Once Bitten: Twice Mad

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven: I'm so tired of the monsters

April 1887

Charlotte cringed when she heard the gunshots outside her window. She quickly left her bed and walked to the window, peeking out through the shutters to see Silas standing in the sun with his shot gun clutched in his hands and the bright sunshine shining on the muscles of his arms. He had ripped the sleeves off of his chambray shirt because they had been tattered and stained with blood and Charlotte found herself staring quite often at those hard muscles beneath that dark skin.

Silas had been working outside, trying to gather what few eggs he could from the chicken coop for their breakfast, though they weren't laying well because food was scarce. Clearly his egg fetching mission had been interrupted by the two rabid lying dead.

Charlotte glanced over at Grace sound asleep in her cradle. How sad it was when a newborn babe could sleep through gunfire. Grace's short life had already been filled with gunfire. Charlotte smiled lovingly at her angel and then left the bedroom to go check on Silas, locking the bedroom door behind her. As far as she knew the rabid could not open doors but it made her feel better to know her daughter was safely locked away. She slipped the iron key into her pocket and made her way down the stairs.

They had been here together at the house for nearly two weeks and in that time Silas had been doing everything to keep she and Grace safe and fed. Charlotte longed to talk to Silas, to really get to know him, but the man seemed to have been working hard to keep a wall between them. Charlotte didn't know why that was and she didn't like it. Silas was so different than any other person she had ever known and she wasn't referring to his skin color. He was kind, gentle and soft spoken. There was a true tenderness and goodness to him that intrigued Charlotte. She had only ever known men to be harsh and cruel. They'd always been heavy handed and temperamental.

Charlotte stepped into the foyer just in time to meet Silas walking in the door. "Well hello there, Miss Charlotte." Silas said as he handed her the basket of eggs. Charlotte felt her heart sink when she realized there were only three. Three tiny eggs to feed them both.

"It ain't much I'm afraid." Silas admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck. Charlotte had had a lot of practice in making the best of a bad situation and she smiled brightly at Silas and propped the basket of eggs on her hip.

"They'll go wonderfully with the biscuits from last night and I do believe there may be a jar of canned apples in the back of the cellar."

Silas smiled back at her. A handsome, gentle smile that made Charlotte's heart beat just a little faster. Which was absurd of course. This man would never fall for a woman like her. Her husband had not even been dead for two full weeks and she had a sleeping newborn upstairs. She simply hoped that she and Silas could remain friends and help each other survive this terrible tragedy going on around them.

"Sounds like a real good meal to me, ma'am. Where's Little Grace?"

"Sleeping soundly." Charlotte replied with a smile, marveling at how Silas always seemed to be genuinely concerned about she and her daughter. A smile tugged at his full lips and he nodded,

"I'll go get those apples..." Charlotte shook her head and laid her hand on his bare forearm. She saw his deep brown eyes instantly go to her touch and his nostrils flared. Charlotte marveled at how pale her skin seemed against the brownness of his.

Quickly she pulled her hand away, embarrassed that she'd touched him. She quickly pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. "I'll get the apples." She managed to somehow mumble out, avoiding meeting Silas's eyes.