Post Grid: An Arizona EMP Adventure (29 page)

“No, I'm afraid not enough radios survived for each company to have one. This wagon company has one. I think one of the handcart companies, three or four companies back, will have one. The last company to come through will have one as well.

“I'd like to talk to your radio operator,” said Rich.

“Sure thing, Brother Freeman,” Warren said with a wink. “He's in that green, tall wagon there, the second one in line.” The wagon master pointed toward the wagons south of the highway.

“Thank you much, Warren. Good luck to you and all your people. You'll need it,” said Rich.

“As will you, as will you,” replied Warren. The two men continued to talk for about 20 minutes.  The Mormons were aware of the widespread blackout and relayed the sad news about the many deaths in the big cities. Both men shook hands with Warren again and they parted ways.

****

Kelly made her way out to the living room and immediately noticed that the couch was empty. Jared's blankets were stacked neatly on the floor at the far end of the couch, with his pillow topping the pile. There was no light underneath the kitchen door. Kelly scanned the rest of the room and finally saw Jared sitting in the porch swing through the gauzy white sheers that hung between the recently repositioned hutch and the front window. She picked up one of the stacked blankets and made her way to the front door. She opened it ever so quietly and slipped out. Jared looked up and smiled sweetly at her. His eyes had that familiar glow of a young man in love. Jared motioned with his arms for Kelly to come and sit with him. She threw the blanket around her shoulders and climbed into the swing, snuggling up. Jared leaned over and kissed her softly on the top of the head.

“Good morning, my darling,” he whispered.

Kelly responded to his words by pressing herself tighter to his side and nuzzling his neck. The sun wasn't up yet, but the sky had begun to glow pink behind the mountain peaks in the East. Both sat in the quiet of the morning, enjoying each other's company and their beautiful surroundings.

“What do you think of the Mormons coming?” Jared finally asked.

“Oh, not much. I just hope they can make a go of it in the North. Not too hopeful, though...”

“What? You don't think they should go?” Jared turned to face Kelly.

“I'm not saying
shouldn't,
but it all depends on what's up there already. Water and probably land, but can they work the soil, do they have any seeds, will they live through the winter long enough to plant? Those people aren't much different from most city folks. Probably a lot of IT guys and data-entry moms, not used to hard work.”

“The difference may be the skills they have
collectively
, like us.”

“Yes, that would be one of the determining factors: knowledge, supplies and hard work, but don't forget the weather. If the winter is hard, the other stuff might not matter. I just hope they have the calories they'll need for cold weather and hard work.”

“Speaking of hard work, the others will be up soon and today is cattle round-up day, according to Mom. She thinks they should be moved closer to the house so that we can watch over them. She wants me and the kids to help out. I think Mom's right. We need to get them in before they become barbeque.”

“How long will that take?” Jared asked. “I've never had to round up cattle.”

“Most of the day I would imagine; maybe two. The cattle usually don't stray too far from the stream, but it depends on how far afield they have wandered.”

“Will you have to camp out?”

“No, we would go out on multiple days if we need to, but for now Mom thinks it will be pretty straightforward.”

“Good. I want you home at night. I worry about you enough as it is when you're out during the day, but the nights kill me,” Jared said, turning his face to hers.  

Kelly, seeing this out of the corner of her eye, turned her head toward him. “You're so sweet.”

Their lips met in the middle. Their talk about cows had ended. They sat kissing and caressing, time forgotten, until they both heard people walking about inside.

Jared whispered, “I love these precious moments we get to spend alone together. You know how much I love you, don't you?”

Kelly's heart skipped a beat when she heard Jared's declaration of love. She sat silently for just a second and then said, “I love you too... darling.” Her heart skipped another beat at her own words, and another, and another.

Jared bent down and kissed Kelly passionately. He could not describe the joy he was experiencing. For the first time in his life, he couldn't think of spending his life with anyone but Kelly. “Don't ever leave me,” Jared said, his voice low and breathless.

“I'm not going anywhere. Why would I ever want to?”

****

Breakfast was simple: eggs and pancakes. Emma liked cooking over an open fire in the backyard, and so did Jose. Everyone gathered around the kitchen table to plan out the day. Emma, Kelly, and the teens would round up the cows. The men planned on readying the homesteads for winter. Harvest was in full swing. Garden beds needed to be turned; if fallow, new beds planned out and turned. More cover frames needed to be fashioned to extend the growing season, and then there was the ever-pressing need for firewood. This was also the day for Dennis to prepare food for the Sabbath—Friday night and Saturday.

