Finding Home: Love on Charlotte Island Series, #2

By Jason Patrick

A Love so Strong It Won't Let Go!

 

After a bitter divorce Megan Sterling and her son Benji are starting a new life on Charlotte Island. Megan hopes that a new job, new school, and the slower pace of life on the island will be exactly what she and her son need to heal and move on.

 

Josh Ryan had moved to Charlotte Island five years earlier as a new recruit to the island's police department. He fell in love and planned to marry before his fiancée abruptly left him and broke his heart a year earlier. Josh's pain and sorrow has raised a struggle with past demons that now threaten to overtake him.

 

When former high school sweethearts Megan and Josh meet at a local coffee shop it ignites an old flame. Can they find love again as adults? Does Josh have the strength to overcome his struggles? And will Megan's ex-husband destroy everything by reminding she and Benji of all they thought they had escaped?

 

Finding Home is full of emotion, struggle, humor, and a love so strong that triumph is possible against seemingly impossible odds.

 

Reader Praise for Finding Home:

"A great second-chance romance." | "Jason Patrick has written a book that will touch your heart." | "A romance that you feel good about."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wheelhouse Publishers
• Release date: Apr 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393209782

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Charlotte Island ferry crossed Buzzard's Bay in the waning days of summer, packed mostly with vacationers and day-tripping tourists heading to the island on Labor Day weekend. Megan Sterling and her ten year-old son, Benji, looked over the side of the ferry at a team of dolphins swimming alongside in the large boat's wake. The wind was brisk but still warm, the Autumn chill still a month or so away.

Megan was six months removed from her divorce and a move to Charlotte Island represented a fresh start. She had agonized over the decision for months, but there would be no turning back now. Megan took in a deep breath of ocean air and exhaled.

Are you excited about starting school next week? Megan asked Benji.

I guess.

You don't sound very convincing. Megan was trying her best to be upbeat. You've always liked school.

That was back home. I don't know this school. I don't have any friends.

This will be home. Just give it a little time, you'll see. You'll get to know the school and make friends in no time. Megan drew Benji close and wrapped her arms around him. Who could possibly resist being friends with you?

Momm, Benji pleaded.

What? Too big for hugs?

Benji shrugged.

Okay. I get it. No hugs in public. Megan loosened her arms from around Benji and draped them over the railing. Her windbreaker flapped in the ocean breeze. She brushed her long chestnut hair from her face. Megan was pretty with a girl-next-door quality to her. She stood five feet and four inches with a slender body. She fixed her hazel eyes on one of the dolphins.

I just love dolphins, she announced to her son.

Me, too. I learned in science that dolphins are mammals, not fish.

Maybe you'll be a marine biologist when you grow up.

Or play second base for the Red Sox.

Yes, or that.

They stood in silence, watching the dolphins. The ferry's engines rumbled, seagulls called out, the voices of other passengers, mixed with laughter, surrounded them.

Megan turned toward her son. He was getting so tall, she thought. He looked more like his father with each passing day. Handsome, with sandy blond hair and brown eyes. Slender, but athletic. Those were the only things her son had in common with his dad. Thank goodness, Megan breathed with a sigh of relief.

Benji was a great kid. A kind, caring, and gentle person. Everything her ex-husband was not. The only good thing about having been married to her ex was Benji. He made it all worth it. Not that Megan deserved the treatment she received from the man she had married and divorced. No one deserved to be treated like that. But it would all be different now.

The night Robert Sterling came home drunker and angrier than Megan could ever remember was the night she and Benji left. Robert came after Megan but, in his drunken state, stumbled and fell. Robert's shouting had woken Benji, who stood in the hallway witnessing the scene. Megan took her young son by the hand and immediately left.

Benji sat in the backseat of the car as he peered out the rear window with a flashlight, making sure his father was not following them. Robert was too drunk to even find his car keys, which she had tossed in the front bushes on the way to her own car.

Megan still shuddered at the thought of that night several months earlier. She and Benji were both strong, however. Megan called an attorney at the law firm she worked at as a paralegal and filed for divorce the next day. Now Megan and Benji were heading to their new life on Charlotte Island.

Benji's voice broke through Megan's thoughts, almost as if he could read her mind. You're sure he won't come after us? Benji asked his mother as he gazed out over the waters where the Atlantic Ocean became Charlotte Bay.

I don't think so, sweetie. Megan tried to sound as convincing as she could muster. Charlotte Island is far enough away.

