All Comments on 'Boston to Birmingham Ch. 01'

I am sure you drive a mean forklift but damn you sure can write. Looking forward to the next chapter.

You forgot the hard working Hispanic gardener, the soft spoken wisened elderly gentleman, and the bitter divorcee...most other stereotypes, you managed to include.

Tommy the Irish cop who talks like a leprechaun. Ha ha. Wow.

Superb beginning! I know you will carry this to a very good and complete finish.

Thank you!

M1

awesome

You're a fine writer and this one is off to a good start. I'm looking forward to the next part.

Well written with a good pace with few dead spots and good character development for the principal characters.I also liked the beginning with the threat of what our heroine did in Paris-coke,champagne and illicit sex determining her end. But as we soon discovered this was a faint and the Paris extramarital sex was only slightly mentioned a few times later. We got very familiar with the husband and the wife so what happened later on was not all that shocking. It always amazes me how stupidity above all else can be the character flaw that dooms a relationship.

the story was predictable, well written, you gave enough background to us to see this marriage would not work.. lets see what happens in part 2. does she become humble and see life from the other side ,other than a spoiled rich girl or does she break into a whore who loses herself in drugs and self pity.

You have talent and your story and writing style makes me want to read whatever you write. This story makes me hungry for more...so write on and add me to your fans.

Wow. Amazing. Can't wait for part two.

Yeah. I guess there's some cliches as per a previous comment-allegation It doesn't matter. This was a great read which trumps that fault and relegates that fault to superfluous slip. As a reader, I'm on pins & needles needing to know the outcome and only sorry this cant be purchased in complete form. Does she deserve forgiveness ? Sigh. As of "now" she doesn't .

We'll see what changes will be wrought in the next installment. I really appreciate all the characters, but her father is the stuff that best supporting actor Oscar nominations are made of. George Clooney ... still too young. Maybe DeNiro ? Sigh ( sorry again ) too senior - he would have killed in this role ten years ago.

Ok. I'm digressing. It's time to wind it up & profusely thank the author. I've given up predicting if a new story is Hall of Fame-bound. It's early yet with more installments to come ( merciful God willing ) . Yet this story has that HOF tang to it ( so far ).

I will pick a nit in terms of villains. Frankly, I enjoy them and wish Alan had not been dismissed so early and absolutely . This guy was slimy and no regrets about his fate, just the potentially premature timing. How does the author keep the tension ? Things COULD be pretty slow & low in the boonies where our spoiled little, Legal Beagle Rich Girl is bound .

More hosannas are due to the author for the hearty 5 page helping. Waiting for this story in skimpy 1-2 chapters disbursements would have been maddening. This judicious allotment gives me a real sense of the story's direction and characters & concluded on a suspenseful note in terms of the couple's ultimate fate.

So far - so good, and by good, I mean great.

I love melodramas! We'll learn more about Hardy's past. His wife will become a good woman and either she or the red head will win Hardy, while the other gets his old army pal that was badly wounded in Iraq. We all know he has to have a buddy that always had his back. Making things larger than life is what writing and movie making are all about. Who wants something as routine and dull as everyday life? I just hope this is not the first of fifty chapters spread over two years!

but the characters were cardboard cut-outs - not a single real person in sight.

Yes, it would make hollywood movie - but only because its the kind of formula that they seem to prefer at the moment.

A too-good-to be-true hero turns out to be a psycho and his rich wife turns out to be a spoilt bitch - what a surprise!

No wonder the rest of the world looks at the USA and gives a sigh of despair.

What a fucked-up 'hero.'

You have made reference to Hardy's violent youth and his military history. It seems that this will play a role in explaining what he did. I hope this doesn't turn into another "wild, unstable" veteran issue. While this may seem trivial here, keep in mind that while we sit here all fat dumb and happy, way too many vets are having trouble finding work. Most report an attitude that they are unstable timebombs waiting to go off. Makes you wonder where the public gets that idea. I was fortunate enough that my employers actually valued my milirtay service, but too many of my bretheren are finding themselves on the short end of the stick.

well you hooked me again. loved 500 Annies. Don't turn this guy into a wild eyed Vet. hopefully he reverts to his compassionate persona again.

