A Place to Hang your Hat [AnnaBeth and Sigr]

The sheriff did good in making clear to stay away from such kind of people. Even if Alba did met Beth just the day before, she seemed the kind of girl who would dare to take certain matters in her own hands, even if the challenge was too dire. The sheriff's continued insistence made her frown though, a bit tired that everyone around treated the capable Beth like a little girl that you had to spank every time she misbehaved. After what she has seen, after how Beth had helped her, Alba knew that she was a grown woman, no matter what it said on her driving license. Something deep down told her that she was wrong, at least in part, but she refused to listen. She refused to think that the one that cheered her and give her solace in her worst was just a girl that you could ground or spank, having shown a more mature and caring side than Alba herself.

Maybe if Alba had seen the shine in her blue eyes for what it was, she had thought differently, but she could only see how bright they were, how willing to help.

Alba returned to the conversation with a hint of a frown, the attitude of the sheriff sending Beth to the counter only making it deeper. Beth was trying to help, and pretending to help her by hiding the ugly truths that may or may not run under the town was patronizing at best and dangerous at worst. "I could request it with not much trouble if it was an affair of the Marshals, as it isn't... it would require asking for a favor that state would end up wanting to collect no doubt" Alba said, her voice sounding stern, her mood soured. She had done marijuana on a few occasions while in college, what seemed ages ago, and that didn't make her be involved in a methamphetamine selling business. "Going for Jimson's boy could as well be the best option" Alba commented, the makings of an idea appearing in her mind. Deep down she knew she was being a bit contrarian just to back Beth's idea, but perhaps it was indeed a good one.

"We can go to him and ask it, plain and simple, including telling him why" Alba started to explain. "If he acts all dodgy we can interrogate him, a Marshal threatening to seize any assets even remotely related to a crime does wonders, as the threat extends beyond putting his ass in prison" she added, suspects were anxious to help under the threat of ruining their whole family. "I don't know the area, so I won't be useful up top. You can ride with him and if he avoids any areas on purpose, then we won't only know where the lab is, but also that he's somehow involved" she finished, liking the idea more and more as she put it into words. She didn't want to strong arm the sheriff into doing it so, even if she really couldn't. After all, coming here with her city manners and telling him how to do his job would be a big no no, even if asked to help.

"You are the one that knows these people, if you don't see it working I can go to the state police to ask" said a few moments after, offering to follow the sheriff's original idea. She wasn't keen on it, but had to offer a way for the sheriff to save face if he didn't want to follow her plan, or for him to allow her to help if there was some unknown fact that made her idea impossible. If something was Alba accustomed to was to play nice with other law enforcement agencies, more often than not needing their collaboration unless it was a simple task.

Fingers rasped across stubble as the Sheriff stroked his chin, considering Alba's ideas. Eyes gone a little cloudy with age still peered intelligently at her without looking away until he spoke. "Direct. Just get right on that filly and hang on for the ride until you break her. Well, when you're pressed for time you can't always afford so sidle up to the problem and pet it and get it used to the blanket before you toss on the saddle. I'd say, Miss Bertorelli, that you getting stuck here is a little bit of providence. We'll do it like you said and if they get their backs up a little then they get their backs up a little." He nodded, decision made, and waved Beth to come back over just as Alice brought them their plates.

"Yum!" Beth said and tucked into her hot dog with as much relish as the cooks had put on it.

---

Sitting in pride of place on the table, the sweet potato pie had survived the journey thanks to Alba's careful handling and was going to be the nice ending to the evening meal. Food and the companionship of meals was big in Beth's world, a major part of their social life and a way to tie families close together so they could weather not only the changes of the seasons but the waxing and waning of finances and the changing culture of the country around them. They weren't backwards, just hadn't rally thrust themselves into the 21st Century with the same headlong, careless zeal as other places. Tradition meant a lot and eating meals together was a big tradition that they hadn't abandoned in big sky country.

Hard work was another. Almost as soon as they were back Beth was shedding her go to town overalls for jeans and a pair of layered shirts different only in color from the ones she'd been wearing when she came across Alba. There was enough light left to ride some fence, the always at hand task no matter the time of year or how recently it had been done. Figuring she wouldn't want to go with her, and anyway Alba was still a little saddle sore In the stable, Beth was hoisting a short roll of wire onto the back of her saddle when Walker came in.

"Where you riding out to?" he asked, for once not smiling when he saw Beth move away from him.

"The north line and the ridge, out by the fire road," she said, gloved hands pulling hard on the leather tie downs, so hard she'd have to fuss with them later to get them undone.

"Why don't you let me do that and you head out to the east stretch," Walker suggested.

Her hands stopped their work and she looked across Ace's back at Walker, surprise on her face. He wasn't lazy but he'd never volunteered to swap jobs with her either except when Granddaddy was around and he could make a production of it to show how good he was at treating a little lady. "Why?"

Walker's answer was too quick and didn't sit right with her, but she was darned if she knew why. "Think the rockbox is sagging," he said, "I'll shore it up and load some more on. Spare you the heavy lifting." Periodically throughout the fence were big square timber boxes, filled with rocks, that acted as anchors for the tension of the wire. Fixing them was hard, very heavy work and while Beth could get it done it didn't mean she had the time or liked to do it.

"Looked fine a few weeks ago," she countered, watching a hint of anger come over his face. Well that wasn't anything unusual.

"I said I think it's sagging and I'll ride it," Walker shot back. "You been lollygagging around town with your girlfriend all day while the sun wasted. Ain't got time to let you fuss at it like a girl, Beth. Needs a man's touch." He turned, then looked back at her, "I'll ride it. You tend to the east stretch. Hear me? You may be the old man's granddaughter but he still put me in as boss over the hands and that includes you when it's ranch business. Ride the east line," he said forcefully then left. Beth heard him get on his horse a moment later and the squeal it made as Walker roughly kicked his heels back to put it into a fast trot.

"What in tarnation was that all about?" she asked Ace. The horse just whiffled and turned his head back to the feed box, figuring if she wasn't in any hurry to ride he might as well take the time to eat.

A few minutes later Beth saddled up and guided Ace towards the porch of the main house. "Miss Alba!" she called, voice high pitched but loud, talking from her belly to make it carry.

The sheriff's horse metaphors were a bit lost on Alba, but she was glad that not only he had agreed to do it her way, but also seemed to have no grudges with her. Happy to be able to dig in that wonderful food with the homemade feel next to the smiling Beth, Alba enjoyed her lunch there, even if it had gone in an unexpected direction. "Hmm, it's good" she appreciated, part surprise part pure pleasure, after gulping a mouthful of the hot dog.

---

Once home, both women soon found work to do. Beth had tasks around the place and enough light to do them, and even if Alba enjoyed her company, not only was she still sore of the ride the day before, but also knew nothing of what Beth had to deal with. There was also the matter of her plans with the sheriff. Returning to the maps that Mr. McCurdy had shown her the day before, Alba examined them in search of places where such an operation could be hidden. The answer was as disheartening as obvious, making no wonder the sheriff wanted a helicopter, since besides town, the land was so wide and long that it could be anywhere.

Alba's frown dissolved with the sound of Beth's voice coming from the outside. Walking to the porch, the image of Beth riding Ace with the last lights of the day was something to behold. It was easy to forget the capable cowgirl while Beth was a sweet girl with a love for tasty hot dogs and bubbly soda, and at the same time it was easy to not see the naive girl while Beth was a hard working woman with a good hand for horses and gentle demeanor. Alba smiled warmly, as both girls formed the same woman, one that she had just met the day before and already would call a friend, a good and loyal one.

