Luke Duke, at the young age of seven, sat in the backseat of the car, he stared straight forward, though his eyes weren’t focusing on anything in particular. In the situation he was facing, most kids his age would be crying, though he wasn’t, he felt it would do no good, no tears could change what had happened, and buried his emotions deep within the dark recesses of his soul. He hated the thought of having to live on a small farm in some small town. Even though he didn’t know his uncle, or his cousin Bo, that already lived there, he hated them already. He hated his parents for doing this to him, but most of all he hated the whole world. Silence filled the car, his parents not speaking a word to each other or to Luke. He still barely understood what was happening, and stopped bothering to try to figure it out. He refused to allow any emotions to show outwardly or to even allow himself to feel the emotions. Luke doubted that anyone in the world even cared about him, and didn’t want to take the chance to even find out, feeling if he allowed himself to care for even a moment that he would get hurt.
     The green car pulled to a stop in front of the Duke’s farmhouse. Luke’s parents,  Jamie and Molly, stepped out of the car first, Luke climbed out after them. Jesse was standing on the porch, his eyes held a range of emotion from sadness to anger. Jamie opened the trunk.
     “Why don’t you just start taking some of your things inside.” Jamie suggested.
Luke grabbed a suitcase out of the trunk and headed up the stairs, vanishing inside the house. Jamie began to unload everything from the trunk and place it on the ground behind the car. Jesse approached Jamie and Molly.
     “Now Jesse before you go getting all riled up I explained this situation to you on the phone.” Jamie said.
     “How could you do this to Luke?” Jesse asked.
     “We explained it all to you, if you’d rather we could take him to a orphanage.” Jamie said.
     “You will do no such thing.” Jesse said.
     “So then drop the issue.” Jamie said.
     “Does Luke understand the whole situation?” Jesse asked.
     “Who knows it is impossible to tell with that boy, that is part of the reason we are doing this.” Molly said.
     “How can you talk that way about your own son? Perhaps if you bothered to spend a little time with him . . .” Jesse started to say, but stopped when Luke came back outside to get another suitcase.
Luke kept his eyes cast straight forward, never even glancing at anyone, and then went back inside.
     “If you spent time with him, you’d know him and wouldn’t do this to him.” Jesse said.
     “Forget it brother, nothing you can say will change the issue. We can’t handle that boy, once he is here for a while you’ll see just what we mean he is like . . . the bad seed.” Jamie said.
Jesse shook his head, anger flashed through his eyes, but he refused to lose his temper. Jamie had finished unloading the trunk.
     “Since you are through here, I want the both of you to get off my farm now.” Jesse said.
Jamie only shrugged and he and his wife got into the car and drove away from the farm. At that same moment Luke had stepped out on to the porch, seeing his parents drive away, he wanted to cry but he refused, he instead only began to hate the world even more. Jesse bent down and picked up a box, and carried it inside. Neither Luke nor Jesse said a single word as they carried all of Luke’s things inside. They were just carrying in the last two boxes when Bo arrived home.
     Bo, who was only five, came running into the house.
     “Hey Uncle Jesse.” Bo said, in a cheerful voice, that was typical of him, then he stopped and looked at the older cousin he had never met before, but was hoping to become good friends with. “Hey.”
     “Hi.” Luke said, his voice indifferent.
     “When’s lunch?” Bo asked.
     “In a few minutes.” Jesse said. “Why don’t you two juts sit and talk in here, while I make lunch.”
     “I’m Bo, you’re Luke, right?”
Luke nodded, thinking that he already didn’t like this younger boy he seemed far too perky.
     “So you're gonna live with me and Uncle Jesse now, right?” Bo asked, he still didn’t fully understand the situation.
     “Yeah, not like I got a choice.” Luke said.
     “Oh.” Bo said, not too sure of what to say. “You’ll like it here.”
     “What do you know?” Luke asked, his voice sounded agitated.
     “I like it here.” Bo said.
     “Have you ever lived anywheres else?” Luke asked.
Bo shook his head. “No, don’t want to either.”
     “Yeah, well I do.” Luke said.
     “Oh.” Bo said, losing hope of becoming friends with his older cousin, but didn’t want to give up, as he was far too stubborn.
     Everyone was silent during lunch, Jesse thought it was best to just give Luke some room at first to help him adjust. After they finished eating Bo helped Jesse clear the table.
     “We have the spare room all fixed up for you, Luke, we can move your stuff in there and you can start getting settled in.” Jesse said.
