She's still eyeing me. She says, again, "That hurt," and there's a tremor of outrage, as if I should be ashamed of myself hurting a kid. But like she said the other day, she is not a child, not out here.
"What's going on?" I say.
I'm waiting for the look of worry, of guilt. The one that says they've made her blame us. Someone has forced her to make a false statement. Someone she respects. Someone she fears.
I'm waiting for her to apologize. To say she had no choice.
When she says, "I told the truth," my heart sinks. But I am not surprised.
"The truth?" I say.
"Eric killed them. I was there."
I could blame post-traumatic stress. Confusion. Even fear.
Instead, I say, "Why?"
"Why what?"
Now I'm the one eyeing her. Sizing her up. There's no point in Harper coming here to talk.
"What do you want?" I say.
I follow her gaze to Storm. "No."
"Yes."
"She's town property."
"She's yours," Harper says. "I heard Eric say that he got her for you."
"Are you sure?"
&nbs
p; Her face scrunches up. "That he got her for you?"
"No, that you overheard it. When? As you were running for your life? After Eric killed three of your people?"
"I want her."
She says it as if this is a simple matter. As if she is indeed a child, one too young to have realized that a wish is not a command or an obligation.
But I'm not sure it is childlike to her. Out here, it's a very normal thing, at least for some of the settlers and probably all of the hostiles. I want this thing. You have it. So I will take it from you.
I remember the young man--Albie--checking out our horses. Suggesting where we might camp, and Dalton being sure not to camp there.
You have this thing that I want, and I will take it from you, and that's nothing personal. It's just the way it is.
Harper steps toward Storm, who leans against me, whining.
The girl looks at me. "Tell Eric that you're giving me the dog, and I'll tell Edwin I made a mistake."
"Little late for that, isn't it?" I say.
"What?"
"How exactly do you tell him you made a mistake? Say that you hallucinated Eric murdering your people? Or that the event was so traumatic you forgot what happened and made something up? How will that make you seem?"