A Debt Repaid
by
Chapter 1
Jesse Duke pulled his battered white pickup into the barnyard behind the weather beaten two story frame house where he had been born and raised. The farm where Jesse lived with his two nephews and his niece had been in the Duke family for over 5 generations. Parking the truck and turning off the engine, he climbed out of the cab and walked towards the screened in back porch.
Jesse was sturdily built man in his early sixties but he had the energy and spring in his step of a much younger man. He had a headful of shaggy white hair and a full white beard with faded blue eyes that still held a friendly twinkle. He pushed open the back door and went into the kitchen of the old farmhouse.
His niece, Daisy, was standing at the stove cooking supper. She was a pretty girl in her mid twenties with big blue eyes and long reddish brown hair. The only girl in a houseful of men, she grew up a tomboy and stayed that way to a certain extent. She glanced at her Uncle as he came into the house, her eyes troubled and worried.
“What's wrong, honey?” Jesse asked when he saw the expression on her face
“There's something in the paper you better read, Uncle Jesse” she told him “I laid it in your chair.”
Jesse walked through the archway into the living room and picked up the newspaper that was lying on his favorite chair. Scanning the front page, it didn't take Jesse long to find the article that Daisy was referring to. Frowning, he laid the paper back down in the chair.
“What are we gonna tell Luke?” Daisy asked, eying her Uncle worriedly.
“I don't know, baby” Jesse said “But we're gonna have to tell him. He'll find out sooner or later even if we don't.”
“It can't be true. Can it?”
“I don't know. I just don't know.”
Daisy turned her head towards the kitchen window as she heard the sound of a powerful engine pulling into the barnyard. Through the window, she saw a bright orange stock car pulling in beside the pickup. The General Lee was the most famous car in Hazzard County . With the big black 01 on each door, the rebel flag on the roof and the name The General Lee written above each door, the car was as well known as the two boys who owned it.
Daisy watched as her two cousins climbed out of the car (since the General was a stock car, the doors were welded shut so they had to climb in and out of the windows)
Bo Duke climbed out from the driver's side. With his blonde hair and baby blue eyes, he had more girlfriends than he could shake a stick out. Tall and lean with a muscular build he was a handsome young man in his early twenties.
The oldest of the three Duke cousins, Luke Duke, climbed out from the other side of the General. With his dark curly hair and azure blue eyes, he was as popular as his blonde cousin with the ladies. Shorter than his cousin but with the same lean, muscular build, Luke was a ruggedly handsome young man. He was the only one of the three cousins who had ever left Hazzard County for any period of time. He had been in the Marines for two years. And he was the only one who had ever been married. But his wife had been tragically killed a little over a year ago and he had been left a grief stricken widower.
Daisy kept her eyes carefully averted when the boys came into the kitchen, laughing and joking. She knew if Luke saw the expression on her face he would know something was wrong. She had never been able to hide anything from her older cousin. Most of the time he seemed more like an overly protective older brother who still treated her like a kid sometimes
Daisy finished dishing up supper and the Duke family sat down to eat. They made casual conversation during the meal with the boys telling Jesse and Daisy about their day and Jesse telling the boys about some chores he expected them to do the next day. Jesse waited until supper was over and Daisy had done up the dishes before he approached Luke about the article in the newspaper.
“Luke, there's something in tonight's paper you best take a look at.” Jesse said, as he picked up the paper from his chair and handed it to his oldest nephew. With a puzzled look at his Uncle, Luke took the paper and scanned the front page. His eyes narrowed when he found the article that Jesse intended for him to read. When he had finished reading it, he tossed the paper down on the sofa and said,
“It can't be true. There has some mistake.”
Without waiting for his Uncle to reply, he abruptly turned and climbed the stairs to the second floor. A few moments later the sound of his bedroom door slamming echoed through the house.
Confused and not sure what was going on, Bo picked up the paper and scanned the front page. It didn't take him long to find the article that had upset Luke.
MAJOR DRUG RING UNCOVERED IN HAZZARD COUNTY
A major drug ring was uncovered in Hazzard County by federal agents based on a year long investigation. Two arrests were made in connection with the operation, Cory Lynn and Shelby Lynn of Iron Mountain in Hazzard County . Several felony charges are pending against both suspects. Additional arrests are expected to follow.
“Luke's right, Uncle Jesse” Bo said in a stunned voice “There has to be some kind of mistake. Shelby would never do anything like that.”
