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Chapter 62
Bo and Jeb heard Luke pull out of the yard heading for the road. Jeb asked, "Where's he going? I thought Uncle Jesse was still keeping close tabs on him."
"He is. I haven't a clue where Luke could be going or what was so important to have gotten him off the farm with everyone here." Bo said with a frown as he thought, 'Or better yet, why he didn't take us with him.'
Jeb asked, "Do you think we should go find the girls?"
Bo wasn't so sure that was such a good idea, "I don't know, Jeb, you might want to let Karen cool down a little more."
"That's true," Jeb agreed, "But, if we don't settle it before we go to the house then she is sure to try to get me in trouble for something."
"She slapped you, how can that get you in trouble?" Bo asked.
Jeb frowned, "You haven't been around Karen much Bo, trust me if there is a way to turn it on me she will."
Bo still wasn't sure that it was such a good idea to find Karen before she cooled down, but it was Jeb's sister and Jeb's life, so he agreed to go along. "Alright, if you are sure."
The boys headed out of the barn and began checking places where they thought the girls could be.
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"No, Daisy that is NOT great!" Karen replied.
Daisy was a hopeless romantic and didn't see why it wouldn't be great if her uncle and aunt had another baby. "Well, why not?"
"Daisy! There are a number of reasons, ... first Mom isn't getting any younger, secondly she just had twins! Then there is this stuff with Dad, but mainly I end up watching the twins enough now. How much will I get stuck watching them if she has another baby?" Karen said selfishly.
"Come on Karen. I love to babysit. They are just so cute and adorable." Daisy replied.
Karen reminded Daisy, "That may be when you choose to watch them, get paid for doing so and then get to go home afterwards. I was the one who was embarrassed half to death every time Mom showed up at school last year. I'm the one who doesn't get to do things because I have to watch the girls. Then afterwards they are in the room right next to mine."
"Having babies in the house can't be that bad, besides it's nice to know your parents are still in love." Daisy said.
Karen looked at Daisy like she had two heads, "It's grose that they still do THAT!"
"Karen!" Daisy scolded. "It's not gross." Though she had to admit she couldn't picture her prime and proper aunt doing 'it' either.
"Yes, it is." Karen replied and shuttered at just the thought which cause both girls to laugh uncontrollably.
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As Bo and Jeb walked the Duke property, the girls were no where to be found. Jeb asked, "Aren't we near that old silver mine?"
Bo replied, "Yeah, it's not too far."
"You don't think they would be there do you?" Jeb asked.
"No, Daisy never did like going in there much and I'm not sure Karen even knows about it." Bo said.
Jeb added, "Well, we've looked about everywhere else there is to look."
Bo had to agree on that, "True, but you know Daisy, if she don't want to be found it's hard to find her. Say do you remember playing in the mine?"
Jeb smiled, "Sure I do."
Bo grinned mischievously, "I bet I'll ride a cart further than you will."
"You aren't suggesting what I think you are? Are you?" Jeb asked. He knew years ago they shouldn't have been playing in the old mine and that was a good five or six years ago.
"You ain't got chicken in your old age have you cousin?" Bo asked.
Jeb stood a little taller and replied, "Heck no! Come on."
"Race ya!" Bo said as he took off in front of Jeb.
Arriving at the mine entrance, the teens began moving the brush and boards that had been put there to block off the old mine. Inside, Bo dug around in his pocket for matches and lit a couple lanterns. The boys knew they would have to go to the end of the mine shaft to get the carts before the fun could begin. As they walked down the mine shaft they could hear the familiar sounds of the abandoned mine, old timbers creaked, water could be heard dripping in places, small rocks fell.
They lit more lanterns as they made their way to the carts. At the bottom each took a cart and began pushing it up the tracks of the mine. When they were younger it had taken both to push one cart up which they had both ridden down almost to the bottom before bailing out. Today, Bo's challenge would have them riding back down solo.
As Bo reached the third lantern he said, "This is where we rode from last."
Jeb nodded then looked back down the shaft. "Should we go up another light?"
"Let's make it interesting and move up two more." Bo suggested.
"Alright." Jeb replied automatically.
They pushed the carts up to the second lantern, Bo said, "Now here's the thing. Where ever you bail out you got to stay there so we can see who rides further."
"Alright. You go first." Jeb said figuring on riding until he saw where Bo bailed out and riding a bit further.
Bo nodded, "Ok." He took his cart pushed off and jumped in. The cart seemed to pick up speed much faster than Bo remembered. In fact about half way down the mine shaft, Bo was actually regretting this great idea of his. The cart was traveling at a pretty good speed when he reached the last light before the end of the shaft. Bo knew he had to jump out or he would be slung out when the cart reached the end of the track. Bo got ready and as he jumped the thought of, 'This is gonna hurt.' crossed his mind. The next thing he knew he was eating dirt and feeling rocks digging into him as he hit the ground as the cart crashed into the stop at the end of the tracks.
Bo got up, shook it off, dusted himself off, then yelled. "OK, come on down. I'm clear."
Jeb had heard the cart hit the stop, then heard Bo give him the all clear. He jumped in the cart remembering how much fun this had been years ago, even though they hadn't ever taken the carts up this far. Even with the cart traveling faster than it did years ago, Jeb was having fun, but he would admit only to himself that he did get the feeling that he should have jumped out a couple times.
