Lost and Found

by

Marty Chrisman

Chapter 1

The Boars Nest was the cultural and social center of Hazzard County , Georgia . A rowdy down home honky-tonk where the locals gathered to have fun and let off steam. Hardly a night went by without at least one fight getting started. And it wasn't that uncommon for a wife to show up looking for a straying husband. And on any given night, Bo and Luke Duke could usually be found there scoping out the ladies and turning on the charm. The Duke boys were considered the two prime catches in Hazzard County by all the single girls (and some of the married ones too) They could have just about have any girl they wanted in Hazzard County just by asking. (And in most of the surrounding counties too)

Bo Duke was blonde charmer with baby blue eyes and an innocent face that could make any girl's heart flutter. At six foot three with a lean, muscular build, he stood out in a crowd. He was charming, sweet, and lovable with a mischievous side that loved the chase. He was fun to be with and even more fun to love with.

His cousin, Luke Duke, was almost the complete opposite of Bo. Standing six feet tall, he also had the same lean, muscular build as his cousin but there the physical resemblance ended. He had dark brown hair and more rugged features than his younger cousin. His most noticeable feature was his eyes. They were a deep sapphire blue and they sparkled with spirit and life. Quieter and more reserved than his outgoing and impulsive cousin, the ladies found Luke just as attractive as Bo.

The boys had lived in Hazzard County all of their lives. They had been raised on a farm just outside of town by their Uncle Jesse Duke. Both of them had lost their parents when they were young, Luke had been four when his parents were killed and Bo had only been a baby. Their fathers had been two of Jesse's younger brothers and both of them had stated in their wills that if anything ever happened to them that Jesse and his wife, Martha, were to raise their children.

The fourth member of the Duke clan was their cousin, Daisy. She had come to live on the farm when she was six years old. Her mother had died when she was born and her father (another one of Jesse's brothers) had been killed in mining accident. Daisy was the prettiest girl in Hazzard County with blue eyes, long chestnut colored hair and a figure that could make any man drool. She drove like Richard Petty, shot a gun like Annie Oakley and knew the words to every Dolly Parton song. Every young man in Hazzard County wanted to get close to Daisy Duke. But any young man with any sense knew better then to try to get too fresh with Daisy or they'd have to deal with Bo and Luke and nobody in their right mind wanted to tangle with the Duke boys. Daisy was a waitress at the Boars Nest and half of the customers came into the bar just to flirt with her.

There really wasn't all that much to the Boars Nest. It was housed in a long single story cinder block building with a large dirt parking lot out front and two of the only 4 gas pumps in Hazzard. (The other two were in town at the local garage.) Inside, there was an L shaped bar along one wall, a small stage against another wall and the rest of the room was taken up by several small tables and a few booths along the back wall. There was a jukebox and a pool table and that was about it. On Friday and Saturday nights the place was generally packed with wall to wall good ole boys and girls having a good time. During the week, it usually wasn't quite as busy but still did a good business. (in spite of the watered down alcohol and beer that Boss Hogg served to his customers)

It was Friday night and the place was packed. Daisy had been busy all night but she was making good tips. With her flashing smile and her long legs on display by the short shorts she wore to work it wasn't hard to get those tips. Bo and Luke had come in earlier and they were sitting at one of the booths in the back along with two local girls that had been flirting with them outrageously all night. Bo was with Linda Madison, a pretty little blonde with a petite figure and Luke was with Tonya Myers, a pretty brunette with a fuller figure. All four of them were drinking beer, laughing and talking.

When someone played a slow song on the jukebox, the boys asked the girls to dance. They moved out on to the dance floor and the girls moved into Bo and Luke's embrace as they started to dance. Tonya leaned against Luke and wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling up at him suggestively. When he bent his head and brushed his lips against her mouth, she moved in closer. Luke grinned and tightened his arms around her waist as he let his hands slip down to rest firmly on her rear end. Glancing at his cousin, he noticed that Linda seemed to be just as receptive to Bo's advances as Tonya was to his.

After the music ended, the two couples went back to their booth and Bo signaled Daisy to bring them another round of drinks. Tonya cuddled in close to Luke and let her hand drop under the table to rest on top of his thigh, her fingers gently kneading the muscle. Luke smiled, reading her subtle signals loud and clear. He let his hand drop beneath the table and gently started caressing her leg too.

“Hey,” Bo said with a lopsided grin, directing his question to the others sitting with him at the table “Y'all wanna go to the lake?”

“Sure.” Linda readily agreed, flashing Bo a smile. She didn't need much encouragement to spend time alone with Bo Duke.

“I'd love to.” Tonya said, smiling at Luke as she continued caressing his thigh suggestively. She was the more aggressive of the two females and she wanted Luke Duke. She had for a very long time and tonight she saw her chance to make her fantasy come true.

“Then it looks like we're going to the lake.” Luke replied with a grin. The evening was shaping up nicely and Luke found himself looking forward to spending some time alone with Tonya. They stayed long enough to finish the drinks Daisy brought over to them and then they left the bar.

The boys walked across the parking lot to their car. The General Lee was as well known in the County as the boys were. The bright orange Dodge Charger had a large 01 trimmed in black on each door and a confederate flag painted on the roof with the name General Lee painted above each door. The boys had built the stock car from the ground up and it was the fastest car in the county. Since the doors were welded shut (to keep them from flying open during a race) Luke picked Tonya up and helped her climb into the back seat, then he climbed in beside her. Bo did the same thing with Linda, helping her into the front seat and then he ran around to climb underneath the wheel. As Bo turned on the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, Luke was already cuddling with Tonya in the back seat. Fifteen minutes later, Bo parked the General at the edge of Hazzard Lake .

Bo and Linda climbed out of the car and Bo grabbed a blanket from the trunk. They walked off into the darkness while Luke and Tonya stayed in the back seat of the General. Luke pulled Tonya into his arms and began kissing her passionately. It wasn't long before his hands started doing some friendly roaming while Tonya's hands were doing some exploring of their own. It didn't take long for them to get a whole lot friendlier.

It was almost two in the morning before the boys finally made it back home. They went into the two story frame farmhouse through the back door that opened into the kitchen. Without bothering to turn on any lights, they quietly made their way through the darkness to the bedroom they had shared since they were children. Stripping down to their shorts, they climbed into their beds and both were soon sleeping soundly.

Chapter 2

The next afternoon, Uncle Jesse sent the boys into town to pick up some feed for the animals. It is hard work keeping a farm running even if it is a small farm. There were always things that needed to be done. Most days the boys spent taking care of the animals, working in the fields, mending fences, or any of the other numerous chores that came up around the farm. Besides helping out around Jesse's farm, they also frequently helped out on the neighboring farms. The Dukes were both liked and well respected by most of the people in Hazzard County . The land they lived on had been in the Duke family for over five generations. The boys played hard but they worked just as hard as they played. Jesse tried to give them as much time as he could to do the things they enjoyed but he insisted that their work around the farm be taken care of first.

“Hey, you wanna go to get a beer when we get done here?” Bo suggested, as they started unloading the bags of feed from the General's trunk and stacking them in the barn.

“Sure. Sounds good.” Luke said agreeably.

After they had finished unloading the feed sacks, they went into the house to wash up and change shirts. Then they were off on their way to the Boars Nest for a little relaxation. Daisy was working behind the bar, washing glasses when they came in. Since it was still early in the day, there were only a couple of other customers in the bar. It wouldn't get busy until later that afternoon. Daisy poured the boys a beer and sat it down on the bar in front of them.

As he took a sip of his beer, Bo noticed the band's instruments set up on the stage. “What's Scottie doing here this time of day?” he asked curiously. The band played on the weekends so it was usual to see them set up during the week.

“He's got a new girl singer.” Daisy told him with a big grin “They're gonna be rehearsing some songs for the show Friday night.”

“Is she pretty?” Bo asked grinning back at his cousin. Leave it to Bo to think about that. He was always the first one to scope out the prettiest girls in the room.

“You'll find out soon enough.” Daisy told him with a chuckle.

As if on cue, the door to the back room opened and the band members filed out, taking their places on stage and picking up their instruments. Scottie, the leader of the band, came out last with a young woman by his side. Luke and Bo both looked pleasantly surprised. She was beautiful with long brown hair that hung down the middle of her back almost to her butt and big blue eyes with thick dark lashes that could look straight through a man and turn him inside out. She also had a figure that could make a man stand up and take notice. And with her skin tight levis that looked like she had been poured into them and a skimpy yellow tank top that left little to the imagination, both Bo and Luke immediately paid attention.

“Uh huh…” Bo said with a huge grin and a shake of his head “I smell trouble. She's gonna stir things up around here for sure.”

“You got that right, cuz.” Luke agreed with a huge grin of his own as he watched her walk across the room and climb up on the stage with the rest of the band. .

“For once, I agree with both of you.” Daisy said with a laugh “Things are gonna get real interesting around here.”

“You can say that again.” Luke said, as he leaned against the bar and made himself comfortable so he could watch the band rehearse. Bo did the same.

She talked to the band for a few minutes and then the band started playing an old Loretta Lynn number You Ain't Woman Enough. The girl took the microphone and starting singing in a rich sultry voice that sent a chill down Luke's spine as soon as she opened her mouth. She had voice that could wrap itself around you and draw you in before you even knew what was happening. And she put just enough sass in the song to get her point across. Bo and Luke both clapped enthusiastically when she finished the song and so did the other two customers in the bar. She grinned as she let her gaze slip from one face to another, acknowledging their applause. Then she kicked off into another Loretta Lynn number, a slower one this time, called Before I'm over You.

She stopped to talk to the band again and then ran through some more current songs including Concrete Angel, Don't Lie, and Hate to Break Down Here. When she had finished, Scottie and the band started playing some of their songs that they usually sang. While they continued playing, she left the stage and walked over to the bar where the boys were still standing.

