Loving Quinn Novel by North Rose

(Quinn)

When I wake the next morning, Annora is still beside me with her leg thrown over my waist, and her hand over my heart. The comforter is down around her hips giving me a tantalizing view of her amazing breasts. As I reach my hand up to stroke her cheek, I hear a sound out

in the hallway.

Quickly I pull the blanket up to cover her, grab my pajamas pants off the floor, then slip them on before I walk to the door. Grace is lifting her hand to knock on the door as I open it. She smiles up at me, then shows me the time on her watch.

F**k. We are running very late today. I have about thirty minutes to get her to school.

“Give me five minutes and I will meet you in the foyer.”

She nods her head, then races down the hallway. I close the door, then quietly walk to my closet to get dressed. When I come back out, Annie is sitting up with the comforter clutched to her breasts.

“We overslept, didn’t we?”

“Yes, my love. I will take Grace to school, then head to the office from there. I have a meeting with Aaron and Evan McAllister this

morning.”

“The brother.”

“Yes. I will explain everything later, I promise.”

She blows me a kiss as I open the bedroom door. With a shake of my head, knowing that I am going to have to speed to get Grace to school on time, I rush out of the bedroom. When I reach the foyer, Grace opens the door, tosses me my keys, then rushes into the hallway.

I catch my keys, have a split second to admire her throwing arm, then rush out behind her. The life of a parent is never dull, and I am loving every minute of having her with me this week. I will miss this when Annora and Grace move back to their house when the work is

finished in the bathroom.

After everything that I learned yesterday, and despite assurances from Annora that she is sticking to me like glue, I am still scared that I will lose it all in the end. Having them both with me or not won’t change things if the outcome of the DNA test proves what Dionne

claims.

“I am so sorry, Grace, but it looks like we are going to be late.”

Traffic has proven to be a pain this morning, so I slow down and embrace the knowledge that I will have to walk her into school to sign her in. That means I have to talk to the attendant at the front desk. Margaret just call me Maddie’ Morgan. A bleached blonde with

breasts inappropriately on display in elementary school.

I met her when I had to meet with the school principal to show him my identification to prove who I was to Grace. It shocked me I was already on file as her father at the school. Mrs. Morgan flirted with me shamelessly while I waited for the principal to call me to his office. Then when I left, she tried to slip me a piece of paper.

There was no way I was going to take her up on the offer she was trying to give me. This woman works at the school my daughter attends. There is no way I would show that level of disrespect to my child.

For another thing, miss bleach blonde was wearing a wedding ring, and refused to sleep with married women. It was always my one rule. I refused to be the one-night stand to a woman who was already someone’s wife. I hate cheaters.

“Grace, do you have everything you need for lunch?” I ask her as we put into an empty parking spot in front of the school.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“We were running late, so I didn’t grab anything.”

I pull my wallet out of my pocket and pull out a ten-dollar bill, then hand it to her. “Will that be enough?”

She nods her head, then takes it from me. After shoving it in her pocket, she walks with me into the front of the school. We head straight to the front office to sign her in. To my relief, Mrs. Morgan isn’t the attendant at the desk.

After signing her in, I give her a hug, the head straight to the office. The drive was brutal, but it gave me time to think of things to say to Evan McAllister. Is the reason he wants to talk to me about what I found out yesterday? If so, then why now?

What made him decide to come speak to me now? Is he seeking me out because of the lawsuit that Dionne filed? Was he trying to give me a heads up about it yesterday? There are just so many d**n questions I need answers to.

When I walk out of the elevator thirty minutes later, I can see Aaron standing next to Evan McAllister in the conference room. They are laughing about something which makes me like the man despite the situation that brought him to my office.

Because I rushed out of the house this morning, I left my briefcase in my office at home. I will have to detour back home later to pick it up before I head to my lawyer’s office to talk about the lawsuit Dionne filed against me.

For now, I take a deep breath, then walk into the conference room. Aaron gives me a nod of greeting when he notices me. Evan clears his throat, then walks to me, holding his hand out for me to shake. I shake his hand firmly, then motion with my free hand toward the table.

Once we are all seated, I study Evan for a moment before I speak. “What can we do for you, Mr. McAllister?”

“It is more about what I can do for you both. My brother is… blinded by his anger and jealousy. He has taken things too far with his quest to win against you.”

I watch his face as he speaks. From the look in his eyes, I can tell he has genuine remorse for what his brother has done. Now to get him to tell us what those things are, to confirm my suspicions.

“What exactly has he done other than keep us tied up in that bidding war for the property we were both interested in?” Aaron asks.

From the way he has one brow lifted, I can tell Evan now has Aaron’s full attention. I haven’t had the chance to tell him about what my lawyer informed of or what I learned from Annora last night. My little emotion breakdown took a lot out of me.

Thankfully, I had Annora’s words, soft hands, and the comfort of her love to soothe my soul like a warm summer day.

“It shames me to admit what he has done to you two. He took things too far when he hired people on your construction crews to sabotage the sites. He went behind my back with the sabotage. When I found out about it, I told him that if he didn’t put an end to it, I would pull out of the company.”

“Did he?”

Evan gives me a wry smile. “Only after you two hired security teams for all your constructions sites.”

I lean back in my chair before I ask him the question that I already know the answer to. Again, I need to hear him confirm it all. Aaron needs to hear everything as my witness.

“Why does your brother hate us? What is he so jealous of?”