     “Yeah, whatever.” Luke said, actually thinking there was little moment, he’d no doubt have to move again soon so there was no real point in getting settled in.
It didn’t take too long for the three of them to move all of Luke’s things into the room. Luke sat down on the bed, and looked around the bedroom, it was larger then his bedroom was before, actually almost twice as big.
     “Would you like some help unpacking?” Jesse asked.
     “No.” Luke said.
     “Well if you change your mind I’ll be out in the barn tending to the animals.” Jesse said.
Luke said nothing as he watched the uncle he had never met before leave the room. Luke got off the bed and opened the first suitcase, noticing that Bo was still in the room.
     “What do you want?” Luke asked.
     “Nothing.” Bo said.
     “Then why are you still here?” Luke asked.
     “To talk.” Bo said.
     “I ain’t much in the mood to talk to you kid so get lost.” Luke said.
     “That ain’t very nice.” Bo said.
     “Yeah, so?” Luke said.
     “You should be nice.” Bo said.
     “Why?”
     “Because you should.” Bo said.
Luke rolled his eyes and began to put his clothes away in the dresser.
     “I’m five, how old are you?” Bo asked.
     “Seven.”
     “Do you like to fish?” Bo asked.
     “Look you are really starting to annoying so why don’t you shut up and get lost.” Luke said.
     “I just want somebody to talk to . . . it gets too quiet because there is nobody to play with.” Bo said.
     “Well I don’t want to talk to you, so take a hike.” Luke said, without a moment’s hesitation he raised his hand and smack Bo across the face.
Tears watered in Bo’s eyes and he turned and ran out of the room. Luke had a smile of satisfaction on his face, he had finally got the little brat to shut up.
     Jesse looked up when he heard Bo come running into the barn, crying.
     “What happened Bo?” Jesse asked, noticing the red mark on Bo’s face.
     “Luke hit me.” Bo said.
     “Why did he do that?” Jesse asked.
     “Because I was trying to talk to him.” Bo said.
     “C’mon let’s go back inside.” Jesse said, wanting to see what Luke had to say about the situation.
 Jesse stood with Bo in the doorway to Luke’s bedroom.
     “Luke.” Jesse said, his voice firm.
Luke stopped what he was doing and looked towards the door. “What?”
     “Why did you hit Bo?” Jesse asked.
     “Because he never shuts up.” Luke said.
     “That don’t give you no call to hit him.” Jesse said.
     “It was the only way that he’d shut up.” Luke said.
     “Now Luke, I know you must be having a hard time with everything that happened and it’ll take you time to adjust that don’t give the call to be mean to Bo.” Jesse said. “The two of you could become good friends if you would just take the time.”
     “I don’t want to be friends with him.” Luke said.
A hurt look spread across Bo’s face and he ran to his own bedroom. Jesse stepped into Luke’s room and walked over to Luke.
     “Luke, I know you are upset by all that has happened . . .” Jesse started to say.
     “I don’t care. I hate my parents, I am glad that I never have to see them again.” Luke said.
     “Luke . . .” Jesse said, but once again Luke cut off his sentence.
     “Don’t go trying to tell me how I feel, you don’t know anything about me.”
Jesse sighed softly, then turned and left the room, closing the door behind himself.
     Jesse walked into Bo’s room and sat down on the edge of his bed.
     “Luke’s mean.” Bo said.
     “He just needs some time to adjust he has been through a lot.” Jesse said.
     “I just wanted us to be friends but he already hates me.” Bo said sullenly. “What did I do wrong?”
     “Nothing. Just give Luke some time.” Jesse said.
     The next couple of months passed slowly, and there was little change. Jesse noticed that Luke only seemed to grow more anger and lashed out at him and lashed out at Bo even more often. He seemed to have a pure hatred towards his little cousin, which frightened Jesse to think of how far Luke would actually go to hurt Bo. Luke never allowed anyone to know what he was thinking or feeling, he tended to show violent tendencies and his attitude seemed like some kind of volatile chemical. Jesse could tell the young boy hated the whole world, and he wondered if there was anything he could do to help Luke.
     It was four months after Luke had came to live at the farm, that Daisy came to stay there as well. Daisy was six and the young girl seemed to adjust well, even though she was very sad, she seemed to be able to deal with what had happened. The Duke farmhouse only had three bedrooms, so Bo and Luke would have to share a room, it worried Jesse to have Bo alone with Luke but he knew there was no other choice, and hoped that it may actually do Luke some good. Luke didn’t get along any better with Daisy then he did anyone else, however Bo and Daisy got along just fine.