“Hi, could I have a coke, please?” she asked Daisy with a smile. She looked at Luke and Bo, acknowledging them with a look that made both of their hearts beat a little faster.

“You sounded great up there.” Bo told her with a warm smile. “Welcome to Hazzard. I'm Bo Duke and this is my cousin, Luke.”

“Hi….nice to meet you.” She said. For the briefest moment she had a strange look in her eyes that neither of the boys could readily identify and then just as quickly, the look was gone. “I'm Cheyenne Davis.”

“Nice to meet you, Cheyenne .” Luke told her with a grin.

“And I'm their cousin, Daisy Duke.” Daisy told her with a chuckle, as she put a coke on the bar in front of her “Since my cousins here seem to have forgotten their manners.”

“Nice to meet you too, Daisy.” Cheyenne said with a smile as she picked up her coke from the bar “I guess I'll be seeing y'all around.” Luke smiled as he watched the lazy sway of her hips as she walked back to the stage. He had feeling that Daisy was right. Things were going to get real interesting with her around.

“That's one lady I plan on getting to know a whole lot better.” Bo said with a grin, as he took a long swallow of his beer.

“So do I, cuz…” Luke said with a chuckle “So do I.”

“Come on, Luke. She ain't your type.” Bo told him in a teasing tone “You like blondes.”

“I could make an exception for her.”

“Don't ya think she might have something to say about that?” Daisy said with a grin as she listened to their conversation. “She may not want to go out with either one of you.”

“Oh, come on , Daisy.” Bo said in a mocking voice “Since when has any girl in Hazzard turned me or Luke down when we asked ‘em out?”

“You're forgetting one thing, Bo…” Daisy reminded him with chuckle “She's not from Hazzard.”

“Well, then I'll just have to show her some Hazzard hospitality.” Bo said with a huge grin

“Ten bucks says I can get her to go out with me before you can.” Luke said, letting his gaze drift towards the pretty brunette on the stage.

“You're on, cuz.” Bo said rising to the challenge “Be the easiest ten bucks I ever suckered ya out of.”

“You two are incorrigible.” Daisy said with a laugh “I'll bet you both ten bucks that she won't go out with either one of you.”

“You're on.” Both boys told her simultaneously. They looked at each other and grinned at their friendly wager. Somebody was going to win the bet, one way or the other, and both boys were equally confident that it was going to be one of them.

Chapter 3

Cheyenne left the Boars Nest around four that afternoon. Walking across the dirt parking lot, she climbed behind the wheel of black Mercury Sable parked next to the General Lee. She immediately noticed the orange stock car (it was hard to miss) and smiled faintly wondering who owned it. It was a nice looking car and Cheyenne knew cars. She was as good a mechanic as any man and had even raced on the dirt track circuit for awhile. She loved fast cars and the men who knew how to drive them.

She pulled out of the parking lot and followed the main road into Hazzard. She was still a little unsettled at having met the three Duke cousins. She had come to Hazzard specifically to meet the Duke family. She just hadn't expected to meet any of them so quickly. Bo and Luke were both a lot better looking then she had anticipated. And she had recognized the look in their eyes when they were introduced. She'd been seeing that same look in men's eyes ever since she was thirteen. It was too bad that dating either one of them was out of the question.

When she reached town, she turned down a little side street and parked in front of the only rooming house in Hazzard. Miss Millie, who owned the two story house, had concerted the 8 bedrooms in her home into one room efficiency apartments after her husband had died. Scottie had rented one of the units for Cheyenne when she agreed to move to Hazzard and take the job singing with his band. Her room was on the second floor just down the hallway from one of the two local deputy sheriffs, Enos Strate. Enos had introduced himself the day before when Cheyenne was moving in. Always the polite southern gentlemen, he had helped her carry some boxes up to her room from the trunk of her car.

Cheyenne had a feeling that she was going to like it here in Hazzard. Everyone she had met so far was so nice and friendly. They made her feel right at home (and in a way she was at home but nobody knew that yet) Cheyenne unlocked the door to her room and went inside. She tossed her shoulder bag down on the kitchen table and stripped off her clothes as she walked across the room to the tiny bathroom.

Turning on the shower, she adjusted the water to a comfortable temperature and stepped under the spray. Sighing, she turned her face up into the water and closed her eyes. She felt herself beginning to relax as the water flowed over her tensed up muscles.

She shampooed her hair and then stepped out of the shower stall, grabbing one of the towels hanging on the rod beside the sink. Drying off briskly, she grabbed a second towel and began drying her hair. Sometimes it was a pain to have such long hair, it took almost two hours for it to dry and it was hot in the summertime but she refused to cut it. It was her trademark.

She grabbed an oversized tee shirt hanging on the back of the bathroom door and slipped it over her head as she went back into the combination kitchen/living room/ bedroom. Walking over to the refrigerator, she took out a can of coke and a TV dinner from the freezer. Opening the Coke, she sat the can on the kitchen counter as she tore open the TV dinner and popped it into the microwave. Setting the timer for 6 minutes, she took a drink of her coke and leaned back against the counter waiting for her supper to heat up.

When her food was done, she carefully took the dinner from the microwave and sat down at the kitchen table to eat. Cheyenne was one of those lucky women who could pretty much eat whatever she wanted when she wanted and not worry about gaining any weight. At five feet eight, her weight stayed between 125 and 135. She'd even done some modeling back in Atlanta but quickly decided that lifestyle wasn't for her. She was one of those rare women who was totally comfortable with her body and the way she looked. Her natural beauty had been both an asset and a liability over the years and she had learned to use it to her advantage when she needed to.

Cheyenne 's natural talent was her musical abilities. Besides singing, she also played 3 different instruments and wrote songs. She'd actually done some session work in Nashville , cut some demos of other peoples songs and had a writing contract with Lone Star Music. She had been offered a recording contract with MCA Records but had turned it down because she didn't want to spend most of her life on the road in a tour bus. She was content to just write her songs, cut demos and do some session work now and then. Even living in Hazzard, she could still do all that. Nashville wasn't that far away.

It had taken her twenty five years to get her life in some kind of order. As an only child being raised by a single parent, her childhood hadn't been a happy one. The woman she thought of as her mother had worked two jobs and was seldom at home. Cheyenne was forced to become independent and self reliant at an early age. By the time she was twelve, she was already pretty much taking care of herself. After a bitter fight when she was 16, she had run away from home and gone to Nashville . She had lied about her age and got a job working in a bar. It wasn't long before she was singing with local bands and the session work and writing contract had grown out of that.

She had lived in Nashville until the previous summer when she had gone back to Atlanta to settle up some affairs. It was during that period that she had discovered the carefully guarded secret that had brought her to Hazzard. Meeting Scottie through a mutual friend in Atlanta had given her the excuse she needed to move to Hazzard when he heard her sing and offered her the job with his band.

And now that she was in Hazzard, she wasn't quite sure how she wanted to handle disclosing her real reasons for coming here. She had already met the three Duke cousins and she hoped to meet their Uncle soon. She wanted to get to know them before she revealed her secret to them, especially since it was a secret that would affect all of them. And she wasn't sure how they would react to it or to her when they found out.

Chapter 4

Cheyenne tapped her fingers on the edge of her guitar as she waited for her cue to go on stage. The place was packed and the crowd was rowdy. The band had been playing a lot of fast stuff like Rocky Top and The Devil Went Down To Georgia and they had the crowd rocking. Cheyenne wasn't nervous, she just wanted to get up there on stage and do her thing. She had seen the two Duke boys come in and take a table near the stage. It wasn't long before two girls had joined them and the two couples were laughing and having a good time.

Cheyenne heard Scottie introducing her and she plastered on a big smile as she opened the door to the back room and crossed the bar to climb on the stage. The crowd started yelling, whistling and clapping enthusiastically at her appearance on stage. She was wearing one of her stage costumes from her Nashville Days. Black boots, black levis , and a black western shirt with red stitching on the yoke and long white fringe on the sleeves. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders and down her back and she wore a black cowboy hat.

As soon as she hit the stage, the band went into the opening notes of the Loretta Lynn classic Coal Miner's Daughter and Cheyenne started to sing. She had the crowd in the palm of her hand from the beginning of her set. She could always feel it when the mood was right and the audience was with her. And this crowd was with her all the way. She went from one song right into another one singing You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man, Don't Come Home A'Drinkin', Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad and I Don't Wanna Play House all in a row without more than a brief pause in between.

“She's pretty good.” Sandy Carter said as she cuddled up next to Luke and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“She sure is.” agreed Anita Miller, Bo's companion for the evening. “I heard through the grapevine that she does session work in Nashville and even has a writer's contract up there.”

“Who told ya that?” Bo asked, as he nuzzled the side of her neck playfully.

“Enos.” She replied with a giggle as his lips tickled her neck. “She moved into one of Miss Millie's rooms.”

“Wonder how she ended up in Hazzard?” Luke said in a mildly curious voice “If she's got all that going for her you'd think she'd wanna stay in Nashville .”

“You got a point, cuz. Nashville beats coming to Hazzard.” Bo said with a laugh

“There has to be a story there.” Luke said thoughtfully

“And I'm sure one of you boys will find out what it is sooner or later.” Sandy said with a giggle. “I can't wait to see which one of ya ends up with her first.”

The two boys looked at each other and started laughing, remembering their friendly bet concerning the pretty brunette singer. Luke turned his attention back to the stage. He loved Cheyenne 's voice, there was something almost hauntingly familiar about it but he couldn't figure what it was. It seemed to reach out and pull him into her universe almost against his will. He'd never experienced anything quite like that before and it was a little unnerving. With a smile he decided that he definitely wanted to get to know Cheyenne Davis better. Meanwhile, Bo was thinking almost the same thing himself. And most of the other healthy red blooded good ole boys in the crowd were too. More than one of them was fantasying as they listened to her sing about seeing that hair spread out on a pillow beside them some night.

