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It wasn’t a bad time and the fact that he had come when she had a few days off was perfect. Well, it could be perfect if things worked out the way he hoped they would that was. If she turned him down here and now then he guessed that perfect weekend might be ruined but Dakota didn’t have to know about that just yet. Better to have them get someplace a little more private than here in some cramped apartment hallway where anyone could see them and barge in on their moment. Ash didn’t want that.

“It was good that I came then. I’ve missed you Dakota.” He said as she crossed in front of him and went to open her door. He had missed her, probably even more than she knew, and he wanted to put an end to that. Ash wasn’t sure what he could offer a woman like Dakota but he supposed it would be the same thing that had always worked for them in the past, his love. Granted it would take more than that to make this work but he had never been one to give up and go home just because something seemed difficult. He hoped Dakota would think so too.

“I’ve been well.” He said honestly enough even though he didn’t particular feel it at the moment. Dakota had the medicine to fix that but he would have to find a chance to ask her the question that had spurred this spontaneous trip first and even then there was only one answer her really wanted to hear. The time wasn’t right just yet however so he choose to wait for now and walked over to join Dakota inside the apartment. “And what about you? Not working too hard I hope.”

It had been a while since Ash had driven into the city. On a whole it didn't agree with him much. He had always been a man of rather simple tastes and the city with its noise and its seemingly unending urban sprawl had always rubbed him the wrong way. Give him a horse and a wide open range to ride and he would be happy. That certainly seemed to be the case these past few years as he had been hiring himself out to one local rancher or another saving money and dreaming of something more. For the most part it was true too. He was happy doing what he was doing but something had always been missing to complete that picture and he thought he knew what.

Dakota was on his mind as he drove tonight. They had remained close over the years and had stayed that way even as they seemed to grow in different directions, Dakota to her job as a busy emergency room doctor, Ash to his country life. They had been trying the long distance thing for a while now but even though they kept in touch and tried to make time for each other it wasn't easy even under the best of circumstances which these, of course, we're not. Ash knew they couldn't last much longer apart and to be honest he didn't want to.

Ash was tired of the phone calls, tired of the mismatched schedules and most of all he was tired of not being with her. Miles of open plains and easy riding could be opening out before him with days of easy riding and time just to himself ahead but he had come to realize that if he didn't have Dakota with him then it wasn't really worth anything at all. She was the missing piece. She always had been. He had known that but as so often was the case knowing and doing were completely different things.

Ash wanted to fix that. It was the reason he was driving to see her tonight even though he hadn't bothered to tell her he was coming. He would find her, if she wasn't at her apartment then he would wait. He had time and he was going to do what he came here to do one way or the other. He had always been doggedly stubborn after all and that hadn't changed even after all these years.

He breathed a road weary sigh as he found parking and got out of his truck. The city was as busy as usual and even though the sun had set for the day people still went about their busy lives running here and there in a rush that seemed to Ash to be unending. The unfamiliar lights and sounds hit him hard as they always did and he knew that he probably looked out of place in his jeans, riding shirt, boots and cowboy hat. Still, he had a mission in mind and would not be distracted from it tonight no matter what those around him thought.

Checking his pocket one more time to make sure the little box that held the little object that was the cause of all this fuss was still where he had put it Ash set off down the street towards Dakota’s place. He knew his way will enough, it was the only place he ever really visited here unless Dakota ever wanted to go out and he was able to think as he walked. He was sure that he wanted this but he was unsure how Dakota would take it. Ash had never really been one for placing titles on their relationship. They loved each other and that was good enough. That being said he was about to do something very uncharacteristic for himself and he wasn't sure how it would go over. Still, he would not be turned away from his task by a little uncertainty. There were some things you couldn't know after all and as Ash reached out to knock on Dakota's apartment for he had decided not to worry. Come what may he was going all in one way or the other.