“You best go check on Luke.” Jesse told him somberly “Make sure he's okay.”
“Yes, sir.” Bo said. He climbed the stairs to the second floor and went into the bedroom that the two boys had shared all their lives. Luke was sitting on the edge of his bed on the far side of the room, head bowed and staring at the floorboards.
“Lukas, you okay?” Bo asked, sitting down on his own bed which was closest to the door.
“Yeah, I'm fine.” Luke said looking up at his younger cousin. There was a strange look in his eyes that Bo could not immediately identify.
“I don't believe what it says in the paper.” Bo told him “ Shelby would never do something like that.”
“I know.” Luke said “The question how can we help prove it?”
Chapter 2
Jesse awoke and stared into the darkness. He heard a noise downstairs and realized that someone was up and moving around in the kitchen. Jesse had always had a sixth sense when it came to knowing if one of his kids was upset or in trouble. Even as he shoved himself to his feet and went downstairs to investigate, he already suspected who he would find down there.
And he was right. Luke was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a glass of milk. Jesse opened the refrigerator and poured himself a glass of milk too. Sitting down beside his oldest nephew, he looked at him and said,
“Can't sleep?”
“No….” Luke said shaking his head.
“Are you thinking about Shelby ?”
“She didn't do it, Jesse. I know she didn't.” Luke said firmly “Something just don't sound right about the whole thing.”
“Well, the paper didn't give a whole of details either.” Jesse reminded him
“I owe her, Jesse. She helped save my life…..twice. Maybe I can pay her back somehow by helping to get her out of this mess.”
“Why don't you call that friend of yours that works for the Atlanta paper?” Jesse suggested
“Norm?” Luke said thoughtfully “Yeah, I can give him a call first thing in the morning.”
“Maybe he can find out what's going on for you.” Jesse knew that there was a connection between Shelby Lynn and Luke (Even if Luke didn't realize it yet) Jesse had taught all three of his kids to help out a friend in need especially if it looked like they were being used or framed by the system. So he was not surprised at Luke wanting to try and help Shelby now. Jesse stood up and poured the rest of his milk down the sink and rinsed out the glass. As he turned to go back to his bedroom, he looked at Luke and said,
“You best be getting some sleep. Five thirty gets here mighty early.”
Luke nodded but did not reply as Jesse left the room. Instead he let his mind drift back to when he had first met Shelby and her brother, Cory. He had been alone on a camping trip in the mountains when he accidentally stepped into a bear trap. He would have died if Cory hadn't found him and took him back to the cabin he shared with Shelby . Shelby had taken care of Luke while Cory went for help. That had been over 6 years ago.
Then around 6 months ago, he had accidentally run into Shelby again. The boys had been entered in a race and Shelby happened to be one of the other drivers. She came dang close to beating The General too. A few days after the race, Luke had been taken captive by two men pretending to have car trouble. On the orders of a girl name Christy Lane , they had intended to kill him and dump his body in a lake. Shelby had helped save his life for the second time that day. She had been on the ridge above the road where the men had captured him and had seen the whole thing. She had immediately alerted Jesse and the rest of the family, giving them time to find him before the men had a chance to kill him. It had still been touch and go for awhile and Luke had even ended up blind for almost a month due to a severe head injury.
Reluctantly, Luke left his thoughts drift farther back. To another time, another place and another woman. T o memories that he had locked away deep within his mind where they wouldn't drive him crazy. Kelly had been his first real love but their love seemed destined to fail from the start. They had met as children and grown into lovers as teenagers, and then she had disappeared from Hazzard for over ten years. When she finally returned, Luke had fallen in love her all over again and they had been married. But then she had run down by a car on their wedding day and died 6 days later. Luke was the one who had to make the decision to pull the plug on the machines that were keeping her alive. Shelby Lynn was the only women he had even come close to being attracted to since Kelly's death.
Luke didn't realize that he had been sitting there all night until Daisy came into the kitchen to start breakfast.
“Luke,” she said in a surprised voice “Have you been up all night?”
“Yeah...I guess I have.”
“Why don't you go to bed? I'm sure Bo won't mind doing your chores this morning. Heck, I'll even help him.” Daisy said as she got out the old iron skillet she used to cook eggs in.
“No, I'm fine.” Luke said offhandedly “I'll catch a nap later.”
“Then you're going to need a couple of cups of this.” Daisy said, sitting a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee on the table in front of him.
“Thanks, Daisy.”