Cheyenne sang for over an hour then took a break leaving the stage. As the band started to play I Cross My Heart, the boys asked Anita and Sandy to dance. They stood up and moved to the area set aside for dancing and pulled the girls into their arms, moving slowly to the music.

Cheyenne had walked over to the bar to get something to drink. Daisy saw her standing there and went over to her with a big smile. “You were great up there.” She told her “What can I get ya?”

“A coke.” Cheyenne told her, as she took off her hat and sat it down on the bar. As Daisy returned with her drink, Cheyenne said “Is it always this crowded in here?”

“Just on the weekends.” Daisy told her “But it can get busy during the week too. There's not too much to do in Hazzard.” She leaned on the bar and looked at Cheyenne intently “Is it true that you moved here from Nashville ?”

“ Atlanta actually but I lived in Nashville before that.” Cheyenne clarified

“Whatever made you come to Hazzard?”

“Scottie offered the job with the band and I was tired of the big city. This sounded like a nice place to live.” Cheyenne told her offhandedly

“Actually it is……you couldn't ask for better friends and neighbors.” Daisy told her with a smile “As long as you can overlook the corrupt city government and the sheriff's department, you won't have any problems.”

“What's wrong with the city government and the Sheriff's department?”

“Well…Boss Jefferson Davis Hogg runs the city government and he is as crooked as they come. He owns almost everything in Hazzard.” Daisy explained “including the sheriff's department.”

“ County Commissioner , right?”

“You got it.”

“Sounds like you're not too fond of him.”

“Not when Boss and Sheriff Rosco are always trying to frame Bo and Luke for something and get their probation revoked.”

“Bo and Luke are on probation? What for?”

“They got caught running a load of shine for Uncle Jesse.”

“Your Uncle makes moonshine?”

“Not anymore. He made a deal with the U.S. of A. Government not to make or sell no more moonshine as long as they would give Bo and Luke probation instead of sending them to prison.” Daisy explained filling her in on some of the Duke Family history.

“Sounds like they got off lucky.”

“They did. But Boss Hogg is their probation officer so that complicates things.”

“This sounds like an interesting place after all.” Cheyenne said with a laugh “your cousins are sure popular with the ladies.”

“Bo and Luke could have any girl they wanted in Hazzard County and half the other counties around here too.” Daisy told her with a grin “But I don't see either one of them settling down for quite awhile.”

“Nothing wrong with that. I can't see myself settling down any time soon either.”

“Well, I don't think you're gonna have to worry about sitting home unless you want to.” Daisy said with a chuckle “All the good ole boys around here are gonna be asking you out….including Bo and Luke.” A customer at the other end of the bar yelled for Daisy's attention. “Hey, since you're new in town…how would you like to come to supper at the house tomorrow night?”

“I'd like that.” Cheyenne said trying not to appear too pleased at the invitation to meet the rest of the Duke family.

“Good….hang around and I'll give the address and directions on how to get there.” Daisy told her as she headed toward the other end of the bar to wait on her other customers. Cheyenne smiled and nodded in agreement, pleased that things were working out better than she had expected.

Chapter 5

Shortly after six the next evening, Cheyenne pulled into the barnyard behind the Duke farmhouse. She saw three other vehicles parked there, including the orange stock car she'd seen at the Boars Nest. Somehow, she wasn't surprised to discover that the car obviously belonged to the Duke boys. The other vehicles were an old white pickup truck and a white jeep CJ7 with a Golden Eagle Emblem painted across the hood and the name Dixie written in elaborate script on either side of the hood. Cheyenne had seen Daisy driving the jeep so the truck apparently belonged to Jesse Duke, the head of the Duke Clan.

Cheyenne climbed out of her car and walked across the barnyard towards the house. As she climbed the steps to the screened in back porch, the back door opened and Daisy ushered her into the house with a warm greeting. Cheyenne smiled and stepped into the kitchen. The house was simple but warm and inviting. The furniture wasn't new but it was well taken care of. Jesse Duke was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee. He was in his early sixties with snow white hair and a full white beard. His face was deeply lined but his blue eyes still sparkled with life. He welcomed Cheyenne as warmly as Daisy had.

Cheyenne immediately offered to help Daisy finish cooking supper but Daisy refused, reminding her that she was a guest. Jesse smiled and motioned for her to sit down at the table with him. Cheyenne sat down in the chair to Jesse's left and accepted Daisy's offer of a glass of lemonade.

“Are you getting settled in alright?” Jesse asked Cheyenne

“Yeah, I am. I don't have that much so there ain't much settling in to do.” Cheyenne told him with a smile.

“Well, I hope you like it here in Hazzard.”

“I do so far. Everybody seems so nice and friendly.”

“Most folks around here are.”

“I already warned her about Boss and Rosco.” Daisy told her Uncle with a laugh as she started mashing the potatoes.

“Well, I don't think Cheyenne needs to worry much about Boss and Roscoe.” Jesse said with a grin “They're usually too busy chasing the boys to do much else….”

“Or trying to frame them on some trumped up charge.” Daisy said as she started setting the table with the plates and silverware.

Just then the back door opened and the boys came into the house. They were laughing and joking between themselves. They both smiled and greeted Cheyenne warmly. “You two git washed up before supper.” Jesse told them gruffly

“Yes, sir.” They answered simultaneously. They walked through the archway into the living room and could be heard climbing the stairs to the second floor, still laughing and talking.

When they came back downstairs, the boys sat down across the table from Cheyenne . Daisy finished setting the food on the table and then sat down next to Cheyenne . Bo started to reach for a roll, earning himself a stern look from his Uncle. Smiling sheepishly he withdrew his hand and they all bowed their heads as Jesse said grace. As soon as the prayer was finished, Bo started helping himself. Daisy had fixed a typical southern supper with pork chops, mashed potatoes with white gravy, hot rolls and green beans. Like most families in the area, the Dukes grew most of their own food and raised a steer and 2 pigs each year to slaughter for meat. They also had chickens, 2 cows and 3 goats, so they always had fresh eggs and milk.

After supper, they all went into the living room. With some encouragement from Daisy and Jesse, the boys got their guitars and sang Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys (but they changed it from cowboys to Duke Boys) Cheyenne listened intently. Both boys were excellent singers and they were good pickers too. And Cheyenne knew good pickers and singers when she heard them. She'd heard plenty of them in Nashville . They laughed and joked as they sang, trading off verses. When they finished, Daisy coaxed Cheyenne to sing something too.

She joined the boys and helped them sing White Lightening and Rambling Man. When they had finished, Daisy asked if Cheyenne and Luke would sing something together. After a few minutes discussion, they sang Golden Rings and long legged Guitar Picking Man. Their voices blended together in perfect harmony and they laughed as they sassed each other back and forth during the Johnny Cash and June Carter song.

Daisy and Jesse sat back, clapping and laughing, enjoying the free entertainment. Luke grinned as he watched Cheyenne 's fingers fly over the strings as she played a complicated riff, keeping up with him effortlessly as he played the same riff. She was defiantly multitalented there was no doubt about that.

Cheyenne was having such a good time that she hated to see the evening end. Finally around ten o'clock , she told them that she really had to go home. Before Luke could speak up, Bo jumped in and offered to walk her out to her car, earning himself a dirty look from his oldest cousin. (which he purposely ignored) He walked Cheyenne to the back door and then outside into the barnyard.

“I like your car.” Cheyenne told Bo as they walked past the General Lee to her car. “Do you and Luke race much?”

“Every chance we get.” Bo told her “Dirt track mostly” He grinned and added proudly “Me and Luke built the General ourselves from the ground up.”

“Whose idea was it to paint him orange?”

“That was the only color Cooter had at the time.” Bo told her with a laugh “The flag was Luke's idea and we both came up with the name.” He looked at Cheyenne with a crooked smile “Maybe I could take you for a ride sometime. How about tomorrow?”

“Sorry…..I can't.” Cheyenne said without offering any further explanation

Bo shrugged good naturedly “Maybe some other time then.”

“Maybe…” Cheyenne said without making any commitment. She smiled to take the sting out of her rejection as she opened the door and slid under the wheel of her car.

“I'm gonna hold ya to that.” Bo said with a grin, as he politely shut the door for her. He stepped back and watched her drive away. Smiling as he watched her tail lights disappear into the darkness, he started whistling as he walked back into the house. He wasn't upset at her turning down his offer to take her for a ride in the General. Bo didn't give up that easily. He would try again and sooner or later he was confident that he could wear down her resistance.

As Cheyenne drove back towards Hazzard, she found herself smiling and still in a good mood from the evening she had just spent with the Duke family. She had enjoyed their company and she'd had fun singing with Bo and Luke, especially Luke. They had made her feel welcome and right at home, a rare feeling for Cheyenne who didn't get close to very many people and certainly not so quickly. But then the Duke family was different for a lot of reasons. She had felt the love between them and the strength of the bond that they shared. She envied them for having what she had never had. She hoped that things would work out the way she wanted them too and that the Dukes wouldn't turn against her when they learned who she really was.

Chapter 6

Cheyenne was driving back into town from the Boars Nest when she spotted the General Lee flying down the road towards her. The sheriff's cruiser was racing along behind it with the sirens blaring and the lights flashing. The General's horn blew the first twelve notes of Dixie as it sped past Cheyenne at a high rate of speed. She smiled but her smile turned to a look of shock when she realized that the Sheriff's car was taking up both sides of the road in front of her and he wasn't moving over. She twisted the wheel sharply to the left to avoid getting hit head on and felt her car sliding off the road and into the ditch.

She climbed out of the car muttering a few choice words as she watched the sheriff's car continuing on down the road chasing after the General Lee. She muttered a few more choice words when she walked around the car to check for damage and saw that the front end on the passenger's side had slammed into a large rock, crumbling the fender against the tire. With a sullen look on her pretty face, she leaned against the front of the car and waited for someone to come along so she could hitch a ride into town.

