The Easiest Thing In The World

Running takes a lot of guts, a ton of fear and a dash of luck to be exact.

Dallas James knew that well.

Leaving hadn’t been easy. Leaving his mama, his friends, his whole life back in Tulsa and everything he knew because some jackass with attachment issues didn’t know when to quit. He’d been happy with Alex. They had that good old fashioned romance that played on Grandpa Wilbur’s worn out records that’d play on the brass gramophone when he’d coax to life every Saturday afternoon as he’d sit on the front porch watching the kids play jump rope. Alex was a good girl, pretty too, with that kind of smile that just warmed you up from the inside every time she looked at you. Dallas thought he was gonna marry her, he did. Heck he would have married her and by now they’d have given his mama at least two grand babies to chase round the house for bath time.

Dallas was a God-fearing man, like his mama had drilled into him since he’d been in diapers. But he couldn’t understand for the life of him, why God put men like Leeroy Davis on this earth. With a permanent sneer on his face and a shiny Glock glued from his belt, the star quarterback strutted around like he owned the place, doing whatever he wanted to whoever he wanted with a bunch of cronies worshipping the ground he walked on. That’s what you get when your daddy was the head council man and owned half the businesses in town.

Dallas couldn’t imagine how someone as sweet as Alex could have ever been with a jerk like that. He’d asked her once and she admitted she thought she saw something different that no one else did and she was determined he could change, determined to prove everyone wrong and show them that there was a good side to Leeroy Davis. Alex’s heart was always too big for her own good and thats blinded her to Leeroy’s emotional manipulation. They’d been over for almost a year before Dallas had worked up the courage to ask her out and she’d agreed to see a movie with him at their local community theatre. He remembered neither hide nor hair of that film, he’d spent the whole time watching Alex instead, fascinated by how keenly she felt everything and how openly it showed on her face. By the time the credits were over, he knew he was smitten and by some miracle, she agreed to a second date and a third and a fourth.

He remembered the last time he’d seen her, dark hair tangled by the wind, tears pouring down those rose cheeks of hers, big eyes urging him to go, to take the best shot at escaping Leeroy and the jail sentence he’d placed over his head, while simultaneously she also pleaded with him to stay. She held his sobbing mama close, silently promising she’d take care of her and that last image, a final look thrown over his shoulder haunted him every day he was away.

Leaving sure as hell wasn’t easy but life on the run hadn’t been easier. He learned keep his mouth shut, not to ask questions and take work where he could find it. Doing odd jobs for almost no pay, picking up slack where they needed him to, he was never in one place long enough to get attached. Each place he’d been, he’d been treated with caution, kept at arms length, never trusted with anything other than manual labour. He was a black man in Midwestern America, it was nothing he wasn’t used to but that didn’t make it any easier. It wasn’t easy but he managed.

By the time he’d worked his way up to Montana, he’d been in more places that he could have counted and it was only by some miracle that the Oakleys had taken him on as a desperately needed farm hand. They were more than happy to take on someone who would work for the meagre rate they were offering. Dallas didn’t mind, work was work and as long as he had a roof over his head and something in his belly at night, it was enough. Cliff and his boys didn’t ask about his past and Dallas didn’t share. It worked that way and for a few months he was content. Not happy, just content. Sawyer was nice enough, Duke was tolerable, Cliff was, well, Cliff but together they had a lot of heart, something he’d missed since Tulsa. In the back of his mind, he knew he’d have to leave soon and it was the most sorry he’d been to leave. He’d been on the run from a past that would eventually catch up to him. He also knew that the further he ran, the sooner he’d run out of places to run to.

In fact, he’d been gearing himself up to break the news to Cliff that he was leaving when Jo went over to the Mendozas and he found himself needed more than anything. Sure Sawyer knew the farm like the back of his hand, Curly could handle the mechanics even Duke could hold his own with the herd with Cliff there to oversee everything but Dallas knew that losing him would be a huge blow to the Oakleys. He couldn’t in good conscience leave like that. Even with that city slicker, Dominique, whom Sawyer had picked off the side of the road, helping out, it still wouldn’t be enough.

Dominique was something else however. When he’d first rescued her from trampling Bessie, Dallas had given her two days before she was out of there, screaming for sparkling water, ducted air conditioning and a toilet that flushed without you thumping on it a few times. With a name as pretentious as that, he’d dismissed her immediately, being quite rude, almost hoping to put her off but she’d pushed back. She’d proved him wrong over and over through stubborn persistence or sheer volume of luck, he couldn’t quite comprehend how but there was no denying that the perfumed manicured city girl had cleaned out cow pads next to him, despite the risk of getting hay in her perfectly dyed brown blonde ombre locks. She hiked the Lonely Pine Trail — a hike not known for its easiness —  with them all as per Cliff’s request without a single complaint. Wherever she was from, they were certainly made of harder stuff than he’d first assumed. Dallas had glanced over at her, taking in the lush scenery and the look of wonder on her face almost brought a smile to his own.

