The Runaway Man: A Journey Back to Hope

By Sunny Day

Tiffiany tried to bluff him by putting out a fake smile, but inside her mind was swimming with thoughts of confusion.
What just happened? Did I hear a gun shooting? Was anyone hurt?? I know I saw a gun in his back pocket. Where are we going?!!
Wow, mom I really miss you now…


Quote from Sunny Day:
“This book is a spiritually driven action-packed cliff-hanger, with a surprise twist.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493184507

Book preview

Copyright © 2018 by Sunny Day.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2010915558

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-4535-9902-0

                Softcover         978-1-4535-9901-3

          eBook              978-1-4931-8450-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 06/28/2018

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Tabitha: Tabitha’s False Strength

Chapter 2: Tiffany: The Prodigal Daughter

Chapter 3: Ryan Keith: A Modern-Day Job

Chapter 4: Goodbye, Mommy

Chapter 5: Confused Child

Chapter 6: Crossroads

Chapter 7: Dial 1-800-Protect

Chapter 8: Running Free

Chapter 9: Shattered Illusions

Chapter 10: The Little Book of Secrets

Chapter 11: Sweet Memories

Chapter 12: Greeting Ms. Smarts

Chapter 13: Protector vs. Predator

Chapter 14: Chasing Rainbows

Chapter 15: The Web

Chapter 16: Prison of Love

Chapter 17: Dreams of Serenity

Chapter 18: The Good Old Days

Chapter 19: A Quest Back to Healing

Chapter 20: NTB

Chapter 21: Innocence

Chapter 22: Consequences

Chapter 23: Hostage

Chapter 24: Divine Miracles

Chapter 25: Lost

Chapter 26: A Faithful Heart

Chapter 27: New Beginnings

Chapter 28: God’s Touch

Chapter 29: Wise Words of a Parent

Chapter 30: Saved

Chapter 31: Bible Roulette

Chapter 32: The Birth of a Murder

Chapter 33: Redemption

Chapter 34: Going Home

Chapter 35: Unfinished Business

I dedicate this new revised version of my first novel, The Runaway Man: A Journey Back to Hope, to my precious dear readers.

I call my first novel, The Runaway Man: A Journey Back to Hope, my healing book for a reason. It is because some people that go through the fire just stay down and allow themselves to get burned up. But some will get strong, grow through that pain, and turn out like gold: Beauty from the ashes. I have been through the fire, and now I am ready to shine!

So, my dear precious readers, stay strong and shine on!

Acknowledgments

THANK YOU TO ALL MY FRIENDS, MY FAMILY, AS WELL AS MY BUSINESS ASSOCIATES, WHO STOOD BY ME AND ENCOURAGED ME DURING THE REVISION OF MY FIRST BOOK IN THE RUNAWAY MAN SERIES. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE I COULD SAY THANK YOU, BUT HERE’S A FEW THAT I WANTED TO GIVE HONOR TO AND CELEBRATE. 41020.png

My First Thank-You

To my sweet and precious Belly Button Momma, who is truly one of my very best friends, who is my biggest encourager, my biggest cheerleader, and my number 1 prayer warrior: Patty.

My Second Thank-You

To my sweet Spiritual Momma, my incredible mentor, and my number 2 prayer warrior. I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without you pouring into my life yesterday: Lucia.

My Third Thank-You

My Sunshine Baby Girl. my darling, my one and only daughter, my number 1 inspiration. No matter how big you get or where you go, you will always have a piece of my heart: Dominique.

OK, Just a Few More Thank-Yous! 41006.png

So if you’re not the kind of person who enjoys CELEBRATING others and honoring others and how they have made a difference in someone else’s life, you might wanna just skip this page. 41008.png

†

I want to give honor to some very special people right now. 41012.png Yeah. This part is kinda difficult for me because no matter how many people I acknowledge on my thank-you pages, there will always be just one more person I can add! So please know I thank every single one of you Precious Peps personally.

So my quick disclaimer here (LOL). Whether your name is on here or not, you are still important. I’m glad you’re in my life, and you still are special to me! 41014.png

This page is for you to shine! I want you to know I know who you are, and I will have a very special place in my heart for your work and/or the memory I keep of you and how you helped me make my book a reality and encouraged me along the way. 41016.png

So in no particular order, I want to first say thank you to my new and improved editor, Mr. Don Fox. It’s because of you that I’m now at this time, relaunching my newest version of The Runaway Man, revised. 41018.png

Thank you, Don F. for all your long hours, hard work, dedication, and patience, and for your sweet, encouraging wife, Sharon. As I’m finding again my strength, courage, and hope, I have started to slowly rebirth my Runaway Man Series projects. To God be the glory!