She didn't have to wait long. Within a few minutes, she saw the General Lee barreling down the road towards here, coming back from the opposite direction. The orange stock car skidded to a half in front of her and Bo and Luke climbed out of their windows.

“Are you okay?” Luke asked in a worried voice “We saw you run off the road.”

“Yeah, but we had to lose Rosco before we could come back and give ya a hand.” Bo added

“I'm fine….no thanks to that idiot sheriff. But the fender's caved in and up against the tire.”

“Let's have a look.” Luke said, walking past her to the other side of the car and kneeling down to survey the damage. He straightened up and said “You're not gonna be able to drive it. We'll have to take ya into town and have Cooter come back out for your car.”

“Yeah, he'll fix ya right up.” Bo told her with a crooked smile

“Who's Cooter?” Cheyenne asked with a puzzled frown.

“He's a friend of ours.” Luke explained “He owns the garage in town. Best mechanic in the state. He'll have it fixed in no time.”

“Besides we gotta tell him to come and get Rosco out of the pond.” Bo said with a laugh

“You drove the sheriff into the pond?”

“No, we jumped the pond.” Luke told her “Rosco didn't.”

“I'm not gonna even ask.” Cheyenne said with a laugh as she followed the boys back over to the General Lee. Before Luke could offer to help her, she surprised him by getting into the General like she'd been doing it all her life. Most people had a little trouble at first since they weren't used to climbing into a car through the window. Cheyenne moved over to make room for Luke, putting her in the middle between the two boys.

“You did that pretty good.” Luke said referring to her agile climb into the General.

“I used to race on the dirt track for awhile.” She told him offhandedly “Strictly for fun.”

“A lady after my own heart.” Bo told her with a grin “See, I told ya I'd give ya a ride in the General someday.” They all laughed good naturedly. Luke found himself liking Cheyenne even more as he continued to find out how much they seemed to have in common. She didn't bat an eye as Bo stomped on the gas and the car took off with a burst of speed. He was hitting ninety within a matter of seconds and Cheyenne was still perfectly relaxed and enjoying the ride.

He barely slowed down as he reached the Hazzard city limits five minutes later. As he spun around a corner, heading for the town square, the sudden momentum threw Cheyenne over against Luke (not that he minded at all) She quickly righted herself as Bo skidded to a stop in front of Cooter's Garage which was located on the town square just across from the Hazzard County Courthouse which not only housed all of the county offices and the town library but also the sheriff's department and the jail.

Cooter came out of the garage, wiping his hands on a dirty rag, and grinning when he saw the boys climbing out of the General. His grin widened when he saw Cheyenne climbing out of the car behind Luke. Cooter was a couple of years older than Luke but he was good friends with the entire Duke family, especially the boys. His last name might be Davenport but he was a Duke at heart.

“Hey, Cooter…” Bo said “This here is Cheyenne Davis. She kinda got run off the road by Rosco while he was chasing us and needs ya to go get her car.”

“Yeah, the right fender got smashed in against the wheel.” Luke told him. He smiled and added as an afterthought “Oh, and Rosco needs fished out of Hazzard Pond.”

“So what else is new?” Cooter said with a laugh. He turned his attention to Cheyenne “And it's sure nice to meet ya, ma'am. I'm Cooter Davenport and this here is my garage.”

“Nice to meet you too, Cooter.” Cheyenne told him with a friendly grin.

“You must be new to Hazzard.” Cooter said “I'd remember seeing you around these parts.”

“I just moved here.” Cheyenne told him

“Yeah, she's singing with Scottie's band at the Boars Nest.” Bo said

“Well, now I'll just have to check that out.” Cooter said with a pleased smile. “I'll go get your car and fish ole Rosco out of the pond before he gets water logged. If it's just the fender I should have it fixed for ya by tomorrow afternoon.”

“That'd be great. Thanks.” Cheyenne told him

“Do ya need to go anywhere between now and then?” Luke asked her “Cause if ya do, Bo and me would be glad to give ya a lift.”

“No, that's okay. I'll just hang around town and get to know Hazzard a little better.” Cheyenne told him “But thanks for the offer.”

“Any time.” Luke told her with a warm smile “See ya around.”

“See ya around.” Cheyenne said, as the boys climbed back into the General Lee and raced away. She looked at Cooter with a grin “I take it that they always drive like that.”

“Bo does….Luke usually drives a little slower” Cooter told her. With a grin he added “But not much.”

“The way Bo drives…how did those two ever get caught running shine?”

“Got a tire shot out by an over zealous revenuer.” Cooter told her “Went off the road and rolled the car they was in three times.”

“Well, thanks for your help, Cooter. I'll stop back tomorrow afternoon to check on my car.”

“No problem.” Cooter said. He stood there and watched as she walked away, admiring the gentle sway to her hips. She was definitely one of the best looking women he'd seen in a long time.

Chapter 7

Luke smiled as he watched Cheyenne doing her set. Tonight she was dressed in a pair of white pants and a soft pink shirt. She had her hair pulled back with soft curls hanging down around her face. She was so beautiful it almost took a man's breath away. She had been in town for almost two weeks and already most the guys in town were trying to get her to go with them but for some reason she kept turning them all down, including Bo and Luke. But Dukes don't give up easy and Luke was determined to change her mind about going out with him (and so was Bo) It had become a friendly rivalry between the two boys as they both tried to get her to change her mind.

Tonight Bo was with Cindy McCall and Luke was with Pam Willis. They had dated both girls before and they always had a good time when they all got together again.

Some of the other girls in Hazzard were jealous of Cheyenne , especially since she seemed to be getting awfully friendly with the three Duke cousins. She and Daisy in particular had rapidly become close friends and she was spending a lot of time at the farm. Whenever she came for supper, the boys and Cheyenne usually spent the evening singing and picking together. Luke found himself looking forward to singing with her whenever he could. She knew most of the songs he did so it wasn't hard to find something they could sing together.

“Man, I wish I could sing like that.” Cindy said, listening as Cheyenne sang Delta Dawn.

“I wish I looked that good.” Pam said with a giggle, as she cuddled with Luke.

“What are you talking about, darling?” Luke told her with a crooked grin “You look just fine to me.”

“Not as good as she does though.” Pam told him with a playful swat on the arm.

“You gotta admit she's a knock out.”

“You got that right.” Bo said with a huge grin, earning him a not so playful swat from Cindy.

“Come on” Luke said, grabbing Pam's hand as he stood up and pulling her to her feet “Let's dance.” He led her out onto the dance floor and they began swaying to the music.

Cheyenne finished her set with a Lorrie Morgan number called Out Of Your Shoes With a warm smile and a wave to the crowd, she stepped down off the stage and started to cross the room. Suddenly Ernie Ledbetter stepped in front of her blocking her way to the bar.

“Hey, darling….” He said “How about dancing with a real man?”

“I would…if I could find one.” Cheyenne said, trying to walk past him but he reached out and grabbed her arm.

“Hey, there's no need to be a bitch….I just asked ya to dance.” Ernie snarled. He was a local bully and he wasn't about to let a woman put him down like that.

Cheyenne looked at him through narrowed eyes, her sapphire blue eyes suddenly turning as cold as ice. It was a warning look that anyone who knew her very well knew better than to ignore. “Get your hand off my arm.” She said in a quiet deceptively calm voice.

“Dance with me and maybe I will.” Ernie said with a cocky smile.

“You heard the lady, Ledbetter.” Said a cold deadly voice behind him. Ernie turned around to glare at Luke who was standing there glaring back, his sapphire blue eyes just as cold as Cheyenne's were. There was no love lost between the two men. Ernie didn't like Luke and Luke didn't like Ernie. They'd been in more than one bar fight in the past and it looked like they were about to have another one. Customers who were sitting close enough to see and hear what was going on became quiet as they turned their attention towards the two men and the pretty lady singer.

“What are you gonna do about it, Duke?” Ernie sneered deliberately baiting Luke, while still holding tightly to Cheyenne 's wrist. Suddenly, he yelled as Cheyenne bit his arm forcing him to let her go. Pulling back his arm, he slapped her across the face hard enough to knock her to the floor. In that instant, Luke attacked, punching him with a hard right that sent him sprawling over a nearby table. That was when all hell broke loose and the fight was on. Ernie stumbled to his feet and charged at Luke, punching him in the stomach with a hard left and almost knocking him off his feet. Luke countered with a left to the jaw that snapped Ernie's head roughly to one side.

As the two men fought, Daisy ran over to help Cheyenne to her feet. Angry herself at being hit, Cheyenne tried to get in on the fight but Daisy grabbed her arm, holding her back.

“Luke can handle Ernie.” Daisy told her “He's done it before.”

“The jerk had no right hitting me!” Cheyenne spit out, her eyes flashing fire. Before Daisy could stop her, she grabbed a bottle off a nearby table and smashed it over the back of Ernie's head. It barely phased him as he continued fighting with Luke and Daisy grabbed Cheyenne again to keep her out of the way. Daisy couldn't help smiling at Cheyenne 's spunk. She should have been a Duke, she had the same stubborn streak and temper.

The fight continued with Ernie getting the best of Luke, then Luke turning the tables and getting the best of Ernie. Although Ernie outweighed Luke by at least 30 pounds, Luke was quicker and his punches were better aimed. And when Luke was mad, he could be a dangerous opponent. He didn't fight dirty but he fought hard. And if there was one thing no Duke wouldn't tolerate it was a man hitting a woman. Suddenly a gunshot rang out in the air, quieting the crowd who had been yelling and cheering Luke on as they watched the fight.