She knew he was a dangerous man if she fucked up.....ya know, sometimes a woman needs a reality check....women get killed for a reason, sometimes...her father knew she was a waste of air, didn't he? So, don't feel any pity for a rich cheating slut.......and it's obvious her father doesn't either.....ain't PC, but if women never pay a really painful price, then they really have no reason to behave.

I can see the tendrils of possibilities already. This could be a great one.;

Great start, I really enjoy your stories!

only made it thru about 2 pages. All lawyer speak; no sex. Got bored and moved on

What a great story. I really look forward to the next part. A real man, a spoiled little rich brat, and a Dad that learned. All the stuff to make for a fun read. Keep up the good work

A great start,be interesting to see how this plays out,how hardy and gwen end up...with each other or with others?

I found HDK's comments interesting. For some of us the fact that he hit his wife would be the end of his hero status. On the other hand she was a fool to let Allan even in the door with a bottle of Champágne. Allan is an interesting figure, so sure that he is great when he is a real loser. In summary, the author did a great job!

I really liked how this started. I can see so many paths for this to take. Hardy hunting down the man that cheated with his wife and then clinically putting him out of his misery. Her finding a soul. Him over coming his demons. So many options... I look forward to the authors choice of options and seeing how he takes this story.

Good story well written, just excellent. I cannot wait for more.

Excellent writing skill with plenty of building suspense. I can't wait for the next offering. One of the best I have read in a while.

One might think our heroine simply made a mistake and was drugged, etc. but in point of fact, her selfishness led her to make lots of errors. She clearly valued her career and her ambition to get ahead over her husband and the concept of a family. She traveled a lot because it was exciting, not because she really needed to.

She cheated once with Alan, then was dumb enough to let him in to her house, be alone with him, with Champagne, when she is expecting her husband home for a talk and possible reconciliation. Pretty naive for a lawyer. What on Earth did she think might happen? Kicked to the curb, that's what. I hope with him receiving $40 million per the pre-nup.

This tale really seems to have it all. Sex, intrigue, suspense, violence, revenge -- great drama. Kept me reading to the last word. HDK said it better than I -- hopefully, we won't be waiting months on end for each successive chapter (many of us recall, "When We Were Married . . . "). My only, minor critique would be the incomplete editing (it did not significantly detract from the story). Thanks for writing.

Don't give a fuck about the bitch now. She fucked the guy in Paris, let him into her room in Boston and fucked him again. She was aware enough to pull her husband off of her lover as he beat the shit out of him, so she was aware enough to say no. She screwed around on to prior fiancées, and now did it to her soon-to-be ex-husband. Frankly, story is over. He should marry Dixie. Well done, you get a five. Story is over.

Why don't you limit what you write to your own stories.

This is almost something Rehnquist or DQS1 would write. I really like Gwen's father - that dude doesn't pull his punches. Glad to have the perp get the snot beat out of him. qhml1 even knows what a B3 is! Way to go!

The BTB folks probably like it just fine at this point, but I suspect they are not so naive as to miss the 'wiggle-room' available in Dad's manipulations! Looking forward to Ch.2!

A great start to the story and I can only hope that the next chapters are posted soon. Strong characters and genuine culture clash that will make the new job as an assistant DA very interesting indeed. I don't know where you intend to take the story, but hopefully Crystal snags him in the end.

I absolutely loved this story, it was funny & suspensful .... I couldn't wait till the shit hit the fan...it had drugs, sex, greed, infidelity & rape... I wish there was a part 2....Beautifully written...