They were soon joined by Uncle Jesse and Bo. Daisy dished up breakfast for everyone, Jesse said grace and they all started eating. After breakfast was over, Bo and Luke went out to do the morning chores.
Shortly after 8 A.M. , Luke called his friend Norm at the newspaper in Atlanta . It took a few moments to put Luke's call through to Norm's extension. When he answered, Luke said, “Hey, Norm. It's Luke Duke.”
“Hey, Luke” Norm said in a pleased voice “It's been a coon's age, boy. How are you?”
“Fair to Middling.” Luke told him with a smile
“We're gonna have to go hunting again real soon. It's been a long time.”
“Yeah, we'll have to do that.” Luke agreed “Look, Norm, I need a favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“I need you to find out everything you can, and I do mean everything, about a drug operation that was suppose to be operating here in Hazzard County . Federal investigation, not local. Two arrests so far…Cory and Shelby Lynn.”
“Are they friends of yours?”
“Yeah, they are.”
“I'll see what I can find out. It may take a few days.”
“That's okay…just let me know what you find out.”
“You got it.”
Luke hung up and absently rubbed his fingers against his temple. Jesse, who was sitting in his chair by the fireplace, glanced at Luke worriedly. Luke had suffered from severe migraines ever since almost being killed a few months ago. The whole family had learned to recognize the subtle signs that meant Luke was getting a headache.
“Why don't you go get some sleep?” Jesse told him “Bo and I can handle things this morning.”
“Okay, thanks” Luke said with a crooked smile. When he didn't argue about lying down for awhile, Jesse knew the headache must be a bad one. Stifling a yawn, Luke headed for the stairs and his bedroom.
Chapter 3
Luke was in the barn helping Bo clean out stalls when Daisy opened the back screen door and called his name. When he looked up to acknowledge that he'd heard her, she said “Telephone. It's your friend, Norm, from Atlanta .”
“Tell him I'll be right there.” Luke called back. He leaned his shovel up against the side of the one of the stalls and grabbed his shirt, slipping it on and buttoning it up as he headed for the house.
Inside the house, he went into the living room and picked up the phone
“Hi, Norm.”
“Sorry, it took me so long to get back to you but it don't seem like anybody wants to talk much about this case.” Norm told Luke. It had been almost a week since Luke had called him asking for help finding out more information about the article in the newspaper.
“What did you find out?”
“Not a whole lot. The girl's being held in the Atlanta jail on charges of making and selling moonshine and her brother is being held in Savannah on the drug charges.”
“You mean she's not charged with anything to do with the drugs?” Luke asked in a surprised voice “That's not what the paper said.”
“I know….my gut feeling is that they don't have enough to tie her in to the drug operation…so the moonshine charge is just a smoke screen to hold her until they see if they can dig up enough to charge her with anything else.”
“Were you able to find out anything about the drug operation itself?”
“No….they're being real hush hush about that. I think the brother was in pretty deep though.”
“Anything else?”
“For what it's worth, they set bail for the girl at $500.00 cash bond.”
“Thanks, Norm. I owe ya one.”
“Yeah, well just remember we're going hunting real soon.”
“I will.” Luke told him with a laugh. He hung up and looked at Jesse and Daisy who had been standing in the kitchen listening to Luke's side of the conversation. “Norm couldn't find out much but he did find out that Shelby 's being held in the Atlanta jail on charges of making and selling moonshine, not drugs. And her bond has been set at $500.00 cash. Cory's in jail in Savannah and they do have him on drug charges.”
“That isn't what the paper said.” Daisy said “They said Shelby was arrested in connection with the drug case too.”
“Yeah, I know. Norm thinks that the moonshining charges might just be a way to hold her till they see if they can find something else to charge her with.” Luke explained
“Still sounds like she's in a whole lot of trouble.” Jesse said “I don't like this. I don't like it one bit. I think them federal boys are up to no good and that little girl is stuck right in the middle.”
“But what can we do about it?” Daisy asked
“Well….” Jesse said with a smile “We could start by bonding her out. I got the mortgage money and that should cover a pretty good chunk.”
“And I got $75.00 saved up from my tips.” Daisy volunteered
“And my share of that prize money Bo and I won in that race last week should cover the rest.” Luke said with a grin
“Then it looks like it's settled.” Jesse said in a satisfied voice. He walked over to the kitchen cabinet and reached up on top. He took down a tin can and pulled off the lid. He took out a handful of crumbled bills and handed them to Luke. “Go git that little girl outta there. And you bring her back here. She can stay with us till this thing's straightened out. She don't need up there on that mountain by herself.”
