Two Wrongs

Chapter One – Ashamed to call ya Duke

See here y'all. This here's the Duke farm. As you can see its the middle of the night, three am to be precise. A time when all good sensible folks should be catching their beauty sleep, and believe me some need it more than others round here. But as you can see there's someone up and around and not sleeping. I guess you good folks are wonderin' who it is. Well lets have a look and see.......

Tick.......tick......tick......tick

Jesse Duke felt every year of his age as he listened to the mantle clock marking the passing seconds of the night. He sighed. There would be no sleep for him, not this night. He sighed again, got up from his worn old armchair and approached the fireside, his gaze not on the old clock but on the photograph frame beside it. They were all there, Luke, Daisy, Bo and Lavinia. She smiled at him from the frame, her arms around the waists of both her boys, each of them cuddling her back with their free hands on the shoulders of their lovely cousin who stood in front laughing joyously at some joke or other.

He caressed the frame lovingly and sighed one more time. Lavinia would certainly have not approved today. No sir – she would have not been pleased at him at all. Daisy had not spoken much to him last night either. Can't blame her really, he thought to himself, not after what he had just done. Only Luke had been of comfort yesterday, which was strange in itself, normally he would be the first one to jump to his cousin's defence. But he had simply stood behind his Uncle quietly watching while he laid into Bo, his heart broken by his youngest nephew's foolhardy actions that could have cost them so much.

He walked through to the kitchen and put coffee on. If he wasn't going to sleep he may as well brew some coffee, prepare breakfast and make a plan for the day. There was a lot to do on the farm and now Bo's shenanigans meant that there was more to do and less hands for the work. His coffee made, he sat down at the table and savoured its rich earthy aroma before taking his first sip. And with the steam drifting from his mug his angry words of the previous day floated back to him.

"I never thought I would see the day when I would say these words to you Bo, but right now I'm plain ashamed of ya. I'm ashamed to call ya Duke."

"I'm sorry Uncle Jesse" Bo hadn't even tried to explain himself.

"Its too late for sorry boy. Just too darn late. Ya couldn't do as I asked could ya? Ya just couldn't resist running amok in that car of yours when I done plain told ya to take it easy and not give Rosco any reason to arrest ya! What in blazes possessed ya to do something so stupid?"

"I got no excuses Uncle Jesse" Bo had just looked at him under those unruly locks of his, looking as if his every demeanour begged for forgiveness.

"I can't even look at ya right now Bo. Ya know what I gotta do dontcha?"

"Yessir I reckon I do. And I don't blame ya, not one bit"

Jesse Duke, on the risk of repeating himself sighed again. What was said in the heat of anger meant so little now in the wee small hours of the morning. And if he could take those angry words all back again, he would. But it was too late for that now, the damage was done.

He was only mildly surprised at the appearance of his eldest nephew, roused by the smell of coffee no doubt. He entered the kitchen wordlessly and walked over to the coffee maker to pour himself a cup before sitting down beside his uncle. They sat in companionable silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, wondering what they were going to say the other.

Eventually it was Jesse that broke the spell.

"You think I was too hard on Bo"

It was a statement rather than a question and Luke's silence told him what his answer was. But that only served to make him even angrier at himself than before and he found himself trying to explain his actions to the boy.

"What else could I have done Luke? The mortgage payment had to be made! I couldn't afford to bail 'im out."

"I know that Uncle Jesse, so does Bo. And if I had been you I would have done the same thing......" Luke answered softly, hesitating as he debated whether or not to tell his uncle the whole truth.

Catching the break in Luke's voice Jesse's eyes narrowed as he regarded his nephew, his shrewd eyes not missing anything.

"What do you mean so does Bo? What you not telling me Luke?"

Luke Duke was cut from the same cloth as his Uncle Jesse and just like the older man had been doing all through this long night he sighed, resigned to break his promise with Bo, knowing full well that if he didn't come clean Jesse and Bo may never be alright again. Uncle Jesse had to know what Bo had done in order to protect them all.

"Bo weren't speeding Uncle Jesse, he did everything that was asked of ya and took his time. Rosco set Bo up - a trap to put him in jail, thinking you would use the mortgage payment to bail him out."

"Then why in the blazes did Bo lie to me Luke? Make me think that he had been acting irresponsibly? That Rosco had caught him fair and square? Why? Why would he do such a thing?"

But though Jesse could not believe that his ears were telling him that one of his own kin lied to his face and another one of them was in on the act, his head screamed at him that Bo had a perfectly good reason for doing what he did.

"And why didn't you tell me before now?" he finished his tirade, pointing his finger at Luke and waiting anxiously for the reply that he knew in his heart was coming.

Luke swallowed as he faced his Uncle Jesse's wrath.

"He made me promise not to tell you. Leastways until the mortgage payment was in the bank safely paid. He was worried that....."

"That I would use it to bail him out of jail if I knew the truth." Jesse finished the sentence and stared at his dark haired nephew. Earnest blue eyes returned the look as realisation dawned on Jesse.

No sir – Lavinia would be most upset at him at this moment in time........

"Luke! I left him in there!" he whispered the words as the truth of the matter was laid before him.

"I know Uncle Jesse – but he knew what he was doin'. Besides, now the mortgage payment is made, Boss will more than likely let him out today or tomorrow if he's still mad at us."

But Jesse shook his head.

"You don't get it!. I said some things to that boy that I had no cause to say. I need to make it right Luke." He stood up and made for the door ready there and then to drive to Hazzard and speak to his youngest nephew despite the fact that the sun had not begun to rise yet.

"Now hold on Uncle Jesse, it's the middle of the night! Why don't we fix ourselves some breakfast and get the chores done first. We can go later this morning when we know Boss Hogg will be there and maybe we can get Bo released and bring him home."

Jesse nodded reluctantly, knowing in his head that Luke was making sense, even though his heart was urging him to go to the boy now.

"He knows you love him Uncle Jesse!"

Luke's reassuring words were well intended, but Jesse Duke could not accept that fact until he had seen Bo with his own eyes. He knew what he had to do to make it up to the boy.

"You and Daisy will stay here and do the chores; I will go in to Hazzard for nine am, meet with Boss and then come hell or high water I am bringing Bo home with me!"

Luke Duke grinned, his relief evident on his handsome features.

"Yessir" he said and supped the last of his coffee, thinking to himself that they had escaped this one with little harm done.

Ya see that's the thing about Jesse Duke, he is always willing to stand up and say when he is wrong. Takes a big man to do that. I sure do hope that young Bo sees it that way after spending a night in Hazzard County Jail.