Love Betrayed

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard, not making any money, just cheap thrills.


Warnings: Slash, Established Couple, Incest, Angst


Rating: FRT


* indicates thoughts


Love Betrayed
Chapter 8


"Bo, can I talk to you?" Luke quietly asked.


Bo looked up from nailing a board in place on Maudine's stall. "What ya want to talk about?" he asked, silently wincing at his unintentionally harsh tone.


Luke swallowed hard, "Maybe later would be better," he replied, turning to walk away.


"Luke wait," Bo called, standing up and taking a step closer to his cousin. "I didn't mean to be harsh," his tone much calmer than it had been, "will ya tell me what ya need?"


Turning back to his cousin, Luke looked him in the eye, hoping Bo could see the love he felt for him. "I wanted to talk to you about moving back into the bedroom."


"I can't Luke," Bo immediately refused, the simple thought of being in that room enough to make him sick.


"I understand how hard it would be for you Bo, but I don't want you to keep sleeping in the barn."


"You should've thought about that before..." stopping himself, Bo hung his head. "I can't sleep in that bed Luke, I can't even think about going back in our room without feeling sick, how am I supposed to move back in there?" he quietly asked.


"I don't know Bo," Luke replied, his eyes shimmering with tears. "Do you think it would help if we got the old beds out of the attic?"


"It ain't just the bed Luke, though that is a big part of it," Bo replied. He chewed on his lip, trying to figure out how to make his cousin understand how much it hurt him to even go near their room. "When I was little and had a nightmare I'd always climb into your bed Luke."


"I remember," Luke softly said, a faraway look in his eyes.


"But it wasn't just being in your bed that made me feel safe, the whole room had that effect on me. Whenever I've been upset about something, I could go in our room and nobody would bother me. The only one allowed to come in without permission was you, cause it was your room too. Of course Uncle Jesse or Aunt Martha could've come in, but they didn't. They respected that it was my...our private space and they understood that when I was upset I needed that safe place to be. All my life when things were going bad I knew I could count on my family, but mostly I counted on you and our room."


"Bo it's just a room."


"No, it was more than that, it was special, because it was something I shared with you. I'd always shared it with you, for as long as I could remember. It was the one place where you were always kind and gentle to me. You remember that day you tried to hit me with your ball bat?"


"Yeah, I clipped the wall instead and you hit your head so hard you busted it open," Luke quietly replied, still ashamed of the way he'd acted that day.


"Yeah, you were madder than I could ever remember you being that day. Even when I came home from doc's you were still madder than an old wet hen, shooting me dirty looks while ya was eating supper from the mantle piece."


"I remember Bo!" Luke snapped, really not wanting to have Bo going over all the times he'd hurt him. "What's your point?"


"My point is that as mad as you were, the moment you got into our room you started calming down. I was already in bed, you took one look at me and like magic the scowl left your face and you got this real soft look instead. Ya came over to my bed and sat down, brushed my hair back from my face and started singing to me, that was when I knew you were sorry for what ya did. It's always been that way Luke, no matter what happened outside our room, inside those four walls you took care of me, even when you weren't there."


"What do you mean Bo?" Luke softly asked, his earlier anger gone.


"When you were in the Marines, there were times I really needed to feel safe like that, but you weren't here. The room was though, and your letters were here," Bo looked at Luke, but he wasn't really seeing him anymore, his eyes were focused on the past. "I would sit on your bed and read the letters you'd written, and no matter what was happening in my life, I'd feel safe and loved." Mentally shaking himself, he gave Luke a sad look, "I don't feel that way anymore Luke. That night you hurt me, you didn't just steal the trust I had in you, you took our room from me too. I've stood in the doorway a few times in the last couple of weeks, and all I can see is what happened that night. I'm sorry Luke, I know you want me back in our room, but it hasn't been our room since the night you..."


" Raped you," Luke finished for him.


"I never said you...raped me," Bo protested, barely able to get the word out.

"I know ya didn't Bo, but that's what it boils down to. Even if you'd been guilty of cheating on me, I had no right to hurt you like that. I swear to you Bo, if there was some way I could go back in time I'd do things differently. I won't say I wouldn't have been mad as hell, I might not have let you explain anything, but if I wouldn't have humilated you like I did. Betraying your trust the way I did, was ten times worse than anything you could've been guilty of."


"Can't argue with that," Bo mumbled.


"I won't ask you about the room again, you let me know when you're ready to come back, okay?"


"What if I'm never ready?"


"Never ready to move back into our room, or never ready to be with me again?"


Bo thought about that for a moment, "I guess it's more what if I'm never ready to be with you again? Will you be able to accept it if I can only be your cousin in the future?"


"I want you back as my cousin and as my lover Bo, but if cousin is all you can give me, then I'll take it. There is one thing I want you to promise me."


"What's that?"


"Promise me that you won't let what I did keep you from finding somebody to love you someday."


"I don't know if I can promise that Luke," Bo quietly said.


"At least try Bo, you deserve to be loved so much, if not by me than by somebody else."


"You ain't got to worry about that Luke, if I've learned one thing, it's to not give up on love. Hopefully when I'm able to trust again, it'll be you I trust."