Rosco fired his gun again as he walked towards the two men who were still on the floor fighting. “Break it up, you two!” he ordered. When they both ignored him, still punching one another even though they were both battered and bleeding, Rosco holstered his gun and reached down to grab Luke who was on top at the moment. “Come on, Luke Duke! I said stop it right now!” As he tried to pull Luke away from Ernie, Luke slipped away from Rosco and hit Ernie again. Finally, Rosco got hold of Luke's right arm and twisted it around behind his back. Luke immediately stopped fighting when he felt Rosco snap a cuff onto his wrist. Rosco hauled him to his feet and roughly grabbed his other arm, jerking it behind his back and cuffing it too. “Alright, you roughneck…you're under arrest!” Ernie glared at Luke as he staggered to his feet, clutching his left side painfully. Luke glared right back, still angry but under control.

“Rosco!” Daisy cried out angrily “You can't arrest Luke! Ernie started it! He was bothering Cheyenne and he hit her!”

Several other people in the bar came to Luke's defense yelling the same thing at Rosco. But Rosco ignored them. He didn't care who started the fight. If Luke was involved then Luke was the one he was going to arrest. Ernie smiled smugly as he slipped away through the crowd and disappeared out the door.

“Rosco!” Bo said angrily, stepping up to the sheriff and his cousin “Luke was just defending Cheyenne ! Everybody saw it!”

“Oh, you Dukes lie…you just lie all the time.” Rosco spluttered “Your no account cousin is going to jail and so are you if you don't get away from me.” He started walking towards the door, dragging Luke along with him. Bo stood there clenching and unclenching his fists but he didn't interfere. It wouldn't do any good. Rosco would just arrest him too. Rosco never listened to or believed a Duke.

“That idiot!” Cheyenne snapped, getting angry all over again at what had just happened “How could he arrest Luke when the other jackass started it!”

“Cause he's a Duke that's why.” Bo told her grimly, his mouth set in a hard straight line. “It happens to us all the time.”

“Welcome to Hazzard.” Daisy told her with a faint smile. “I better call Uncle Jesse and tell him what happened.”

Bo turned to look at Cheyenne , noticing the red mark on her cheek where Ernie had hit her. “He shouldn't hit you….Luke would've killed him if Rosco hadn't pulled him off when he did.”

“I could've taken care of myself…I don't need you or Luke fighting my battles for me.” Cheyenne said, still angry and upset.

“Yeah….I saw that.” Bo told her with a grin “But darling, Luke ain't gonna stand by and let anybody treat ya like that.”

“Is he okay?”

“Luke? Yeah….Uncle Jesse'll bail him out in the morning.”

“You act like this happens all the time…”

“It does to me and Luke…” Bo told her offhandedly “That's just the way things are here in Hazzard.”

Chapter 8

Shortly after nine A.M. the next morning Deputy Cletus Hogg came to unlock his cell and let Luke out. “You can go, Luke” Cletus said “Your bail's been posted.”

“Thanks, Cletus.” Luke said, carefully easing himself up off the bunk. Jail cells weren't all that comfortable to begin with and Luke was sore and hurting from the fight the night before. He had a badly bruised left side, scrapped up knuckles, a bad bruise on his left cheekbone and his back hurt like hell. He hoped Ernie felt worse than he did this morning.

When he climbed the stairs to the upper floor where the main lobby of the sheriff's department was located, he was startled to see Cheyenne standing there waiting on him instead of Uncle Jesse.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, as Cletus handed him back his wallet, his pocket knife and his pocket watch, along with a handful of change and five dollars.

“I called Uncle Jesse this morning and told him I was bailing you out.” Cheyenne told him “I figured it was the least I could do since you got into that fight because of me.”

“Ernie Ledbetter is an ass.” Luke said sullenly as he followed her out of the sheriff's office. “He had it coming for hitting you.”

“Okay…thank you.” Cheyenne said “I guess I'm just not used to anyone standing up for me like that.”

“I take it you don't have any brothers…” Luke said with a grin

“I always wished I had a brother or sister when I was growing up….” Cheyenne said quietly “But it was just me….probably just as well…..I didn't have much of a mother.”

“I'm sorry.” Luke said sincerely.

“Don't be. She was dead for three years before I even found out about it.” Cheyenne told him grimly “And I didn't feel a thing when I did find out. I hated her. She lied to me my whole life…..turned out she lied about everything.” She turned to Luke and smiled faintly “Enough about me….how about some breakfast? I'm buying.”

“Okay.” Luke told her, as he put his hand on her elbow to guide her across the street,\. “There's a café just down the street. The food's good and it's not that expensive.”

“You don't eat like Bo, do ya?” She asked in a teasing voice

“No.” Luke told her with a hearty laugh. “Nobody eats like Bo.”

He showed her where the Hazzard Café was and they went inside. They walked to a booth in the back and sat down. As a settled in, the waitress, a little redhead named Dixie , came over to take their order. Like a lot of the local girls, she had a major crush on the Duke boys. Neither one of them had ever asked her out but that didn't stop her from wishing that they would. She gave Luke a big smile and simply looked at Cheyenne . She was jealous of her simply because she was with Luke. “What can I getcha?” she asked

“Biscuits and gravy and a coke.” Cheyenne told her

‘I'll same thing except I'll have coffee. Black.” Luke told her, automatically giving her a killer smile that made Dixie go weak in the knees.

As she walked away to get their drinks and turn in their order, Luke looked at Cheyenne and said “Ya know this is the closest I've gotten to having you go out with me.”

“It's the closest you're gonna get too. I'm just not interested in going out with anybody right now.” She told him with a thin little smile. “Believe me if things were different I'd go out with you or Bo in a heartbeat.”

“Did some guy dump ya?”

“No….guys don't dump me, I usually dump them.”

“I bet you've broke more than your share of hearts.”

“No more than you have probably.” She shot back making Luke grin. She was quick. He had to give her that. Cheyenne laughed “I don't think we better talk about our love lives. It's bound to get one of us in trouble.”

“Okay. Fair enough.” He nodded his thanks to Dixie as she sat their drinks down on the table in front of them and walked away. “What do you wanna talk about?”

“I don't wanna talk. I wanna eat.” She said as Dixie came back with their orders and sat the plates in front of them. “I'm hungry.”

“Okay. Then let's eat.” Luke said offhandedly as they both started eating their breakfast. After they finished eating, Cheyenne paid the bill and they walked outside just as the General Lee came squealing around the corner. Bo pulled up beside them and grinned at them both.

“Looks like you got my jailbird cousin out of the slammer.” He said with a chuckle.

“Yeah,” Cheyenne said “I even fed him.”

“Good….cause Jesse's got work for us to do. He wants us to clear out that old tree in the back forty.”

“Okay.” Luke said reluctantly. He smiled at Cheyenne and kissed her on the cheek before she realized what he was going to do. “Thanks for bailing me out, darling…” He slid over the hood of the General and climbed inside. Bo squealed away, leaving Cheyenne standing there with a surprised look still on her face.

Finally, she turned and slowly walked back to her tiny apartment. Letting herself inside, she locked the door securely behind her. Walking over to the closet, she opened the door and reached up on the overhead shelf. She took down a metal lockbox and slowly carried it over to the tiny sofa sitting along one wall. Fishing her keys out of her jeans, she found the right one and unlocked the box. The box was crammed full of newspaper clippings.

Slowly, Cheyenne began looking through the clippings. There was a clipping about Luke and Bo winning a cross country race four years ago. There was one about Luke being reported M.I.A. while he was stationed in Viet Nam when he was in the Marines. And there was another one that was written when it turned out he'd been a P.O.W. and had been rescued from the prison camp where he had been held for almost three months. She smiled when she found one about Bo winning a championship game for Hazzard High when he was a junior in high school.

There was Daisy smiling in picture that was taken when she was crowned Miss Tri Counties. And there was Uncle Jesse after he won the Hazzard County overland Moonshine run six years ago. As she dug deeper into the box, the clippings got older, some of them dating back more than twenty years.

There was an article about the accident that killed Bo's parents. There were similar articles in the box about Luke's parents and Daisy's too. She could trace the Duke family history back twenty some odd years just by reading through the articles in the lock

box. The most recent article in the box was just over two years old and it told about Bo and Luke being arrested for running moonshine. Cheyenne sighed as she closed the box and locked it. She put it back up on the shelf and decided to take a walk or something. Reading the articles in that box always upset her and made her angry all over again. Angry because of the life she never had and hating the person she held responsible for that.

Chapter 9

Jesse sat in his rocker looking through the old photo albums. They were filled with years of memories, pictures of him and his brothers when they were younger, pictures of him and his beloved Martha, pictures of Bo, Luke and Daisy when they were children and when they were babies. Newspaper clippings covering various events in the Duke family, deaths, weddings, births, a kidnapping, a suicide, even a murder that had happened over twenty years ago. Jesse often looked at the pictures reliving the events shown in them in his mind. Happy times, sad times, parties, celebrations…it was all there. His life and the life of his family all told in a series of snapshots from the past.

He heard the boys and Daisy come into the house. From the sounds of it, Cheyenne was with them. Hurriedly, Jesse put away the photo albums and his reminiscing of the past. He heard Cheyenne laugh at something one of the kids had said. Jesse knew that there was something Cheyenne wasn't telling them. And Jesse was almost positive that he knew what it was. But he would keep silent until he knew for sure just what she was up to. He smiled warmly as the four young people came into the living room. He frowned when he noticed that Bo was dripping wet, soaked to the skin.

“What happened to you?” he asked gruffly

“We was playing around and Luke tossed me in the creek.” Bo said sheepishly

“Well next time don't tell me I can't.” Luke told him with a grin

“Boys…” Jesse said in a mildly warning voice. He was used to their bickering and their horseplay, they had done it since they were children. But you'd think that as grown men they'd start to mature a little.

“Uncle Jesse, guess what?” Daisy said excitedly, her eyes sparking with pleasure.

“What baby girl?” he asked with a smile, using a term of endearment he used when Daisy was happy and excited about something the way she obviously was now.

“ Cheyenne 's going to demo one of my songs the next time she goes to Nashville !”