As Jeb looked up, the last lantern before the end of the shaft was coming up. He saw Bo beside the track. Jeb got ready to jump, but waited until he had passed Bo. He jumped clear of the cart, then felt rocks digging into his leg as he slide to a stop. For some reason he seemed to have forgotten just how hard the landings were at the end of the ride.
Laying in the dust, Jeb took a minute to make sure that he hadn't actually hurt anything.
Bo yelled down to his cousin, "You just HAD to ride longer than me didn't you! Come on lets take one cart up and ride it down from the next light together."
Jeb spit out a mouth full of dust before replying, "Your on!"
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Luke took as deep a breath as he could with his broken ribs still taped up, as he turned off the main road onto the familiar side road that lead to his ex girlfriend's house. He could see the gate open long before he got to the house and though there was plenty of room to park, Luke opted to park in the wide spot across from the driveway gate.
Luke got out of the Torino, paused to tuck his shirt tail back in, then started across the road toward Robin's father.
Inside Robin had been on the phone with a friend. She knew the sound of the car out front without even going to the window. She said into the phone, "I'll call you back later." Hanging up the phone, Robin went to the window outside her bedroom. Standing behind the sheer curtain where she couldn't be seen she saw Luke was out of the car tucking in his shirt and then he walked over into the driveway.
Mark and Bill had the hood up on the truck as well as both doors. Luke could tell they were scratching their heads about why the truck wasn't starting. "What seems to be the trouble with it?" Luke asked as he got closer.
Mark replied, "I got the stereo in, turned the key on to try it and nothing. I even tried to start it and it won't even try to start."
Luke started around to the passenger side of the truck, "Did you check the fusses?" He was already reaching to open the glove box to get to the fuse box.
Bill had thought surely his son had already checked the fuses so he hadn't bothered to do so himself, but seeing the look on Mark face at Luke's suggestion wished that he had checked them himself.
"I never got any power to it. How could it blow a fuse?" Mark asked.
Luke now had the cover off the fuse box and pulled out the fuse that would control a stereo. The fuse was blown. "Do you have any fuses?"
"There should be some there in the glove compartment." Bill replied.
Luke replaced the fuse still uncertain what could cause the truck not to start if only a stereo fuse was blown. As soon as Luke turned the key the fuse blew again. He again replaced the fuse but started checking other fuses in the fuse box. Everyone he seen was blown. Luke looked over at the stereo that had been just put in. There had been no room for it in the dash, so Mark had used a CB mounting bracket to mount the stereo below the dash.
Luke cussed Ralph Green and his injured ribs, "One of you is going to have to come over here. I can't do what I need to do."
Bill pointed at Mark to get in the truck on the drivers side. Mark asked, "Ok what do you need me to do?"
Luke said, "Get down there and feel what is on the back side of the mounting bracket."
"I already checked it. There is nothing there." Mark said a bit defensively.
Luke replied, "Humor me, will ya?"
Mark shrugged and reached up into the dash where the mounting screw should be through the dash. As he felt for the screw something else hit his hand - several wires. Mark promptly swore! "Hand me a light."
Bill asked, "What is it?"
"Just give me a second." Mark shined the light up into the bottom of the dash and seen a nightmare. He had felt up into the dash and felt nothing before he put the mounting screw in, now he was seeing wires and a lot of them right where the screw came through the dash. He set off cursing a blue streak as he seen one nicked wire, a broken one, several more skinned wires, another broken one.
Luke shook his head, "Mark please tell me that screw didn't go into the main wiring harness."
"I checked it. I swear I did. I didn't feel any wires there." Mark said.
"How bad is it?" Luke asked since he couldn't get there to see for himself.
Mark let out a defeated sigh, "I don't know. A couple wires are broken, several more are skinned."
Luke looked at Bill, "I hate to tell you this, but I can't get down there to work on it right now, but from what he's saying, ... your best bet is going to be to call Cooter now and not risk making it worse."
"Call him." Bill said with a sigh.
With nothing working in the truck and Luke not really wanting to go in the house to use the phone he headed over to his car to radio Cooter on the CB.
Robin had brushed her hair and changed shirts before deciding that the trash needed taken out.
Cooter had said he'd be right over, so Luke turned around to go back to the pick up. Just as he started to cross the road a familiar car pulled up and stopped. Ruby was out of the car in an instance and had wrapped her arms low around Luke's waist and pulled him close, "Are you ever a sight for sore eyes! Where have you been?"
Luke's hands automatically found their way to Ruby's hips, "Home mostly." Luke replied.
"I was just heading out to meet a friend, but you have GOT to call me!" Ruby rubbed against Luke seductively.
"Count on it." Luke replied.
Ruby puckered up and kissed Luke long and hard before jumping back in her car and speeding off on her way.
As Luke started across the road he looked up, his eyes met Robin's for a brief second. In that second, a whole conversation was spoken between the two. Luke saw several emotions he couldn't quite nail down pass over Robin's face. He bit his lip, shrugged his shoulders, as his hands asked, 'What was I supposed to do?'
Robin had heard before when she and Luke were broken up previously that Luke had been seen with Ruby, but for Ruby to seek him out at her house that was more than Robin wanted to deal with right now. She dropped the trash in the can and promptly stomped in the house to wash her hands of all the 'trash' that she had encountered outside.
Luke grimaced. He knew Robin was hot, but really couldn't see why she was or why she should be. She had broken it off with him. 'What does she expect me to do? Become a monk?' He thought as he went back to Bill and Mark. "Cooter will be right over."
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