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.