Mancunian

Welcome to The Baxter Boys story @Albert1434. We all have our fingers crossed for Michael and Charlie 🤞, they certainly need a change in luck. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on the story my friend, it is appreciated.

Read, enjoyed and commented

Lucas appears to be making slow but good progress, Jubal noticed his improved heartbeat and deeper breathing which must be good signs and I guess that Jubal did notice a slight, although weak, movement in Lucas' hand. (I'm trying to be positive here so don't stop me.) Jubal needs more rest so he needs to start to think about that, but I understand his need to work to keep his mind occupied and not dwell on the 'what ifs' that could put him on a downer. I think he is also being powered by his anger, he should channel that anger positively so that he doesn't lose faith in Lucas. The amount of hard work he is putting into the cabin will make it harder for him to leave Lucas when he recovers, which I see as good because then he is more likely to stay. Think about it, who would want to leave someone whom they have deep feelings for and/or leave the home they have helped to build? Whether he means to or not Jubal is creating stronger roots in Bearpaw all of the time, and Lucas' friends who are showing appreciation that Jubal did all he could to save Lucas are also beginning to extend the hand of friendship. Jubal may find it hard to accept that friendship considering his past, but given time he will accept it and be glad of it. My faith in Jubal and Lucas building a relationship and a home together is getting stronger by the chapter, Bearpaw may be a more accepting town than he currently thinks it is.

Aloha Albert, I hope all is good with you and Steve. It's late here so I'm off to bed in a few minutes, I need my sleep before I get back to writing tomorrow. But I will take a break to read the next chapter of Bearpaw.

Hello my friends, I hope you're keeping warm, it's getting a bit chilly over here. And hello to all of my other friends too, I hope you are all well.

@Backwoods Boy what he means is, that he enjoys being a slave driver and cracking the whip, . Only joking really, I'm enjoying working with Terry and having a blast. I just hope I'm not overworking him, he needs his down time too.

You deserve credit too my friend, your help and support has made a huge difference. @Backwoods Boy's stories are something for us all to look forward to reading, I'm sure he has something on the back burner.

I am so happy that the story and its characters have made an impression on you and feel realistic. It is one of the best compliments an author can receive, when it comes from an author that I respect it means even more, thank you. I hope you continue to enjoy reading about Charlie and Michael Baxter and come to love them as much as I do. Each story has been written as a stand-alone story, however, reading all of the stories can help improve the reading experience due to character, and sometimes, story cross-over. Thank you for taking the time to comment, I look forward to reading more.

I'm so glad to have you hooked, now I plan on keeping you there along with the other readers. It is possible that they were treated unfairly losing the family home, but with the lads being young it is also possible that their youthful inexperience played a part in that. Many youngsters leave a rented home when they receive threatening letters because they are behind in the rent. Very often it is because they don't know their legal rights or how the system works. Then when a young single person becomes homeless they are treated as a low priority by social housing landlords who concentrate on housing families first, and private landlords will not rent to them when they find out about previous rent arrears. This is one of the many reasons for the increase in youth homelessness. Many sofa surf doing the rounds of their friends, but when that option doesn't exist they are forced to live on the streets. Max is very lovable, he is a gentle giant who is tough on the outside but has a big soft heart on the inside, one of the best qualities a man can have. Thank you for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it.

I'm happy that you feel like that about the characters, creating characters that readers can relate to is something that all authors strive to do. In my mind, I treat my characters as real people, by doing that I find that most characters go on to self-develop and almost create themselves. I can't give anything away but there will be ups and downs to experience in the story. Thank you for taking the time to comment and leave your thoughts.

Thank you @raven1 for the kind comments. I try to make my characters as real as possible and place them in appropriate settings. The Boot and The Old Shoe factory are fictitious but all other locations are real and in Manchester. Alan Turing's statue, China Town and Canal Street can all be googled, as can other locations, photos and other pictures may be posted in the comments. If any reader wants to talk about this or any other story in The Boot World, or any of the issues relating to subjects raised in the stories they can do that in The Boot Forum, just click on the link below.

I'm happy that you think that way @chris191070, I look forward to reading your thoughts as the story progresses. It's good to hear from you chris, welcome to the new story and thank you for commenting.

There are many stories in The Boot World, some give background to specific characters. I hope that readers will enjoy more of the stories. I'm always happy to see what readers think of any of the stories.

I love readers with a sense of humour, especially those who share it.

It's great to see all of the readers, new and old. I appreciate them taking the time to read and leave reactions and comments.

The pleasure is mine, my friend.

I agree 100 %. The boys are in desperate need. Stacy and Max are great, and their son Jason and his boyfriend Danny will also be there to help. This is not a spoiler; Mancunian would be after me in a flash. The family were first introduced in The Boot-Three Years On. As desperate as the boys are, they still have their pride, as long as they have that they have hope. But can Max and ~Stacy help them to hold onto that? Only time will tell because I'm not. @raven1 is right, Max, Stacy and family are good people who first appeared in The Boot Three Years On. We may meet other characters from that and other stories in The Boot World as the story progresses, and that is the teaser that I'm giving away.

Shush! Not going to beat you, but watch out if you spill the beans. I will definitely make you regret it! But I can't say anything! I'm still wearing the tape you put on my mouth!

I don't want to be a size queen, but you right, it is more than little.

I love the sense of humour, I just wish I'd seen that one first. I think you will like the humour in this story. I'm happy that you find it interesting and I hope to keep your interest. Mostly it will be going forward with the occasional thought of the past or a small flashback. The boys haven't had a chance to grieve properly and it is painful for them to think of the past, so I don't want to inflict that on them too much. Thank you for commenting and giving us that little laugh, it's appreciated.

Welcome to the ride, I really hope you will enjoy it. As with all roller coasters, there are many ups and downs, it's what you feel at the end of the ride that means the most. It is an emotional story so, maybe, I should post tissue warnings. 🤔 Thank you for commenting and your patience will be rewarded next Friday with Chapter 2. Some weeks may see extra chapters posted, what does everyone think?

It's nice to know that we've got you hooked, I try to make the characters as real as possible and to me, they become real while I am writing the stories. Yes the boys are now receiving some help, but it doesn't work out like that for everyone who is homeless, this is an exception and totally fictional. What has made them homeless is only touched on briefly as it focuses more on the future for them. It is easy to be left on the streets anywhere in the world, but of the Western world I think the problem is worse in the USA. In the UK there is a lot of help for homeless people but it isn't enough and is currently getting much worse. Thank you for commenting, I hope you continue to read, enjoy and comment.

It is courageous of Charlie to stand up to Max, he is praying that his limited martial arts training is good enough. In this instance, it is a good thing that Max is not a real threat, he is the gentle giant that we all want for a friend. I like that you like the characters as they become so real to me, many of them would be good friends if they were real. Thank you for the comments my friend, you are valued.

I don't like spiders but I'm not scared of them either, except for the venomous ones. Luckily here in the UK we don't have any native venomous spiders and hope it stays that way. But I find this thread very interesting and informative and I always wonder what you will be posting next.

Thank you Gary, I really appreciate your support.