...though I'm influenced by lack of time or desire to read long drawn out stories on this site so take as long as you want to continue! Sorry HDK!

Atrocious writing... grammar, spelling, punctuation marks, quotation marks, typos, laziness and all the rest ... Just heinous... <p>

Luckily, for the author, the story line's strong and interesting enough with sex, characters, events, background stories, etc. so the reader could just ignor all those stupid distraction...

One of the best stories in this forum in a long time.

GengisKhan should squeak a little less about grammar and punctuation, in a forum where over a third of the contributors can't tell the difference between there, their and they're. Or that there is gender connotation to "masseuse" (Please!).

More to the point nit picking can't trump great story-telling.

Strong character and culture tenors, as well as meaty, descriptive characterization. What's wrong here? NOTHING!

Let's all go to "Bumminham"!

Allan clearly was a predator and a bastard. He took advantage of her selfishness, arrogance and naiveté and her belief he was a friend, but time and again slipped drugs in her drinks and then had sex with her, which is actually rape. After Paris she should have been smart enough to never have gotten herself in a situation where she was with him alone again but she wasn't wise enough to prevent that particular path to downfall.

I hope the main female lead (Gwen) will learn from her mistakes and innate character flaws and find humility, grace, revindication and somehow happiness in the Alabama backwaters.

Looking forward to more!

Okeeeeey! keep criticizing.

I enjoyed it so much I read it twice. Thank you for you time and effort. Please keep up the good work!

Good story. As someone has already said the wife made a mistake, then did it again, making a mistake once is forgiveable, sometimes, but twice? the same mistake with the same person? that is plain stupid. But we will see if this couple get back together, it is likely after all they both love each other and can't live without each other so....on with the story writer 5 stars from me and thanks for the story.

Though I'm not sure why you feel the need to make it multi-chapter, as it ended appropriately here, with the cheating bitch getting her due. I hope that's not a signal that you intend to set up a reconciliation - Gwen, Hardy, and her father are all control freaks and they do not belong in the same room together, let alone a marriage. Worse still, a coke-whore, even if she is reformed, will NEVER make a good mother and apparently Hardy wants children more than anything else, and even his supposed love of his life comes second to that apparently. Barring a couple of apparent story glitches, it should end here. Dixie grabs up Hardy just like she said she would and Gwen finds out just how empty and meaningless a life full of flings with assholes like Allan is.

As for those glitches, they're minor, but they make your supposed victims out to be real assholes. Gwen's father, for example, has absolutely no business meddling in her marriage, but saw fit for no other reason than wanting grandchildren to sit there and lie to her face about promoting her, before demoting her so that she could go home and give her husband a baby. That's so far beyond simply inappropriate that it's unbelievable. You want to pick sides after the marriage is over, fine, but fucking around in your child's marriage like that?

As for Hardy, I'll point out that the first wind he gets of what is happening is when he walks in on Allan raping Gwen. He had no idea about Paris, or they'd already have been divorced. She was actively attempting to prevent herself from being raped, while under the influence of a combo rape-drug. He walks into the room, sees her being raped, and instead of defending her, and after "accidentally" bashing her face in, superglues her to the man raping her, ensuring that surgical multilation will be necessary to fix the problem. That's just plain evil and wrong. There's nothing in the Old Testatment about doing that to a woman who is being raped. What the hell?

Emphasis on that - he didn't know about Paris. He mutilated her anyway. She kind of deserved it, because she's a cheating whore, but in that perspective what if Paris had never happened and Allan had raped her? It means that Hardy wouldn't have cared and would have done exactly the same thing. Perspective makes the man a vicious piece of crap who doesn't live by the standards he claims to adhere to. No REAL man would ever do that to a woman being raped. He's a wimp of the ultimate order. Not because she cheated on him, but because he did that.

And she WAS raped.

Second, he demands she follow her word, calling her out as a liar when she refuses to hold to the pregnancy timeline. What's up with that? According to Dixie, he's lied about his past and everything about himself in order to get Gwen to marry him. A little hypocritical?