"Work never ends" Alba said, not asked. "Don't come back too late so we can have dinner together" she added, leaning against the door frame, brushing her dark hair back. Eating in company was something that she only experienced these past years with either workmates or soon to be ex-boyfriends, never with people that made her feel the warmth of a family again. "I'm sure you want to see my face when I get a bite of that famous pie we have been nursing" she added, her smile growing wide before seeing Beth part.

---

Dinner had been once again a joyful time, as the three of them shared not only a meal but a taste of that wondrous pie. Alba never tasted a sweet potato pie before, and if she had, it was a bland and forgetful experience with the flavor and the crunch of that one. If she hadn't been already stuffed, Alba would have begged for a second slice like a little girl. After a quick shower, Alba was sitting down on Beth's bed, making time for the girl to relax and rest in the bath. Rummaging in the luggage they had brought her, Alba found a set of nightie and shorts, both on shiny satin blue that were more comfortable than enticing, even if the upper part had a bit of black lace at the top of the bust.

She was ready to go to bed if Beth wanted to, last thing Alba wanted was to impose on her, but she hoped that Beth wanted to talk a bit before that. After all, there was so much that Alba had shared about her worries with her, and yet, even if she was living there for a day now, there was a lot she felt that Beth wasn't telling her. Alba had a couple things to ask, and wondered if with a such absorbing task as that place Beth would be able to get at least a day free, but she didn't press the girl as she got out of the bathroom, feeling that she had hogged her attention enough that day.

"Easy day," Beth said, head cocked to the side as she brushed out her still wet from the bath hair. Wearing just a towel, her nightgown and panties laid across the end of the bed not yet donned, the girl was making quick work of the job, brush leaving shadowed lines between thick strands of gathered red hair that seemed almost copper colored in the yellow gas light of the room. "Didn't even have to fix much fence and Ace still had plenty of energy. He wanted to gallop home so I let him a bit. Felt good for both of us."

"Walker," her brushing stopped and her face screwed up in distaste at naming him. "Well, guess I owe him a thank you. I was going to ride the north fence and ridge, out by the fire road, but he did it for me. Dang near argued with me about it in fact, and Walker ain't one to do extra work just to do extra work. Can't rightly figure what got into him." The brush resumed its work then stopped again and Beth let if fall from her hair, held down by her side.

"I bet you one of two things. Either that snake said he went out and rode it and got just far enough out of sight that he just laid about and napped, or he met some sheepherder and traded some supplies for some hootch and is going to get the hands all liquored up this Saturday and make them plumb sick. Oh he makes me so mad," she said, voice clearly agitated, then went to the window and looked out, hands cupped around her eyes to stare up at the sky and block out the bedroom light.

"Moon's comin' up, but dangit, still going to be too dark to ride out. Have to go first thing in the morning. I swear if he let any stock get over in that section and tangled up in that brush I'll take a horsewhip to him myself."

The curtains swished back into place and Beth turned and flipped her towel off to land on the dresser. Nude, face on to Alba, her full figure was revealed. Coltishly long legs that didn't quite meet at her thighs, leaving a gap between them where her sex was nestled. A tiny slit, barely visible as her lips were almost flush with her body and a downy spray of hair in a V, hair the same color as that on her head. Small breasts, just barely there enough to hold, with pale pink nipples the size of the tip of a pencil eraser, looked slightly bigger than they were on her thin torso. Smooth and muscled from riding and lifting, her tummy was a flat plane with subtly sculpted definition like her arms and legs. It wasn't a long view, she almost immediately stepped into her panties and then pulled the nightgown over her head and into place.

"Can't stand that man," she muttered into the fabric. Her head popped out the neck hole and she continued. "Couldn't stand him the first time he tried to kiss me nor the time he actually did and still can't stand him."

Beth finished dressing and looked at Alba. "How come boys are so confounded stupid? Why can't they just...be like us!"

"I wouldn't be able to say the same about a galloping horse, I guess it takes a while to accustom" Alba smiled, glad that Beth had the chance to have some time for herself, to unwind. It showed how much she cared about Ace, as she didn't see him as just a tool to be used. Alba never thought like that about animals, not being a pet person herself, but she was happy about the attitude. It didn't last though, as she had mentioned the hand that had been bothering her for who knew how long, making Alba mimic her frowned face.

"If he wants both you and the land, maybe it's a change of strategy. Trying to make you think he's all the gentleman all of a sudden" Alba commented. She wanted to keep Beth safe from that kind of dude, but she didn't want to undermine her authority by facing her troubles in the girl's stead. "Remember that you are the one in charge, but if you need any help, just tell me" she said, serious for a moment. "But yeah, I can see him being lazy or drunk. Maybe both" she shrugged. There was something about Beth's recollection of that character that made Alba feel tense, but she was probably just being paranoid. "Remember to be careful like the sheriff told you" she added.

"Yeah, it's way too dark and late-" Alba agreed facing the window, a whip of white greeting her as her eyes went back to the girl, Beth's towel landing on the dresser. Gaslight flickered, beating to the pace that Alba's heart was skipping, sending shimmering shines, serpentine shadows upon her bare body. Her athletic torso was lean and strong, little pink nipples topping barely a handful of breast that seemed firm and barely moved as she walked. An adorable bunch of red hair topped her sex, fluffy after the shower, crowning a slit as reserved as the woman it belonged to, her whole figure a svelte statue that knew no excess, allowed no indulgence, sculpted by duties inflicted upon herself.

One moment was there, a golden girl as bright as the sun, flaring her red hair. Alba could extend an arm and reach for her, touch her, hug her. It was painful and disorienting feeling how much she wanted to, and how much she knew she shouldn't, she couldn't, she wouldn't. The nightgown served as closing curtain to the display, the oh so briefly eyed of the wonders of her body now covered, fuel to the imagination engine. It had been a glance so brief, that had a dreamlike quality to it, leaving Alba flustered, feeling out of her own body.

"Yeah" a dry mouth answered Beth's words, even if they went unheard as Alba slowly came to her senses. "Eh... what?" Alba had caught on the last part of Beth's words, almost regretting doing so, feeling angry for knowing that Walked had kissed those lips. "Come here" Alba pulled Beth with her, sitting the taller girl on the bed but not close, gently directing her to rest her head on her soft lap, turning the situation around. "They aren't all bad, but they are different..." Alba mumbled, a little bit unsure of where her counsel was going. A voice told her to caress Beth's hair and she did, another told her about how wildly inappropriate it all was, that one promptly ignored.

"I guess that it can be hard to find someone like you" Alba admitted, tilting her head down to look at Beth with her dark eyes. "A hard working, gentle and generous, merry and curious, smart and beautiful woman like you has little to choose for a match. The rest of us just can't compete" she blurted, blushing a bit after it. Alba didn't know what the hell was she doing, and even if part of her wanted to flee with any excuse, run for a glass of water, flee into the bathroom, she didn't even move a muscle. Her body just couldn't keep up with her mind, and said mind was already racing so fast that it was constantly tripping with itself.

Alba's lap felt like Beth belonged there, welcoming and shaped just perfect to nestle the back of her head. Beth scooted down just a little bit so her neck was on Alba's thigh and the damp mass of her read hair was pooled in between Alba's legs. "I just don't like them. Boys I mean. Mean too I guess." Something in her voice hinted at what Beth really meant, what she couldn't possibly say. It just came out though, like she wanted to confess to Alba that it wasn't a normal teenage anxiety issue with boys and dating and kissing them.

Beth didn't like boys. That was the shame she carried around with no way to talk about it with a sympathetic ear. Granddaddy wouldn't understand, not at all, and sometimes she thought he knew and that's why he pushed Walker so hard at her. The preacher would get right upset and so would his wife. The last woman in town who'd, who'd been like...that had been run out. It might be 2017 but they were firmly stuck in 1947 in a lot of ways and girls being with girls was one of them. A little teenage pregnancy and a shotgun wedding? That was slightly scandalous and talked about but it blew over so long as the boy did right by her. But...no, it just wouldn't happen.