"I hope so," Luke softly responded.


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It had been two weeks since their talk in the barn and Bo was finally starting to relax around him, a fact Luke was eternally grateful for. For the first time since that horrible night, Bo had agreed to go to the Boar's Nest with him for a beer. As he stood in what had been their room, Luke ran a comb through his hair for the fifth time in the last thirty minutes. He hadn't been this nervous about going out since the first time he'd taken a girl to a dance. "Stop it," he ordered himself. "It's just Bo, and you're just going for a beer, it ain't a date," he quietly reminded himself. Forcing a deep breath into his lungs, he let it out slowly through parted lips, making himself relax. Laying the comb back on his dresser, he left the room, just barely resisting the urge to check his appearance one more time.


"Ya ready Bo?" he casually asked as he came into the kitchen.


"Yeah." Standing up, Bo led the way outside and jumped into the driver's window of the General.


Following Bo outside, Luke got into their car and reached over to turn the key on, brushing his hand against Bo's, as he also reached for the key. Awkwardly pulling his hand back, he mumbled an apology, sitting back and waiting for Bo to start the powerful engine.


Bo felt a jolt of electricity run through his hand as Luke brushed against it. Feeling strange, he hesitated for a few seconds before starting the motor and putting the car in gear. "Ya think Cooter'll be there?" he finally asked, unable to stand another second of silence.


"He might be," Luke replied. "We could call him on the cb if ya want," he offered.


"Nah that's okay," Bo declined.


"Ya sure?"


Nodding, Bo focused on his driving, hating the awkwardness between them, but not knowing how to change it. After what seemed an eternity, they arrived at the Boar's Nest and Bo pulled into a parking space. "Great, Rosco's here," Bo observed as he pulled himself out of the General.


"Ya want to go somewhere else?"


"Ain't nowhere else to go," Bo pointed out. "Let's just try to avoid any fights though, I really ain't in the mood to spend the night in jail."


"We can try," Luke agreed, opening the door and letting Bo go into the bar first.


"Rosco arrest him," Boss ordered, pointing a fat finger at Bo.


"Khee, khee, I love it, I love it," Rosco chortled, taking a step towards the door. "Uh, Boss why am I arresting Bo?"


"For fraud and theft Rosco," Boss explained, exasperated with his idiot brother-in-law.


"Oh yeah," Rosco said, pulling out his handcuffs and heading towards the bar where Bo was now leaning, sipping on a beer. Striding up behind Bo, he clapped his hand on Bo's shoulder, "Alright Bo Duke you're under arrest."


Setting his beer on the bar, Bo turned to face the county sheriff, "For what?"


"Fraud and theft," Rosco replied, quickly slapping the cuffs on him.


"Rosco what are you trying to pull?"


"Don't you try to play dumb Bo Duke, we know you were in on it with him," Boss chimed in as he walked up to them.


"In on what, with who?" Bo asked, clearly confused.


"That man from the state that's who," Boss snarled. "You and him conspired to hypnotize me so I'd give away a fortune over the last month. He might've fixed it so I can't get that money back, but he can't stop me from making sure you pay for what y'all did." Looking around the bar, he wondered where Luke was and why he wasn't interferring.


"Boss what are you talking about? I didn't have you hypnotized, that's your kind of trick."


"Tell it to the judge...namely me," Boss sneered. "Rosco, take him away," he ordered the sheriff.


"Come on Bo," Rosco said, pulling him towards the door.


Bo went without argument, glancing towards the storeroom where Luke was helping Daisy. He hoped the older man would stay there, not wanting him to be arrested as well.


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Luke came out of the back hallway, chuckling at something Daisy had said. Looking at the bar, he was surprised that Bo wasn't standing there as he'd expected. Looking around the place, he didn't see him anywhere. "Hey Jerry," he greeted the bartender as he sat down on an empty stool, "you seen Bo?"


"Yeah," Jerry said, "Rosco just arrested him."


"What?" Luke yelled. "What for?"


"Boss said it was fraud and theft," Jerry replied. "I ain't real sure what he was talking about, but he said something about hypnotism."


Luke paled, having an idea of what this was about. "Boss in his office?" he asked, his face growing dark with anger.


"Yeah," Jerry quietly answered.


"Luke wait," Daisy said, moving to block his path.


"Wait? For what?"


"You better get control of your temper Luke, ya ain't gonna do Bo any good if you end up in jail too," she pointed out.


"Fine, I won't hurt him," Luke told her. Gently moving her to the side, he mumbled "much" under his breath as he stalked to Boss' office. Throwing open the door, he stormed inside, slamming the door behind him. "I want to talk to you Boss!"


"Well I don't want to talk to you Luke Duke," Boss said, scurrying behind the end of his large desk.


"You better tell Rosco to let Bo out of jail."


"Why would I want to do that?"


"Because he's innocent and you know it!" Luke snapped, advancing on the cowering man.


"I don't know any such thing," Boss denied. "What I do know is that Doug Lewis hypnotized me into giving away a fortune, then he made it so that I can't get it back without a lot of pain."


