But, then I realized that there were elements of my husband in each of the men that I loved the most. Roger has actually been each of them at one time or another...sometimes that's not a good thing and I will say that he hasn't lived each character's life, by any means. But some of the best of each character, my husband has been. And a few of the most infuriating, he has also been. Fortunately, the good outweighs the infuriating. So far. Anyway, I thought I would explore a couple of my favorites, trying not to give away any of the story...
Stephen: My third daughter, Brynn, says she doesn't like Stephen Darcy very well. I find that odd. Stephen is a popular figure in the books, popular in the town of Dooley and within the McKenna clan. He is handsome, from a salt-of-the-earth family, the youngest of several brothers; the "surprise" baby. He is a bit spoiled by his parents, has caroused himself out of university and has a keen business sense.
He is also very stuck on the McKenna girls. All of them. He doesn't really have a bad bone in his body, but he doesn't have any qualms about courting first one, then another of the females in the sprawling family. As he tells Buck McKenna at one point, he considers them "the best", whatever that means to Stephen.
He is not a deep thinker and doesn't see the need to be. He skates through life with bursts of hard-working goodwill, falls truly in love once and passionately in love often. He can be and is ruthless when those loves are threatened, but he is also loyal enough that he wouldn't step on a friends' territory in that regard. And, to his true credit, Stephen is a great father. He learned that from his own wonderful father and mother, who will be staunch allies to Brynn McKenna through the years.
I love Stephen because he is fun-loving, a trifle dense at times, and loves uncompromisingly. He is generous and shallow and aggravating; carries himself like a gentleman, and lets the winds of life push him onward. He's like your favorite little brother.
Max: Max Roundy picks up where Stephen leaves off. He is the yang to Stephen's ying...not the ying to his yang. Max comes into Dooley as an outsider but never really is looked upon as such. He comes to the McKenna clan as an adult, not considered one of the youngsters as Stephen is. And Max is an adult in every sense of the word.
He has worked his way through his life, up the ladder of his profession and his job has been his passion for a long time. He has a bit of difficulty letting a woman take even a small part of his heart, but when he falls, he falls completely. He is mature and confident within himself, he has definite boundaries but a soft spot for dark eyes and little children.
He is a gentleman from a few generations ago; he takes his hat off when speaking to a lady; never presents himself in shirt sleeves, even around the house; and doesn't worry too much about anyone's opinion as long as he knows his conscience is satisfied. He has few vices....he can't seem to stop the cigarettes although he would like to...and he has such laid-back loyalty that most people don't mind them, anyway.
Max is calm and even-tempered and loves devotedly though he can get pushed past his limit. He does well with teenagers and babies alike, even though he doesn't understand them. He has an instinct about people of all sorts that make his few words well-chosen. He hates loose-ends that don't add up and unexplained mysteries and is bull-dog stubborn about clearing them up.
I love Max because he is a grown-up. In a world of little boys wearing men's pants, he is steady, dependable, and funny. He can't leave the underdog down under, he loses his cool very seldom, and when he gives his heart, it's for keeps. He is the one you want to be married to.
Two very different men. I love them both. Lucky for me, I have a lot of each in the guy I married.