Wayne Gray

Thanks for the great comment, Jaro. I'm glad you liked the tale of Grant and Troy. 🙂

Thanks for the comment! I really felt this truly was how Troy would have reacted after all they had been through. There was some hurt there, but over all of that was a deep love he felt from Grant. John's letter was huge. There was simply no way Grant could let Troy go through life not knowing it existed. 🙂

No right answer. I love those situations. 😝

I hope you got some sleep. 😝 Yes, Grant is dealing with a more confident, proud Troy. But honestly that’s what Grant wanted. He wanted Troy to feel well enough to feel that pride again. And, he does.

I really do need “real” characters. Each of these guys have their strengths and weaknesses. Right now, Grant seems to hold most, if not all cards, but ... keep reading to see if that changes. Thanks for the comments and for reading.

Thanks! I think you’re reading the right story. This is a rather slow burn, but stick with it. I promise good things. 🙂

Troy’s living a pretty sad life right now. I think we all can see that. 🙁

Grant has no idea, really. Though, he may learn.

Hehe. I hear you concerning the binging! I can’t blame ya there. I’m happy you enjoyed seeing Corbin and Paul again. I like them. They’ve lives that I find hard to imagine, but that’s ok. I need real, multi-faceted characters in both my reading and writing. Without that, I just can’t stay interested. It’s great you felt that in them! Thank you for reading!

Harlan screwed up huge. He threw the loss of a gift into Bailey’s face, all without knowing he was doing it. You’re right - Harlan’s foible is the reader’s gain. We learned a few things about Bailey, thanks to Harlan’s digging. Thanks for the comment concerning the chapter. And the song. 😉

Yup. Now we know. Bailey’s life is very different than it used to be, but his hardship never changed the core of who he is. He’s a good man. Thanks, Parker.

Ah, thanks! Yes, when I first turned this loose, nobody had realized Bailey hadn’t actually spoken at all in chapter one. Many wrote to say they reread the chapter, just to see how he interacted. I loved that! 😀 Let’s find out if you’re right about those developments!

Yep. I wrote an extra chapter already to finish things off. 🙂

I'm happy you're along for the ride, Tony!

No reason to be sorry, Parker. I'm glad you're hooked. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Thanks, David! It is Camp Refuge, and it's doing what it is it was designed to do. Hrm. Keep an eye on Rayne and Bailey both. They will have someone in common helping their situations that you may not expect. 😉 Aww, thanks. I like to sing. Somewhat to my husband's distress. 😄

Hi, Jaro_423! Thanks for the comment. It's amazing how close we all ride to the line. Most people in the US are about three months away from what happened to Troy. Unfortunately it doesn't surprise me that your situation was similar to his. As to how they connect ... well, keep reading. 🙂

Yeah, it's rough watching someone screw up that bad. Orson is still around. He still rents his little renovated cabin. Joseph drops by, stays multiple days at a time, and is pretty much living there with him. While Elias is camped on the futon. It's a bit of a tight squeeze, or it's getting to be. And we'll see more of how that is handled later. 🙂 You can bet someone tried to go talk to Bailey, to at least check on him. You can also bet that he didn't really want company. Thanks for the comment!

Thanks for the comments, mayday! Rayne's situation is made so much worse by his father. Rayne already lacks confidence in his sexuality, and Huck has turned that lack of confidence into a deep, abiding dread at simply existing. If that's not fixed, there will be repercussions. Unfortunately, the one person who's able to resolve it seems to want to keep his distance from Rayne. Harlan's not usually one to jump to conclusions, no. I wanted the reader to feel his unbalance, even as he struggles to find center again. Typically methodical, he's letting emotion rule, and Harlan doesn't usually make decisions that way. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Bailey. Well, we see how that turned out. Rayne and Bailey are both exactly who Greg had in mind when he started the campground. They're in good hands, if Harlan can keep from wrecking things, and if Huck can figure out what's really important.

Certainly! Enjoy it. 🙂

Oh man. Well, Harlan is a guy who is used to getting what he wants. More, he's used to making things happen for himself, and not depending on chance or luck. Unfortunately for him, his approach didn't work out so great this time around. And ... he's not exactly thinking clearly when Bailey's involved. Rayne really has been wounded by his dad's actions. Fixing that will take something special ... if it can be fixed at all. Thanks for reading and for the comment, jaysalmn. 🙂

Thanks, kbois. Harlan certainly tried. We saw how that went. Man, Rayne ... he's hurting. He just wants to feel loved, and right now Huck is screwing that up so bad. A lot of times parents have no idea what they're doing is hurting their kids. Let's hope he gets a clue ... and soon. I'm sorry you had to experience that with your son. It's wonderful that he's still here, and that he's getting help. Thanks for the comment on the song. I rather like it. 🙂

Yes indeed. He exceeds the qualifications, has the necessary credentials, and in Granite's communication to him in chapter one, they said "...we believe we can fulfill your particular requirement for workplace accommodation." Engineers and other similarly qualified folks are a commodity here on the Northern Coast of California. So, they snapped him up. More will come on that. Thanks for the comment!

Rayne is physically okay. He's still hurting really badly thanks to Huck's seeming disregard of him. It's awfully hard to think of a good reason to treat your kid that way, and most agree it's not a good tactic, no matter what. We'll have to see what's going on there. Harlan really screwed up by bringing up that old video of Bailey's. Usually, Harlan is far more methodical. I wonder what has gotten in to him? Thanks for the comments, Butcher. There's more to come.

Thank you, tim. I wrote it for this story, and it turned out far better than I had hoped it could. 🙂 xoxo