Falling for the Hometown Hero

Jolene here. Checking in from the Texas Hill Country. We were asked about our own love story.

God gave me a clue how my future would unfold the first night I saw the man that would be my husband. It was August as I drove my sister and a couple of friends over the hill country from Leakey Texas to Junction to watch a high school football game. (there would end up being countless of Friday night lights in the years to come).  One of my friends was dating the  Leakey quarterback.

After the game, we all met at Dairy Queen. (How small town is that?) I thought the older brother was cute.  We asked if David, my friend's boyfriend, could ride back with us. Fred said no. You see, he’s a rule follower, and he had signed that his brother would be riding home with him.

So we followed. We would pass him then fall back. I guess it was some sort of flirting. BUT Fred just thought I was a bit crazy…I liked driving fast back then.

So a few months later at another football game, Homecoming.   I love fall. The bonfires, cool air, and football are in full swing.

In the small towns of Texas, homecoming is a big deal. (when I say small town we are talking population of around 400). My parents came back (my father had been the quarterback 20 years before),  my grandparents were there, and the population doubles.

 After the game, it’s time to cruise main. Somehow I got separated from my friends and ended up around the truck bed with a bunch of guys. One was trying to flirt, I think. Not very good at it and I started feeling uncomfortable. That’s when Fred showed up. Like a Knight on a white steed.

He was great, and we talked about so many things. I found out that  not only did he have the three younger brothers, but he had seven older siblings. He was a senior at Anglo State and was studying kinesiology and English.  We talked about our horses – he grew up on a ranch. I think I fell in love right then. 

About two years later in a pure act of love,  Fred, this small town ranch boy got a job in Houston just so we could be together as I finished art school.

It's amazing to look back and see how one night paved the path I wasn’t even looking for.  A little over thirty years later, four kids and many miles across Texas, we still love talking about life.

When I develop my heroes, I think they all have a small piece of Fred. You can see if this is true in the new anthology that was just released. Sweet Summer Nights.  You might recognize some of the other authors - it's six sweet stories for .99  cents   Sweet Summer Nights

  

The Single Dad

Hello, Jolene Navarro here today. Hope your day is going well. What are you doing today?
Me?
Oh, just some research for my current work in progress.  I know, I know...it's hard work.

Jensen Ackles and his daughter, Inspiration for my hero and his adopted daughter

Another of Jensen Ackles and his daughter.

My hero, Garrett, finds out he has a four year old, orphaned son and that son... has a daughter. To keep the kids together he is about to take custody of both children. He will be going from confirmed bachelor to single dad over night.. and does it without hesitation. Oh, he might have some doubts about his ability to do the job, but he never imagines not doing it. How can our heroine not fall in love with him?
Something about heroes and fatherhood that pulls at my heart strings, especially when the child is not even his but they love them as if they were.
We hear that fathers are the ones that establish how a girl will expect to be treated from her chosen partner. The relationship he has with his daughter will set the ground work for her future relationship. Sons watch dad to see how his mom is treated. Without this foundation life is so much harder...doable but harder.
My own heart still melted whenever my husband loves on our own daughters, twenty-three years ago or today.

Our oldest daughter never wanted to go to sleep.

Our second daughter is home from school and my husband makes sure to stop and give her a hug as he leaves the press box and heads to the football field

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I also have a deep respect the men that are fathers when there was no father. Brings to mind the country western song, "He Didn't have to Be" by Brad Paisley.

As lovers of romance we want to see the character and heart of the heroes in our stories, and know they are honorable. The kind of men that steps in and does the right thing for those that are smaller and weaker than him.  And he loves with his whole heart, eventually. For our fictional heroes, there are always some issues they have to work through, but we know at their core, they are good men. Sometimes, they have to learn that too.
Some people say it's just fiction...that doesn't happen in real life.
But I see these men all the time in the real  world. There are a couple of men in my family that have become fathers when they didn't have to...and truthfully we forget they aren't the "bio" dad. They are the real-life heroes. Being a father is more than blood and DNA, it's loving and supporting a child into adulthood. How can we not love a hero that does this?

This summer it will be twenty years  that I suddenly lost my father. I still miss his hugs and crooked grin when he thought I was being crazy.

Daddy's girl - Jolene Guinther Navarro and Roger Von Guinther 1970

I would say that all three of my father's daughters thought of themselves as a Daddy's Girl.
So are you a sucker for a single dad story? Does the image of a man holding a child make you sigh? Or is it just me?  

Hometown Heroes

by Keli Gwyn (@KeliGwyn)

My hometown of Placerville, California is awash with heroes. The King Fire, which is currently the nation's highest priority fire, is raging just ten miles away. While my town and my home aren't threatened, many towns and homes nearby are.

Enter the heroes, some 7,952 of them as of the time this post went live. These firefighters, law enforcement officers and other emergency personnel are battling a blaze that began Saturday, September 13. It started small but quickly spread and is currently listed as being 92,960 acres.

The fire's southern incident command center is set up at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds next door to my favorite supermarket. Fire engines fill the parking lot, along with a line of mobile sleeping units. The air conditioners hum loudly while exhausted firefighters inside try to grab some shut-eye.

Three days into the fire, I spotted the crew shown above picking up a few items in the store. I thanked them, shook their hands and asked if they'd pose for a picture. They readily agreed, but they wanted me to stand with them. I declined, saying I wasn't a hero; they were.

When I went to my local Walmart a few days later, I noticed a number of engines in the parking lot. I was able to get this picture of one of them with a couple members of the crew. Once again, when I asked the firefighters to pose, they insisted I be in the shot instead of them.

This led me to the conclusion that one of the major characteristics of a hero is humility. The many men and women I've encountered as I've rubbed elbows with the firefighters don't see themselves as heroes. They often shrug with embarrassment and tell me they're just doing their job.

These dedicated men and women are doing their jobs and doing them well. They're working long shifts in horrific conditions with no days off. They're missing their loved ones back home. One thing they're not doing is complaining. On the contrary. They're kind, courteous and grateful for the smallest of things.

My local Curves coaches met to pass out Otter Pops to the firefighters on a hot afternoon, and I was honored to join them. As I handed out the simple treats, I was greeted with ready smiles and a chorus of enthusiastic thank you's.

Based on my experience with these heroes in my hometown, a hero is hardworking and humble, kind and courteous, brave and sometimes even bashful. These traits are much the same as those I've seen heroes in stories portray.

If you were to expand the list of traits a hero possesses, which would you include?