Shamrock Hill - Softcover

Rice, Edwin G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1440164169 ISBN 13: 9781440164163

Verlag: iUniverse, 2009

Inhaltsangabe

Tucker Stapleton emerged from a youth of trial and conflict as a fiercely determined young man endowed with special talents. These talents were clearly recognized by his early teens; they included extraordinary athletic prowess, high-level intelligence, and exceptional charm. After college, he realized a great deal of success in professional football, and with that success, he became famous. He was the recipient of professional football's honors and accolades. When he was struck down by a career-ending injury, businesses sought his polished charm and name recognition. In his capacity as a Vice President in charge of Community Relations at a large and prestigious company, Tucker Stapleton would begin the second dynamic period of his life. He was not yet thirty years old, but he was wealthy, and to most who met him, he was handsome and completely irresistible. His arrival at Shamrock Hill marked his deepening involvement with the closely bonded families who lived there. The devastating impact and tragic suffering that his hedonistic and exploitative actions brought to those families served to put his life on a collision course with a life-crisis that culminates in a violent confrontation.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Edwin G. Rice, M.D. is a recently retired physician with forty years in the practice of medicine both in the military and as a civilian. His work enabled him to understand the basic principles of human interaction. He lives in the Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota area. He is also a classical pianist.

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Shamrock Hill

By Edwin G. Rice

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2009 Edwin G. Rice
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4401-6416-3

Chapter One

He was the second child having only a sister who was two years older than he. She was a quiet and unhappy girl, but devoted to her younger brother. His mother, also quiet, was overshadowed in the up-bringing of the children by Tucker's father who was angry, domineering and frequently subject to near demonic rages. The overall home environment worsened with the mother's death from cancer at the time Tucker was entering middle school. Shortly after her death, the father's episodes of explosive fury began taking the form of physical abuse of Tucker, and on one occasion he struck Tucker's sister as well when she attempted to intercede for her brother. To the maturing young man two things happened at that time: the first was his conviction that the mother too had been abused; the second was that the time would come when he would, "Settle the score," with his father.

His counsel to Tucker, infrequently given as it was, always embraced the same pattern of hate filled vitriolic pontificating about his own reactionary political and religious views, invariably infused with a heavy ring of paranoia. "Go for what you want and take it or some free-loader or foreigner will take it from you or screw you out of it. You've got to look out for yourself; nobody else will do it." To these diatribes and outbursts Tucker paid no heed; never then or later did Tucker for a moment concern himself with the hot and divisive issues of religion or politics in the public psyche.

From this youth and this early environment was developing a young man, ambitious, unprincipled and committed to the hedonistic pursuit of having what he wanted regardless of however ruthless and unworthy would be the means or method he would choose to use. These ends would include money, recognition and before long, women.

By the age of 15 as sophomores in high school most of the young men, Tucker's contemporaries, were far from fully mature, having only partial muscle development, continuing rapid growth and faces raging with acne. Not Tucker. Even at this young age he was making rapid strides toward male physical perfection. His waving blond hair was complemented by flashing blue eyes, a six feet three inch lean muscular frame and a brilliant smile. Confidence and charm came easily to him as the other young men struggled with the trials and hurdles of adolescence.

His athletic skills at 15 were already the talk of the south river community where he lived. Letters came to him in three sports; track where he threw the javelin, baseball as a pitcher and football. It was football where his prowess was most dramatic. As a sophomore he became the starting quarterback, a position he held until he finished high school. Close friendships, any time spent just hanging out with the guys, were not his style. He was a very good student, and when not playing the game of the season, he was with his current girlfriend. At no time did Tucker need to seek out the young women; they came to him. It was clear that he could have any girl that he wanted, but he found the greatest thrill came from taking a girl who was known to be the steady of someone else.

His last two years of high school continued the pattern of extravagant successes on the athletic field, academics in the classroom and his clear irresistibility to the young women. His senior year was marked by additional significant events that further shaped his actions, character and plans.

College recruiters were combing the high school fields for football talent; despite that Tucker was by-passed by all of the large school men, being approached only by those from the smaller schools. The going word was that the competition was not that great in his school's league. Angered and determined, he vowed he'd show them; never for a moment did he doubt that he could.

Midway in his senior year he had an experience that he felt was a lesson learned and to be applied unfailingly to his actions in the future. When the situation blew over, Tucker resolved that it would not happen again. He had become very studious in his Spanish class and very friendly with the very pretty and married teacher. Often after class, he would pause at her desk and review some point of grammar. Tragically although he was only 17, six years her junior, she was attracted to and excited by him. Twice he stopped by her home for extra material and some personal tutoring. When her pregnancy became evident there was an eruption of gossip. No one dared in Tucker's presence to breathe such words, but he knew of the talk. From this 'close call' came his resolve that from that time forth protection, as he termed it, would always be used; for him it had become a personal rule not to be broken again. He also developed wariness and a sense for possible trouble; heading his list of trouble-warnings was the love word. Added to his resolutions was an oft-repeated motto, "She uses the L word she's history." A foot note to his self-protective resolutions was, "Be real careful of mixing booze and women; accidents can happen." Nevertheless his 'bottom line' discovery after being with his first married woman was that it was the best, equaled by nothing. His course was set. They would from that time forth be married or at least engaged or the equivalent, no exceptions.

In the spring of his senior year, angry about being scorned by the big time schools Tucker committed to a smaller college in the southern part of the state. This school had unquestioned academic credentials and a long standing but modest football program. Correctly he surmised that it would have it supply of lovely young women.

Tucker's birthday, his 18th, was in March. Thus that following fall at the age of 18 and one half he began his college days and his ascent to the pinnacle of success in all things that interested him.

It was in his junior year of college at an all campus homecoming gathering that Tucker Stapleton met three people who would later figure in a critical time in his life. Paul McDonald was a classroom acquaintance of Tucker's who introduced him to his lively and pretty sister Elizabeth and the other couple with them who were Tom Douglas and a breathtaking brunette, Alicia Hamilton. As they stood visiting another couple approached to whom he was also introduced. It was Robert Douglas and his quiet but stunning companion Moira Cavanaugh. After visiting briefly, Tucker thanked them for the pleasure of meeting them and left to mingle again with the homecoming throng scarcely able to believe what had happened. He had just met the three most desirable women he had ever seen.

Chapter Two

The Women

Moira

Moira Cavanaugh was the older of the two daughters of John and Carolyn Cavanaugh. Throughout her youth in St. Paul her life flowed at a busy and fulfilling pace. She was academically brilliant, clearly gifted with the violin, intellectually astute and charming with a soft laugh that enriched her captivating sense of humor. The Cavanaugh family was closely knit, loving and enjoyed their time together. Moira was devoted to her mother and similarly adored and admired her father who loved her fiercely in return. Her father was gentle, kind, a shrewd judge of people and quick to anger over evident injustice. Being intellectually sophisticated as was Moira, father and daughter would stay up late analyzing the news or the meaning of a literary passage that they had both read. Eileen, Moira's sister, despite being...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: iUniverse
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2009
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1440164169
• ISBN 13: 9781440164163
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 380
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: preigu GmbH & Co. KG; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; Niedersachsen; 49078; Deutschland