Fitz

I'm not saying anything regarding your guess. Scott started smoking at some point. I haven't decided yet if it was in high school or college, but either way, it was before the events in Moving On. If I were to go back and redo the Christmas short, I'd definitely include it there. It's not really a continuity error that Scott never mentioned it in Moving On, since he wrote it for a very specific reason, which will eventually be explained. The smoking has actually been planned since I decided to write Moving Forward, so probably since Chapter 25 or so (no later than chapter 30).

Hmmm...I can see the confusion. It's worded in a way that can read that Mike and Noah knew each other before Scott left. I may go back and tweak that a little bit, but Noah's only known Mike for the past three months, so he met him about 2 months after Scott left. The way I envision it, there's not a highly structured heirarchy within the company. Since it's a fairly small company, what was intended to be simply a payroll/accounting position for Tom ended up accidently also being something of an HR position (but not really, since Scott and Noah are primarily responsible for staffing their own departments. The way I see it, even if I get things wrong, it's likely that Scott and Noah just kinda threw the company together and would patch things as needed to make it work, but figured it out as they went along. lol.

Discontent may not be the right word for what caused the schism between Scott and Noah. Actually, 'schism' may be the wrong word, too. The only thing the reader knows at this point is that Scott left Noah. As always, thank you so much!

I thought that's what you were expecting. Don't worry, if Scott does reappear in the story, it'll be better than ambushing Noah in Tom's office. As the next chapters come out, I'll be interested to see how close your scenarios are!

Thank you so much, as always!! I have ideas as to how they'll make it work, as well as ideas as to how it'll fall apart. I'm waiting for a moment of inspiration (meaning when it comes up in Moving Forward) to decide which way to take their relationship. Also, the diner explicitly doesn't allow smoking, but Darla never got the memo. At one point, it explicitly says she's smoking directly beneath a 'no smoking' sign! We'll see how it works out for people and their HEAs!

Thank you so much! Darla was something of a breath of fresh air to write. A character where I needed no backstory or motivations. In case you were wondering why Will didn't bring a gift for Jason, David and I went back and forth nearly a dozen times trying to figure out what he'd bring, but kept coming up empty! Don't get me wrong, I want ALL my characters to have a HEA. It's more a question of with whom their HEA will be with It's revealed in Chapter 3 that unlucky-at-love Tom may be on the way to getting his!

Chapter 3 Without thinking, I barged into Tom's office. "Why did you want to see me right away?" Tom was startled by my sudden appearance. He jerked in his chair as he turned to face me. "Good morning, Noah. I… um… I wanted to go over last month's numbers with you. Have you had a chance to look at them?" he asked, regaining his composure. "Not yet. I just got in, and Heather said you wanted to talk to me right away. What's up?" Tom immediately switched to 'business mode', as I calle

Scott is a flawed character - a little more flawed than he lets on in Moving On. Whatever ending is in store for Will and Jason (I haven't decided yet, honestly) will be revealed in a future chapter of Moving Forward! Thanks for the review!

That's exactly what I was going for. Neither really wants the relationship to end, but they're not quite willing to make the personal sacrifices necessary for the relationship to work. I honestly haven't decided how it will play out, but either way, it will be explained in a future chapter of Moving Forward.

Set a few month after Scott and Noah's wedding, this story focuses on Will and Jason as they attempt to reconcile their relationship on the date that would have been their first anniversary.

A Strained Anniversary Around the time I was finishing up the final chapters of Moving On, I was offered a chance to write an anniversary-themed short for Saber Peak Ranch in celebration of their second anniversary. It may not have been exactly what they had in mind, but this is what I gave them. Thanks to David for putting up with me in editing this short, since there were definitely times we didn't see eye to eye. – – – * * * – – – * * * – – – * * * – – – Will Drake straightened his t

Hmm... to start with, I meant that Scott HAD seven million dollars, not that they spent that much (or anywhere near it). It doesn't read that way to me, but I can see it. The strange wording is part of the legacy of trying to make sure things are explained well to newcomers, while trying to not bore people who have already read Moving On with extensive recaps. I was trying to throw it in there as 'just remember, Scott has several million dollars, and the wedding barely made a dent on their finances', but it can be interpreted as 'the seven million they spent barely made a dent on their finances'. Whoops! Both Zach and Noah are definitely depressed, but it's not just Scott leaving that caused it. That's all I'll say about that lol. Glad you enjoyed the chapter!!

