About the book: Fall 1862 — Following her husband’s tragic death, young widow Abby Butterfield Browett’s first responsibility is to her son. Her desire to provide a secure future for her child has led her to accept a proposal of marriage from Isaac, a man twice her age. In her heart, she knows that Isaac lacks the fire and zest for life that defines Abby, but her son will be cared for. Can she be happy with only that?
Despite her reservations, Abby joins her fiancé on the journey to the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, unprepared for the challenges that begin soon after they embark. When their trouble turns dangerous, it is a group of rough frontiersmen that come to their aid. The incident provides Abby the excuse she needs to turn back and postpone the wedding—and in truth, she simply can’t forget the connection she felt with Scooter, the leader of their rescuers. But as hostilities arise between the local Indians and the white frontiersmen, Abby’s focus turns again to the safety of her son. When the young boy disappears following an attack, Abby disregards propriety and turns not to her fiancé for help, but to Scooter. In the face of unimaginable odds, the pair embarks on a quest to find Abby’s son, a journey that will test their courage and faith as never before . . .
My review: I was really excited to read this book when I realized that it was about Franklin, Idaho. It has special meaning to me because it was a place that some of my ancestors helped to settle.
I loved the way the story started with Abby and Isaac on their way to Salt Lake City to get married in the Endowment house. Isaac is way older than Abby, but she has a young adopted son to care for and her first husband was not a member of the LDS Church and he was killed before he was baptized. She has made the decision that it's more important to marry forever than it is for love. But that starts to change when on their way to Salt Lake City Isaac is hurt in an accident and the group is cared for by a kind teamster named Scooter. This man is not a member of her Church, but he gets her to start thinking more about her future.
Her son Yahnai is supposed to spend part of his winter in the Indian camp learning what it means to be an Indian. Abby's heart aches as she sends him. And things get even worse when a group of Army men come to their settlement bragging about taking care of the Indians. Abby knows she must get her son out of that camp before it's too late, but that doesn't work out and her son is lost to her. But she doesn't give up hope.
I loved Abby's courage. I loved the way she took her future and Yahnai's very seriously, knowing that she was about the only white person that would care what happened to the young boy and that she would have to save him mostly on her own. I was saddened by the way the soldiers treated the Indians and really that Abby had to come upon the scene and see it with her own eyes, knowing that her son had at one point been in the midst of it.
I liked that you see the events of this book through Abby's eyes, but also through Scooter's and Isaac's eyes. Sometimes it's nice to get a different perspective and I liked that both men were concerned for Abby's welfare enough to try to help her with whatever they could.
This is a cute, clean story of love, forgiveness, and courage. I didn't want to stop reading it until I had read every last word.
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
About the author: Darryl Harris has been a magazine publisher for more than thirty years. He currently serves as a bishop at BYU- Idaho, and previously presided over the Korea Seoul Mission. He lives in Idaho Falls, ID.
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Labels: Clean Romance, Covenant Communications, Darryl Harris, Historical fiction
