Bitterroot Queen

by Jove Belle

  Just then, Karen pulled into the hotel parking lot, her big truck tires crunching loudly on the gravel and kicking up dust. She gave them a polite wave and then headed into the lobby, no doubt in search of Sam.

  “What’s the deal with her?” Olly regretted it as soon as she said it and almost winced. It was none of her business.

  “She and my mom are friends from way back.”

  “Just friends?” Olly tried to make it sound innocent.

  “Why? Jealous?” Beth smiled, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

  “What? No.” Olly paused. “I don’t think so, anyway.” Or was she?

  “Yeah, whatever,” Beth said. “They hooked up a few times after we moved here, but I think that’s over now. Or, if it’s not, they are being way more careful around me than they were.”

  “You don’t want them to hook up?” Olly wasn’t sure why she cared who Sam was hooking up with or why it was important that Beth didn’t want her to do it with Karen. It was all a little twisted up in her mind. Beth acted older than fifteen, making it easy for Olly to think of her as a friend. But Sam was Beth’s mom, and that meant Olly definitely shouldn’t be asking Beth for the inside scoop on Sam’s sex life.

  “I thought it was cool at first. Karen is great. She’s really good to my mom, and they seem really happy together.”

  “Oh.” Ouch. That also explained the weird territorial vibe she got off Karen.

  “But then, my mom said yes when that dude asked her out, plus she said she and Karen aren’t even dating.”

  “Speaking of that dude, any idea how the date went?” If the date was a bust, maybe she could up her game a little, flirt more, and see what happened. But the new information from Beth about Karen might preclude that.

  “I didn’t ask.” Beth shrugged. “She didn’t say anything about it, but she hasn’t gone out with him again, so it was probably not great, but not totally bad. I can usually tell when that happens. She gets into a mood.”

  Olly nodded and did what she always did when reality made her head hurt. She went to work. She finished the section she was painting and then handed the sprayer off to Beth. With a little luck, Karen would be long gone by the time they finished making their way around the building.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sam stared at the floor. There were a few stains visible, even after they’d been worked over with a giant industrial sander that made Sam’s arms quake from simply watching Olly use it.

  When she shut off the sander, a haze of dust settled over everything in the room. Olly’s dark hair took on a blond hue, and her face had a distinct raccoon effect from her protective eyewear and face mask. Sam giggled and then clapped her hands over her mouth to stop herself. Olly had given up her Saturday for this. Laughing was not the best way to say thank you.

  Olly gave her a mock-scowl, then shook her hair out. It puffed out for a moment before she deftly pulled it into a ponytail. “That’ll teach me not to forget my hat when operating this thing.”

  She dug her ballcap—that dreadful green thing with mesh sides and a tractor on the front—from her back pocket, knocked off the dust, and jammed it on her head. Sam giggled even harder.

  Beth poked her head out of her room. “Is it safe to come out yet?”

  “Yeah, if you don’t mind a little dust.” Olly smiled, her gaze lingering on Sam for a moment before she turned her attention to Beth. “You look nice.”

  Startled by Olly’s observations, she looked at her daughter. She wore a pair of ripped jeans, black motorcycle boots, a white tank top, and a pair of suspenders. Her hair, which had been a longer version of Sam’s own auburn mane last time Sam had seen her, was shorn almost to the skin on the sides, with a longer section at the front that fell dramatically over her eyes. It was dyed a shockingly bright pink.

  “Um, thanks.” Beth shuffled uncomfortably.

  “What’s up with—” Sam gestured exaggeratedly at Beth, “all that?”

  “Time for a change,” Beth said with a shrug.

  In the middle of staring at Olly’s arms, watching them flex and contract in a symphony of movement that kept the sander in check while also making the tattoos on her arms come to life, Sam had left Beth to her own devices. It had only been a few hours, but that was obviously enough time for her to do a major makeover on herself. Dammit.

