Paladin

Wow, what to say. So much happening. Nobody will miss the late Baron Evans and his lifestyle. Greg is now a seated Baron with a new home and more staff. I assume that means James gets his home back to himself again And, another child added to the extended family. Greg will need to start the school very soon! Where to now. Jake needs to be changed. There is still the meeting with Prince George and Greg will need to meet with his Baronets. He is going to be even busier than he is now. I can't see him continuing to attend school. I feel for Brian; still human and in love with a vampire. He needs his own near death experience so Greg will change him.

I agree with you @Al Norris about what Tony was attempting to do when he was alone with Luke. After all he did follow Luke to the room. My comment was looking at his behaviour once his mother was involved. At this stage we don't know what he said to the police. We only know that his mother, not surprisingly, did most of the talking. So much revolves around the police response.

I'm conflicted in my attitude to Tony. As far as we know he hasn't admitted he's gay to anyone. If course attempting to kiss Matt shows us that he is. Even when he started talking to Luke he started to deny being gay ( I'm not a little kid anymore. And I'm not . . .’ he started to say.) and he was "Horrified" when Luke went to out him to Margaret. This all indicates that he is still solidly in the closet and shit scared of his mother finding out, not that I blame him there. When he first tries to blame the kiss on Matt he could either be still trying to claim he's not gay, or he could be trying to stir problems between Matt and Luke. Either way he is wrong to do it. When Margaret "overhears" Tony (I believe she snuck around to check what was happening) he is pushed further into his closet. We have to decide if he is a closeted scared and dominated gay son who is trying to avoid his mother's wrath or a vindictive little shit doing all he can to hurt Matt and Luke. Either way the hurt for Matt and Luke is real and totally unjustified. I just hope the police have enough sense to not charge Matt, but so far the police have not been shown to be gay friendly.

Tom and George are doing it again and going off and putting themselves in potential danger. To make it worse they have set it up so Ken and Joe shouldn't worry if they are missing. Yes, I know, they are thinking like typical teenagers and believe they are both invincible and immortal. I don't have much faith in five straight police who don't want to work undercover in a gay resort. I like Ken and Joe performing their public duty by relieving Alex of so much pent up desire.

Amazing turn of events. Manny has a successful house party (apart from Rocky's mouth) for the bar staff and then a shooting in the bar with Manny being shot along with a customer. I hope both survive. It's a good thing Manny has been having shooting lessons.

I remember having a large, loud, gushing, domineering, opinionated and self satisfied aunt. Fortunately I didn't have a lot of contact with her and it will be best if Luke does the same. Wow, things are moving quickly for Matt and Luke. They come out to each other at the end of high school and are moving in together before Christmas and obviously with the blessing of Matt's parents. Of course a lot has also happened in that time. Christmas should be interesting in Luke's family home. Nobody mentioned the Christmas decorations. So Matt and Luke both have the hots for Tony. Tony said on the phone that he had a friend who is gay but that can be code for "I'm gay but not out". Soon the boys are going to have to face the probability of a future involving university and moving away.

Thanks @VBlew as I said above, Ollie moves in next chapter and it already looks like the three families are going to be very neighbourly.

This chapter doesn't tell us much more regarding the murderer. Yes there is an unidentified guy in a speedo at the nude pools. Ken has photocopied the resort registers but they still need to be checked. We do however find out that Alex is hitting on Ken, and not even subtly. We also find out the boys have hooked up with two others and had sex at their motel room, rather than back in the Holiday Hotel. Are these relevant to the murder or just an enjoyable part of a gay holiday in Miami?

Like everyone else I'm curious to know who is the other baby in the photo. Liam saying "About the boys, no, I didn’t tell them. I’m still figuring it out myself, so I wouldn’t even know what to say." is a bit of a worry. The signals he is sending Mike are clearly saying he's gay. What's going on here? Why the secrecy about going to see Mike's mum? Did Maggie just want it to be a surprise, or are there family secrets we are still to find out about and do they include the photo strip. Yes @Arch Hunter I hope the next chapter comes soon.

Thanks @chris191070. Not a spoiler but the next chapter includes the trial and Ollie moving in with Andre and Chris.

Thank you @Cane23 for your wonderful and supportive comments.

I agree with you @drsawzall and thank you for commenting on it. Yes the awesome4some have taken on more life than I expected, however they are providing great friendship and support for Ollie.

Thanks for your comments @Summerabbacat. I was hoping Ronald McDougal was close enough to Ronald McDonald to amuse. Pleased that it did. Straight talking dyke! Hmm. More will be revealed about Ollie and his mother. Remember, he has been having sexual assault therapy which is helping him adjust.