"That's right, Doug Lewis, not Bo Duke!"


"But they were seen together, and Lewis did it because of..."


"Because of what you did to Bo?"


"Me do something to Bo?" Boss asked with exagerrated innocence.


"Boss you can drop the innocent act, I know what you did to Bo," Luke informed him. "Now unless you want everybody in town to know what you did, you'll drop the charges against Bo."


"You wouldn't dare," Boss blustered.


"Want to bet?"


"And what do you think people will think of Bo when they learn what he was going to do with that man?"


Snarling with rage, Luke grabbed Boss by his jacket and shoved him against the wall. "You listen to me ya fat marshmallow, if you think I'm gonna let you hurt Bo you can think again. Now you call Rosco and tell him you're dropping the charges, or I'll make sure everybody in town knows what you did. What do you think they'll do to you when they find out you set an innocent man up to be raped?"


"I did no such thing," Boss indignantly insisted. "I only arranged for Doug Lewis to meet him, I had no control over what he did to him."


"No Boss ya didn't arrange a meeting. You had Bo hypnotized so that he would let Lewis do whatever he wanted, I think most people would agree that's rape. What do you think?"


Swallowing hard, Boss admitted to himself that Luke was probably right about how others would see it. "Fine," he snapped. Walking to the cb, he picked up the mic, "This is J.D. Hogg calling Rosco, you got your ears on?"


"This is Rosco P. Coltrane, what ya need Boss?"


"Rosco where are you?"


"Umm, I'm almost to the jail Boss."


"Well what are you doing there Rosco? Nevermind, you just come on back here to the Boar's Nest," he ordered.


"I will Boss, just as soon as I get Bo locked up like ya said."


"You'll do no such thing Rosco," Boss quickly said. "I don't know where you get these ideas, you just bring that boy on back here and let him go," he ordered.


"But Boss you said to..."


"Rosco!" Boss interrupted him. "You do what I tell you right now or the only orders you'll be taking are down at...


"the all-night deli and bait shop," Rosco mumbled.


"the all-night deli and bait shop," Boss yelled.


"Alright Boss, I'll be right there," Rosco said, turning the patrol car around.


"Rosco, what kind of game are you and Boss playing now?" Bo asked from the back seat.


"I ain't playing no game," Rosco answered.


"Sure you're not," Bo scoffed.


"You just hush Bo Duke or I'll...I'll charge you with disrespecting an officer of the law," Rosco growled.


Bo sat back in the seat, smirking at the older man's empty threats and wondering what Boss was up to now.


When Rosco pulled up at the Boar's Nest a short time later, Luke was standing outside next to the General Lee waiting for them. Parking his patrol car, and grumbling every minute he helped Bo from the back seat and released the cuffs.


Rubbing his wrists, Bo walked over to the General. "You have something to do with Boss turning me loose?" he asked his cousin.


"I'll explain it later, right now let's get out of here, okay?"


"Yeah, suddenly I ain't in the mood for a beer," Bo agreed, jumping up on the doorframe of the General.


"Hey Bo, haven't seen you in a while."


Bo turned startled eyes to face the woman who'd just spoken, "Hey Rachel, how you been?"


"Okay," she responded with a shrug. "You just getting here?"


"Actually we were just leaving," Bo replied.


"Oh that's too bad," Rachel quietly said.


Getting out of the car, Bo stepped to her side, "You okay sweetheart?"


"Yeah I'm fine," she replied with an obvious lie. "You boys go on, I'll see ya later Bo."


"I thought we were friends Rachel," Bo quietly said.


"We are Bo," she quickly assured him.


"Then why are ya lying to me?"


"I'm not lying to ya."


"You're not fine, are you?"


Looking up into his concerned blue eyes, Rachel Ann couldn't lie to him again. "No, but I will be."


"I ain't really in the mood for this place, but if ya want to talk we could go for a drive."


"What about Luke?"


Turning to his cousin, Bo eyed him nervously, "He won't mind."


"Are you sure?"


Hearing the note of hope in her voice, Bo wasn't about to let her deal with whatever this was on her own. "I'm sure, just give me a few seconds," kissing her on the forehead, he walked back over to Luke. "Something's wrong Luke, I don't know what but something's really bothering her."


"So what do you want to do?" Luke calmly asked.


"I told her we could go for a drive if she want's to talk."


"You taking her car or the General?"


Bo couldn't contain the sigh of relief that Luke's only question was about transporation. There was no accusation in his voice, no look of jealousy or suspicion in his eyes and Bo dared to hope that Luke had learned his lesson. "Her car I guess, see ya at home?"


"Sure, you got any idea how long you'll be?"


"No, guess it depends on how big the problem is and how long she needs to talk."


"Okay, see ya later then." Luke watched with mixed feelings as Bo walked back to Rachel Ann's side. On the one hand he was glad that Bo was feeling secure enough to kiss the girl's forehead in front of him. On the other hand, he was scared to death that after all he'd put him through, Bo would decide that he should give it another go with Rachel Ann.


TBC


Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, it just really didn't want to be written. Hope y'all liked it, please review and tell me what you think.