Chapter 2

"Thank you, my wife," I told her.

We slept smiling.

The next morning, after breakfast, we inventoried our supplies, and Carla made out a list that she thought we needed. Toilet paper, facial tissue and female supplies made up a significant portion, as well as rice, spices and bread making supplies. She asked if we thought she could get some of the fancy shampoo and conditioner for her hair. I laughed, and told her she could get anything we could find.

The next couple of days found us settling in and getting used to one another. Carla wanted to make love every night. It suited me fine. She showed me how to love a woman like she wanted, and I was able to help her have an orgasm or several every time after about three days.

I asked them if they were ready to go get Carla's things. They agreed, so we fed up and loaded and fueled the truck. I gave Carla a pistol and holster. "Can you shoot?"

"I am a good shot with a rifle," she answered.

I went in the house and got her an MP-5, and Deuce showed her how to function it. She decided it would do fine on single fire mode.

She put her pistol under the front seat.

We were well enough armed, considering the fact that we had not seen anyone other than ourselves in nearly five months.

Carla and Deuce laid us out a route to Carla's house. I set the cruise control up on around 75 and headed out. After we left the state maintained roads we had to slow down, but we got to Carla's at around 3:00 pm.

We worked packing and loading up Carla's things. She brought her husband's hunting rifle, an old Ruger model 77 in .25/06 caliber, as well as her canning and gardening tools and supplies.

We stayed overnight at Carla's house and left the next morning to go home. We had a quick, uneventful trip, and moved Carla's things into our house and barn.

I decided that the ranch's big tractor was not a good implement for gardening, so we went to town and got a Massey Ferguson 431 tractor with bottom plows, disk, planters, and cultivators. We also got maintenance supplies for the tractors.

I tried out the tractor and broke up the garden spot for the winter. It is a good tractor and a good size for a big garden. Carla was very pleased with the garden, and her husband for taking care of the family.

After I had fed the stock the next day, I told Carla and Deuce that I was going to fly over and see if I could find anyone else.

Carla winked and said, "Are you tired of me already, Willie?"

I smiled back and said, "I am just looking for a younger model." and kissed her tenderly.

She hugged me and said, "Take care of yourself, Husband."

I drove the old truck to the airport, and checked out the plane. Everything seemed fine so away I went.

I flew around to the north of where I had been before. I still had not seen anything that indicated habitation. I landed at Midland for fuel.

After I had fuelled up, rested a bit and pottied twice, I took off again, scouting new territory. I was to the stage of not even looking in towns, because everybody in the towns was dead. At nearly the extent of my range past Midland, I saw a ranch that looked like it had someone living there.

I landed the plane and approached the house. I spoke loudly, "Hello in the house."

A man walked out and looked at me. I showed my hands and said, "My name is Willie Gainous."

"Mine's Jed Smith."

"I am looking for people who have survived the plague."

"You have found three then," he answered, "my wife and I plus my daughter."

"My partner, Deuce Melvin, and I, as well as my wife, Carla Santos, live on a ranch the other side of Midland. I wanted to let you know that we want to be neighborly and help you if you need it."

"Come on in and have a glass of cool milk, if you will," he invited.

"Mr. Smith, that sounds very good. I am hoping to be able to get one of our range cows to milk after the calves start coming in February."

"I am afraid you have a tough row to hoe there. Range cows are not really calm enough to milk, and they don't give very much as a rule."

"That is my only choice for now, so that is the way we will go."

We went inside and met his wife Sarah and his daughter, Sandra. I knew what Sandra would look like at age fifty, she looked like a younger clone of her mother. Both were plumply pretty with a round face, strawberry blonde hair and curves aplenty.

I was as nice as I could be. I could tell that Sandra was considering me for a husband, she was about my age or a bit older.

We visited and told our situations. The Smiths were doing pretty well, their place had good water. They had a good garden and a garden sized tractor. They also had a milk cow, and a heifer calf from the milk cow. They had a few head of beef cattle and a horse and a burro.

I told them we had two mares, but no stallion.

He said that his horse was a good quarter horse stallion.

We probably need to get together to breed the horses.

I could tell that Sandra was about to bust to talk to me. Her dad smiled and nodded.

"Mr. Gainous, how many people have you found left alive?"

I have found exactly five, my partner, Deuce, my wife Carla, and you three. I have flown over a couple of hundred mile radius and have found no one alive in any town, except Deuce who had been looking for survivors himself.

"How long have you and your wife been married?"

"Sandra, we really got together to be sure there would be children. Carla is almost as old as my mother, so we are working at trying to have babies. I love her for what she is doing, and I mean to take care of her," I explained.

I saw Sarah smile then. "What about your partner, Mr. Melvin, is he married?"

"Mrs. Smith, Deuce is not able to father a child. That is one reason Carla and I ended up together. I am the only likely Papa around."

Sarah frowned. Sandra said, "It seems you are the top choice in this part of the state, then."

"Top and bottom, all rolled into one," I joked.

"I guess that pretty much settles it then," Jed interjected.

"If you and Momma are going to be grandparents, Mr. Gainous is the best prospect we are going to find," Sandra said.

Sarah said, "It doesn't hurt that he is handsome, though."

"Not one bit," Sandra quipped.

"Is this what you want?" I asked. "Carla and I have already discussed the fact that I would need to have more than one wife, and I am resigned to that fact, but a pretty girl like you could have any man she set her eyes on."

Sandra blushed and said, "He is the one, Momma."

"I need to be heading back, my family will be looking for me," I said.