by Kyle Pratt
Tears rolled down his cheeks.
Conner hurried to him. “Go back inside. It’s okay. We can do this.”
More tears flowed. He retreated toward the house but then turned away. He didn’t want anyone, especially Ashley, to see him like this. Tears were for boys and that time for him had passed.
Reaching the orchard, he wandered aimlessly through the trees. He stood there alone. Why did you die? Why God—why did he have to go?
When his mother had died, his father had retreated into this place. Hurt by her death, he had used the farm as a fortress against the world.
Drake marveled at the sudden insight but shook his head. He wouldn’t withdraw from the community as his father had done. He had Ashley, Conner, Pastor Wayne, and others. Suddenly he wanted to, needed to, be with them. He ran back to the yard. Pastor Wayne stood by the grave with Ashley, Madison, Claire, and others.
The back door opened. Using careful steps, Conner and three other men exited the house, carrying a simple wooden litter. On it, wrapped in a white sheet, his father rested.
Drake hurried toward them. “I’ll help carry Dad.”
“You don’t have to help.” Conner shook his head.
Frustrated and a bit angry, Drake drew himself tall. “I’m not a baby. I’ve taken care of this farm since the sun storm. I can do this.”
The slightest hint of a smile crossed Conner’s face. He nodded. One of the men stepped aside and, across from Conner, Drake shared the burden of his father.
With Ashley on one side, Conner on the other, and friends all about, Drake watched as they lowered his father into the ground. He heard scattered words of the service only as interruptions of sorrow.
“The Lord promises us peace, not the peace of this world, but His peace,” Pastor Wayne said.
Conner stood tall and straight, his face somber, like a marine at attention.
“Let not your heart be troubled and neither let it be afraid.”
Claire sniffled.
“He is with us always … until the end of the world.”
Ashley wiped tears away. Drake felt certain that her thoughts were with her own parents.
After his father’s body lay in the earth, people flowed back toward the house, but Drake stood staring at the grave, remembering the good times with his parents. Gradually, his gaze lifted. Ashley stood beside him, her eyes red and puffy.
His gaze drifted from her to the house, then to the barn and the garden beside it. Beyond that was the orchard of apple, pear, cherry, and plum trees. His father had built and equipped the farm to serve and protect his family. Now, he and Ashley would eat from the bounty. Thanks, Dad.
The door opened and Conner walked onto the porch. “When you’re ready, there are a lot of people who would like to talk with both of you.”
Holding Ashley’s hand, Drake walked toward the house, confident that together they could face the storms to come.
* * *
Through the Storm is the first book in the Solar Storms Saga. Click here to learn more about my other books. Also, sign up for my free author newsletter and you’ll be the first to know about my new books, discounts, and giveaways.
Thanks,
Kyle
Also by the author
Through Many Fires (Strengthen What Remains, Book 1) Terrorists smuggle a nuclear bomb into Washington, DC, and detonate it during the State of the Union address. Army veteran and congressional staffer Caden Westmore is in nearby Bethesda, Maryland, and watches as a mushroom cloud grows over the capital. The next day, as he drives away from the still burning city, he learns that another city has been destroyed, and then another. America is under siege. Panic ensues, and society starts to unravel. Click here for all the online purchase outlets.
* * *
A Time to Endure (Strengthen What Remains book 2)
The exciting saga of Major Caden Westmore continues in this, the second book of the Strengthen What Remains series. In the first book, Through Many Fires, terrorists use nuclear bombs to destroy six American cities. Now, the nation’s economy teeters on the verge of collapse. The dollar plunges, inflation runs rampant, and the next civil war threatens to decimate the wounded country. In the face of tyranny, panic, and growing hunger, Caden struggles to keep his family and town together. But how can he save his community when the nation is collapsing around it? Click here for all the online purchase outlets.
* * *
Braving the Storms (Strengthen What Remains book 3) In the third book of the series, a new and even more lethal problem emerges. A swift and deadly flu epidemic sweeps out of overcrowded FEMA camps and strikes the nation with horrific results. Caden Westmore struggles to keep his family and community safe, while others use the plague to advance their own military and political agendas. Caden must succeed, but how can he, when both the epidemic and chaos attack his hometown and family? Click here for all the online purchase outlets.
About the Author
Hello, and thank you for reading.
I grew up in the mountains of Colorado and attended Mesa State College in Grand Junction. When money for college ran low, I enlisted in the United States Navy. I thought I would do four years and then use my veteran’s benefits to go back to college. Life often doesn’t go as we plan it.
While serving in the navy, I wrote space opera and military science fiction stories. Both Titan Encounter and the Final Duty stories fall into that period.
My first assignment was with a United States Navy unit at the Royal Air Force base in Edzell, Scotland. Two years later, while on leave in Israel, I met Lorraine from Plymouth, Devon, England. We married the next year. Together we spent the remainder of my twenty-year naval career traveling across the United States from Virginia to Hawaii and on to Guam, Japan, and beyond.
After I retired from the military, I taught in an Alaskan Eskimo village for several years while continuing to write. My first post-apocalyptic novel, Through Many Fires, became an instant hit, rocketing onto the Kindle Science Fiction Post-Apocalyptic list and eventually making it to the number one spot. The second book in the series, A Time to Endure, appeared on several genre bestseller lists and led to the recently released third book in the series, Braving the Storms.
My books are available through all major online retailers.
Today, Lorraine and I live on a small farm in Western Washington state. You can learn more about me on my website, www.kylepratt.me.
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