Loving Quinn Novel by North Rose

(Annora)

“No, Grace, you can’t go to the fundraiser. I told you this already, there will not be children there,” I tell her.

Grace just stares at me with those sea-green eyes of hers. Why did she have to get his eyes? I think had she taken after me more in appearance, watching her grow up wouldn’t have been so hard. Having Quinn’s eyes stare back at me through our daughter hits me hard some days.

“Mom, I don’t need Haylie to watch me anymore. I am old enough to stay home alone while you party with rich doctors.” Grace glares at me. She stomps her foot, crosses her arms over her chest then just stares at me.

“Grace, we talked about this. I have obligations outside this house and sometimes they get in the way of what you want.”

“I want to go to the movies or go with you to the fundraiser.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. We have been at this same argument since she got home from school. My answer has remained the same yet she just keeps pushing. I want my sweet natured daughter for the night not this angry heathen.

She looks at me once more then runs to her room and slams the door. I glance at Haylie then walk calmly up the stairs to confront my angry child. I am getting increasingly frustrated with her by the minute.

This is the preview show for her teenage years coming soon, I can already feel the headaches to come. At eleven years old, Grace is becoming a handful. I know she doesn’t get any of her spunk and defiance from me. I had one act of defiance and she is the result. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

But oh boy, days like today make me want to ship my child off to visit my grandfather. He will take none of her crap and make her listen. Grace isn’t a terrible child by any means, but on nights that my work interferes with what she wants, she fights me tooth and nail. Tonight, I am not budging.

The fundraiser tonight is for wounded vets, and I am going with a friend of mine who was an army nurse. Grace will just have to learn that I can’t always pass on things like this because she throws a tantrum. I straighten my spine as I look at her with steel in my eyes. I hate being the bad guy and she knows it.

My ex-husband was never a good parent, but he pretended to be until he became the cheating parent who was sleeping with our accountant. Then he became the asshole parent who said since Grace wasn’t his child there was no reason for him to see her after the divorce. It affected Grace hard at first, Kyle had been the only father she had ever known.

Part of that was my fault for not trying harder to find Quinn. I chalk that up to teenage stupidity and innocence. Who the hell knew that I would end up pregnant at eighteen? I didn’t. We had used protection, well most of the time anyway. Shit we were fools.

I open the door to Grace’s room then just look at her. She is sitting on the bed staring at the door. Her stare turns into an angry glare when I look from her to the door.

“What is the rule about doors in this house?”

“No slamming them,” she mumbles.

“Right. So, because you think it is ok to break the rules and throw a fit, there will be consequences. I will tell Haylie that there is to be no video games tonight. You can watch movies or play board games. ”

“I want you to do what you promised.”

“I didn’t promise to take you to the movies, Grace. I said we could go if nothing came up at work. I never once said that we would go tonight.”

“But you said,” she stopped talking when I held my hand up in a stop gesture.

“Ok, look, I know you want me to stay home so we can go see that movie you wanted to watch. I am sorry that we can’t, but you have known about this fundraiser for the last month, Grace. This is something that I am passionate about and I will not miss it because you are having a fit,” I tell her.

“But you promised we would see it,” Grace screams at me.

“No I didn’t and you know it. We will go on the weekend. Don’t you yell at me like that or we won’t go see it at all. It will be in theaters for another few months, we have plenty of time. Now, I want no more sass from you.” I look at her as she opens her mouth to complain again, but wisely she doesn’t, this time.

I leave her room so I can go get dressed. Being a single parent is a pain in the ass some days but I love my daughter and try hard to give her everything I can. Well, within reason at least.

I take one last look at myself in my floor to ceiling mirror. I pull my auburn hair back into a French-braid, loose curls escaping around my face. The dress I have on is tighter than I like, but the pale blue works well with my complexion. It has a halter-like top, and the skirt flows down in a smooth line of satin. I feel a little overdressed for a fundraiser for veterans, but there will be so many women dressed better than me.

Most of them will try to snag a rich husband, but having been married once, I am not even looking for anything remotely resembling a relationship right now. I step into the gaming room to tell the girls goodbye, then I leave the house to go pick up my friend Shawna. She picked my dress, so I have to wear it tonight.

“That dress looks amazing on you just like I thought it would.” Shawna says when she opens her apartment door.

I smile at her then follow her inside. She tells me that she is almost ready and will only be a few more minutes. Her apartment is painted in bright colors. It has an open floor plan that makes it look bigger than it actually is. There are plants all over the living room to give it that indoor garden feeling.

Shawna’s apartment is very much like her personality. Bright and cheerful yet very down to earth. I wait on her sofa with her cat, Leroy. I tell her about Grace’s attitude while she finishes getting ready.

When she comes back out I smile widely. The green satin dress is form fitting and short. Her fiery red hair is loose and flowing down her back. My bestie is a knockout.

