Once Bitten: Twice Mad

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Chapter Fifty-Nine: Losing Hope

July 20th 1887

Southwest Wyoming Territory

Ox kicked at the dirt as he watched Colt working with Susette.

It had been two weeks since they'd left Silas and Charlotte's graves behind. Susette's health had improved steadily though for some reason her hand didn't work the way it had before. Colt said that was common with snake bites and it may or may not be permanent. In order to ensure Susette could still take care of herself, Colt was teaching the girl to use a knife and gun with her left hand.

Ox looked toward Katherine but just like she had for the last two weeks, she turned away from him and pretended he wasn't there.

Ox felt his heart break. He didn't understand it. He had thought that they were a family. He had thought that Katherine loved him and that they would raise Susette together but now the woman was pulling away and acting as if she and Ox had never shared anything at all.

"Ox!" Susette's voice called out excitedly. Ox pulled his mind from his depressing thoughts and focused his attention on the little girl he loved like his very own. Ox had never really given much thought to having children. He hadn't figured any woman would ever want to have a child with a man like him—now that Katherine seemed to have ended the relationship they'd been building, he realized he'd been right.

"What is it, Sue?" Ox asked as he crouched down and braced his arms on his knees.

"Watch what I can do!" Susette was glowing with pride as she quickly pulled her revolver and then holstered it several times in a row with her left hand, the movement was smooth and gained speed with each repetition.

"Well shit, Sue, that's real good." Ox beamed.

"Colt is a real good teacher!" Susette smiled.

"Don't matter how good the teacher is if the student doesn't have talent." Colt assured her with a wink, "And you, my dear, have talent."

"Hardly seems a thing to be so proud of," Rachel whispered as she walked by with an armful of wood. "Children her age shouldn't be so talented at violence."

"I'd rather her know how to use that than end up being killed by these monsters." Ox countered.

"We're all going to be killed by these monsters." Katherine spoke up from where she was pouring canned beans into a pot.

Ox glared at the woman. He wasn't sure what was wrong with her lately but Susette didn't need to hear such talk. "Sue, you wanna go to the lake with me?" Ox asked, pointing at the sparkling water thirty yards away.

"Yeah!" Susette exclaimed happily. "Colt, wore me out!"

"He's a regular slave driver." Evangeline agreed, sliding her arm around Colt's waist.

"Katherine, do you wanna come?" Susette asked and Katherine didn't even look up from the pot of beans.

Ox sighed. Not only had Katherine turned her back on Ox in the last couple of weeks but she had turned her back on Susette as well. As a matter of fact she seemed to have turned her back on all of them.

"Come on, Sue, ya gotta help ol' Ox swim. I ain't no good at it." Ox said as he stood straight and held out his hand. Susette laid her weak right hand inside it. She was unable to squeeze or grip well with the hand but at least she hadn't lost it and she could still move her arm; that was more than they'd feared she would be able to do.