Apokalypsis Book One

by Kate Morris

Noah was Mrs. Goddard’s grandson who went to college and was engaged to Marilyn. She explained that quickly to Roman.

  “Mrs. Goddard, you should’ve called me!” Jane said with worry about her friend. This was way too much work to handle alone. She was close to eighty years old, for goodness sake. “I’ll come over tomorrow before school and turn them out. Don’t worry. I’ll help. I’ll come after school, too. You can’t do this all alone.”

  “I’ll come, too,” Roman said beside her.

  Jane made the introductions, and Mrs. Goddard shook his hand and placed hers on top of his.

  “Don’t worry, Roman,” she said. “I’ll see to it that you get paid to help out. I don’t want to get a bad reputation in the community for not paying my workers.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “But I really just want to help. The money isn’t necessary.”

  She just waved away his comment.

  “I just don’t understand how everyone can be so sick!” she said. “And at the same time!”

  Jane tried her best to explain some of it to her dear friend, who then seemed even more concerned. She was a widow and lived alone. They also explained that she should use extra precautions and try to stay away from sick people.

  “I have my husband’s revolver and his hunting rifle,” she said with moxie. “I’m not afraid to use it if one of those infected, crazy people comes around.”

  “Good,” Jane said, relieved that she didn’t have to worry so much about her.

  “Jane, dear,” she said and placed her hand on Jane’s. “Don’t worry about turnout blankets and coolers. Just do what you can. I haven’t heard from a single owner about their horses, and nobody’s even come here since last weekend to ride. That’s never happened before. Never.”

  Jane knew this to be true. The place was usually swamped on the weekends, but steady during the week with people bringing their kids for lessons. She’d worked at the stables since she was fifteen, so she’d been around enough to know the place was always busy.

  “Yes, ma’am,” she answered. “We’ll do what we can until this all blows over.”

  Roman shot her a frown. She knew he didn’t like her naïve sense of optimism but lying to herself seemed to be the only thing she had left to fight this thing. She wanted so badly to believe it, too, even if hope was as fleeting as an apparition floating away and disappearing into a misty morning meadow.

  They worked together and were finished by two. Roman went and picked up a pizza for their lunch, for which she was grateful and tried to pay him. He refused, of course.

  “You’re helping me,” she explained as they sat at the picnic table that was located in the aisle next to the tack room in the back barn. In the summer months, it was placed outside near the front office in the sunshine. The smell of leather and horses never got old to her, but she wondered if he was grossed out eating in a barn. “I should be buying you pizza.”

  “I’m counting this as our second date, so I’m buying,” he countered.

  “Date?”

  “Yeah, dinner at the restaurant the other night was the first. This is our second. Wait. This is our third. Homecoming. Then the restaurant. Now pizza in a barn.”

  She didn’t know how to respond to that. Looking at Roman now was like looking at the complete opposite picture he presented this morning. He’d ditched his sweater and jacket earlier after a short time of cleaning out stalls and was wearing just a short sleeve black tee. He was as dirty as she. He was also a lot more muscular than she would’ve guessed. Why did he want to call their time together ‘dates’? That, she didn’t get.

  “Right?” he asked.

  “Huh?” Jane stammered like a hayseed.

  He chuckled and disarmed her with his charming smile. She smiled crookedly in return.

  “Um, not dates.”

  He scowled. “Why aren’t they? I consider them dates. Of course, dinner in a barn probably isn’t the best I could’ve come up with. It’s pretty cool, though.”

  She grinned again, something he made her do a lot. It felt odd doing something so foreign so often. “Now you really are slumming it.”

  He shook his head and took a bite of pizza and then spoke around it, “Nah, slumming it would be half the houses in my neighborhood at dinnertime. This is an upgrade. Trust me. You have no idea. The company is ten times better, and so is the conversation. And a hell of a lot better view, too.”

  Her eyes darted to his, and he winked. This made her blush. Another thing she hadn’t even known she was capable of doing.

