Winter Street: A Novel
Elin Hilderbrand
Language: English
Pages: 272
ISBN: 0316376108
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
"Open this diverting tale of family dysfunction and you'll find a holiday package filled with humor, romance and realism." --USA Today
Kelley Quinn is the owner of Nantucket's Winter Street Inn and the proud father of four grown children: Patrick, a hedge fund manager; Kevin, a bartender; Ava, a school teacher; and Bart, who has recently shocked everyone by joining the Marines. As Christmas approaches, Kelley looks forward to spending the holidays with his family at the inn. But when he walks in on his wife Mitzi kissing another man, utter chaos descends, and things only get more interesting when Kelley's ex-wife, news anchor Margaret Quinn, arrives on the scene.
Before the mulled cider is gone, the delightfully dysfunctional Quinn family will survive a love triangle, an unplanned pregnancy, a federal crime, and endless rounds of Christmas caroling in this heart-warming novel about coming home for the holidays.
Vale was a quality choice for a life partner. Norah had five older brothers, but only the eldest of the brothers and Norah shared a father; the four boys in between had been sired by two different men. Norah’s eldest brother, Danko Vale, was a tattoo artist. He had tattooed a fearsomely realistic python around Norah’s neck and shoulders. The head of the snake had been done in trompe l’oeil style, so that it looked like the python was striking from just below Norah’s clavicle. This tattoo had
baby, his baby, his and Isabelle’s baby. She cries into her open palms. Kevin understands what he has to do. He has to ask her to marry him. He should get down on one knee right here in the parking lot. It would change everything. Her tears would dry up immediately. But… Many thoughts collide in his mind. Propose! Ask Isabelle Beaulieu to be his wife! She is so beautiful, with her long blond hair, and she is so sweet and kind, hardworking and humble. In six months, his ardor for her has
door. Ava is pale, and her eyebrows are knitted into a V. Her red hair is tucked behind her ears, which is exactly how Margaret used to wear it. And her green eyes, clear as glass, are exactly the same as her mother’s. These eyes are flashing with annoyance now. “What,” Ava asks, “is that smell?” She pokes her head around the door and sees smoke billowing from the bathroom. “What are you doing, Daddy?” “Uh…,” he says. He ushers her into the bedroom. He’s afraid if smoke gets in the hallway, the
boyfriend. She doesn’t ever date—probably because she has no time. She spends every waking hour at the inn. Then, Ava gets an idea. The list of things they must accomplish by seven o’clock is long. Hurry hurry hurry. There’s the Christmas Eve party for 150 guests tonight, and Christmas dinner tomorrow. Ava calls to order a standing rib roast. Yes, they have one left, which they can reserve for her. She can come pick it up anytime. That’s good! But Patrick is mysteriously not coming home, Mitzi
advice or counsel, when Patrick has come to him crying in pain or shame. He was born knowing what to do—he slept through the night, he crawled early, he walked early, he started reading early, he was valedictorian of his class, he got in early decision at Colgate, then got into Harvard Business School, and, in a handful of years, was made head of private equity at Everlast Investments. He married the right girl, bought the right house, fathered three noisy, beautiful sons. He is just like