Clancy59

Things are starting to bubble up now. I like the simile @drsawzall quoted from his grandmother. The cake is indeed beginning to bake! I think Gustave has actually been identified as Lothar and Luthar’s father. It explains why and how he was able to take the babies away and give them the surgery which must have been very expensive at the time, and pay for Luthar’s maintenance since then, which is even more expensive. He can’t be kept in poor conditions, after all. He IS the nephew of the king, after all, no matter what his physical condition is. I wonder if the king knows about the boys? I’m just surprised Gustave kept Lothar so close at hand.

According to most charts (again, I am working off my husband’s genealogy records): * Julia, Augustine and Margaret are first cousins, with Augustine and Margaret being sisters. * Their children would be first cousins. This includes, if I am reading correctly, Jexum as Julia’s son and Tom as Mrs. Appleton’s son. * Their children, who would include Tom’s now orphaned sons are second cousins. * Jex would be Augustine and Margaret’s first cousin once removed. Tom would be Julia’s first cousin once removed. Tom’s two boys would be Julia’s first cousin twice removed. It gets more complicated the further down and out from the main branch you get. It’s no wonder people would wind up marrying their cousins!

Historically, a lot of younger siblings are cast in the role of caretaker of the parents, whether they like it or not. Miles is the older, cherished (at least by the mother), can-do-nothing-wrong child. Colin is looked upon as able to drop everything at the drop of a hat because he is younger and, maybe, because of all the time he spent with Dad. There is often one child who tries to take control of everything, because s/he “knows better” than everyone else. (I have a brother (younger!) like that who tried to hijack my mother’s hospice and estate. I raised holy hell (they actually had security outside her door) at the hospice and they started listening to Mom and me FIRST. Mom chose to find another hospice and my brother was furious because it meant he lost all control. I had to threaten legal action in order to gain access to MY OWN HOUSE! I got in, saving several family heirlooms as a result that he had out for estate sale!) Colin should let them know about his sexuality. It might just keep them at bay, at least for a while, until Miles decides he’s tired of dealing with Mom’s demands again. She really is manipulative. I never got the impression she was disabled in any way. She’s just milking her age and its supposed, attendant infirmities for all they’re worth. I bet she didn’t stay long at her friend’s house. The friend wouldn’t put up with her ‘helpless’ act, and she wasn’t the center of attention the way she wanted to be. Meanwhile, I’m a little confused. Was the new consultation and contract with Owain? Colin starts talking/thinking about him, but I thought they hadn’t actually met yet.

Of course Theo is afraid of this. He’s the first recipient of the treatment and, after all the garbage the kids have been through, their trust level isn’t just low, it’s in the basement! They don’t know if this ‘cure’ thing is on the up-and-up or, as he asked, if these new people were going to perform more experiments on them—this time with permission from Mom and Dad, who seem to be willing to send them off with these strangers! I’m don’t remember how old Enya is, but she strikes me as quite young and almost ethereal In demeanor and appearance—very non-threatening. This has helped, along with her truth ‘issues,’ to make her more open with the kids and allowed them to develop that connection that helped Theo as he started the treatment. Now that Theo has been cured of the effects inflicted on him by the evil consortium, the rest of the families will see that the cure is for real and that Asa is really there to help. The worst thing now will be the waiting for their turns. There will be some anxious parents who will want their child to be next. Sebastian and Donovan will keep things under control, with Caleb’s assistance, I’m sure.

Both @akascrubber and @drpaladin are correct. This was a collusion between Wolner and the Duke to retain the power they were losing as Oswald gained his majority and the crown. He could have easily sent them away into retirement in some distant place. Instead, he kept them close as advisors. That was his mistake—but he is only 18. He’s smart and clever—that’s obvious after his discussion with Gustave. However, he has to discover who his true friends and advisors are.

I always knew there was a lot that went into training these amazing animals who work with these deserving Vets. I just hadn’t realized how much or how much each person could need their partner. I felt so strongly for Jess at the beginning of the story. I wasn’t sure why he was in the fountain—he could have been pushed, fallen from a height or some other mishap. Unfortunately, he had a panic attack. I’ve had them, but never to the extent suffered by people with PTSD. It’s bad enough. It’s no wonder they have the need for their companions. This was a wonderful story. Thank you.