  Jane decided to change the subject, “I don’t like lying to my grandmother. I’ve never done it before, and it didn’t agree with me.”

  “Good.”

  She sent him a confused look.

  “I like that you don’t lie,” he remarked and took another huge bite of pizza. Then he said, “Most girls I know are total liars.”

  He was so blunt it made her almost choke, and she coughed.

  “Geesh,” she said.

  “What? It’s true. You know it is.”

  “And other things, too,” she said meanly. Then she felt bad. She was sure that not all of his friends were jerks.

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “Bitchy, moody, manipulative.”

  There was something that was bugging her, and she wanted badly to ask him about it. She opened her mouth. Then closed it. Some things were not her business.

  “What?” he asked, picking up on it.

  Jane shook her head, “Nothing.”

  They ate in silence, and when they finished, Roman took her paper plate and tossed both his and hers in the garbage can. She wasn’t used to someone cleaning up after her, and it felt odd. She also wasn’t used to hanging out with cute boys and doing farm work, but that wasn’t so bad, either.

  Jane stood and tossed her napkin in the trashcan. Then she said, “We might as well start feedings. It’s easier just to get their feed and hay in their stalls and then bring them in one at a time.”

  “Yes,” he said and leaned back against a stall door with one booted foot raised and resting against it. He didn’t move.

  “The grain’s this way, remember?”

  “Yeah, I remember,” he answered and still didn’t budge.

  “You don’t have to help,” Jane said, embarrassed she’d even suggested that he would. It was nice enough that he’d already helped. “I didn’t mean it like that. You can go home actually!”

  “I’m cool. I like hanging out here. It’s different,” he said and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets.

  “Yeah, it is nice.” There was a long, awkward pause as he just stood there staring at her.

  “The answer is yes,” he said strangely.

  “Yes, I know. I’m agreeing with you. I think it’s cool hanging out here, too.”

  He shook his head and crossed his arms. “You can always ask me anything, and I’ll be honest with you- unless I think it will bring you to harm. Then I’ll try to protect you first. That’s always going to be my first instinct, protecting you.”

  Jane sucked in a deep breath and held it with flushed cheeks. Why did he say such strange things? She’d never heard a boy her age talk like Roman. Was he from the past? Had he used a time machine to transport himself from the year 1957? Maybe he was just Johnny Cash reincarnated. He was odd.

  “What?”

  “You wanna’ know if Stephanie was lying the other night, and I’m answering the question you want to ask but can’t because you have way too much class to do it.”

  She swallowed and looked at her feet.

  “Come closer,” he lured.

  Jane did so but stopped a few feet from him. Roman reached out and took both of her hands in his and tugged her toe to toe with him.

  “Yes. The answer is yes. I did. I slept with her,” he said.

  Jane jerked her hands away angrily and stepped back, too. Then felt even more foolish. Why had she done that? How stupid! She had absolutely no right to feel offended by his admission
of guilt, and he had no reason even to feel guilty. He wasn’t. Everyone knew he’d dated Stephanie for a while. People in his clique slept around. Heck, people in most cliques slept around. Jane just didn’t have a clique. All she had was Dez unless she counted Nana Peaches and her equally geriatric friends.

  “Oh!” she exclaimed, her voice sounding way too high in pitch until it cracked. She cleared her throat. “Oh, well, cool.” She attempted a blasé chuckle, but it sounded goofy. “That’s cool. Whatever…dude.” Dude? Dangit. Why’d she say ‘dude’?

  She groaned inside and turned away. Then she walked briskly to the other barn, leaving Roman behind. She hoped he got in his stupid, fancy Land Rover thing or whatever it was and went home. Her anger was irrational and immature and childish for her age, and yet, there it was.

  “Jane, wait!” he called out behind her.

  Jane kept going until she came to the gate leading out to the pastures. Roman’s hand clamped down on her forearm.

  “Stop, please.”

  “You should probably go,” she said, wrinkling her nose and shaking her head.

