REVIEW: Bridging Lives – Bridging Hearts #2 – Greyson McCoy

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Cliff Anderson hopes to build on the legacy of his late parents, but that dream seems lost when his California homestead is lost to a wildfire. Devastated, he travels to Oregon to stay with his aunt and uncle on their dairy operation while he makes plans for his future.

College professor Brandon Forest has always yearned for a family and a home of his own. Maybe that’s why, despite being busy with his job and his side gig as a fantasy author, he’s stayed on as a seasonal worker at the dairy farm. The farm feels so welcoming, and working on their dairy farm might be the next step in building the life he’s dreamed of.

Then he meets Cliff.

As Cliff and Brandon confront their own broken pasts, they build a connection that runs deep. Laughter and shared experiences prove to be strong medicine for the wounds life has inflicted on them.

Cliff hasn’t let go of his past or the hopes he had for the farm in California. Will his future burn down as he holds on to lost hopes, or can he blaze a new path with Brandon?

This was a wonderful story, a story of overcoming and starting over. Cliff Anderson watched as his farm was in the path of wildfires. Trying to save whatever he could he just made it out hoping that his farm would not become a casualty. Unable to stay in his home and with no other choice he called his aunt and uncle in Wilcox, Oregon far from his home in California.

His aunt and uncle welcomed him with open arms, but his grief was overwhelming. A year ago, he lost both his parents to a drunk driver and now he could lose the farm. His neighbors were all facing the same prospect and would call him to let him know what was happening.

Cliff’s uncle owns a dairy farm, and the author does an amazing job of laying out the problems farmers have. Weather is always a problem and then when their biggest distributor moves on, and prices drop, it is a constant battle to stay ahead. Cliff’s cousin Levi is a schoolteacher and can help out when school ends but he never wanted to be a farmer so there is nobody left to take over.

Brandon Forest is a college professor and an author. He has two books published and looks forward to helping at the ranch. That was when Cliff met Brandon, and their attraction was immediate. Brandon knows that Cliff is suffering, and it is not the right time to pursue anything but hopefully he can be there for him in his time of need.

The beauty of this story is in a time of need having people support you emotionally. Cliff’s aunt and uncle have embraced him and have offered their home to him for as long as he needs it. The heartbreaking losses caused by wildfires or hurricanes is not fiction but a reality and the author expresses the sorrow in telling Cliff’s story.

With the losses comes the courage to start over. Farming is not for the weak, early mornings, late evenings, fighting to stay afloat when mother nature is constantly testing you, I felt all those feelings reading this book.