Star Keeper — Patricia Potter

As the war of independence rages on, Philadelphians are riveted by the seafaring escapades of a rogue rebel sympathizer known only as the Star Rider. This daring hero uses his own vessel to sabotage the British -- until his ship goes down in a ferocious battle at sea. Somehow the gravely injures Star Rider escapes... but the British find him, he will surely hang. Little do they know that John Patrick Sutherland, alias Star Rider, is hiding in plain sight. Posing as a soldier of the king, Sutherland is recovering under the care of Annette Carey, a beautiful loyalist who has turned her home into a hospital for wounded British troops.

He is fascinated by Annette, a gray-eyed angel f mercy whose gentle touch belies the strength and courage that helped her survive a brutal past. But Sutherland knows he will do whatever it takes to escape the gallows -- and to save the woman he cannot bear to lose. Until he learns that he can't run forever, and discovers that true love is about the promises you keep.