Krista

Yeah, Luke returned the favor and picked Jackson up this time.

These early chapters being proud of Jackson was a bit of a rare occurrence, if I'm remembering correctly. I don't know when I made the gradual transition into making him less of a willful spontaneous idiot to someone growing to be a bit deeper. I do remember being a bit worried that I'd go too far either way and it put people off. I find it annoying when characters flip, like flipping a switch. People don't change, especially in dramatic fashion overnight.

Those scenes were easily some of my most favorite passages of writing I've ever done. I'm glad you got to them.

Yeah, I remember surprising quite a few people with Luke being the brave one here. I think he needed to be the brave one, because I highly doubted Jackson would take the hint. Still partially being hung up on Allison and thinking he was mostly into girls as it was.

I can't remember the conversations between him and his mother, but to answer the second part, I'd say Jackson would rough up that bullish idiot pretty good.

AYC is a bit of a rough-read, grammar/structure/story-wise. I was still very much in the learning phase of writing when it came along. I think my bigger growth in storytelling came with SiS. You may be sick of me by the time you get through Learned to Lie and TBY. I hope not, we'll see. lol

Thank you for sharing your lived experience, a few of y'all have with me over the years and every time I get a little bit of protective rage. I hate that you suffered trauma and that people felt it okay to inflict that on you. I'm glad you came out the other end of it as well. I tend to look at the words and take them at word value, so it takes a larger sampling size (unless outright told like this) for me to notice anything. (and I struggle to respond to comments such as these, if you didn't notice).

You're on 7/58 chapters. I hope the slow burn is worth it as well. I want to say their connecting picks up soon, but I can't remember when the pacing starts speeding up to be honest. I do try to read this story for fun, but it is a big commitment for me and most of the time whilst reading, I tend to think of newer ideas and want to start the writing process with those. I am in a bit of a down-time sort of between area with, "Learned to Lie," just needed read/edited, maybe I will try to read this as a fun read.

I honestly didn't see any of them getting very far before the floor burns on their butt cheeks started anyway... lol, they might have went sliding about a foot or so before the soap failed them. And yeah, a small-town hospital doctor would work tons of hours, and a higher-up manager at a factory likely wouldn't work as many hours as I had Grace working to be fair. She would probably be on the same 40 - 50 (overtime) hour work week as the rest of the factory in a designated shift. But, I wanted to depict them as workaholics.

Yeah, his parents were a little late in having their "the straw that broke the camel's back" moment with Jackson. I don't know if parenting works in the, "better late than never," theory. At this stage of the story I think the only character people weren't annoyed by was Luke who sat innocently off to the side. I remember this story being such a refreshing take for me to write. I had just came from, "Are You Christian," and, "Standing in Shadows," back when I was silly and wrote multiple stories all in one go and thinking that's a sane thing to do. Christian and Cory were very Luke-ish. Christian was a bit more cheeky, but Cory didn't. Jackson was my getting away character, I really liked writing along and seeing how much patience I pushed with his antics.

Kind of like puppy's first obedience training?

Lol, you're taking a different approach to Jackson than a lot of people. I think by chapter three most readers wanted to put Jackson in a permanent time-out corner.

Yeah, the 'we' is very much intentional, there. The "my house" not so much, but it fits her personality so much that I'll chalk it up to a happy accident. Here in the south, if we live in the dwelling we say, "my house," or "my property" when speaking to someone else. Mind you, the use of it against someone you're in the process of kicking out of it, specifically family, it would be rather an ugly way to state it no matter what.

Sounds like a horrible combo of adjectives for one to live with.

Oversight oopsie on my part. I don't think he's slipped his last name into any conversation yet. I can either edit it here, or go back and slip it into chapter 1 and pretend it never happened.

I have a joke lined right up for that, but I can't say it. We've only just met them at this stage.

You would think I'd remember, seeing as how I'm slowly reading my way through editing this whole thing. My mind is still firmly in the ending chapters of this story, so I forget small things. Yeah, Lisa's mother is still alive and living in Utah, if I'm remembering correctly. The farm was Phil's parents, who are no longer living. Thank you for remembering my story better than I have... lol.

Every summer and winter I read stories such as this, pets, kids, mobility challenged adults, elderly... it gives me so much rage.

Compassion is getting him off the bridge after realizing it was more than just bullies and a broken down truck. He had to be observant in that moment as well, because very easily, compassionate people may never have noticed the true distress of and entire picture of the moment. At least, that's what I pictured when I wrote the first chapter. Realistically most people live in their own worlds, Trace doesn't, or didn't in this instance at least. The rest of it, I'll have to hush right up about.

You always have a way of commenting that sounds poetic to me. I'm glad you noticed Trace through all this as well.

Back to the ranch. Back to hushing now. lol. Yes, I most definitely will develop a complex with not being able to respond to some of these theories in the off chance I ruin the reading. Thank you for your comment.

A wuss and a weinie? Damn go easy.

Same. Our liquor laws are so weird here. It used to be a law that you absolutely could not sell it on a Sunday. It may be in the books, but not enforced. Restaurants could sell it, but not grocery stories, variety stores, or any other merchant. They couldn't obtain a liquor selling license either. They have to be privately owned with the license attached. It is still that way where I live. In other places I see that it can be sold anywhere, Dollar General all the way to CVS and other medicine/drug stores and I just think that's a bit strange to see picking up a prescription and seeing the liquor section off in the corner... lol Then I go to a different state and damn near every touristy place has: A Candy shop neighboring a cheap-clothing shop, neighboring a cannabis/marijuana vape shop, in some semblance of that order every couple of miles. I don't know where the connection in those three things comes into play... but when you notice it, you can't unsee it.

I honestly can't remember which grandparent gave them that farm and land. So, woopsies. I don't know who got to marry into that house or who inherited it. lol... it is no secret who owns it now though. And yes, I absolutely cannot stand when families bicker over property and some thinking they're more entitled to it for such and such reason, and lord over everyone else because of that mentality.