“That's wonderful.” Jesse said. Daisy didn't sing like the boys did, her talent was in her song writing. And she was good just a little unsure of herself even though Jesse and the boys had told her numerous times that she was talented. She had notebooks full of songs that she had written over the years, starting when she was nine years old. Jesse knew that more than anything else in the world Daisy wanted to go to Nashville and be a songwriter someday. It was strange that she was the only one of the three cousins who had ever talked about a career in the music business. The boys were just as talented musically when it came to singing and playing their guitars but their dreams drifted in another direction towards the Nascar Circuit. Bo wanted to be a top driver and Luke wanted to be the mechanic that built the winning car. With the stubbornness and the determination of the Duke blood behind them, Jesse had no doubt that someday each of them would achieve their dream. But he also hoped that they each found their special someone, like his Martha, to share their dreams with them. Jesse smiled at Cheyenne “That's mighty nice of you, Cheyenne .”

“It's no problem. Daisy has some great songs. I think I could probably get her a writers contract with the company I write for if she wanted it.” Cheyenne said “With a good demo to back it up.”

“What are you kids doing tonight?” Jesse asked

“Going junkin” Bo told him with a grin “Daisy and Cheyenne both have the night off.”

“So we're gonna have some fun!” Daisy said with a giggle

Jesse grunted “You two boys just make sure you don't get in any more fights.” He said gruffly “I'm running out of bail money.”

They all laughed as they went upstairs to get ready for their night out. The boys went to their room and Cheyenne went to Daisy's room with her. Since the two girls were the same size, Daisy was going to loan Cheyenne an outfit to wear so she wouldn't have to go back to her apartment to change. The girls laughed and joked as they got ready to go out.

Forty five minutes later they were ready to go. Daisy was dressed in a pair of high heels and a pale yellow dress with spaghetti straps and a full shirt. Cheyenne was dressed a pair of black levis with suede Squaw boots and a black sequined halter top that left her shoulders and most of her back bare. She had pulled her hair back into a single braid that hung down the middle of her back and applied a touch more make up then she usually wore which dramatically enhanced her natural beauty. Daisy gasped when she saw the total effect when Cheyenne was finished getting ready.

“Darling, you're gonna have all them poor ole boys falling all over themselves to get close to you tonight.”

“Too much?”

“Nawww…..” Daisy said giggling as she pictured her cousin's faces when they saw her that outfit “I think it's just enough to start a few fires tonight.” Both girls laughed as they left Daisy's room and went downstairs to find the boys.

Both boys were in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee. They were both dressed in their good levis and boots. Bo had on a tan western style shirt and Luke was dressed in a white western style shirt with a black leather vest. They both almost choked on their coffee when they caught sight of Cheyenne in her outfit for the evening. Daisy burst out laughing. The expression on their faces was priceless.

Regaining their composure, the boys ushered the girls outside and they all four climbed into the General. Fifteen minutes later, they were at the Boars Nest ordering their first round for the evening. As the evening wore on, the boys both got a slight buzz. They weren't drunk, just feeling good. Cheyenne and Daisy were having a good time too. Cheyenne wasn't drinking but she was dancing with a variety of partners. She had just finished a dance, when Daisy came up to her and whispered “Ernie Ledbetter just came in with a couple of his buddies.”

“Where's Luke?” Cheyenne asked, glancing around but not spotting either one of the boys in the crowd.

“I don't know. The last time I saw him he was dancing with Mindy Thompson. But that was about half an hour ago.”

“Maybe Bo knows where he went.”

The girls started looking for Bo and finally found him sitting at a back booth getting cozy with Jan Marshall. “Bo, have you seen Luke?” Daisy asked him “Ernie's here with a couple of this friends.”

“Yeah, he went outside for some air.” Bo said “But that's been awhile back….maybe he passed out in the General.” He gave Mindy a quick kiss “I'll be right back darling. Don't go no where.” He stood up and joined the girls. “Where's Ernie and his friends?” he asked as he scanned the room trying to find either Ernie or Luke.

“I don't know….I don't see ‘em now.” Daisy said in a worried voice, glancing around the room.

The three of them made their way to through the crowd deciding to check outside for Luke. As they went out the door, Bo spotted three men over near the General. They appeared to be kicking something or someone on the ground. “HEY!” Bo yelled angrily, breaking into a run with the two girls right behind him. The men scattered disappearing into the darkness. As he got closer to the General Lee, Bo saw Luke lying face down on the ground.

‘LUKE!” he yelled his cousin's name as he dropped to his knees beside him.

Gently he turned Luke over on to his back, wincing at the sight of Luke's badly battered face. “DAISY! CALL AN AMBULANCE!” he yelled over his shoulder, as he gently cradled Luke in his arms. As he slid his arm under Luke's head, he felt the blood that quickly soaked the sleeve of his shirt, blood from the back of Luke's head.

Chapter 10

Jesse glanced at the bedside clock when the ringing of the telephone awakened him from a sound sleep. It was almost three in the morning. A ringing telephone at that time of the morning never meant good news. Jesse shoved himself to his feet and hurried downstairs to get the phone.

“Duke farm.” He said “This is Jesse Duke speaking.”

“Uncle Jesse, its Daisy.” His niece's voice said in his ear. She sounded upset and it was obvious that she was crying. “I'm at the Tri County Hospital . Luke's been hurt…..he's been hurt really bad.”

“I'm on my way.” Jesse said hanging up without waiting for any more information. He hurried back upstairs to get dressed. Ten minutes later he was behind the wheel of his truck and on the way to the hospital. It was almost a forty five minute drive to the hospital but ole Jesse made it in thirty.

Finding a place to park, he climbed out of the truck and hurried into the hospital through the emergency entrance. He immediately spotted Daisy, Cheyenne and Bo huddled together close to the nurse's station. He also noticed that one sleeve and the front of Bo's shirt was heavily stained with blood. Jesse felt a tightening in his chest when he realized that it must be Luke's blood. Both girls had obviously been crying and Bo looked like he might have been too. Jesse hurried to their side. Daisy and Bo immediately went to him, welcoming his comforting embrace.

“What happened to Luke?” he asked as he gently soothed Daisy and Bo

“We ain't sure. Three men apparently jumped Luke in parking lot at the Boars Nest. They had him on the ground kicking him when we spotted ‘em.” Bo told him in a cracked voice “They ran away when I yelled at ‘em but they'd already beat Luke up pretty bad and they must've hit him in the head with something…..”

“Do you know who it was?”

“We think it was Ernie Ledbetter and a couple of his friends.” Daisy told him “I saw them come in just before we went looking for Luke.”

“Did you call Rosco?”

“Yeah….and for once he seemed to listen to us. I think it's only cause he could see how bad Luke was hurt.” Bo told him

“Well, let's sit down.” Jesse suggested “The doctors will let us know as soon as they have any news.” He glanced at Cheyenne . She looked as upset and scared as Bo and Daisy did. Jesse smiled and motioned for her to join them as he sat down with Daisy sitting beside him and resting her head on his shoulder. Bo remained standing, too nervous and impatient to sit down, instead he started to pace. Cheyenne moved to the sofa where Jesse and Daisy sat and settled down on Jesse's opposite side. She was tense and nervous but only because she was worried about Luke and because she hated hospitals with a passion. She knew she couldn't keep up this charade much longer she was going to have to tell them, and tell them soon, the secret that had brought her to Hazzard in the first place.

As she sat there, Cheyenne let her thoughts drift to each of the members about the Duke family. There was Uncle Jesse, so gruff at times and yet so gentle. He made her feel like part of the family even though she was a stranger to them. The three cousins shared the same set of values and morals that they had learned at Jesse's knee as children. And the same strong sense of family and family loyalty. Jesse may not have a lot of book learning but he was still the smartest man that Cheyenne had ever met. And it was easy to see how much he loved the three cousins in his charge. They were his children even if he wasn't their biological father.

And then there was Daisy. She was just like the sister that Cheyenne never had. They had the same feisty temperament and they could both drive and fight just as well as any man. Daisy might be a tomboy by nature but she could also be totally feminine when she chose to be. As the only girl in a houseful of men, she had quickly learned how to hold her own. She had to if she wanted to fit in and roughneck with the boys. Cheyenne felt comfortable around Daisy which was unusual for her since she generally didn't get along with other women. There was already a strong bond forged between them that promised to just get stronger in the future, that is if Cheyenne had a future here in Hazzard.

She smiled as she thought about Bo. The most impulsive, impetuous, and rambunctious of the three cousins. He was so full of nervous energy that it was nearly impossible for him to sit still for five minutes. A trait that he was displaying now by pacing up and down in the waiting room, wearing a hole in the carpet. He was also the most affection of the three cousins, always hugging or touching someone else. (usually Luke) and he tended to wear his heart on his sleeve. He got his feelings hurt more easily and yet same time, his temper also flared more quickly. He was the most emotional of the three and he wasn't afraid to show those emotions but at the same time, he was all male and totally masculine. And he knew that he was good looking and he was quite the southern charmer when it came to the ladies. It was hard to resist those puppy dog eyes that he used so well.

Luke was the most complicated of the three cousins, the hardest one to really get to know. He tended to keep his feelings and his thoughts to himself, only sharing them with others after he had pondered on things by himself for awhile first. As the oldest, he felt a strong sense of responsibility for his two younger cousins, especially Bo. He was definitely the dominant personality of the three and usually made the decisions for the group. Generally easy going and laid back, his slow relaxed smile hid a man who could be a passionate and exciting lover or a cunning and sly advisory.

Cheyenne was pulled away from her thoughts by the appearance of a doctor as he came into the waiting room and glanced around. Since the Dukes and Cheyenne were the only ones in the waiting room, it didn't take much to figure out that they were probably waiting on news about the young man presently in the emergency room.

“Are you here about Luke Duke?” he asked

“Yes, sir.” Jesse said rising to his feet. “He's my nephew. I'm Jesse Duke and these are his cousins, Bo and Daisy.” Jesse looked at the doctor closely trying to read something in his face that would tell him in advance how Luke was doing. But the doctor's face carefully hid his intentions. “How's my boy?”