I have a feeling your wrong. Looking over chapter three, I have a feeling I may have oversold the opening scene, but it is what it is lol. Thanks so much!

Scott had his moments, but he wasn't non-stop drama. I think the truth to his personality is somewhere between his portrayal of himself, and Noah's, since Noah is calm about so much it makes Scott seem that much more dramatic to him. My thought process behind the long gap was miscommunication between the both of them. They agree to meet at a landmark, but are thinking of a different one, and it becomes something of a comedy of errors. Of course, they could have just agreed to meet at the hotel or something. I don't know...maybe that's a minor anecdote that works better in drafts than in a final version, but I never gave it much thought after writing it. So far, there really haven't been any hints as to why Scott left, but as the next chapters come out, it'll become more and more obvious.

Some of the hints have been subtle, others not-so-much, but I'm still working the balancing act! Noah's brief prologue at the beginning of the chapter is written as much for me, once I figured out how to proceed, as it is for him. I kept jumping around trying to make it work cohesively in Chapter 1, before just deciding 'screw it...I'll just write this like it's almost stream of consciousness, and write the later chapters as if Noah got his head together!'

That was kinda the point. Chapter 1 introduces a lot of 'wtf', and then the next several chapters will slowly reveal the events leading up to it. Hugs back to ya Mikie!

As the next several chapters come out, the pieces will start falling into place. Telling the story this way allows me to fill in the past four years while still advancing the 'main' narrative, which is building to a point. Thanks for the review!

There's definitely been a lot of upheaval in his short life. Ultimately, if Zach survived his mother, he can survive just about anything. As the next several chapters come out, the pieces will slowly fall into place.

Chapter 2 I spent the past couple months thinking a lot about how to continue what I wrote, and I've come to the conclusion I was actually almost on the right track. The problem is the story that needs to be told begins at two separate points. One starting point is when Scott and I got married in 2013. The other is centered on my thirtieth birthday in 2017, when I had finally begun to accept the upheaval in my life, only for it to happen all over again. It is all intertwined, and I can't real

Well I wouldn't call the reasons 'perfectly good', but there are definitely reasons! It will all be explained over the course of the next several chapters, although it will be revealed slowly at first. Noah may be a less dramatic narrator, but he can tell the tale in a dramatic way (at least that's my hope for how it comes it across!)

What a way to start, huh? It's only chapter one, and the main character of book 1 is already written out! Or is he? Only time will tell lol I live between Grant Park and Turner Field. That narrows it down to a few thousand possible houses!

Well, wherever you comment from, it'll always be appreciated! Children are invariably hurt and confused when their parents split up, and it's a real shame when one of the partners chooses to exacerbate the situation. Children need lots of love and patience during that time, and it's unfortunate that it sounds like your stepson did not really get that from his father. Of course his Noah's also facing depression and is a bit overwhelmed, but we will soon see the effect everything has taken on young Zach. Hopefully any damage done to Zach will be eventually made right!

You see, what happened is... no, wait... I'll just let the story play out. (Sorry, couldn't resist). Details will be slow to emerge at first, but all your questions will eventually be answered! At least I didn't kill off a main character and start similarly to Moving On!! Who knows, there's still a chance Scott will come back into the story and sweep Noah off his feet...then again, maybe Noah will begin to make a place in his life for Mike

I've known for a long time that this chapter was going to evoke a lot of strong reactions. It's amazing to think about how strong of emotional bonds people form to characters in stories. I'm definitely not exempt, and have experienced my own roller coaster of emotions while writing!

I try very hard to not have any truly evil people in my stories. The vast majority of my characters have their own flaws, strengths, and desires that sometimes lead to conflict (Willow, however, has NO redeeming qualities as far as I'm concerned...some people are just evil). Even less than in Moving On, where Will was painted as something of a villain for a while, there are no real antagonists in the story. Scott has his reasons, for better or worse, and they will eventually come to light, and he will have to live with them. No matter what, Scott would NEVER intentionally hurt Zach, but he may not have thought through what emotional damage his leaving may have caused.