That Special Character
Sometimes a character comes along who insists I need to tell his story. Usually RIGHT NOW when I’m working on another book. In my case, the character is usually male. What can I say? I like men.:)
Liam McFarland, the hero of The Christmas Cowboy, is that character. I knew from the moment he stepped on the page in The Wrong Brother, the first book in the Montana Made series, that I would write his story. What I didn’t know until I got into that first book was that Liam would be such a strong character that I would have to slap him down the entire book, assuring him that his story was next.
To me Liam is the ultimate hero. He’s a hard-working cowboy, who’s extremely nice to look at, and who loves animals and his family, and he wants a family of his own. Which was why he arranged for Cici Bradley to come to town. But Cici and Logan, Liam’s brother, fell in love so Liam stepped aside, still waiting for his own story.
Val Fletcher, the heroine of The Christmas Cowboy, has lived on the ranch next door to Liam her entire life. She’s a horsewoman and rancher who has a soft spot for animals. She fell in love with Liam when she was thirteen-years-old and he saved a dog from some bullies who were torturing it. She’d done her best to rescue the dog, but she wasn’t having a lot of luck against two older boys. Until Liam stepped up.
Liam is eight years older than her and Val has never been on his radar other than being his best friend’s little sister. Eventually, he realizes she’s all grown up but she’s still his best friend’s little sister and off-limits. Until he discovers Val crying at his brother’s wedding and learns she’s pregnant and the father wants nothing to do with her or her baby.
So Liam does what any good guy would do and offers to marry her. The last thing Val wants is a marriage of convenience to a man she’s been in love with forever. But between the knowledge that her old-fashioned father will never accept an unmarried pregnant daughter, no matter her age, and Liam convincing her that the marriage would benefit him as well, she’s tempted.
It may sound like I’ve told you the whole story but I promise I haven’t. This snippet is from page 10 of the book. They’re discussing what the marriage would be like. As in would it be a real marriage?
“I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t like having a marriage without sex,” Val said. Might as well get that out there now. “Would you?”
He was staring at her now with his hazel eyes deepening to green, and she had no idea what he was thinking. Great. He wasn’t attracted to her and he didn’t know how to tell her.
“No.”
“No, what?” she asked.
“No, I wouldn’t like to be married and not have sex with my wife. But if that’s what you want—”
“I just said it wasn’t.”
“Okay, then.”
Oh, the enthusiasm is killing me.
Liam and Val not only have to navigate a marriage of convenience becoming a real marriage, but they have other challenges along the way to their happily-ever-after.
Liam McFarland is one of my very favorite heroes. The quintessential cowboy with a heart of gold and a strong sense of right and wrong. He’s not perfect, no person is, but he darn near is. And it doesn’t hurt a bit that he’s hot as sin.:)
Do you like marriage of convenience stories? What qualities do you think are essential for a hero to have?
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Eve Gaddy
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