“I'm Doctor Jones. Right now we are getting ready to take your nephew into surgery. He has some internal bleeding and a head injury that we need to address immediately. Other than that, I'd rather wait until after we're done with the surgery to give you a full report on his condition.”

“How long will that take?” Bo asked anxiously

“A couple of hours maybe longer. It depends on what we find when we get in there.”

“We'll be right here.” Jesse told him firmly. The doctor nodded and turned to walk back into the emergency unit. Jesse sighed as he sat back down to continue waiting. And Bo went back to pacing impatiently. Cheyenne and Daisy sat beside Jesse, both lost in their own thoughts.

Chapter 11

“Bo, sit down.” Jesse said in a weary voice, tired of watching Bo pacing back and forth “You're wearing a hole in the carpet.”

Bo sighed and slumped down on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs in the waiting room. He stretched out his long legs in front of him and folded his arms across his chest. But he could only sit still for a few minutes. Then he was right back up and pacing the floor again. Jesse sighed and kept silent knowing it wouldn't do any good to tell Bo to sit down again.

Daisy was staring at the TV mounted on the wall without really watching it and Cheyenne was drumming her fingers on the arm of the sofa nervously. The tension in the room could be felt in the air as they all waited anxiously for news about Luke. It had already been almost three hours and the longer it took to hear anything, the more concerned they became.

Finally, Cheyenne couldn't stand just sitting there anymore and waiting. She stood up and quietly slipped away. She walked outside, taking a deep breath of the early morning air. The sun was just coming up over the horizon, a beautiful summer sunrise. Any other time she would have enjoyed just standing there and watching it but not this morning. She was too keyed up and worried about Luke. She found a small courtyard with wooden benches and sat down, trying to clear her cluttered mind. So much had happened since she'd come to Hazzard that she was beginning to wonder what was going to happen next.

She didn't notice that Jesse had come looking for her until he sat down on the bench beside her and spoke “Are you okay?”

“Yeah….just tired.” She told him. She looked at him hopefully “Any news yet?”

“No, not yet. But Luke's gonna be alright. You just keep telling yourself that.”

“It's all my fault.” Cheyenne said in a forlorn voice, tears suddenly welling up in those sapphire eyes.

“How do ya figure that?” Jesse asked in a surprised tone

“If I hadn't come here…none of this would have happened. He'd have never gotten into that fight the other night and he'd never have gotten jumped by those guys

last night and ended up here….”

“Now that ain't necessarily true….” Jesse told her “There's been bad blood between Luke and Ernie Ledbetter for years. I'm surprised something like this ain't happened before now…..”

“I still feel like it's my fault.”

“Now there ain't nobody blaming you…..and that includes Luke. It was just bad luck that's all….” Jesse reassured her. Jesse smiled thinly “Sometimes it seems like if it wasn't for bad luck us Dukes wouldn't have no luck at all…..”

“What if he's not alright, Uncle Jesse?” Cheyenne asked looking at him with those sapphire blue eyes that Jesse knew so well. But it was still unnerving to see them staring back at him from someone else's face.

“Don't even think that.” Jesse told her “But if he isn't…then we'll deal with it…”

“How are you supposed to deal with something like that?” Cheyenne asked, her eyes clouding with fear “Seeing somebody hurt and not being able to do nothing to help ‘em…..I mean what are you suppose to do?”

“Just let ‘em know that you're there and that you care.” Jesse told her. He looked at her closely “And you do care…..even if you keep trying to make everybody think ya don't.”

“Of course I care…..or I wouldn't be here.”

“I know you do, darling. And Luke's gonna need his family around when he wakes up…….his whole family.” Jesse looked at her closely as he put a heavy emphasis on the word family. He saw her go pale underneath her golden tan as her eyes widened with alarm and surprise. Her heart started pounding frantically in her chest as Jesse added quietly “And I reckon that includes his twin sister too.”

Chapter 12

“You know who I am?” Cheyenne asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper

“Darling, I've known who you were since the minute I laid on eyes on you.” Jesse told her “You got Luke's eyes….and your mama's smile.” He smiled warmly to put her at ease “And you sound exactly like her when you sing. That's why Luke likes your singing so much….he just don't remember your mama singing to him when you was babies….”

“Why didn't you say anything?'

“I figured you had your reasons for not telling us right away who you was. I was just waiting to see what you were up to…..”

“I never meant to lie to any of you…..” Cheyenne told him in a choked voice as she looked into his eyes and saw nothing but gentleness and compassion. “I just wanted to get to know all of you first before I told you who I was….”

“How long have you known?”

“Since last summer. I found a box full of old newspaper clippings…..including the ones about Lacy Marie and her disappearance. It didn't take much to figure out that I was her when it mentioned my blood type and my birthmark in one of the articles.”

“You were only a little over two years old when it happened. Till the day she died your mama never gave up looking for you…..she blamed herself for leaving you and Luke outside playing in the yard alone while she went in to answer the phone.”

“It took me a long time to get used to the idea that my whole life, everything I believed was real, even my own name…..nothing but lies. That I had another family out there somewhere that I'd been stolen from……a twin brother I didn't even know anything about.” She looked at Jesse anxiously “Does Luke know about me?”

Slowly Jesse nodded “He knows that he had twin sister that was abducted when she was two. But he doesn't really remember anything about it or about you.” Jesse let his memories drift back to that day over twenty-four years ago. His brother James and his wife, Mary Anne, lived on a small farm not far from Martha and Jesse. James had called Jesse immediately when they realized that Lacy was missing from the yard. Mary Anne had been in the yard with the twins watching them play when the phone rang and she went into the house to answer it. Luke's screams had drawn her back outside where she had found him hysterically crying and babbling in baby talk about a bad lady who took his sissy.

The sheriff's department was notified and search parties were organized (in case Lacy had simply wandered away on her own) but they never found a sign of the tiny two year old child. Mary Anne never stopped blaming herself for the loss of her daughter and for months afterwards Luke had cried himself to sleep and had terrible nightmares, crying out in his sleep for his missing sister.

Jesse reached out and gently put his arm around the young woman's shoulders. At first she tensed up at his touch and then she let herself relax in his comforting embrace. For the first time in her life, she felt totally safe and protected. Jesse sat there just holding her for a long time. He could hardly believe that she was here, alive and well, after all these years. He wished his brother and his wife were still alive to rejoice in this moment as Jesse himself was rejoicing. Now all that remained to do was tell Bo, Daisy and Luke the truth and for them to hear the rest of the story from Cheyenne herself.

Jesse found himself wondering just how Luke was going to react to the news that Cheyenne was actually his long lost sister. He knew that it would come as shock, especially since Luke had been attracted her without realizing the real reason why he felt so close to her so quickly. And he suspected that although it would come as a shock to Daisy and Bo (who didn't know about Luke's twin at all) they would be thrilled (especially Daisy) to find out that she was actually their cousin too. They had all become such good friends so quickly that it was almost as if they could feel that family bond with each other even without knowing that they were actually related by blood.

“We better go in back in and see if there's any news on Luke yet.” Jesse finally said

“I know.” Cheyenne said with a sigh, regretfully moving out of the comfort of his arms. She looked at Jesse as they stood up and walked back towards the hospital entrance. “And I have to tell Bo and Daisy the truth…..and Luke when he wakes up.”

Jesse nodded as they walked back into the hospital and down the hall to the waiting room. Bo and Daisy both looked at them anxiously when they rejoined them. They knew that Cheyenne was upset and that Jesse had gone looking for her. There was a strange look on her face that worried Daisy.

“Sugar, are you alright?” she asked Cheyenne worriedly, rushing to her side and looking at her friend closely.

“I'm fine, Daisy…..I just….” She looked at Jesse for strength. He smiled faintly and nodded slightly encouraging her to continue. The sooner the truth was out in the open the better for all of them. “I have to tell you and Bo something important……. something I should have told all of you sooner.”

Daisy looked at her anxiously and Bo stopped his pacing long enough to find out what was going on. “What is it?” Daisy asked in a concerned voice

“I came to Hazzard hoping to meet all of you….especially Luke. I found out a few months ago that the woman I thought was my mother had lied to me all of my life…that everything she ever told me about my life was a lie….including my name.” Cheyenne said talking quickly so she could get it all out before she lost her nerve.

“What's that's got to do with us?” Bo asked in a confused voice “Or with Luke?”

Cheyenne looked at Jesse helplessly. Jesse took a deep breath and said,

“ Cheyenne 's was abducted when she was a baby. She's Luke's twin sister.”

“What?” Daisy exclaimed in a startled voice, her eyes widening in shock.

“That's impossible…” Bo said in disbelief, staring at his Uncle and at Cheyenne . “Luke never said nothing about having a twin sister….”

“Lacy….I mean Cheyenne ” Jesse said correcting himself “Was only two years old when she was apparently abducted by the woman she grew up believing was her mother.” He motioned for them all to sit down so Cheyenne could tell them her story. After they were seated he added “Luke knows that he had a twin sister but he doesn't remember her…..and I suppose that he never told you because he didn't think it mattered.”

“Why didn't you tell in the first place?” Daisy asked, reaching out to take Cheyenne 's hand and squeezing it gently, urging her to continue.

“Because I didn't know how to….I mean I couldn't see myself just knocking on your door and saying ‘Hi, I'm Luke's sister. Remember me?'” Cheyenne took a deep breath to steady her ragged nerves. “I mean I didn't know anything about any of this until last summer and it took me months to accept it myself…..”

