"No worries. I'll get some rags for you then, before sundown."
Tommy's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing at the words. He felt a flicker of offense, something that prickled at his skin, but it wasn't quite enough to make him lash out.
There was something strange in Benjamin's tone, something that wasn't mockery or taunt or malice—it was just… plain. Neutral. A statement of fact.
'Benjamin actin' strange today, what's goin' on?' Tommy wondered, his mind swirling with confusion. 'This don't sit right with me, this ain't the Min I used to know.'
Benjamin wasn't usually a man of many words, true, but there was something different about his silence today. It wasn't the comfortable, easy quiet of a man who preferred actions over words—it was a deep, dry silence that sucked all the life out of the room.
Flip!
