Whheeeewww! Sorry it has been so long between posts. Writers block complicated by 'real world drama' - short handed at work, family surgery, and an online duty death of a County EMS worker has taken there toll on me. Hope to do better in the future! but currently still being scheduled for 60 hours a week, not to mention added call ins. Good money but I'm old and TIRED!

Thanks to Vector 426, Long Live BRUCAS, and Ghostwriter for reading and reviewing Chapter 58. Also welcome aboard bjlucas! Always good to get reviews even on past chapters, so if you are a new reader or a silent and faithful reader, I love to know what you think. Thanks for reading.

Chapter 59

A year ago Karen would have gotten away with that move. Six months ago, she might have gotten away with it, but today was a different day and a different Jeb. In the last several months Jebb had grown at least another couple of inches right before everyone's eyes but not many had noticed.

Before coming to Hazzard, he'd been racing motorcycles behind his parents backs or at least out of their sight. He'd been making new friends and some were the type he knew his mother would never approve of, he wasn't even sure how his father would feel about the friends or the racing.

In the short while he'd been in Hazzard, he'd been in bars, out with girls, on whiskey runs and not just asked to help out but been expected to pull his own weight just like his older cousins did everyday. The fact that he had been taking on extra chores while he had been staying with his uncle had toned him just a bit more and made him more than a match for his sister. Jeb in fact beat her to the barn door and dropped the wooden latch as he grabbed his sister around the waist and took her back into the barn, "This, ... is between us. ... Keep it that way!" Jeb said while he managed to keep his struggling sister under control.

Karen was trying to pry out of Jeb's hold as she screamed, "Leave Me ALONE!"

Jeb held only on tighter. He knew Karen wanted the adults to hear what was going on, but he knew the chances weren't likely if he could keep her in the barn.

Luke knew he had to do something, yet this was a matter between his cousins. He motioned for Bo to go to the barn door to keep Karen inside. Luke said calmly, "Karen settle down. Jeb let her go." Both cousins met Luke with resistance. Luke got a bit louder as he repeated himself. "Karen settle down. Jeb let her go. I mean it. I don't need or intend to get in between you two, so stop it now before the others hear you two."

Jeb loosen his grip on Karen but hadn't taken his arms away from her waist.

Karen couldn't resist stomping Jeb's foot and elbowing him.

That had been enough to get Jeb to let go of his sister, who broke for the barn door to be met by Bo. Luckily for Bo, Daisy was by Karen's side, "Karen. Sugar, listen to me. I know better than anyone how much you don't want these guys in your business."

Karen shot Daisy a look and almost asked, 'How Daisy would know how she felt?' but then a third of the answer to that question was standing between Karen and the rest of the world.

As Karen turned back toward Jeb and Luke, it was Luke who spoke first, "Karen, look, ... all Jeb and any of us really care about is you. IF whatever happened was alright with you, then we'll all back down, ... but if this guy took advantage of you or used you, then we'll take care of that too."

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Jesse rocked his rocker gently as John and Pauline slowly swung the old porch swing. The evening was quiet with an occasional breeze drifting across the Duke land. Once or twice the 'kids' voices could be heard on the porch but the adults had no idea what was going on in the barn. After awhile Pauline went inside to check the twins and finish up things in the kitchen, but first brought out the rest of the pitcher of tea for them drink that evening.

John had just refilled his glass as the screen door closed behind his wife.

Jesse leaned up to make sure that his sister in law was indeed in the kitchen before he said with an evil grin, "So how did the castration go?"

John looked at his brother confused, "What?"

"Well, she is, ain't she?" Jesse asked still grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Is, ... what?" John asked still not following Jesse's train of thought.

"Oh, ... come on, ... I figured you'd surely make the official announcement at dinner. What are you waiting for?" Jesse inquired.

"I don't know what you are talking about Jesse. I'm not waiting for anything except to get tomorrow over with. What announcement was I supposed to make?" John said as he took a large drink of the cold tea.

"John, there is no need to keep it a secret, the kids already know Pauline is pregnant!" Jesse said.

The a fore mentioned tea hit the back of John's throat just as the phrase, 'the kids already know Pauline is pregnant!' hit his mind. The result was about like hot air and cold air hitting to make a thunderstorm. John opened his mouth to talk while still trying to swallow which caused him to get choked.

Jesse couldn't help but to laugh at John's reaction as he was still couching and gagging from the drink of tea that had went everywhere but where it should have gone.

Pauline suddenly appeared at the door, "John David are you alright?"

The nearly purple Duke looked up at his wife and managed to squeak out, "Fine. ... I'm, ... fine." Followed by a long intake of air.

Jesse managed to reach over and pat his younger brother on the back to help him get his breath.

Only after John had managed to get himself somewhat composed did he try to talk, "What? ... Are you talking about?"

"The kids heard that Pauline IS pregnant. You were worried about it. She is right?" Jesse asked.

Coughing to clear his throat again, John replied, "How would the kids hear anything like that?"

"So is she?" Jesse asked again.

"Well, you know I did admit to you how worried she was about it which had gotten me worried and into all this, " John waved his hands meaning his current situation with having to be in Hazzard for court tomorrow, before continuing, "and all, but, ..."

Jesse stopped him in his tracks, "John David first off that situation nor Pauline did a thing to get you into anything, you put yourself into the situation at the bar just like you put yourself into the situation to have to have been worried in the first place. Second of all, you still haven't answered my blame question."

John grimaced from Jesse's tone so he answered quickly, "Ok, sorry your right, I didn't answer you. No, ... no she's not. That's why I wonder what the kids think they know."

Pauline returned to the doorway just in time to hear John's last few words, "Kids think they know what?"

John and Jesse both knew how Pauline could be about such things, they looked at each other with a 'deer in the headlights' look before they both replied, "Nothing. Nothing at all."

Pauline frowned at both them, "Then I'll just go check on the girls if you two don't want to talk to me."

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Karen thought a long while before replying to Luke. She knew how the truth would make her look to the others, yet she didn't really want the others going after Danny either. After a lot of thought she finally answered, "Then, ... Ya'll can just back off." Karen turned back toward the barn door where Bo was still blocking her escape route.

"Bo." Luke said quietly a split second before Bo moved out of his cousin's way.

It was only after Karen had exited the barn did she realize that Luke had 'called Bo off'. Maybe she had misjudged her brother and cousin's concern. Maybe they were indeed concerned about her.

Daisy caught up with Karen as she stormed off. Once they were out of ear shot of the house and the barn Daisy said, "We all care about you, you know Sugar."

Karen stopped and was quiet a long time, before turning around, "Yeah. Yeah, I guess it just didn't seem like that at first."

"I may be younger than you, but like I said before, ... I know better than anyone how much you don't want the guys in your business. Being younger only makes them more apt to want to 'help' which I think is butting in, then they try to tell me what to do which makes me think they are trying to boss me around. You are lucky, most of the time you only have to deal with Jeb. I'm out number with Bo and Luke!" Daisy said.

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