Summerabbacat

I did not expect humour @Vcs, but that is what we got in this chapter, and in spades. The embarrassment "suffered" by Jake exacerbated by Shirl, Doc's initial reaction to the hullabaloo (what a marvellous word, so descriptive) created by the other cowboys (is that the correct word to use?) when they learned Mannly had an appetite, and Doc's subsequent delight upon learning this. I was not sure what a horse ranch @Vcs was until I just Googled it. I am wondering if this horse ranch has a similar ethos towards horses as it does towards humans i.e. they rescue horses from unsuitable circumstances, rehabilitate them and either sell them to a suitable human companion or retain them for the term of their natural life. If this horse ranch does rescue horses it earns significant "brownie points" from me as I have been involved in the rescue of cats for almost 20 years now and have never found anything more rewarding in life than this.

I am not a country music fan for the most part, apart from Dolly, Emmylou and Linda. Growing up as a teenager in rural coastal Australia in the 1970's/early 1980's I always liked Linda Ronstadt, and was familiar with a couple of Dolly's and Emmylou's pop hits but little else. I "discovered" Emmylou in the late 1990's after she released Wrecking Ball which was my second favourite album of the 1990's, an absolute masterpiece. I then revisited her back catalogue and in doing so came across Trio, which prompted me to start listening to some of Dolly's albums and found I liked them too. Between the three of them I have 55 albums on CD, and some of Linda's and Emmylou's on vinyl too. I also admire Emmylou greatly for her animal rights activism and all three for their support of the LGBTQ community.

I imagine the dulcet tones of Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt either singly, or together in any combination, would be very soothing to the troubled mind of Mannly. Shir is an interesting character, the quintessential tough old broad with a heart of gold. I daresay an unhappy or difficult past has brought her to Two Spirits Horse Ranch (I just read the Prologue @Vcs, which I had somehow completely overlooked before reading chapters 1 and 2). Whatever brought her to the ranch, she has been welcomed with open arms, and for good reason to it seems.

A skunk or a skank @drsawzall? I hope she is merely taking advantage of a bad situation @VBlew. Whilst many at Two Spirits Horse Ranch are presumably two-spirit persons, Shayna is two-faced. Hopefully she will be found out sooner or later. Hopefully Little Man has not suffered any brain damage. He does not appear to be in coma, but it is concerning he has still not regained consciousness.

I think Owen's mother and father would really like Nora. His father would view her as an asset; she would present a wholesome image for the family business. I think Eric would really like Levi; they have the same intensity when discussing something they are passionate about, and generally love the sound of their own voice. Ellie is everything Nora is not. She is likeable, reticent and appears to be quite artistic. I don't think she wants to be "invisible", I think she is shy and is not interested in filling quiet spaces with incessant chatter. I also think she is quite comfortable with her own company and does not feel the need to mix with others just because it is the "done thing", particularly if the others are bossy, loquacious or loud. Theo is also very likeable, but seems very needy. Max is a younger version of Noah. I cannot recall if Margot's physical appearance has been mentioned in any detail, but I had an image of her strongly resembling the sassy women portrayed by Sabrina Carpenter in the various music videos for her singles from the Short 'N' Sweet and Man's Best Friend albums. It was the following marvellous description of Margot's "attitude" which prompted this image: "She came out the side door with two milkshakes, handed me mine through the car window, and walked around to the passenger side. She got in, kicked off her work shoes, and put her feet on the dashboard the way she always did that I’d stopped objecting to years ago." Ryder's charm appears effortless, which is why it is working on Owen. Unless he is a very good actor, his charm does not appear to be contrived and he is not "laying it on thick". A most enjoyable chapter @mastershakeme; even the appearance by Nora did nothing to detract from its enjoyment. LOL.

What an horrific hate crime. It brought back memories of Matthew Shepard and his horrific murder. As a general rule I don't like guns, but in this case I would be more than happy for the assailants to come face to face with the Mossberg 500 as suggested by @drsawzall, although I would like to offer an alternative suggestion that the gun becomes acquainted with where the sun don't shine on each of the three assailants before the trigger is pulled. I am going to speculate the assailants might be father and sons. Little Man has a long journey of healing ahead of him. It certainly appears Jake will be there to help him heal in any way he can.

