BEYOND THE VALLEY GATE

A young waitress smiled at him and said good morning to him. He smiled back said good morning and handed her his travel mug and asked if she could fill it for him. While she went off to do that, he found a booth by the window. The waitress brought his coffee, took his order then when it was ready, she brought it to him as well as refilling his mug with coffee. Dakota was thinking about his children and the rest of the family. He really did miss them. He should already be started home but he had not found a load he could take back that way. The truth was he had not tried that hard to get one. He always found it easier to just keep driving than face his family for a lot of reasons. None of his reasons were really any good anymore and he knew that, but just knowing something is not enough. You have to act on what you know and he could not do that. Dakota thought about his wives and knew he had messed up two marriages because of the way he was and his children had been the ones to suffer for it. No, just knowing was not enough, he had spent his whole life digging the hole he was in and getting out was just not that easy. It was the dreams that got him night after night. The same dreams over and over again, dreams about his mother, father, Susan, Bart and Harley. This was what really kept him up and on the road for weeks at a time. He should not be alone, but he had to be alone. Things were still unclear to him. There were so many questions and so few answers. He was in trouble with his children, his wife and his father, making home a rough place for him to be. “Excuse me are you Dakota Randell from Daniel’s Valley?” Dakota looked up at the young girl standing by his booth. “Aren’t you my waitress?” “I was. My shift is over. Are you Dakota Randell?” “That depends, does he owe you or anyone you know money?” “Not as far as I know.” “In that case I am Dakota Randell. What can I do for you?” “My Mother sent me to talk to you about my father.” “Okay, who are your parents?” “Susan Martin and your brother, Walker, I was told.” She told him. Dakota sipped his coffee, then set the cup down on the table and looked at the girl. “Well you do look a little like your mother and a lot like your grandmother, my mother. Have a seat and tell me why your mother sent you to me, instead of your father?” “She said you could tell me why they did not get married.” “What is your name?” “Rachel Eva Randell.” “That was my mother’s name.” Dakota told the girl then sipped his coffee. He was surprised to find that his hands were not shaking. He was going over a lot of things in his mind, some good, some not so good. “I know, Mom told me.” Rachel told him. She could tell he was not happy and she wanted to get up and walk away, but she wanted to know what had happened that had made her mother leave her home. “What did she tell you about your father?” “That his name was Walker Randell and that he was a good man and he did not know about me.” “Well, she was half right anyway. He did not know about you. Why did she send you to me and not to him?” “She said you would be able to tell me about him and if he would want to see me.” Rachel told him. A waitress came by the table and refilled Dakota’s coffee mug. “Well this could take a while so sit down. I do not know for sure why your mother sent you to me the way she did, but I can guess. I am not going to send you away without the truth. I am your father. I do not have a brother, but something tells me you already knew that.” “Mom told me who you were and how to find you. She even helped me get this job after she made sure you came this way a lot.” “The whole brother thing was your idea?” “Yes, Mom could have been wrong. She has not talked to you in years, you could have changed.” “Oh, I have changed alright and not all those changes have been for the best. The truth is, I am not a good man. If I was, I would be home with my family.” Dakota told her honestly. “Are you going to tell me I am better off not knowing you?” “No, I was just telling you that I am not the same person I was when your mother left. I have changed and I am not proud of some of those changes.” Dakota told her. “I am not the same as I was a couple of years ago change is a good thing.” Dakota smiled. “Well I guess that is true most of the time.” “Mom said she left home because you said you wanted to date someone else and she did not, because she was already pregnant with me.” Rachel told him. “That is not really true. I guess the best thing to do is tell you the story from the summer before we started our senior year. You might want to get yourself some coffee. This is going to take some time.” He told her then sipped his coffee. “I already ordered some to go with my morning meal.” Rachel told him. Dakota smiled and shook his head. “Scared to death of what I might think of you and the things I might tell you, but you plan ahead of time to hear me out. There is no doubt at all that you are Susan Martin’s daughter.”