Moments for the Heart

Hey, Weekend Writing Warriors. Uneventful week here. The calm before the storm, I suppose. I have my PET scan this next week. Never had one before; it should be interesting. One instruction I was told was, “Do you have children in the home? Stay away from them for 6-8 hours after your procedure.” 😯 … Well, just as long as I don’t glow in the dark I think I should be fine with it. 🫥

The Five Barred Gate parts One and Two are available on Amazon! Pick up your copies today!! —- If any of you are local, I will be having an Author Appearance at Fairy Tale Books in Jourdanton, TX on Saturday, April 26th from 10AM to 2PM.

SYNOPSIS:

Michael Andrews thought he was far removed from the events his father experienced twenty years ago. He heard the bedtime stories so often, he had driven them out and was barely speaking to his dad. Religion was the last thing he wanted, until it became the only thing that mattered.

A new threat arises; his wife is arrested for talking about God to the wrong person. Now Jacob Andrews may be his only hope. He must lean on him, Rachel’s attorney, and those who understand what occurred twenty years ago and may be happening now when an old adversary returns to wreak havoc, using federal laws to exact revenge on the Andrews family.

Will he succeed, or will justice prevail to set Rachel free?

SNIPPET:

Summary:
This Five Barred Gate sequel, is a Dystopian Suspense about what would it be like if freedom of expression liberties were taken from us. In this installment laws have become more strict. One could be arrested for simply speaking their mind if another chose to press charges. This only multiplied within the Christian community. The laws were strict for Jacob in the first novel, now twenty four years later, his son Michael must face his own battles.


Last week we closed out Chapter Nine; here is a bit as a reminder.

“It was blamed on his deputy, Jesse Durrant. CCTV shows the struggle they had before the device went off. Even though your father fled, he was not being detained at the time, and he did phone authorities. So, no charges were filed.”

“I knew he was involved, but I didn’t know he was actually there,” Michael said.

“Your dad never told you any of this?”

“No. And I’ve never asked.”

“Well, maybe it’s time.”

We move into Chapter 10. Michael is sliding into the end of Jacob’s church service that is now ending. I jump ahead a couple paragraphs for the sake of space, but you don’t lose anything Just as a reminder, Jacob’s church meets in his gym business, somewhat secretly.


The crowd started to exit the building. Some remained behind chatting, returning the room to the gym-like atmosphere it had before the service. Michael stepped back, waiting for the room to clear and for his father to break away from those around him. The scene took him back to when he was little. He remembered how the crowd would gather around his dad. Someone always wanted to talk to him or shake his hand. To a kid who was either hungry or just wanted to get home and play, it seemed like it took forever. Today, he had questions about the past. That childlike anticipation returned; it seemed to be taking an eternity.


::There is your ten, but let’s continue on for a moment.::


Jacob glanced his way and must’ve noticed his impatience because he ended his conversation and made his way to him.

“It’s good to see you here, son,” Jacob said—a smile as big as Texas on his face.

“It’s not what you think, Dad,” Michael said. He knew his dad wanted him here to return to the church and God. But religion was the last thing on his mind right now. Getting his wife out of prison was the priority. And if the secret of his past held the key, this was where he needed to be. “I need to talk to you about what happened with Jesse Durrant.” No need to dance around the issue.

The smile on his dad’s face disappeared, and he looked at the men stacking chairs. They hadn’t looked their way. “Let’s go into the office.”

Jacob directed the chair stackers on what to do with the room as they left through the facility to the office they had been in a couple of days prior. It was much cleaner than it had been, more organized, and smelled of cleaner.

“Please sit,” his dad said, pointing to the same chair.

Michael sat.

Jacob sighed. “Okay, why do you want to talk about Jesse Durrant? Rather, who mentioned him to you that you want to know about him?”

“I’m not sure what’s happening, Dad. First, from what you and Frank have warned, we have been watching our backs. But I received a court order barring me from the courtroom during the hearing. This was after Johnathan did a little research in preparation for tomorrow’s hearing. He came across older cases and found that you were there when Official Nathan Edwards died. That it was blamed on his deputy, Jesse Durrant. The reports showed that you were there moments before that event happened.”

“I didn’t—”

“I’m not saying you did,” Michael said, cutting off his father. “I’m just trying to piece everything together with what happened back then. All I know is the pieces of a three-year-old mind and the case files Johnathan and I have gone over. I want to be prepared for what may come next.”

Jacob sighed and didn’t answer.

“Dad. I’m in the dark here. We don’t know why Rachel is being kept from us. Something is going on beyond our control. There seems to be more than meets the eye with this hearing.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Michael, other than what I’ve already told you.”

“Tell me about twenty years ago,” Michael said.

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” Michael said, sitting back and folding his arms. “I want to know who Official Edwards is.”

You can feel the tension here. I hope I wrote it well. Michael’s confusion and Jacob’s somewhat frustration of having have already told people about the past, but no one listening.

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In His Exciting Service,

Jeff S. Bray

Check out amazing established and emerging writers at Weekend Writing Warriors. Each week we post new snippets from either published works or works in progress for each other to comment on. Gain insight into how the mind of a writer works and a behind-the-scenes look at works before they hit bookstands everywhere.

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