"James! Honey, breakfast is ready come down," Dakota hollers through the house, licking her fingers free of the bacon grease.
The little boy comes running down in his father's cowboy hat with excitement,"Look mommy!"
"Woah, you look like a true cowboy. No hats at the table though honey, that's the rule."
After the breakfast was cleared out by her son they quickly left for pre-school."Okay, bye honey I love you."
James hops out of the truck and walks with a teacher inside.
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Dakota's Office
Dakota's pen was running along multiple papers. Signing papers, ordering supplies and taking calls filled her day. Another ring of the phone caught her attention.
"Hello, this is Dakota Dutton, how may I help you?," she says quickly.
A familiar deep male voice spoke back to her,"Can you come down to the reservation and help us out with some of these animals? I don't know what's going on, we just need someone to come and check."
Dakota agreed and packed her medical bag into the truck. On her way there she had to make a call,"Hey Jamie, I hate to ask but is there any chance you can pick James up from pre-school later. I got a call from the reservation."
"The reservation? What did they want?," Jamie asks nervously, as if there was something he knew.
"Just a check up on some stuff down there, apparently they're having issues as usual, nothing major I should be back around 5 if you'll just take him to your dad."
Jamie sighs,"Yeah, I got him don't worry, but just be careful."
Dakota finished the conversation and pulled up to one of fields that a bunch of people were standing around.
"I got a call to help and to check up on some animals here, where do I need to go?"
They point her to another field and a recognizable man stands at the fence waiting for her,"Mrs. Dutton, it's good to see you again."
Hopping out of the truck and grabbing her bag she smiles at the old man,"Felix, how are you?"
Felix leads her to about 5 horses that all have the same problems."I'm glad you called, we need to isolate the infected horses before it spreads."
After about 2 hours, Dakota was covered in sweat and exhausted. Felix leaves the fence and helps her with her bags,"I hate that this kept you here all day."
"Anytime you need me, Felix just call. It's no trouble, truly."
Driving down the road trying to leave, Dakota is stopped when a woman steps out of her house waving her arms at her."Can I help you?"
"You're Dakota Dutton, the vet right? My dog, please help him," she asks with urgency and runs back into her house.
Dakota slings her seatbelt off and runs inside. To her surprise she doesn't see a dog anywhere, just laundry and the other things in her laundry room.
Snapping her out of her thoughts, footsteps come closer and the lady stops in front of her, with an axe."Your husband killed mine."
"What are you talking about," Dakota confusingly says backing up until her back hits the washing machine.
"You Dutton's don't know the pain you cause! I'm now a single mother, do you care about that?"
Raising her arms in defense and showing the woman she means no harm she just stares at the random woman in front of her accusing Lee of such things."My husband was killed, he didn't kill anyone."
"Your husband shot my husband over cattle! And now you and all the other Dutton's are covering up his crimes!"
"Miss, I don't know who you heard your story from, but I swear to you my husband did no harm."
The axe was swung. Right on her toe sending a blood curling scream out of Dakota. The axe was swung back, slicing Dakota's hairline in the process.
It was like a wrestling match between the two woman over the axe, or tug a war. Grunting, pulling and finally Dakota had the strength to push her down onto the floor. The axe went up and right down on the ladies head. The lady stayed on the floor and the clatter of the axe dropping could be heard. Was she dead?
Dakota, turns to leave and the lady regains her strength and pushes the door back shut. She stands with the axe and once again Dakota puts her hands up and grabbing the axe.
The fight was taken to the ground, now it was clearly like a wrestling match.
"Let go of me!," Dakota screams out before finally standing again."Please, I don't know what you're talking about! I don't!"
"Shhhhh," the mystery lady commands. One of her fingers sticking up to silence her, but it only caused Dakota to become more scared since her hand was covered in blood.
Dakota grabs the axe and screams, slamming the axe down right in the middle of her head. It went quiet... until she slings the axe back over her head and continues to slam it down on her. Blood splatters everywhere, covering the laundry room with blood.
Dakota, just keeps slamming the axe down trying to insure her safety. Finally the lady on the floor stops fighting and Dakota drops the axe. Fully seeing what she done and seeing the mess around her.
She slowly leaves the laundry room, walking around trying to find a bathroom. The mirror is the first thing she looks into when she finally finds one. She felt dirty, sick even. The water in the shower was turned on and Dakota quickly stepped in, washing some of the blood down the drain.
Still dripping wet she grabs the bloody axe in the laundry room and walking outside. The bloody axe sits right on her lap as her shaky hands drive home.
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When Dakota finally pulled up to the house her clothes were still damp and some of the blood was more noticeable as it was now dried. The axe was hid behind her back. Her boots stepped into the main lodge where and she cleared her throat before she spoke.
"Jamie? John?," she calls out. Footsteps she can only presume are James come flying down through the house.
He comes up to her and smiles,"Mommy what happened." James points up at her forehead cut that has dried blood surrounding it.
"Nothing honey," Dakota smiles at him nervously."Where's your uncle Jamie and grandpa?"
"They told me to go play upstairs, they were yelling earlier."
Dakota sends him back upstairs and walks through the house. The doors to John's office opens and both Jamie and John turn their head.
"What happened, are you okay?," Jamie says standing up.
"Tell me the truth." she says with a stern look shutting the door."You better call Kayce right now and get the truth out of him, because some woman from the reservation attacked me and claimed that Lee killed her husband. She kept claiming that the Dutton's were covering something up too so." The bloody axe hit the floor with a thud when Dakota dropped it infront of the men.
John looks up at the girl,"Is that your blood or hers?"
"She cut me with an axe," she says showing her forehead."She repeatedly tried to attack me so..."
Jamie sighs and puts his face in his hands when he sits back down,"Can this family ever just fucking stop for a second."
"We'll clear this up don't worry," John says.
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