I hope both of those incidents were a fluke, and not intentional, because it means that Dixie is going to get a real piece of shit for a husband.

Four stars, but reserving judgment on future chapters. Again, please no on any reconciliation. The woman's a coke-whore and Hardy dodged a bullet by not making a coke-whore the mother of his children.

I can't wait to read the rest of the story. Hopefully it will chronicle the growing up process the all us normal folks go through while maturing. Well done so far.

Tim C.

I am at the middle of the story, but I think he would be happier with a Second Chance woman without any big fortune....................I wonder if I would be wrong........

Good read so far. I hope in part two or future parts we dont see a reconciliation. She deserves what she got. A great manly start so far and it would just ruin the whole thing if he becomes a wimp in future parts and accepts her back. 4 star rating from me.

Wow! You have me hooked. I will be watching for the follow up! Please don't make us wait long.

It is very interesting overture. The story would be reconcilation or other direction. I think big money enough to assist daughter to restart her life without any big difficulties. She is responsible to fix or to spoil the restart. BTW The Ford Focus is a good car in Europe, I have my second Focus................

... but then, MOST stories in LW involve characters with narcissism problems. I'll be interested to see where you take this. Actually, I think I know, more or less. You telegraphed it in the first six paragraphs. The real question, I suppose, is how many obstacles are you going to throw in their path enroute to that idyllic resolution.

Now, about that idiot bitch Gwen: frankly, I don't think a year is anywhere NEAR long enough for Gwen to fix her issues. First off, she's going to have to recognize that SHE is the problem. Not Allen, not her daddy, and certainly not Hardy. Then once she recognizes and accepts that, she's going to have to buy into doing all the work necessary to change herself. Then she's going to have to do the actual work. No, a year isn't even long enough for her to get a good start on it all.

I think HDK's comments are well-taken. And let's face it, most of MY neighbors here in northern Alabama aren't interesting enough for anyone to write about them. So don't let the comments about the way you've set the story up detract you from telling your tale.

One last fairly minor quibble, but one I feel I HAVE to make: A.M.E. stands for African Methodist EPISCOPAL. This is not hard to find out. [shakes a finger] It makes me wonder if you are really from the South as your profile says.

It's your time now baby

Ohh but it's gonna be mine after awhile

I said it's your time right now baby

Lord but it's gonna be mine after awhile

I mean he's got to know Buddy right?

5 - This story kept me glued to the monitor. Great work.

Good character development. Love the story line. But even with this first part being 5 pages long (thank you for that), the story was not developed to its fullest potential. Too many questions were left unanswered or background facts were made too ambiguous. I still think this is a great story and look forward to the next installment.

I am surprised by the overwhelming condemnation of Gwen when Allen “was lost in lust, ignoring the soft punches and protests” as he RAPED her. Gwen was drugged but she was not willing. I agree she was terminally stupid, yes, to let Allen into the apartment.

I’m also surprised, as one commentator pointed out that Hardy, who did not know about Paris, yet his reaction to Gwen’s rape (if he saw it as such) just seems wrong since it apparently condemned both participants equally by the way he left them hanging on the fence. Did he see her as willing participant or was he in such a PTSD rage he failed to see her weak resistance to Allen?

Stay tune for part two………………………….hopefully sooner than later!

Thank you for sharing your story.

Brujay

A chuckle for HDK’s apposite comments.

Yes she was being raped, but Hardy didn’t realize that. He didn’t beat her but backhanded her off him, thinking he was under attack.

I’m not preaching for him but most of his actions were understandable without the necessity for him to be demonized. He beat the perp, not the princess. There may be some remorse when he becomes aware of her innocence (and stupidity) – unless he becomes aware of the Paris incident at the same time of course.

This story is good – maybe a little formulaic but not overly so.

