Romance Rides the River by Colleen L. Reece

HP 923
ISBN 978-1-60260-994-5
HISTORICAL

Rampaging rivers threaten lives and love.

Life on the Diamond S will never be the same after Dori Sterling descends on the ranch like water gushing through a broken dam. Cattle disappear. An uninvited guest drives the Sterlings to distraction. And a trip into the Sierra Nevada threatens to end in disaster.

Young Seth Anderson is determined to fight adversity and keep the faith, but he can’t prevent rivers from flooding. Neither can he halt the more subtle but equally powerful undercurrents menacing the ranch and the girl he loves.

Can a dedicated young man and a rebellious girl safely navigate troubled waters and get past the log jam that blocks their way to finding happiness?

“How oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him: [Peter] Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22, KJV).

Seth beckoned to Dori.

“Our turn, Copper,” she told the sorrel. He snorted and stepped into the flooded stream. All went well until they were halfway across. A floating tree, several branches still intact, barreled down the stream and blocked their way. Copper swerved to avoid the obstacle. The current caught him broadside. He staggered and regained his balance, but had already been swept past the bank where Seth and Splotches [Dori's pinto mare] waited.

Terror filled Dori, but she hung on for dear life. “You can do it, Copper!” she screamed, sticking in the saddle like a burr. The sorrel tried again and again, but he could not out-swim the tree. Tossed by the current, it stayed between horse, rider, and the opposite bank. Dori didn’t dare try to turn back. The bank was too steep to climb even if they could make it.

They rounded a sharp bend. A short distance ahead, another stream gushed white water into the one where she and Copper were trapped, changing it into a river. Unless they could get out before they reached that point, it meant certain death. Only God could save them now.

COLLEEN L. REECE was born and raised in a small western Washington logging town. She learned to read by kerosene lamplight and dreamed of someday writing a book. God has multiplied Colleen's “someday” book into more than 140 titles that have sold six million copies. Colleen was twice voted Heartsong Presents' Favorite Author and later inducted into Heartsong's Hall of Fame. Several of her books have appeared on the CBA Bestseller list.

On a scale of one to ten, how well do you swim? (1 is not at all and ten is excellent)