Home Away From Home
Abbott Island Book 2
Penny Frost McGinnis
 
Will Marigold and Johnny embrace love late in life?
 
The day before Marigold Hayes turned fourteen, her mother died in a car accident and her father went missing. Her memory of standing on the porch and waving goodbye haunts her. After forty years of digging for clues to her dad's whereabouts and ignoring her personal life, the hope she might find him fades. Through the years, she has made friends, but no one significant until Johnny Papadakis. He has stood by her for nine years and helped search records of people alive and dead. For the last six months. he has more than hinted at marriage. As a fifty plus single woman, can she share her life with a man? Even one as wonderful as Johnny. As her love for Johnny grows, her sorrow from the relentless search for her father breaks her heart. She begs God to help her move forward with her life before she has no love left to give. As she decides to stop searching, three island visitors draw her attention away from Johnny and into one more search into the mystery of what happened to her dad.
 
Who are the three visitors, and why are they nosing around about her life?
 
Ten years ago, after his ex-wife pushed him away, Johnny Papadakis moved to Abbott Island and opened a Greek-American restaurant. In the midst of a difficult divorce, his ex-wife discouraged him from having a relationship with their daughter, Alexa. With a broken heart, he abides by her wishes and hopes someday his daughter will want to know him again. On the island, he has made friends, including Marigold. In the last year, he realizes he wants more than friendship from this lovely lady. After six months of dating, he asks her to marry him. She won't give him a definite answer, but he won't give up. Even as he loves Marigold and wants to marry her, he longs to reunite with Alexa. With Marigold's blessing, he visits his daughter and tries to reconnect. After the reunion, Alexa comes to Abbott Island and asks to move in with him. Even though he is not sure of her motives, his kind heart and the hope he has held on to for a decade welcomes her into his home.
 
Will he balance work, his relationship with Marigold, and his daughter's arrival? Will Alexa welcome Marigold or see her as a hindrance to getting to know her father? 
 
Can Marigold and Johnny settle the past and move toward the promise of a blessed future?