The men stopped their gardening and watched as Emma and Kelly walked past toward the corral to meet Jess.

“I've always liked pretty cowgirls,” Rich said to Dennis, loud enough for the women to hear.

“I heard that, you ol' coot,” Emma shot back with mock sternness.

“Yep, Stetsons, colorful, fitted blouses, tight jeans, chaps and boots. That's a great outfit to show off any pretty girl's assets,” said Jose, just for the guys' ears.

“Well, the six-guns and holsters might give one pause for reflection,” Dennis said, drawing attention to the matching holstered Rugers worn by Emma and Kelly.

“What a wonderful image she is—I mean, they are,” said Jared, smiling.

****

The morning found the wranglers working the canyons east of Bushnell Tanks. Emma normally kept a good eye on her herd and knew where to look for them. The task at hand was to find her cattle, separate them from any other cows, and move them to land near the Wise/Freeman homestead. A corral, one of the many spread across the Southwest for temporarily holding stock during round-ups, was located nearby. The plain, heavy beams had been placed by Diamond Ranch cowboys decades ago. The current ranches maintained and used the pens every year.

The teens rode around the corrals and closed all but one gate. Emma led the crew to a large, tree-covered area. Here they saw contented cattle chewing sweet green grass. The teens circled the trees, looking for any wandering cows. There were several cows up the incline of the canyon, but most were near the grass down by the stream. Kelly and Emma began driving the small knots of cattle together. Unlike in westerns, moving cows is a slow, deliberate process. Mother and daughter moved behind a small cluster of critters and, with a little shouting and nudging by the cow ponies, the cows started walking.

“Cattle are pushed from behind and guided by outriders along the flanks of the herd,” explained Emma to the young 'uns. Kelly and Emma taught by example. They also shouted directions to Jess and Lynn: “Forward, hold steady, come back 'round, hold 'em,” and the like. Both teens were fast learners and the herding seemed natural in no time. “I'll make true cowhands out of you both,” praised Emma.

Little by little, the cattle coalesced into a herd. Down the canyon they sauntered, with Jess and Lynn steering from the sides. The steep canyon helped; the herd was pretty content just to follow the trails by the stream.

When they got to the holding pen south of the highway bridge, everyone worked in unison to steer them into the pen.

With the herd inside the fencing, Emma counted noses and looked for other ranches' animals.

“Kelly, you go with Lynn; I'll go with Jess. Let's make another sweep. The way I count it, I have five head missing. 'Course, I won't know for sure 'til I can inspect those younger one's brands.”

The wranglers scoured the canyons, hills and meadows for another couple of hours until finally the last of the wanderers was joined up with the herd.

Now, the mini cattle drive home commenced. Lynn and Jess were a bit let down because they did not get to use their nascent roping skills.

In Sunflower, the herd was simply driven into a holding pen. The teens watched, enthralled, as Kelly and her horse cut the other ranches' cattle from Emma's herd. Kelly and Pokey put on a masterful display of cutting skills. Pokey danced beautifully, shifting from side to side. Facing a cow head on, the horse would bob and weave, blocking the cow's forward movement, and finally turn the ornery critter through the gate, into another holding pen. Most of the time, the target cow complied and moved through the open gate readily. Some were not as helpful.

“It looks like two basketball players,” said Jess to Lynn.

“What are we going to do with the rest of these?” Lynn asked Emma.

“They're mostly Bill's and the Barnards'. We'll tell them where they can find their cows when we pass their places.”

The herd, now slimmed down by several extra head, was pushed home.

Emma called ahead to Jose and Dennis out in the garden, “Open the gates to the corral, boys.” The cows were driven into Emma's corral, where she looked them over for any medical problems.  Emma took Lynn and Jess by her side while Kelly sat up on the top rail of the corral. She explained to the teens how they were looking for anything out of the ordinary such as skin, eye, hoof or mouth problems. They were also looking for ticks, sores, and wounds. Emma's little herd seemed well enough.

“A little salve on that calf over there for his leg wound and that should do it,” exclaimed Emma. ”When that calf weans, his mama will make a fine milk cow. I'm so hungry for butter and milk I can't stand it. We'll even be able to make cheese.”

