Kestrel Ridge, Book Three
What We Keep Wild
Some places are saved by protecting them. Others are saved by deciding what they should become next.
A few weeks after the events of No Fixed Horizon, Kestrel Ridge and Thornmere are moving into a new phase. The land is secure.
Now comes the harder part.
For Alexis Morgan, Eric Taylor, John De Beer and Tarryn Jones, the challenge is no longer simply protecting what already exists. It is building something new without losing the values that made the fight worthwhile in the first place. At the centre of that challenge is
Mundzuku, a small, fully green tented lodge designed to create jobs, develop skills and build a tourism model that benefits both wildlife and the people who live and work around the reserve. But opening a lodge is the easy part on paper.
In reality, it means staff, pressure, money, personalities, mistakes and the uncomfortable truth that conservation and tourism do not always want the same things at the same time.
As the team prepares Mundzuku for its first guests, new people arrive, old relationships shift and everyone at Kestrel Ridge is forced to confront what growth actually means.
What We Keep Wild is a story about conservation, community, identity, family and the complicated process of building a future that is meant to last.
For readers who enjoy
African wildlife and safari settings, mature romance, conservation-driven fiction, strong female characters, ensemble casts, found family, sustainable tourism, lodge life, personal reinvention, emotionally grounded relationships and adventure.
Meet Izzie Groenewald
Izzie is Thornmere’s new Head Guide.
Experienced, capable and used to working in a male-dominated field, she has little interest in proving herself through noise.
She does the job.
That should be enough.
But as Mundzuku prepares to open, Izzie finds herself navigating a workplace where competence is sometimes questioned before it is recognised, and where leadership means more than knowing the bush.
Her role places her between guests, guides, management and the realities of operating in an environment where respect is earned daily.
Direct, observant and fiercely professional, Izzie brings a different kind of strength to the Kestrel Ridge world..
Meet Mia Rodriguez
Mia arrives with energy, efficiency and absolutely no interest in making herself smaller for anyone.
Working across reservations, marketing and social media, she quickly becomes essential to the expanding operation.
Petite, relentlessly upbeat and far more capable than some people initially assume, Mia has an instinct for people, communication and the details that keep a lodge running smoothly.
She also has a habit of getting under Tarryn’s skin.
Not because she is incompetent.
Quite the opposite.
As Mundzuku moves toward opening, Mia becomes one of the people connecting what happens on the reserve with the outside world — guests, bookings, expectations and the story Kestrel Ridge chooses to tell about itself..
What We Keep Wild explores what comes next
What We Keep Wild moves beyond the fight to save Thornmere. The land is protected. The fences can come down. The immediate battle is over.Now the harder work begins.
The story follows the rebuilding of Thornmere, the creation of a new eco lodge, expanding conservation work and the growing team of people who have to turn a vision into something that can survive in the real world.
Because protecting land is only the beginning.
A reserve needs jobs.
A lodge needs guests.
Staff need training, opportunity and a reason to stay. Wildlife needs space, veterinary support and long-term protection. And conservation has to work for the people living alongside it, not only for the animals inside the boundary. For Alexis, Eric, John and Tarryn, the challenge is no longer simply holding onto what they fought for.
It is building something strong enough to last without losing the values that made it worth saving in the first place even when their lives are threatened to be destroyed by a Journalist.
The Kestrel Ridge Series
What We Keep Wild is the third novel in the Kestrel Ridge series and continues the story that began in The Boundary Between Us and expanded in No Fixed Horizon.
The land has been protected. The boundaries have changed. Now Kestrel Ridge and Thornmere have to become something capable of lasting.
As new people join the team and old relationships evolve, the focus shifts from fighting to save a place to deciding what kind of future they want to build on it..
Continue the Series
What We Keep Wild
Book Three of the Kestrel Ridge Series
Romance. Adventure. Conservation. Africa.
Coming soon on Amazon.