Canuk

Bubba Junior! But "BJ"? Really? I think I'd have another go at an acronym! Also while i fully understand the desire for retribution re the car accident, the bloke through his own stupidity and recklessness lost his wife, too, AND he has the civil suit. 17 years seems harsh, when he has his entire life without his beloved... Perhaps im just a liberal softey... The island sounds great. Perfect get away place. Thanks, enjoying this.

Do we get to see the pictures?

I am liking the story, and the realtionship between the two men coping with a young child does add a twist. In my own case i had two boys in their early teens; so many very strage conversations. Re guns. I grew up in the country, on a property where we had one gun, solely used to put down injured animals. The entire casualisation of guns, their use, the way they are talked about i find very distressing. To me they are a sign of a failing society. As mentioned in the story, people carry guns because law enforcement are so understaffed and under resourced people have an irrational belief that the only solution is to carry. This is a direct consequence of suppoting political candidates who regard the government as the problem and not part of the civilisation we live in and thrive in. Stories like this make me quite sad. Primarily as an indicator of the way some places are heading; the ultimate end of "society" and the moved towards a failed state. Rant over.

Smart move re decorations. Gives the child something to focus on rather than any loss. The genrosity of strangers and or acquaintances at times like these is always amazing. And it truly in in my experience in smal towns what goes around comes around. Disappointed they are going ro Walmart...i have a completely irrational hatred of that place.

Fumbling with a heifer... not a pretty sight! I did think the ball play would be about soccer... v glad it wasn't!

Great resolution to cliffy. Bit concerned by Jeffs "bear hands"; they would add an edge to sex.... I know its fiction, but great to see real firearm security treated as normal (key to gunsafe in a seperate safe). The bumbling firechief. In every small town there is always the idiot senior official who keeps their job because of who they married, who they are related to or who they sleep with! Looking forward to him getting his comuppance.

Loved the policeman scene, cliffy's...hmmmm, if its going to be that sort of story, i am glad i came late (to the story!).

Late to this story, but enjoying it very much. A child in a gay romance, well, in fact, any romance, does add a level of tension and challenge. The two leads are well drawn, i look forward to their development!

Lady Grainger is one hell of a woman. No wonder they fought womans sufferage for so long! Great to see our leading couple going in a similar direction again. The amount of memorabilia was somewhat amazing and nothing like i expected at thecliff hanger, but i certainly understand our heros horror. He is such an amazing chracter, so brazen and certain at sea, but niaeve beyond belief on terra firma. Lookingforward to the next book! Congratualions.

Mark! What have done to us! No mention of our beloved for weeks and now a cliffy like this? This is early grave stuff ( mine, not yours!) It is so good to have our boy back, i am pleased that his marriage will survive, but mr pitt and mr dundas worry me. I think that we will be hearing much more of the Guild , and not nice things. Nowing a bit of the future, i do feel sorry for Lord Castlereagh. Hopefully our boy can provide him some comfort before his demise in the next 10 years or so. Welcome back. You have been missed. I wish you well, if only to keep us, the less talented, amused!

Really enjoying their story. Great pace, great characters. One point, in the museum; they probably saw a gorilla. A guerilla would some sort of freedom fighter - interesting, but unlikely in San Antonio!

Well that was somewhat of a knockout chapter. Back from sublime cruise to both parents with cancer! Cancer is hideous; there's a sort of faint hope its curable, but either way it wil be drawn out and painful; painful in different ways for those concerned. Both my maternal grandparents had cancer in their late 50s, gran survived, grandpa didn't. As for the other side of the family all the blokes die a month after they turned 75, so I have a pretty good idea of my use by date! Great story, very real. Thanks.

Refering to the lastcoment, wedding cakes do last for a long time without much treatment, if they are the traditional fruitcake.i think we ate the last of my firts cake on the first anniversary of my childs birth, so three years after the wedding. Regardding the horse ride, that was so well written. I too grew up on a farm, and while I honestly do not like riding, it was something I did for quite a while. My partner on the other hand, I am not sure I could get hi into a paddock with a horse! The way it was written in the story was quite beautiful. Great demonstration of a greatrelationship.

Just read the latest ch. The last line or two adds a new spin...who eent the package? Btw, I added a review...its almost unreadable because of typos... are reviews not editable? Also serves me right for typing on a tablet in bed!

The description of the meal was perfect; een with guest present the family could be civilised, except to know which fork to use! The last sentence was a great cliff hanger....

Great story, and I so get the gay vs fags thing. I am happy for people to be exactly who they want or need to be, or in fact who they are, but just as I am not at my best in the midst of a straight jock group, I really dont function well midst a group of very effeminate men. One small point, what is this suposed to mean "“But say one thing about to others about me, or to me…onboard or otherwise, I’ll call you on it.”"?

I honestly cannot imagine travelling like our two heros do. The Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Coloseum all in a day! This is really tick box travel. I get it that its more "honeymoon" than serious travel, and so its more about the loving and mutual discovery, but i am sad for what they are missing!

Really, to throw our beloved Grainger from the clutches of Lady Elgin into the fire pit of Lord St Vincent, one wonders how and when our hero will get (and us readers get to observe) some sensual "me time"! Given Castlereagh's reputation, i wonder if there will be some private time there? Great story; so glad he's back

Just read the first four chapters... this is one ominous story. I get the feeling there are multiple layers each with two side, each not giving enough away to make the story straightforward... loks like a fun ride! Thanks

Congrats. Great return. Amazing how it all drops into place nd continues seamlessly... mark of a bloody great writer! Glad things looking up for you, Mark.

This is moving so far from my comfort zone.... i am not sure I'd cope!

Glad to hear things moving in the right direction. Now Im back in north america, my notifications have reverted to a civilised schedule; in australia i was getting them at 2 and 3 am! So looking forward to my next mark arbour notification!

Boys middle names in my family have been the same for 5 generations. So no "fashion" there! The girls tend to take their maternal grandmothers first name as their middle name. No idea why...

Perhaps not in the US, but I was at school ( 60s-70s) in Australiawith at least one Jeremy( hard to actually recall first names from school, for some reason we all call each other by either nick names or surnames) Also the actor jeremy Northam (uk) must be late-ish 50s by now. So on that unimpeachable comprehensive sample,sorry, Jeremy, you are not as unique as you hoped!

Sometimes same/same doesnt work. My initial longterm relationship with a woman who, on paper, was everything my familiy could want for me. We were from comparatively well to do backgrounds, we both had decent university degrees, both had some money to "set up house", but.... she never got on with either side of my family and ultimately they gave up on her. We ultimately seperate due to stresses of a failing business. Several years later, I have come out as gay, I bring home my boyfriend who while holding down a respectible, well paid job by then, had a life history that would have truly shocked my family. They take to him and he to them as if we had grown up together. And yet ~ 20 years on, my family still love him (given he can cook, sing, paint, I am actualy worried that if we broke up, I'd be the one looking for a new family!) All this to say that presuming same/same in terms of background and or socio-economic status makes relationships easier may not be the whole truth. Iunderstand that culture plays a huge part in that; one of my staff was a product of a very wealthy family from Shanghai and the pressure on her to marry was enormous. But still I think searching for a matrix that ensures relationship success is not useful.