Look for Me: Second Chance Christian Romance Novel with a Side of Suspense: Encounters in Key Largo (Vacation Sweethearts Book 4) Read online

  Look for Me

  Vacation Sweethearts Book 4

  Jan Thompson

  Look for Me (Vacation Sweethearts Book 4)

  Copyright © 2020 Jan Edttii Lim Thompson

  Author Website: JanThompson.com

  Book News: JanThompson.com/newsletter

  Published by Georgia Press LLC

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. All characters, persons, places, events, and things either are the product of the author’s active imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Scripture quotations are from the public domain King James Version of the Holy Bible.

  The lyrics for the “This is My Father’s World” hymn penned by Maltbie D. Babcock in the late 19th century are in the public domain.

  eBook Cover Design: Georgia Press LLC

  Paperback Cover Design: Georgia Press & Deranged Doctor Design

  First eBook Edition: March 2020

  eBook ISBN 978-1-944188-56-6

  First Paperback Edition: March 2020

  Paperback ISBN 978-1-944188-57-3

  To my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to save me from my sins and rose again from the grave to give me eternal life in heaven.

  For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

  ―John 3:16

  Contents

  Books by Jan Thompson

  About LOOK FOR ME

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Key Bible Verses in LOOK FOR ME

  The Next Book is PRAY FOR ME

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Jan Thompson

  Seaside Chapel

  Savannah Sweethearts

  Vacation Sweethearts

  Protector Sweethearts

  Binary Hackers

  About Jan Thompson

  Books by Jan Thompson

  Contemporary Christian Romance & Romantic Women’s Fiction

  Savannah Sweethearts (11 Books)

  JanThompson.com/savannah

  Vacation Sweethearts (7 Books)

  JanThompson.com/vacation

  Seaside Chapel (9-12 Books)

  JanThompson.com/seaside

  Christian Romantic Suspense & Inspirational Romantic Thrillers

  Protector Sweethearts (6 Books)

  JanThompson.com/protector

  Suspense Sweethearts Collection (Box Set)

  JanThompson.com/suspense

  Binary Hackers (3-6 Books)

  JanThompson.com/binary

  Subscribe to Jan Thompson’s Mailing List:

  JanThompson.com/newsletter

  About LOOK FOR ME

  She needs a champion.

  Just not him.

  Four years after his girlfriend ghosted him, Martin MacFarland finds her in south Florida—abused, pregnant with her second child, and in danger. Martin wants to be there for her, but she can’t give him a second chance.

  Remember the MacFarlands in Smile for Me (Vacation Sweethearts Book 1)? Look for Me is the story of Tina's brother, Martin. We visit the southern coast of Florida, where Martin MacFarland goes to find his long-lost ex-girlfriend.

  This Christian beach town romance novel with a side of suspense has clean language while dealing with the difficulties of past sins, single motherhood, second chances, redemption, and the mercy of God.

  She needs a champion...

  A single mother on the run, Corinne Anderson has made many mistakes since she broke up with Martin MacFarland four years ago. Each mistake compounds on the other problems in her life.

  Down and out, Corinne and her three-year-old daughter end up in the small beach town of Key Largo, hiding from the criminals looking for them. When their witness protection cover is blown, Corinne needs all the help she can get to stay safe.

  As long as it’s not from Martin.

  Anyone but him...

  After his father gives him half the ownership of the MacMuscles Classic Car Restoration business in Savannah, Georgia, Martin MacFarland is convinced that he is ready to settle down and start a family. Unfortunately for him, the only woman he ever loved has vanished without a trace.

  After his private investigator tracks her down, Martin drives to Key Largo, praying that Corinne will forgive him for what he did before he became a Christian, and hoping she might consider starting over with him.

  Well, she can’t. And she won’t tell him why either.

  Yet he won’t leave…

  As Martin gets closer to finding out what Corinne is up to or hiding from, will he fall into the same fire that has burned Corinne so many times? Will his love survive the flames?

  Look for Me is the fourth novel in USA Today Bestselling author Jan Thompson’s Vacation Sweethearts Christian travel romance series celebrating the immeasurable grace and undeserved mercy of God through Jesus Christ. These standalone novels are a spin-off of her Savannah Sweethearts beach romance series. Some of the novels in Vacation Sweethearts are also a prelude to the Protector Sweethearts Christian romantic suspense series.

