Krista

Yeah, bravery can go a lot of ways for teens. Showing out as a hero being the best case scenario... and only good one really, and teenagers are stubborn, you will not get the 'props' you deserve for that bravery unless you do it well above their lofty expectations. Finding yourself in a hospital with your leg in a cast... then the worst, the naysayers winning if you fall on your ass in front of them.

I used to not be good with comments. Jury is still out if I am, some may disagree. It is good that you think so though. I do try to be open and honest, and I know that my writing isn't the most polished. I don't claim to be. I have opinions on writing and techniques that I share, but I know as I'm typing it all out that it is coming from a place of 'my' personal understanding and that it may limit me. For everything else, I do like privacy, but I can't help telling you all the lived experiences that help shape my stories. If that helps you understand a character better, then it is good that I did share it. If that allows you to understand where I'm coming from, the type of stories that I like to tell -- then me keeping that all to myself might be a detriment to that. I want you to connect with my writing, and to me and if I can help that along by telling you little bits and pieces of my experiences then I hope I can keep doing that. And, maybe not say things that get the 😮 reaction 'too' often for my liking.. But also, who knows... I may also take up the challenge as well, we'll see. But yes, I added the Twins because I am raising twins and their whole dynamic and how they react to their siblings are an interest to me. My twins are a boy and girl set though, so there are differences... as in, my daughter is a lot meaner than my son... must be my genetics hitting her right in the face, where as my husband's very soft-golden retriever genetics blessed my son. She scares me a little... lol

and, you will have to reconcile the fact that when you leave that island, you're opening yourself up to pain that you don't know if you can handle. People don't isolate themselves to protect themselves from pain. They're feeling it, constantly. The reason they're isolating is because of the thought that nothing else can hurt them, because they're not going to ever be open enough to allow it. That island is a sanctuary and a prison.

Yeah, I think it is safe to say that he quietly did tell Celia the 'extent' of how he found Joel. It would be a disservice to her if he didn't. He may not have shared Joel's secret, either. Trace had to weigh the options very quickly, he had to determine if this kid on the side of the road was a danger to his family before taking him in. Or just a danger to himself, and he thought capable of undermining anything Joel would attempt to do. If he went into this whole thing and didn't tell Celia what she was about to step into, it would never have worked... I don't think. She wouldn't know how to approach him, where to stand down, where to push... how to do it... A lot of what they did was just naturally in them too... but yeah, if there wasn't information shared, then it wouldn't have worked... I don't think.

All I'm going to say is, that I am fully aware of that study. That I have read it, and I also covered it in two psychology courses I took in College. *whistles* Gavin and Davin aren't identical either. They look similar, but there's distinct differences about both of them. Much of Joel's confusion came from not being able to place a name with the correct twin in the beginning. Now that he knows them, he knows which one he's looking at because of those non-identical differences. Now, in the writing I've had to edit and switch out letters to correct myself on which twin I am talking about or interacting with in the scenes. But I've also called Colt - Cody numerous times... and some of those were embarrassing when I've had to go back and correct them.

Maybe it won't be so easy to blindside him now that Trace is a buffer by taking the phone calls he may receive from them in the future. Maybe that will be as far as their cruelty will go? If we're thinking they've gone beyond the point of no reconciliation, that is...

DSB, sounds dreadful. Poor guy. He does seem grouchy at times... quiet. Maybe a bit whipped by Sierra, so maybe it is the opposite? Maybe he's gotten a taste and has tunnel vision and will now clash with what is expected of him if it doesn't align to his plans involving her, or her plans involving him. It was very embarrassing for me when I dated as a younger teenager and thought my boyfriends were more central to my world. Looking back, the relationship didn't deserve that level of commitment. They were all too shallow when we thought we were hanging the moon. But I guess that's what makes it all count too... Then again, he might also just be a bit spoiled and a bratty little shit. What betting odds are we thinking? Trace promised to get Cody up to the Ranch for a visit. Honorable. We all also know who holds the true power to make that happen...

Yeah... it was an unavoidable pothole in the road... maybe he won't let it get in the way of his entire trip. We'll see if Lacey can convince him to take another lesson. He might think he has to behave if riding lessons are a form of small punishments.

At least for Joel's sake, I hope they'll be a little gentle with him. Twins can be a lot... of work.. and a lot of energy. Energy that they're comfortable with, as they feed off that energy with one another. At least, that is my experience raising twins, and have three sets of twins as my siblings growing up... it is an interesting dynamic.. twins.

Such is the way life tends to go. Happily walking along with an ice cream cone in your hand, enjoying the day... then a pigeon decides to poo all over your head and your poor ice cream ruining it all.

Yes... 12 chapters and nearly 100k into the writing and we're not even a week into the timeline. I did do a little cringe at the thought, but I never really structure my stories around a spatial timeline. Even when I wrote, "The Best Year..." one would think I would pace my story to cover a whole year in under so many words... not me. Nearly 500k words and 5+ actual years for me to write it... I do hope the pacing isn't too bogged down. The reminder that it hasn't been a full in-story week is a bit yikes... at least people are sticking with it for now. Hopefully it will feel like things are progressing soon. I don't 'think...' it is a true fault in the writing yet. And yeah, things may be written slow, but it is all happening really fast for Joel. He's coming back from the brink, living with strangers, scared, lonely, still longing for a life he no longer has, and he has looming decisions he doesn't wish to make coming quicker on the horizon. Something will break... or come together eventually.

