fall for charmers I was blind to Enos' real value," Daisy shook her head, "and I'm ashamed of it. Instead, you've always known Enos' real value."
Uncle Jesse patted Daisy's knee, "You too know his value, now. You've learnt to know his value along the years," he stood up and smiled, "And, now, wake him up and go to sleep, he needs rest."
Entering the kitchen early in the morning, Daisy realized something strange was happening.
"Miss Smith! What's goin' on?" she walked to the table and she sat down, grabbing Miss Smith's nervous hands.
"Lucy is missing," Enos answered Daisy's question, sparing Miss Smith any painful word.
"Missing?" Daisy stared confused at Enos, "What does it mean?"
Enos tied his tie and had a deep breath, "When Miss Smith woke up, this morning, Lucy wasn't in her room; children were still sleeping but Lucy wasn't there. She took her knapsack and some dresses, and it means she left the Orphanage on purpose."
"Why?" Daisy glanced at Miss Smith and then at uncle Jesse and Enos.
Miss Smith finally found the strength to answer Daisy's confusion, "Some days ago Lucy met that couple from Atlanta. It's the reason why she's running away."
"Couple? Atlanta?" Daisy was more and more confused, but finally something sparked in her mind, "Are you talking about that married couple trying to adopt one of the children of the orphanage?"
Miss Smith blew her nose in her handkerchief and nodded, "Yeah. They want to adopt Lucy, but, since they came to the orphanage to meet her, Lucy keeps on saying she doesn't want to leave Hazzard. She says she doesn't want a mother and a father but staying here, 'cause it's funnier. That brat… she's running away 'cause she doesn't want to be adopted."
"She's just a small child, she can't go very far," Luke joined them in the kitchen, Bo with him.
"She can't go very far but she can be in danger: Hazzard is full of ravines, rivers, ponds… She's just a small girl," Bo expressed what everybody was thinking, and Miss Smith sobbed in her handkerchief.
"OK. We're goin' to find her, but for sure we aren't goin' to find her in this kitchen": uncle Jesse's wisdom.
They came out the kitchen heading to their cars: Enos and Daisy in Enos' patrol car, Bo and Luke in The General Lee, Miss Smith and uncle Jesse in uncle Jesse's truck, so the worried procession left the farm.