Alba though, she was a city girl. And a career woman. Would she understand? Beth was still thinking about it when Alba coated her with compliments. Compliments that changed the worried expression on her face into a smile.

"Do you really think I am?" Beth asked, looking up at Alba. Her hair was still wet enough that it was going to leave a damp patch on Alba's lap and her shirt. "All those things? I mean, I know I'm a worker, and the next time I'm in trouble for poking my nose in where it don't belong won't be the first, and I do like to laugh. Sometimes too much maybe. But, the others? Do you really think I'm beautiful? Not cute but, beautiful?"

"So you never dated a boy?" Alba asked surprised. "There is no reason to be shy, boys your age tend to be as nervous as you are, at least the one that aren't assholes" she added with a smile, remembering how hard that was when younger. "You just need to trust yourself" Alba's words tasted bitter in her mouth, trite advice born from indecision, from her own confusion. Feeling like she had nothing to say, nothing to add, not in the state she was in. Really Beth had trouble for dates? Or were the boys in that area specially stupid and rude? There had to be someone decent somewhere, but the more she tried to think of ways to help Beth, the more lost she found herself.

After all, thinking of helping her find a decent boy made Alba uneasy.

"Hmm?" Alba hummed in question when asked, Beth's eyes were like the sky fell upon her. It seemed that her confused expression warranted Beth explaining what she meant. Alba's mind screamed for help, yelled for the woman to stop, wailed in the name of reason, yet her mind wasn't at the helm in that moment under the dim flickering light. "Of all the things I blurted out of honesty that's the one that worries you?" Alba asked with a smile. "Cute you are for sure" she said, using the hand that had been caressing her hair to move the redhead locks out of her face. Her neck craned a bit more, a curtain of black hair flowing from her shoulders, creating a shadow between them. In that cover, Alba's chocolate eyes seemed windows to her very soul.

It was the point where she should have said nothing else. She was ten years older, for God's sake, she knew better. She should have to.

"But beautiful too, and not just inside, with that wonderful soul of yours" Alba said, starting to blush. "Your white skin dotted by those lovely freckles" the back of Alba's hand caressed her cheek, knuckles softly brushing Beth. "That button of a nose crowning the widest smile that ever shone on me" her voice trembled a bit, having trouble to not only deal with herself, but with the situation. "I think I'm drowning on those eyes of yours, Beth" Alba said her name like she was voicing it for the first time.

And then she panicked. What was she doing? She needed a way out, desperately.

"And you forget that I've just seen you naked" Alba tried to paint a smile on her face, to lighten the mood. "Anyone would fall for that- Any boy" she stumbled, her own correction betraying her mind.

"Dated? No'm, never dated. And-" she hesitated then went on, "-and never really kissed one either, 'cept Walker and that was more him kissing me. First time he just got my lips and I stomped so hard on his foot he limped for a week. Second time, umm, well it was New Year's Eve and we was having a shindig with the hands and some of their girls and I snuck some of Granddaddy's shine. Moonshine?" she asked, making sure Alba understood before she went on. "And he kissed me. I didn't know what to do and was drunk and he just kissed me and ugh," she kicked her feet with her eyes screwed up and her hand on them. "God it was horrible! Just his big old nasty lips on my mouth and he tried to stick his tongue in and it was just gross. So rough and dumb."

Beth sighed then giggled. "He limped the rest of that night too, but it wasn't his foot that got smacked but good." She mimed drawing her knee up into a groin then laughed again before going quiet.

She went very, very quiet as Alba spoke, her eyes locked on the beautiful woman who cradled her head in her lap. A woman who really, really seemed to think Beth was all those things. A woman who was smart too, and as pretty as a hill full of flowers, and who was so successful even if she had a set back at the moment. A woman who chose a man's job, chose to break the unspoken rules that held them back.

A woman who... Beth swallowed hard, her eyes tragically blue, and her breath came in short, shallow gasps.

"I got freckles on my shoulders too," she said and watching Alba, untied the neck of her nightgown and pushed it off one shoulder, leaving her pale, bare skin open to Alba's eyes or touch. The curve of the fabric showed part of her neck and the upper part of her chest, not even low enough to hint at her breasts, but a delicate frame for the lightly freckled skin. "You think they're lovely too?"

Alba waited, her baited breath matching Beth's, staring downwards to the girl with a way too similar look to the one that she had on those blue eyes, and yet, they could only see each other, oblivious to their own self. The city woman recovered her breath as the country girl did, as if Beth had accepted that way out Alba desperately offered, the talk was partly moved to her body, but the question remained the same. Feeling like she was dancing on the edge of a knife, Alba almost felt vertigo as Beth barely showed what she had already seen aplenty moments ago, and yet, it wasn't the same.

She shouldn't. She could fall. She had to clear her mind. Was she really...

"I'll have to look closer, there isn't enough light" Alba spoke, her plump lips in cahoots with the rest of her body, acting independently from everything common sense and logic reason dictated her. Alba was no man-eater, never been nor acted like one, but she did earn a reputation about being forward, scaring guys away, a reputation she almost had believed herself. "Come here" she said, helping Beth to straighten up a bit. Beth had been resting her nape in Alba's left thigh, so she raised her right knee until the sole of her feet was on the bed as well. With that leg serving as a support, Alba rested Beth's upper body against it as if it was a chair, having now her face and that bare shoulder even closer.

The same hand that had been caressing Beth had been used to help her rise, and now missed less practical and more caring touches. First it was a thumb on the freckles of her face, then a trip of the knuckles along her neck, to end up caressing the soft dotted surface with her fingertips. "They are lovely too" Alba confirmed, the closer she was the more heat she could feel on her face. Looking at Beth's eyes that close, something finally broke on Alba, the balance that allowed her to go that far without surrendering to her newfound passion or stopping right away tilted.

"Beth..." Alba muttered, a needy gasp that made her tremble. She was the adult, she had to do it. The women from the posters seemed to look, to judge. There was nothing wrong, and yet there was. Alba wanted, but she couldn't. Alba never knew, but she felt it. The decisive part was what she was going to do about it, how Beth would took it, and where to go from there. Alba would loath hurting Beth, and perhaps that was precisely why her lips were able to start uttering...

"We shouldn't..."

It was going to happen. It was finally going to happen and she wanted it so much! Shaking, shaking like she had a fever and just couldn't stop it Beth quivered under Alba's caresses. That's what they were, caresses, not just a touch but a caress with an infinite tenderness Beth had never known but always wanted. Caresses that men couldn't possibly understand the need for or give. Caresses from - from a woman. A woman like herself in a way that God and the Bible and everyone said was wrong, but how could it be wrong when her skin felt like Alba's touches left fire and tingles in their wake. Without realizing it Beth's thighs were pressed hard together and she squirmed, trapping her tiny slit between them and working them wetly back and forth until she whimpered.

Alba trembled too, Beth saw, trembled with the feeling that had burst beneath her breast, a feeling that was hot and aching and that sent feathery tingles down into her tummy, between her legs and caused her to dampen. There it floated back, higher and higher until her skin felt like it had to give way to the pressure beneath it. "Yes," she whispered into Alba's lips.

Just as Alba said they shouldn't.

If Beth had been older, if she had done this before and wasn't a complete ingénue she'd have been able to murmur 'Yes' or even 'Shhh' before pressing her lips to Alba's and allowing their love to blossom in the sweetest of first kisses. But she wasn't older and when Alba seemed to hesitate like it was wrong - it was wrong. It was so wrong that it couldn't ever, ever be and she was so stupid!

Like she'd been shocked, Beth rocked back then scrambled out of the bed, pulling her nightgown back up and stuttering something wordless. The bedroom door flew open so fast that the draft of it made the curtains flutter and then she was gone, a pale redheaded form flitting through the dark house and out the front porch, taking the stairs down as a single leap that almost saw her fall in the dew slick grass.