“Yes, sir” Luke said. He took the bills and stuffed them into his jeans pocket. Then he went upstairs to get his share of the prize money, while Daisy went to her room to get her tip money. After making sure he had all the money, Luke went back out to the barn to tell Bo what was going on.
“Good…” Bo said. He scowled as he remembered what it had been like in the Atlanta jail. He'd only been there once, when him and Luke had been busted on a moonshine run. They'd been in there for almost a week before Jesse got them out. Neither one of them ever wanted to go back there again. It was bad enough for a man it was no place for a woman. “She don't need to be in a place like that.”
“Sorry I can't finish helping ya with them stalls.” Luke said apologetically
“Don't worry about that just go get Shelby .” Bo told him with a grin “I can handle things here.”
Luke walked over to the General Lee and climbed in under the wheel. The powerful engine roared to life as he turned on the ignition. He pulled out of the drive and turned left heading for the main highway and then the interstate. It was a two hour drive to Atlanta which meant it would be around two o'clock when he got there. That should give him enough time to go to the courthouse and post the bond, then go to the jail to get Shelby released into his custody. With luck, they should be back home by seven o'clock that evening.
Chapter 4
It took longer than Luke anticipated getting the bond posted at the courthouse. It was almost five o'clock before he made it to the Atlanta jail to get Shelby released. The jail was housed in a huge red brick building that took stood four stories high and took up over two city blocks. There was a small exercise yard with a high fence and three strands of razor wire strung across the top. The jail housed everything from petty thieves to murderers. It was a rough place where a person could easily get hurt. Luke knew. He had a scar on his chin from a fight he'd been in when he was there.
Luke walked into the small vestibule and rang the bell, waiting impatiently for the guard to unlock the door to admit him to the main lobby. When the buzzer went off, he pushed open the heavy glass door and stepped into the lobby. A middle aged heavy set guard sat at a desk to Luke's left. “May I help you?” he asked Luke in a bored voice
“I'm here to get Shelby Lynn” he said, handing his copy of the bail papers to the guard. The guard examined the papers carefully, and then nodded “It'll take a little while. Just have a seat.”
Luke ignored the hard plastic chairs sitting along one wall. Instead he leaned back against the wall to wait. He knew it would take anywhere from forty-five minutes to an hour to process the paperwork and release Shelby . He occupied his time by counting the squares on the wall.
Everything seemed to be running behind, it was almost an hour and half later before Luke finally saw a guard at the end of the hallway unlocking the heavy steel door that led back to the main cellblocks. The door opened and Shelby stepped into the hall. She looked scared and she looked exhausted. Luke knew that feeling. He hadn't slept much when he was in here either. She slowly walked down the hall towards the lobby. At first she didn't notice Luke. When she did, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Luke!” she exclaimed in a startled voice “What are you doing here?”
“Getting you out of here.” Luke told her as he gently took her arm and led her to the door.
As they stepped outside, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Luke looked at her carefully “You okay?” he asked
“I'm fine.” She said “Just get me out of here, okay?”
Luke led her over to where he had parked the General and helped her into the car. Crossing to the other side, he climbed in and settled under the wheel. Turning on the engine, he carefully eased out into the rush hour traffic. Forced to concentrate on his driving because of the heavy traffic, it was a few minutes before he realized that Shelby had leaned her head back against the seat and fallen asleep. He decided to let her sleep. She probably needed it. She slept all the way back to Hazzard.
It was after nine o'clock at night before Luke finally pulled into the barnyard and parked the General beside Jesse's pickup. He was exhausted from the long drive. He turned to Shelby and gently touched her arm. She jerked awake, startled, and looked around with frightened eyes.
“It's okay.” Luke told her in a soothing voice, in the same tone of voice that he would use to talk to a frightened mare. “You're with me.”
Slowly the fear faded from her eyes as Shelby remembered that she was with Luke. Once he was certain that she was awake and realized where she was, Luke climbed out of the car and went around to the passenger's side to help her out of the car. He let his hands linger a little longer than necessary around her waist as she slid out of the car. Together they walked into the house.
Jesse was the only one at home. Bo was on a date and Daisy was at work at the Boar's Nest. He had been sitting in the living room waiting for Luke to get back with Shelby . He smiled and stood up to greet them as they came in the door.
“I was starting to get worried about you two.” He said “Daisy left you some supper in the refrigerator. Are you hungry?”
