Enjoy a peek into the story:
“I doubt you could ever be a disappointment to him.”
Hannah’s smile faltered and she lowered her gaze to their clasped hands. She wasn’t as sure about that. She was disappointed in herself for not realizing how mismatched she and Carter had been. Disappointed that she’d never had the courage to break up with him before he died, freeing them both up for a better life. Would Carter have felt the need to go to OCS a second time if she’d ended their relationship sooner? Would her father be disappointed to learn that she wasn’t as saddened by her fiancé’s death as others thought she should be?
Hannah suddenly felt stifled on the window bench and got up. She pushed away thoughts of Carter as she pulled out the desk chair and sat down. “I’m so sorry for Kailee’s behavior. She and I have always had a strained relationship, but it just seems to have gotten worse over the last year.”
“She seems to be going through a lot,” Quinn said.
“I’ve always tried to be there for her and look after her. There’s such a huge age gap, so it’s been difficult to connect on anything. We’re just two very different people. I avoided anything sport related, and she’s a cheerleader. Her extracurricular activities include shopping and cruising around town. She’s more outgoing, carefree, seize the day, and I’m . . .not.” The corner of her mouth turned up. “You and Rachel seem to get along pretty well. Sometimes I’m jealous of the way you two get along, and I wish Kailee and I had the same kind of relationship.”
Quinn looked around the room. “Rachel and I don’t always see eye to eye on things, and we’ve had our fair share of fights and arguments.”
She laughed. “So I’ve heard.”
“But she’s still my sister, and I appreciate and love her. Has Kailee always been so disrespectful to you?”
“Not always.” Hannah swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. Kailee’s attitude and actions had been awful since she started high school. What little friendship they’d formed had all but disappeared when Carter entered the picture. She was sweet and friendly when he was around, but when he wasn’t, Hannah sometimes saw his arrogance and condescension in her sister’s behavior. Hannah simply let it roll off her back.
“She idolized Carter,” Hannah said. She rarely talked about him and felt a tug in her chest. “He was so charismatic, and Kailee was drawn to him almost immediately. She wants people to see her and talk about her the way they still talk about him. His death really hit her hard, and I’m pretty sure she’s not quite over it yet.”
Hannah could still see her fifteen-year-old sister, dressed in all black, standing next to the empty grave as tears streamed down her face. Hannah hadn’t cried on the day of the funeral—the tears came later—and she often wondered if it might have hit her as hard as it did Kailee if they had put more than an empty box in that grave.
“And our mother’s cancer diagnosis is affecting her as well.”
“It’s affecting you too.” He rose to his feet and strolled toward her.
“True.” She stood to meet him. “But I get to go home. She’s here every day and sees Mom’s bad days more than I do. Some of her behavior is grief and stress, and I can’t fault her for that.”
“We all have things going on in our lives, Hannah. That doesn’t give us an excuse to behave badly.” His gentle tone softened the harshness of his words.
“She’s still a teenager.” Hannah sighed. “Right now, this is just who she is.”
“And defending her is just who you are,” he murmured, dragging his fingers along the edge of the desk. “Who you’ve always been.”
“Wouldn’t you do the same for Rachel?”
“Depends on the day,” he said with a wink. “I can almost see you sitting at this desk studying for the Quiz Bowl.”
“Yes, I definitely did that.”
He reached for her hand, and she slipped her fingers into his.
She held his stare, and the silence between them became uncomfortable. “You know, you’re the first friend I’ve had in this room.”
“Really? You never brought Carter up here?”
“Nope.” She tugged him closer. “The only other people who have been up here are my mom and dad, and Kailee when she’s been sent up here to get me.”
He smiled. “Only family, huh?” The twinkle in his eye turned mischievous. “So then.” He closed the rest of the distance between them. “There are things you haven’t done in this room?”
“Maybe a few.” She touched his chest.
Quinn’s eyes closed and his breathing became heavy.
Hannah slid her hand up and over his shoulder. He looked so content, so calm, so enthralled by her touch. As her hand came to rest on the nape of his neck, his eyelids slowly opened. Their usual sapphire color had darkened to the rich navy of a starless night sky. Without a word, his lips lowered to hers as he let go of her hand and his arms wound around her back. As their lips met, he pulled her body closer, and she melted in his arms.
Overcome the past in Rocky Creek with Hannah and Quinn
What readers are saying:
-GREAT book. Absolutely terrific! I recommend it to everyone Who wants a good love story, keep handkerchief close while you read, you'll need it. -Lucrezia D.
-I recommend reading this book if you are a love story fan. If this was a movie I would be the first to watch it. I have never read or watched a book/movie with this kind of story line so I sped read through it just so I could know what would happen next. It was definitely such a good book...Author Kathryn Ascher really did an outstanding job at describing every scene and character as the words played like a movie in my head. -Maria M.
-I loved the storyline and how the MCs,' their problems and their world was presented. And I loved how the story takes it's time to build and develop making you feel feel all the feelings right along with these two!! -Meghna S.