Ivy

I also think Will is being a typical teenager at this point, just with more money and resources than most. Speaking from experience, it's hard when you have two sets of parents (divorced) and living in two separate houses that you have to answer to. Will has three parents living in the same household, along with a few other adults present at any given time. As a headstrong teen, I can see him feeling oh so suffocated, oppressed, and spied on with all those adults around, not to mention brothers. Is it right that he speaks to Jeanine the way he does? No. But he's been acting this way for a few years now, and if no one put a stop to it when it started, it's probably not going to change until he grows up a bit more. He's Brad all over again, fine-cool-easygoing as long as things are going his way. Ok so what I'm really interested in is Tiffany moved out...Where did she go? Is it permanent? What do Matt and Wade have to say about this? If the breakup is permanent, will she still want a baby as a single mother? Yeah, probably jumping the gun a bit with some of those questions, but Tiffany is younger than Jeanine and a lot of the story content so far has dealt with age related relationship issues. No matter how Tiffany and Jeanine feel about each other, they are in different places in their age related maturity level and how they deal with issues. Personally, and I'll admit, my moral compass is way screwed up, but I just don't see it worth leaving your committed partner because you're pissed off that she had a one night stand when you're both pregnant from sleeping with two men at once. It wasn't like she was out on the prowl, it was more or less drunken comfort sex between friends. It's not like Cody was trying to steal her away or something. And it's probably not the first time Cody & Jeanine have slept together, though we may never know. Eh, but that's just me looking at it from the outside. I know there are many more emotions at play when it's happening to you.

MW, I love your line about Cody, " I can't see Cody keeping a pet bunny alive.." Hahahahahaha! I've always been a supporter of Cody as a character, but I kinda have to agree with you on that one! Although, I have seen many men do an about face in their lifestyle when a baby is involved (my brother for one). Something about holding a little life in your hands that you know you are responsible for that totally redirects your life.

That did bother me when I read it. AID's has not gone away. It reminded me of the PSA from a few years ago where there are two people together and there is a line of like a hundred people standing behind one of them with the message that you're sleeping with every person your partner has ever slept with unprotected. I think Cody's line of past partners might look like the lines outside of Best Buy for the day after Thanksgiving sales. And I'm usually on Cody's side during most of the debates about him, but he might just be a little out of control with the sex, drugs, and rock n roll lifestyle. Also if the baby is Cody's, it raises all sorts of potential story plots. I can see all sorts of craziness ensuing.

Glad, I wasn't the only one with tears! At least I'm in the office alone today. I just want to crawl through my laptop screen and give George a hug. George's fondness of the Spanish might fade a bit after this. We've seen George in action, but this is going to turn him into a demon against the French. I think George is going to internally beat himself to death over this. He is so hard on himself. George has had such successes and this is the first time he wasn't able to save the day so to speak. We think of a splinter as a tiny little thing that we pull out of our finger with tweezers. They had to watch out for giant killer splinters! Holy crap, I can't believe Travers is gone.

Thank you, kind sir! And I think people will always be interested in your stories, so let that flow take you where ever it wants to.

I've been re-reading the Bridgemont series and been totally recaptivated with our Mr. Granger. I was wondering, Mark, if you might respond to a few questions, if possible, without giving away state secrets...... Have you thought about how far you see this story going? Does it end with Granger, or might it continue with one of his sons?? Would you ever consider a story or side-story in the series from one of his son's (grandson, great grandson's) point of view? Are there any other periods of history you would like to derive a story from?? And last question, do you enjoy writing/researching one series more than the other?? I'm just curious, as the CAP world has expanded to include so many generations and extended family characters, but Bridgemont has totally focused on George and his rise though the ranks. They are both so great, but so different, and to have come from the same author is just a tad mindboggling. I would just like to pick your brain a bit. You can answer or not answer as you see fit. I won't take it personally if you choose not to answer any or all, especially if it would give away anything you see as a spoiler.

