You are what you read

Lonnie Sawyer and her family live in the Appalachian hills among the creeks and hollows. Shy and retiring Lonnie has no experience with men, so when Gideon O’Riley walks her home after a local singing and dance she finds herself what his friendliness and advances mean. Gideon has treated her with respect and kindness, helping her over the rocks and moving branches out of her way. When they reach her home, she allows him to kiss her. But Lonnie’s father believes it was more than a kiss and a shotgun wedding takes place. Now the handsome Gideon finds himself married. Not used to being responsible for anyone, he takes Lonnie and heads across the hills to find a job. The kindness and gentleness of the walk home that night is gone and he is now hard and unyielding in pushing to reach a town where there is work. Lonnie’s life was hard at home, but nothing like she is experiencing now. She is not feeling well, is not eating and wants to sleep. The walking all day with little to eat has begun to take its toil when Jebediah finds them and takes them home to stay with him and his wife so Lonnie can recover. Gideon begins to realize the responsibility forced upon him with his wedding day and discovers he actually loves Lonnie, but there are still things he has to discover and learn before he is able to be the husband and father his family needs. Lonnie finds that she is stronger than she ever thought and the book ends with these two young people ending up where they should have been on their wedding day – deeply in live and committed to each other.