Human life on our planet has all but ended.  The survivors scramble to learn the skills necessary to live without electricity, telephones, running water, and medical facilities.  Valley is a young woman who has lost her family, and has adopted three children who were left alone by the virus which killed their parents.  In this chapter, about 10 years has passed and Valley and her children are meeting a stranger.

Chapter 9:  Sanford

 WHEN the gasoline finally got too hard to find, they took most of the vehicles to the back of the property they now considered their own and left them.  They owned a large herd of cattle, over eighty horses and twenty dogs. Valerie was very select in breeding the dogs, but pushed the mares to have foals every other year.  In addition, she drove hundreds of miles, finding and inspecting Arabian horses to add to her herd.  People came from all the surrounding areas to barter for her horses.
 Jonathan and Debbie built their own home on the property and moved in on Debbie’s twentieth birthday.  Sara spent her time between the two houses.  ‘Valley’ was Mom, but Debbie was special, too.  At thirteen, Sara was a beautiful young girl, and several boys were competing for her affections.  Unfortunately for them, she was completely involved in her horses and dogs.
 Tommy grew into a handsome young man, over six feet tall, muscular, and willing to help anyone with anything.  He was considering moving out into his own place, but Valley headed him off each time, telling him that the place would be his and Debbie’s someday so he might as well stay.
 The ranch now consisted of acres and acres of hay, wheat, and alfalfa for the big animals; several pastures for horses and cattle; an arena for training horses; and an obstacle course and training yard for the dogs.  Jordan and Esme had built a small house down the road and worked for Valley in exchange for food, horses, and a couple of dogs.  They had also wanted to be closer to other people for the protection it afforded them.  There were still bandits who raided smaller homesteads - raping and killing and burning what they couldn’t carry with them.  Most of their neighbors lived in communal settings also and hadn’t been bothered.  Tommy learned to shoot well enough that he carried two handguns with him at all times.  Valley also wore a gun every waking moment and she had made sure that Jonathan and the girls could shoot as well.
 