     It seemed to make little difference to Luke in sharing a room with Bo, who still seemed to hold on to the hope that he and Luke could one day be friends.  Jesse wondered if he should build an attachment to the old home, so that each of the boys could have their own room, as he had woke up on several occasions to find Bo sleeping on the floor beside his bed. Though when he woke Bo up, the young boy refused to talk about what he was doing out sleeping on the floor next to his bed.
     One night, Jesse had trouble sleeping, and heard the sounds of voices coming from the boys bedroom, Bo and Luke’s voices. He stepped over and stood beside the closed bedroom door, to over hear what was being said, hoping to find some clue of what was happening to cause Bo to occasionally end up sleeping on his bedroom floor.
     “It’s my room too.” Bo said.
     “So?”
     “I got just as much right to be here as you.” Bo said.
     “I never asked to be forced into sharing a room with you.” Luke said. “If you don’t leave now, you’ll be sorry.”
     “Why?”
     “Because if boogey man don’t get you . . .” Luke said, knowing his younger cousin was still afraid of such things. “I will.”
Bo’s eyes widened, and fear could clearly be seen in his dark blue eyes. Jesse figured he had heard enough, he opened the bedroom door and turned on the light.
     “I think you have said quite enough Luke, go out to the front room I will be there to talk to you in a minute.” Jesse said.
Jesse sat down on the side of Bo’s bed. “Don’t pay no mind to what Luke says.”
     “But . . .” Bo started to say.
     “There is no such thing as a boogey man.” Jesse said. “Just lay back down and go to sleep.” Jesse said.
     “Yes sir, Uncle Jesse.” Bo said, lying down on his bed, though he still believed what Luke said.
Jesse tucked Bo in and then went to talk to Luke.
     Jesse stepped into the front room, and saw Luke standing by the window, staring out into the darkness of the night.
     “How could you say something like that to Bo?” Jesse asked.
Luke only shrugged, not even turning to face his uncle. Jesse walked over to Luke and placed his hands firmly on the young boy’s shoulder and spun Luke around to face him.
     “Why did you say that to Bo?” Jesse asked again, recalling one thing Luke’s parents had said about the boy, one thing he had thought a lot about over the past few months, that Luke was like a bad seed.
     “Ain’t my fault that he is so stupid that he actually believes that there are monsters that live under the bed.” Luke said.
     “I want you to apologize to Bo for what you said. And remember it is his room too.” Jesse said.
     “I never asked to share a room with him.” Luke said.
     “There is no other room.” Jesse said.
     “So, make him sleep out in the barn.” Luke said.
     “Luke . . .” Jesse said, sighing, his voice sounding flustered. “Just at least try to be nice Bo and to Daisy.”
Anger seemed to flash through Luke’s pale blue eyes. “You can’t tell me what to do.”
     “As long as you live under this roof . . .” Jesse said, but was cut off by Luke.
     “I never asked to live here. My parents just ditched me here, the last thing I wanted was to live on some small farm in some jerkwater town.” Luke said.
     “I have had about enough of your attitude young man.” Jesse said.
     “Then why don’t you just get rid of me? The exact same way my parents did.”
Jesse’s eyes seemed to soften, as though he suddenly understood Luke’s behavior. “Is that what you think is going to happen? That I am going to send you away, just like your parents did.”
Luke shrugged. “I may be young but I already know that one thing in life is true, you can’t trust anyone.”
     “That is not true Luke. Not everyone is like your parents. You have to trust in others, that trust will be returned along with friendship, you can not shove everyone out of your life.” Jesse said.
Luke gave a small, amused sounding laugh. “That is so not true. Allowing anyone to get close is only setting yourself up to get hurt and nobody deserves to be trusted. I heard it said before 'you got to trust yourself and don’t believe in anymore lies,’ that is what I live my life by.”
     “That is not true Luke. If you believe that then you will end up spending the rest of your life alone.” Jesse said, thinking to himself that Luke was far too young to have such serious and black thoughts on life.
     “Good. I want to be alone.” Luke said.
Before Jesse could say anything further Luke stormed out of the house, going out to the barn, where he ended up sleeping. Jesse got no sleep that night, he stayed awake all night long, sitting at the kitchen table.
