“You done that?”
“I was afraid he—” she began.
“You—!”
With the back of an open hand, Milk River struck the girl’s mouth.
He dropped down beside me, his face a boy’s face. A tear fell hot on my hand.
“Chief, I didn’t—”
“That’s all right,” I assured him, and I meant it.
I missed whatever else he said. The numbness was leaving my side, and the feeling that came in its place wasn’t pleasant. Everything stirred inside me. …