  “No, I’m not leaving,” he said decidedly. “Look, it was a long time ago. I don’t have feelings for her anymore. Hell, I really didn’t then. It was a stupid mistake, but I didn’t want to lie to you about it, either. I don’t ever want to be dishonest with you.”

  She turned to him and looked at his broad chest. She said in a bright tone as if she were so much more mature than she was, “Oh, thanks! That’s great. Thanks for being so honest. Now I have to get back to work, and you should go home to your family.”

  Jane reached for the gate latch, but Roman’s hand stayed hers.

  “No, let’s talk, okay? Don’t be angry. Or do be angry, I guess. I don’t have a right to tell you how to feel. Just don’t hate me, okay?”

  Jane looked at her feet. This was unchartered territory for her. She’d never cared what anyone in their school did with their free time and certainly didn’t want to know what Roman’s group did to occupy theirs.

  “I don’t hate you,” she said begrudgingly.

  He breathed a sigh of relief and stroked his thumb across the top of her hand.

  “I’m doubting your judgment in people, but I don’t hate you,” she teased.

  Roman laughed loudly and said, “I agree. I’ve gotten a little better since then. I’d say my taste has vastly improved thanks to present company.”

  Jane shrugged, “It doesn’t matter. You can do whatever you want. If you want to date Stephanie, you should.”

  “I don’t. Obviously.”

  Jane looked up at him and said, “Why is that obvious? I’m not here to tell you how to live your life.”

  “No, but I’m finding that your opinion, your approval is the one I want the most.”

  She shook her head and huffed through her nose.

  “I wish…” he started but stopped. Jane looked up at him with confusion. Roman grimaced and continued, “I wish things were different.”

  Jane wasn’t sure what he meant. There were so many possibilities in that statement. She wanted to question him, but one of the horses whinnied loudly at the sight of them and triggered the usual effect of every horse galloping for the gate. They wanted put away and fed and stalled for the night.

  “I’d better…” she said. “You can go. Seriously. You don’t have to help.”

  “I want to. Besides, what would that make me if I let you take care of that many horses and the chores without me? You’re already grossed out by my past behavior.”

  “Not grossed out,” she said. “Also, don’t want to think too long or hard about it, either.”

  He smiled in a charming way and said, “You can cut her out of the visual and just picture me naked. How’s that?”

  Jane’s eyes widened.

  His smile became lopsided with rotten intent, “You know you want to.”

  Jane’s eyes narrowed. “The only thing I want to do is get done and head home.”

  “Better idea. You can lie in your bed tonight with nothing better to do and think about me naked,” he teased and opened the gate. “Text me about it.”

  Jane’s mouth fell open. Then she stared at the ground as she fetched a horse. She’d never heard someone speak so boldly like him. He had a lot of confidence for such a young person.

  They worked in tandem for the rest of the afternoon putting the horses away and feeding them and waiting for them to finish while sweeping the aisles and organizing things. When she was checking their water buckets, Nana Peaches called.

  “Jane, is everything okay?”

  “Oh, yes, ma’am. I’m just the only one here today. Sorry, I forgot to text you.”

  “It’s after eight,” her grandmother told her. “Dinner’s ready.”

  Her stomach growled as if on cue. “Yes, ma’am, I’ll be right home.”

  “And invite Roman Lockwood, too,” she told her.

  Jane wasn’t sure how she knew Roman was with her, but she obviously did. When she disconnected with her grandmother, Jane went to find Roman, who was stalling another horse.

  “Um, Nana Peaches wants to know if you want to come over for dinner. You don’t have to if you…”

  “Awesome! Yes, absolutely,” he said enthusiastically.

  They finished and turned off every light, which Mrs. Goddard didn’t ever do. Jane just had a feeling they should be conserving energy. She was also concerned about the hay stack, which was getting smaller. There were probably a hundred bales left. For so many horses, that wouldn’t last long. As they were walking to their vehicles, Mrs. Goddard told them not to come before school, that her son, Noah’s father, was coming up from Cincinnati to help out for a while. Jane reminded her that they would need hay soon.