Benji gave a half-hearted nod of his head, not fully convinced. For ten, Benji was wise beyond his years. He'd seen so much fighting between his parents, more than any kid should. He understood all about divorce. Half his friends' parents were also divorced. But the break between his parents had been especially bitter.

How about we go for ice cream after the movers finish unloading our stuff? Megan suggested.

Can I get two scoops?

Absolutely.

Deal. Benji smiled. It was the first time he had smiled in weeks. In fact, it was the first time he seemed relaxed since they left their old house the night before.

A family of three strolled past Megan and Benji. A mom, dad, and son. They were laughing and happy. Megan tried not to stare. It was everything she wanted in life. To have a decent man to love her. A man who would love Benji and be the type of father he deserved. To be a family and be happy.

A tear trickled down Megan's cheek and she wiped it away before Benji could see. Too late.

Mom, are you crying?

Must be the wind and salt air.

Please don't be sad. I bet Charlotte Island has lots of guys you can date. Benji gave an impish grin.

Perhaps. Nonetheless, I think it is too soon for me to think about dating anyone.

Can't hurt to keep an open mind.

Are you ten or thirty?

Benji laughed. Ten. But almost eleven, don't forget.

How could I forget that your birthday is coming up? Have you thought about what you want?

Benji scrunched his nose and forehead as he thought. I don't need anything. He knew his mom had found a well-paying job as a paralegal at a law office on the island, but also understood how expensive it would be to live there.

I didn't ask if you needed anything. Birthdays are about what you want. A gift. Something fun.

I guess I wouldn't mind having the Guardians of the Galaxy on DVD.

Not the Blue Ray? asked Megan.

We don't need to spend the extra money.

Megan had to smile at her son. So thoughtful. He never asked for anything. I think we can swing it. Anything else you want?

I don't know. I'll think about it.

You do that. Be sure to let me know in plenty of time. If I need to order anything online, it may take a little longer to get to the island.

Okay. Benji waited a few beats. You know what I really want?

What's that?

It's not realistic to ask for my birthday. So, I guess, it's more of a wish for what will happen more than a birthday gift you can buy.

Birthdays are for wishing, too, Megan encouraged.

I want you to be happy.

Megan couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. Too many to wipe quickly away.

Salt air and the breeze again?

No. Benji, I am happy. I have you—the greatest gift in the world. My pride and joy. The best thing I have ever done in my life was to have you.

I want you to be happy like that family is happy. Benji said as he titled his head toward the family at the end of the deck. The same family that had walked past them earlier.

Megan glanced over her shoulder, but she knew which family Benji meant. Perhaps someday, sweetie. She ran her hand across Benji's cheek.

You're too pretty, and smart, and kind, not to have a husband who is nice to you.

Benji . . . you are so sweet. But I've got the best guy in the whole world.

Don't say me, Mom.

Alright, I won't say it. Megan leaned into Benji and bumped her hip against him. It's true, though.

I won't be at home forever. Someday I'll go off to college, then I'll be married, and have kids of my own. But I won't be like Dad. I'll love my wife and kids.

Megan turned to her son with concern in her eyes. Benji, your father doesn't make the best decisions in life . . . Benji stared at Megan with a give me a break face. Wise beyond his years, she thought again.

Okay, fine, Megan continued. He doesn't make the right decisions . . . ever. Despite that, he does love you. Don't think for a second he doesn't. Your father, . . . well, your father just has a lot of issues.

Megan peered out over the water and was silent for a few beats. Then she continued. He loved me once, too. I wouldn't have married him if he hadn't. Somewhere along the way he got lost.

All I'm saying is you deserve to have someone to grow old with. Someone to love and who will love you.

I have a long way to go before I am old. And you need to at least get through elementary school before you start thinking about college. Besides, you don't need to worry about me. It's my job to worry about you.

She didn't say it, but Megan shared Benji's wish. For him as well as for herself. Benji was her everything, and her top priority, but in her heart she also longed for an added love and happiness. She had no idea if she would discover it on Charlotte Island or not. All she could do for now was hope and be open if it came along.

I love you, Mom.

I love you, too, Benji. Come on, we're about to dock.

Charlotte Island was now in clear view. Lighthouses and cottages dotted the coastline. Megan took Benji by the hand and they moved toward the back of the ferry and down the stairs to their car sitting in the auto transport area. In a few minutes the ferry would arrive at Charlotte Island and Megan and Benji would drive onto the island to begin their new life.

The ferry steamed into