FanLit

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How old thereabouts are Mitch and Will? I wonder because I know the lifespan back then was shorter than now and we know Boone & Coy are about 22ish, (early 20’s).

Coy laughed as he circled the barn so the wagon was lined up alongside the growing pile of building materials. “Wouldn’t mind that at all, looking like you, Boone. I’d be a handsome man for sure.” “You already are, and I’d rather look at your face than mine, and not just your face either. Ain’t such a thing as a bad view of you, coming or going,” Boone said with a lift of his eyebrows.” “God, I love you, Boone Dixon. I love every damn thing about you.” Mitch wasn’t the only one happy to hear the banter between Boone & Coy, their flirting is delightful and I LOVE that they are able to express themselves this way; As far as a sweet talking contest between the two….I’d say that’s a draw, lol. The meeting between Mitch & Will- *SIGH* you can’t hurt the way Mitch does if there wasn’t a depth of emotion involved and that emotion is usually love….hearing their backstory, I can see both points of view; It’s clear they never got over each other and if Will can’t be around Mitch for fear of his dying, he really should “hightail it away while the gitting’s good.” I like that you presented a scenario where both Mitch and Will have valid points to their choices (though I’m kind of leaning towards Will’s perspective); There is no clear cut right or wrong in this, which is what makes their reunion and Mitch’s condition even more poignant. Nice plot twist, Gary; Looking forward to how the next, exciting installment of….Larkspur: A Sidewinder Tale. P.S. you make Boone and Coy’s stake sound like the garden of eden. 😊 🍻

👏 This was beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

“Not completely sure, but I reckon the same for Buttercup. You should come by and see the foals,” Coy blurted out in a too-loud voice, his glance landing on Boone for just a second.” 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 I must say that while this story is about Mitch, we bear witness to the growth of Boone and Coy, both together and as individuals. For me, the biggest change has been in Coy. The end of “Sidewinder” saw Coy come into his own as someone who made his own choices, which was quite a contrast from the Coy we met at the beginning of the story. In “Larkspur”, he has blossomed into a full grown man, confident in himself, his faith and the life he is building with Boone. It is from that place Coy plays matchmaker; Indeed, his machinations were genius, as he honored the letter of his promise to the sheriff, yet being true to his intent to see some type of happiness brought to him in his last days. I look forward to seeing if the seeds Coy has sown will bear fruit or be barren. Nice installment Gary. 🍻

THANK YOU, GARY❣️❣️ I love your writing, even the unfinished, 😉(You know I couldn’t resist, 😬) To be fair, I think this is your only unfinished piece. Your dedication to this craft shows & is appreciated. Ty again. 🍻

Hindsight is 20/20….Zach was definitely testing his influence on Andrew, slowly but surely; I just can’t figure if Zach targeted him from the first time they met or if the revelation of his bed wetting started it, maybe a combination of both. At this point Andrew was definitely being groomed by Zach.

Hope all is safe with you and yours. It would be wonderful to see the continuation and conclusion of this story. 3 + years….😕

WOO HOO❣️❣️ CONGRATULATIONS!! 🍾 🎉🎁🎈🍻

Full disclosure time-RL got in the way BIG time and prevented me from finishing “Sidewinder”; When I saw this story come up, I went back to finally finish it so I could start this one fresh. 😊 You’ve crafted another interesting tale with these characters….I’m glad you came back to them, Gary. Sheriff Willard was a great secondary character that’s worthy of his own story, even if it has this sad premise to it. Addressing how internal maladies were dealt with before the time of X-rays and modern medicine is an interest….sounds like Mitch has lung cancer, I was hoping for an passing infection or TB, which while also terminal, had a better life expectancy if living conditions improved. It also seems like William Merrick may be “the one that got away” for Mitch; might Will make Mitch’s last days (which I really hope aren’t last days) good ones or bad ones? I’m glad this was waiting for me now that things are easier, will be looking forward to your Monday posts, Gary.

Hunter is Ford and his addictive personality manifests itself now in sex & control instead of heroin.

Love seeing a new story posted by you; looking forward to the journey.

This started off SOOOOO good and then ended, well not so good. It seems Aidan’s not the only one taking baby steps right now, (YAY to Aidan walking❣️❣️ 👏) there is stumbling going on with his grownups, too. (It had to come sometime, lol) For all of Mat’s waffling, he’s actually trying to be mature about this-he wanted to talk to Seamus and share where he was coming from in the cold light of day but by then Seamus’ defenses were up and that brought up Matt’s defenses; Where there is great love, lies the potential for great hurt and in each one’s respective attempts to protect themselves, bang and boom, Hurtsville station is in their nation. 😕 Aidan’s reaction to Seamus was touching and heartbreaking and another reminder of why Matt needs to be careful. I see both sides to this, it can go either way but this is a mrsgnomie story, our boys will have a happily ever after with each other. (right?) lol.

