The last time I posted on the book, The Tender Years, I had given you the full story of Victoria's life with Jenny and their love interest, Jamison Curtis. Actually in this story, there were two main plot lines going on at the same time. When Victoria wasn't worrying about Jenny, annoyed about her parents, or talking with Jamison, she was thinking about Rett Marshall. Rett was a man who never really talked much, spent his days roaming the woods, and only cared about injured animals. When the raft tipped over that night with Victoria's friends on it, he was the first to arrive to help the kids out. He stayed in that freezing water so long, but he refused to stop looking for the last boy. When He finally did find him, Rett took him to town where the doctors tried to save him, all to no avail. After the boy died, his family and the rest of the gullible members in town tried to blame Rett that he must have tipped the raft over. They even went as far as framing him for a theft crime he didn't commit. In the end however, the person who really framed him came out and announced Rett innocence at he trial, and all ended well.

I really liked this side of the plot because it gave me a break from Victoria and her problems and let me focus on another big picture at hand. I thought, along with Victoria, that Rett was simply not capable of doing the things he was accused of. He was not that type at all if you really knew who the man was. However, he was not the kind of man to stand up for himself. He just sat there at his trial and said nothing. Maybe unspoken words are sometimes the best said...

I was so glad that in the end, Rett was able to be free to roam again, helping all the animals in his path along the way. I just hope that no one will ever take advantage of Rett Marshall again. For now, I know I will follow Jannete Oke further in her series.