“I'm starved,” Luke said with a grin
“I'm not hungry.” Shelby said quietly.
“You look like you could use some rest.” Jesse said, eyeing her closely “We can talk in the morning. Daisy made up the spare room for you.” He looked at Luke “Luke, why don't you show her where it is so she can get some sleep?”
Luke led Shelby to the spare room just off the living room. Up until a few months ago it had been used as a combination sewing room/storage room until Daisy had suggested turning it into a spare bedroom for guests so that the boys wouldn't have to give up their room and sleep in the barn when they had company. It was just big enough for a double bed and a dresser. Shelby smiled and shut the door.
Luke went into the kitchen and took a plate of ham and beans out of the refrigerator and poured himself a glass of milk. As he put the plate in the microwave to warm up, he tried to hide a yawn but Jesse noticed.
“You look like you need some sleep too.” Jesse told him
“I'm going to bed as soon as I eat.” Luke told him
Jesse poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table with him.
“How is she?' he asked
“I don't know….tired I know that. She slept all the way from Atlanta .”
“Can't say I blame her. She'll feel better in the morning.”
Luke got his plate out of the microwave and ate his supper. Then he climbed the stairs to his own room and went to bed. In a matter of minutes, he was sleeping soundly.
Chapter 5
Shelby stretched and opened her eyes, blinking against the sunlight that was streaming in through the window. At first she didn't remember where she was, she didn't recognize the room she was in. Then she remembered that she was at the Duke farm. Luke had bonded her out of the Atlanta jail the night before. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, she glanced at her watch and saw that it was almost noon . The Dukes had let her sleep in. She must have been more exhausted then she had realized.
Shoving herself to her feet, she saw a pile of clothes lying on the dresser along with a note from Daisy. Shelby, here are some clothes that shrunk so much I can't wear them but they should fit you. I know you don't have anything with you. Daisy . Shelby smiled as she opened the bedroom door and stepped into the living room of the farm house.
Daisy was in the kitchen getting lunch ready. She smiled brightly when she saw that Shelby was awake. “Hi, sugar.” She said “You hungry? Lunch will be ready in about fifteen minutes.”
“Yeah, I am.”
“There's lemonade in the fridge or coffee on the stove. Take your pick.”
Shelby opted for a glass of lemonade. Pouring herself a glass, she sat down at the table just as the back door opened and the two boys came into the house, followed by Uncle Jesse. They had been out in the back field working all morning. They all greeted Shelby warmly. The boys went upstairs to wash up before lunch. When they came back down, everyone took their place at the table and Jesse said grace before they ate. Daisy had fixed ham sandwiches, potato salad and cornbread.
As they ate, the Duke family made casual conversation. Shelby spoke if she was spoken to but didn't contribute to the conversation. As he ate, Luke stole glances at Shelby . She still looked tired. There were dark circles under her eyes and a fading bruise on her cheek that Luke couldn't help but wondering how she had gotten. After they had eaten, the boys and Jesse went back out to finish their work in the field and Daisy started clearing the table.
“Let me help with that.” Shelby said, stacking the plates and carrying them to the sink.
“Thanks.” Daisy said with a grin “It's nice to have another female around to help out.”
“It's the least I can do….if it weren't y'all I'd still sitting in that jail.”
“Well, we couldn't have that.”
“I'm glad to see that Luke's okay. He is okay, isn't he?”
“Yeah….it took him about a month before he could see again…but its okay now. He still gets real bad headaches once in awhile though”
“At least that girl got what was coming to her.”
“Yeah, they should have put her under the jail instead of in it.” Daisy said “I could think of a few other things I would have liked to have done to her for what she did to Luke…and to Kelly too.”
“That was Luke's wife, right?”
“Yeah…” Daisy said with a trace of sadness in her voice “It was a real bad thing what happened to her.”
“I know. Uncle Jesse told me a little bit about it the last time I was here.”
“That's good…cause Luke don't talk about it. He'd never tell ya himself.”
“He's been through a lot.”
“Yeah, he has. He's just now starting to act like himself again.”
After they had finished with the dishes and put them away, Shelby decided to take a shower and change her clothes. She got some clean clothes from the pile Daisy had left for her and went upstairs to the second floor bathroom. Closing and locking the door behind her, she turned on the shower, adjusting the spray to a comfortable temperature. Stripping off her clothes, she stepped under the water, relaxing as the heat soothed the soreness in her muscles. She shampooed her hair and washed it, then shut off the water. Stepping out of the shower, she grabbed a thick terrycloth towel and dried herself briskly. She had to admit that she felt a lot better. She quickly dressed in a pair of cut off denim shorts and a yellow tank top that left very little to the imagination. She pulled her hair back from her face and fastened it at the back of her neck with a gold clasp she found in the medicine cabinet.
