Life teaches us a lot of lessons, some good and others well
quite frankly not so good. Some scary stuff can come from a
tragic childhood. Loneliness is just the crux of the issue
when a young girl is left behind after the death of her
parents and left in the care of a grandmother missing the
facilities to take care of the girl. Facilities come in all
forms and Annie's childhood was bereft of most of anything.
Creature comforts were not even a thought but it was the
lack of love and warmth that helped fashion the woman Annie
became. She didn't know how to react with people and
relationships were just not an option. The townsfolk
thought her odd, strange perhaps even a little crazy.
Stories abounded about this young woman who lived alone in
a rustic cabin by the sea and lighthouse. She was a loner
with no friends, family and no apparent means of support.
Just how did she manage to survive all these years.
When you don't have a choice you learn how to do with
little, Annie had kind of mastered this art. Along with
basic survival skills she also honed some artistic prowess
that had her building quite a collection of artworks over
the years. She had figured out a barter system for things
like wood to heat her house. But she still thought of
herself as that strange girl who didn't have a real friend,
no didn't belong to anything or anyone, whose stuttering
had further distanced her from having relationships or
friendships with anyone around.
Her only friend was this young man who became her savior
when she found herself the object of bullying. A bunch of
pre-adolescent boys out to prove how tough they were chose
this shy girl as the target. Only the presence of Rourke
had prevented them from harassing her further. He became
her hero and she actually kept him in her dreams when life
got too hard or just too lonely.
Now Rourke is back in town to settle the estate of his
uncle Buddy and sell Buddy's house. Then he's back to the
city. But a chance encounter with Annie in town has Rourke
recalling her rather fondly, even if his time with her had
been so brief. There was just something about her that
captured his attention. So before heading out he decides to
stop by and just make sure all was well at her place. The
impending storm left him with a concern for this solitary
sole that nobody in town seemed to take note of.
Everyone needs someone, that's just the way life is. We
learn to do with what we have but the rewards of a loving,
caring relationship are just so wonderful to be cast aside
if and when the opportunity arises. Rourke's presence in
her life albeit for just a short while has Annie
contemplating things, changes she never would have
entertained. But his caring and tenderness has opened her
eyes to just how much of life she has been missing, or in
truth hiding from. Maybe it's time to take a leap of faith
and give people another chance. With Rourke by her side,
the chances could be so great and when he left her memories
if nothing else would provide her prior chilly existence
with much warmth.
Kind of a strange tale steeped in mystery and
misunderstanding but Kate Hoffman brought a great awareness
of how people just manage to make due. Surrounded by
misconceptions society puts labels on people and instead of
helping them these same people rather shut them out. These
labeled people live on the fringe but in actuality probably
would embrace a chance for a more inclusive life, but that
takes strength and courage. THE MIGHTY QUINNS: ROURKE is a
story about having the courage
to take a step into a world that had not been kind.
Her hero. Her savior. And her undoing. Rourke Quinn found
her on the storm-tossed shores of Cape Breton. The woman in
his arms was unconscious and bleeding. And Rourke knew her.
Annie MacIntosh was the town outcast—a wild thing. And as
untamed and beautiful as the Atlantic itself. This storm was
just the thing to keep Rourke as close to her as he dared .
Annie grew up fiercely independent. She was a survivor,
needing no one and nothing. She cut herself off from the
town and society, relying only on her raw need for survival.
But Rourke unleashes a hunger she never knew existed. This
man—this stranger—satiates an appetite she hardly dared
imagine. It's more exciting and more turbulent than that
storm that rages outside. And Rourke has only one chance
with the wild girl he can't live without before losing her to
a world he can never be part of