This time, Evan breaks eye contact with me and hangs his head low. His shoulders slump as he wearily shakes his head. It is like he is in disbelief at his brother’s actions. When he lifts his head to meet my gaze, his eyes are now full of anger.

Anger that I know isn’t aimed at me or Aaron.

“Three years ago, my brother met a woman. This woman was his therapist.”

Well, that confirms my theory that she met someone while we were together. It also proves that crossing the line between therapist and patient is a common thing for her. It makes me wonder if there were others before me. She claimed I was the first she ever crossed that line with. Now I have my doubts because I know I wasn’t the last.

“He bonded with her in a way that I felt was inappropriate. Ethan claimed he loved her, but I told him it was infatuation, not love. Later, after he learned she was engaged to someone else, he went crazy.”

I can see from the look on my best friend’s face that Aaron has figured out who the woman is. All I do is nod at him to let him know that I, too, am aware of who she is. Then I wait for Evan to continue his story.

“She told my brother that the only reason she was going to marry this guy was because she was pregnant. She claimed she feared leaving him. He was a soldier and slightly unstable m**y from his experience in his career.”

That lie makes me laugh. I was never a danger to myself or others. I never once raised a hand to her or yelled at her in anger. It is not in my nature to treat a woman like that.

“So, she spun a web of lies to convince him she loved him? Is that why she aborted my child? So she could pull your brother closer to

her?”

Evan looks at me in surprise. “You already know?”

“I had suspicions, but nothing concrete to go on. It wasn’t until last night that the last piece of the puzzle fell into place.”

“How did you find out? Wait, she didn’t abort your child. That is the baby she has now.”

“No, it isn’t. She had an abortion and the clinic she had it at called to confirm her follow-up appointment two weeks later. I spoke to the nurse personally. Confirmed the date of the abortion.”

Even frowns. “She claims the child she has now is yours. That is why my brother is angry and jealous of you. It is why he is coming after

your company.”

“I am aware of the lawsuit she filed against me. Dionne is claiming that I abandoned her and our child. Which I didn’t because she killed the only child I knew about before it ever had a chance. It was an inconvenience to her and now I know why. She was playing me and your

brother.”

Evan’s expression turns even angrier. He balls his hands into fists. He takes a few deep breaths to calm down before he speaks again. “Is there any chance at all that you are the father of her son?”

“Yes. My girlfriend confirmed that there is a slim chance. She was the one who put the last puzzle piece in place for me. Annora worked with Dionna at Mercy General briefly and actually saw your brother once. It was before Dionne left the hospital to get married.”

“Wait, so Dionne is married to Ethan McAllister?” Aaron says.

“She is,” Evan confirms.

“Were they sleeping together before she and I split up?”

“They were. I caught them together in her office when I went to pick him up after a session one afternoon. So, her son, could be my brother’s or yours?”

“That is why I am demanding a DNA test through the court. Now that I know it could be someone else’s, that is my first order of business before I allow this lawsuit to go any further.”

Evan looks at me and Aaron, then shakes his head. His eyes are sad now after he has leaned just how much his brother has been played by this woman. When he speaks again, his voice goes hard with anger.

1

“That woman is a menace. Ethan we ballistic when she was arrested yesterday for stalking and violating your restraining order. He didn’t know she was calling you, sending you things, or that she showed up at your home.”

“She came to my home to try to get back into my bed.”

“What the actual f**k? After knowing her history, that she was with you and my brother during the same time period, that shouldn’t surprise me, but it does.”

I give him a brief rundown of everything she has done since I first saw her that day in the therapy room at Mercy General. When I tell him about the note and the key for the meeting yesterday, Evan’s eyes flash with something close to hatred.

“That house is the one my brother just bought for her. He wanted a bigger house so they could have children. Ethan desperately wants a

child of his own with her.”

That reminds me of the fact that I may have a son. “What is the boy’s name? Her son.”

“Logan.”

“How does your brother treat Logan?”

“Ethan ignores Logan. He pretends to that the boy doesn’t exist. I think it is his way of coping with the fact that Logan isn’t his. Because that is what Dionne has told him and has let him believe for the last two years.”

My heart throbs with pity for Ethan and Logan. Despite all that Ethan has done, he is a victim, too. Dionne has lied, manipulated, and strong him along for three years. Logan is an innocent child who is being used as a pawn in Dionne’s game. What kind of woman kills one baby then uses another to pit to men against each other?

1

“What do you plan to do while she is in jail? She is going before a judge this afternoon for a bail hearing. I intend to be there with my lawyer to express my concerns.”

“I tried to talk to Ethan last night, but he is determined to post her bail. He believes everything she told him and thinks you are just trying to pay her back for breaking up with you two years ago.”

I look at Aaron for a moment after he laughs at that twist on the truth. “I broke up with her after I confronted her about the abortion. When she told me why she did it, there was no way I was going to marry her. Our child was a gift, but to her it was an inconvenience. Now I know why.”

After Evan agrees to talk some sense into his brother, he leaves with the promise to speak to the judge on my behalf. Even though he feels conflicted about helping his brother, he knows Dionne is trouble. If she goes to jail, Ethan may have a chance to get clarity.

If it turns out that Logan is mine, I will do everything in my power to take him away from her. I don’t like the idea of taking him away from his mother, but she has hurt too many people already with her lies and manipulations.

It will all come down to DNA. One woman, two men, and a baby that binds them together. My life is now a soap opera. Fantastic.

Tune in tomorrow…

-No way will this be my life for long.