Happy Brothers and Sisters day! Where would we be without our siblings, the people who’ve been there from childhood on, who know the good and the bad about us, who are there to lean on in times of trouble and celebrate with in times of joy?
At least, that’s the ideal! Sometimes siblings don’t get along at all. And some of us weren’t blessed with siblings. People in these situations often find friends who become like family. And of course, we’re all brothers and sisters in Christ; in many cases, our adopted church families are the closest of all.
I love writing about brothers and sisters, and my Arcadia Valley Romance miniseries features a strong family: Javier, Alex, Daniel, and Veronica Quintana. They drive each other crazy as they work to make their family restaurant successful and try to find their own happy endings as well.
Veronica, the heroine of the latest book, sometimes suffers from the over involvement of her three older brothers. Here’s a typical evening at El Corazon, where Veronica is working as a hostess:
Veronica’s oldest brother, Javier, strode out of the kitchen and toward the hostess stand. “Heard you got home late last night,” he said as he picked up the clipboard to see which tables were still available. “Where were you?” His eyes scanned the restaurant, checking everything out, making sure there wasn’t a napkin or fork out of place.
“Yeah, where were you?” her brother Alex called from the other side of the dining room. He wore a white apron and was bussing a table, subbing for an employee who’d called in sick.
She glared at Alex. He was just a couple of years older than she was and should know better than to stick his nose into her business. He was supposed to be on her side against their oldest brother’s overprotectiveness.
“It’s okay.” Her middle brother, Daniel, spoke up from the table where he sat with his twins and his new wife, Tabitha. “She was at Karaoke night at the American Legion. One of my patients mentioned it.” He tilted his head to one side as he looked at Veronica. “Did you really sing ‘All My Exes Live In Texas?’ Twice?”
“I love that song,” one of the few remaining customers said, and started to whistle it.
Veronica let her head sink into her hands.
Any guesses on her brothers’ reactions when Veronica gets into a relationship with an older man who happens to be her boss?
Do you have overprotective siblings? Are you one yourself? Do your children or grandchildren protect and care for each other… or do they tend to drive each other crazy? Comment for a chance to win one of the Quintana siblings’ books.
Lee Tobin McClain read Gone With The Wind in the third grade and has been an incurable romantic ever since. Lee is the author of the Sacred Bond series of contemporary inspirational romances and also writes the Rescue River books (angsty, but full of fun kids and dogs) for Harlequin Love Inspired. When she not writing emotional Christian romances, she's probably driving around a carload of snarky teen girls, playing with her rescue dog and cat, or teaching aspiring writers in Seton Hill University's MFA program. She is probably not cleaning her house.
Hi Lee, hmm, can’t see Veronica’s brothers being to keen on her dating someone older…or anyone at all maybe!!
I am the oldest and am sure I drove my sister crazy by bossing her around! I wouldn’t say I am overprotective though…
My own boys are protective of each other, but also drive each other crazy- best of friends/worst enemies type thing!!
Blessings:)
Ah, sadly I am an only child, so I do not have any first hand knowledge of the sibling relationship! I have read all the Quintana books and knew exactly how Veronica’s brothers were going react, lol! Thanks for the stories, I enjoyed them All! Will miss Aracdia Valley!!
Paula, thanks for reading… I’m glad you know the Quintana men so well!
I have a big sister who didn’t boss me around that much, but she definitely “knew it all” as far as what I should do!
Hi Lee! I am the oldest, my brother is 9 years younger and we are not close because we are extremely different in personality and drive. My three sons are not very close either, because of their jobs and locations. I enjoyed all the Arcadia Valley Romances. Now that I have granddaughters, I definitely understand how the brothers are over protective of their sister. Best wishes.
Lol, yes, please don’t include me in the giveaway, I have already purchased them all!
We appreciate your loyalty… if only we could all schedule a meet up in Arcadia Valley, Idaho!
Thanks for commenting, Renate… our world makes it hard for families to be close like they used to be, what with jobs and moving often. I live two hours from my sister, and I consider that very close compared to distances we’ve travelled in the past.
There are 7 of us and I am in the middle. One older brother and 2 young brothers who think they are older. The struggle and the torture were real. Looking bad, I have to say it was fun. They did it all out of love. I am curious what kind of fear the brothers are going to try and put on her love interest.
I’m an only child so I have unfortunately (or fortunately some might say) not had the experience of an overprotective old sibling. I have a feeling if I had younger siblings, I would be the overprotective one. :) These sound like fun books!
