Moving back home after retiring from the Army, I have two goals—begin my new career as a cement designer/contractor and win over the woman whos made me want to give up my confirmed bachelor badge.

Shayla is a curvy single mom, and my sisters business partner, who seems uninterested in anything personal and only grudgingly appreciates my designs when we work together on a remodeling project.

But what she doesnt realize is that I will do everything to cement her love.

Whether theyre carpenters, plumbers, mechanics, electricians, framers, forklift drivers, loggers, farmers, high-voltage linemen, cement or masonry workers, tow truck drivers, oil rig workers, septic system technicians or arborists, these blue-collar heroes all have in two things in common:

They're good with their hands, and they're not afraid to get dirty. Really, really dirty.