Also I couldn’t end my list of thank-yous this second time around without adding some New blood to the mix. 41022.png

Thank you to three very special people who become like true blood to me. A quick shout-out to my pastor Johnny B. and his amazing ministry team partner, his loving, strong, and gifted wife, Chelsy, who, in one quick short year, have become like a second family to me. And that’s for real! Chels, your friendship means so much to me. 41025.png I love you, sis. You rock, girl! And last but certainty not the least, thank you to the incredible woman I call my Aunt Tammy. No, she’s not blood related, but what a friend she has become to me in such a short time of just over a year. Tammy, my mom Patty, Lucia, and Chels—I couldn’t have made it with finishing my revised book this last year without your encouragement, mentoring, unconditional love, and prayers! Thank you all. What a blessing to have such an amazing group of ladies and sisters that have poured into my life. Thank you! 41027.png

And thank you to the many businesses who were incredibly generous and who gave me such great customer service and helped me to get my book up and going and helped me get to my dream state, where I truly feel called. Now I can write with a real purpose. Sunny California. Thank you to my amazing video trailer producer, Sunday, who created He’s Coming Productions; ‘My Hollywood Personal trainer and graphics lady who did the most beautiful job on the cover of my book, Lichelle; the creative and talented college art student Ericia, who created the awesome Lily Lake media picture in my book; and Melisa, from typing my many handwritten notebooks and adding my sloppy copies. Thank you to my awesome personal motivational coach, my boss and the big brother I never had, Kirk T. and who could forget our model on the cover of my book, Jeff S. and my awesome NTB logo designer, Kyan. A HUGE sun-shiny thank you to the owner of McLees Auto Repair, Brian McLee, who was my awesome car doctor." McLees Automotive (and his talented crew) the best place to get fantastic work done, if you’re in Olympia, Washington, to get your car done right and for a fair price! 41056.png It’s BECAUSE of Mr. McLee, that my truck made the long journey SAFELY from Washington to now.

Sunny California. Thank you again, Mr. McLee……You rock!!!!! 41029.png

In faith I’m gonna say, again, thank you to. My next AWESOME grafic desighner. for doing the cover of my latest book, Ryan’s Redemption: A Journey Back to Healing. This time the second book will get done and make it all the way to the end project. To God be the glory! 41031.png

I would also like to take this unique, special moment to say thank you, God, for the naysayers and to any people who thought this book would never get done. Your doubt and negativity motivated me to push through to the end.

Thank you. 41036.png

Because it’s all about God’s timing, not man’s. 41038.png

Lastly, I want to say one more final word here to My Dear Precious Readers again. "My hope for all of you is that my book will inspire, challenge, stretch, and encourage each and every one of you to reach for your OWN dreams and goals and that you will find your own unique SPECIAL fire that burns deep in your own soul, that you will go out igniting that small spark and making it a burning flame of fun self-discovery that is far beyond just a temporary quick fix of potential, and that you truly find where you will personally SHINE in our world!"

Sunny Day

41040.png

My Prologue to the question, What Is your book bout Sunny?

After much thought and time trying to pour into words to express my unique author voice or the feel of what my first book is about to My Dear Precious Readers….. I realized it’s about a broken hero. It’s about a man whose family was just ripped and stolen from him in just one fatal moment. And now he is left trying to make sense of his life and he is left trying to pick up the shattered pieces. It’s about trying to find hope and a purpose again.

Ryan finds himself on the very streets that killed his family. Now he goes out in search of runaways and missing and exploited children and brings them safely back to their families. It’s about redemption, healing, and trusting in something supernatural when your world is shattered. In short, it’s about going home—a journey back to hope.

The Runaway Man: "A Journey Back to Hope because it is never too late to go back home."

Introduction

One bullet … two dead bodies —Ryan Keith’s life shattered one rainy night. And the Runaway Man was born.

Innocence

Gone are yesterday’s past,

hoping the sweet gift of innocence would forever last.

Gone is the sparkle in a young child’s eyes who watches in wonderment as a lady bug wiggles on by.

Or lying on a soft bed of daisies on a hot sunny day, looking at the shapes of the clouds in the sky as they fade far away.

But now, you’re all grown-up. Is this how you thought it would be?

When the world was held together by all your childhood opportunity.

Innocence—it’s here for just a fleeting moment.

It’s one of those special life-given blessings that the Lord has given especially to us—to enjoy, protect, and cherish.

Innocence brings such security and peace.

Innocence is one of God’s most beautiful, treasured, amazing blessings.

So hold on to that sweet gift of innocence as long as you can.

For once it is lost, innocence can never come back again.

(Innocence is a copyedited poem Sunny wrote years ago, and now she added it to her first novel in her first book in the Runaway Man Series.)

CHAPTER 1

Tabitha: Tabitha’s False Strength

R ING! TABITHA DREADED to pick the phone up. Was it them again—the police?

It was becoming a daily routine to pick up Tiffany, her rebellious sixteen-and-a-half-year-old teenager from the local precinct.

Ever since

Reviews for The Runaway Man

[satyridae · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I always enjoy books written by passionate, obsessed science geeks. This is not a particularly linear book, but wow, it's interesting. It does point out in depressing detail just how badly we've screwed ourselves with plastics. I knew about part of the plastic problem in the oceans from reading the magnificent books of Carl Safina, but I didn't know that there are places in the ocean where look-alike particles of plastic outnumber plankton 50 to 1. Makes it hard to get a decent meal, if plankton is what one eats.

The work Ebbesmeyer has done on learning about and explicating the big gyres is simply fascinating. As is what washes up on the beach, and when, and how. The full story about the Nike spill is here, as well as the adorable tub toys that are still washing up. Thanks, Dr. Brazelton! *sigh*

The writing is hard to follow at some points, and wildly discursive at others. But worth it.

[aulap_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Just beautiful!! the world as a finely tuned machine. the ocean currents as interrelated gears. flotsam and jetsam as the indicators of ocean currents, and microcurrents, eddies---ginving us a read on those gears.and all bets off as to what will happen when the ice melts.... a truely inspired scientist whose life has been one of going where his deep curiousity takes him.