As a follow-up to my comment about my practicing student names: I had approximately 28 classes each week at the elementary level with over 600 students each week. Yes, it was hard to remember who was who, let alone how to say some of their names. Obviously, I had seating charts on the off-chance they would be needed by someone else in addition to me (in my system, they often didn’t have classroom subs, let alone subs for specialists!). I quickly learned the value of spelling the names both normally and phonetically on the charts. It saved a lot of headaches later!

The boys are not too surprising in their reactions—adults are the ones who freak out about being ‘different.’ I’m happy they were smart enough to room the boys together. I find myself really annoyed at that social worker. You can’t tell me that in all her years of dealing with these kinds of situations, she hasn’t come up with kids with unusual names—not in today’s society where people, literally, make up names themselves. The most basic sign of respect is learning how to say someone’s name correctly. ‘Kieran’ isn’t even a hard name! Whenever I had a new student come in (and as a specialist, I dealt with every student in the school), I had to ask them their name. If it was unusual, I might ask them to repeat it, making a comment about how lovely or unusual it was, with a smile. It made them proud of their name, not frustrated that here’s another person who can’t/won’t say it properly. I would also tell them it might take me a few times to get it right, but I promised to try my best—just keep telling me! I have a hard name, too. I usually wound up being called Mrs. Mac, because the full name always got bungled. The most difficult name I had was a little girl with the name (I am going to write the phonetically, because I can’t remember the spelling. It was about 30 years ago.) —Dare-a-lee-tzee-ah. A pretty name for a pretty girl. Yeah—I’m really annoyed at that social worker. At least she seemed to work at getting the boys together with their father. This would be an interesting story to continue.

I agree. I don’t know if I managed to get that across in my ‘missive’ earlier. In Caleb’s case, we (the readers) know his problems stem from his feelings of guilt over his traitorous actions and cooperation with the evil-doers. The first step is acknowledging and admitting the problem—which he always has. Everyone has different reasons, even those within the same circumstances. Hopefully, he will still go see that therapist. Asa’s presence should not be allowed to affect that, especially with Caleb’s reaction to him. It looks like Asa will have to be brought up to speed earlier than Giles probably expected. The issue of ‘Mates’ is likely already familiar to Asa if he has been involved enough with the shifters to be aware of them, and to know how to deal with an emergency involving one of them. Baby steps, indeed. You are promising a twist. I can hardly wait to see it!

You can’t tell someone they have been depressed or unhappy for enough time. It’s the same as grieving. You are grieving for whatever it was that lead to the depression in the first place, and everyone grieves at their own pace. Caleb has found a sanctuary, yes. That’s wonderful. It’s full of people who are understanding and supportive of his needs, if not necessarily his wants. Those are two different things. Both Luke and Giles are proving they are being exactly what he needs. They are pushing him to participate in community events, like the Sunday Brunch, so that he doesn’t lock himself away. They are insisting that he take better care of himself physically by making sure he eats and sleeps properly. Thankfully, he has Eclipse and Hank to take care of. They help him get out of those downward spirals that are so very common for those with severe depression by giving him something/someone else to focus on. Giles has asked/demanded that Caleb start talking with some kind of therapist after the roundup. Caleb has agreed. He wants to succeed as much as they want him to. Good. Giles has allowed Caleb to acclimate to his new surroundings, but now is pushing the idea that the hard work needs to start. I agree with @Alexmugs. Caleb still cares deep down. He wouldn’t have sent Vann away to another Alpha if he didn’t. He wouldn’t be worrying now about how he is currently faring and how all of this is affecting him. Ha! He wouldn’t have even helped Sebastian and his crew defeat the bad guys, if he didn’t actually care! Yes, Caleb can be brought out of this severe depression AT HIS OWN PACE. However, he’s going to have to be honest with Giles, at least, about Asa. This could throw a monkey wrench into his recovery process.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I don’t want to—” burden you. Perry pinned him with a look. “Ky…” “I know, I know.” Kyan put his hands up. “I just feel worthless. I don’t want your family thinking I can’t handle things on my own. I can. If I need to, I can.” “We know, but guess what?” Perry paused, smirking like he had the best gossip. “You don’t have to.” Kyan let out a breath, releasing the stress and anxiety he’d built up around this topic. He had to remind himself he was in good hands. Perry reached over and squeezed Kyan’s arm. “I know your family sucks and you’re not used to being shown any kind of affection or support, but my family loves you. Oh, wow. I have had these discussions with my husband’s family (even down to the commentary about my own sibling)! My husband was diagnosed with dementia in February and it has been a rather rapid, downward slope since then. Between taking care of his myriad issues (mental, physical, financial, etc) and trying to downsize our overwhelming household and storage, I have serious difficulty knowing which way to turn, or even breathe! They keep telling me this same thing! But, I can tell you, it is still a hard thing to accept. You feel like you are failing your responsibilities. Every day, you just keep breathing and getting out of bed and doing as much as you can, all while hoping you can hold it together for another day for the sake of the one(s) depending on you. (And in my case, preparing for new babies in the family!) For whatever reason, I hadn’t read this storyline, even though I love the stories written by @Mrsgnomie. I did read the 1st chapter posted by @kbois this morning and saw the reference to this one. So, I’m going to try to catch up. ❤️ Talk to you later!

