Red Dirt Heart 3

Title: Red Dirt Heart 3
Author: N.R. Walker
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 17, 2014
Genre(s): Contemporary
Page Count: 287
Reviewed by: Jewel
Heat Level: 3 flames out of 5
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Blurb:

Life for Charlie Sutton has never been better, or busier. With Travis now a permanent fixture of Sutton Station, a permanent fixture at Charlie’s side, Charlie’s convinced he couldn’t do anything on his ever-growing to-do list without him.

He can run a multimillion dollar cattle business, finish his degree, try and further the local beef industry, deal with staff issues, Ma’s failing health, and an attention-demanding wombat. He can even deal with an unexpected visitor and some shattering news.

He can deal with it all, as long as he has Travis.

But what happens when he doesn’t?

Red Dirt Heart 3 is the story of Charlie Sutton finally realizing he can be the man Travis Craig deserves, even if he doesn’t have Travis. It’s a story of love, family, holding on, letting go and coming home.

So…a kangaroo, a wombat and a cow walk into a bar… Ok, no punchline, but Charlie and Travis do have a way of collecting critters over the course of the books. I love this series and this author. Her books have yet to disappoint me.

Nugget, completely stole the show when he was around. I mean, who wouldn’t love the little pain in the arse, boot chewing, needs to be fed every three hours critter? Surprisingly, though, it was Charlie that bonded more with Nugget. And Nugget sure bonded to Charlie. I could not help but smile when Nugget and Charlie were in the same room.

In , things are going really well between Travis and Charlie and the station is busy. So much is going on. Charlie meets a potential buyer for his beef cattle that would mean stable, dependable income, Ma still isn’t well and everyone has their hands full trying to get her to see a doctor, a discovery in the roof when they are working on replacing the roof leaves Charlie wondering if he ever knew his father at all, and an unexpected visitor turns up, leaving Charlie an emotional mess. Meanwhile, Charlie has a degree to finish and it’s calving season and, oh yeah, he is running for a spot on the agricultural board. So, maybe “busy” is an understatement.

Then in the middle of all that, a family crisis back in Texas takes Travis away, leaving Charlie to deal with everything, pretty much, on his own. Now, Travis promises that he will be back. Travis loves Charlie and can’t imagine his life without him. Charlie, though, is terrified that Travis won’t return. And for a while I would – along with Ma, George and everyone – admonish Charlie for having so little faith in Travis. Then, it dawned on me that it isn’t Travis that Charlie doesn’t have faith in — it’s himself.

So we see Charlie manage everything on his own, well enough, but Charlie is just hollow. He and Travis are like two sides of the same coin — you can’t have one without the other. Oh, how I love them.

But worry not, fellow readers, this book does have a happy ending. Have I mentioned just how much I love them?

 Author Link GoodReads