     Things only seemed to go downhill from there, Luke’s attitude grew darker and his personality was quite frightening. Jesse wondered if he had truly done the right thing by taking Luke in, or if he would’ve been better off somewhere else, as he seemed to be not only worrying about Luke but also living in constant fear of what Luke might do to hurt Bo or Daisy. He considered sending Luke to see professional help, but decided it would do little good, as Luke didn’t want any help and it may only make him more violent and hateful.
     Three months passed and it was a cold fall, and the weather threatened an even colder winter to come. School had just started two weeks ago. It was Friday, and Daisy had been home sick with the flu that past two days. Bo was walking back home alone, being as Luke had skipped school. Dark clouds had gathered overhead, and a cold wind blew through the trees, threatening an oncoming storm. Bo heard a twig snap and looked up to see his older cousin, Luke, standing in front of him.
     “Hello Bo.” Luke said, a cold smile curled on his lips.
     “Hey.” Bo said.
Bo remained unmoving as Luke slowly approached him. Luke’s longish, dark hair fell across his crystal blue eyes, and he brushed the stray locks of hair in a haphazard fashion.
Luke stopped inches in front of Bo, and shoved the younger boy to the ground. Bo looked up at Luke, not quite sure of what Luke was doing. Luke looked down at Bo, and was momentarily shocked that he saw no fear in Bo’s dark blue eyes. Luke took his own backpack off his back and set it on the ground, pulling out a short length of rope.
     “What are you doing?” Bo asked.
     “Since you always want to play, I’ll “play” but it is my game, my rules.” Luke said.
     “What do you mean by that?” Bo asked.
     “Just wait and see. Rule one is you keep your mouth shut.” Luke said.
Bo frowned. “I don’t want to play this game.”
     “Too bad, I do.” Luke said, and tied Bo’s feet together.
     “Untie me, I don’t want to play this game.” Bo said.
Luke punched Bo in the jaw, causing the young boy to rock with the blow. “I said keep your mouth shut.”
Tears sprang to Bo’s eyes and started to course down his cheeks. “Let me go. I want to go home.”
     “Just shut up Bo, or don’t you know how?” Luke questioned and pulled a second piece of rope out of his bag.
Luke shoved Bo up against a nearby tree and tied Bo’s hands together behind the tree. Luke sat back and looked at Bo, seeing his dark blue eyes now held a look of fear.
     “Let me go Luke.” Bo said.
     “Not going to happen. If you ain’t around, I get my own room.” Luke said.
     “You won’t get away with this.” Bo said.
Luke shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps you’ll be dead before anyone even finds you. Luke picked up Bo bag and threw it into the nearby creek.
     “Please let me go Luke. I don’t want to play this game.” Bo said.
Luke pulled a bandana out of his bag, and knelt in front of Bo.
     “There is only one way to get you to shut up, ain’t there.” Luke said, as he shoved the bandana into Bo’s mouth, tying it off behind Bo’s head.
Bo struggled to get free, but the ropes that bound him only seemed to sink in deeper, he looked up at his older cousin with wide, scared, tear filled eyes. Luke stood up, laughing.
         “See you around kid.” Luke said, he grabbed his bag then walked off through the thick of the woods, leaving Bo alone and scared.
     Luke arrived at the farm, just as a cold rain started to fall.
     “Where is Bo?” Jesse asked.
     “How should I know . . . and why should I care?”
     “Luke.” Jesse said in a firm voice. “Do you know where your cousin is?”
Luke didn’t say anything he only smiled. Jesse felt a knot of worry tighten in his stomach.
     “Did you do something to hurt Bo?” Jesse asked.
     “I don’t have to answer your questions.” Luke said, walking towards his room.
Jesse placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder as he went to walk past.
     “Answer my question Luke.” Jesse said.
Luke shrugged off Jesse’s hand, and glared coldly at his uncle, still not answering his questions.
     “Luke, tell me do you know where Bo is, did you do something to hurt him?” Jesse asked, his voice clearly fraught with worry.
     “You can ask all you want but I still ain’t going to answer your questions.” Luke said.
Luke vanished down the hallway, going into his room, closing the door behind himself. The door had no lock, so Luke slid his dresser to block the door, just in case Jesse tried to come in.
     Daisy was sitting on her bed, half reading a book and half listening to the rain as it splattered against her bedroom window, she looked up, startled, from the book, when Jesse knocked on the door, and stepped into the room.
     “How are you doing?” Jesse asked.
     “I feel better.” Daisy said.
     “I am going to have to go out for a while.” Jesse said.
     “Why?”
     “Because Bo hasn’t came home yet.” Jesse said, not telling her that he thought that Luke may have done something to hurt Bo.