Robertson should be charged with assault and banned from the establishment for life. As for the little slapper who is apparently his bitch-on-heat at the moment, she should also be banned from the establishment for life. Both should be reported to whichever TV station they work for too. Of course, none of this will happen as spineless Gregory will likely blame Nathanial for what happened to him. After his feral display I wonder if it may be Robertson who inflicts on Nathanial whatever harm brought him to the church door. I won't be surprised if Nathanial has been repeatedly raped or beaten or both. Alex was Nathanial's knight for sure.

He surely is @VBlew. I would not be surprised if it was he who scratched Nathanial's car too. Such a petty act would be consistent with his behaviour. Is it any wonder Karen left him.

Charlie is more than a jerk. He is an overgrown child, with a nasty petty streak. Nathanial is losing weight, not eating properly, hearing Jake's screaming abuse more and more often, and yet Alex is there trying to care for him. Something is going to snap soon.

"He hurt you,’ I looked up at Alex and he was frowning, his jaw clenched. Glancing away, I muttered, ‘He, um. He cheated on me, stole from me, he was always screaming in my face, got inside my head. He is sometimes.’ I bowed my head down, my voice almost silent, ‘He is still there." Nathanial's revelation was profoundly moving and upsetting. Alex appears to have taken it in his stride, which is a good sign. I take it as a good sign Charlie was not mentioned as still being in touch with Nathanial. Hopefully he has been relegated to Nathanial's past as I don't trust him.

Charlie is a jerk. Firstly he farts long and often and thinks it is funny. Then he comes onto Nathanial who responds in kind, only to be rebuffed and told to leave. I fear Charlie is going to steal all Nathanial's story ideas and give him no credit. Charlie's alleged break up with Karen and his firing from his TV show are awfully convenient for gaining him sympathy from Nathanial. There is something fishy about Charlie, he is disingenuous I think.

Is it merely a coincidence that two well known "celebrities", albeit from very different professions, just happen to have come across the blog of an unknown writer, happen to meet the unknown writer at the same charity function where he worked as a waiter, and now happen to be on the same chat show together. It appears too many coincidences and I am fearful for Nathanial's future, although he clearly survives whatever is to come.

AJ has revealed his true identity. I assume he is not publicly known as gay, which would make a relationship with Nathanial difficult if this is what Alex desires. The phone ringing which is not ringing is disturbing. Nathanial appears to be only too well aware of his deteriorating mental health, but as stated in the synopsis for this story he is embarrassed by this. Social conditioning is work against him.

I will not be surprised @Ticklishboy30 if Natasha has outed Benjamin to her parents, assuming they will echo her disgust at this. What I would love to see happen at the party is for her parents to enquire where Justin is, for Benjamin to reveal he was not invited because his mother disapproves, and for her parents to go postal over her treatment of their beloved grandson and his boyfriend. I am also hoping we get to learn of what they think of Martin, and if they like him, what their reaction is to his not having been invited to the twins' birthday party.

Ryder will likely be the cause of a massive disruption to Owen's "safe" life, but will it be destructive? I hope you are wrong for Owen's sake @drpaladin. I imagine Owen's parents will not only disapprove of his "choosing" to be gay, but will disapprove of Ryder. Will they shun Owen? I suspect for the sake of the family business and family "name" they will as they strike me as very conditional and uncompromising. Will Owen be better off without them? This remains to be seen. The one thing which I really hope eventuates from a fallout between Owen and his parents is support for him from Aunt Beth. I sense she is not the same uptight and rigid type as her husband and in-laws.

She is rather annoying, but is there a legitimate reason she is allegedly harassing Charlie. Nathanial has only heard Charlie's side of the story. Nathanial's diet seems to consist largely of coffee and crisps. Not a great diet for anyone. His immunity is apparently suffering, so the diet will not help. You have created a wonderful character in Nathanial @J92. Whatever he suffers before the story ends I hope he is able to overcome or at least manage.

