Shane Wallace never considered himself a “hero.” He loved his country and served honorably in the U.S. Navy, retiring six months ago. His life is in a holding pattern, waiting to figure out which direction to take.
Shane and his German Shepherd, Liberty, stay in a campground close to Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota, one of the most patriotic locations in the United States, for the first week of July.
When a cat from the neighboring campsite takes off after a squirrel, Liberty joins the free-for-all, chasing the cat up a tree. The owner is beside herself with worry, so Shane volunteers to save her pet. Unknowingly, the cat is a celebrity and the feline’s fans gathered to witness her rescue. Shane flinched when they called him a hero and reluctantly held back claiming, I’m no such thing.
Taylor Parish spends ten months of the year teaching history to middle school children. She spends the rest of her time, driving a converted school bus, nicknamed Tillie. Her co-pilot is a striped Toyger cat, named Winnemucca.With the campground being in close proximity to Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota, she’s looking forward to doing research for the next book in her YA series, Adventures with Tillie.
She didn’t count on her mischievous cat needing to be rescued by her neighbor. She wrote about men and women of courage in her books, but this was the first time she’d met one in real life. Puzzled by his strong aversion to the word hero, she decides to make Shane Wallace understand the true meaning of the word “hero.”
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