     “Oh. Can I go with you?”
Jesse shook his head. “No, I don’t want you to catch cold.”
Jesse wondered if he was doing the right thing in leaving Daisy home alone with Luke, but decided that there was no other choice, he had to find Bo. “I shouldn’t be too long.”
     “Okay Uncle Jesse.” Daisy said, and went back to reading her book, as he stepped out of the room.
     Jesse put on his raincoat and grabbed an umbrella, and left the house, having no idea of where to even begin to search for Bo. Hours passed and the rain poured down steadily as though it had no intentions of ever stopping, and still Jesse had no luck finding Bo. He grew more frightened for the safety of his youngest nephew with each minute that passed.
     Bo sat shivering from the cold, his clothes soaked to his skin. He had tried to yell for help but could barely make a sound, though he kept trying until his voice was too tired to even manage a faint whisper. Bo had cried until he had no tears left to cry, the tears he had shed mingled with rain, making it impossible to tell that Bo had even been crying. Bo was terrified that nobody was going to find him, and could never remember feeling so alone. He closed his eyes, he was cold, hungry and he was tired, he desperately wanted sleep to come and take him so he would no longer have to feel anything else.
     Darkness settled across the land, forcing Jesse to go back home, as he had no light to see by. Jesse checked on Daisy, who had fallen into asleep, then went to phone Sheriff Coltrane. He didn’t go to the boys bedroom, he assumed that Luke was still in the room as the door was closed. He wondered just what Luke had done to Bo, fearing the worst, yet praying for the best. Jesse briefly told Rosco about the situation, and Rosco said he’d come out to the Duke farm and then help Jesse to search for Bo.
     After Rosco arrived, Jesse went and knocked on Bo and Luke’s bedroom door, hoping that with Rosco there Luke would talk. Jesse had thought that he might be wrong in trying to blame Luke for Bo’s disappearance, but deep down he knew it was Luke’s fault.
     “Luke, Rosco is here, we would like to ask you a few questions.” Jesse said.
     “I am not going to answer your questions anymore now then I was going to before.” Luke said.
     “Why don’t you just come on out of your room.” Jesse said.
     “No, I think I would rather stay in here.” Luke said.
     “Luke.” Jesse said, becoming flustered.
Rosco walked over and stood beside Jesse. “You come on out here Luke, or I’ll bust this door down and cuff ya and stuff ya.”
     “For what?” Luke asked.
     “For whatever you did to your cousin.” Rosco said.
     “Not my fault you can’t find him.” Luke said, though his voice was sarcastic.
     “What DID you do to Bo?” Jesse asked, anger rising in his voice.
Daisy had heard everything and was standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Jesse turned and looked at her.
     “Why don’t you go get yourself something to eat from the kitchen, go on back to bed.” Jesse said.
Daisy nodded her head, she could sense his worry and it frightened her, wondering just what Luke had done to her little cousin.
     “Lukas Keefer Duke, you answer my question. What did you do to Bo?”
Luke still didn’t reply. Jesse sighed, realizing it was just a waste of time, and that all time to find Bo could be precious time. Jesse turned and faced Rosco.
     “Let’s just go and try to find Bo.”
     The rain had slowed, but the darkness hampered their attempts at find Bo. Jesse and Rosco walked through the woods, calling out Bo’s name, praying for a response. The hours seemed to wear on, and there was still no sign of Bo. It was nearly eleven o’clock at night, just when they were beginning to think they would stop searching for the night, when Jesse caught sight of something in the pale beam of the flashlight. He shone his flashlight back over the area and took a step forwards. The lit fell upon the unmoving figure of Bo Duke.
     “Rosco, he’s over here.” Jesse said, rushing over to his nephew.
Jesse knelt down beside Bo, and placed a hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “Bo are you okay?”
Bo made a soft indescribable sound, never really waking up. Rosco knelt down on Bo’s other side, and untied the young boy’s hands, while Jesse untied his feet, and removed the gag. Jesse took off his own coat and wrapped it around Bo, as he picked him up.
     “I think we’d best get Bo to a doctor.” Jesse said.
Bo leaned his head against his uncle’s shoulder, as Jesse carried him back towards the house.
     “Could you stay here and keep an eye on Daisy?” Jesse asked.
     “Of course.” Rosco said.
Jesse laid Bo down on the front seat of his white pickup truck then stepped around the truck and got in himself and then drove off towards town to take Bo to the doctor. Doc Appleby said that in an emergency case his patient were always welcome to go to his house.
