Bound to Protect

By Amanda Grace

Wounded and separated from his Union troops, Derek Deathridge finds himself trapped by a trailing enemy. With no hope of survival, he hides and awaits his fate of a bullet from his Confederate pursuers. But instead, he is unexpectedly discovered by a wary, young woman who stows him away in her dugout canoe and takes him downriver in the dead of winter. Nearly half-froze to death and weak from fatigue, lack of food, and loss of blood, Derek fights to stay alive. When he regains consciousness, he finds himself in a strange stone structure with a woman who never utters a single word. Not knowing where he is and too weak to travel, Derek remains where he is with the hopes of reuniting with the Union as soon as he is able. But the silent woman intrigues him. She lives alone and appears to be aged beyond her years; possibly due to loss or living in constant fear. The only means of learning anything about her is from a hidden journal Derek struggles not to read knowing it is sure to be the girl's private writings. Months pass and Derek's health declines. He grows accustomed to the secretive woman and the life of solitude in the stone structure along a serene creek that reminds him of home. Survival hangs on a thread as the woman forages for edible plants from the woods and meat from her few small traps. As spring slips into summer, the lack of fear-stricken battles, sleeping on the ground, and starvation causes Derek to grow fond of the peaceful life he'd found. Gradually guilt begins to seep into Derek's being. He'd never intended to become a deserter, but in the end, he's faced with that reality regardless of how desperately he wants to clear his name and not be regarded or hung as such. But he'd never realized how impossible it would be to leave behind the reclusive woman after learning of a threatening doom that forever hangs over here. What was more honoring to protect? His country or the woman who'd saved his life?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0D8JGLTTW
• ISBN13: 9798882688058
• Release Date: June 2024
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 410 Pages
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 6.0"