Today we welcome Danica Favorite to the Petticoats and Pistols corral.
One of my favorite parts of the rodeo is the bronc riding. It’s such a great combo of talent, skill and a little bit of luck. The announcer at a rodeo series I often watch has always been good about sharing some of the inside stories of the cowboys, and one of the things I fell in love with was how many times he’d talk about how cowboys competing against each other were often close friends and traveling buddies. You think about rodeos as competitions, but it reminded me of my life growing up in the rodeo scene. The people do become like family, even if you spend all season vying for the top spots.
So when I came up with this series, I thought a lot about that sense of family, not just in my Shepherd’s Creek community, but also among these rodeo cowboys. That became the heart of The Bronc Rider’s Twins. What do you do when someone in that found family dies, leaving behind a mess? For Wyatt Nelson, that meant stepping up and being the husband and father his best friend couldn’t be.
Family is equally important to Laura Fisher. For those who read the first book in the series, Journey to Forgiveness, you know that the Shepherd’s Creek family is working through a very painful past. You don’t have to have read it to read The Bronc Rider’s Twins, but for me, this series isn’t just about each of the family members, but about the way they’ve found their way back to each other after being estranged for so long.
Though there is, of course, a happy ending, what I love about this book, and this series, is that we see how messy families can be, and how sometimes working through these issues can take a lot of time, patience, and love. And, even though we have a picture in our heads of what a family is supposed to look like, the family in this series isn’t your traditional family. But together, they find healing and hope.
About The Bronc Rider’s Twins:
A family he doesn’t expect…
But will protect at all costs.
Convinced he caused his best friend’s death, rodeo cowboy Wyatt Nelson will do whatever it takes to look after widow Laura Fisher and her infant twins—even propose to her. A marriage of convenience is the perfect solution to keep custody from Laura’s overbearing in-laws. But as Wyatt begins to fall for the little family, will he let guilt get in the way of his heart?
About Danica Favorite:
Danica Favorite has spent her life in love with good books. Never did she imagine that the people who took her to far away places would someday be the same folks she now calls friends.
A mountain girl at heart, she lives in the Denver area with her family and ever-changing menagerie of animals.
Put it all together, and you find an adventurous writer who likes to explore what it means to be human and follow people on the journey to happily ever after.
Giveaway:
Danica will be giving away a copy of The Bronc Rider’s Twins. To be entered in the random drawing, leave a comment about someone you’re not technically related to, but you consider family, and how has that person helped you in your life?
When our car was broke down and we had no way to the store so our neighbor took us wasn’t family but they helped us when we needed it!
I love that! Neighbors are great!
I just lost the person who was not technically related to me, but I felt like my second Mom. She was our neighbor down the alley. I knew her my entire life. When my Mom was put into Hospice, she told me she would be there for me. We found out in October that she had stage 4 cancer. She was one of my Mom’s dearest friends. My Mom went into the arms of the Lord on January 16. My second Mom joined her on February 10. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
So sorry for your loss!
I have several girlfriends I consider sisters of the heart. I have no sisters, just brothers.
Sisters of the heart are chosen family, there for you when needed, and it’s reciprocated.
Love that!
school friend always there
How wonderful to still have a relationship with a school friend like that!
My best friend for many, many years has always been my “sister”. Neither of us had family close by so we always celebrated the holidays together. We helped raise each others children and did so many things together.
What a great way to start a new holiday tradition!
When I was in High-school my family met another family. The Wilson’s. We all became one big family and went in ski trips together all the way from Stephenville, TX to Southfork, CO., every year. Thanksgiving, Christmas’s spent together. Their oldest daughter and I were the same age. She was just a bit older and took me under her wing. We even opened our own business together, a huge snow cone stand in the Shopping mall in town. We ran this business for 4 years, she and I were offered a buyout by the Tropical Snow franchise.. both of us with plans for college jumped on this and sold. The business taught us a lot of responsibility. She and I and both of our family’s have remained close and are still family. She was my Rock and continues to be to this day. Like Linda Broday writes about in her books, family is not always blood related. Your books sound amazing. Thank you for coming and visiting P & P. Happy writing.
Thank you so much for sharing your story! What a wonderful connection! That sounds like a great idea for a book!
