As the Mist Scatters — Jill Penrod

After suffering an injury that will lay him up for nearly a year, St. Ninian's Sanctuary's maintenance man Huck Deveraux is angry. For years working at the spiritual island retreat center has been his sole identity, and it keeps demons from his past at bay. Now he's alone and unsure who he really is. Pearl O'Day is the new head of the hospitality department at the retreat center, and she's also the only single mother on the island. She's not sure she belongs here, and that feeling gets worse when a few of the staff members agree that she might not shine the best light on the center. Stuck here at the bottom of the world, she wonders what will happen if she has to leave, since she has no life or family left anywhere else. But the trust that runs the sanctuary is certain she and Huck are both here for a reason, and it may have nothing to do with maintenance and laundry. Maybe God is ready for Huck to face his pain and identity, and maybe it's time for Pearl to accept forgiveness for mistakes in her past. Toss in a little island danger and some meddling staffers, and Huck and Pearl can't help but learn more about themselves, each other, and the mysterious island on which they live, including solving a part of the mystery surrounding the identity of the trust that runs the retreat center. As the Mist Scatters is book two of the St. Ninian's Sanctuary series, small-town Christian contemporary romance with an island twist.