Everyone was tired and Dennis suspected they were hungry as well. “Hey cowpokes, lets get some grub,” he called. “The sun has been hot and heavy today and I've made several meals in the solar oven. I packed it full. Dinner will be ready in about an hour.  Tonight it's canned beef and roasted vegetables, and tomorrow's lunch is vegetable lasagna
sin queso
—without cheese.” Dennis said this with a lilt in his voice. His meals looked good and smelled good, and he knew it.

The whole lot put up the horses, praised them for a job well done, and then headed toward Emma's house. Blissful, hot showers were taken one by one while Dennis finished dinner and got it on the table.

“Wow,” exclaimed Jess. “Meat, potatoes and corn pudding, yum!” he said like a true teen with a big appetite. Lynn looked happy and dished food onto her plate as well.

Mealtime was truly a pleasure and the group was becoming more and more cohesive, more like family. Jess and Lynn went on and on about the roundup. Everyone could tell that the two were excited about their part in it.

“I think it was pretty rare in our society for children to be able to do a day's work that truly impacted their families and their own well-being,” said Dennis. “The roundup today was useful and the kids can see that this will bring us meat and milk. I'm proud of everyone's hard work.”

“I'm off to bed,” said Jose. I'm going to try to get a couple hours sleep, since I'm guarding down by the highway tonight.”

“Goodnight, Dad,” Jess said. “Sleep tight.”

“Thanks for covering for me on the Sabbath, Jose,” Dennis said, “I've got your Tuesday.”

Chapter 15

Rich and Jess volunteered to stay behind to guard the place while the others went to Bible study.

After the meeting, on their way home, Dennis rode Buckskin alongside the donkey cart. “I was glad to see a couple of new faces in the crowd,” he remarked.

“Yes, it was heartening,” agreed Emma, “and I was surprised to see some of the handcarts coming in already.”

Her words came to an abrupt halt as everyone on the cart flew into the air, landing with a thud on its bed.

“Sorry,” Jose called. “I tried to miss that one, but it jumped out in front of the wheel.”

No one responded.

“The families with the handcarts look better than I thought they would,” remarked Dennis. “A bit thin perhaps, but otherwise in good shape. Leaving a decaying city and traveling five days with those handcarts, even in this heat, doesn't seem to have affected them much.”

“Can you believe the travelers invited us to a dance tonight?” exclaimed Kelly, glancing at Jared expectantly.

Kelly glanced up at Lynn, who was riding Pokey next to the cart. Lynn saw the look on Kelly's face. Both broke out in a smile the way young women do when they are going to a “ball.” Kelly then looked up at Jared, who sat in the front next to Jose, but there was no change in his expression.

When they reached the house, Jess seemed disappointed because there was no insurgent activity to report, but he perked up a bit when he heard the news about the evening's gathering with the Mormons.

After a light lunch, Kelly and Lynn started planning their outfits for the dance. Kelly flopped on the bed as Lynn came in to model her best pair of jeans and one of Kelly's white shirts.

“What do you think?” asked Lynn as she twirled slowly so Kelly could see the whole effect.

“Nice,” she said with an approving smile. “But a little boyish for a dance, I think.”

Lynn's expression went blank. Surely, Kelly knew that she didn't have any other “look” more appropriate for a dance.

Kelly said quickly, “I have an idea.” She flew off the bed and bolted from the room down the hallway, Lynn trailing close behind. “Mom!” Kelly hollered.

Emma appeared in the hall from the living room and Kelly almost ran into her. “What is it, dear?”

“Do you still have all that fabric up in your closet? You know, the pieces I used to sort through for school projects and stuff?”

“Yes, but why?”

“Lynn and I need skirts.”

Lynn's face lit up. Her expression turned to one of excitement and her eyes sparkled.

Emma led the two giddy young women into her bedroom. Way up on the top closet shelf was a stack of fabric folded into neat rectangles. Some of the pieces were very small and some were of very bright colors, but both Kelly and Lynn found a fabric they liked in lengths long enough to make skirts. Kelly's was a light blue with small white flowers; Lynn chose a deep purple tone-on-tone with swirls. Both young women were thrilled at the notion of having a new piece of clothing to add to their small wardrobes.

“I think these skirts should be a little longer than we would usually wear them,” remarked Kelly. “The Mormons tend to wear modest clothing.”

“I agree,” said Lynn with only a hint of disappointment. “Some of my friends are Mormon and most of them wear their skirts well below the knee.” Lynn draped the purple fabric around her waist, positioning the fabric so that it dropped about six inches below the knee. “Like this.”