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Jesse Duke looked at the sleeping baby in the bassinet, feeling another overwhelming wave of sadness. The poor boy would never get to meet his parents, the couple stolen away from the world while he was just a few months old. It almost wasn’t fair and this baby was getting a crash course in just how cruel life could be. Even if he wasn’t old enough to understand what all this meant.
A shuffling by his elbow drew Jesse’s attention and he could see his young nephew at his side, also looking at the infant. Luke was four years old, fairly quiet for a child and Jesse had a new sense of apprehension well up. Luke’s parents sent him to live with him when he was just over a year old, having been emotionally destroyed by the loss of their younger son Jud in the hospital fire. Jesse had been worried about his brother and sister in law’s reckless behavior in the months to follow and while he was saddened by their deaths last year, it didn’t come as a complete shock. Not like Bo’s parents. That accident really had come out of nowhere. Luke had been the only child in Jesse and Lavinia’s lives up to this point, and Jesse wasn’t sure how he would handle another orphan being added to the mix.
“Luke, this is your cousin Bo. He’s coming to live with us from now on.” Jesse said gently. Luke looked up at him, then back at the baby before offering a nod.
“Okay.” Luke said, as if any of the decision actually rested with him. Jesse couldn’t help but chuckle. In all honestly he was glad to have the two boys. It had been a rough few years. While the Duke Family had been blessed with a whole new generation, Vance, Coy, Daisy, and Jeb among them; the family had been hit with a wave of tragedy too. They lost Daisy’s mother in childbirth a year after they lost Jud. It was around the same time Luke’s parent’s passed as well. Jesse was sure that had it not been for Lavinia, who had already dragged him back from the edge once with his own father’s passing he wouldn’t have pulled through.
“He’s a lot younger than you Luke, so you’re going to have to be careful with him.” Lavinia cautioned from the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. Luke looked over at his aunt and nodded.
“I’ll be careful!” he promised. Jesse wasn’t sure if Luke really understood the magnitude of what was going on just yet but he decided to take the small blessings where he could get them. A knock at the door drew his attention and Lavinia gestured to the baby, telling Jesse to stay in the living room. She turned and went to the door.
“J.D., Lulu, what a surprise.” Lavinia’s voice floated into the room. Jesse glanced up at the kitchen. He didn’t know what J.D. was doing here. After all he and Lulu just returned from their honeymoon. They should be getting their new home in order.
“Hello Lavinia. Say, is Jesse around?” J.D. sounded almost timid and Jesse turned to Luke.
“Luke, sit with your cousin for a minute will you?” he asked. He didn’t wait for a response, after all it didn’t matter if Luke did or not. Jesse stood up and headed to the kitchen, seeing Lavinia still standing at the door with J.D. and Lulu on the porch.
“Oh, Jesse!” J.D. looked so relieved to see him and Jesse offered a smile while also lifting a hand to his lips in a sign for J.D. to keep his voice down. The man seemed to realize what he did wrong, covering his mouth with his hand. Jesse gestured to the porch and the four adults moved outside. Lavinia pulled the door closed behind them.
“Oh Jesse Duke, we just heard the news.” Lulu said, breaking out into fresh tears.
“I never imagined something like this would have happened. If you need anything Jesse, just ask.” J.D. promised. Jesse offered his friend a weary smile.
“Thank you J.D. Really.” He said. Lavinia put her hands on his left arm, moving close to his side. “What’s…what’s gonna happen to the poor thing?” J.D. asked. Jesse figured he meant Bo.
“Well, we’re going to raise him. We already have Luke after all.” Lavinia said. She sounded so confident in their ability to handle two small children, a shine business, and a farm that Jesse almost believed her. Then again they didn’t have to do this alone. He still had three brothers in Hazzard and this was all of their farm, not just Jesse’s. J.D. nodded to show he understood.
“That’s good. That will give Luke a little brother!” Lulu said. Jesse chuckled. Everything was so simple to her.
“How was the honeymoon?” Jesse asked. J.D. waved it off.
“Fine, it was fine Jesse.” He said. Lulu just nodded. Jesse knew if he had referred to his honeymoon with Lavinia as just ‘fine’ she would never let him live it down, but this also wasn’t a situation to say things were ‘great’ when they clearly weren’t for others present.
“How old is he Jesse?” Lulu asked. Jesse glanced back at the house, looking at the window for the living room. He could just catch sight of Luke sitting on the couch beside the small crib.
“About six months.” Jesse said. Lulu nodded.
“I thought so. We brought you some baby formula. Mr. Rhuebottom had a sale on it so…” Lulu gestured to the car, trailing off as she lied about how they got the formula. Jesse knew for a fact no such sale existed, but he was appreciative just the same.
“Thank you, I’ll help.” Lavinia offered. She kissed Jesse’s cheek before walking off the porch with Lulu toward the car. Jesse sat on the porch swing and J.D. sat next to him.
“You know Jesse, that little tyke in there couldn’t have a better guardian than you.” J.D. said after a few moments. Jesse smiled a little.
“He could’ve had his daddy.” Jesse said. J.D. made a distressed sound in the back of his throat and Jesse decided to cut him a break. J.D. hadn’t lost any family, he didn’t know how this felt, but he was still trying to be a good friend. “How’s that brother-in-law of yers?” Jesse asked. Rosco P. Coltrane was a good man, honest and hard working. He had joined the police department not long ago and Jesse was hearing good things about him.
“Rosco? Oh he’s fine, fine. He’s probably one of the best law officers we got.” Jesse chuckled a little, wondering what the future was going to hold. He, J.D., Strate, and quite a few other old time ridge runners were going to have fun keeping ahead of Rosco. Jesse wondered if J.D. was going to enjoy the challenge of steering clear of his brother-in-law while on his shine runs. A few minutes later the women reappeared, carrying the baby formula before disappearing into the farmhouse. Jesse could just hear their voices through the window.
“I meant what I said Jesse. If there is anything you need, and I mean anything, you let me know and we will do whatever we can to help.” J.D. swore. Jesse nodded his head. Things were going to be hard, he knew it, but as long as he had Lavinia they would get through it just fine. “We married some mighty fine women didn’t we Jesse? I don’t think Cyrus beat us there.” J.D. said. Jesse couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking of their younger days when he, J.D. and Cyrus all three were fighting over Lucinda. She was quite a woman, but Jesse couldn’t’ imagine life without his wife.
“That we did J.D., that we did.” Jesse agreed.