I didn't feel as weirded out about Gathan and Steph as I would have about Will and Gathan. Steph is the male equivilent of a "cougar" for me, hot older person being with a much younger hot person. In the "real" world I don't want older men or women taking advantage of people under the age of consent, but I'm not sure who was taking advantage of who in this chapter. Steph has always believed in "sexual healing" and seen himself as somewhat of a sage in this area. He probably knows it wasn't exactly correct to have sex with Gathan and I'm not sure if they are going to come out and tell everyone what they just did, like it came out with Matt. Hopefully Steph will hook Gathan up with a therapist at some point, because his issues run way deep. Also, I don't think Steph was implying that the boy/girl in question "got what they deserved", I think he was thinking more along the line of young people suck at sex their first few times when they don't know what the heck they are doing. Anyway, just my opinions, I could be wrong, it usually happens at least once a day and twice on Sundays, lol.

I said 16/17. I know kids have sex younger and younger, but I know kids that are 14-15-16 and I just can't see them in that situation. The ones I know are just really immature and sooooo not ready for that. Yeah, Will is mature for his age, but let's let him experiment with other things for a while.

when Gathan gets to Stanford in the fall will Matt and Wade be sophomores or juniors?? just wondering...it's been a while since they were center stage and I can't seem to remember if its been 1 or 2 years since bloodlines.

Centex, responding to your comment, I think that if we had seen the rapes happen in the moment, there would be a lot more outrage visible in the comments. Because they happened off screen so to speak, as well as in the past, while it doesn't diminish the act, it diminishes the impact somewhat. I definately had an "oh, my" moment, but as I read on, I was more into his behavior now. The fact that you have a horny 17 year old who says he doesn't "do that' meaning "I just don't have sex anymore", I see as him having real deep issues. He's like a lot of kids that have a problem and instead of getting help, he hides it, ignores it, assumes it will go away. I feel it's important to remember that it was insinuated that both he and Ella were molested/abused as kids by their so-called father. I think Mark has jumped right into the mind of a kid with issues and portrayed the real problem kids today have with getting the help they need with issues they are facing. They are more apt to talk to each other, if they talk to anyone, than get help from an adult, that might actually be able to point them in the right direction for the help they need. Many times adults are clueless to what's going on in the heads of kids. Gathan's adoptive family did their best, but did they see and act on the anger issues or try to uncover the real problem? Hopefully at some point Gathan will connect with one of the West Coast adults and get the anger management help he needs. I think we're going to see some amazing things happen in this story and some of them might not be real pretty. I have a feeling Gathan's self control will fail fantastically at some point as well, even more than a fist fight at a public gathering. As with most of the characters we have grown to love, or love to hate, I think Gathan will be someone we will love to analyze over the course of this story. I can't wait till he gets to California and see how his story plays out.

Oh jeez, this is reminding me that those years between 13-19 were some of the best and absolute worst moments of my life. Is anything ever as dramatic as it is to a teen?? Every new experience is like a life changing moment. Every day you're trying to figure out who the hell you are, (and who the hell everyone else is!) There is just no middle ground and everything is black or white, and what you think was black, turns out to be white or pink or yellow or blue. If you ask people about their teen years most will either answer either "awesome" or "sucked", rarely do you get "all right". Personally I think every 13 year old should be issued a therapist till they graduate highschool. I kind of feel like we just transferred over from HBO/Showtime to Disney Channel/Nickelodean. So we figured out what pissed Will off, learned more about Gathan, and found out the best weed is grown at Escorial (Oh wait we already knew that one). I thought it significant that when Will was yelling at the cops, and Gathan put his hand on Will's shoulder, there was an exchange of energy similar to how Brad describes his hugs with JP. At least that's how I read it.

