Dakota's Way 1 - Dakota's Way

by Robin Hicks

  'I can't believe I just did that.' She tossed the tuna into the garbage. She had suddenly lost her appetite after hearing Samantha answer Kasey's phone. She had been starving when she had gotten home since all she did was pick at her lunch and had not really eaten it.

  Her clothes were already starting to get a little loose on her since her hospital incident. Her appetite just wasn't like it used to be. Nothing seemed to taste good anymore, or she would just seem to get full fast.

  'Oh well, it sure couldn't hurt to lose a couple of pounds. It ain't like I'm gonna blow away or anything.' With her solid athletic body, and almost six-foot frame, a little bit of weight didn't show too much, but for those who knew Koty, they could definitely tell.

  Around twelve o'clock that night, Koty couldn't take the little nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach any longer. She grabbed her coat, and went to her car to take a trip over to Kasey's house.

  She would have called, but wasn't sure if Kasey would talk to her or not, and she didn't want to take the chance. She figured she would walk right up to the door and just knock, not giving the doctor a chance to put her off.

  When she turned the corner and pulled up along the curb, she noticed a strange car in the driveway. All of the lights in the house appeared to be off. Koty suddenly got a queasy feeling. "Sonofabitch!" She yelled out loud. "This can not be happening!"

  She stared at the house for a while longer and gripped the steering wheel. Obviously they didn't want any company. She pulled away from the curb so fast that she squealed the tires. She reached up and brushed the tears from her eyes. 'Fuck it!'

  She could just imagine what was going on in Kasey's house. 'Samantha's there and no lights are on. How fucking convenient.' She tried to put the picture of Kasey and Samantha in bed together out of her mind, but it wasn't working.

  "Fuck! I can't believe this. God damn it!" She yelled as she pounded on the steering wheel. 'Why would Kasey do this? Granted she never told me that she loved me but I was sure I meant a little more to her that just a fix until her girlfriend came back into the picture. I could feel it when we made love. Jesus, why couldn't she just believe in me that there was nothing going on with Tina? Is that what this is all about? Ungh...

  ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

  Hearing the noise from some idiot squealing tires, Kasey looked out her bedroom window only to see taillights quickly disappearing down the street. Once again, she got an un-easy feeling in her stomach. 'Nah, I'm sure she's home fast asleep.'

  "What if it was Koty?" She whispered to herself. 'Why would she peel away like that, and why wouldn't she just come to the door and knock?' Deciding that it couldn't have been Koty, she climbed under her covers and went to sleep.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  The next morning after her shower, Kasey walked into the kitchen and took the coffee mug that Sam handed her. She took a big swallow and slowly closed her eyes.

  "Oh my God, this is orgasmic. You always did make the best coffee Sam. I still use the same brand as before, and I put the same amount of coffee in the machine, but it still doesn't taste like yours. Thank you."

  "Thank you, and you're welcome. By the way, do people always drive around peeling rubber in your neighborhood in the middle of the night?"

  "Actually that's the first time that I can remember anyone doing that. I looked out the window just in time to see tail lights."

  She took another long sip of her coffee. "Are you going to drive back to Richmond today?"

  "I haven't made up my mind yet. Like I said, I don't have to be back to work until Thursday morning. If I stay here tonight will you take me to a club?"

  "I can take you to Laces when I get home from work. They have specials on Mondays to get the crowd in there, and they have great food and music. Afterwards we can have some drinks if you want. It's one of the better clubs around here."

  Kasey finished her coffee, and took her mug to the sink and rinsed it out. She went to the wall where a set of keys were hanging and handed them to Samantha.

  "I'll be home around five or five thirty. I'll change clothes then we can go from there. I think you'll like it there, like I said, it's one of the better places to go. See you later."

  In the car, she thought about all of the good times that she and Sam had spent together. Could they make another go at it? No, she didn't think they could. They had both changed. Besides, she knew she had to get past her Koty dilemma before she could even think about going forward with her life.

  ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

  Koty left work feeling anxious and very tired. Not quite ready to go home to her empty house, she decided to stop at Laces to get a bite to eat and have a drink or two. Or maybe three.

  She had found it almost impossible to keep her mind focused on work today. All she could seem to think about was Kasey, and what Kasey and her ex were up to. 'It's obvious what they are up to you moron.'

  She had pulled a ten hour day today, but probably only did about a total of three hours work. She had been a desk jocky today, trying to catch up on the butt load of paperwork that she had.

  She couldn't keep going this way. She was also told that starting tomorrow; she was getting a new partner. That was the last thing that she wanted, or needed. Though she knew it had been coming for a long time, she preferred to work alone.

  She had gotten along pretty good with her last partner Mike, but when he just up and quit the force, saying he couldn't take it anymore, she had been alone since.

  She wasn't ready for another partner, but knew there wasn't a damn thing that she could do about it. Captain Riggs had told her before she left that evening that her new partner was from Richmond. 'What in the hell is with all of these people from Richmond? What, is Richmond so bad that the whole damn city has to come to my town?'

  She pulled into Laces parking lot and sat there for a minute rubbing her eyes. Finally getting out and walking to the door, she heard her name being called. She stopped and watched Tina walking towards her.

  "Um...Hi Koty, how are you?"

  Tina seemed hesitant and nervous. "Look Koty, would you have a couple drinks with me? No strings, no tricks, just some friendly conversation?"

  'What the hell, my life is already down the tubes, whats another bad dicision?'

  At first Tina thought that Koty was going to say no since she took so long to answer, but then heard Koty softly say, "Sure, why not, have you eaten yet?"

  Tina smiled and felt a little lightheaded at Koty's answer. 'Well, at least she's still talking to me.'

  "Actually I haven't, food sounds really good right now."

  They walked into Laces together...

  Kasey and Samantha were sitting at a corner table sipping at their drinks. They had just finished dinner and were sitting back and relaxing a bit before the D.J started the music.

  Samantha, with her back to the door heard Kasey gasp, and watched as a burning look came over her face. Turning to see what had caused Kasey to react that way, she watched as two gorgeous women walked through the door together.

  "Kasey, what's wrong? Who are those women, and why do you look like someone just kicked your cat?"

  Kasey downed her Grand Marnier and waited for the waitress to bring another before she told Sam about herself and Koty. And, about Koty and Tina.

  Koty and Tina were already sitting at the table with their drinks when Koty looked across the floor right into Kasey's eyes.

  Tina had spotted them at the same time and looked at Koty to see her reaction. As she expected, there was a hard cold look in her eyes. "Ok Koty, what's going on with you and Kasey and who is that woman she is sitting with?"

  "I guess that would be Samantha, her ex lover. So she says."

  Koty downed the rest of her drink as she watched Tina shake her head and give her a sad look. 'How ironic is this. Both of them here, and both are my exes. I must have been a really bad person in my last life to deserve this.'

  "Look Koty, I know that we aren't together anymore. Hell, I probably ev
en ruined our friendship, but I still care very much about what happens in your life. Wanna talk about it?"

  "No, not really."

  About an hour later Kasey had consumed enough alcohol to start feeling bold. "Sam, come dance with me." She said as she grabbed Sam's hand to pull her to the dance floor.

  "Kasey, are you sure that this is a good idea? I mean, won't this make things even harder for you? You said that she knows about our past, maybe she will take this the wrong way or something."

  "Since when did you become so damn passive Sam? It's just a dance so come on."

  Koty watched them walk out to the dance floor and into each other's arms. Unable to watch it any longer she slammed her glass down, threw two twenties on the table to pay for the meals they hadn't gotten yet, took a deep breath and turned to Tina. "I can't take anymore of this shit, I'm out of here."

  Tina jumped up from the table and fell into step beside Koty. Hoping to be seen by Kasey, she casually placed her hand on Koty's shoulder as they walked through the door.