Less than a minute later Ace burst out of the stable, pale faced figure on his back, bent low and holding onto his mane as red hair chased her like the fires of damnation.

---

It wasn't the first time she'd bawled the blue out of her eyes on Ace's back and it wouldn't be the last. Troubled by the sobs that shook her body, he kept blowing out anxious breaths through his nose and his tail flicked irritably. Every so often he bent his head back and down, velvety muzzle touching her bare leg, the nightgown rucked up around her hips where she sat astride him. It was a familiar touch, a calming one, but there was no consoling to be had. This had to be cried out, sobbed out even as her voice made wordless noises before going into quiet shakes and then repeating. It was more than Alba, than the kiss that almost happened but didn't, but it was also all about Alba and the kiss. Trapped by her love of the land, of her grandfather, and her need to find a love with a woman that could never be - not just Alba but any woman but also especially Alba - Beth was being torn apart from the inside out. Every wracking sob just helped the pieces tear further apart.

Finally, hours later, she slept, her face and body pressed into Ace's back and her arms and legs hanging limply down either side. The horse could easily have slid her off but he stood still and patient as the stars whirled above.

It was still before dawn, barely, when Beth came back. After putting Ace away and rubbing him down she gave him a double feed of sweet oats then liberally drizzled them with sticky molasses. Barefoot, but with her eyes clear if exhausted looking, she went into the house and saw her grandfather sitting in the dark kitchen, a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Beth-"

"No."

He sighed then shook his head. "So much like your mama. You get it all out at least?"

"I don't know," she said and walked past him, stopping when his hand fell on her wrist. "I don't know," she repeated, "but there's work to be done and I want to get after it. Is it okay if I don't make breakfast? I, I want to get to work."

"All right," he finally said and let go of her. "I love you, child."

"I love you too, Granddaddy."

Slowly, not knowing if Alba was in her room or asleep or what, Beth pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing it behind her but not pushing it all the way. She just needed to grab her boots and the clothes she'd laid out the night before and she'd sneak back out.

Beth's warmth escaped Alba's arms, leaving an empty and cold space she never knew she had. "Beth, wait..." her voice barely a thread, part of her knowing she had to let go, part of her wanting to chase after. A gust of wind ruffled the curtains, made the light flicker and vanish, leaving Alba alone in the room, barely illuminated by a dim and disappointed moonlight. Moving to close the window, Alba saw Beth, a ghost on the run, her mane like fire, ride the night on her horse.

Had she gone wrong one more time? Had she made a terrible mistake? Her mind wanted to answer no, that the girl was yet underage, that she was ten years older, that she had just stumbled upon that part of herself and wasn't fair to dump it all on Beth, hoping for her strong arms to catch Alba as she fell on a new self. "If I did the right thing... why does it feel so wrong..." she sobbed, brushing burning tears out of her face. She had to stop that earlier, as things were Alba had created a false hope on Beth, just to take it away from her, the poor girl. But was it false? Was it really? Alba's heart was thumping wild, threatening to flee her chest and chase Beth on its own. Was it worry for a friend? Or was it sorrow for breaking the heart of someone she liked?

It was too much to process, Alba fell backwards on the bed. Her friends in high school, her dates while a teen, the relationships as an adult... Alba wasn't in the best moment to go through her whole life, but in that new light that Beth had shed on her, it kind of made sense. She liked girls. And Beth did too, she even said so. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." Alba groaned, remembering Beth's words, how she behaved. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she punched the pillow half a dozen times, when one of the things Beth said came to the forefront.

"Too dark to ride out" Alba whispered, picking the flashlight from the nightstand.

---

As Beth stepped inside her room, Alba fell upon her, the smaller woman tightly hugging her, not letting Beth go even if she struggled. "I was so worried, you said it was too dark and I pushed you away..." she mumbled, tightening her grip even more. "I'm sorry, I'm older I should have know better, been better... but it's new to me" Alba kept talking. She was still wearing the shorts and nightgown of last night, but her feet were dirty with mud, a few bruises and small cuts here and there. "I couldn't find you and I almost go mad, I came back to check if you did too, but you weren't here" Alba sniffled, taking a deep breath, composing herself. Beth may be taller and strong by her own merit, but for the first time she could feel what strength Alba had on that smaller body, wider frame, as her embrace didn't falter.

"I'm going to let you go of my arms, but please, don't run away..." Alba said, slowly softening her grip. "I haven't slept looking for you, and I'm in no condition to keep chasing you" she admitted, a small, sad, tired laugh echoing as she opened her arms. Stepping back, Beth could see that Alba was a complete mess of red eyes, ruffled and dirty hair, and that her clothes and hands were also muddy, the result of at least one fall in her nightly search for her. "I didn't mean for it to happen that way, I was scared" Alba said. "I am scared" admitted.

"But I meant every word I said, even the last one, you aren't eighteen yet" she finished, waiting to see what Beth had to say, if anything.

"No, you were right," Beth said after Alba let her go. "We shouldn't and we didn't so that's that." Stiff with emotion, Beth's voice mirrored her stance, arms folded tightly across her chest and spine so rigid you could hang a flag off her if she was just a little bit taller. She couldn't bear to look directly at Alba for fear the hard shell she'd put around her heart would crack like poorly fired ceramic and burst through her chest carrying all of her emotions and the shameful needs she was plagued by, needs that were unnatural and wrong.

"And you're right. I ain't a woman grown yet, not in the eyes of the law anyway which I reckon you got to wear like a pair of glasses. So there's that too. Can't rightly be party to something that's illegal and immoral and foolish all at once. Be like betting on a one legged man in an ass kicking contest, so you were right to stop, Miss Bertorelli." Using her last name was dirty and vicious, but Beth didn't care. She chose it on purpose, wanting it to hurt Alba as much as she'd been hurt by Alba last night.

"I ain't a grown woman yet but I got a grown woman's work to do. So if'n you'll excuse me," she picked up her boots and clothes and snagged her hat off the nail on the wall, "I best get to it."

Beth went to the door and stopped but didn't turn around. "Be obliged if'n you told granddaddy it was high time you got a place in town." It was cowardly, cruel, and she hated herself for it but didn't know what else to do. Beth knew that if she turned around, if Alba touched her or even told her not to go, Hell even if she wanted to pick a fight then she'd stay. Only if Alba stayed silent would she have the strength to turn the knob. Shutting her eyes, Beth made a quick prayer.

She didn't know how God was going to answer it.

Alba was exhausted, not knowing what to expect after she had made herself clear, or so she thought. A kiss or a slap. Tears. Perhaps screams. Anything would have been better than the shivers Beth's cold voice caused on her, the distance she put with her crossed arms, the steel on her voice. Beth avoiding to look at her was maybe the worst part, making Alba feel like the blue had been stolen from her sky. How could she be so defeated and not notice her feelings for Beth before? Her short sightedness, her selfishness, both of them had taken them to that point. If she could just reach her, make her understand...

It wasn't foolish she wanted to say, and even if it was immoral and illegal, both things depended on... what it was? Weeks? Months? Beth had talked of her birthday coming soon, but Alba didn't knew when exactly, another thing it had slipped through her fingers. Was it a religious thing? The idea dawned on her, but that only made it worse, made her think of Boston. She couldn't be with Beth that way before her birthday, or the only excuse for the behavior that took her there would be rendered fake, making her a hypocrite. Alba was about to explain, to talk Beth through the details if she had to, when the girl slapped her with the bitter tone that she used on her surname.

