by J. R. Tate
They were going to make it. They were going to rebuild Harper Springs and look back on the demolished and ravaged land like it was just a bad nightmare. It was taking time but at least progress was being made. Ryan still had so many questions – how come help never came? Was the entire world facing the challenges of rebuilding and surviving that they were? One day they would have to travel and find out. Most of all – why was nature becoming so extreme? Massive tornadoes, detrimental drought, wildfires, and dust storms – Ryan loved fluctuating weather but he longed for a calm pattern for a change.
“Hey hon, what are you doing out here?” Cecilia joined him on the edge of the pasture, locking her arm in his.
“Just thinking. Still so much to do around here.”
“Your mind is a scary place.” She laughed and followed his gaze out on the fields. “You smell that?”
“Smell what?”
“Autumn. The first hint of dried leaves and cool air. A crisp night sure sounds amazing after all of this heat we’ve been having.”
“It does,” Ryan agreed. Taking a deep breath, he got a whiff of what Cecilia had pointed out. Before the disaster it meant football season, bonfires, and shorter evenings. He longed for how simple life was before their world had been turned upside down.
Autumn would be followed by winter. Winter meant hard freezes and no vegetation. Nothing would be able to grow. The importance of canning and storing would be heightened if they didn’t want to run out of food and water.
With the unpredictable weather they had been experiencing, Ryan feared what Mother Nature would have in store for them in the upcoming months.
The end.
BOOK THREE COMING SOON!
Acknowledgments:
This one is for Wyatt Lane! I will love you always and forever!
I’d also like to thank my mom – I pretty much thank her in all of my work just due to her having to deal with all of my neurosis. I don’t know where she gets her patience from but I’m eternally grateful for it day in and day out.
I’d also like to give thanks to my narrator – Tom Kruse. Not only has he done an excellent job narrating this series but he also has served as a proofreader and has been a tremendous help! Also to Leslie Goodfellow for giving this a good edit and offering some good ideas!
And as always, to you readers who make this a fulfilling and fun “job”, though it never truly feels like a job. Without you I’d have no reason to keep writing. If I can make one person be able to escape the real world for a few hours just from reading my books than I feel like I have been a success. Thanks a million!
If you have time, please leave a review on the product page! Any feedback is always appreciated and helps me grow as a writer! I also love getting emails and messages from people, and I always write back – all opinions welcome! Below are different ways to contact me and get updates on new projects and books:
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More books by J.R. Tate –
Through Smoke – Firefighter Heroes Series: Book One –
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Firefighter Michael McGinnis has a broken past. Using his troubled childhood as inspiration, he’s channeled his harsh memories toward working hard as a search and rescue man with the fire department. He’s no stranger to intense situations, but despite his years on the job, nothing can prepare him for helping Casey, his drug addict brother, when a dangerous bookie hunts him down for unpaid gambling debts.
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Michael McGinnis is hopeful that things are looking up for his family. Casey is in rehab in Texas, his and Eva's relationship is strong, and he will be back on the rig soon.
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Nathan Gallagher doesn’t believe in ghosts. As a fireman, he’s seen his share of dead people, but they never spoke to him before—until now. His marriage is great, and his relationship with his son is strong, but Nathan is sure that if he tells them that he’s seeing ghosts, it is a quick ticket to a padded room and a straightjacket.
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Realizing the ghosts won’t go away, Nathan begins to listen to what they need. It requires Dr. Clint - his missing in action therapist from before, and a self-admission to Sunset Canyon - the mental hospital that Nathan fears and swore he’d never return to.
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