Dakota King

So a little background here. I do a lot of work on my phone (galaxy note 4) not only for work but also occasionally to write posts. Because of this my phone's auto correct and auto suggest comes up with some pretty amusing things sometimes. This morning I was working on a reply for the Hailey / Theo thread Trouble when I noticed that my phone was really wanting to suggest things for Dakota and Ash. Curious about how far I could go I tried letting my phone auto suggest an entire paragraph. The result was pretty good so I decided to take it a step further this afternoon and see what my phone really wanted to do. This is the result.



As you can see the first paragraph started out pretty good and then my phone ran with the idea. By the second paragraph things were headed in a particular direction and then the third....just took a turn. I started a forth but it got too weird and I guess my phone's creative muse was finished. Still, I think it's pretty fid all things considered. Note that the only thing I went back and added were "" to devote when someone was speaking. Other than that my phone had a mind of it's own.

Ash nodded with the flow of conversation keeping up with the girl's words as they walked. He had never been a heavy user of computers. In fact, rarely was a better term to describe his involvement with them. He had always been one for the outdoors and for the most part he tried to avoid anything more complicated than a calculator. Still, he could understand how useful they might be to Dru in her chosen profession. Her comment about the ghost fox however, that was something that got the boy's full attention and brought him to a stop.

He glanced back at the girl and watched as she made the fox a little more visible. Having never dealt with a ghost fox before it was something to see but he supposed the he would have to take her at her word on the rest of it as it seemed to be draining her just to show him her pet. Fortunately Ash's practical nature allowed him to do just that without question. If Dru said her ghost fox acted a certain way he had no reason to doubt her. "An interesting pet to have and I have no doubt it's an interesting story of how you came by him as well. Maybe you'll tell me sometime if we ever have the occasion."

Turning his mind back to the question of computers Ash added. "It's better you than me I suppose. I wouldn't know the first thing about editing film. Finding a game trail, marking direction by starlight, those are more of my skills." Stepping through some more underbrush he led them to a place where the going became a little smoother and the trail through the forest a little more defined. “Speaking of I believe we are on the right path now.”

Rare was the case when Ash doubted if he was making the right decision but he had found with Dakota all bets were off. The smarter thing, the easier thing by far, was to continue avoiding Dakota completely and to just try and forget all this. The only problem was that he couldn't forget about her, not really, and he didn't think ignoring the issue would solve anything. Still, he supposed he didn't have to trust her like this, didn't have to make things even harder than they already were going to be, but there was also a deeper issue there. He didn't really want to let her go and as difficult as conspiring with her was going to be it was still a connection he could still hold on to.

All of these thoughts played through his head as he considered how best to proceed. He thought he could handle it, thought he could keep his emotions separate because that was what he had always been good at but love wasn't so easily vanquished. If that's what this feeling really was then he would only be able to stand it so long. In the end, like a barn before a tornado, he would be caught up and blown away but that was a risk he was willing to take. "Thank you Dakota." He said with a surprising amount of control. "For what it's worth I don't regret meeting you or really any of it."

He considered her words silently for a moment. He didn't know if Dakota believed him or not but then again he had asked her to trust him for a reason. Right now Dakota didn't have to believe just so long as she kept her eyes open. Even the best conspirators slipped up sometimes and so long as she took his warning seriously he had no doubt that the truth would come out in time. If only he had some real hard evidence to substantiate his claim...but there was no point thinking of that now.

"Good. I don't think I have to tell you to keep this between us right now. If this does all turn it to be nothing then no one will be the worse for it. If I'm right though, well then knowing could be dangerous." Ash shook his head. He knew how it sounded but he also knew enough about Dakota that he knew she could be discreet. The very fact that he hadn't been attacked by vengeful Aphrodite siblings yet told him that much.

Sensing that he had said enough on the topic for now he turned to his pegasus. Rusher looked at him and whickered way back in his throat as if to say 'it's about time we were going' but instead of listening to that call Ash turned back to Dakota one more time looking like there was still something else on his mind. "There's something else I want to say. I don't like returning to where we started but, I feel like I must."