My childten have a 3rd Grandma, Mrs. Wicker. She watches them when I have appointments, even has for overnight trips. She’s my friend too. I can share my heart with her. She sends my kids birthday cards and Christmas gifts too. I call her granddaughter their cousin.
I love how they get a bonus grandma! Grandmas are the best, so I think a bonus grandma would be even better!
My best friend, Carolyn, is an encourager. She is a strong Christian, has a positive outlook, and is my cheerleader, always putting a smile on my face and making me believe I can do whatever I’m attempting. The world needs more people like her.
How beautiful! I need to be friends with Carolyn! She sounds wonderful!
They started as friends of my sister and her husband. After my BIL died they stayed as good friends. One soringvacation all our schedules matched and we spent a week together at a beach house. They are now our other brother and sister. There to lend a hand when needed even though we now live in different states.
What a great story of lasting friendship! Thank you for sharing!
My childhood friend. We went to school together. Our last names were the same so we always were seated together. Our senior pictures we were across from each other. She wrote “always together”. When she moved to another city in the late ‘80s we didn’t see each other for for over 30 years. Then 5 years ago she and her husband retired and moved back. Now we are back together sharing stories on our grandchildren, send pictures, getting together a few times, but we stay in touch almost everyday through imessaging. We didn’t miss a beat on our relationship. I think childhood friends form that special bond that is like family. At least we have.
That sounds like such a special relationship! I did not grow up with anyone else named Danica or with the last name Favorite, unless you count my Favorite relatives!
There is a family a few doors down that says I am her American Mom. She helps us and we help her. She is a sister to my daughters and a aunt to my grandsons. It is a beautiful thing.
That sounds like a very beautiful thing. We had a Japanese exchange student about ten years ago who just came to visit, and I’m her American Mom. I love it!
I’ve had friends in that category. The one I was the closest to died about 4 years ago. We were co-teachers in a preschool and could have finished each other sentences.
I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s so hard to lose a friend like that.
This would be my best friend that I guess we met as babies through our parents. Growing up I was always at her house or she was at mine. Her mother was from Ireland so my grandparents were like her grandparents. I even lived with her for a while. So we are like sisters and a lot of people thought we were sisters because we spent so much time together.
I love that friendship from babies!
welcome today and thanks for sharing. when I got married, my husbands best friend also worked with him, went to the same church, bicycled together, etc. so it was natural that as I became a part of this duo, our first son would call him uncle bob. and then our daughter. we were a happy family until he got married and they moved away. but I still know that he is still in love with Jesus along with his wife and three boys. growing up on a farm, we went to many rodeos. I was a barrel racer for many years and yes they are all like one big family with small families amongst them all. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net
Yes, exactly! Love the barrel racing connection. I did it for a little while growing up, but my family was all into roping.
I have two longtime friends, my BFF’s whose families and mine have known each other for generations. They are included in any family function we are having. They are the sisters I never had. I like to think we know each other more than God does.
What a beautiful friendship!
It is amazing to me the sister friends I have made in my life. In fact, I have friends that I have made through my interaction with Petticoats and Pistols who encouraged me tremendously through my journey of breast cancer! I love this blog because it lifts me up very day! And, the bonus of sister friends is just too sweet!
Danica, your books look very interesting and I will enjoy getting more acquainted with you. Thank you for coming and sharing today.
Yes, the online friendships can be so amazing! Thank you for your kind words!
Growing up there was an older couple who lived up the street we called grandma and grandpa. They spoiled us rotten!
So fun!! Now that my kids are older, I wish I lived in a neighborhood to spoil someone else’s kids!
An older lady named Peggy… was so kind to me when I moved to a new town many years ago… she was like a second mom… so kind and friendly…. made me feel so welcomed.
Peggy sounds lovely!
I have some very good friends that consider me family since my Mom passed. They’ve invited me for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and this year I’ll be spending Easter with them, too!!!
I love that you have someone to spend holidays with! We used to do that for people as well. It’s so nice to have the other people.
I have a great friend, Tammy, who is like a sister to me. She has given me godly advice which helped my marriage. We homeschooled our children together. She’s always been there for me.
Tammy sounds like a wonderful friend and encourager!
