room.
“ We have some time, sun has n’ t set yet ,” Nick said softly, gazing out the window. He got up from his seat and crossed to the living room. Kaylee knew h e’ d be at the window, watching a very particular street. She sighed.
It was n’ t a great life. But still, they were surviving.
Chapter Two
A few years ago Kaylee would have been insulted at being put t o‘ wome n’ s work .’ She was capable of far more than washing, cooking, and cleaning and she knew it. But she now understood why that had been deemed wome n’ s work in the days of old. She simply could n’ t carry the tons of dirt that Andrew could. She could n’ t till the soil as much as her father did. And she could n’ t operate, let alone maintain, the heavy machinery that Bill was always swinging about to fix the structural problems in the fire station. If she had wen t‘ shoppin g’ with the rest, they would have had to carry more because neither she, nor Emma, nor Anna could haul the containers from the distant stores to the firehouse and up the rope ladder.
And her wome n’ s work was n’ t as easy as she had initially thought it would be. There were no refrigerators or ovens, no vacuums, no washing machines. Every bit of cooking was done from scratch and cooked over open flames. She now knew how to skin any animal that Anna or Bill got lucky enough to shoot from the rooftop before one of the infected ate them. And though the geese and ducks from the ponds in the park across the street had been eaten up long ago, pigeons, warblers, sparrows, and a variety of other inland birds were still plentiful. They were nearly impossible to shoot, and shooting them would have destroyed much of the meat anyway, but Andrew and his father had fashioned a dozen traps and nets along buildings throughout the city that worked pretty well. She had learned, from the books that Anna scavenged from the library, how to can and preserve food. She scrubbed the bathroom and kitchen with what little cleanser they had. And she washed, hung, and folded each article of clothing by hand.
“ Andrew really is a messy eater . ”
“ Hmm ?” Kayle e’ s train of thought was broken by Emm a’ s grumbling and she squinted to see her siste r’ s outline against the setting sun.
“ Look at this shirt ,” she demanded, yanking a sopping wet and soapy shirt out of the tub she was using to wash it in .“ When was the last time we even had mustard? I feel like everything he owns is a personal challenge to the both of us . ”
Kaylee laughed. A few years back she would never have guessed her best girlfriend when she turned seventeen would be her bratty, younger sister. But she was glad that she was.
“ He is a slob ,” Kaylee agreed .“ Should I tell him, or do you want to ? ”
“ He wo n’ t listen if I say anything anyway, better be you . ”
Kaylee snorted .“ You think he listens to me ? ”
“ Please ,” Emma scoffed .“ H e’ s practically in love with you, h e’ d eat his own hand if you told him to .” Kaylee rolled her eyes and rinsed the shirt she had been scrubbing free of soap.
“ You're ridiculous ,” she muttered, though she was n’ t entirely convinced Emma was wrong. Kaylee had always had the nagging suspicion that Andrew had feelings for her. Back when they were in school together she had been teased about it constantly. And she had thought, years back, that she could try to like him too, because after all, in every good romantic movie or book, was n’ t the girl always falling for the idiot
“ We have some time, sun has n’ t set yet ,” Nick said softly, gazing out the window. He got up from his seat and crossed to the living room. Kaylee knew h e’ d be at the window, watching a very particular street. She sighed.
It was n’ t a great life. But still, they were surviving.
Chapter Two
A few years ago Kaylee would have been insulted at being put t o‘ wome n’ s work .’ She was capable of far more than washing, cooking, and cleaning and she knew it. But she now understood why that had been deemed wome n’ s work in the days of old. She simply could n’ t carry the tons of dirt that Andrew could. She could n’ t till the soil as much as her father did. And she could n’ t operate, let alone maintain, the heavy machinery that Bill was always swinging about to fix the structural problems in the fire station. If she had wen t‘ shoppin g’ with the rest, they would have had to carry more because neither she, nor Emma, nor Anna could haul the containers from the distant stores to the firehouse and up the rope ladder.
And her wome n’ s work was n’ t as easy as she had initially thought it would be. There were no refrigerators or ovens, no vacuums, no washing machines. Every bit of cooking was done from scratch and cooked over open flames. She now knew how to skin any animal that Anna or Bill got lucky enough to shoot from the rooftop before one of the infected ate them. And though the geese and ducks from the ponds in the park across the street had been eaten up long ago, pigeons, warblers, sparrows, and a variety of other inland birds were still plentiful. They were nearly impossible to shoot, and shooting them would have destroyed much of the meat anyway, but Andrew and his father had fashioned a dozen traps and nets along buildings throughout the city that worked pretty well. She had learned, from the books that Anna scavenged from the library, how to can and preserve food. She scrubbed the bathroom and kitchen with what little cleanser they had. And she washed, hung, and folded each article of clothing by hand.
“ Andrew really is a messy eater . ”
“ Hmm ?” Kayle e’ s train of thought was broken by Emm a’ s grumbling and she squinted to see her siste r’ s outline against the setting sun.
“ Look at this shirt ,” she demanded, yanking a sopping wet and soapy shirt out of the tub she was using to wash it in .“ When was the last time we even had mustard? I feel like everything he owns is a personal challenge to the both of us . ”
Kaylee laughed. A few years back she would never have guessed her best girlfriend when she turned seventeen would be her bratty, younger sister. But she was glad that she was.
“ He is a slob ,” Kaylee agreed .“ Should I tell him, or do you want to ? ”
“ He wo n’ t listen if I say anything anyway, better be you . ”
Kaylee snorted .“ You think he listens to me ? ”
“ Please ,” Emma scoffed .“ H e’ s practically in love with you, h e’ d eat his own hand if you told him to .” Kaylee rolled her eyes and rinsed the shirt she had been scrubbing free of soap.
“ You're ridiculous ,” she muttered, though she was n’ t entirely convinced Emma was wrong. Kaylee had always had the nagging suspicion that Andrew had feelings for her. Back when they were in school together she had been teased about it constantly. And she had thought, years back, that she could try to like him too, because after all, in every good romantic movie or book, was n’ t the girl always falling for the idiot
Similar Books
Bells of the Kingdom (Children of the Desert Book 3)
Leona Wisoker
The Rising of the Shield Hero Volume 01
Aneko Yusagi
Sound of the Tide
Emily Bold
Casting Off: Cazalet Chronicles Book 4
Elizabeth Jane Howard
Grand Avenue
Joy Fielding
Kiss and Kill
Ellery Queen
Luzo: Reign of a Mafia Don
S. W. Frank
The Spare
Carolyn Jewel
Gina and Mike
Buffy Andrews
Running
Calle J. Brookes