  Prequel: Cheer for Me

  Book 1: Smile for Me

  Book 2: Reach for Me (Romance with Suspense)

  Book 3: Wait for Me (Romance with Suspense)

  Book 4: Look for Me (Romance with Suspense)

  Book 5: Pray for Me

  Book 6: Care for Me

  For book news, sign up for Jan Thompson’s mailing list:

  JanThompson.com/newsletter

  Chapter One

  Martin MacFarland parked his bright tangerine 1966 Shelby GT350 in the last spot by the curb. He lifted his sunglasses to take a clearer look across the small street.

  On a sidewalk bench in front of the Key Largo Chocolate Shop, a woman wearing a bright orange apron—that matched the colors of the sign above the windows behind her—was eating her sandwich the way his ex-girlfriend would—all around the edges first. Martin remembered teasing her about her eccentricities when they had both worked at his sister’s pottery studio, she as the office manager and he as his sister’s personal assistant.

  Could that be Corinne Anderson?

  Except for her long hair—in a new honey blonde color and tied back in a ponytail—she didn’t look much different from the las
t time Martin had seen her two days after his sister’s wedding four years before.

  Had it been that long?

  The August sunshine swept across the treeless Florida road, casting a bright spotlight on the woman seated on the bench. The more Martin stared, the more confident he was that she was Corinne.

  I should never have let her go.

  He hadn’t forgotten her after she ghosted him as soon as they broke up four years ago, but it wasn’t until he’d had a string of failed relationships for the next three years that he realized what he had missed.

  Now that he was an income-producing co-owner of MacMuscles Classic Car Restoration, he could afford to settle down—with the right woman.

  His sister Tina reminded him that Corinne hadn’t shown signs of being a Christian when she walked out of his life. Today, she might still be unsaved. If so, her worldview would be different from Martin’s. He had to keep in mind who would raise his future children.

  Would the mother of his kids be willing to take them to a Christian church if she didn’t believe in God or Jesus Christ?

  Nonetheless, Martin had to find Corinne. Whether she was a believer or not, Martin wanted to ask her forgiveness for stringing her along and then trying to marry her when he felt guilty about their intimate relationship.

  It had taken Martin one more year to track her down, with most of the work done by his private investigator friend, Ming Wei, who had connections all over North America.

  Corinne Anderson was Dinah Miller now, but the records showed she wasn’t married.

  The reason she was living under an assumed name was anybody’s guess. Why did she change her name? Why was she hiding from the world?

  And from me, perhaps?

  Well, Martin figured she must not be in too much danger—because she only ran as far away as Key Largo, Florida.

  He could make the drive in eight hours if he drove straight through—nine, if he stopped to refill the gas tank and get food.

  No, he didn’t have to ask Ming for permission—even though Ming had specifically told him that he didn’t have more information beyond the chocolate shop. The private investigator was working on something, but he wouldn’t know what to tell Martin until Monday.

  Monday!

  After a restless four or five hours of sleep, Martin was wide awake at three o’clock on Thursday morning. Staring at the ceiling, he made a snap decision to go. He hurriedly packed up a small overnight bag, and he was on the road by four, reaching Key Largo at eleven, even stopping at a fast food drive through along the way.

  And there she was. On the bench, under the sun.

  As clear as day, that was Corinne.

  Martin unbuckled his safety belt, but didn’t leave the driver’s seat. He drank the remaining lukewarm coffee from a late breakfast as his eyes fixed upon Corinne, aka Dinah, who had finished her lunch.

  Martin rolled down his window. The blast of hot Florida air slapped away the cool air inside his car. It must be at least ninety degrees.

  It was then that it felt odd to Martin that Corinne was wearing such oversized long-sleeved shirt and baggy pants.

  As long as Martin had known her, she was the spaghetti-strap type of girl, going to work at Tina’s office in sleeveless blouses whenever she could, even if the air-conditioner was on full blast in the pottery studio.

  However, four years later in subtropical Florida—with a late summer even hotter than coastal Georgia—Corinne was wearing such shapeless clothes. Why?

  He wanted a closer look.

  Martin watched her enter the chocolate shop. He rolled up his window. Time to confront her, to see if she still remembered him—or cared to remember him.

  How do I approach her?

  Martin prayed to God for wisdom. He had been saved for only four years and his prayers were not yet as strong or clear as his sister’s or his brother-in-law’s, who was now the assistant pastor at a church in metro Atlanta.