Rory wasn't the only one who was close by after that wave of hatred. I found it quite a coincidence that Martina came out of the back path almost as soon as the wave of hatred dissipated. I’m not as concerned about Rory. There was enough time that she could have simply happened upon Micca and Chase, maybe looking for Micca for some reason.

I have reread Parts I and II and have now started Part III. I was also upset about Taylan (I have a friend who recently went through treatment for this. He’s doing great now.). I hope that will be explained more thoroughly, and the history of this Mischa. I was concerned about Tom missing. I guess I can’t be completely surprised they didn’t survive after college—it’s not unusual, from what I understand—but to not have a single mention of him…I was really concerned. Did Taylon’s death affect him so severely that he broke all ties? I think my figuring of the timeline is that he disappeared a couple of years before that. Well, I am binging now, so we’ll see how my questions get answered. I guess…

I really like multiple chapters a week. Once a week is a very long wait—I like to read while I have my breakfast. Sometimes I’ll reread to better understand a character or issue. Twice helps. Every day might be overkill, considering the length of the chapters and depending on how long the book is. This is chapter 12 and you said you have chapter 19 done. I could probably deal with the suggested Tuesday/Saturday schedule. I was glad to see Ronin apologize. We now know, and can kind of understand, why he tried to pick the fight with Connor. I’m not saying he was right to do it, but I can understand his teenage/hormonal mind thinking this was the proper way to go about it. At least we know he’s not jealous of Connor getting the ranch. And Connor is still telling him to keep Danny out of things, which Ronin (meekly) accepts. It wouldn’t surprise me to find Ronin and Katty as Connor’s Betas! Speaking of which, I knew Carol was connected to the community! She wasn’t freaking out looking at a shifted Ronin and then she called Shamus ‘Alpha!’ Ha! 😄 Also, I think Danny could be a little more sympathetic. He’s only 5. His Mommy is going away! His Daddy even came to tell him that she would be staying there with her new mate! I don’t care how mature a kid is, especially at that age, he wants Mommy nearby! (And Maine is not a hop, skip and a jump from them!) I see a lot of traveling between Montana and Maine over the next few years! You’ve certainly turned shifter traditions on their ears! It’s usually a big ceremony when a shifter makes their first shift. Not here! It’s just something to be done and then get on to regular business. Connor is certainly accepting the information easily—maybe because of his interest in that kind of thing beforehand. Even so, I am surprised he hasn’t freaked out more. So, is Shamus the patriarch of the clan? Yes, the nephew got separated and started a new branch, but he is still younger. Is Brendan still alive? I guess there are still a few question’s remaining!

@JohnnyC, I think you have the wrong species! 🥰

I think that may be a big part of my suspicion of Danny and his mother’s connection with the shifter community. Either that, or she and her husband were nudists! He may be having hormonal issues and having difficulties getting them under control, but this is still exacerbated by his emotional immaturity.

