Heart of a Warrior

Set in 1859 along the Oregon Trail, this exciting tale from Couch (Scarlet Coat) centers on a stranded, pregnant settler who is rescued by a Native American. Christina Astle is lagging behind a wagon train headed to Oregon from Cincinnati when the caravan is attacked, leaving Christina alone and her husband dead. Towan, a Shoshone tribesman with a white father, follows Christina as she flees, only revealing himself just before she eats a potentially poisonous foraged berry. After Towan helps Christina deliver her baby in a cave, the two grow closer as Towan begins to read the Bible Christina shares with him and the two are cared for by Towan’s mother in his home village. When they come across two trappers, Christina decides to take their offer of transportation to Fort Bridger. But when they turn out to have ulterior motives, she is lucky Towan has been tracking them. Christina’s experience with the trappers leaves her convinced her husband was killed by settlers pretending to be natives and must decide if she wants to return to Ohio or stay with Towan. Readers of inspirational historicals will enjoy Couch’s exhilarating frontier tale. (Aug.)