LOL. And more organized than me and with more able bodied help than I would have. They had most of their "stuff" already boxed up and they did have a lot of physical help from their tradie friends to move furniture.

Andre looked at the dining table. “What’s this parcel?” “Oh that. It arrived this afternoon. Judging by the sender, it’s electronic or games stuff for review.” “Why haven’t you opened it?” “Because it’s not addressed to me. It’s addressed to the awesome foursome. Each of them.” We both started laughing. “Come on let’s have dinner.” The next two weeks were busy and seemed to pass quickly. The first big thing was Beau and Skye finalizing the purchase of their h

While @Mark Ponyboy Peters is right that at that time the HSC results were released in early January, that has changed. The results are now released before Christmas. It is supposed to be so the students can enjoy Christmas without having to worry about their results! The exams are now also held earlier. The HSC results and the university entry score are not, and were not, based just on the HSC exam results. They are both based on a combination of exam scores and a scaled school assessment. What might surprise readers from outside Australia is that the Higher School Certificate is a state wide exam and assessment for all school and Year 12 students in the state.

This chapter has explored the turmoil Luke is facing at present in his life; situationally, emotionally, physically and psychologically. Excellent writing. Matt is there for him all the way, providing the stability he needs.

Manny is slipping very comfortably into his new life. Perhaps, a little too comfortably. He may need to employ more caution. There could be more than just Brewster monitoring what Manny is doing.

I agree with @Anton_Cloche that even though this story is not set in the present, the key elements of the story remain the same. Even though gay sex was decriminalized here in 1984 the police, a decade later, were, as seen here, still showing little interest in gay hate crime. As Luke noted "I knew what they were trying to do, of course, trying to twist the story around or get one of us to slip up". If the police established that Luke and Dwayne were gay and were at the toilets for that reason, then they could ignore the assault. There is now some change and the police have recently formally apologized for this attitude to gay hate crime, including murders. I'm assuming Luke and his friends attended a Catholic high school (there was an end of school Mass) and therefore assuming that Luke's father is Catholic and also the principal, Old Shep. What a contrast between the two of them in their attitude and response to Luke. Luke and Matt are firm in their love for each other and have some family support but I'm sure they have a lot to face in their future together that will test that love.

I agree that everyone has the right to decide when, how and to whom they come out. Having said that I can understand the anguish that Matt went through. Does he lie to himself and family by saying he's not gay or does he tell the truth knowing that that will implicate his lover? Not the easiest decision for him to make. Denying being gay can push the person into a closet of continual denial, making coming out even harder, but coming out doesn't necessarily mean acceptance.

You can almost tell the age of someone by how much they use their smartphone to make phone calls. Younger people tend more to using their smartphones for everything except phone calls. OK, I'll admit it. I prefer to use my smart phone to talk to people. I can't stand extended text conversations; a phone call is easier.

The boys are fully into helping solve this murder, well series of murders. They are coming up with a lot of suggestions for identifying the killer and for where he might strike next. It has obviously become personal for them. The mystery is progressing nicely and I'm enjoying the ride.

A great start to a new mystery. A new location, just arrived, a gay resort and a new murder. So far a very brief encounter with the victim and no clues about the murder. I'm keen to find out how will our four crime fighters will help the Miami police solve the murder and catch the offender.

Luke's world is crashing in on him, and he has now ended up in the world of gay bashing. I'm not sure when this story is set. It seems to be at a time when mobile phones were relatively new. That was also a time when gay bashing was all too common and the police took too little interest is apprehending offenders. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Luke (and Matt) come out of this not just OK but stronger.

There is so much happening with this chapter. Stanley is not in a good place. Arrested for shoplifting and, we assume, unable to go home because of his father. What happens to him now? Foster care? And, what happened to Maxwell who also ran away from home? We thought they were together. A lot of the chapter revolved around openness in a marriage/relationship. Phil may have had a vasectomy without telling Eloise, but it also seems she decided to get pregnant without discussing having children with Phil. The contraceptive pill was available and widely used. Did she just stop using it? The place of sex in a marriage/relationship is also touched on, as well as the place of love. As suggested by @Summerabbacat they probably continued to love each other after the divorce. Eloise in the window seemed to say that. In Jason we see a boy living in a hypocritical family which implodes when the truth is revealed and leaving Jason almost homeless. Abandoned and vulnerable his cousin introduces him to drugs and through that to prostitution. Jason's ability and willingness to pull himself together and change his life (admittedly with the support of a teacher) shows how change is possible and achievable. Colin is becoming an important support for Phil.