18Han stood staring, a self-conscious smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Pressed against her bosom, Jeremiah turned his head and gazed at the Okinawan. “What are you doing here?”
“Never mind about that, son,” said the tall, kind-looking Cavalry officer, patting him on the shoulder. “I'm taking this is your boy, ma'am, the one you told me the Comanches had kidnapped?”
Smiling, Susannah kissed the top of Jeremiah's head, the relief gushing out of her. “Yes. My dear, sweet boy. Come back to me.”
In that moment, it seemed as if reality had brought everything back into sharp focus and Jeremiah, sniffing loudly, pushed himself away. The joy he'd felt at seeing his mother alive and well subsided, as the memories of that awful night returned. “Ma, why didn't you try and rescue me?”
Sh
