“Kelly, what did I say five minutes ago?”

“I don’t know. Weren’t ya listenin’ ta yerself either?”

Cooter heard snickering to his left, and he turned and saw Bo and Luke doing their best not to laugh out loud, their faces beet red. Even Daisy and Jesse looked amused, and the mechanic sighed as he glanced up at the five year old on his shoulders as she leaned over to smile down at him.

“Yes, I was listenin’ ta myself, pumpkin,” Cooter said, trying to get angry with her. She was just a little kid – and an impatient one at that. “Apparently, though, you didn’t. I said that they was gonna come when they came.”

“But they’re runnin’ late,” Kelly said impatiently, squirming a little, her brown pigtails bouncing. “They was s’posed ta start at one o’clock, and it’s,” she leaned over to look at the watch on his left wrist, “one fifteen. That means they’re … fifteen minutes late.”

“That is very good, Jellybean,” Luke spoke up, still smiling. “Yer absolutely right; they are late by fifteen minutes.”

“So, make ‘em start,” Kelly replied, squirming more. “Make ‘em start now.”

“Now, Jellybean,” Bo said, “them pilots are in charge of those jets. We ain’t got no control over ‘em and how they work. Ya know that.”

“But Daddy said yesterday in the truck that they had better start on time or else,” Kelly replied. She looked back down at her father. “Didn’t ya, Daddy?”

“Yeah, and Daddy needs ta learn ta keep his mouth shut around ya,” Cooter muttered under his breath.

“What did ya say?” Kelly asked.

“Come here, Jellybean,” Daisy said, holding out her arms to the little girl. “Why don’t we go ta the little girl’s room?”

“Don’t gotta potty,” Kelly said.

“Yeah, but I need ta,” Daisy replied, “and I can’t go alone. Remember why?”

“‘Cause yer never s’posed ta go anywhere alone,” Kelly said, remember what the adults had drilled into her every day for as long as she could remember. She leaned over and Daisy gently removed her from her father’s shoulders. She put the little girl on the ground and took her hand before leading her away through the crowd.

“Coot, ya okay?” Luke asked, seeing the mechanic’s tired expression.

“Yeah, I’m just wonderin’ if this was such a good idea,” Cooter answered.

“It’s the 40th anniversary of the Blue Angels,” Luke said. “This is a once in a lifetime thing, and ya know Kelly’s gonna love it.”

"And she’s been fidgety and complainin’ the whole time,” Cooter replied. “She’s been inta everything since we left Hazzard, and she hasn’t settled down.”

“She’s a child, Cooter,” Bo replied. “She’s gonna be a little energetic and curious. That’s their nature.”

“Yeah, and she’s already smarter than her old man,” Cooter said, turning away, his voice low and dejected.

“Cooter, are ya still bothered by those tests she took a couple weeks ago?” Jesse asked.

“No,” Cooter replied, not very convincingly. He looked over and saw the three Duke men looking at him, and he sighed. “Okay, maybe a little.”

“They were just tests, Cooter,” Bo said. “What could be so important about some dinky tests?”

“They were placement tests,” Cooter answered. “Ya know, designed ta figure out where Kelly would be startin’ school next year.”

“How did she do?” Luke asked. “She did good, right?”

Cooter nodded. “Oh, yeah,” he replied, “she did good, alright … she did really good.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “The tests said that Kelly should be in sixth grade right now.” The Dukes looked over, surprised.

“Our little Kelly?” Bo asked. “She’s only five years old, Cooter.”

“Yeah, and they did an IQ test,” Cooter replied. “Kelly’s IQ is 179.”

“Is that good?” Jesse asked.

“Well, seein’ how the cutoff point for bein’ considered a genius is 130,” Cooter answered, “then I’d say it’s very good.”

“Kelly’s a genius?” Bo asked, smiling. “Wow, didn’t see that comin’.” He saw Luke and Jesse frowning at him, and he felt bad. “Sorry, Cooter, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No, it’s okay, Bo,” Cooter said, “yer right. She obviously didn’t get her smarts from me.” He sighed. “They wanna put her in a special school fer other kids like her ... in Atlanta.”

“Why can’t she just go ta school in Hazzard?” Bo asked. “We did, and we turned out just fine.”

“Relatively speakin’,” Luke said, smirking at Bo; Bo scowled at him.

“Yeah, but they wanna let her take special classes and do stuff fer her that I can’t do,” Cooter answered.

“Does that mean yer gonna be movin’?” Luke asked.

Cooter shrugged. “I can’t drive her back and forth ta Atlanta every day,” he said. “I’m gonna have ta move.”

“Ya can’t move,” Bo said. “Yers and Kelly’s home is in Hazzard. I mean, can’t they just bring the teachers and classes ta Hazzard so ya don’t have ta leave?”

“Yeah, but it’d cost money,” Cooter replied. “I know, I already asked. Let’s just say that I can’t afford it – even if I do a year’s worth of repairs on Rosco’s patrol car.”

