New Release -- Cool Water by Jeanne Harrell

Trail guide Natalie Coleman has her perfect job in Yosemite National Park—until she and a group of riders come face-to-face with the biggest, meanest grizzly she’s ever seen! When the bear attacks, she must not only save her group, but also a lone rider who comes out of the woods—unaware of what’s happening.

Wes Evans is down to his last good nerve. Camping in Yosemite to study owls—and get away from his life—seems like the perfect solution. Though he’s just been fired, been served divorce papers, and had his head set afire by his brother, Fate still has plenty of tricks up her sleeve for him. Charged by an angry bear, he’s bucked off his horse, knocked unconscious, and left with a case of total amnesia. The only bright spot is that Natalie takes him under her wing until he can remember…something! With his lack of memory, things get complicated with parents, jobs, and ex-lovers.

The longer Wes stays with Natalie, the more uncertain he is about returning to his former life—whatever it might have been. And although Natalie has sworn off men, she can’t help but enjoy having Wes in her life—even with the chance that their friendship is about to go into forbidden territory! How can she fall for a man she knows nothing about?

EXCERPT

Natalie

My mother always said that I was usually in the wrong place at the right time. Now, generally that didn’t make too much sense to me because I really didn’t understand what she meant. All I’ve ever done is live around Yosemite, ride horses and try to be the best person I can be. And things that have happened to me like…dodging that bolt of lightning in a sudden storm, or dropping a hymnal in church and having the cute guy next to me pick it up…or maybe getting close enough to the altar right before the floor collapsed below my feet. Well, would they classify? I never was much sure.

But when I saw that bear, it hit me smack between the eyes what my mom meant by wrong place, right time. But I’ll get back to that.

Wes

None of it made any sense. At that time, the world made no sense to me. Divorced, adrift, jobless and hairless all added up to my pointless existence. My father told me to buck up. Shovel through the shit that had landed in my lap and be a man! My friends all felt sorry for me – too much happening and all at once.

But that’s the way life is sometimes, or so the professor down the hall told me. Just because I’d been bucked off didn’t mean I shouldn’t get right back on that horse again. It was an insane metaphor for a biology professor to use, but it turned out to be prophetic. Who knew?