Summer Girl: A Novel

by Linda Watkins

Genres: Coming of Age; Literary Fiction; Women's Fiction; Contemporary Romance; Second Chance Romance; coming of age; contemporary romance; love story; Second Chance Romance

Synopsis

Winner of the 2018 FIRST PLACE AWARD in Chanticleer International Book Awards' SOMERSET AWARDS!

From award-winning USA Today Bestselling Author, Linda Watkins, comes a story of love, loss, survival, and, most of all, hope.

>>>Does First Love, True Love, Ever Really Die?

Andi Martin asks herself that question as she sits on the porch of the Sloane Cottage, her mind flooded with memories of the summer of '65 and a boy, once loved, but never forgotten.

Jake Chambers is also on a collision course with the past as he returns to Cutter Island for the first time in more than a decade. And, as the ferry approaches the wharf, he finds his mind filled with thoughts of a summer long forgotten and a girl destined to haunt him forever.

>>>"A heartfelt story of a boy and a girl....it captivated my heart from beginning to end." ~Patricia Bell for READERS FAVORITE

Scroll Up and Grab Your Copy Today!

Release date: September 7, 2018

Publisher: Gatekeeper Press

Print pages: 256

Content advisory: graphic description of the sexual abuse of a child may trigger some people.

Sample

CUTTER ISLAND, MAINE: JULY 1985

WE STOOD OUTSIDE on the bow of the ferry on our way to Cutter Island. My older boy, Jake, Jr., watched the water intently hoping to catch sight of a whale or, at the very least, a school of fish. My younger son stood leaning against my leg, eyes heavy, desperately in need of a nap.
“There it is, Jake,” I said, pointing to the island as it came into view. “That’s where I was born. See that stone wharf? That’s where the ferry will tie up.”
My boy looked up and smiled. At ten years of age, this was an adventure for himspending the summer on an island off the coast of southern Maine. For me, it was bittersweet. The last time I'd set foot on Cutter had been twelve years earlier, for my father’s funeral.
My wife, standing behind me, reached over and took my hand. 
“Are you okay?” she asked. “I know this is hard for you.”
I looked over my shoulder and grinned. “Don’t worry. I'm good. It actually feels right to be back.”
She squeezed my hand in response, smiling as I once again turned to gaze at the shoreline of the island which we were rapidly approaching.
“Now remember, Jake,” I said to my boy, “once we get on the island, you be respectful. Don’t walk down the middle of the road and, for goodness sake, never cut across the golf course. Remember there are people there like your uncle to whom this island is home.”
“Enough, already!” chided my wife. “You've gone over this before. The boys understand. We're not to act like summer people. Give it a rest, will you?”
I smiled at her, then down at my boy. “Okay, I'll shut up.”
The ferry pulled up to the wharf and I pointed out to the boys the deckhand who swiftly hopped to shore and began to tie the vessel securely to the dock. As I watched, I noticed a lone lobster boat tied up at the far end. A young boy was helping an older man load traps aboard. The kid was skinny with ears too big for his head and I guessed he was probably around fifteen or sixteen. The man he was helping was most likely his dad or some other close relation.
The boy leaned over to hoist up a trap, but hesitated for a moment, staring at the ferry as it slid into the wharf. His eyes were wide and full of longing. 
Watching, I was surprised by a profound sense of déjà vuthe memory of a time many years before when I was the boy who stood where he stood, staring at the ferry, with the same look of eager anticipation on my face. It was a memory I thought I'd erased years before. But now, seeing that boy on the dock, it all came rushing back in vivid detaila stark reminder of a summer long past and the girl I’d feared was destined to haunt me forever.