  “Bold change,” Sam said mildly, trying to sound neutral. There was no point to belaboring it, since Beth had already done it, and besides, it wasn’t a battle worth fighting. Not when the two of them were finally starting to communicate with more than the occasional grunt or growl.

  “Do you like it?” Beth tugged on the long lock of hair covering her eye.

  “I do,” Olly said without looking up. She was brushing the dust off the sander with a handheld broom.

  Sam took a moment to study Beth objectively. Yes, the change was shocking, intentionally so. But it worked. Like everything else that had happened since she bought the Queen, this was a clear visual break from who Beth had been in Vegas.

  “Yes.” Sam nodded slowly. “I do.”

  Beth smiled, a radiant beam reminiscent of the little girl she’d been, like when Sam pushed her higher and higher on the swing at the park in the rare moments she had time to spend with her. A deep pang of nostalgia settled in the pit of her stomach, and she suppressed the urge to pull Beth into a hug.

  “That’s a good look on you, too,” Beth said, deadpan.

  Like everything else, Sam was covered with a thin layer of sawdust. It was the finishing touch to the paint-splattered jeans and the threadbare T-shirt left over from her college years with “UNLV” on the front. “Thanks,” she said with a grin. “I worked hard on it. Anyway. Plans tonight?”

  Olly finished clearing the dust from the sander and pushed it out of the room before Beth answered.

  “I’m going out.”

  Sam tried not to frown. “Out? Like a date?”

  “Maybe.”

  Okay, time to parent. Without being an ass. “So...what about Denmar?”

  A light pink blush rose on Beth’s neck and cheeks, and Sam realized that she hadn’t heard Beth mention him in a couple of days, nor had she overheard any phone conversations between them. Damn. She’d been so caught up in working on the motel that she maybe missed some of Beth’s cues.

  “He’s being an asshole,” she said dismissively.

  “Okay. Did you break up, then?”

  Beth looked down. “No, not really.” She shrugged. “I don’t really know.”

  Sam hoped it had ended with him, but she wasn’t going to push her to do it. She moved to pull Beth into a hug, and Beth shrieked and stepped out of reach.

  “God, Mom. You’re covered in sawdust.”

  Sam stepped back, smiling. “So who are you going out with?”

  “Rachel.”

  Oh. Sam’s brain stuttered to a stop. The way Beth was acting—blushing, stammering, changing her hair, and putting on clean clothes—it seemed as though this was a date, or that Beth wanted it to be. But this was the first time Beth had shown any interest in another girl. Before this, she’d been very determinedly straight, to the point of announcing it multiple times when she was angry at Sam for whatever reason. Maybe her baby wasn’t as straight as she claimed.

  “Oh,” Sam said, unsure how to proceed with this revelation.

  “It’s not a date,” Beth said in a rush.

  “Are you sure?” Sam would have left it, but Rachel gave off a decidedly queer vibe, and Sam’s gaydar was rarely, if ever, wrong.

  Beth shrugged again. “I don’t really know. She just said there’s a party and asked if I wanted to come. She’s picking me up at seven.”

  “A party?” Sam arched an eyebrow. “And you’re just telling me this now?”

  “Relax. It’s just a small group getting together at some guy’s place to watch movies. Besides, I’m not really interested in drinking much these days.”

  “Some guy? Who?” She ignored the comment abou
t drinking.

  “A friend of Rachel’s from school. It’s okay. He’s legit.”

  According to Rachel? Sam didn’t voice that. “Will his parents be home?”

  “I don’t know, but Rachel promised me it would be really low-key. No wild night to remember or anything like that.”

  “Okay, you already know how I feel about things like this, and I know that I wasn’t always the mom you might have needed or wanted. I also know that you’ve gone to a lot of parties that I don’t know about. But this is a different place, and I’m trying to be better.”

  “Mom—” she said, the familiar angry teen edge to it.

  “But you’ve also been working really hard and helping out a lot. So how about this? In the future, will you please let me know further in advance when you plan to do things like this and give me information on the place and time and people going? This is a small town, after all, and things work differently. Can you do that?”

