Loving Quinn Novel by North Rose

(Quinn)

As our vacation dwindles to an end, I decided to plan a day just for me and care. Annora thought this was a great idea, so she packed us a lunch in the picnic basket, gave us both a kiss, then sent us on our way. This made me laugh as drace and I made our way out of the villa.

The way Annie rushed us out of the house roused my suspicions, but I let it go. She was in a lighter mood this morning than she was last night. I want to keep it that way. We agreed to leave our worries at home.

No more talk of Dionne and her bullshit.

So, today I am taking Grace out on a father daughter fishing trip. I have a small boat docked at the marina in the village. It isn’t anything grand, but it works for today. I brought The Hobbit with me for when she has had enough fishing. The fair is also still being held in the village, so there are plenty of options.

Once we are out on the water, Grace starts telling me about how she wants to decorate her dream bedroom once our house is built. We showed her and Annora’s parents the plans for it this morning during breakfast. She is excited to have a bedroom with an attached bathroom.

We figured since her teenage years are coming soon, having her own bathroom would be a smart idea. Annora agreed with that idea. Since she grew up with brothers, having her own bathroom was a blessing. Daniel worked that into the revised plans.

“Will I have to change schools when the new house is built?”

Tglance over at her when I hear the tone of her voice. Is something at school bothering her? Annora and I had a meeting with the school principal, along with the parents of the other girl involved in the fight..

It was clear to me from the moment they stepped into the room where the child gets her attitude from. Her father. The man was dressed in a brown. tweed jacket, wore thick wire-rimmed glasses, and looked more book knowledgeable than world weary. The sneer his wife gave me confirmed that she shares his opinions.

They are both on the side of the fence where people believe war, no matter the cause, is a pointless waste of money, time, and life.

In the end they decided to pull their daughter from the school rather than have her apologize for what she said. Yet they demanded an apology from Grace, which she made willingly, because she knows that hitting people is wrong.

“Is that what you want? To transfer to a new school? You have three more years at that school before you are off to high school.”

That know

owledge sends my heart into a panic as I think of my daughter with teenage boys. I swallow past the lump in my throat, then glance at Grace again. I want her to remain like this forever.

Don’t grow up, Gracie. I am not sure I can handle teenage boys sniffing around the beautiful girl that she will grow into. I can already see her in my mind as a sixteen-year-old. Boys stay away.

Her voice pulls me from my thoughts.

“I like my school. I just don’t like the way kids are talking about me now. Some of them say I stood up against the bully, which I did, taking her side, too.”

abers are

“That will happen, be it a physical fight, a debate or an argument, people will always pick sides. There isn’t anything you can do about it other than stand your ground. Tam sorry that my career in the army bled over onto you that way, Gracie.”

She gives me a look that makes me look back at the water.

There are other kids at school who have parents in the military. We all get picked on by that girl. What she said to me isn’t your fault, daddy”

Daddy

A word I am still not used to being called.

I love it.

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“How about we talk to your mom about changing schools, if that is what you want, once we all go back home after vacation is over.” I glance over at

her to see het response.

Grace nods her head, then turns her attention back to the water and her fishing pole. Her timing was amazing because right as she looks at the water, her pole jerks downward. The huge grin on her face makes me smile as I help her reel in her first catch of the day.

“Score one for me, daddy.”

“Keeping tabs, aren’t we?”

All she does is nod her head, unhooks her fish, then tosses it in the cooler full of ice behind us, I can tell by those actions that this is not her first fishing trip like I had previously thought. Neither of my girls told me. Part of the is disappointed that this isn’t Grace’s first fishing trip, but then I remember that it is our first trip together as father and daughter.

“Mom used to keep score with great-grandpa. He taught me to fish just like he did with mom

Memories of Annora’s grandfather, Frank Winters, swam through my head as I continue to fish with Grace. I remember the talk he and I had fondly now, even if I didn’t back then. It was a conversation that I thought I would be having with her father instead, but I was wrong.

There I was, a buy thinking he was a man, sweating profusely as Frank beckoned me to join him in his workshop. Once inside, he motioned for me to s on a tattered stool, handed me a suda, then sat on the edge of his workbench, facing me.

Even though we both lived in the same lakeside town, I didn’t really know him and his family until that summer, Several times, I had seen on the lake or fishing from their boat dock. We never shared anything more than a passing neighbourly wave.

them

out

Until that afternoon.

I thought Frank was trying to war me to behave and treat his granddaughter with care. However, what he asked of me instead stunned me. He told me to treat her right, keep her safe, but most importantly, he wanted me to make sure she had adventures.

He wanted me to get her head out of her textbooks. To show her that there was more to life than tests. When he was done telling me what he expected, he gave me a stern look. Like he wanted to tell me to keep my hands to myself, just like I expected him to. Instead, he shook his head, then

sent me on my way.

I did what he asked me to do that summer, Well, in all honesty, I did quite a bit more than he asked me to, I fell head over heels in love with his granddaughter even though I knew that at the end of that summer we would separate.

Grace’s squeal of delight pulls me out of my memories. I glance over at her fishing pole to see her struggling to reel her catch in. With swift movements, I drop my pole, then grab hers. Together, we catch a large fish. Grace laughs as she calls out her two-to-zero score over me..