Yes, Ronin has impulse control issues, but he’s a teenager. They’re all teenagers. Most of them have matured quickly, growing up working on their ranches as they have. Ronin seems to be the least mature of the entire group. He is letting jealousy, and maybe greed, be the more controlling aspect in his life. His family kinda lets it slide—the ‘he’ll grow out of it’ attitude is not helping him. So, when Connor confronts him by standing up for himself and for Danny, after several confrontations during the day (and good for Connor on ignoring them until Ronin tried to extend his tirade to include Danny) he tries to retaliate. Unfortunately, Connor fights back and Ronin loses his control. We can only hope that Shamus and Clint are near enough to get him under control. Katty and Rory will probably not be able to keep Connor safe from him. Hopefully, Danny will already be in his car seat and be kept away from all this (Although I am suspicious that he and his mom may have some kind of connection to, or knowledge of, the shifter community. Don’t ask me why.). Whatever, Connor is about to discover that his ‘nightmare’ from last night was more real than he imagined. Shamus knew that he saw them (he was probably the wolf in the house) and tried to get Connor to talk in the morning. Connor thought he was dreaming and didn’t trust his own mind/emotions/thoughts/reactions/whatever and wasn’t willing to even discuss things with his grandfather. Shamus knows he has to wait until Connor is ready. Well, Shamus may have to push the discussion now!

Happy to see the guys back. I’ve been missing them! When we were in Ireland on our honeymoon umpteen years ago, we had dinner one evening in a restaurant just south of Dublin. We noticed a table near us get some shots, and we thought, “Oh, look! They’re having nightcaps!” But then another table did the same and so did another. When the waiter saw that we noticed this, he explained that instead of mints, they gave shots of peppermint schnapps with the check. I’m not a drinker, but he and hubby talked me into trying it. I like schnapps! Later in our trip around the country, I discovered butterscotch schnapps. Yum! When we got home and told people at a local pub the story, one of the waitresses made me something with the butterscotch schnapps and a sour apple liquor (a candied apple?). Double yum! Keep writing, Eric! I love your stories!

I, for one among the many, was happy to see a new chapter this morning. Thank you for your glitchy finger! What could the problem be? Immediate thought is that Harry is missing. Someone at the last stop must have opened the door and taken him out, although I’m surprised he didn’t put up a fuss at the time. I hope it’s not the horses! If it is, Harry is with them, protecting them!

Keep going! You’ve got us hooked now. It would be cruel to stop at this point!

All three horse names are forms of ‘Wolf,’ huh? That definitely means something. Connor’s ability with them is also very important. The widow will not be coming back for them. The 2 have saddles. Wonderful. The 3rd needs one and there is a master craftsman capable of making one at the ranch. And he has been dreaming of this new boy. Hmmm. Sounds like destiny to me!

It was BEFORE “Driving Miss Daisy?” I thought it was based on the film!

Wow! Quite a start! This is going to be a spooky, scary story. I think I’m looking forward to it!

Considering your bio at the moment ne of the story, if this is based on true life, my heart goes out to you, as it does to every caregiver going through this very difficult journey. My own husband was diagnosed with dementia in February and it has been a rapid progression. It’s very difficult to see the once highly intelligent man I married now have difficulty reading the newspaper or understanding something being discussed with friends or family or remember stories he would readily tell everyone listening (he’s a born Shanikaegh (and, yes, I know I really messed up the spelling)). It’s hard when he starts losing family members, but the worst is when he starts losing you. He once looked at me in surprise when I confirmed we are married and told me he thought I was his mother. Maybe I should take that to mean I am taking good care of him? In the story, this Meredith evidently put Arthur in a care facility very shortly after his diagnosis. She couldn’t be bothered with his care herself, especially as evidenced by her lack of visits and complaints about him not recognizing her. She obviously doesn’t care. She probably only attached herself to him for the status and prestige. However, she hates Sidney for his existence and position in Arthur’s life. The fact that he has developed Alzheimer’s is proving to be an embarrassment for her, but I’m sure she is milking the sympathy factor! Sidney is the important one in Arthur’s life. He is the one holding him in the present as much as possible. The staff knows that he is the one who can calm the Judge down when he is agitated or upset. He is the one the Judge remembers and talks about. If it had been up to him, I think Arthur would probably have still been at home for the past 2 years with helpers coming in now and the thought of getting more extensive help just coming into the plan. I know I am trying to keep my husband home as long as possible. I have a lot of family support, but we are almost to the point of needing outside help, even with simple housekeeping. He is otherwise quite healthy for 83 (on the 11th) , so hopefully, we will have him for a while, but seriously, I don’t want him to suffer any indignities due to this condition, either. As a result, I don’t know what I want and feel pulled in several directions at the same time. Being a caregiver is not easy.

I understand that. But I have to dig deep to remember the storyline of Navigator to start to understand David. I’ve seen ET enough to understand Elliott.