Smiling never came as easily as it did since Alex anymore. More important things like looking over his shoulder, avoiding the cops, landing a stable enough job had taken priority but he’d found his lips curving up more times in these last few days since he’d left Tulsa. There was something about her, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but she radiated a hopefulness that he hadn’t felt since Alex. For so long he’d abandoned any thought of a future other than one on the run that he’d failed to see the possibility that existed in the spaces in between. Dominique brought a fresh perspective to everything, a different mindset and viewpoint than the rest of them and perhaps it was part of her charm but Dallas caught himself looking forward to seeing her around.

It was when they had made camp for the night and everyone was laughing at Juliette’s latest antics that Dallas realised how easy this suddenly felt. He watched as Broolynne frantically waved the flaming marshmallow she’d been roasting while Asha’s brother Miles scurried to prepare another one for her as Duke and Sawyer watched on in interest, half listening to Juliette’s ramblings. Dominique was listening with rapt attention, her every emotion playing out on her face and he almost smiled at the sight. For a moment, there was no weight of a potential jail sentence hanging over his head, no risk of being discovered just a few friends hanging out around the campfire at night.

That’s when it hit him. This wasn’t a permanent reality. Leeroy Davis was still hackling for his head out there, his poor mama probably worried sick that he hadn’t written in ages and Alex… he didn’t know what to think about Alex… Not wanting to ruin the mood with the scowl on his face, he’d slipped off for a walk to try clear his head before realising he’d been followed.

Dominique.

Dallas wasn’t surprised that she’d come after him, she seemed to be great at reading people, far better than he ever would be. He was surprised however at how easily they fell into step together, walking quietly, the only sound being the leaves and twigs crackling gently underfoot. He tried to keep his thoughts on track, his current rumination being how soon he could move on from Oakley ranch after surpassing his usual five month timeframe. Cliff’s condition and the financial situation hung in the balance leaving a great many factors unaccounted fo-

Dominique’s hand had slipped into his at that point, derailing his train of thought, bringing him back to the present.

‘You okay?’

After she’d hesitantly affirmed it, he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze to reassure her.

Not long later, they reached a small cliff over looking a huge lake lined with trees silhouetted against the brilliance of the night sky. The last light of day could be seen peaking over the horizon and above them, a crescent moon hung amid the glittering stars, spilling soft light onto the water below.

‘Its so beautiful,’ Dominique breathed as they took a seat, legs dangling over the precipice as they looked out at the scene.

‘Yeah…,’ he agreed, his eyes on her and the way the moonlight reflected off her dark hair. ‘Beautiful.’

She glanced over, blushing when she realised he was already looking at her before doing what she always did, guiding them into an light conversation that immediately set him at ease. Dallas was just beginning to enjoy himself when he caught himself too late replying with a vague comment that definitely piqued her curiosity. He should have realised she wouldn’t have let him get away with it and as she waited for his response, he raked a doubtful glance over her. He knew that spilling all his secrets to some newcomer was a bad decision, it formed an attachment, the last thing he needed right now, with thoughts of moving on and all. But her green eyes compelled him and he eventually gave in.

Sighing, Dallas related the real reason for leaving Tulsa and bringing up Alex was as painful as he’d predicted.  He’d been holding on to it for so long, hiding it away in the deepest part of his heart and now bringing everything to the light was just such a relief. He found himself revealing all the details about his biggest secrets to a girl he’d barely known for two weeks. There was no logic in it but once he started talking, it felt kind of cathartic to finally share the burden with someone else. He kept his eyes on one patch of grass inching its way between the boulders they were sitting on as he talked, not wanting to meet Dominique’s gaze until he finished his story with edge to his voice.

Her eyes were filled with empathy and concern when he finally looked at her. ‘I’m sorry Dallas. I wish there was something I could do to help.’

He should have recognised her willingness and generosity to want to help out even if she’d barely known him but he was feeling too jaded to notice, leaning back to stare out at the lake for a long moment.

‘Thanks for telling me…’ She put in after a long moment.

He simply nodded, not trusting his voice but recognised her empathetic tone. Sharing so much wasn’t easy and after basically baring his soul to her, Dallas knew needed something to smoothen the mood so he produced his harmonica, the one his mama’d given to him when he was young. He hadn’t played in years — he’d had no reason to — yet he kept it with him all the time. Soon enough he was telling her about his dream to be a singer. His mama had had the music in her and she passed that down to him.

Dominique’s rapt interest was more entertaining than anything he’d ever witnessed, the way her face lit up when he announced he’d sing her the song he’d written and how her expressions changed with the lyrics. He never took his eyes off her, wondering how in the world a random girl from the side of the road had gotten him to open up like he’d never had with anyone else before. He didn’t know how and he could’t begin to guess how she made everything in his crazy, mess of a life seem so easy…

‘You’re something else, Dominique,’ he told her, unable to find words to properly express himself.

A grin grew on her features and as if by some magnetic force, Dallas found himself leaning in closer, the strange desire to kiss her on his mind. And when she leaned into him, a part of him hesitated a little, reminding him of his past again, who he was and all he risked by getting attached, but when her soft lips met his, kissing her back suddenly was the easiest thing in the world.