My new book released today! His New Companion is the final book in my Wyoming Legacies series, and it’s a Love Inspired K-9 Companions novel, too. I’ve written six books set in the fictional Wyoming town of Jewel River.
The first book, The Cowboy’s Christmas Compromise, sets up the premise of the series. Jewel River has seen better days. Erica Black moves to town and wants to revitalize it. She asks locals to get together to discuss what the town needs and how they can make it vibrant again. Thus begins the Jewel River Legacy Club. Monthly meetings are held in the community center, and each book in the series features at least one meeting. Some of the residents have kooky ideas, and others are hard-nosed and against change. One thing is for sure–the meetings are never boring!
In His New Companion, Ty Moulten has never been to a meeting. His mother, Christy, has been trying to get him to attend one for years, and he never has. He’s hidden himself away on his ranch for five years. He didn’t intend to, but after his fiancée died, he got depressed and couldn’t handle people’s well-meaning sympathy. When the story begins, he’s finally getting out of his shell. He volunteers to foster a service-dog-in-training on weekends, but he gets more than he bargained for. He’s introduced to Fritz, a mini-dachshund, and Ashlinn, the new girl in town with a service dog of her own. And needless to say, he finally attends a meeting.
And as he spends time with Ashlinn, Ty comes to appreciate Jewel River and the community he’s avoided. He sees how generous and supportive the people at his church and his mother’s friends can be. Plus, his mother shocks him with a surprise announcement regarding one of the characters I loved writing–Clem Buckley, a wiry, tells-it-like-it-is retired rancher.
I’m going to miss Jewel River, but I already have a new fictional Wyoming town to enjoy! My next series with Love Inspired is called Wyoming Inheritance, and the first book releases in late October.
Read an excerpt of His New Companion
He would not get attached to the dog. After all, this was a temporary gig.
Ty Moulten stood outside the entrance of Howard Service Dogs in Jewel River, Wyoming, after five on Friday and wondered again if fostering a dog on the weekends was wise. Maybe he should wait until next year when he’d have more time to get used to the idea. Or he could try in a few months when the temperature cooled. July had been a scorcher so far, and they were only midway through it.
Either the sun was melting him or he’d worked himself into an actual fever. Why was he so sweaty? Probably didn’t help that after he’d finished checking cattle, he’d opted to change into a fresh pair of jeans instead of shorts.
Life made more sense in jeans, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. And being comfortable would help him keep his head on straight. His heart had been broken once. Shattered, really. Fostering a dog was nothing compared to what he’d had with Zoey, but it didn’t change the fact there wasn’t enough of his heart left for him to squander the little that remained.
He didn’t do love—or people in general—anymore.
***
Healing from heartbreak
Can start with a four-legged friend.
Six years after losing his fiancée, rancher Ty Moulten still struggles with grief. Organizing a fundraiser in her honor and fostering a service dog feel like a step forward, and lead to meeting Ashlinn Burnier, the service dog training center’s new administrative assistant. As Ashlinn helps Ty plan the fundraiser, he finds himself falling for Fritz, the tiny dachshund in his care, and for Ashlinn—who has a service dog of her own. But Ashlinn worries her health challenges make her a burden, and Ty wonders if he can open his heart again. Will two hardworking pups help them choose love over holding on to fear?
Purchase His New Companion!
Do you enjoy fictional towns, or do you prefer stories set in real ones?
Thanks for celebrating with me!