  Beth regarded her for a moment. “Yeah. So can I go, then?”

  “Like I said, you’ve been working really hard, and I think you should have some fun. But let’s set some ground rules.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes. Make sure you have your phone at all times and if anything makes you feel uncomfortable, or anything’s weird, leave and call me. I don’t care what time it is. Your safety is my number one priority. Got it?”

  “Okay,” she grumbled but she sounded relieved, too.

  “All right. So is this a date with Rachel?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “She didn’t say?”

  “Not really. But I do like Rachel a hell of a lot more than Denmar. He’s being a jerk.”

  “Hmm.” Sam didn’t want to curtail Beth’s new—friendship? Romance?—but she also wanted her to be careful and she wasn’t sure how to broach that without setting Beth off.

  “It’ll be fine, Mom. I promise. And if I need anything, I’ll call you or Olly.”

  “Olly?” Sam asked in her best mom voice. And since when did Beth talk to Olly?

  “Yeah, she’s cool. And she’d totally kick ass if somebody tried to hurt me.”

  For some reason, Sam could envision Olly doing that. “Okay, well, I guess it’s good for you to have two people you can call instead of just one if there’s trouble. What time does this party end?”

  “I’m not sure. I’m pretty tired, though. My mom has turned into a slave driver, you know, making me work all the time. So I’ll probably come back around midnight. Is that okay?”

  Sam nodded. “One more thing.”

  “Jesus, Mom.”

  “We’ll discuss your language later. Right now, you should probably find out if this is a date or not. And, if it is, and you plan to explore that with Rachel, you need to talk to Denmar. Lord knows, I’m not his biggest fan, but it’s not fair to him or you or Rachel for you not to talk it out and properly end things with him if that’s what you want. You can’t just break up by virtue of never speaking again. You’re better than that.”

  “Okay, okay. Sheesh.” She rolled her eyes but flashed a smile before she went back to her room, leaving Sam to stand in the dissipating dust, wondering what the hell had just happened.

  ∞

  Olly parked the sander in the lobby, careful to position it out of the flow of traffic, where no one could trip on it. Rampart looked up from his napping spot behind the counter, then dropped his head back to his paws when he realized who it was.

  “Hey, Ramp.”

  Between the still unpacked moving boxes and the detritus left over from the previous owner, the lobby was a haphazard mess, so she started organizing the chaos a bit. Besides, Sam and Beth were talking about mother-daughter things, and they deserved some privacy, though she needed to check in with Sam about what was on the agenda for later. It was almost seven, and she had other things she needed to finish that night. Earlier that day, before she’d left to come here, George had shown up with a truck full of lumber and talked about a set of stairs leading from the barn floor to the loft above. She was eager to get started on that project.

  She heard a second door closing in the living quarters and took that as a sign that it was safe for her to return. She brought the broom, dustpan, and an empty box with her.

  “Hey.” Beth lounged against the kitchen counter.

  “Kid.” Olly set the box near the back patio door and started to work. “What’s the occasion?” She nodded toward Beth’s outfit and her new hair. “I do like it, by the way.”

  “You do? Thanks.” Beth smiled in a way that lit up her face, something Olly had only seen a couple of times before.

  “Yeah. The outfit suits you, and the hair is fun. Artistic. So, whatcha doing tonight?”

  “I may or may not have a date.”

  “Huh. Well, good luck with that.” Olly scooped up a pile of dust with the dustpan.

  “You’re not going to ask what that means?”

  “Nah. Unless you want me to, I guess. You can tell me if you need to.”

  “You aren’t like other adults.”

  Olly shrugged. “I guess not. Why would I want to be? Most people live very limited lives. I want more.”

  “More means living out of your car?”

  “Sure, if that’s what it takes. I like to see different places. Experience things at a native level. Can’t do that if you’re stuck in one place.”

  “So, you’re planning to leave Bitterroot?” Beth sounded... hurt, maybe.

