Loving Quinn Novel by North Rose

(Annona, der 15).

Out of all the places to go on my summer vacation, this was the one place I didn’t want to be. My grandparents’ lake house. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here. The view of the lake from the deck is amazing. Watching the sun set over the trees beyond was always the highlight of my summer nights in my teen years. My grandmother’s **g and fishing with my grandpy. Those me all the things I love about coming here. This summer, however, I have more on my mind than sumets, swimming in the lake, and fishing.

In the fall, I will be off to medical school. I will move far away from my parents-uch to their distress, and much to my delight. I got accepted into a very prestigious medical program at Hudson Medical College in England. The day I got my acceptance letter, my father was all smiles, while my mother was in tears. England is a long way from California. The furthest from my parents that I will ever go on my owIL

I am overjoyed.

Not that I don’t love my parents, I really do, but they are too overprotective. I am one of five children and their only daughter, not to mention I am the youngest. So, between my four older brothers, my mother, and my father, I had little time to have ten with life. Not that I wanted to. Studying was all I ever seemed to do.

I have always wanted to be a doctor like my father, only I want to go into pediatrics instead of cardiology. Children have always made me smile. I want to one day be able to help take care of them. For now, however, I must endure this five-hour car ride to the lake where my grandparents live. Five hours in a car with my twin brothers and my parents was going to be hell.

I am just grateful that all my brothers are not on this trip. My oldest brother, Max, is an a trip to Europe with his friends Eric, the middle brother, is going to his girlfriend’s place to meet her parents. So, I am stuck with the twins, Daniel and Kristopher, who are a year older than me, all summer. Their antics bo get me out of the house are going to drive me insane.

Lucky for me, I have my earbuds, a long playlist, and the excellent ability to tune them out. The only thing I am half paying attention to is the quiet argument between my parents, who think their whispering can’t be heard over the wind coming through Daniel’s open window. They have been fighting for the last month. ter my father setting up my living arrangements in England.

He agreed to rent my flat there, set up my spending account and arrange for a driver to take me anywhere I needed to go. My mother, who is still in denial about my

surprised she still gets upset when he decides things leaving, is upset that he did it all without talking to her about it. After over thirty years of marriage, I am without telling her about them.

That is just how Dr. Alexander Winters did things. He was used to making snap decisions, consulting no one while he was at work. That rubbed off into his home life, Hruch to my mother’s distress. How they had five children and stayed married for all this time is a mystery to me. I know they love each other because I can see it in their eyes every day. Someday I want to find someone who looks at me the way my father looks at my mother.

Like she is the only thing he sees when he looks at her.

For now, I will settle on not killing my idiot brothers, then moving away for school. Will I miss my brothers? For killing bugs and taking out the trash. For everything else? Not one bit, well, maybe a little, I will miss Daniel’s stories during thunderstorms and Kris’s grilled cheese sandwiches when I am feeling sad. They are not always a pain in my a**. They love me and know that I love them too. We just fight like all siblings do. That I will miss too.

my I change my playlist to relaxing music so I can tune out the world for a nap. We still have three hours to go on this lovely car ride to Lake Crescent, where n grandparents have a cabin. It is really a large house, but they like to call it a cabin. Ihall see what the summer has in store when we get there.

Three hours later, I am woken up by Daniel ripping my earbuds out and yelling that have arrived at our destination. I slap him hard, then on stretch. The long as drive out here is always full of choos between my brothers. Thankfully, it is only the twins on this trip. I am so ready for a shower and some of grandma’s chicken parmesan. She always cooks it when she knows we are coming. My grandmother’s cooking was one of many things I look forward to coming out here for

“Annie!!” my grandfather called from the porch.

Gola is one of those reasons. He always makes time just for me when I am here. Being the youngest of the children, some would think I get all the attention. I dans. Sometimes I like that I don’t get all the attention, other times I wish they would pay more attention to me. Grandpa finds the balance.

He takes me fishing or lets me hang out with him in his woodworking shop, and we talk about anything but school. He is happy that I am going away to medical

bool, but he wants me to be happy more than anything else. That is why times with Grandpa are the best for me. This will be the last summer I will have with him

I climb out of the car and race to the porch for the bear hug that will soothe

“Tomorow we will go fishing and you can catch me up on everything that has happened since Christmas, ok?” Grandpa said after he released me

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Chapter 12

“That sounds like an amazing plan, tandpa,” I smile at him, then head into the house

The minute I step inside, I am hit with the tantalizing aroma of chicken parmesan. The entire house will mell like Grandma’s cooking for the rest of the night. I smile as thead up the narrow stairs that lead to the second level of the house. There are three bedrooms at the front of the house for us kids when we come for the summers and holidays. There are two bedrooms at the back of the house facing the lake. Mom and dad sleep in one of them anytime we stay here.

