Reap The Wind – Book Excerpt

Reap the Wind is a thrilling action/adventure novel that follows three lawyers as they embark on a treacherous journey from Houston to Cincinnati during a catastrophic hurricane. Josh Goldberg is on a mission to be with his girlfriend for the birth of their child. Along the way, they’ll face terrifying obstacles like tornadoes, hailstorms, and driving rain. But the real danger may come from within as they struggle to survive each other’s company. His two travel companions—his best friend, a drug-addicted lawyer, and his conniving boss who has her own agenda.

Don’t miss out on this unforgettable odyssey that might just be a suicide trip.

EXCERPT PART ONE

FROM CHAPTER 14 OF REAP THE WIND

BY JOEL BURCAT 

Ahead, I could see taillights from mostly trucks and a few cars in the right lane. There was a police car with blinking red and blue lights on the shoulder. A row of orange traffic cones corralled traffic to the right lane. Standing on the shoulder was a man in a yellow raincoat, with a yellow cowboy-style rain hat waving a bright light. I slowed to a stop behind a semi. The man’s raincoat had the words “Deputy Sheriff” printed in big black letters. He had a sheriff’s badge stenciled on his raincoat. Above that was his name, A. Elias.

I rolled down the window an inch or so and was greeted by intense wind and rain which blew onto my face.

“What’s going on, Sheriff…Elias?”

The guy was big and beefy, his face slick with rainwater and rain dripped off his hat. Weirdly, he wore clear ski goggles. This was the last guy I expected to see on some ski slope. As I considered this, the wind blew more sharply, and they made sense. He was protecting his eyes from flying objects.

“That’s Deputy Elias, thank you. We’re stopping the big rigs and cars here,” the officer spoke with a thick Texas accent. “Y’all are about a mile from the Trinity River and an open bridge crossing the river. We’ve had accidents there in the past. Two years ago in that big goddamn storm, we had a truck get blown clear off the bridge into the river. Took out an SUV when he went over. We’re stopping everyone here and asking them to wait until the wind dies down before we let some go through. The trucks have got to wait. A lot of the cars are waiting for a break in the wind.”

“So, I don’t have to wait if I don’t want to? I have a long way to go today.”

“Everyone wants to be somewhere else. Get home. Work. Man, I’m telling you it’s dangerous. The winds on that bridge are like a whirlwind. The bridge is completely open, and the winds are a lot more intense than what you’ve been driving through. I think it’s crazy to cross that bridge now. Those winds’ll blow you back to Houston. If I were you, I’d wait. But this is Texas, and you have a God-given right to play the fool. We’ll let you through, but it’s on you.” He looked down the highway. “If you’re in trouble, the best I can say is we’ll fish you out of the river when the storm’s over, but that’s it.”

I looked at Geoff. “What do you think? I mean we could sit here for hours if we wait.”

Geoff bounced his head from side to side like he was weighing his choices. Finally, he said, “Giddy up.”

“Well then, hang on. I don’t know whether it’ll be better to go real fast or real slow across the bridge. I’m not sure there’s a right way.”

I looked at the deputy who waited in the rain and said, “Deputy, I appreciate your concern, but we’re going to try it. Thanks.”

I waved to the deputy and noticed he keyed a mic that was fixed to his shoulder and talked into it. He moved a traffic cone so I could pull out. I angled into the left lane and drove past dozens of trucks and a few cars, waiting for the signal from the police that it was safe to go through. After about a minute of driving slowly, the bridge loomed ahead. It was one of those flat highway bridges. Unimpressive. It was not the kind with towers and suspension cables, just a flat top. On an ordinary day, you’d cross it in a few seconds and not know you’d been on a bridge.

Another raincoat-clad sheriff held up his hand and stopped me. He was also wearing clear ski goggles.

“You the one who talked to Deputy Elias at the back of the line?”

“Yes sir. Is it better if I take this fast or slow?”

The cop shook his head. “It’s better for y’all to wait a spell. If you’re bound and determined to take it, though, I’d go slow. Real slow. This ain’t no rodeo. Be prepared for hard wind that’ll look to blow you right off the bridge clear to Galveston. Even in this big car. Just be prepared for it.” He looked toward the bridge and waited for the wind to calm a bit. Then he said, “Okay, pardner. You’re up.” Like in a rodeo. I was the one sitting on an angry bull with his balls bound up.

Click to read Part 2 on the March 11^th stop with Lone Star Book Blog Tours!