  They arrived at her house a few minutes later, and Roman parked behind her. Nana Peaches welcomed Roman in and offered him the sink in the first-floor half bath to get cleaned up. Jane used the kitchen sink.

  “How serious is this getting, Jane?”

  “What? You mean like boyfriend-girlfriend stuff?” she asked her grandmother, who was placing a cast iron pot of chili on the table. She nodded. “We’re just friends.”

  Her grandmother didn’t look like she believed that but nodded just the same. Roman came into the room again and sat where Nana Peaches offered him a seat. They discussed school, classes they were in, and the horse barn before Nana told them that her friend from bridge club passed away. When Jane tried to explain to her what was going on, Nana Peaches seemed to reject the idea that it could be something more than old age that had taken her friend. She let it drop, and so did Roman, picking up on Jane’s desire to not upset her grandmother more than necessary. After dinner, her grandmother excused herself to retire.

  “Don’t forget your meds, Nana Peaches,” Jane called after her.

  “I know. I know. I don’t even need those ridiculous pills,” she grumbled before leaving. “Don’t stay up too late. You have school tomorrow.”

  Jane scraped the dishes and Roman washed them, although she’d protested twice. He just took off his sweater like he had at the barn and got to it.

  “I swear that was the best chili I’ve ever had,” he commented kindly. “I need you to give me the recipe.”

  Jane laughed, “I don’t have the recipe. I told you I don’t really know how to cook. She cooks. I eat and clean it. We have a pretty good understanding.”

  “Connor would like it,” he said and handed her the last bowl to dry and put away.

  “Thanks for the help today,” she said as he dried his hands on another dish towel.

  “No problem,” he said casually and walked to the door. “I’ll pick you up for school tomorrow?”

  “Oh, no, that’s okay. I pick up Dez, so…”

  “Then I’ll pick her up, too,” he said and leaned toward her. Jane backed up. Roman chuckled and said, “Don’t forget to think about me tonight.” He smiled and left.

  She locked the kitchen door an
d took her backpack to her bedroom to finish whatever homework she didn’t get done over the weekend, which would be none since she spent the entire three days running around with Roman and working at the barn. She was supposed to work Saturday before the school dance at the restaurant, but they’d called to tell her not to come in. Mr. Contuccini and the bartender, Al, were both sick. Jane forgot to tell Roman that.

  She laid on her bed and looked up at the ceiling thinking about the last few weeks. There was no way she wasn’t going to get this Russian flu. She was exposed through every possible avenue in her life. A second later, she went and took a long, hot shower, and her mind traitorously wandered to Roman. He wanted her to think about him, and well, she sure was. She’d seen him in his swim trunks, so she knew what he looked like almost naked. She blushed even though she was alone. Then she collapsed on her bed and contemplated all the things in her life she hadn’t done yet and worried she might die before she checked off even one.

  Chapter Sixteen

  True to his word he texted Destiny to pick her up, but she answered that Brian was back in town and coming to get her and that they would ride together. At seven-thirty, he and Connor left and went to pick up Jane.

  “So, you really like this girl, huh?” Connor stated more than asked and sounded like he was twenty-eight, not eight.

  Roman laughed, “Yeah, I like her. I like you more. I’ll always like you more than anyone else. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah, like duh!” Connor said with confidence.

  This time he laughed more heartily as he pulled into her driveway. Her truck was gone. She left knowing he was coming for her.

  Roman paused, put it in reverse, and stopped when Connor cried out for him to stop. Jane came out the kitchen door on the side and waved sheepishly. She got in and tried a smile but mostly looked uncomfortable.

  “Good thing you picked me up,” she said. “Or not, depending on how you view going to school.”

  “Where’s your truck?”

  “Nana Peaches had to have it towed this morning. She went out to take a delivery of apples to the grocery store, and it wouldn’t start.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad,” he said.