  As much as Tina hated to admit it, Koty and Kasey obviously belonged together, and one way or another she had to make Kasey know it as well. She didn't know how without it looking the wrong way, but she would think of something...

  Kasey watched as they walked out the door together, and her body slumped into Sam's, and tears filled her eyes. Samantha just held her for a while until she settled down a little.

  "Jesus Sam, what am I going to do? I love her so much, and I now know that they are either going to be or they are already back together."

  "Come on, let's get our things from the table and go back to your house sweetheart. You've had enough for one night."

  They went to pay their tab and gather their things and left. What had started out to be a nice relaxing evening sure ended up in the trash. They were both pretty quiet on the drive back to Kasey's.

  'Jesus Christ!' Koty pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headach coming on. 'Will my life ever be normal again?'

  Tina had asked if Koty wanted to go to a different club, but she had declined and got into her car and left. This was after all, Tina's fault wasn't it? Wasn't she the one that caused this whole chain reaction of bad events? No, she did not want to go off to another club with her. She just wanted to go home and be alone.

  With tears in her eyes, Koty pulled out of the parking lot and drove home. When she got there she went to make herself a drink, then changed her mind and walked into the living room. She plopped down on the couch then sprawled across it feeling very edgy. 'A bath. That's what I need. A long, hot, bubble bath with nothing for light except candles. Oh yeah, just what the doctor ordered. Uhng...why did I have to think Doctor?

  Grabbing some scented candles out of the closet, she went to the bathroom to turn on the hot water and let the bathtub fill while she threw her dirty clothes in the hamper.

  ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

  Samantha had left early Wednesday night after having dinner with Kasey at the Great Steak. Kasey had hugged her and told her now that they were talking again, they needed to keep in touch.

  Kasey had walked Sam to her car and waited for her to get in. Before Sam pulled off she reached for Kasey's hand throgh the car window.

  "You need to follow your heart Sweetheart. You're in love with her Kasey, please don't just let that pass you by. Right now I know you are hurt, but you are also being very stubborn. Go get her Kase, you deserve to be happy."

  "Yeah? What about you Sam, what are you going to do?"

  "I kind of like the single life for now, and I'm actually enjoying it. Take care of yourself Kase, and please take my advice. Bye." Then she was gone.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Kasey and Chris's clinic had been up and running for about three weeks, and business was really starting to pick up. They hadn't even had the time to sit down together and have lunch since they opened.

  Today, for some God sent reason they weren't that busy, and Chris walked into the break room to find Kasey sitting with her feet propped up on the table sipping her coffee.

  "Glad we could find a few minutes to enjoy a cup of coffee together Kasey."

  "Yeah it is. It sure has been kind of hectic hasn't it?"

  "You know Kasey, with the business picking up the way it has we might want to look into hiring another doctor. What do you think? Another receptionist wouldn't hurt also."

  Kasey smiled and got up to get them another cup of coffee. Handing Chris her mug, she sat down beside her. "Susan is already working three days a week, if she can't pull any more, maybe we can talk Joanne into coming on board part time. She mentioned to me before that she might be interested. "I'll give her a call when I get home to night, and see what she says. Man my feet are killing me today."

  "I know what you mean there. Joanne would be a good one to have here; she is really good with children. I worked with her a couple of times, and I really like her so see what she thinks."

  "We could get one of the collage students to work the front part time. Maybe someone going for a degree, and needs a little background."

  Both of them got quiet as they relaxed for a while. Chris was watching Kasey stare at the walls with a blank look on her face.

  "So Kasey...how are things going with you and Koty"

  Chris didn't think that Kasey was going to answer at first, and then she put her mug on the table to rub her hands across her eyes then turned to Chris. "There's absolutely nothing going on between us Chris. I think she is seeing Tina again."

  "What?!" Chris was a little more than shocked. "What do you mean Kasey. Are you sure because I don't think..."

  "I saw them together at Laces a couple of weeks ago."

  "Well did you talk to her? I mean maybe it wasn't as it seemed?"

