Dodger

Nice chapter. I liked the jokes and the way that Bobby's trying to befriend Brandon. He's a bit too pushy for me though. Billy staking his claim was a cool moment.

I think Brandon did the right thing by not calling Billy and I like the way you portrayed his emotions after the news of Marie's leaving. He was right, of course, they were never a real couple, but good friends. This is probably the best result for Brandon, as it allows him to remain friends with Chandler.

Great chapter with an interesting tour of Chandler's art school. I like the way Marie was clinging on to Brandon, while he unintentionally ignored her to follow his crush Chandler around like the Pied Piper. I don't blame him, Chandler's the type of guy who I would have swooned over too.

Another fantastic article, some good advice, a few trade secrets, and a glimpse into your past. You're giving too much away, but I'm grateful, as always.

Robbie's inheritance is held in a trust fund which is managed by the bank with Don as the trustee. The most valuable asset in the trust is his mother's property in London. Even if Don chooses to sell this property on Robbie's behalf, there is no way he can withdraw that amount of money from the trust. There are laws that prevent the trustee from gaining access to the fund they're managing, and I cannot see how Don could possibly get away with such a crime. Don runs his own advertising agency, which has recently had a big boost after securing a major contract out west. He makes good money and uses it to get what he wants. Most of his money is spent on his family including Robbie, who has benefitted from Don's splash the cash philosophy. So, if anything, the opposite is true. Robbie is actually richer because of Don.

If Robbie looks hard enough he will realize that he already has a winning hand. It's just a matter of knowing when to play it!

I would like to visit General Sherman one day. I hope it survives.

Great chapter. All Brandon has to do is keep Billy on the phone.

This was a cool chapter @MrM The scene in the park made me laugh. There's something really likeable about Marie.

I often use the ‘Top Recommended Stories’ feature to find stories that members have endorsed, but I find it frustrating because we’re only allowed to see the top twenty per week, month, year, etc. There must be a lot of stories on this list, including ones that I’ve recommended that no one knows about because they’re not in the top twenty, which begs the question, why bother recommending a story if no one can see it’s been recommended? Is it not possible to see all the stories that have been recommended?

The Cobourg Yacht Club is a little pretentious. There's more to it than simply sailing which doesn't really interest Don as much as having a boat in the harbour. He wouldn't be happy with a dingy. As for the kids, well, I imagine most teenagers would be lured by the prospect of having their own sailboat, especially in a place like Cobourg. Don even managed to bribe Robbie, who was equally excited and admits to being just as shallow as Nicola and Daniel. Matthew predicament shows another side of him though and perhaps a growing maturity. So far, he's probably done the right thing by thinking it through and not telling anyone else. He's a good guy at heart and will want to help the kid without putting him in danger, but at the moment he hasn't got a plan.

Glad you weren’t late for work @Gary Land I'm pleased you enjoyed the chapter.

Yes, March 2011, but Robbie is still 16 until September. Cobourg is a town I visit quite often. It's a very friendly and vibrant community especially in the summer. The beach and harbour provided the perfect setting for this story and I know the places well enough to be able to write about them fairly accurately from memory, which helps. The school, of course, is fictitious, as are the various road names where the characters live and Don's church. In the story, Nathan's family come from Ottawa.

I think Robbie knows how important it is for him to keep this secret until he can talk to Matthew again.

Conversion therapy was still legal at the time but not Symmonds' version.

Symmonds is definitely not a nice guy.

I'm not sure if Robbie has a plan at the moment, other than to talk to Matthew and try to persuade him to tell someone like Jo. I think he will try to avoid the pastor and Symmonds as much as he can.

I think Robbie called it right when he accused Symmonds of trying to get him into trouble. Symmonds was annoyed at the time because Robbie refused his help. We know that Don and Symmonds are like-minded in many ways although I'm not sure if Don would condone the counsellor's tactics.

I feel for both men in different ways. Five years is a long time, especially back then. They probably didn't live anywhere near as long as we do nowadays. I know they're both young, but Boone is right to think of himself. He can't afford to lose another five years treading water. Maybe Coy will be able to understand his feelings. It would have been difficult to get advice in those days without counsellors, television shows, movies, magazines, and the internet.

Fifty-seven thousand dollars sounded like a lot of money to me, but that was the cost of Don’s new floating man-toy, and apparently, he got it cheap. The soon to be re-named ‘Elizabeth’s Legacy’, however, wasn’t quite the boat that he showed me in the glossy catalogue, but an earlier version of the same model. Don insisted that fifteen years was still relatively new for a sailboat, and on Monday morning, he took Daniel and me to the Cobourg Yacht Club to inspect his proud acquisition. It wa

My football soccer team has had the worst start in it's history, but the Blue Jays are breaking records.

Honesty is the best policy and so it proved in this chapter. I like Sheriff Willard. He's a cagey character but a good man. I'm pleased to see Boone and Coy rewarded, but how will this affect Boones plans?

Boone is a good man and it's going to hurt him to leave his friend, but I understand his reasons. So far, I can't see any other solution. Normally, i would say get it over with as soon as possible, but in this case, I'm pleased he's taking his time. Perhaps I'm hoping Coy will start to see Boone in a different light. I can see how the right choice of words in the dialogue is so important in this story, and you've done an excellent job. I'm no expert, of course, and it's not a genre that usually appeals to me, but this is an enjoyable read that demands my attention. I'm so impressed, Gary. Well done.

Glad to see Coy is a lot more understanding and accepting of his brother's fate now that he's sober. It's a shame so many tents have to be taken down because of one bad man.

I'm not surprised Boone didn't trust Will. He was a thoroughly nasty piece of work who met a fitting end. Shot in the back after shooting the two old men in the back for their gold. They were violent times and I like the way you use the dialogue to remind the reader that incidents such as these were not unusual. In the story notes you mention you did a lot of research and that's the impression I got from reading the first chapter, even though I'm not familiar with the wild west or American history before the first world war. I enjoy history and often wonder what it would have been like for gay people in earlier times. I imagine it wouldn't have been easy in the period and place where your story is set and I'm glad I wasn't there. I can see you put a lot of work into this, Gary. I'm glad it's been well-received.