“Are you going on the hunt tonight?” I ask her as she grabs her purse.

“I am always on the hunt but tonight I just want to dance and have fun. I will think about finding a boyfriend another night.”

“One day soon you will find Mr. Right instead of Mr. Playboy.” I tell her with a gentle smile. She looks sad for a moment so I hug her tight. “Now, let’s get this night over with so I can go home to my temperamental child.”

An hour later Shawna and I walk into the ballroom at the grand hotel the fundraiser is in. Classical music is being played through the speakers, people are milling about with wine in their hands, and my smile fades five minutes later as I hear that shrill laugh of my ex-accountant’s. Well, this night just became no fun.

“Want me to punch her in the face later?” Shawna asks me.

I laugh and shake my head, “No, I can handle her. It is Kyle I worry about. Go mingle, Shaw, I will be fine.”

Shawna gives me a hug, then she goes off to find a dance partner, leaving me to watch as Lana flirts with a soldier in uniform. I pity her when Kyle spots her. Has she seen his temper yet? Has he slapped her around yet? I hope for her sake he hasn’t, but I know if she stays with him much longer, he will get to that point.

Kyle is good at hiding his true face from people. He fooled me the first year we were married. Then the first time I wore something he didn’t like, or folded his clothes wrong, I met his temper. I covered bruises for two years until I worked up the courage to file for divorce. Two days later, I walked in on him and Lana in our bed. A restraining order followed and then a swift divorce.

Adultery was in our prenup and pissed him off to no end that he got nothing from me. I learned during the divorce that he had been sleeping with Lana for over a year. A three-year marriage down the drain. The day we finalized our divorce was the day Kyle hit me for the last time.

He spent six months in jail for assault, but he tried again to hurt me, so he is now out on bail until his court date for that incident. Now there is a permanent order of protection against him. I will be forever thankful that he never hurt Grace. Kyle hid his darker side from my daughter very well.

If he is here tonight, he has to stay one hundred yards away from me at all times. I decide that it is a good time to mention this to a security guard, but I am stopped as a hand clamps firmly around my arm, then I am yanked behind a large marble column. From the cologne, I know instantly who it is. Kyle Wells, the worst mistake I have ever made.

“That dress is too tight on you, Nora,” Kyle growls in my ear before he turns me to face him. “What have I told you about that? When we get home, I will have to remind you.”

He is drunk. Fantastic. I hate that nickname too.

“You are violating the restraining order Kyle.”

“The hell I am. You are my wife and no piece of paper or judge will tell me when, where, or how I can talk to you.” He slurs the last of his words as he glares at me.

I look around as panic sets in. We are alone in the entrance area and that is a bad sign. I struggle as he pulls me in close to his body. He reeks of booze. I wrinkle my nose which pisses him off.

“Do I offend you?” He growls at me as he leans his head closer to my face. “You used to make the sexiest noises when I fucked you.”

Oh, yes, you really do. Your breath smells and your touch makes my stomach lurch. I faked most of my orgasms with this fool. What did I ever see in this man?

“Let go of me,” I grit out.

“You are my wife, Nora. When we get home, I will show you what that dress is doing to me right now.”

Ew! Been there, done that, not interested in a repeat. Three years of crappy sex was enough. Missionary Kyle, is what I called him in my head. No other positions were allowed.

“Kyle, we are not married anymore. Take your hands off me now and I won’t scream. You remember that you are not allowed near me, right?” I ask him. I struggle to loosen his grip on my arm.

This causes him to tighten his hold and pull me up against him. The smell of vodka on his breath makes me want to puke. “You will always be mine, always. No judge will ever change that. You are mine, Nora, only mine.”

“The hell I am. Let go of me now,” I yell at him.

“No matter how much you deny it, you are still in love with me. I can forgive you for pressing charges against me. We can just forget that ever happened.” His voice was soft as he pleaded with me but his eyes showed malice.

I struggled to get out of his hold and thankfully he was drunk enough that he couldn’t keep his grip on me. I took a step back from him as his face took on a look that I know well. He reached out and grabbed my wrist in a vice-like grip that I should have seen coming.

“You are a pathetic excuse for a man, Kyle. I don’t love you. If you want the truth, I never loved you. No take your fucking hand off my before I scream for help.”

“Don’t you swear at me, you little whore,” he pulls back his hand like he is going to slap me.

I close my eyes, but no slap lands on my face. When I open my eyes, Kyles is twisted around to glare at a man behind him. That man is holding Kyle’s arm up in the air like he caught it mid-swing. Tears blur my vision, making my hero’s features blurry.

“I believe the lady asked you to let her go,” the stranger said.

Oh, my goodness, that voice. I blink back my tears to clear my vision. When I do, I look into a pair of sea-green eyes. Eyes that have haunted me for years. His face is harder, jaw more defined, but I would recognize him anywhere.

My god, it really is him.

Quinn Greyson in the flesh.