“How did you find out?” Daisy asked

“I never got along with my mother….or I guess I should say the woman I grew believing was my mother….we fought all the time. By the time I was twelve, I was pretty much on my own and taking care of myself. She was never home and when she was, she was usually drunk. I ran away when I was sixteen and I never looked back or contacted her after that. She was dead for three years before I even found out about it.” Cheyenne sighed softly as the memories rushed back at her “A lawyer in Atlanta found me in Nashville and told me she had died and that since I was her only legal heir, I had to go back to Atlanta to sign some papers so they could close the estate. They also needed me to decide what to do with her house. It was while I was cleaning out her house and throwing stuff away that I found an old box of newspaper clippings…and they were all about your family. It didn't make much sense until I found the clippings in an envelope at the very bottom of the box about Lacy Marie. One of those clippings mentioned that there 2 positive ways to identify her. Her blood type which was AB negative……”

“The same as Luke.” Jesse pointed out “One of the rarest blood types there is.” He nodded at Cheyenne to continue with her story

“And the second way was a birthmark in a very intimate place on her body.”

“Just like Luke…..” Bo whispered in an awed voice, remembering Luke's birthmark and its exact location.

“Just like Luke.” Jesse confirmed

“It didn't take much to figure out the truth. I guess the hardest part was knowing that I had a twin brother that I didn't even know anything about. Then when I met Scottie through a mutual friend in Atlanta and he offered me a job singing with his band….I knew that was a way for me to come to Hazzard without having to make up some excuse about why I was here.”

“So why didn't you just tell us the truth from the beginning?” Bo asked, caught up in Cheyenne 's story. “Why did you lie to us?”

“Now, Bo….Cheyenne didn't exactly lie…” Jesse said calmly, smiling at Cheyenne softly “She just didn't tell us everything.”

“Because I was afraid to…” Cheyenne said in her own defense “I never expected to meet you, Luke and Daisy my first day in Hazzard. I wanted to get to know you first…..all of you….before I told you who I was.”

“Hey,” Bo exclaimed as a sudden thought suddenly occurred to him “That makes you my cousin too…”

“Well, I think it's great!” Daisy said enthusiastically, pulling Cheyenne into her arms for a hug “Now I'm not the only girl anymore.” She gave Cheyenne a big warm smile “Welcome to the family, Cheyenne .”

“Yeah…” Bo said with a lopsided grin still a little stunned by the news “Welcome to the family, Cheyenne .”

“What about Luke?” Daisy said “When are you going to tell him?”

“As soon as he wakes up.”

“He's gonna be surprised.” Bo said with a chuckle “He ain't gonna be expecting nothing like this.” He tilted his head to one side and looked at Cheyenne intently, then he added “And I gotta admit…..there is a family resemblance.”

“There sure is.” Daisy agree “I'm surprised none of us noticed it before.”

“Except for Uncle Jesse.” Cheyenne said smiling at her Uncle warmly

“That's only because I knew about you to begin with. Bo and Daisy didn't.” Jesse said offhandedly. They all stopped talking when they saw Dr. Jones walking towards them. They all looked at him anxiously; waiting to hear what he had to say about Luke.

“I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you but we had some trouble getting the internal bleeding stopped. But we finally found all the bleeders and got it under control.” The doctor told them, surveying their concerned faces one by one.

“So how is Luke?” Jesse asked

“He's very lucky young man. He has some broken ribs and we had to remove his spleen which was ruptured and that was causing the internal bleeding. He also has a lot of bruises and lacerations but nothing serious. The good news is that the head injury wasn't as serious as we originally thought it was. There was severe laceration that took almost twenty two stitches to close and he has a bad concussion but the skull wasn't fractured and he should be able to leave the hospital in a couple of days.”

“That's good.” Jesse said in a relieved voice “Can we see him?”

“I'd rather you didn't for a couple of hours. He's still in recovery and probably won't be moved to a regular room until later this afternoon. Plus he's still pretty drugged up right now. He's gonna have a really nasty headache when he wakes up. Besides, you all look like you could use some sleep yourselves.” The doctor told them “But he is going to be alright. Like I said, he was very lucky young man considering how badly he'd been beaten and how bad his head was bleeding when he was brought in here.”

“Thank you, doctor. We will be back this afternoon to see him.” Jesse said firmly. The Duke family (with one new addition) left the hospital together and climbed back into their cars. The girls rode with Jesse in his pickup and Bo followed in the General Lee. When they got back to the farm, Jesse and Bo feed the animals while the girls made breakfast. After they had eaten, they all laid down for a few hours sleep before returning to the hospital to see Luke.

Chapter 13

Luke slowly forced his eyes to open, then immediately closed them again when the glare of the overhead light hit his face, making his head hurt worse than it already did. His mouth was dry and he wished there was someone there he could ask to give him a drink but he was alone in the room. Slowly, he took stock of the various aches and pains in his body.

His head throbbed with a relentless pain that felt like someone was hitting him in the back of the head with a sledge hammer. His jaw hurt too and his left eye was almost swollen shut. The rest of his body didn't feel all that great either. Everything seemed to hurt, especially his right side. He vaguely remembered Ernie and two of his friends jumping him in the parking lot at Boars Nest. He'd put up a good fight despite being outnumbered three to one. He remembered seeing the two by four in Ernie's hands just before he slammed Luke in the back of the head with it and everything went black. Well, that explained why his head hurt like hell.

He opened his good eye when he heard the door open and a faint smile tugged at his lips when Jesse, Daisy, Bo and Cheyenne came into the room. “Could one of you please dim that light…..it makes my head hurt…” Luke requested quietly. Daisy reached out to turn off the overhead light, leaving only the dim light above Luke's head to light the room. He smiled and nodded his thanks.

“How are you feeling?” Jesse asked, crossing to his oldest nephews side and taking his hand.

“Like I got the hell kicked out of me.” Luke said dryly. Jesse chose to ignore Luke's choice of words.

“That's pretty much what happened.” Bo told him with a grin “You scared us there, cuz….good thing you got a hard head.”

“Yeah….I guess.” Luke said with a slight smile. He coughed slightly, wincing as the pain in his chest when he did. “Could I have a drink?”

Jesse poured a glass of water from the pitcher sitting on the stand beside the bed. Opening the flexible straw lying on the tray, he put it in the glass and then held it up to Luke's lips so he could take a drink. Luke drank half the glass and then nodded to let Jesse know that he'd had enough. “How bad is it?” he asked

“You got some broken ribs, a concussion, a pretty gash in the back of your head and you had some internal bleeding.” Jesse told him “But the doctor thinks you should be able to go home in a couple of days.”

“It was Ernie and his friends, wasn't it?” Bo asked grimly

“Yeah….” Luke admitted, leaning his head back against the pillow and trying to ignore the insistent pounding in his head.

“That's what we figured and that's what we told Rosco.” Daisy told him

“What's Rosco gonna do about it?” Luke said with a hint of sarcasm creeping into his voice.

“Actually, sugar…he was mad when he saw how bad you were hurt.” Daisy told him “He said he was gonna charge all three of them with assault.”

“Rosco might be a poor excuse for a law man but he's all we got.” Jesse said “Besides he don't like seeing nobody get hurt, even you boys.” He glanced at Bo and Daisy “I think I could use some coffee….why don't you two come with me?”
Luke frowned slightly as Jesse, Bo and Daisy left the room, leaving him alone with Cheyenne . “What the heck was that all about?” He asked, looking at Cheyenne with a puzzled expression on his face.

“I guess they figured it'd be best to leave us alone so I could tell ya something.”

“What?” Luke asked. He smiled faintly “And please don't tell ya that you finally decided to go out with me because I sure ain't up to it right now.”

“No, I ain't gonna tell ya that……but I am going tell why I can't go out with ya.”

“Okay….why?”

“Cause I may be southern but even a southern girl can't very well date her own brother…..”

Luke looked at her in disbelief, his eyes widening with shock. He just stared at her trying to make sense of what she had just said. He was suddenly at a loss for words, unusual for any Duke to say the least. “That's impossible…..” he finally managed to say flatly. “My sister died when she was two years old….”

“I didn't die, Luke. I was abducted by this crazy woman who took me to Atlanta and raised me as her own kid.”

“I don't believe this….” Luke muttered in a slow unsure voice, still not sure if he believed her or not. But then suddenly he realized, for the first time, that her eyes were exactly the same shade as his own and her hair was too. And if he looked closely enough he could see other similarities in her features and in his own. “I don't know who put you up to this….but it ain't funny.” Luke said with a hard edge to his voice still refusing to believe what she was telling him.

“Well, it looks like we have stubbornness in common along with a couple of other things….especially since we're twins and all” Cheyenne said ignoring Luke's outburst “I have AB negative blood and a birthmark too ….wanna guess where?”

Luke looked at her with a frown wanting to accept her words but having a hard time coming to terms with what she was telling him. “I take everybody already knows about this….” He said flatly

“Yeah…actually Jesse already had figured out who I was.”

“Might have been nice if you told me first…..”

“You weren't exactly in any condition for me to tell you first.” Cheyenne said in a slightly irritated tone. “Otherwise I would have!” The two of them stared at each other for several seconds, neither one of them wanting to back down. Then, they both burst out laughing at their momentary mutual battle of wills.
“My sister…..” Luke said in a stunned voice, shaking his head. “I wasn't expecting that….”

“Neither was I when I found out about it.” Cheyenne told him with a grin “And I sure as hell didn't plan on meeting ya as soon as I hit Hazzard. I figured it'd be at least a day or two before I figured out a way to meet ya.”

“Man, I have a headache….” Luke muttered, closing his eyes for a moment

“From me or from getting hit in the head?”

“A little bit of both….” Luke told her with a grin, opening his eyes as looking at her. He reached out to take her hand, holding it tightly. “You are really are my sister…” he said in a stunned voice.

“Yeah….I am…..” Cheyenne told him, grinning back. She didn't resist as Luke pulled her into his arms for a fierce hug. She felt the tears gathering in her eyes as she realized that she was finally home after almost twenty six years. And that she had a family that would always be there for her. Because now she was Duke from Hazzard County.

THE END