  However, Pastor Flores from Martin’s own church said that God would hear the prayers of his heart even if he couldn’t form the words. As he learned to pray more, he would have more words to pray.

  Martin willed his heart to speak to God, though he could not come up with anything concrete or specific. Perhaps the coffee had spiked his system to the point of making him jittery. Perhaps the drive from Savannah had sapped his strength. Whatever it was, he couldn’t find the words.

  Finally, he bleated a weak, “Read my heart, Lord Jesus.”

  It would have to do. Otherwise he might as well go home.

  His only purpose of coming down to this small beach town was to get a glimpse of the only woman he truly loved.

  Now he must talk to her, to see if she was real, that she wasn’t a doppelgänger. To see if she still remembered him. If there was still any hope for them.

  And if she had met Jesus since their sad parting.

  No doubt it would be a difficult conversation. Their breakup had been anything but sweet. On the day before Tina’s wedding, Martin had accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior, thereby making him a brand-new man who wouldn’t sleep with Corinne any more until their wedding night.

  “I don’t want to marry you!” Those were her last words as she threw his apartment keys at him—leaving a small scar on his cheek—and walked out into the streets of Savannah in the pouring evening rain.

  The next day, she quit her job at Tina’s Turn Pottery Studio, moved out of her house, sold her car, changed her phone number, cut off all contacts with her friends and relatives, and disappeared from Martin’s world.

  Until now.

  Chapter Two

  “That was a quick lunch, Dinah.” Sandra Preston, the chocolate shop owner, was washing a giant copper bowl in the sink when Corinne walked past by her.

  “Fifteen minutes. Plenty of time to eat a sandwich. Besides, I have to make up for the doctor’s visit yesterday.” Corinne washed her hands at another sink.

  “Yes. How’s your little girl?”

  “She’s okay now. All the red spots are subsiding. She’s learning not to scratch.”

  “That’s hard for a three-year-old, but I was never allergic to ants.”

  “It’s not an allergy per se. She just had a reaction because there were too many bites.”

  “Falling on an anthill will do that to you.”

  “I know.” There was nothing Corinne could do. She could not afford daycare, and preschool was closed for the summer.

  All she could do was rely on the octogenarian Wanda Lewis—known to everyone at church as Wanda—to babysit Dahlia while she worked all day here and then as a server on weekends at a local bar. Wanda had poor eyesight and even poorer hearing. Dahlia would sneak out to play in the backyard alone. It was fenced in, but the ants were already inside the yard.

  Corinne remembered panicking when Wanda called her yesterday, saying that Dahlia was screaming for help in the backyard. Her co-worker Hardin gave Corinne a ride back to the house and took them to urgent care.

  And paid for it out of his pocket and the generosity of his heart. Corinne prayed that the pastry chef would not ask for something she could not give in return.

  She felt bad that, without any health insurance, she would have to rely on the mercy of others.

  Minimum wage and never rising up, she couldn’t even afford her own car. Every penny she earned went to feed her daughter and pay for the one bedroom she rented from Wanda Lewis, whose sister used to live with her before she had to move to a nursing home.

  Corinne had thought about getting a job at the Walmart in Homestead across the causeway, but it was a forty-five minute drive each way. Not having a car didn’t help.

  She had also found out about retail jobs at a couple of gift shops in Islamorada, half an hour south of here—but again, no car, no help.

  Maybe she could ask Sandra for forty hours and healthcare benefits. However, this was probably a bad time. The widowed owner of the establishment seemed busy right now.

&
nbsp; Really, there was no good time. Key Largo was a tourist stop, and this chocolate shop was famous for its chocolate barks and pralines.

  Corinne looked for a clean kitchen towel to hand over to Sandra, who thanked her for it. “Want me to help you put that away?”

  “No. You better get up front,” Sandra said. “Erika hasn’t come back from her dental appointment.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry.” Corinne hurried for the door leading out to the old store.

  Surrounded by red brick walls, the Key Largo Chocolate Shop was basically an open space with old kitchen tables and cabinets filled with chocolate, fudge, brownies, truffles, petits fours, you name it. Oh yes, and ice cream.

  Corinne reached the counter, where a line was forming. She opened the next cash register. “May I help the next person?”

  The tourist was laden with several cameras, some with telephoto lenses, hanging every which way off his neck. He was sweating heavily.