Lifesaver: A Lantana Beach sweet read

By Macie Collins

Only by facing our past can we hope to change our future.

 

Jamie Scott fled to Hodges, FL, a suburb of Lantana Beach, to escape an abusive husband. With hard work and generosity, she rebuilt her life in the adopted community that supported her during her darkest moments. Allowing herself no time for love, Jamie volunteers with a victims' advocacy group, discovering a purpose beyond her solitary, complacent life. Her comfortable routine in place, Jamie finally feels safe until she is faced with a situation eerily similar to one she thought she'd left in the past.

 

As a sheriff's deputy in Hodges, Cooper Ross has seen both the worst and the best of humanity. His bachelor lifestyle allows him to serve his community without the burden of a family. Even if he wanted to, his work doesn't allow time for dating, much less love. Then a chance encounter with his reclusive, though alluring, neighbor forces him to reevaluate his ideas on love, and human nature.

 

In the face of suspicions and danger, Jamie and Cooper must each overcome their own misguided notions of love and duty if they are to find what they didn't know they were looking for—each other.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diesel Daisy Press
• Release date: Jan 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9798201184155

Book preview

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Macie’s Newsletter

LIFESAVER

A Lantana Beach Sweet Read

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MACIE COLLINS

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LIFESAVER

Only by confronting our past can we hope for a better future.

Jamie Scott fled to Hodges, FL, a suburb of Lantana Beach, to escape an abusive husband. With hard work and generosity, she rebuilt her life in the adopted community that supported her during her darkest moments. Allowing herself no time for love, Jamie volunteers with a victims' advocacy group, discovering a purpose beyond her solitary, complacent life. Her comfortable routine in place, Jamie finally feels safe until she is faced with a situation eerily similar to one she thought she'd left in the past.

As a sheriff's deputy in Hodges, Cooper Ross has seen both the worst and the best of humanity. His bachelor lifestyle allows him to serve his community without the burden of a family. Even if he wanted to, his work doesn’t allow time for dating, much less love. Then a chance encounter with his reclusive, though alluring, neighbor forces him to reevaluate his ideas on love, and human nature.

In the face of suspicions and danger, Jamie and Cooper must each overcome their own misguided notions of love and duty if they are to find what they didn’t know they were looking for—each other.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

OTHER BOOKS BY MACIE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chapter 1

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Golden light from the setting sun stabbed orange streaks through the shadows of the unlit room. Jamie Scott's third floor apartment, silent and dark, was just the way she liked it. Neat with a homey feel, everything in the dim living area was in its place. She could traverse every room in her home in utter darkness without bumping into a single thing or knocking any item over. A carry-over from her marriage to a complete control freak was the one quality she appreciated and continued to adhere to. Her cell phone buzzed against the wooden shaker desk. Jamie picked it up and, noticing the number, slid her finger across the screen.

Hey, Becca. She raised the speaker to her ear, listening as her attorney and friend spoke.

The parole board denied Damon's request, her friend said.

Jamie let out a slow breath, a relieved smile turning up the corners of her mouth. So, how much longer does he have?

With time served, almost two years.

That'll give me enough time to find another—

Don't even think about saying 'another place to live', Becca interrupted her. We're going to find a way to make it so you don't have to keep moving.

I appreciate everything you've done, Becca, Jamie said, facing the soft afternoon breeze that blew through her front window, but when he gets out he's coming after me. And then... She let her statement trail off as her thoughts drifted back to the day she left her ex-husband, Damon Turner, lying unconscious in the woods behind their Archer, Florida home. Her lip swollen and her left side aching from the last fight they'd had, it was all she could do to run back to their home and flee in her car before he awoke. She'd deserted the car in Gainesville and bought a bus ticket with cash to Jacksonville before hiding herself in the small, sleepy town of Hodges.

Out there, in those woods she'd decided to end it all with Damon's shot gun. But he'd found her, and almost sweet-talked her into coming back. She'd had enough though and, in a moment of idiotic courage, she'd smashed him over the head with the butt of the gun. Why she hadn't killed him that day instead still puzzled her.

Now, though she went by her maiden name, she felt more comfortable and secure in her new hometown. She'd made friends, found a job, and a life's purpose helping other women escape their troubled relationships and counseling survivors.

Jamie, did you hear me? Becca's words broke into her thoughts.

Jamie shook away the images, her blond tresses bouncing on her shoulder. No, sorry. I was just thinking...

"I said, when he