     Doc Appleby checked Bo out, then while allowing him to sleep on the bed, he went out to talk to Jesse.
     “How is he?” Jesse asked, his voice fraught with worry.
     “He’ll be okay. He just needs to take it easy for a few days, and keep him inside out of the cold.” Doc Appleby said.
     “Did you wake up?” Jesse asked.
     “Yes, but he is back asleep now.” Doc Appleby said. “He didn’t want to tell me what happened, what exactly did happen?”
     “I don’t know exactly . . . all I know is all of this happened because of Luke.” Jesse said, and told the doctor what he did know.
     “You really should send that boy to see some professional help.”
     “I know but . . . I don’t see what good it would do, I don’t want to have to place Luke on any kind of medication.” Jesse said.
     “You may have if you ever want to be able to control him. I hate to say this to you, but Luke is highly unstable.”
     “I am not putting him on any drugs nor sending him away anywhere. I have never really believed in sending him, or anyone for that matter, to see a physiologist.”  Jesse said.
     “If that is how you feel, Jesse, nobody can make you send Luke anywhere. I would just hate to see Bo or Daisy get hurt any worse by their cousin.”
     “Where is Bo? I want to take him back home now.” Jesse said.
     “Right this way.”
Jesse took Bo home, allowing the young boy to sleep in his bed that night. He thanked Rosco for staying to watch over Daisy, thankful that nothing else had happened.
     The next day Jesse took Luke out into the barn to ask him about everything that had happened, and to ask him why he had tied his younger cousin to a tree.
     “Why Luke?” Jesse asked.
     “It is like getting rid of an unwanted pest take him and ditch ‘em somewheres.” Luke said.
     “That wasn’t very nice Luke. Bo could’ve gotten seriously ill or injured.” Jesse said.
     “So? Like I care.”
     “I have had about enough of this “tough” attitude of yours.” Jesse said.
     “It’s just all part of who I am, and I ain’t gonna change for you or nobody.”
     “This has all gone on long enough. I know what happened with your parents is hard for you too really understand, but you have to stop taking all that anger out on everyone around you.” Jesse said.
     “I understand perfectly about what happened with my parents, they didn’t want me and went and ditched me.” Luke said.
     “Luke.”
     “Stop trying to tell me how I am suppose to feel and how I am suppose to act. If you don’t like it then why not just get rid of me the same way my parents did.”
     “Because I am not like your parents. I don’t run away from my problems and you shouldn’t either.” Jesse said.
     “What do you care anyways? I know that you don’t really want me here, and took me in out of pity, the poor little kid that nobody wanted.”  Luke said.
     “That is not true.” Jesse said.
     “I’ve heard enough, I’m gone.” Luke said leaving the barn, and not to return until later that night.
     Soon winter arrived in the small town of Hazzard, and it was the coldest in nearly twenty years, there was trace amounts of snow, and a thin layer of ice covered all the rivers and ponds in Hazzard, though the ice was nowhere near thick enough to skate on. The three Duke cousins were walking home from school, and crossing a small walking bridge, over the deep, frozen waters of Fleece Creek. Luke went to trip Bo, to cause his youngest cousin to fall into the icy waters, but ended up pushing Daisy in. The ice shattered like a glass when Daisy’s weight struck it, sending her splashing into the cold water. Sheer panic grab hold around her, and she flung her arms around wildly, having no idea of how to get out of the iced over water. Luke stood on the far side of the bridge and watched with a smile on his face, it wasn’t what he had planned but he found it entertaining none the less. Bo laid down on the bridge and extended his hand towards Daisy.
     “Take my hand.” Bo said, put his efforts to reach Daisy were futile, her fingers just out of reach of his grasp.
     A neighbor of the Dukes, Jules Lea was heading home through the woods, when he saw what was happening, without a moments hesitation he ran out into the icy waters of the stream, and grabbed unto Daisy and pulled her from the cold waters. He carried the young girl, in his arms, back to the Duke farm.
     Jesse was sitting at the kitchen table and looked up when they came in.
     “What happened?” Jesse asked, his voice fraught with worry.
     “Daisy feel into Fleece Creek.” Bo said, not knowing that Luke had shoved her in, something that nobody realized, not even Daisy, who thought she had merely tripped.
Jesse thanked Jules for saving his niece’s life, and gave him a cup of coffee and a towel to dry off with. While Daisy, soaked in a tub of warm water, to take the chill off her body, she had not been in long enough to suffer any kind of damage from the cold water.
