Father's Day - Kathleen O'Brien

Father’s Day is coming. At our house, that’s always cause for anxiety, because my husband won’t ever tell us what he’d like to do, or what presents he’s hoping to get. He insists that his happiness comes just from knowing we’re happy. But, particularly on that day, our happiness comes from making him happy…and so the whole silly situation can get pretty complicated!


This year, as the kids and I were going through our usual “what, oh what, would Daddy like?”, I started thinking how incredibly lucky we are to have a guy like that. I was young when I married him, and I have to be honest. I wasn’t evaluating what kind of father he’d make. I never once considered the gene pool, or inherited traits, or parenting skills, or anything even remotely practical. I was just thinking how I could hardly breathe whenever he came near, and how I could easily drown in those deep brown eyes.

Isn’t it wonderful when that primal chemistry and great father material come in the same package? This is a photo of our firstborn and her Daddy. Have you ever seen such bliss—on both ends? Makes me smile just to look at this one.

I guess it’s no accident that the heroes of my books are so often great fathers—whether it’s fathers of the heart, or fathers of the blood. I’ve written furious heroes who discover they have a “secret baby” the heroine hid from them years ago. I’ve written bewildered heroes who fall in love with a woman who is carrying another man’s child, horrified heroes whose girlfriends show up on their doorsteps to announce the unwelcome news. In my most recent Superromance, TEXAS TROUBLE, Logan Cathcart is a broken-hearted man who lost his four-year-old son and is desperately resisting falling for the owner of the ranch next door, a young widow with two troubled boys.

I love my “father” heroes, and I seem to return to that storyline, one way or another, again and again. Each of these wonderful men comes to fatherhood by a different path, but, when he arrives, he embraces the experience with joy and love and an unshakable commitment to the future.

My favorite fictional father—a difficult choice, as there are so many fabulous ones—is Atticus Finch from TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. He is so brave, so gentle and wise and steady in the storm. And of course it doesn’t hurt that, in the movie, he looks like Gregory Peck. I always tear up at that wonderful moment, when Rev. Sykes tells Scout, “Stand up…Your father is passing.”

How about you? Is there an awesome father in your life? Do you love the father hero? Who are some of your favorites?