When my husband and I moved to a town where we didn’t know anyone, it was my husband and I and our then 1 and a half year old baby. Well, I needed to take her to the Dr. and my husband was working at the uranium mine at the time, well our next door neighbor who was the mom of the people we were renting from at the time , took me, I had asked her if she could do me that favor since I didn’t drive, and she took my daughter and I, I will forever be grateful for her.
What a wonderful neighbor! Living in a new town is so hard,and I’m glad she made it easier for you.
The one person I have is my best friend, Debbie. We have been friends over 34 years. We are more like sisters than best friends. We both homeschooled our children. That’s how I met her. I can talk to her about anything. She has been there for me through everything.
I baby sitting for a wok friend of my daughter. The little veil called me Nan and she’s like a granddaughter to me. She will be 8 this month she calls or text to tell me she love and miss me all the time
My parents’ best friends’ daughter was born the same day as I. They have always definitely been family, always will be. She and I have been lifelong friends and even exchange “sister” gifts, and her parents will always be my aunt and uncle.
We have a family friend whom my grandparents met at church. She helps them out so much when we can’t make the six hour drive to their house. She is basically family!
Hey Danica! Pam here…. I had a lot of girl friends at one time. Sue, Joan, Jenny. have passed away so there’s still Joanne and Jackie, her sister, Debbie, and my other gf Debbie. To me every one of them are sisters to me. I never get to see them anymore but we stay in touch by phone or face book. Each one has helped me one way or another. When my first husband left me. Joanne was the one who talked to me late at night on the phone. Jenny would talk to me during the mornings when long distance calls cost so much. Jackie knew I was seeing Doug before everyone else becuz she seen us in town together!!! Debbie I get to see sometimes when she drives from another state to see me. We quite often have lunch at Cracker Barrel ! I have an older lady who has known me since I was 10-12 yrs old who helps by taking me to the stores to get groceries and pay bills. . She always enjoys spending time with me! That is a blessing.
My dear friend Sue who I have known since high school. We have seen each other through some difficult times like losing our grandparents and my mother-in-law. We have also shared some joyous moments such as when she was a bridesmaid at my wedding.
My mom’s best friend who I always called Aunt. She’s been like a mom to me ever since my mom passed away. I wish I lived much closer to her. She’s blind and 89 years old. I call her almost everyday.
We were close with our next door neighbors. They would keep an eye on our house whenever we went out of town or away on vacation. They both passed away a few years ago and we still miss them.
We have best friends we have known since high school. We were in a Christian band together and our children were like brothers and sisters. Even though not related by blood, they were aunt and uncle to our children and we to theirs. When we moved to another area, we kept in touch for a while, but then we didn’t have contact for a long time. We have reconnected now that our children are all grown, and they are still the best friends we have ever had. We pray each other through the trials that we have faced, both physical and emotional, and realize that we are closer than blood, still supporting one another.
My BF since 2nd grade, Paula. She’s my other sister. Even though we live in different cities and in the winter different states, we still connect via FaceTime. She has been a huge help with my almost 99 yo mom. She visits and brings her soup and baked treats. I was also super close to her mom. Luckily I made it to her 90th birthday party last summer. In many ways I was closer to Paula’s parents than my own.
My husband was an Air Force “brat” and became an officer in the Air Force himself. His mom and dad had a couple they were very good friends with. My husband’s father died when we were juniors in high school. This couple was very supportive and the husband was a stand in father figure for my husband and his brother. He taught him how to refinish furniture and they would all go to auctions together. That was in 1963 and they remained close friends. We have traveled to visit them everywhere they have been stationed and after they retired. Only the husband is left now and he is 96. We still visit when we are down that way and call every week. There was a women my M-in-Law worked with for about 40 years. She and her husband were part of the first wave of refugees that came to the US when Castro took over Cuba. They were such good friends with John’s mom and by extension the boys. I got to know her as the wonderful, giving woman she was. We always visited her when we went down to visit family, even after his mother died. We would do repair work around the house for her, take her out for dinner, and she would teach me to cook Cuban dishes.
In general, military families create their own families. We are far from our blood relatives. Children may seldom see grandparents or aunts, uncles, and cousins. We understand what the others are going through and are ready to help out whenever we can. We eventually form a core group of people we like and tend to keep in touch and do things together when stationed apart and after retirement.
I feel created families are special because they are those we choose to spend our time with.