"Aye. And therefore, not the most popular with lawbreakers." He seemed to relax more than a little at her laugh, some of that darkness receding from his expression. "Here's a fun fact: the only thing Farson's men like less than gunslingers is fourteen-year-old gunslingers who show them up in a fight. Another fun fact: angry mobs are remarkably gullible."

Maybe it was crazy for him to be joking over this. God knew that joking didn't make it any less raw; Roland hadn't been the only one changed by their experience in Hambry, or the only one who grieved what had happened there. In all the war since then, Cuthbert couldn't think of a hollower victory than the one they'd won in Mejis. But Kaine didn't have to know that.

"Long story short, we got framed for murder and conspiracy. And then we blew ten kinds of shit out of the assholes who did it, which, I have to tell you, was extraordinarily satisfying. But it did instill in me a certain horror of what happens when Roland falls for people."