It sounded spiteful and it not only made Alba understand how much she had hurt Beth, but also was terrible because getting to see that part of her was her fault and hers only. No more excuses, she was the adult there and she wasn't going to blame Beth for nothing, she couldn't. Not after that. How Beth talked about herself as something other than a grown woman, how she was kicking Alba out of her life... the woman couldn't help and let a small whimper escape her lips.

Alba wanted to scream, to say nothing. It would be so easy, just move on once more, push those things deep down and steel herself from the pain. Beth could be just another ex, another one that didn't work due to Alba's own foolishness, a memory to indulge in drunk nights, to wonder what could have been.

"No" Alba voiced, mostly for herself. It couldn't be like that, not while she could do something, not before it was too late. "Look at me, Beth. I'm very sorry I didn't know how to handle my own shit and caused you so much pain in the process, but if you are going to kick me out of your life, look at me. Look at me!" insisted, raising her voice against Beth's turned back. "Come here, scream at my face, slap and punch me, take my things and throw them out of the window. Anything but that, anything but pretending that yesterday didn't happen" she insisted. "Yesterday happened, I'm not giving up on that..." Alba felt exhausted, spent. She tried to stand tall, but her figure was hunched, her body just covered with last night's clothes was full of dirt and cuts, and her voice sounded weaker and weaker. There were hundreds of things she could say, dozens she could do, and yet nor body, mind or soul had strength for anything than a few more.

"I'm not giving up on you" she finished.

"All right." McCurdy pride made her stiff, made Beth unable to give in to what she wanted to do but Alba's words wormed their way past that and if they didn't bend Beth they at least made her willing to not give up either. "I'll be back in a minute," she said and put her clothing and hat on the dresser. Turning, she met Alba's eyes, her dark brown eyes that Beth wanted to see her for they way she felt about everything, eyes she was becoming accustomed to looking into every morning and every night. Eyes that didn't look at her like Walker's did but held some of the same dark passions.

"You should sit down before you fall down."

It was the briefest of things, a mere whisper of a smile, but it was there and given to Alba before she left.

A wide enameled bowl of water, so hot steam rose from it, was balanced atop several towels, a washcloth, and Beth had some bottles cradled between them and her chest when she returned. They tumbled onto the bed beside Alba as Beth knelt at the woman's feet.

"Hand me that yellow one," she said and took it from Alba then poured something sharp scented and medicinal smelling into the water. Stirring it with her fingers, showing it was hot but not too hot, Beth dipped the rag into it and propped one of Alba's feet on her thigh, then began to wash the mud and the blood and grass stains off of them. Her touch was deft but not so gentle that it didn't get the job done. Occasionally she scrubbed hard, harder than was comfortable, and the liquid gave a sharp sting to any open cut it came across, leaving it feeling clean and cool in its wake. First one leg, then the other, and the yellow tinted water was dirty by the time Beth was through and the steam made some of her red hair stick to her forehead.

"And that big round one," she said and opened it. There was a picture of a horse and a cow on the side and the label clearly said VETERINARY USE ONLY but Beth didn't hesitate to dab her fingers in it then smear a brown, slightly evil smelling ointment across each of Alba's cuts. "Nitrofurazone," she explained. "It'll keep them from getting infected. Ain't no germ strong enough to put up with the smell I reckon. Works a treat on hoof thrush," she said but her grin was teasing.

Beth stood up and wiped her hands on one of the towels. "Look here now. I got work to do and you need to rest up." Not quite pushing Alba, Beth persuaded her to lie down and drew the blanket up over her. Pausing, her hand found Alba's and Beth laced her fingers through the other woman's and squeezed them, a lump in her throat making it hard to talk.

"Best get going," she said, voice heavy, and she reluctantly let go to pick up her clothes and leave, shutting the bedroom door behind her.

Alba stood there, wondering what else could she say, what could have been done differently, but Beth instead of going away, talked to her. She left her hat and said that even if she was going for a minute she was coming back, finally turning to face her. Alba wondered how Beth saw her, if she looked despicable or weak, treacherous or mercurial, but in those blue eyes that were searching her own she saw no hate, perhaps curiosity, maybe something more. But it was fleeting, her sky hiding from Alba once more, although for a moment, weaved with a phrase that showed that Beth still cared, Alba could see a ray of sunshine, the smallest thing ever that yet served to warm her up a bit.

It didn't take much of an effort to follow the advice, as Alba let herself fall on Beth's bed, her hands resting on her knees for support as she sat forward, since if she tried to lie down she could end falling asleep. As Beth returned with a collection of implements that Alba soon understood that were to once more take care of her well being, her heart melted. Beth was hurt with enough reasons to bite Alba's head off, and yet, even if there was no way she had forgiven her by now, providing she ever did, her priorities were once more clear. Alba went through the motions as instructed, just being obedient and silent, giving Beth time to do what she had to do and not suffocate her with more words.

The treatment was too rough at times, but if it wasn't for the cuts and how tired she was, Alba would have not only enjoyed it, but also felt bad about it. It was a wonder how expedite yet caring Beth could be, and a thank you got stuck in Alba's throat when Beth asked for another flask, as she wasn't finished yet. Alba arched a brow at the label, but she guessed that if anyone knew what she was doing was Beth, not to mention that Alba had been feeling like a clumsy cow stomping around without a care since the night before, so it was kind of appropriate to be treated like one. Alba winced at the touch and the smell, letting once more Beth do her thing, although she was being a bit playful, seemingly allowing herself a bit of a small revenge, judging for her grin.

"Thank you" Alba managed to sigh after getting that horrible ointment on her injuries, both of them knowing that it wasn't the treatment the only thing she was thankful for. Alba didn't have difficulty on easing off her posture and slowly rising her tired legs up to the bed while leaning down, her whole being screaming for rest, physical and otherwise. When Beth reached her hand, her strong fingers intertwined with Alba's own, she returned the squeeze, as much as a communication they could have without choking and making things worse. Alba needed rest, Beth needed time, and both could use a bit of distance for at least part of the day.

"I'll be here" Alba said, looking at Beth go with an unspoken promise to return, soon drifting into a deep dreamless sleep.

---

Alba woke up slowly, without a sense of what time would it be, but remembering where she was. Once she managed to properly open her eyes, something surprised her, as she wasn't alone in the room.

"I like watching you sleep," Beth said from where she sat in the straight back chair. She smelled of horse and sweat and a little bit of girl. Dusty chaps with a few fresh scrape marks showing as lighter color covered her legs and she had her work gloves in her lap, in her upside down hat. A ring of pressed in hair marked where she had to have just taken it off. "You don't look like you have any worries. You're just relaxed and it makes your face even more beautiful, like one of them church paintings of Mary." A warm smile backed up her words and Beth reached out to take Alba's hand and help her sit up. The redhead looked tired but happy about being tired, taking pleasure in a day's work well done.

"I was wondering if you might want to go into town tonight and see a show." Beth's voice was hesitant but she didn't look away, blue eyes full of hope and sparkling with the tingling tenseness in her tummy. "You have to say yes. Couldn't stand it if you say no. Come on," she urged and tugged at Alba's hand, trying to pull her out of the bed. "I'll share my Twizzlers."

Beth's words made Alba smile in a ditzy half asleep way. The young girl seemed to have just returned from her share of hard work and then some, perhaps unwinding herself with it, throwing herself in a task she dominated, Alba knew that feeling all too well. But unlike Alba, that most of the times returned to an empty home, Beth had returned back to her. "I'm sure that Mary doesn't have to deal with bed hair..." she joked, her dark mane wild all around while she accepted Beth's hand to sit up. She wasn't feeling specially sore, but she didn't know how much she had been sleeping yet. "Or smell like nitro... whatever. It has done wonders, though" she looked at her feet and lower legs, the itching and discomfort of the cuts was barely there. Alba looked at Beth's bright blue eyes, feeling so lucky and so glad that the girl had allowed her to salvage her mishap, to bridge the chasm she had caused. There was a lot to talk though, ideas that had to come to term in their minds and could only do so if honestly voiced. Alba had found thanks to Beth a hidden part of herself, a part that made her feel genuinely happy, and yet, a part that would be troublesome and could, as she had checked first hand, bring lots of pain.