It’s the first story for a while about which I’ve been excited – since the last Rehnquist/DQS1 offerings really.

Thanks

Just Friggin WOW!! Keep those chapters coming. Oh yeh nearly forgot!! DSQ, HDK, SS06 and the rest of you top notch writers, Better watch your six! :)

Loved pretty much everything about it. You wrote the fine line between these two being completely unsuited for each other and being meant for each other. I am not in the business of re-writing other people's stories, but if I could have made a small change it would have been to remove the final part of revenge by Hardy-the superglue stuff. It seemed like, despite his unleashed rage, Hardy had a moment of clarity after realizing he had hit and knocked out his wife. I didn't think he would have continued with the revenge at that point-it made him much less sympathetic, showed a true dark side. Maybe that was the point?

Also, did Hardy not get the memo on his wife being drugged?

But, for pure entertainment value, this story was very good. I enjoyed the writing, and 'got' the characters. I also thought it had a good balance of excitement, drama, and eroticism. Well-edited, too, with only a couple of errors that I noticed. Easy 5 from me, and looking forward to the next chapter.

Really great! I can hardly wait to see the next installment! Gotta tell you, this is real literature. Keep up the great work! (First of your stories I have read, can hardly wait to check out the others.)

going to make us wait too long for chapter 2...are you?

Good story so far; It seemed to be getting a little too goodie two shoes with the church and playing the organ and working with kids, but you pulled it out.

A riveting story. I'm late to the party, and everything's already been said by other commenters, so I won't rehash things.

Like others have pointed out though, if Hardy did not know about the first cheating in Paris, why did he use the superglue? His wife was a victim at that point. The backhand slap I could understand, in the heat of the moment, and as a perceived attack, but the superglue? Maybe he already knew Gwen had cheated on him, and saw the rape as a continuation of the affair? Maybe Crystal Anne told him? I don't know.

In short, I'm very interested in how this will play out. It could actually go in many different ways. Looking forward to chapter 2.

6 fuckin stars. don't make us wait to long for the 2nd

Are you done yet? How about, now?

I've been waiting to read this this tale and now I can't wait for chapter 2. What will the spoiled cheating wife brat do? We'll see...

What kind of father shits on his own family to save a wife beater.....

the husband and father should burn for that!!!!!!!

I don't like any of the characters! not much redeemable about any!

But you do weave a great story.

thanks

wheres chapter 2?

things do have a way of coming around. TK U MLJ LV NV

Ray you perform in different venues, How is this possible? Ray said, Man if you can play, You can play. TK U MLJ LV NV

Good story and to Fausttus; re-read the story as you clearly missed that the hit was an unconscious reaction from a trained vet in combat mode who was attacked from the rear with no knowledge who it was as well as showing shame and abject shame afterwards. If not provoked it never would have happened. Fausttus; you are a pussy to shit on the story and clearly have led a very sheltered life.

The votes are in...fausttus you are the biggest idiot commentator here. That you can't see her faults shows how dumb you really are. And since you've obviously never been in a fight (obvious from the stupidity you spouted) you won't be able to understand a persons mindset in a situation like that. Accidents happen and sometimes you hit someone you don't intend to.

If more parents actually cared enough about their children to teach them to be better people this world would be a much better place. Her father may have made mistakes before but he's doing the best he can now to fix them and that's commendable.

Is obviously either a "liberated woman" or a liberal gurly-guy!

guy

2 STAR

For those readers who do not understand the characterization of Hardy, I would recommend reading the book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. Which, in my opinion, is a well written popular explanation of what are basically mathematical interpretations of statistical methods.

Gladwell displays evidence that a large percentage of the Southern white male population is constitutionally capable of excessive levels of violence when provoked.

He covers some of the history of blood feuds and some of the sociological research done covering the 'culture' influencing Southern white males, recent to the publication of his book. The data supplied is of course focused on supporting Gladwell's contention that in many ways we are all products of our environment.