Great having George Granger back in action. I started reading Bridgemont before CAP and haven't been disapointed yet! The way you blend historical fact into your stories is truly fantastic. Of couse, I had to figure out why the name St Vincent. I just love Google, though spending an hour reading about British naval history on a Saturday morning was not how I envisioned starting my weekend, lol. Really can't wait to see how this one plays out, even if the posting rate will be a little slower pace. Thanks for doing what you do!!

Great wrap up to an awesome story Mark! Really looking forward to the next episode in the saga. Oh and I loved the little bit of dangerous Brad at the end.... “You’d better not,” I joked. Sort of. It was all light and sweet till the "sort of!"

Ok more comments on Carson's behavior...My 2 cents, which is about what my opinion is worth in the world at large......Carson exhibits classic psycho stalker behaviors....he totally insinuated himself into Robbie's world and tried to make himself the most important thing there by ruining Robbie's company and his relationship. If he can do that successfully, in his mind all Robbie will have left is him. That didn't work, though he came pretty close. He may have been planted there by Alexandra and her team initially, but he took it way beyond the initial orders to have an affair and break up Brad n Robbie or give some bad advice so his movies will flop. Because Carson saw Brad as the bad guy who foiled his plans, he was more than happy to follow any directions regarding hurting Brad or the family. What if his orders were to get Will alone and drop him off in the dessert? Or to get him in the water to surf and hit him over the head so he drowns? He told Brad he was down, but not out,and would be back. Brad hates this guy way more than he hates Alex at this point because Carson is closer and is an immediate threat, first Robbie, now Will. Brad is just not going to stand for one more thing, so while his reaction is uber extreme, it's well within his character. Now if Brad had jumped in a car and gone to do the deed himself, I see that as "old" Brad behaviour and would have been a backslide. Instead, he's methodical and calculated, let's everyone in the family know he will handle it, let's Robbie get emotional about it without getting pissed off at him, and has his plan executed so to speak. It was a very "Godfatherish" sort of plan. This family has connections to known cartel kingpins and mafia bosses, they aren't going to handle perceived threats through proper channels, and threats get eliminated one way or another. In my opinion, he had Brian hit at the same time so that the framing of Alexandra would be complete. He's removing her from the equation the best way he can, in the pocketbook. If she goes to jail too, so much the better. The money trail would implicate that she would have wanted Brian gone for selling secrets. He was living in hiding under an assumed name, so it all just fits. Did Brian really need to die, eh, I'm not sure about that, but with the comment about Clair's son, I'm ok with it. I really liked these last chapters...I haven't commented this much..ever!

I don't see Brad's actions as taking a step back. I see it as his reaction to the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. When Carson showed up on the beach stalking Will, Carson made it personal. He took it completely out of the realm of business and made it a personal threat against Brad and his family. This is more than, Alexandra wants you to be miserable and I'm helping her do that. The way I read it, he made it into a vendetta. When you declare something like that, you have to be ready to accept the consequences. He seriously miscalculated this time. Maybe he would have just taken Will for a joyride or maybe he would have done something way more sinister, who knows? The bottom line is that Brad was not willing to wait to find out. He had the means to finish it and he did. As others have said, this is far different from school yard bullies that might pick on the kids. This is an unstable adult with designs on hurting this family. The Crampton/Schluter clan don't have a history of going to the police, why would they start now? Also, I agree with the previous statements that if something happened to Alexandra, the first people they would look at are family, then people with grudges, then adversarial business rivals. Brad is all of the above albeit the family connection is unusual. The way Brad set it up is masterful. Alex will be blamed for the hits due to the Dan Church email. In the real world, people never get away with this kind of stuff, so yeah, it may be a little far fetched. But hey we all need a little "un-reality" in our lives now and then. Who here hasn't thought of "taking someone out"??? Would we do it in real life-I hope not, but if someone were writing my life story, I can think of a few people who would no longer be around. Anyway, its great to see the different reactions to the happenings in the last few chapters. It must give Mark a lot to think about.