Alba was nowhere ready to talk looking like that with her nightgown and shorts, bed hair and in dire need of a shower. "Uh?" Beth's question had caught Alba unaware. A show? "Ah..." she mumbled, unable to withdraw her eyes from the sparkles on Beth's own. Beth insisted, tugging on her like an eager girl, exactly what she was, although the smell that the sweaty cowgirl exuded talked a very different tale of a working woman. "Bribing an officer with Twizzlers is a major offense, but I'll turn a blind eye. Okay, I'm going, what kind of show are we talking about?" she joked, accepting the invitation and letting Beth pull her out of bed. For a moment it felt like Beth was hiding, running forward to avoid talking about what happened, and Alba had to admit that it was an awfully tempting proposal. They couldn't keep going like nothing had happened, but perhaps both of them could use of a truce, a small moment when things could be simple and fun again.

"We both need a shower" Alba said, momentarily worrying about the logistics of it, not wanting to be tempted again by Beth's bare body, just the memory of it making her tingle. Wait, she had been prancing around the girl in underwear, so she was also at fault by tempting her, even if unknowingly. Alba sighed, then moved on practical questions. "What should I wear to that show? Your pick" she wondered, picking up clothes from the few she had there and asking Beth which one of her outfits to wear.

"It's kind of like this," Beth explained as she pulled off her boots. "You walk up to the box office window, hand them your money, and they give you a ticket to the show." Double clunks sounded as her boots hit the floor and Beth wiggled her toes in obvious enjoyment. "Had these for a few years, guess I growed a little bit more. Time to get some new ones. Well," she continued, "least that should be the last pair I'll need for quite some time. Good boots last if'n you take care of them."

"Anyway, the show. You just go in and get your popcorn or Twizzlers," she added with a laugh, "and then the movie comes on and whatever it is, it is. They only have one screen and one movie at a time. Could be a Disney show or something with robots and lots of explosions. Half the fun is not knowing." The chaps came off next and there were faint sweat stains on her jeans, the thighs, from where they'd rested all day. "Best you get in there first. Not sure there will be any hot water left and dang sure won't be any clean tub."

In a movie she'd have offered to wash Alba's back, or suggested Alba wash her own, but this wasn't a movie and even thinking about it brought a blush to Beth's cheeks. They'd just begun sort of talking about the idea of it being a date, of them maybe seeing if there was something there. Something wonderful and new and scary, so so scary. They hadn't even kissed yet - though Beth was sure they would and that sent a chill across her skin that had nothing to do with cooling off after a long day of hard work in the hot sun.

"I'll lay out something for you, if you want me to. While you're in the bath then we can switch out. I'd, I'd kind of like you to do the same thing? You think that would be okay?" suddenly shy she fiddled with her chaps and gloves, looking down at them instead of at Alba. "I don't have much for fancy, but there's a church dress or two in there might be okay for walking out in."

Alba seriously doubted what was causing Beth more enjoyment, if getting rid of her boots and wriggling those cute toes free or her explanation to the city girl of the show they were going to see tonight. "Fine, fine, mystery show it is" Alba conceded. "I'll make it quick" she promised, running to the bathroom for all sort of practical reasons related to saving time, and not because she didn't want to see how far Beth was going to undress in front of her. With her dirty clothes bunched and discarded in a corner, Alba found refuge under the shower water, feeling how it cleansed her drowsiness and sweat, her pain and that smelly ointment from her legs. Her desires, her worries, those were still there under her skin, but she could manage, she would have to. The alternative was just too terrible.

Taking just the time needed, even if she felt that being underwater for hours would feel magnificent, Alba got out of the shower, brushing and drying her hair, noticing that she had walked in without even clean underwear and covering her body with a towel after drying it. Out of the bath, Alba seemed her usual self, no longer tired or worried, her matured body hidden by the biggest towel she had found, feeling curious about Beth's choice of attire for her. "Your turn now" she mumbled, trying not to look in Beth's direction, not even wanting to know how far she had undressed herself, much less look directly at her body in case she had bared it yet again.

Still dressed, Beth was just straightening up from laying out some clothes on the bed. She'd obviously been out to the stable as well as her chaps were no longer in the room. Fresh from her bath and from the wonderfully clean to the nose scents of soap and shampoo, there was a distinct odor of horse and hard working girl waiting for Alba when she walked in. "Okay." She didn't turn around, not immediately, but when she did Beth's heart skipped a little and there was a soft, surprised look in her eyes when she saw Alba in the towel, body flushed and still damp in places from the hot water. Alba was completely covered from above the tops of her breast down to mid thigh but the potential change in their relationship and the knowledge that just one flick of the wrist away Alba's soft, lovely skin would be visible to her hit Beth hard. Unable to look away, Beth all but stared at Alba until it got awkward then she shook her head like a horse tossing a fly. "Sorry. You, uh, you just look pretty and it made me gawk a bit."

"Whew." Beth laughed and pretended to fan her face. "Best be getting to it myself I suppose." She walked past Alba, so close that her arm brushed the towel and made it swish up her thigh almost to the hip. At the door, hand on the knob, Beth turned around before opening it.

"Alba?" She waited until Alba looked at her. "I'm not really sorry for staring." Beth winked and went out, leaving Alba alone with the clothes that had been laid out by Beth. Flat front, wide legged pants in black, a sleeveless dark pink sleeveless sating shell that couldn't help but complement Alba's complexion and her dark hair, and a light grey fitted jacket. Instead of the flats Alba might have felt most comfortable in Beth had pulled out a pair of pumps with a modest heel and put them on the floor below the outfit.

For herself, Beth had laid out a creme colored crocheted dress with a wide leather belt, a short denim jacket to cover her shoulders, and a much fancier pair of boots than she worked in, a tooled design accented in turquoise on the side of them. A pair of simple cotton panties were laid on top along with a racerback bralette that had thin straps so it wouldn't show. There was even a piece of jewelry, a bracelet with a leather band that held a gold Love on it.

Beth took as much time as she dared in the bathroom. It wasn't about getting clean and smelling nice, that was easy enough and she even got out the bar of vanilla scented soap she kept for when she wanted to feel extra fancy. No, it was worries about the butterflies in her stomach carrying her away when she went back in the bedroom to see Alba. Asking her out, and it was a date!, had been hard enough but the idea of following through with it, in seeing Alba dressed up in something Beth had picked out just for her, just for them and the date made Beth as nervous as a long tailed cat at a rocking chair convention. Several times she started to leave only to turn around and grab both sides of the sink and try not to hyperventilate. Convincing Ace to slowly back up from a bear they'd run up on, her rifle at the ready to take it down if it charged - that was easy. A little exciting but not scary, not in the same way going back in there and getting dressed for a date was.

Was this what it was like for boys, she wondered? They seemed so thick headed and rough with their feelings but she'd seen more than one cowpoke get fumble lipped at the county fair trying to make time with a filly. Looking foolish and immature worried her, like she'd already done the night before running out of the house like a dang silly girl instead of a woman. Okay almost a woman grown, close enough. Hundred years ago and Beth would already be married and have a few critters running around the house so it wasn't like she wasn't old enough, just that...the world had changed a little bit. But it hadn't changed here in their part of the country and even though it was a date, and how that word thrilled her, they had to act like they were just two girlfriends going out to a show.

And not the kind of girlfriends that made Beth grab the side of the sink even harder and a warm glow spread around her tummy, and lower.