This chapter unpacked a lot. I’m glad that Matt and Seamus cleared the air about where they stood and what they both wanted out of their relationship; They are actually closer to being on the same page than either thought. Finding out the truth about Seamus and Kelly’s marriage was a revelation to the reader and Matt, it shows how invested Seamus is in their little family and how much Seamus’ friends think of Matt that this was revealed on their first meeting (speaking of-what an incredible board of directors; How many corporations would thrive with a committee like that, lol; It also speaks volumes that they are all smitten with Aidan). Still waters run deep and Matt was shown how deep Seamus’ currents are; Matt has more power in their relationship than he thought from appearances; I hope it allays some of his insecurities while he takes tender care of Seamus’ heart. Off campus or on, if Matt hadn’t “lived it up” by his junior year, he wasn’t going to be swinging drawers up the flagpole anytime soon. I think his mental gripes are typical of a 21 year old saying goodbye to childish ways and embracing the grown up world. I have high hopes for Seamus and Matt.

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I’d LOVE to see Seamus’ perspective on how he fell in love with Matt and Aiden, because he definitely loves them both.

Congratulations Brother Daddy Matt and Boss Nanny Seamus. 🎉 👨‍👨‍👦 You have built this up so very, very, well. Thank you,” Matt smiled. He closed his eyes in ecstasy the moment the ice cool, smooth chocolate hit his tongue. “Mmmm.” When Matt opened his eyes, Seamus was looking a bit terrified. “Sorry,” Matt said. “It’s the closest thing to sex I’ve had in a long time.” I think there are going to be a couple of terrified looking people this weekend....I hope they are terrified looking several times, lol!!

Intriguing characters and the usual engaging buildup of a Mrsgnomie story. Looking forward to Matt’s “Aha” moment to Seamus’ interest and what they will do about it, Aido Potato is a factor regardless of how this plays out; They are already the cutest little family.

Needed laugh after this story.

This is a departure from your usual but still well done. I don’t usually do horror but I’m always willing to give anything you write a read. I’m glad that Billy had a friend in the magpie and sad for just about every other aspect of his life. I certainly hope the other passenger in Colin’s truck wasn’t another child. Wonder what truly did happen to Alice....

Beautiful and tragic story. I do believe in reincarnation, though I don’t believe we always consciously remember our past lives. If future lives are karma for past lives, I wonder what new life awaited Thomas Johansson, Miriam for that matter, as well.

So several phrases jumped out at me in this reading: “Planting his feet next to him, Coy, now fully dressed, unbuttoned as well, and matching streams soon sparkled in the sunlight”.-The thought of glistening pee made me chuckle, 🤷‍♀️ “Yep… but I reckon a good sleep is a good sign. Makes the day look a whole bunch better.”-A well rested night is truly underrated. “The trees on this side of the river had become even taller—and farther apart—and there’d been no bushwhacking to do.”-This was a reminder of how many trails were truly “blazed” during these times, the first on any path often have the hardest journey. (literally and figuratively) “chewing hardtack and the last of their bitter cheese”-I’m assuming it was a hard cheese, as soft cheese wouldn’t travel well, was bitter cheese the name of the cheese and if not, what was it? “I heard a rabbit scream across the river”-That this was the action of a normally quiet animal evoked such a violent image in my head (guess that it was screaming in a trap also helped), lol. One did what one had to do. “Before he had a chance to disturb the water, he saw a good-sized trout in the shallows, and managed to get his hand underneath and tickle it.” -This tickled me, lol!! I vaguely recall reading about this as a method for catching fish before, what an interesting skill.

So in addition to being a murderer, Will was also guilty of a hate crime; sadly during those times he wasn’t the only one guilty of that transgression....the number of unreported crimes (of all types for that matter) committed back have to be astronomical. What an awful, awesome burden for Coy to have carried around....knowing how much his brother hated “corn holers” and fearful of the the threat his hatred was to Boone. What a thorough coward Will truly was-never confronting Boone directly because he was a better marksman and “sidewinding” to kill Wes and Lee. Coy’s punch, as well as withholding the depths of Will’s homophobia were acts of protecting Boone without his knowledge. Coy’s love for Boone is unquestionable, however the facets of that love is and had Coy been given the time to explore his feelings, he might know by now. Free of displeasing Will and his mother, he’s clearly making up for lost time; though it will be bittersweet for Boone, the best thing he can do is “not to influence the man”. How many more time will Coy forget to make camp? What will change when he remembers to? Will Boone roll with Daisy the next time they make a stop? *Tune in next week to find out in the latest, exciting installment of....Sidewinder* 🐍