When she opened the door and stepped into the hallway, she found Luke leaning against the wall patiently waiting for his turn to take a shower. “Hi,” she said with a smile
“Hi, yourself.” Luke said with a grin, letting his gaze sweep over her body. He had to admit, she looked great in that outfit. He felt a familiar stirring deep inside of him that he hadn't felt in a very long time. Flushing slightly and hoping she didn't notice, he brushed past her and went into the bathroom.
Closing the door and locking it, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He hadn't expected his reaction just now to seeing her in one of Daisy's old outfits. Stripping off his clothes, he adjusted the water temperature for the shower (just a little colder than usual) and stepped under the spray. Turning his face up into the water, he closed his eyes and let the water wash away the tension in his body and cool off other parts of his anatomy.
Chapter 6
After supper that night, the Dukes gathered in the living room to hear Shelby 's side of the story. Jesse sat in his favorite chair with Daisy perched on the arm beside him and the boys sat on the sofa. Shelby stood in front of the fireplace, chewing on her bottom lip, a nervous habit she'd had since she was a child. She wanted to tell them her version of what had happened but she wasn't sure how to begin. Finally, she took a deep breath and started her story.
“First of all, I want y'all to know that I didn't know nothing about the drugs….Cory was the one who got messed with that….not me. I didn't find out about the drugs until Cory was in so deep that he couldn't get out and he had to tell me.”
“How did Cory messed up in it?” Bo asked
“Money and too much pride.” Shelby told him with a deep sigh. “He met these guys at a bar in Atlanta . He had too much too drink and started talking about living on the mountain. Anyway, these guys were looking for a place to land a plane. A plane that was coming in from Mexico with a load of drugs. They offered Cory a lot of money to let them use part of our land. At first he refused but then they start razzing him about being a dumb hillbilly and saying he wouldn't know what to do with that money anyway…..and one thing led to another and he finally took the money. After he did the first time…it was easier to do it the second time…”
“And the third time and the fourth time…” Bo said dryly
“It wouldn't been so bad if he's let it go at that but he didn't. When they found out that he hauled shine, they talked him into doing some deliveries for them. And then he started sampling the merchandise.”
“So they sucked him in a little at a time.” Luke said grimly
“Something like that.” Shelby admitted “By the time he came to me and told me what was going on….he knew that if anything ever went down…he was going go down too. And he was afraid that I'd get drug into the middle of it.”
“Which it looks like you did.” Jesse said somberly
“I still ain't sure what happened there. I didn't even know that Cory had been arrested until these feds came banging on my door and told me I was under arrest for making and selling moonshine.” She paused for a moment and then continued “Thing is…they never found our shine we had stored or any of the still sites.”
“What?” Jesse spluttered “They can't arrest you for making shine without finding any evidence to use against you!” If there was one thing Jesse knew about it was shine and the law when it came to making it and hauling it.
“Well, they did and the next thing I know….I'm in jail in Atlanta and that's when I found out that I was suppose to be involved in this big drug operation with Cory.”
“None of that makes sense…” Daisy said
“It does if somebody trying to set her up.” Luke said grimly
“Or trying to use her to set somebody else up” Jesse added somberly
Luke looked at Shelby “You got a lawyer?”
“Yeah, a public defender out of Atlanta named Charlie Barnes. I'm suppose to meet with him next Tuesday at two o'clock .”
“I don't see how they could have that big of an operation going on without somebody in Hazzard knowing about it.” Bo said
“Yeah, like Boss Hogg.” Luke said dryly
“Now, boys…” Jesse said in a scolding tone “J.D. Hogg might be as crooked as a dog's hind leg and he might do a lot of dirty dealing…..but even J.D. has enough sense to stay away from drugs.”
“Cory told me they didn't do any dealing around here….they just used this as their home base. They did most of their dealing in Atlanta and some over Sweetwater and some in Ceder City .” Shelby said
“Well it wouldn't hurt to do some asking around…see if anybody knows anything about it.” Jesse said thoughtfully “Anything that might be able to help Shelby here.”