     An hour later, Daisy was sitting on her bed, underneath a pile of warm blankets, Jesse stepped into the room.
     “How are you feeling?” Jesse asked.
     “Okay I guess, though I am still a little cold feeling.” Daisy said.
     “This will help warm you up.” Jesse said, handing her the hot chocolate, with a large marshmallow on top.
     “Thanks Uncle Jesse.” Daisy said.
     “What happened anyway?” Jesse asked.
     “I tripped and fell off the edge of the bridge.” Daisy said.
Jesse had the suspicion that Luke may have shoved her in, but decided that he was wrong which gave him relieve thinking that perhaps Luke was starting to change.
     “You just have to stay home from school for a couple days, I don’t want you out in this cold weather, don’t want you to catch ill.” Jesse said.
     After a long cold winter, spring finally arrived. Bo was playing on the far side of the barn, Jesse and Daisy were inside the house, he was helping her to bake cookies, while Luke was out roaming somewhere, nobody knowing exactly where. Bo was playing with his small collection of matchbox cars, enjoying the warmth of the sun, when a shadow fell across him, he looked up to see his older cousin standing there.
     “Hey Luke.” Bo said.
Luke said nothing, and purposely stepped on one of Bo’s cars, breaking it.
     “HEY! You can’t do that.” Bo complained.
     “Watch me.” Luke said, stepping on a second car, breaking it as well.
Bo jumped to his feet and stood before his cousin, standing several inches shorter then Luke.
     “You got no call to break my cars.” Bo said.
     “I can do whatever I want to do.” Luke said, shoving Bo backwards.
Bo remained standing, and took a step towards Luke, angry at his cousin for breaking two of his cars, one of which was his favourite, the ’69 Dodge Charger.  The two cousins became entangled in a fight, shoving each other around. Bo being younger and smaller was on the losing end of the fight, but it did little to stop him from fighting. Luke gave Bo a hard shove and the young boy stumbled backwards, falling against a piece of old abandoned farm equipment. Bo gave a loud scream of pain, as a rusty old blade sliced deep into his left hip.
     Jesse heard Bo scream, knowing for the sound of the scream that it was one of pain. Jesse gasped when he rounded the far side of the barn, seeing all the blood that now coated Bo’s legs. He glared at Luke.
     “You have gone too far this time Luke.” Jesse said.
     “It ain’t my fault. I shoved him and he fell, it ain’t my fault that he fell on that dumb old thing.” Luke said, and walked away.
Jesse knelt down by Bo.
     “It’s hurts Uncle Jesse.” Bo said, tears of pain streaming down his cheeks.
     “I know it does, just hang on Bo.” Jesse said.
Moving Bo careful, he lifted his youngest nephew into his arms, and carried him to the pickup truck. Daisy was standing on the porch.
     “Yuck.” Daisy said, seeing all the blood. “What happened?”
     “There is no time to talk about that now, just get a towel and bring it out here.”
Daisy nodded and ran back into the house, doing as she was told. Jesse wrapped the towel carefully around Bo’s leg, then three of them headed towards Capitol City hospital.
     It was nearly an hour after they first arrived and Bo was taken back to the emergency room, that a doctor came out to tell them Bo’s condition.
     “How’s my boy?” Jesse asked.
     “He is quite lucky, the damage appears to be minimal, though he while have to stay here for a couple of days, to reduce the chances of an infection.”
     “Can I see him now?” Jesse asked.
     “Yes, he is in room four.”
Jesse and Daisy went to Bo’s room. Bo looked up groggily, the pain killers were making him quite tried.
     “How are you feeling Bo?” Jesse asked.
     “Tired.” Bo said.
     “What happened?” Jesse asked, even though he felt as though he already knew the answer.
     “I was fighting with Luke and I fell backwards an landed on . . . whatever that thing was.” Bo said.
     “You mean Luke intentionally shoved you onto it?”
Bo shook his head. “No, I stumbled and tripped he didn’t intentionally shove me in that direction.”
     “Are you sure?” Jesse asked, thinking that perhaps for some reason Bo was trying to cover for Luke.
     “Yes I am sure.” Bo said, and was correct, Luke had not done it intentionally, though he didn’t really care that he had.
Bo was released three days later and his leg began the slow process of healing, taking close to three months, though forever after that his leg would dully ache at times when it was cold and during wet weather.
