“Much too pretty a face to end up with an ugly scar, Miss.”

Zuniga When she returned to Billy Livingston’s camp, Arvel was sleeping soundly. Billy met her as she rode up and helped her with the horses and traps. He forgot himself for a moment and grabbed Chica under the jaw, turning her face to the sunlight. Her eyes flashed, but she allowed him to look at her wound. She was still flush from battle and a little keyed up.
“I can fix that, Miss.”
“It is nothing, leave it alone. I need a get Pendejo to town.”
He beckoned her to the spot where he had treated Arvel and began pulling out his kit. He smeared something on her wound which made it feel as if she had slept on it funny. He began suturing her face. “Much too pretty a face to end up with an ugly scar, Miss.”
She sat, uneasy, not comfortable with the man sitting so close, not liking the feeling of being out of control. She looked over at him. He was not leering at her; there was nothing bad in his eyes. He was simply caring for her.
He finished and looked back at his work. He handed her a wet rag and broken piece of mirror so that she could clean the dried blood from her neck and breast. He sat back and surveyed his work. He grunted in satisfaction.
He gave Chica an unguent and told her to put it on her wound every day. In ten days, she could remove the stitches.
Chica looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was pleased with Billy’s handiwork.
“You are good, Wolfer.”
Billy looked on at Arvel, who was sleeping quietly. He looked at Chica and spoke more than he normally would to a pretty young woman.
“He’s a good bloke but he’s too good for his own good, Miss.” He waited for her reaction and continued. “You saved his life, Miss. You need to keep savin’ it, for the rest of your time.” He immediately regretted meddling into the affairs of these strangers but was compelled to say it. He knew how different these two were, how they had so many barriers between them, that their alliance balanced on a razor’s edge. He got up and began busying himself with insignificant tasks.
“You see a lot, Wolfer.” The Mule Tamer