The book resonated with me as I still have many relatives living back in the Border States. I am not joking when I say at least a few of them make the Taliban look moderate and modern. Even though my line has been out here on the Left Coast for more then a century, close kin of mine have contributed to the prison population for violent crimes.

A.M.E. is African Methodist Episcopal

Boston does not have police precincts but is divided into areas A-E

Fanfare, you may be close, but some of "Southern Cavemen", are actually are very mannered and would help anyone in need, even if they are on the side of the road in the worst section of town. Look at a cross section of soldiers and see where most of them come from, to protect your ass. I AM a Colbert County lifelong resident and proud of it.

Since they know Allan drugged her, why is Hardy being so hard on her?

But you see there is a difference between being drugged and doing drugs.

She was not tricked or forced into doing that line of cocaine in Paris.

She was a married woman away from her husband getting drunk and coked up with an old lover then having sex with him.

So while lover boy drugged her later she had already been unfaithful.

Especially "fanfare." Part of appreciating a story is having an understanding of the characters; this, even in erotica. It intensifies the erotic.

While WE know she cheated in Paris, there is no indication that Hardy knows that.

All that we KNOW he knows is that Allen drugged her, and that should cut her some slack.

Allen was openly bragging about them being (back) together in Paris on his corporate Facebook page.

Hardy is not the typical oblivious husband, and has friends that look out for him also.

She has a known history of cheating in previous relationships.

While Hardy might not "know" that she cheated while in Paris he could easily suspect.

"you're not flying. You can't afford it. You'll be going on Amtrak."

What a minute, every time I compare Amtrak to flying Amtrak always costs more, a lot more.

Maybe commuter trains are less, but interstate is more (Mass. to Alabama).

If it wasn't for taxpayers money Amtrak would have been gone long ago, and even with the subsidies they're no bargain.

So okay as a little humiliation maybe, but why not save money and have her fly cattle car class?

and am glad I did.

Still great reading

'annie'

The wife is drunk and doing drugs in Paris with the ex boyfriend. What a stupid situation to get yourself into.

5*

Good for her dad. Finally she is being held accountable.

I've comented on another portion of this series, but this is by far the best one i have read on this site...and Greg is a badass, nuff said.

“[she] soon was traveling at least twice a month for several days each time.”

Okay, I realize that “several” is an indeterminate amount, but since it’s usually considered AT LEAST 3 (2 being “a couple”), and to ME, at least, more like 4 or 5, that means that each trip is certainly the better part of a week, if not an entire work week. And she’s doing this AT LEAST twice a month, which means sometimes 3 or 4 times, so she’s traveling at least ALMOST half the month if not MORE than half the month. That’s a LOT of travel, god knows a lot of wives in these stories would be bitching if the HUSBAND traveled that much!

She complains about his running, most of which happens before she’s even awake, but expects HIM to accept her travel, which DOES keep her from him, without complaint!

She’s so selfish, wants everything HER way, won’t even go with him to visit his family.

She just doesn’t get it! They never were truly compatible, she let her passion rule her common sense. They’re at a point where they can divorce under Irreconcilable Differences, with “No Harm, No Foul”, and move on with their lives, but she’s going to keep pounding a square peg into a round hole until something snaps, and one or both are going to be hurt.

Why did their heads have to be SHAVED?

Unless I'm mis-remembering, their long hair was knotted together and the knot was super-glued. I assume the knot was cut off so that they could be freed from the fence, wouldn't a simple haircut to neaten things up have been enough at that point?

this total story is highly rated. I frankly can't get into it nor enjoy it. I think because to me it seems too contrived and not very realistic.

Her mother talks about not being able to control Hardy. Well how has “controlling” her husbands worked out for her? She’s on her sixth!

“You've got too much of your mother in you.” – THAT should have been a wake-up call for her! Even SHE can’t stand her mother, and to be compared to her should have said something to her.