“Is that why we’re all here?” Jesse asked.

“I thought she’d enjoy somethin’ fun,” Cooter replied. He shrugged. “Shoulda taken her ta a museum or somethin’.”

“Now, wait just a second,” Jesse said. “Ya think that because of some danged test Kelly is suddenly a different person?”

“It’s a professional test,” Cooter replied. “They know what they’re talkin’ about.”

“Yeah, well, they don’t know yer daughter the way we do,” Jesse said. “We’ve been there fer her practically all her life, and we know her better than anyone else in the world. Now, I know I don’t know everything in the world, but I can guarantee ya this: it don’t matter what a piece of paper says about someone; what matters is who they are in their heart.”

“So, I should just ferget about all those tests and do nuthin’?” Cooter asked, frustrated.

“No, of course not,” Jesse replied. “That little girl’s got a gift; there ain’t no doubt about that. It shouldn’t change who she is and how we treat her – you especially.”

“So, what do I do?” Cooter asked softly, feeling lost.

“We’ll help ya bring those teachers and classes ta Hazzard,” Jesse replied.

“I can’t ask ya ta do that,” Cooter said.

“Cooter, you and Kelly may not be blood kin,” Jesse replied, “but yer still kin as far as we’re concerned.”

“Yeah, we can get extra work,” Bo said. “We’ll help ya cover the costs. We already have money saved up fer a new transmission fer the General, but Kelly’s more important.”

“And we can have fundraisers at the Boar’s Nest,” Luke added. “I bet ya Daisy and Miss Lulu could help organize some stuff there or in town, if need be.”

“And Boss and Rosco?” Cooter asked.

“Don’t worry, none,” Bo answered. “If they act up, Miss Lulu’ll take care of ‘em.”

“I … I don’t know what ta say,” Cooter said slowly, stunned.

“Ya don’t have ta say anything,” Jesse replied, smiling. “Just be that little girl’s daddy.” Cooter smiled and nodded, too choked up to say anything. Bo grinned and patted Cooter’s shoulder, just as the announcer came over the loudspeaker.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “sorry for the delay, but we have fixed everything, and we’ll begin shortly.”

“Daddy, Daddy!” Cooter looked over as Daisy came walking back, being pulled by the little brown-haired girl. Kelly broke free from Daisy’s hand and ran over to Cooter, holding her arms out. The mechanic smiled and knelt down, holding his arms out. Kelly ran into his arms, hugging him tightly, and Cooter wrapped his arms around her, picking her up and supporting her.

“What is it, Pumpkin?” he asked.

“The show’s gonna start soon!” Kelly answered. “And then we’re gonna see the jets fly by and zoom off!” She made a jet sound, using her hand as a pretend jet plane.

“Yes, we are,” Cooter replied, smiling. “They’re super fast.”

“But not as fast as the General,” Kelly said. She looked over at Bo and Luke. “Nuthin’s faster than the General, right?”

“That is absolutely right, Jellybean,” Bo replied, smiling.

“Daddy?”

“Yes?”

“Can I have my own car when we get back home? We can fix it up tagether and then go drivin’ with the General.”

Cooter smiled and looked at his daughter, knowing that Jesse was right. Kelly had a gift, but she was still his daughter. Nothing else in the world mattered, no matter what some tests might say, and he found himself focusing less on those tests and more on more important stuff. “We can do that,” he said, “but ya can’t drive it until ya get a license.”

“Awww, but I’ll be old by then,” Kelly replied, pouting. The adults chuckled, and then they heard the sound of a jets approaching, and the little girl’s attention was suddenly focused on the fliers overhead.

As she gazed at the jets flying around, Cooter just watched his little girl. There may have been a bunch of angels flying overhead that captured everyone’s attentions, but the only one that mattered to the mechanic was the little brown-haired angel in his arms. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

“I love ya, Pumpkin,” he said softly.

“I love ya, too, Daddy,” Kelly replied, kissing his cheek in return. “Ya know what, Daddy?”

“What?”

“My car’s gonna be blue, like the jets.”

Cooter smiled. “Really?”

Kelly nodded. “And it’s gonna be fast, too.”

“And what are ya gonna name it?” Luke asked.

Kelly pursed her lips, thinking. “The Blue Angel,” she replied, smiling.

“Why the Blue Angel?” Bo asked.

“‘Cause I like blue and goin’ fast,” Kelly replied, “and the jets are blue and they go fast.”

“I think it’s a wonderful name, Jellybean,” Dais said, smiling. “And it’s gonna be a wonderful car when it’s finished.”

“The General Lee and the Blue Angel,” Bo mused, grinning. “I think that’ll be an interestin’ pair.”

“One thing at a time, Bo,” Cooter said, smiling, looking at Kelly as she went back to watching the Blue Angels. “One thing at a time.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. The mechanic knew that Kelly would be growing up faster than most children, but he’d worry about that later. He pushed all those thoughts out of his head as he looked up and enjoyed the show with his daughter and family.

The End