The Healer

By Sharon Sala

The amber-eyed toddler was led out of the Alaska woods by a she-wolf and into the village of Snow Valley. No one could figure out where he came from. But the village embraced him and gave him the name of Jonah Gray Wolf. The local doctor adopted him.
Jonah was different. He communicated with animals. He had the healing touch. So when an out-of-state hunter was attacked by a bear and the doctor was out on a call, the villagers sent Jonah to help the man, Bourdain, who was dying of his wounds. Jonah used his healing gift to save the man's life. But Bourdain, instead of being grateful and moving on, decided that if he had Jonah with him all the time,  he could live far beyond his natural life span.
But Jonah wasn't interested. So Bourdain decided to just grab him. It didn't go well. Jonah's adoptive father was murdered and Jonah was forced to flee his home and Alaska. He ended up on the run for many years, with the wealthy Bourdain hiring bounty hunter after  hunter to capture Jonah. But they all failed.
Living life on the run is not fun. Jonah was afraid to set down roots anywhere for fear of Bourdain using anyone Jonah cared about as a bargaining chip against him. But when he met Lucia, it all changed. He fell hard and Lucia felt the same way too.
They met when Lucia's dog got caught in a leg-hold trap. Jonah saved the dog's life and healed him up good as new. Lucia invited him to stay the night at her place, an isolated house in the woods. The chemistry between the two was immediate and intense. Jonah began to wonder if there might possibly be a way that they could be together, safely, without the obsessed Bourdain ruining it all. And Lucia actually needed Jonah's help too. Because she was being stalked by someone who was sending her threatening and obscene messages. Probably the same person who set the trap that injured her dog.
Together Jonah and Lucia will confront the dangers surrounding them and try to find their way to the life of love and togetherness that they have been lacking for most of their adult lives.

This was a good read. Jonah is a kind of angel come down to Earth, with his godlike healing powers and his ability to communicate with animals. It's kind of a silly story in a way, but once you accept Jonah's exceptionalism, it becomes less silly. I liked it, it brought tears to my eyes a couple times.

Here is a review by Publishers Weekly.