"Just bite down on the leather and get in there," she said to herself and stood up. Nodding, Beth tipped an imaginary hat to her reflection then giggled and left the bathroom.

Unlike Alba she did make eye contact the moment she walked in the door and shut it behind her.

Beth stopped like she'd been hit across the eyes with an axe handle. Alba was just putting on a pair of earring, simple studs, nothing fancy, in the mirror and her back was to Beth but blue eyes met brown in the reflection. Beth's mouth was open and as Alba watched the girl's eyes went from her head down to the shape of her bottom, her bottom that was lifted and popped out a little bit by the heels and showcased by the close fitted slacks. "Wow," she managed to say. "You look so-" classy, sophisticated, professional, confident, lovely, uptown, fancy "-purty." Wincing inwardly Beth blushed and stammered. "What I mean is, aww shucks. If that's what you wear to court then I reckon the bad guys are throwing themselves in handcuffs just so they can get there and see you on the witness stand."

Alba got out the bathroom, feeling a bit vulnerable under the towel, exposed, last night's events having changed how comfortable she was underdressed with Beth around. The sweaty smelling girl staring at her didn't make it any better, as Alba wasn't immune to her attention nor the rougher and more womanly aspects of her hardworking life. How did you answer to an admission of being gawked at? You could sneer if it came from someone you didn't like, but it wasn't the case. You could flirt back, but Alba wasn't nowhere near ready for that. "Ah... thanks" she just muttered, unable to even think of a joke. Luckily Beth joked for the both of them as she fanned her face, passing next to Alba and making the towel crawl up and the woman smell Beth's musk at the same time. Adjusting the towel, Alba turned around at Beth's request, only to look at her in awe as she toyed with her and winked away.

"You are going to be the death of me" Alba groaned, alone in the room. She had said to Beth that she couldn't... and yet she was teasing her that way? Alba was completely disoriented. Dealing with her newfound sexuality was strange enough, not just the notion of liking women as a general idea, but liking Beth in particular, but now she also had to keep herself away from her. While liking her. And not pushing her too far as to hurt her feelings. Alba would change that for walking a tightrope between the John Hancock Tower and the Prudential Building. At least that would feel safer and less painful.

Looking at what Beth had picked for her couldn't help but smile. The girl was pushing some of the most feminine outfits of her wardrobe on her, something that was nowhere near easy, but she had made good choices in general. She didn't have the audacity to make an underwear selection as well, so that saved Alba some wild blushing. Not wanting to be ambushed while naked, Alba soon got rid of the towel and grabbed a set of matching black lace underwear, wanting something that served well with the clothes she was going to wear, even if it would remain unseen. The bra was a half cup that enhanced her cleavage, while the bottoms were a low rise whisper of fabric designed to remain invisible even with low rise pants.

"I don't know what the hell I'm doing" she mused, quickly putting on the rest of the clothes, getting atop the black pumps to check how the whole outfit looked. Way too good was the honest answer, and it seemed designed to torture either Beth with those looks, Alba by feeling Beth's glances or both. She thought about putting on something else, but as she didn't want to hurt Beth, the idea was soon discarded. Looking at Beth's outfit for the first time, Alba couldn't help but gulp. It was cute even without being on the girl, and just looking at the whole ensemble on the bed made Alba's imagination run wild. Her fingers grazed the racerback bralette, the fingertips along the embroidery, wondering how it would look on Beth while she noticed the 'love' bracelet.

A sigh as heavy as to threaten to deflate Alba and send her flaying around the room like a punctured balloon heralded her move, away from those cute clothes and back to the mirror. Fishing among the mess that selection of her things were for a couple of simple black stud earrings, she was putting them on when the bathroom door opened back, showing Alba a hint of Beth in a towel before she averted her eyes. Faking difficulty with the earrings, Alba didn't turn, but Beth's blue eyes on the mirror felt like a lighthouse to guide the ship of Alba's brown ones, returning to their safety over and over again, specially when she talked.

"I've must have a pair of handcuffs around somewhere, and another in my car if you feel criminal enough" Alba just blurted, so eager to follow on a joke that her tongue was racing faster than her brain. Her nervous laugh sealed the deal, feeling terribly embarrassed and hoping that naive Beth didn't have the same mental image as Alba did, with Beth's pale bare self lit by only the moonlight while cuffed to the headboard. "Ah-I'll do my hair in the bathroom so you can get dressed..." Alba said, going towards the bathroom and given how things were, having to wait for Beth to leave the entrance free so she could go through.

"The light's better in there," Beth agreed but didn't immediately step out of the doorway. It wasn't until Alba was almost on her that she awkwardly moved to the side, one hand under her left arm to hold the towel in place where she'd overlapped it and tucked it in. Just as Alba started to pass Beth leaned to the side, brushing Alba's shoulder with her own and momentarily stopping the older woman in her tracks. Beth looked across into her eyes and felt like she might be able to spend the rest of her life just doing that.

"You should put it up all nice so I have something to take down later." Hardly believing herself, Beth gave a laugh that was part nerves and part delight then moved out of Alba's way.

---

When they went out to the truck, Beth strode in front of Alba with rangy country girl legs and opened the passenger door of the truck, waiting for Alba to get in like it really was a date. She'd also draped an old but clean three-stripe wool blanket over the worn seats, making them if not fancy then cleaner on their clothes and softer. After closing Alba's door, Beth went around to her side and scooted in, butt first because of the dress, and put the old pickup in gear. The sun was setting as she turned towards town.

Once out of sight of the ranch, Beth slowed down and looked over at Alba. "Come on over here," she said and patted the middle of the bench seat, then reached over and put her hand in Alba's, tugging until Alba gave in and scooted into the middle. Beth's right arm went around Alba's shoulder as she drove, keeping the two of them pressed together as they rattled and bounced down the road. Not saying anything, she just kept her arm around Alba until they saw the outskirts of town. Only then did she remove it, reluctantly. "I ain't ashamed," she told Alba, voice small but serious. "But no sense courting trouble either. Not for either of us."

---

True to her word Beth got Twizzlers, the red vines in their plastic wrap were in the pocket of her denim jacket, and she carried a big popcorn and a glass bottle of Pepsi with a straw in it. The theater was old, an outside curved glass box office bereft of a speaker or security glass window and the lady who took their money looked like she'd come with the original furniture. The tickets were just simple things, like you'd get at the store for a church raffle, and Beth had tucked them in Alba's hand, fingers lingering just a moment too long and a look from her blue eyes that reflected the tingles she felt at the contact. "I hate sitting up front," she said, maybe just a little too loud as if she was setting up an alibi. "How 'bout we sit in the back. Good place to watch the couples kissing," she teased.

Inside the velvet curtains were raggedy but clean and the seats were plain varnished wood and iron like you'd see in an old auditorium. More of them than expected, well over a hundred, and Beth walked them to the back right hand side, up against the intersection of the wall. Way down below there was an amber EXIT sign that occasionally flickered.

After she sat down, Beth propped her cowboy boots up on the empty seat in front of them, making her dress slide up past her knees and well onto her thigh as she slouched. There wasn't any music, no pre-show commercials, the curtain was still in place over the screen and people were starting to fill in though it seemed like a very light crowd. "What was the last movie you saw?" Popcorn rustled under her hand.

Alba couldn't help but indulge herself on Beth's attention, on her cutesy requests, so she bunched up her hair into a ponytail and then made a bun out of it. It was simple but effective at leaving her neck bare, and in case it came undone she could tie it back in seconds or just let it flow. Neither of them knew what they were doing, and while Beth laughed nervously on the exploration of their relationship, Alba found her heart in a tug of war between what she wanted and what she allowed herself. "Aren't you the gentlewoman?" she admired her old fashioned door opening routine with words, but her eyes were looking at how beautiful she looked in that dress, complimenting her tall and lean figure.