Allan is trying to have it both ways, putting Hardy down for his lack of sophistication, yet hinting that it’s her lifestyle he wants.

How Gwen could have been so stupid as to let Allan into their home when A) she was expecting Hardy and B) she KNEW Allan was hot to get back into her pants.

I like when she got her comeuppance.

Ed Grocott

edgrocott@gmail.com

Refer to the movie 'The Condemned of Altoona' if I recall correctly. Women consorting with nazis had their heads shaved as a shaming. Makes sense here.

Did the author forget about the prenup? No word was mentioned about it, and I remember it stating that the payment would me immediate, and regardless of whether or not they divorced

Just outstanding writing.

i know this series has been posted 4 years already, but this is the first time i've read this. i'm familiar with qhml's other works and many i have enjoyed reading.

i hope he edits this series because it has a lot of potential and then repost it. the problem is not with the story but with the structure. frankly, it's a mess. i gave this first chapter 3 stars, and i'm looking forward to the next chapters.

Didn't even know you existed qhml1 until a few days ago and have now ready probably 15 of your pieces. You must have some wonderfully powerful mind altering capabilities! I'm creative, but an absolute piker compared to your stuff. Real enough story to grab me...make me sad...pissed off...hopeful...and wondering where the fuck you will take us over the next bunch of installments. DAMN good!!!

“He went back to see his grandfather about every two months. Gwen had never accompanied him.” – THAT should have been a big red flag, her disregard for his family.

“And planting small doubts in her head about whether it was her or the lifestyle he wanted.” – LOL! Her lifestyle? He couldn’t give a shit about her lifestyle!

Stop reading at the end of chapter four. It's a damn good story up to there. By the end of chapter six it's awful. Unless you're an RAAC fan...

Enjoying the story; nice writing style, good flow, great characters. The wife obviously cheated in Paris, but I don't really hold her accountable for the last episode - she was heavily drugged and was apparently trying to fight him off. She was DUMB enough to let that polecat in the door though, so she's not entirely blameless. We'll have to see if she's grown up any. Glad Hardy managed to be "saved" by his friends, hopefully he won't suffer through too many lingering effects from the trauma of whaling on that scumbag, even though the scumbag deserved every bit of it.

.... with those who see this series as a RAAC story. In my mind, it's more a story of redemption and renewal, with a true love between the broken couple that finally manages to overcome the feelings of betrayal, destruction of respect, and complete loss of trust that drove them apart.

I'll admit that I'm a previously married person who made some bad choices when I was younger, but was lucky enough to find love and happiness beyond measure late in life -- so I'm a sucker for happy endings!

I'm leaving this comment here instead of Chapter 6 so new readers will have another point of view to consider before they read on or decide to forego the rest of the series.

Thanks, Q, for another fine tale!

Ignore the anti RAAC brigade. It is not that anyway. It is a tale of remorse and redemption as someone else mentioned and very well written at that.

I could go on about how written this is, but, well, you know.

Love the plot. Respectable salt-of-the-earth guy does the right things and gets shafted. His outburst, completely understandable and in a rage of passion. The hair? Hilarious! Rich bitch was confident she could manipulate him. Wrong. It’d be nice to understand how her daddy remains well-grounded. Where’d the money come from, and who kept him from drowning in elitism? At any rate it looks like a fun ride will follow.

Having enjoyed the worldly sophistication in a few of your other pieces,

I like that best about this one too. :+)))

Is Gwen a smart woman? I would assume so based on her successes in her chosen occupation. Assuming she is smart how can she be dumb enough to allow Allen in the house? And how did she start the affair in Paris in the first place?

Her father did a better BTB job than Hardy ever could. And retribution on the asshole, Allen, was perfect although I wouldn't have given him a dime. Let him start over with his own money. I'd keep an occasional check on him and the minute he stepped foot on the east coast would be the last day of his miserable life.