My favorite room in the entire house is the attic room Grandma converted into her library. They made one entire wall at the back of the room out of glass, and it gives the best view of the lake. My mother has to pay me out of there for meals, or when she wants me to get out of the house for fresh air and sunshine. I never really mind when she does that.

I head to the room I always stay in to dump my bags, I smile to myself as I open the door to see that nothing in the room has changed at all since Christmas. It is dust free and immaculately clean, like always, thanks to Grandma’s vigilant cleaning going to miss coming here every summer once I move. Medical School will

keep me far too busy to get away for regular visits. I can feel the tears form in my eyes as I think of all the time I will miss with my family

I will miss the way my brothers fight over trivial things, like which one of them ate the last of the O**s. My parents will continue how they always have been for as long as I can remember. Father will spend all his time at the hospital with his patients, going to important charity events, and making all the decisions for everyone My mother will work in her garden, go to meetings for all the charities she works with, and spend what little time she can with her husband.

I love my parents, but I don’t want the life they have. Becoming a doctor is all I have ever wanted, but there needs to be a balance between medicine and family. A balance that my parents haven’t seemed to find in all their years of marriage. To achieve what I want out of life, know I will need to spread my wings to fly free.

I look out at the water as I cast my line out yet again. I have been out here for the last two hours and all I have to show for it is a small bucket with two lousy fish. That will feed me and dad for the night. I will give myself another hour to catch a few more then 1 will make my way home. I am counting the days until I leave this place for good.

Nothing in this town ever changes. Tourists come and go with the changing of the seasons, leaving behind their trash and unwanted pets. I can’t wait to leave here at the end of the summer for boot camp. I signed up for the Army without telling my father. He wouldn’t notice if I were gone, so why bother. He spends all day at the bar, only coming home when he gets kicked out for being too rowdy or they close for the night. Most nights it is the latter.

He has been like that every day for the last ten years. Every single day since the accident that killed my mother. That was the day that my father lost his will to fer, but instead of killing himself fast, he chose the slow route with bourbon. So deep is his grief that he forgets half the time that I exist, the other half is spent trying to make up for ignoring me. Which only ends up with both of us yelling at each other He forgets I lost her too.

I lost both of my parents when I was eight. My father is already dead, his body just hasn’t caught up with his heart and soul.

am fine with him not being in the house all day. When school is in session, I only spend enough time in that house to cook dinner and sleep. I spent the rest of my time with my best-friend Aaron. He lives two houses over from mine. His parents kruna about my living situation and have told me I am welcome in their home

anytime.

Aaron and I repaired the small cabin at the back of his parents” land. It was used as a hunting lodge twenty years ago, but now it is our own private hideaway. That is where I intend to spend the rest of the summer. Tonight will be the last night I spend at my father’s house. I will go back with today’s catch, make dinner, then pack the only possessions I intend to take with me to boot camp. All my clothes are already in the cabin.

One framed picture of my mother, a smaller picture of the family we used to be, and the ring the left me to pass down to my future wife. I scoff at that idea, but there is no way I will leave that behind for him to find and sell. He will use it to buy bourbon to drown his pain in. My mother would be sad to see what we have become. To save myself from watching my father slowly kill himself, I have to get as far away from this town as possible.

The Army is my way to serve my country, make something of my life, and a ticket out of my depressing life. Aaron signed up too, his parents an will miss them when we leave in September. Until then, I will spend as much time at their house as possible. They have been-more like parents to i since I was ten

oud of him. I in neighbor

Other than Aaron, they are the only good things in this town for me. They are the only people that I will miss when I leave this town and never look back.

Laughter from across the lake caught my attention, bringing me out of my thoughts look up to glance across the water. The house over there is owned by the Winters’ couple. What catches my attention right away is the flash of auburn hair and long shapely legs as a girl runs up to the house to hug the old man on the back porch.

Was she one of their grandchildren? Why had I not seen her before? I thought all the kids were boys. Jesus, that family has five kich? Guess they never used condom and f**k like rabbits. Knowing that one of them was a girl wouldn’t normally get my attention right away, but there was something about her laugh that pulled at

It was so full of joy. Her excitement

her grandfather made me want to know more about her. Her long auburn hair made my Engers itch to dive into. I want.

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Chapter 12

steps, and into her grandfather’s

want to see more of those long legs of hers. All of th

the time

for a summer fing, or if she in I know it isn’t a suitable. Ein

there about this girl that makes me

that kind of girl, know her? With a righ, I reel in my

I can’t help the feelings her sudden appearance in P

• line, gather my gear, and leave the edge of the lake.

hile trying to keep my eyes from traveling across the lake to catch

the only thuner |

the “Have you seem

ith many excuses to take ine across the water to ‘I don’t even own a dog, so that one won’t work if she asks me to

talk to her. What lime excuse will I try first? Me describe it How about I say someone stole my bag? That one could work.

I would be ok with that as long as I get to see het.

uminen if every lame excuse I have fails me.