“I appreciate this y'all.” Shelby said somewhat self consciously “I don't know how to thank you…”
“You don't need to thank us.” Jesse told her “You helped save Luke's life…not just once but twice…..so we're the ones that owe you. And a Duke always repays their debts.” He shoved himself to his feet “Daisy and I need to go to town and do some shopping. And I want you boys to finish cleaning out them stalls while I'm gone.”
“Yes, sir” the boys chorused jointly.
Jesse and Daisy left to go to town and the boys went out to the barn leaving Shelby in the house to occupy herself. Shelby tried to find chores to do to keep busy and to help out but there wasn't much to do. Daisy was an excellent housekeeper. Finally, she made a pitcher of lemonade and put it on a tray along with three glasses and carried it out to the barn.
Bo and Luke were both busy cleaning stalls. They both had their shirts off and a light sweat covered their chests and backs. “Hey,” Shelby said “I brought you something cold to drink” She sat the tray down on a workbench next to the stalls, then sat down herself on a bale of straw beside it.
“Great.” Bo said with a big grin, anxious as always to find some excuse to take a break. He helped himself to a glass and drank it in one long swallow. Luke smiled and continued working.
“You going crazy in the house by yourself?” Luke asked Shelby with a crooked smile
“Yeah,” Shelby said grinning back “So I figured I'd come out here and watch you guys work.”
“Yeah, well you better be careful or we might put you to work” Bo teased her
“Not cleaning stalls you ain't” Shelby told him with a laugh. Luke couldn't help but laugh too. Cleaning stalls was not a very pleasant job and both boys tried to put it off for as long as possible. “That reminds me…do you think you could borrow a couple of horses?”
“Yeah, sure.” Luke told her “Why? Do you wanna go riding?”
“No, I wanna go up on the mountain and get Lobo. I had to let him go the day they arrested me and I don't like the idea of him running loose up there by himself.”
“Yeah, I can get a couple of horses tomorrow if you wanna do it then” Luke said
“I'd like that.”
“Are we about done here?” Bo asked
“Yeah, as soon as you finish cleaning out your stall.” Luke said. He had finished with his. He leaned the shovel against the wall and helped himself to a glass of lemonade. Shelby tried not to stare at his lean muscular build and flat taunt stomach, a body that had been developed from years of working on the farm.
After Bo had finished cleaning his stall, the boys and Shelby went back to the house. Shelby decided to watch a movie on TV while the boys went upstairs to shower and change clothes. Daisy and Jesse returned shortly after that and they all spent the rest of the evening watching TV and eating popcorn that Daisy had popped on the stove. Shelby could feel the love they all had for each another and the unique closeness they all shared. She and Cory were close, but not nearly as close as the Duke Family. And they weren't as openly affectionate with one another either.
Chapter 7
After breakfast the next morning, Shelby and Luke set off for the mountain. First, Luke drove Jesse's truck to the neighboring farm, the Prichards. Charlie Prichard raised some of the finest horses in the area and the boys often helped him out by exercising them and even helped to break them sometimes. He readily agreed to let Luke and Shelby borrow two of his horses for the day. Luke chose a big bay named Sassy and Shelby chose a gray mare named Pepper. Leaving the truck parked at the Prichard farm, Luke and Shelby set off on horseback towards the mountain. They were both excellent riders with a gentle but firm hand.
Luke let Shelby take the lead, knowing that she was more familiar with the mountain and would have a better idea where to look for the black stallion than Luke would.
“Have your folks always lived up here on the mountain?” Luke asked as they rode along. It was a beautiful day so they were taking their time.
“Far back as I can remember.” Shelby told him “The Lynns never much cottoned to having any neighbors around. There's been Lynns here in Hazzard County for 5 generations.”
“Dukes too.”
“Was your grandmother really a medicine woman?” Luke asked remembering a conversation with her when he was in the hospital.
“Yeah, she was.” Shelby told him “Folks from all over used to come to her for doctoring…..or to have their future read….”
“She read cards?”
“Cards, stones, palms…you name it she could read it. She was pretty good too…I know she used to give me the chills sometimes with some of things she told me…”
“Is there where you learned how to doctor people?” Luke asked remembering how well she had taken care of him when he hurt his ankle
“Yeah…she taught me everything she knew….”
“Including how to read the signs?” Luke asked with a grin, referring to the art of fortune telling
“Yeah…I haven't done it in a long time and I never was as good at it as she was” Shelby told him “But she taught me how to do it.”
“And your daddy taught you how to moonshine…..”
