Wind River Lawman

McKenna’s suspenseful sixth contemporary set in Wind River Valley, Wyo. (after Lone Rider), features a fearless sheriff who discovers love with a kindhearted former combat corpsman. Sheriff Sarah Carter first considers hiring Dawson Callahan, a cattle wrangler who learned paramedic skills in the Navy, to help her aging grandmother. When Sarah gets a 911 call about a car crash while she’s chatting with Dawson, she asks him to come along and help care for the wounded, but it’s a setup by local drug lords, who nearly take them down. Their near brush with death draws them closer, and attraction builds. Sarah then goes to handle a domestic dispute at the home of Brian Elson, but Brian is killed and Sarah is gravely wounded. Once she’s released from the hospital, Dawson and Sarah hole up in a mountain cabin so she can heal emotionally and physically and stay safe from Brian’s son Hiram, who’s plotting to kill her to avenge his father’s death. McKenna’s refreshing, fast-paced romance is enhanced by fully developed characters, affable protagonists, and the subtle development of love. Agent: Claire Gerus, Claire Gerus Literary. (Sept.)