Page 17 of Thunder Pass

“It’s not a trick question.”

Still, Ruth floundered, unable to come up with a coherent answer. Sunshine made her happy, finding baby robins in the nest under the barn eaves made her happy, so did her books and the first snowfall and the feel of goosedown tickling her nose…but that didn’t seem like the answer Martha wanted.

“How about this,” said Martha. “Is Luke up to something new? He had some pretty wild plans the last time. Is he going to behave himself like a decent neighbor now?”

Ruth just shook her head. “I wish I knew. I promise I would tell you. I do think he’s working on something, but I’m probably the last person he would tell.”

After another long moment of scrutiny, Martha stepped back, turning brisk and business-like. “You and Sarah can stay here. I can always use more woofers. Twenty hours a week in exchange for room and board. Your first job will be opening up the guesthouse so it’s ready when the other woofers get here. It’s a bit of a communal living space, is that going to be a problem?”

“No,” Ruth said eagerly. “Nothing will be a problem.”

Martha chuckled. “I guess it’s lucky for you that I mostly choose women woofers. I find the guys don’t like to take direction from someone like me.”

“A woman?” Ruth didn’t find that at all surprising. The Chilkoots operated along strict gender lines, except when it came to firearms. Everyone got that training, and those who excelled at it were given permanent guard assignments, no matter their gender. Her older sister Soraya was one of those. “Or do you mean a lesbian?”

Martha’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. “Excuse me?”

“That’s okay, I’m a lesbian too,” Ruth said quickly, not wanting her to feel awkward.

Martha was looking more and more confused. “Really? I thought I picked up on something between you and Gunnar.”

“Oh.” Ruth felt her face color. “That’s…nothing. I mean, not nothing, but we didn’t get married. Obviously.”

“Riiighhht…” Martha dragged the word out, as if she still didn’t understand. “Sorry, how does that make you a lesbian?”

“Well…” Ruth faltered. There was some kind of miscommunication here, but she wasn’t sure what it was. This often happened to her when talking to people who weren’t Chilkoots, and it could sandbag her at the most unexpected moments. “Lesbians don’t get married, do they?”

“Some do.”

“Then…” Ruth shrugged, utterly confused. “I thought that was what lesbian meant. Unmarried.”

“Maybe that’s what it means to the Chilkoots,” Martha said, clearly trying not to laugh. She lost the battle, and burst into a hoot of laughter. While Ruth stared, helplessly, she laughed until tears came out of her eyes.

Still chuckling, she said, “Sorry, kiddo. Let’s just call it a culture gap. But you should know that to the rest of the world, you are not a lesbian, and I’m not either. Understand? And hey, now that you’re out of the compound, maybe you’ll meet a man to marry, if you want that kind of thing.”

Ruth couldn’t possibly think that far ahead, but she made up her mind to find out what a lesbian actually was as soon as possible.

“So do we have a deal?” Martha asked cheerfully, wiping the last of her tears of laughter away.

“Yes, but let me talk to Sarah about it. She should be part of the decision.”

“All right. You let me know. And you didn’t specify, but I’m going to assume you don’t want folks in Firelight Ridge to know you’re here.”

“Not yet. I want to see…well, if anyone back at home cares that we’re gone. Luke might decide we’re not worth the trouble. He might even be glad we’re gone. Me, at least.”

Martha nodded, then turned to head back to the house. “Gonna make some breakfast. You hungry?”

Her stomach had been growling for the past two hours. “Extremely. But Martha.” Ruth hurried alongside her, stopping when she did to greet the sheepdog. “You said twenty hours a week. What am I supposed to do the rest of the time?”

“Not my problem. That time is all yours to do whatever you wish with it. Let your imagination go wild. If you want to earn some money, there might be some opportunities for that, depending on how things go. But right now, let’s go check on your sister, hey?”

Reeling, Ruth followed Martha back to the homestead. Let your imagination go wild. No one had ever said that to her before. That…could be trouble.

9

“Knock knock, anybody home?”

In quick succession, Gunnar heard a woman’s voice, hoped it was Ruth, then realized it wasn’t. The same little rollercoaster ride had been happening every time a woman walked into the garage lately. So far, it had never been Ruth.

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