“My daddy and my granddaddy.” She said with a grin “It's a family tradition don't ya know.”
“Yeah, I know. It was Duke Family tradition too until Bo and me got busted.”
“How did the two of you ever get busted? I've seen the way you two drive.”
“Some hot shot new agent that didn't know what he was doing….started shooting at us. Hit one of the tires…and Bo lost control of the car. We went into a ditch and rolled over twice.”
“And the federal government really made a deal with Jesse and agreed to let you two out on probation as long as you quit making shine?”
“Yeah…see the revenuers had been trying to nail Jesse for years….they could never even get close. So when they got me and Bo, they figured they had something they could use against Jesse.” Luke told her “They were going throw the book at us…give us the maximum sentence. We spent a week in the Atlanta jail until Andy Roach stepped in and set up the deal between Jesse and the feds.”
“Andy Roach?”
“The senior Revenue agent for Hazzard County .” Luke explained. “See he felt bad about what had happened and he considered Jesse a friend. He knew they would never have caught me and Bo either if that agent hadn't started shooting at us.”
“And Jesse just stopped making shine…just like that?”
“Yeah, he gave his word and a Duke never goes back on his word.” Luke grinned, a mischievous gleam in his azure blue eyes “Of course he does still have a few jugs hid around here and there….for medicinal purposes mind ya.”
Shelby pulled up on her reins stopping her mount and looked out across a wide clearing. “There!” she said, pointing towards the southeast. Looking in the direction she indicated, Luke saw the black stallion calmly grazing a few hundred yards away from their location. Shelby slid off her horse and let the reins drop to the ground. Putting two fingers in her mouth, she whistled shrilly.
Luke saw the big black horse's head jerk into the air, his ears flicking as he tried to find the source of the whistle. When Shelby whistled again, Lobo reared up into the air for a moment and then started trotting towards them. He was a magnificent animal. Luke had been around horses all his life and he knew good stock when he saw it.
Lobo came up to Shelby and whinnied softly, gently nuzzling her face. Shelby laughed and hugged the animal's neck, burying her face against the silky softness of his mane. Luke smiled as he watched the exchange of affection between the horse and the woman. Glancing at Luke, Shelby said, “You got that lead rope?”
“Right here.” Luke said. He reached into his saddlebags and took out a halter with a long length of rope attached to it. Handing it to her, Shelby quickly slipped the halter over the horse's head. Digging in her shirt pocket, she took out two cubes of sugar that she had put there earlier and gave them to Lobo. “He is a beautiful animal.” Luke said
“Yeah….some folks down in the hollow owed his mama….he got away from ‘em when he was colt and they never could catch him. Finally, they got so tired of trying that they told me if I could catch him…I could have him. I spent almost two months getting him tamed down enough to come to me.”
“Who trained him?” Luke asked, remembering how the horse had knelt down at Cory's command so Luke could get on his back when he was hurt.
“I did mostly.” Shelby said, patting the animal's neck again. She handed the lead rope to Luke, who wrapped it tightly around his saddle horn to they could lead Lobo back down the mountain. The horse snorted air though his nose, then moved in closer, nuzzling Luke's with his muzzle. Luke laughed and patted the horse's neck.
“He likes you.” Shelby said “He don't take to that many people.”
“I bet ole Charlie's gonna like ‘em too.” Luke told her with a soft laugh “Have you ever put him out for stud?”
“No…ain't nobody else up here to breed him with.” Shelby reminded Luke with a soft chuckle
They headed back down the mountain, riding in silence, comfortable with each other's company. When they got back to the Prichard farm late that afternoon, Charlie immediately took to the big black stallion. “I sure would like to breed this fella with a couple of my mares.” He told Shelby “Think maybe we can work something out when they come in season?”
“Maybe….” Shelby told him with a grin. Charlie had good stock. If they could work out something when it came to choosing the mare to use, then Shelby wouldn't mind breeding Lobo to one of his animals. Any colt from the match should be a real winner if they used the right mare.
Luke and Shelby unsaddled their mounts and put them back in the barn. Luke borrowed a horse trailer from Charlie to get Lobo back to the farm and Shelby loaded him inside. Back at the farm, Shelby unloaded Lobo and led him into the barn, putting him in one of the empty stalls.
“That's one stall you get to clean out.” Luke told her in a teasing voice, ribbing her about her comment the night before when the boys were cleaning stalls. Laughing, they walked back to the house to wash up for supper.