Down River by John Hart
Adam Chase has a violent streak As a boy, he saw things no child should witness, suffered wounds that left him misunderstood―a fighter. Even grown, he remains dangerous and unpredictable, so that when he narrowly beats a murder charge, he's hounded out of town, exiled for a sin he did not commit. For five long years, he disappears. Then he returns and he has a good reason. He is attacked hours after his return. Adam finds himself in the fight for his life.