  “Dunno. I expect so, but who knows the future for sure? George is really cool, and I like his place. I’m remodeling the loft in his barn, turning it into an apartment.”

  “An apartment in a barn? Why?”

  “Why not? It’s a good space. And I think George hopes that I’ll stay when it’s all done.” As she talked, Olly continued to work. She made steady progress, and her box was just about full. She’d need another before she finished.

  “Will you?”

  “Maybe. It’d be a first, but I’m not ruling it out.”

  “I hope you do.”

  Olly stopped and turned to face Beth. She smiled. “Thanks, kid. I’ll keep you posted. Now, you were going to tell me about your might-be-a-date plans for the evening.” She started on the next section of floor.

  “That girl, Rachel, invited me out. To this party at some dude’s house. I said yes.”

  “And she didn’t say if it was a date or not?” Olly wasn’t surprised. Kids were awful at communicating their emotions. It was too much pressure, or at least it felt like it, and teenagers were terrified of being vulnerable. Still, kudos to Rachel for extending the invitation. She knew about Beth’s boyfriend back in Vegas and still took the initiative.

  “Nope.”

  “And you didn’t ask?”

  “Nope.”

  “Why not?”

  Beth hesitated. “I...I’m not sure what I want the answer to be. I love my boyfriend. At least I thought I did.” She sighed and stared at her boots. “I don’t know anymore. He’s being such a jerk since I moved, and it’s hard, you know, not seeing him every day like I used to.”

  “What’s he being a jerk about?”

  “Everything. I think he’s fucking my friend Jenny.”

  “That is definitely jerk behavior.” Olly tried to sound nonjudgmental, but it was hard. She was all in favor of people defining the terms of their relationships however they wanted. Open relationships, polyamory, monogamy, whatever worked for the people involved. It pissed her off, however, when people broke the agreed-upon rules of their relationship. Even young people needed to learn to define those with each other. If Beth thought he was sleeping around, that meant he hadn’t actually talked about it with her, and that sucked.

  “It is, isn’t it,” Beth said flatly. “I really should break up with him.”

  “Well, you should definitely talk to him, at the very least. To clear your head about it, anyway.”

  “Yeah, but not tonight. Tonight, party wit
h Rachel.” Beth smiled, but it didn’t make her look any happier.

  “But not a date,” Olly said firmly.

  “No?”

  “No. Not if you’re still in a relationship with Denmar. That wouldn’t be cool.”

  “No, it wouldn’t be. You’re right.”

  “But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.”

  “Right. Speaking of fun, can I call you if things get out of hand? I mean, I’d call my mom, but she’ll just overreact. I’d like to have a backup plan. Just in case.”

  “And what do you think will go wrong?”

  “It’s a party. Anything could happen.” Beth stared at her, expression solemn.

  “Okay. Do you have my number?”

  “Not yet.” Beth held out her cell phone. Olly took it, added her contact information, and then handed it back.

  “Be safe, kid.”

  “I’m trying.” Beth went to the front door. “I’m going to wait outside for Rachel.”

  Olly watched her go, hoping that kids her age in Bitterroot didn’t do the stupid shit they did elsewhere. It was probably a vain hope, but Beth seemed to have common sense, at least. She worked steadily for a few minutes, until Sam entered from the bedroom. She’d cleaned off the sawdust and put her hair up in a messy bun. Auburn strands had escaped and framed her face. It was a subtle, simple change from earlier, but the difference was almost as startling as Beth’s change. Olly stared, transfixed.

  “You look beautiful,” Olly blurted, and bit back a groan. That might have been too forward. But something...what was it? What was she feeling, and what was this strange pull that kept her gaze on Sam and made her want a whole lot more?

  “Really?” Sam glanced down at herself. She still wore the same work jeans and holey T-shirt she’d had on all day. “Okay. I’ll take your word for it.” Olly couldn’t stop staring, and it was a very bad idea that she was standing in the same room with Sam. She wanted to do things she had no business doing. At all. But still, she moved closer.