‘Are you that stupid Nathanial?’ I could hear Jake’s gnarly voice digging into my ear. ‘Of course, you are stupid. Getting swept away. Happiness. Like someone like you could ever feel real happiness.’ Jake has really done a number on Nathanial, although I suspect Nathanial may have already had mental health challenges, perhaps low self-esteem or anxiety. It appears he is really starting to struggle. I wonder if AJ is someone Nathanial knows who is playing a trick on him. As for Charlie, I am not sure I trust him.

I am assuming Jake is an ex-boyfriend with whom Nathanial did not part on amicable grounds. It appears Jake may have been rather critical of Nathanial as whenever Nathanial hears his voice he is making snarky comments about him. Is this the first indication Nathanial may be schizophrenic. His diet does not appear to be healthy and his erratic rest patterns are probably not helping. Nathanial is very likeable @J92.

@andy cannon made the following comment regarding chapter 1: Not so much 'living' as 'existing'. The family might as well say, 'We only keep you around to harvest your organs in case one of the children we really love need them.' This comment resonated with me in this chapter, Owen's opening "discussion" with his father and mother illustrating this. To his father Owen is a resource, a prop to be used to showcase and reinforce the quality and appeal of the family business. It would never occur to him to question if the family business is what Owen is interested in, it is a given Owen will continue the family business as far as his father is concerned. I suspect his Aunt Beth is the only person who has ever noticed the family business may not be Owen's true "calling". To his mother Owen is a badge of honour she can wear to congratulate herself on what a fine job she has done raising him. She appears to only be interested in what he has done at VBS which will make him look good, and by extension make her look good for volunteering him. Did she ask him if he was enjoying the experience, no, the closest she came to this was asking if he had made any friends. His response that the children were only 7 or 8 years of age amused her. She is clueless and shallow (and they are her "good" points). If I am to be fair, I suppose neither of Owen's parents are "bad" people, they are just so totally self-absorbed and have no interest in knowing who their son is. As Owen revealed to Ryder, his occupation was selected by his parents before he was even born. I suspect the type of person he is was also decided by his parents before he was even born. Clearly they don't really want a son, they want a "product" they can display to prove their worth and confirm their status. Owen's discussion with Ryder was illuminating for both, although I suspect Ryder may have a few "secrets" of his own which may reveal he is not as carefree and confident as he appears to be.

The description of Nathanial's physical appearance was enough to suggest he has lived and survived something truly horrific. His appearance and the minimal information he revealed to Father Tom suggests his mental health is in even worse shape than his physical health, the two being intrinsically linked. "Are you okay, son?’ My back aches from lying against the wooden church door all night. I gulp, bowing my head down, ‘I, um. I am sorry, Father, I will, I will move away." Nathanial's reaction to Father Tom's initial kindness was particularly sad. It is a poor indictment on society at large that a person in dire need of help would think they would be turned away by a church, treated as a nuisance. Unfortunately, I believe such a reaction is not baseless. An impressive opening chapter @J92. I sense this story will not be an easy read, particularly as Nathanial's mental health deteriorates. I shall attempt to read it, no matter how harrowing the subject matter becomes. I must say the restrained description of Nathanial's physical appearance was very effective. Had you been too graphic I believe it would have been too confronting.

King’s School, Warwick, and according to his Wikipedia listing he left school for a life and sea too @Lynx003.

I think it is time again we readers give a shout out to @MJC who does an excellent job in editing your stories. An error is as rare as an honest politician after he has cast his eye over the draft.

@Mark Ponyboy Peters is it your intention to publish the three parts or acts as one story or will you break it into three separate stories? I am guessing it will be one story as you have not titled this one as Out Of The Blue (Part 1), unless each story will have its own distinct title.

I cannot imagine how awful life must have been for many living under the iron fist of Franco. I was 10 years of age at the time the events in this chapter took place so I doubt I had much knowledge, if any, of this then. I vaguely recall being aware of unrest in Argentina about that time, but for a 10 year old living on the other side of the world in Australia such things were completely foreign by location and foreign by nature. You are doing a fine job again depicting the terror and tension which I daresay was felt by many @Gary L. Blighty's loss has been Spain's gain with you calling Spain home.

I thought you were either an exceptional speed reader or you had some of the sailors at the San Diego Retired Marines Community Centre ghost writing them for you. Now it all makes sense.