Freedom Ranch

Chapter 1

Dakota paced the living room as she glanced at the clock above the mantle. It was just 0115 hours. 1:15 in the morning, she reminded herself. She clenched her teeth in aggravation with herself. It has been two years since she had been out of the military and she still felt like she was transitioning into civilian life. She shook her head deciding to ponder all that later. There were more important things to think about. Like her no good husband, Colin, staying out late.....again.

This had been going on for a few weeks now. At first, she enjoyed him being out of her hair. She was sick of him arguing with her over everything under the sun. From losing her job again to how she would forget what to buy at the grocery store. That seemed to be a frequent occurrence since her "medical retirement". She hated that phrase. The way Colin would sneer when he would say those words made her blood boil. But, she would remind herself that Colin has always been a civilian so he would never understand. That was the only way she kept from knocking his lights out.

Dakota took a deep breath and glanced at the clock again. As much as she tried, she was not the woman who would wait patiently for her husband to come home to greet him with a tray of food wearing a sundress and a smile. That was not Dakota Taylor. She stomped to her bedroom and opened the closet door. She stared at her reflection in the full length mirror and combed her fingers through her chestnut hair before putting an old frayed baseball cap on her head. There was no reason to get all dressed up when she wasn't there to impress anyone, she thought to herself. The stretched out black t-shirt, old jeans, boots, hat, and no makeup would do.

She turned to the nightstand and grabbed the keys from her side of the bed. Well, now both sides were hers since Colin has been sleeping wherever he pleases lately. She groaned trying to keep herself from getting worked up. She walked out of the tiny home and jumped in the old Dodge truck, closing the squeaking metal door with a slam. She drove to the only bar in town knowing he would most likely be there. He was too lazy to go outside of town and all his drunk buddies liked to hang out at this spot. She never understood why how rundown the place was.

Dakota pulled up to the bar and grimaced as she took a quick look at her surroundings. The tiny parking lot was packed, pieces of trash flew by in the wind, and some people were huddled by the old wooden door in loud conversations. She could hear how loud the bar was from in the truck. She groaned thinking how many people she would have to walk by and sort through just to find Colin. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and took a deep breath before hopping out of the truck.

"Hey, pretty lady."

Dakota kept her head down and ignored the drunk trying to get her attention and swung open the heavy wooden door. The place was twenty times louder than she expected. Her right ear started to ring from the noise. She held her hand against it and cringed, hoping it would subside.

"Damn military," she muttered as she rubbed her ear.

The ringing started to fade just when she realized the drunk man from outside was next to her, still trying to have a conversation with her. She turned to face him. He staggered with a grin and opened his mouth to say more nothingness she didn't really care about.

"Look, I'm here for my husband. I don't have time for flattery or any other nonsense."

"Oh that's what all the ladies say. I don't see a ring on that pretty finger of yours."

Dakota looked down at the hand the drunk was looking at. She gave him a cold hard stare as she lifted her other hand, "You mean this ring. You were looking at the wrong hand."

She could see the drunk could tell through his foggy eyes that she was not amused. Before he could say anything else, Dakota turned back to the bar and looked around. Her eyes spotted a tall, lanky man with dark brown hair in the far corner next to the dance floor. A blond woman stood in front of him, running her fingers through his hair while he had his arms wrapped around her tiny waist. Dakota felt her heart jump, drop and burst into flames all at the same time. She marched over to the other side of the bar with fists clenched so tight, the wedding ring she was just showcasing to the drunk man was digging into her skin. She stopped out of arms reach from Colin and the woman wrapped around him.

Dakota stared at the two so mesmerized by each other they didn't even notice her. She wondered for a moment if she ever had that with Colin. That would be something she would evaluate later after the fire in her subsided.

"I was wondering when you would come home," said Dakota as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Colin's blue eyes flashed to meet Dakota's in surprise. She could tell he had a few drinks how dull they were even with the initial shock of seeing her. The tiny blond turned around in his arms with a look of confusion. Dakota felt a hot urge to punch her tiny nose in her face. She did have that right being Colin's wife, happy or not. She glared at the woman for a moment while she waited for Colin to say something.

She wondered if you would even call her a woman. She wasn't sure if she was of age to drink. Her head came up to Dakota's chin and her slim build was much different than Dakota's curves. She looked like a doll with long dyed platinum hair and big, brown doe eyes. Her tiny shorts, cute pink cowboy boots, and a crop top made Dakota's eyebrow go up. She was one of THOSE girls. The fake cowgirls all about the looks and no work. She could tell how picturesque her hands looked when going through Colin's hair.

"Dakota! I didn't expect to see you here."

Dakota turned her attention to her husband. He was still so dazed his hand was still resting on the girl's non-existent waist.

"I'm sure you didn't being a Friday night and packed. You know I don't go to busy places," she said as calmly as possible.

Dakota pulled her crossed arms closer to her body. She could feel that her body wanted to shake from the building anger inside her. She continued to force a poker face as she watched Colin seem to struggle with words.

"I thought I would check on why my husband isn't home. I grew tired of waiting for you to man up and tell me you wanted to end things. But, I guess I will have to step up and be the man for you. For weeks you have been out late at night and secretive. Now I know why," said Dakota as she nodded to the blond looking absolutely terrified.

"For a few weeks? You said you were divorced," squeaked the girl.

Dakota let out a laugh. "Well, honey, I guess he's been playing quite a few women then. No telling how many. Including me."

She turned her attention back to Colin and growled, "You can tell other girls you are divorced but you can't tell your own wife you want one. You are no fucking man!"

Colin's eyes flashed in rage. She knew that look and decided it was time to go before he exploded. Dakota turned on her heel and walked out of the bar. She slammed her truck door closed and reached out to pull the shift into reverse with a shaky hand. She took a few deep breaths as she hit the road to keep from hyperventilating.

She ached with tension, fury, sadness, and betrayal. She knew he must be cheating on her. Their marriage had been getting steadily worse over the last year. Hell, she couldn't remember the last time they slept on the same bed. But, seeing the look he was giving that girl about made her fly off the handle. It was jealousy, she could admit that. She wanted that kind of lust, want, and even love. So far she hadn't found it, even in the man she was married to.

Dakota jumped out of the truck and went straight in the house. She picked up a pile of boxes from the garage and threw them in her room. She opened her closet and started throwing her belongings in each box, not even caring to fold any of her clothes. She would do that later when she got out of here. As she recklessly packed, she couldn't help but feel like a failure. Her marriage had been on the rocks for so long and she ignored it. It was because she could care less.

Colin was an asshole. No doubt about it. And, he could care less about her. She ignored his cruel comments, turned a blind eye to his piss poor behavior, and found herself living day by day. Even though she was miserable, she waited for Colin to cut ties. She thought for sure his hot temper would end in him breaking things off. But, it never happened. She admitted to herself she waited too long hoping he would change. Things were never perfect between them but she was always told by her aunt that relationships were a work in progress. She was always told to give him a second chance, and another one after that, and another one. It never changed. This is why she never wanted to be tied down to begin with. What good is a man who doesn't make her happy, let alone one who keeps tearing her down?

"Dakota Taylor", said Dakota to herself, referring to her maiden name, "you don't deserve this."