"Okay..." Alba agreed once more to one of Beth's petitions, dragging herself along the wide bench seat until her hips almost bumped on Beth. As the girl's firm arm surrounded her, Alba felt safe on her grip, and softly rested her head against Beth, saying nothing. It felt so right that Alba wondered how people could think it was wrong, and yet, she couldn't let herself lost on that feeling, not yet. The moment seemed to last a heartbeat, as soon the town was within sight, Beth removing her arm out of precaution. "Yeah..." Alba agreed, feeling how strong Beth could be, so glad that she wasn't ashamed of who she was, but Alba still had the sensation that it wasn't just an honest declaration, but also a wish, a mantra. Beth wasn't ashamed, and she said so because she didn't want to be, she had to fight against it. Alba thought that keeping her at arms distance and not falling to temptation until she was of age was going to be hard, but Beth didn't had it any easier. After all, Alba was the stranger, the foreigner, a degree of not proper behavior was almost expected of her.

---

Without waiting for Beth to open her the truck door, Alba followed her to the theater, having trouble keeping herself from giggling. How long has it been since she had fun? Real and pure fun with another person? It may be the simplest of things, and yet, Alba had trouble remembering when was the last time she had felt that way. Maybe the answer was never, having denied a part of her for so long, buried under her layers of duty. She thought she was going against the grain, but allowing herself that professional freedom against her family wishes had made her personal freedom go unnoticed, unattended.

Taking a Pepsi bottle for herself and intending to take some sweets from Beth, Alba felt like she could follow those eyes anywhere when she grazed her. "There nobody will see me steal your popcorn" Alba said with a wide smile, Beth's attitude contagious, taking one popcorn from her and throwing it in her mouth. Up and away Beth took Alba, pinning her in the most private spot of the venue, making the woman distract herself sipping Pepsi and avoiding to gaze at how good Beth's legs looked with the dress scooting up. The place was nice enough, and it was a tad warm, or so Alba felt, so she removed her jacket, letting it hang on the empty seat in front of her.

Perhaps she should have bought some popcorn of her own, at least that would keep her hands busy. "I don't think I can remember, probably something on the couch, eating ice cream by myself" Alba joked, even if it was probably painfully true. "In a theater..." Alba made an effort to remember. "Oh yeah, there was one lawyer that took me out for the tested and true dinner and movie. The dinner was mostly fine, even if he talked about the job all the time" Alba shook her head. "But the movie... it was odd. She avoided picking a 'chick flick', his words, not mine, because I looked like I would like an action movie full of explosions" she continued. "It's not that I dislike them, but it kind of tied everything together, as he was treating me more like one of his dude pals than his date" sighed.

"A Marshal can like romantic movies as well, you know?" Alba protested jokingly. Her brown eyes looked wishful, as if they searched for an answer behind the theater curtain. There was a longing on them, a desire, and yet they looked colder than ever, restrained. "I love happy endings" she muttered, sinking a bit on her seat, hugging her bare arms over her chest.

Images of Alba in a flirty black dress, her hair fixed in a pretty up do and with just a little jewelry on as she sat inside a nice restaurant in the city filled Beth's mind. There would be a white tablecloth on the little round table, little to encourage Alba and her date to sit close to each other and they'd talk about all sorts of things, never long looking away from each other's eyes. He'd order for Alba and she'd let him even though she was capable of doing it on her own; she'd let him because it was a touching, slightly possessive gesture and she'd reach out and put her hand in his while he talked to the waiter about wines and -

Somewhere in this vision of Alba on a date Beth realized she'd reached out and taken Alba's hand for real and instead of looking into a man's face Alba was looking into Beth's. A squeeze, fingers feminine for all they were a little work worn, and Beth casually removed her hand from Alba's, not wanting to jerk and make it look like she was doing something wrong or was worried. No one had seen and even if they did, well, to Hell with them and she'd call them a liar and a dirty minded gossip seven ways to Sunday if they said anything rude about it. Or maybe just stare at them like she didn't understand what they were hinting at and ask them to explain it to her. "He'd get along fine with the hands then," Beth said and started to open the package of Twizzlers, plastic not so loud now as it would be during the movie. "They sure do like to jaw about themselves and what their big plans are. Cowboys dreams are always slow moving though for all they talk. Most of them, well, they won't ever amount to much. Good men, good hands, but they'll just kind of drift."

Lights dimmed and there was a spatter of clapping and momentary excited chatter that gave way to the sound of hooks rattling and rope being drawn through pulleys as the curtain rose. Behind them the projector lanced out a cone of dust speckled light and even through the thick window they could just hear the clicking of film through reels until the opening music took over. It was a generic romantic comedy, with the typically cute and determined and slightly in over her head female lead opposite a guy who didn't treat her quite right and another one, quieter and more sensitive in the background who everyone knew she'd end up with by the end of the movie. Light and easy to follow, Beth did just that for the first half hour, laughing in the right places and fixed on getting drawn into it. It was when she finished her Pepsi and leaned over to the side to put it on the floor under the seat next to her that she realized that her skirt falling back in place felt warm. The chill of the air conditioning had crept up on her and it felt good. Beside her, face and body pale in the light from the projector, Alba had her arms wrapped around herself and seemed cold. Beth took Alba's jacket from the seat and draped it over Alba's far shoulder, reversed, and then scooted in as close as the armrest between them would allow and fussed at the jacket for a minute, tucking it under Alba's chin.

Really it would be better, warmer, for Alba just to put it back on but this was more fitting.

"Should have brought the blanket in," she whispered, leaning close to Alba's ear. "Forgot how cold it can get when you start sitting still." Reaching under the jacket, Beth chafed her hands up and down Alba's bare, smooth arm and then settled back. In the darkness, slow but not timidly, her fingertips lazily circled around Alba's wrist and the bottom of her palm as she turned her face back to the movie.

Alba was mindful, even if not bothered at all, by how Beth seemed to go back and forth, from squeezing her hand to withdrawing it back. Like the waves on Revere Beach she was gentle, yet the strength of her attention waxed and waned depending on the wind. That didn't keep Alba from finding the blue on her eyes any less mystifying, but as Beth soon found refuge on the land of the Twizzlers, Alba resorted to take a couple Pepsi sips to quench her dry mouth.

It was precisely one of those mentioned romantic movies the one showed that night. Charming in its naive story, Alba soon fell prey to how simple and sweet things could be, happily munching one of Beth's Twizzlers while the movie went on, inadvertently hugging herself against the air conditioning. "One would think that a Bostonian would handle cold wind better" Alba whispered back, both women closing the distance to talk to each other in that back corner of the theater. Alba snuggled against Beth the best she could given the armrest between them, what wasn't much but allowed for their arms to be close, and that was something.

An easily avoided and convoluted misunderstanding set the movie in high gear, as mister sensitive thought that female lead was back with the charming guy, when in reality he had tried to kiss her against her will when she was making clear she didn't want anything with him. "If he'd just talk things would be easier" Alba couldn't help but whisper to Beth, getting way too much into the movie. By then her head was leaning against Beth's shoulder, seeking warmth of body and mind, the light of the screen reflected on her eager brown eyes.

"I need something to chew on" Alba hushed, equal parts irritated and mesmerized by the developments in the movie. The mother of the female lead was horribly obnoxious and wanted for her to secure the charming man's family money with a wedding, and was spreading lies about mister sensitive for her daughter to overhear. Reaching for Beth's pocketed Twizzlers, she clumsily brushed around Beth from under the jacket, not wanting to avert her eyes from the screen, but when she finally found the sweets Alba looked at Beth with a playful frown. The sweet toothed girl had devoured all but one, presumably saving it for later.

"It's the last one..." Alba mused. "Halfsies?" she proposed, not wanting to leave Beth without it, but also craving something sweet to munch.