Red Dirt Heart 2 (Red Dirt, #2)

by N.R. Walker

DEDICATION For those who took a chance on me years ago, and for those who are with me still, Thank you.

“You’ll be useless without me,” he’d goaded, pinning my hands above my head and nudging his nose to mine. “You’ll see.” And the smug bastard was right.

“Come on, let’s go clean out my bank account at the co-op.” And we very nearly did. Well, not quite, but I needed to replace all the fencing wire we’d used the other week and buying over two kilometres of fencing wire wasn’t exactly cheap. The poor kid behind the counter thought I was joking when I ordered it, then Travis thought the kid behind the counter was joking when he told us the price.

“And I need to spend time with you,” I whispered. He raised one eyebrow. “Need? Like a charity kind of need?” I snorted. “No. Need like I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t kind of need.” He grinned something special. “And you think you’re not romantic.”

He had this way of making me love him just a little bit more by doing the simplest of things.

And knowin’ I actually had to make a start on this bloody assessment, I grabbed my books and went straight back outside. I figured if I had to read through this shit, I might as well do it where I could enjoy the fresh air and the view. And by view, I meant Travis.

I glared at Travis, because this was all his fault, and even in the rain I think I could see that look in his eyes Ma talked about—the one of me hangin’ the moon—and it made my heart beat all out of rhythm.

“This is what’s it’s about, right here. Open desert, flat to the horizon, blue sky, red dirt and you.”