I almost left the phone call as a cliffhanger. This was a 10k part to a 20k chapter... yet another split. But I decided to include it, as it wasn't too much of a bombshell and I'd rather not write too many cliffhangers in my little slice of life stories... I'm not the goat of cliffhangers as it is.

Small truths can be a good start. He has been saying honest things... especially after that phone call. The only thing he truly didn't say was, specifically, his secret. But he did explain the fears behind it... and why he hasn't. And she didn't take that moment of weakness and put any kind of pressure on him to just be out with it... she told him it was okay to keep that distance. She was giving him the grace he needed. And yes, there are fast approaching big decisions still waiting for him to be made.

Celia doesn't seem to mind the wait, wanting to just show him her support until he is ready. She isn't pressing him or putting pressure on him. If she were to do that, at this point of the story - would you find that a fault with her? Wanting him to give her information that he's not willing to give? Come out with his secret on her terms and not his? Not saying there isn't some fault with Joel. Celia is showing him, Trace has already shown him. There is evidence that he can see plain as day that this time may be different... It was 'his' mother that did all of this to him. It may have been Westley that brought the gun (laptop) down the stairs, loaded and ready. But it was his mother that pulled that trigger. She didn't take the gun and put it back, tell him it was going to be okay. She aimed it right at his chest, held nothing back, showed no signs of unsteadiness and destroyed him in their living room while everyone else that he loved watched in silence. Celia is now the mother figure in his life that is replacing that. She could glow gold with wings and a halo and that might not be good enough right now because any child that has a good mother will think their mother can save them. Joel's mother didn't save him. She nearly killed him. -- The horse riding and the Lacey dynamics were a fun write. I am glad it reads visually enough, as sometimes I do wonder if my action writing can read a bit blurry and disjointed.

I think that would be Lacey's wishes. Maybe not Raven or Joel's... as Joel might be too slow and timid for Raven, and Raven too spirited for Joel. It could be a strong bond built from opposites being good for one another, but... Mares. Horse people will understand when I say that.

She let the lie linger between them, suspecting the truth. She's showing that she is willing to wait for Joel and just be there as a ready and able support system. There is a subtlety to it, I think. The only time she really pushed him is when she shook him a bit, but that was more of an attempt to bring a bit of lightness to the storm clouds in him. And yeah, I don't know... the words were really surface level. His brother's blindside busted down the wall for a little while. Has he said too much? Will he even remember saying them in the moment? Will Celia let on that she heard them and settled on a reason? Or will she wait for him to provide the answer... is she as accepting as Trace seems to think that she is? People can be blinded by love... someone can seem a certain way, because they've never been around them to witness their true feelings about things. Things to maybe consider. And yeah, I think that conversation with his brother did get his mind thinking along with things that he was attempting to put to the side until he had to... because they're not pleasant or easy thoughts to have. I can say, because I think most of you already know... that the next chapter we will learn more about the twins...

I had three reactions reading this comment. turned into and then quickly went to

Yeah, the coach finally got through to them that he's worried about Joel. I do wonder how many calls it took for his father to finally say, "call him and tell him..." I would hope it only took one, but we don't know that. He did survive Raven and by extension his first class with Lacey. She graduated him pretty quick mid-lesson too. Do we have a future junior rodeo champ in the making? You'd have to ask Lacey for that assessment, I bet she'd be the only one that would give it to Joel straight. An empty house, two by-the-pants thinking twins, a hot tub, and beer... it seems like a recipe for something, but we'll see.

Isn't it the way it goes with teenagers? They'll pick at someone for not doing something/being afraid to do something, knowing full well they've never accomplished the same thing. He didn't throw it back at Davin either, he allowed Lacey's information to stay safely between the two of them and not use it against either twin. I'd say if the prodding keeps up, he might not keep it that way. And, the words Joel used were a bit close... probably too close and if he thought about them after the fact, he maybe... could start to worry that he's said too much. We'll see.

Hmm. Maybe. Also, entendre, you say?

Despite being sore and a little tired from sleeping in the back of a truck, sleep didn’t come easy. I kept thinking about the lie I told Celia. Trace knew her better; he told me that she would see through it. The room was also too bright for a nap. The sheer curtains that weren’t pulled over the large window did nothing to block the sun. It didn’t seem like I had been asleep long when I heard the door to the bedroom open. My eyes shot open to see Lacey standing just inside, with a smile, dressed

They create this and then they're... and you have to forgive them...

Aww. It may go either way. She may remind him so much of Cody that it hurts him, so he creates distance and it isn't her fault. Or, maybe it can go the other way. And yeah, I don't think Lacey has much of a filter when it comes to what she is thinking... at least in the little bits we've seen her speaking her mind anyway. I do know, that if you want family secrets kept or embarrassing stories not to be shared... you do not let your young children anywhere near any of that knowledge. They do not care, at all. Then you get phone calls from your Mother and she's both accusatory and laughing... and that is the best case scenario. The worst being a phone call from school.