บท 60: Chapter 60

"What did you say to him?" Pa threw another punch, this one catching Nettie in the solar plexus. The breath whooshed out of her and she fell to the floor. He'd blindsided her with the first one the minute she'd walked in the door after work. Tomorrow she'd have two matching black eyes. Meanwhile the pain made her dizzy and sparks of light glittered in her vision.

"Nothing," she tried to say, though it came out as a gasp and she had to fight not to vomit. She hadn't told anyone anything. "Who?"

"Been cozying up to that hoity-toity lawyer, have you? Planning to turn whore? That's the only use a man like that would have for the likes of you." He punctuated his insult with a series of kicks.

Nettie curled in on herself so his boot caught her arms instead of her face or stomach. One particular blow caused a white-hot burst of pain through her wrist.