     It was a hot mid summer’s day and Bo was out exploring the woods, just off the Duke farm. Luke was climbing on some rocks nearby, though Bo was avoiding going anywhere near him. Bo still wished that they could be friends, though now he doubted that would ever happen, and he knew that he would have that constant reminder with the pain in his leg.
     A look of terror passed over Luke’s eyes as he felt the rocky ledge give way beneath his feet. He tried to grab on to something to keep from falling but could find nothing to hold on to. He fell down several feet, landing hard on the ground, heavy rocks landed on his legs, pinning him to the ground, trapping him. Bo heard the crash and went to see what happened, noticing his oldest cousin trapped beneath the rocks. Bo walked over and knelt down next to Luke.
     “Are you okay?” Bo asked.
     “What do you care?”
     “I care. Are you okay?”
There was a moment of silence before Luke finally answered Bo’s question. “No.”
Bo started to shove some of the rocks to one side.
     “Why are you staying here? Why aren’t you just going and leaving me alone?”
     “Because you are hurt.” Bo said, not stopping what he was doing.
     “I would just leave you, so why are you helping me?”
Bo shrugged. “I am not going to leave you when you are hurt.”
Luke didn’t know what to say he couldn’t understand how the cousin he had always been so cruel to was showing him such kindness.
     “Why do you care?” Luke asked. “It’s not like I have ever been nice to you . . . or not let it be known how much I hate you.”
     “You are my cousin, I care about you even if you don’t care about me.” Bo said.
     “Nobody cares about me.” Luke said.
     “That’s not true. I do care so does Uncle Jesse and Daisy.” Bo said.
Luke shook his head. “No, nobody cares I know that I can only trust myself. I know it won’t be long before Jesse gets rid of me just like my parents did.”
     “Uncle Jesse wouldn’t do that.” Bo said
     “Yes he would. You are lucky nobody has ever ditched you, they all think you are such a perfect little kid.” Luke said, anger in his voice, a jealous anger.
     “I never even got to know my parents, at least you knew your parents.” Bo said.
     “Yeah so what if I did?” Luke questioned. “Not like they wanted me around anymore then anyone here wants me around.”
     “That ain’t true and if you’d be nice for one minute you’d see that.” Bo said.
     “How come you are helping me, really? I never helped you when you hurt your leg, in fact I caused it to happen.”
     “Did you mean to?” Bo asked.
Luke shook his head. “No, but I didn’t care that it happened.”
     “Do you care about anyone but yourself?” Bo asked, his voice was not judgmental only inquisitive.
     “No, why should I?” Luke asked.
     “Because it makes life better, if you care about someone you’ll see they care about you.” Bo said.
     “I cared about my parents and it got me nothing.” Luke said, actually surprised that he was actually opening up about how he felt to Bo.
     “Well your parents aren’t like everyone else Luke. I care about you and if you cared about me we could be friends . . . that’s something.” Bo said.
     “You actually would still want to be my friend?” Luke asked.
Bo nodded. “Of course, you are my cousin . . . and I still want to be your friend, it is only you never wanted to be my friend.”
Bo had shoved enough rocks away that Luke could move his legs, other then some bruises and small cuts he was okay. The two young boys sat there and continued to talk. Luke wanted to take the chance and to believe in what Bo was saying but he was far too afraid of being hurt once again.
     “How can I trust you?” Luke asked.
Bo shrugged. “I don’t know but I am telling you the truth.”
     “But my parents had said they cared and they . . . they left me.” Luke said, trying hard to hide the tears he had spent so long burying deep within himself.
     “It’s okay Luke.” Bo said, leaning over and giving Luke a hug. “I ain’t ever gonna leave you.”
Luke felt a couple tears slide down his cheek, he wiped them away and sat back and looked at his cousin. Bo extended his hand towards Luke.
     “Friends?”
Luke thought about it for a moment then took Bo’s hand in his own, in way of a handshake. “Friends.”
    From that day on Luke changed into the person that everyone came to know him as. He was still quiet and not too open about his emotions, though he learned to trust in the love of his family and Bo’s friendship. It wasn’t long before the two boys had a very close bonded friendship, much to Jesse’s surprise. Luke never allowed his emotions to become bottled up inside of him the same way again, always going to Bo to talk. Everyone forgot what Luke was like when he first came to the farm, as he was so different now. They all thought the boys seemed more like brothers, and nobody could ever tell they had once had been nearly enemies. The past seemed to be forgotten by everyone, including the Dukes, none of which ever discussed that time of their childhood. But as Luke was to find out, the past sometimes has a way of returning to haunt you when you least suspect it.

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