Sea Swept

Set on Maryland's eastern shore, SEA SWEPT is a story of both the transforming power of commitment and all-conquering love in all its forms. When the novel opens, Cameron Quinn is about to pop the cork on a bottle of expensive champagne with beautiful and vapid supermodel Martine in the south of France. Cam is a world-class sailor who wins regattas around the globe. But when he and Martine retire to his suite for some shallow passion, there's a message waiting for him. Cam's father, Ray "the Mighty" Quinn, is in the hospital. Cam's brothers Phillip and Ethan want him to come home immediately. Abandoning the high life, Cam takes off for the simpler terrain of Maryland. His father lies dying in the hospital, the victim of a car wreck that might have been caused by reckless driving or might have been a suicide attempt. Regardless of the cause, there's a further wrinkle in Cam and his brothers' lives in the form of young Seth DeLauter.

Apparently, Ray Quinn had taken Seth in because the boy had been in a bad situation with his mother. This makes sense to the brothers Quinn, since each of them had been plucked from terrible circumstance by Ray and his late wife, Stella.

Cam's childhood had been a canvas of terror at the hands of an abusive father, and Cam had taken to the road and to stealing to protect himself. Ray and Stella took him in and gave him shelter, love, and security. Although the scars occasionally show, Cam isforeverindebted to the memory of his adoptive mother, and to his now-dying adoptive father, for having literally saved his life. Each brother has a different but ultimately similar experience with the Quinns. So it seems to them that young Seth is in the same boat.

When their father dies, Cam and his brothers learn something further about Seth's background, mainly through rumor and innuendo. There's a hint of scandal to their father's past. He had been a college professor, and a female student had accused him of having taken advantage of her several years' earlier. Seth may, in fact, be the result of this brief and unhappy union. Cam discovers that Seth's mother, a prostitute in the city, had been blackmailing Ray Quinn as he attempted to adopt the boy who might be his son. The night of Ray's car crash, he was returning from a trip to see Seth's mother. He had apparently paid an enormous sum of money to buy his son back from the woman.

Although this incident tarnishes the memory of their father, the brothers Quinn are determined to maintain a home for Seth. They see too much of themselves in him. But this is just the beginning of their story together as they return to their family homestead — for each has a life beyond their family and must give it up and adapt to the new circumstance of raising a child together.

Enter social worker Anna Spinelli, an attractive, smart young woman who only wants what is best for Seth, and who feels that the household the three brothers put together may not be the best situation for him. Although the sparks fly between her and Cam, she knows her job. Seth may have to be turned over to a foster home.

As Cam and his brothers learn to put Seth first, they discover love, family, and yes, even romance. SEA SWEPT is primarily Cam's novel, though — the story of his journey to discover the strength and vision that had lain dormant within him for too long.