This book sound like one I would like to read.
I’m the youngest of four. My sisters are bossy and try to tell me what to do all the time. I’m closest to my brother, but he is a workaholic.
I have only one child and she’s very protective of her younger cousins and the older ones are very protective of her. I have three older brothers and they were protective of me.
Wouldn’t that be something?? It kind of feels like we do when I am reading the books, and we talk about them online together. Wouldn’t mind eating at El Corazon though and getting cheesecake afterwards at the French place (can’t remember how to spell it just now, lol)!
I’m the oldest, but my little sister is my rock. She was there for me through an abusive marriage, homelessness, losing custody of my daughter, my oldest child moving several states away, the list goes on. Even though she has her own tough times, she’s always got my back.
My sister and I are not overprotective of each other, I don’t think. I do think my oldest daughter is going to be overprotective of her little sister as they grow up though. I have a child on the way now, so it will be interesting to see how the dynamics go and change as the girls get a brother soon!
And donuts! We can’t forget a stop at the Baxter Family Bakery!
SEVEN! Wow, that’s fantastic but I do imagine there were chaotic moments…
My daughter is an only child–I wanted to adopt more, but it was never the right time. She actually loves being an only child and getting all the attention for herself. I worry about when she’s older, though. Fortunately, she has a close-in-age cousin who’s also an only and they have grown up together.
Do it! Only $2.99! :)
What a mix of personalities can be in a group of siblings!
Cousins are wonderful! So glad my daughter, an only, has a cousin she’s close to.
That is the amazing thing about siblings, isn’t it? I know my sister would help me through anything. So glad you had your sister’s support during the tough times.
Oh, how exciting that you’re expecting a baby… your first boy! I hope your girls will help you take care of him… you’re going to be a busy mama!
Hey Lee. I’m an only child. And our son is an only child. I was closer to my cousins than kids with siblings and our son is the same way. It was hard for me to write about siblings the first time I tried, but my husband has a sister and step and half siblings, so I picked his brain for insight.
We have 6 children, and I am one of 6 children, one of which is already in heaven. I am close with 2 of them. There is 4 years between me and the youngest, and we are so similar that we always said we were twins. The unconditional love and support between the two of us is something that I treasure!
Mmm, yes!!
I have a younger brother but neither of us are overly protective. My four children care for each other and drive each other crazy but don’t think they’re overly protective….
My sister and I kind of share a funny story: we both started dating when the other was out of the country. So although we both knew each other boyfriends as friends from church and totally approved of them, we didn’t get to see each others relationships start. So it was hard to be there for one another, in any kind of way. That being said, we are really close to each other — emotionally and, now, also physically (we live a couple of blocks away from each other).
I am the youngest of 4. I have 2 brothers and a sister. None of us were overprotective of the others. None of us had children though the brother that is a year older than me had 1 step daughter.
My sister was 11 years younger than me, so I ended up as her “second mom.” We were at each other’s throats most of the time growing up :-) We got to be better friends when we were adults. She passed away 9 years ago and I really miss her!
Hi Lee!
I have just one sibling; 20-months younger who lives not far from me now, but we’re as estranged as ever.
I’ve been told I treated him pretty badly when we were younger. Maybe that’s why despite my many efforts to ‘build a bridge’ have failed.
Last fall, I was forced to remove him from my radar altogether because of his actions.
I’ve never had but a few friends here and there over the years, but there was one special gal I met through my ex-husband’s family 20-some years ago. We were so very, very close and always called each other sister, in public and private. She passed away recently at the young age of 42 because of Multiple Sclerosis complications. My world isn’t right without her.
There’s a lot to be said for only children–I know because I have one myself! Cousins can fill in as playmates and confidantes.
Wow, big families! I have always been intrigued by them… such liveliness!
Oh my Lisa, I’m sorry for your loss. Those friends who become like family are the best.
Thank you so much for your comments, everyone… I’ve loved hearing your sibling stories, good and bad. I may have even gotten a scene idea or two! I’ll pick a winner tomorrow so I catch folks who post late at night.
I have two sisters who I dearly love.
Being the oldest they treat me as if I am, “a little old lady”, which I am, but I’m not there yet.
It’s good to know that when the time comes, they will watch out for me.
My 5 grandchildren love their cousin’s. They would do anything for each other. There are 6 of us in our family. 4 sisters and 1 brother. Sometimes we didn’t get along but now that we are all older we are always there for each other..