  Chris really didn't think that this could be true. She knew Koty all too well, and she was sure that Koty was in love with Kasey. Something else must be going on, but she hadn't seen Koty in a while so she wasn't sure.

  "I didn't talk to her Chris. I was there with...um...a friend."

  "A friend?" Chris asked with a raised brow.

  "I was there with Samantha."

  "Samantha as in Samantha Samantha?" Chris almost thought that she misunderstood her until she saw the look on Kasey's face. "What on earth were you doing there with Samantha, Kasey?"

  "She was in town for a meeting, got my address from the phone book, and looked me up. We had gone out for dinner and some drinks, that's all." Kasey said, feeling a little chastised.

  "I'm sorry Kase, I didn't mean for it to come out the way it did. Does Koty know about her?"

  "Oh...she knows about her and she definitely saw me there with her. I made sure of that. When I saw her walk in with Tina I guess my mind went a little crazy, and the angry child came out in me. I pulled Samantha up on the dance floor with me right in front of her. I guess I was trying to throw it in her face or something. I mean, she did walk in with Tina. Like I said, the angry child came out in me, and I couldn't seem to stop it."

  "Jesus Kasey, I didn't know. So does this mean you won't be seeing each other anymore? If you and Sam being together there was innocent, maybe theirs was too."

  "I honestly don't know what is going on Chris. Hasn't she talked to you and told you what was going on? I thought if she were to talk to anyone it would be you."

  "No, she hasn't said anything. Koty hasn't said much at all in these past couple of months, and to tell you the truth. I haven't seen her but once since that prick held her at gun point at her house. "I do know that she has been working ten to twelve hours a day, and five and six days a week. I just figured she has been busy cause she hasn't even been returning my messages."

  Chris leaned back in her chair and finished off her coffee. She wasn't sure what to think about this news that she just found out, but she reached for her best friends hand.

  "Kasey, maybe you and Koty need to sit down and have a heart to heart about what's going on. You need to get to the bottom of this one way or an
other. Neither one of you can keep going on like this."

  Kasey got up to go rinse out her mug. "When I saw her at Laces she looked like she had lost a lot of weight." She said as she leaned against the counter.

  "She's working herself into the ground Kasey. Well, duty calls, are you ready to face the rest of the day?"

  "I am. You know, we have been working our tails off, but it's a good feeling knowing that we made our dream a reality. I know we're going to need help, but it's still a good feeling."

  "Yes it is Kasey. Well let's go..."

  Chris walked out of the break room thinking about what Kasey had told her about Koty. 'Why hasn't Koty called me or come by? This must be eating her up inside, and if she's not talking to me about it I hope she's at least talking to Jamie.' Chris knew that Koty was bad about holding things inside, no matter how bad she was hurting. She also knew that Koty would come to her if it got too bad for her.

  Maybe she would call her this evening and if she wasn't there, or just wasn't answering the phone, she would tell Monty on her. 'Ha, that would teach her a lesson or two.'

  ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

  Later that evening, Koty walked to the parking lot with her new partner Laney Jacobs. They had hit it off right from the start, surprising Koty more than just a little. Maybe it wasn't gonna be so bad after all. Having a new partner might be ok.

  Laney Jacobs was a classic beauty, the kind that really didn't have to wear make up with her dark features, and naturally curly hair that hung just past her shoulders. Her hair was a light brown with copper highlights that Koty wonder if it were natural, or came from a Clairol box.

  Koty also didn't miss all of the men's heads turn as Laney had walked past them. Laney gave no indication that she noticed them watching her. It was almost as if she were unaware of it all. Yeah, she and Laney would get along just fine. Besides, she was a hell of a lot cuter than her last partner.

  "Hey Koty?" Laney said as they stopped at her Jeep Cherokee. "If you're not in a big hurry to go home right away would you have a cup of coffee with me somewhere? I don't really know anyone here yet, and my house is still in shambles with boxes everywhere so I'm trying to stall going home right away. What do you say?"