 Valley watched as Debbie put the filly through her paces.  The chestnut daughter of Dolly and Toomie had her father’s disposition and her mother’s intelligence and grace.  The sleek neck was bowed, chin down, tail waved, and hooves sounded as she pranced around the arena.  “Tuck her chin a little more and make her either walk or trot,” she yelled.
 “She’s just feeling good!” Debbie called back, “Let me lope her a little while, I don’t think Tommy lunged her long enough.
 Valley turned her back on the pair and called to Tommy who was grooming their next prize.  At six months, the little colt was still a dark purplish color, he had a thin blaze on his forehead but no stockings.  He was a rose gray, according to the books she was able to find.  As an adult, no one would be able to tell that he hadn’t been born black, he would gray out as white as his daddy.  From what Valley had learned of the hot-blooded horses, he was going to be beautiful.  The baby was being bad, dancing around and not wanting to lift his feet.  “Step back and let him fight the rope for a minute, he’ll stop.”
 The colt was cross tied so that he couldn’t move to either side, and could only take a step or two forward or back.  He pulled at the ropes for a moment, calling shrilly to his mother.  She called back and he settled down.  He hadn’t yet learned that he had to do as told.  Tommy stepped up with the brush again, and Valley returned her attention to Debbie.
 The filly was now walking with her head a little lower and her pace was more leisurely.  Valley stepped up to the fence and called for a trot.  The filly responded, seemingly without a movement from Debbie.  “Stop!”
 The filly slid to a halt, well back on her haunches.  “That was good!”  Valley called to her.  “What was the problem?”
 “I don’t know, she wasn’t doing it earlier,” Debbie answered.  She walked the horse over to Valley and the woman rubbed the majestic head.
 “Maybe you need to raise her lunging time by ten minutes or so,” Valley suggested.  “You probably need to let her into the pasture more often.  She gets bored in the barn.”
 “Yeah, but all those babies eat her mane and tail,” she pointed at the remains at the rear of the animal.  A month ago, it almost touched the ground.”
 “Jonathan’ll have that fence finished by tomorrow, we’ll keep her and the other fillies in there.  The babies’ll be with their moms.”
 “I thought you were gonna separate the colts.”
 “They’ll be okay for another few months.  We’ll put up some more fences.  Steve still owes me for ShaSha, I’ll get him to come help.  You know he’ll bring Bryce and Goose, they can finish in two days,”  She looked at Debbie, “What’s wrong?”
 “I hear something.”
 Valley listened.  “It sounds like….”
 “An airplane!”  Debbie finished excitedly.
 They scanned the skies, but saw nothing for a few more moments.  Sara came running from the dog yard.  Tommy left the colt, and walked toward them also.  Debbie pointed, “ There he is!”
 They watched as the plane came toward them and when it got close enough for the pilot to see them, the wings waggled up and down.  “He’s waving,” Valley said.
 They all waved back and the plane circled them once.  They listened, but the sounds didn’t fade.  “I think he’s landing,” Tommy said.
 Valley asked for the filly and Debbie dismounted and opened the gate.  “Stay out of sight until I call for you.  She took Chihn’s reins from the fence rail and as they started away, the baby whinnied pitifully for his dam.  “Put the baby in the barn, Tommy.”
 She signaled Jammer to lope and the horse responded well.  The filly ignored the older mare, even though she hated her.  Jammer was all business under saddle - most of the time.  Valley’s gray dog, Angus ran easily with the horses.  She reached the highway and the little Cessna sat in the grass to one side.  A man stood near the tail.  She rode closer and called to him, “Hi, I’m Valerie Simmons.”
 “Well, Ms. Simmons, I’m Sanford Connor, I just thought I’d like to stop and gossip a spell.”  The man eyed the dog warily, but stretched his hand up to her and she shook it firmly, then dismounted.
 “Angus wont bite, are you alone?”  she asked.
 “Yes’m, I don’t see many people these days.  Live up Oklahoma way, don’t have any neighbors.  I go flyin’ ‘bout once a month now, just to see what’s out here.”
 “You’re welcome to meet my family, Mr. Connor, they’re all very excited about the plane,”  she invited, “Do you ride?”  She pointed at Chihn.
 “Oh, yes… yes, I do,” he mumbled.
 Valley thought he sounded like that old guy in the old movies, W.C. Fields, she giggled.  The man mounted Chihn with ease and she led him back down the road to the ranch.  She called to the young people as they rode up to the arena and they rushed out of the barn to greet their visitor.
 “Mr. Connor, these are my children, “she pointed, “Debbie, Tommy, Sara, this is Sanford Connor.  He just wanted to drop in and chitchat.
 “So lucky to be together…I lost everyone I knew,” he told them.
 “Valley found us right after,” Tommy explained.  “We aren’t really related.”
 “Yes, I thought she was a mite young to be your Ma.”
 “She’s almost….”
 “Hush, Sara!” Debbie warned.  “You’re not supposed to tell a lady’s age!”  She apologized to Mr. Connor, “I’m sorry, she’s only thirteen, she never learned all those nicety things that we used to have.”
 They all laughed and Valley indicated the barn,  “Let’s unsaddle these girls and put them out, then we’ll have some lunch.”
 Willie Ray and Jonathan arrived and were introduced to Mr. Connor.  As they finished their meal, Valley was telling Mr. Connor about their life on the ranch.  “We each have chores to do, and we do them.  We had to learn about gardening, animals, medicine, and living in a rural area.  I owned this place before, but it was a weekend escape.  I knew nothing about coping with wild animals, or snakes.”
 “You should have seen her the first time she walked up on a snake in the barn.”  Tommy laughed, “I had to get a ladder to get her down from the loft.”
 “Yeah, well tell him about the armadillo,” Debbie retorted.
 The boy’s face reddened and he sat down in the recliner.  “He thought an army of elephants was comin’ through the woods,”  Sara told the older man.
 “Oh yes, yes,” he agreed, “the little beasts do make quite a noise.  Don’t worry Tommy, everybody makes that mistake with armydillas.”
 He turned to Valley, “My dear, that was a wonderful meal, and I thank you for it and the conversation, but I need to get goin’ if I wanna make it back home before dark.”
 They walked back to the barn and made small talk while Tommy and Debbie saddled a couple of horses.  Tommy rode back to the highway with the nice old man.  “Well, that was different,”  Valley said.
 “I wish I could have a ride,” Debbie told her, “my uncle had a plane and took me flying three times.  I’d like to go again.”
 “He said he’d come back,” Valley told her, “maybe you can get a ride then.”