“Alright, Gracie, let’s break for lunch. Fishing is challenging on an empty stomach.”

“Can we go

o back to shore after lunch? There are some things at the fair that want to show you.”

The eager look on her face makes me nod my head. Today, anything she wants to do, I will make it happen. “Your wish is my command, my dear.”

Grace giggles as she helps me store our fishing gear, then the closes the lid of the cooler. I lift it up and carry it below deck, where lunch is waiting for us. Now it is time to see what Annie packed us for lunch.

“How about I read from The Hobbit while we eat, Grace?”

In reply to that question, Grace rushes to the table where I placed the picnic basket earlier. She opens it and places its contents on the table. We have container of what looks like pasta salad, another that holds two sandwiches, and finally two apples, I feel like I am back in school with this lunch.

“Mom sure knows how to pack a lunch,” Grace says with a laugh.

“It could be worse. She could have left us to eat the fish we caught,”

“I like fish”

“Have you ever cleaned a fish?”

“No. That is gross,” she says as she takes a bite of her sandwich.

1 grab our books, sit down on the bench beside her, then pick up the second sandwich. After peeling back the top layer, I can see that it is turkey. I put it back together, take a big bite, then open The Hobbit on our bookmarked page.

Time to journey with Sam and Frodo

Two hours later, we have returned the boat back to the marina. I put the cooler of fish in the trunk of my rental car and added more ice into it. This will keep them cold. Once the fish have been stored Grace and I head into the village to explore the fair grounds.

“What was mom like when you met her?” Grace asks as we are walking towards the village.

That question makes me look down at her as we walk. How do I describe a younger version of Annie to our daughter? “Let me think. Well, when I first met her, the dog I was dog sitting attacked her.”

Grace gasps in horror. She grabs my hand to stop me from walking further. “Was she hurt badly?”

I remember the sound of her streams, but they were not screams of pain. I laughed as I remembered that day vividly. That dog was my hero.

“No, Gracie, the w

wasn’t hurt badly. A small scrap on her palm and bruised backside from when she fell. It was the doggie kisses that she was

upset about than anything.”

“Ew. That is disgusting.”

“I must admit that it was gross. From what your mother told me later when I came to apologize, it took her brushing her teeth a few times to get the doggy breath out of her mouth.”

Grace makes a gagging noise, then we continue walking towards the fair, I can’t help laughing as I remember that day. The moment I saw her across the lake, I knew I had to meet her. I admit the dog was probably a terrible idea, but it worked, and the rest of the summer was a blast.

After grabbing some ice cream, Grace and I take a seat on a bench that faces out at the ocean. I have seen this view before but sharing it with my daughter makes it so much better. The wonder in her voice as she points out the colorful fishing boats.

“What made you fall in love with mom?”

Her question makes me pause with my ice cream cone halfway to my mouth. What made me fall in love with Annora? I don’t think Thave ever really thought of it. Now that I am, I am positive that it wasn’t just one thing at once, but many things over the course of the summer.

“There were many reasons that I fell in love with her. Her laugh was the first thing that got my attention, but that was just the beginning. I was fishing on the opposite side of the lake from your great grandparent’s house. Hearing your mother’s joyfull laugh made me look over the water.”

Mom told me that they visited there all the time, but that was the first summer she met you. Where were you before?”

How do I share some of my most painful years with my innocent little girl? it was difficult to share those memories with Annie, even though she made ime feel safe. I don’t know if I am ready to open up about my traumas with Grace.

“I lived with my grandmother in a different town for a long time. When she died, I came back. However, during the summers, I was either working or with my best friend. That summer was different, and I will be forever thankful for that.”

Grace is quiet for a few minutes as we both eat our ice cream as we watch the fishing boats. When she speaks up next, I am both warmed by what she says and terrified. “When I grow up, I want to find someone that loves me the way that you love momma.”

“I hope so too, Gracie. You deserve the world and someone one that will give it to you”

In my head, I am telling her that she won’t be dating at all until she is thirty, I am not looking forward to the day she comes home to tell us that she met someone she wants to date. I will never be ready for that day.

What father is ever ready for the day his little girl brings a boy home to meet him? This makes me want to seek advice from Alexander. That will be an awkward conversation to start with Annora’s father, but I think he will understand how I am feeling right now.

A few hours later, my backseat is loaded down with bags full of gifts. I have a few stuffed animals that I won for Grace, and a large basket of flowers that I couldn’t pass up. So, with Grace sleeping in the passenger seat, I make my way back to the villa as the sun starts to set.

She wore us both out as she pulled me from one stall to another to view their wares. I admit that I bought more than I should, but this is the first vacation 1 have had with my family, so I felt souvenirs were needed. Then, once we had shopped enough, I took Grace to see some of the dancers in the village square.

Overall, it was an amazing day. Just a father and daughter enjoying each other’s company. It was the first day in a long time that I was so relaxed. I like this feeling, but I know once we go home, the stress will flood back into our lives.

Luckily, one major storm has passed.

For that I think tomorrow needs to be a day out with just my fiancé. It is time Annie and I celebrated being free of the nightmare from my past. I want to show her that I am alright. She has been worried about me.

I need to show her that we will be just fine once we go back to our daily lives. We have a wedding to plan, two houses to build, and the rest of our lives to live together. The one we dreamt of all those years ago.