Her Minnesota Man (A Christian Romance Novel) by Brenda Coulter Page B
Authors: Brenda Coulter
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the family of the man who abandoned my mom when she was pregnant with me."
Jeb gestured impatiently with his spoon. "He can't blame the Graces for that."
By all accounts, the triplets had doted on Ted Ryland, the son of their deceased brother. On learning that Hannah was expecting a baby, the Graces had offered their nephew a wad of cash to pay off his debts and feather his growing family's nest. But Ryland had taken the money and skipped town with a female coworker.
He had never returned to Owatonna, although he'd had the colossal nerve to phone the Graces two or three times in the intervening years. No doubt he'd been hoping to squeeze some more money out of them.
Ryland was aware that he had a daughter. He just didn't care.
The familiar outrage rose like bile in Jeb's throat, but then he remembered something he'd read in the Bible, something about not being so quick to cast stones at other sinners, and he was ashamed. Were his own transgressions any less egregious than Ted Ryland's?
"The Graces still feel bad about giving him that money, but they couldn't have known what was on his mind." Laney shook her head in disgust at her father's defection. "How a man could do that to any woman, let alone someone as sweet as Mom, I'll never understand."
Jeb longed to say that he didn't understand it, either. But the awful truth was that he did understand how a man could walk away from a woman he'd impregnated. If the man was selfish enough, he could do that.
And even worse.
"At least Mom had the Graces," Laney said softly. "In the beginning, they helped her financially. And of course they made sure I never missed having a father."
"I know." The Graces could be as irritating as a trio of tone-deaf Karaoke singers, but their faithful support of Laney and her mom had secured Jeb's undying gratitude.
He'd noticed right off that Tom Johansen didn't understand Laney's deep attachment to her great-aunts. He might have dropped the guy a hint, but no man who loved Laney the way she deserved would have needed any urging to accept the Graces as part of the package.
Shaking his head over Tom's colossal stupidity, Jeb excavated a plump cherry half and left it on the surface of the ice cream where Laney would find it.
"So what about the other guy?" he asked.
"Nathan?" Frowning, she scooped up the cherry. "He gave me a beautiful ring, Jeb, and everything was so romantic. But he's the new guy at his law firm, and he's working hard to impress the partners, so he wanted to wait a few years before starting a family. And he only wanted one baby, although he said we could talk about having two."
"That was generous of him," Jeb said dryly. So Nathan was an idiot, too. How had he failed to notice the way Laney's face lit up whenever she spotted a baby?
"I told him I wanted a big family." The corners of her mouth trembled as she tried to smile. "And he said some nasty things about me wanting to marry him to get children rather than because I was in love."
Jeb's body went rigid. Who did that jerk think he was, talking to Laney that way? "And you said . . . ?"
"That he was right." She hung her head. "But honestly, Jeb, I didn't realize it until that moment. And now I feel just awful about the whole thing."
Jeb released the breath he'd been holding. At least the guy hadn't broken her heart.
"Laney, he wasn't the right man for you. It's good you found that out before it was too late."
"I know." She shoveled a large bite of ice cream into her mouth.
Nobody seeing her slumped over a tub of ice cream and mining greedily for cherries would ever guess she'd completed an online etiquette course and occasionally gave talks on table manners to women's groups and school kids. But then, she never showed this side of herself to anyone but Jeb. She took for granted that he'd keep this secret just as he'd kept all of the others—and she was right, he would. But a little judicious teasing might lighten her mood.
"Should an etiquette
Jeb gestured impatiently with his spoon. "He can't blame the Graces for that."
By all accounts, the triplets had doted on Ted Ryland, the son of their deceased brother. On learning that Hannah was expecting a baby, the Graces had offered their nephew a wad of cash to pay off his debts and feather his growing family's nest. But Ryland had taken the money and skipped town with a female coworker.
He had never returned to Owatonna, although he'd had the colossal nerve to phone the Graces two or three times in the intervening years. No doubt he'd been hoping to squeeze some more money out of them.
Ryland was aware that he had a daughter. He just didn't care.
The familiar outrage rose like bile in Jeb's throat, but then he remembered something he'd read in the Bible, something about not being so quick to cast stones at other sinners, and he was ashamed. Were his own transgressions any less egregious than Ted Ryland's?
"The Graces still feel bad about giving him that money, but they couldn't have known what was on his mind." Laney shook her head in disgust at her father's defection. "How a man could do that to any woman, let alone someone as sweet as Mom, I'll never understand."
Jeb longed to say that he didn't understand it, either. But the awful truth was that he did understand how a man could walk away from a woman he'd impregnated. If the man was selfish enough, he could do that.
And even worse.
"At least Mom had the Graces," Laney said softly. "In the beginning, they helped her financially. And of course they made sure I never missed having a father."
"I know." The Graces could be as irritating as a trio of tone-deaf Karaoke singers, but their faithful support of Laney and her mom had secured Jeb's undying gratitude.
He'd noticed right off that Tom Johansen didn't understand Laney's deep attachment to her great-aunts. He might have dropped the guy a hint, but no man who loved Laney the way she deserved would have needed any urging to accept the Graces as part of the package.
Shaking his head over Tom's colossal stupidity, Jeb excavated a plump cherry half and left it on the surface of the ice cream where Laney would find it.
"So what about the other guy?" he asked.
"Nathan?" Frowning, she scooped up the cherry. "He gave me a beautiful ring, Jeb, and everything was so romantic. But he's the new guy at his law firm, and he's working hard to impress the partners, so he wanted to wait a few years before starting a family. And he only wanted one baby, although he said we could talk about having two."
"That was generous of him," Jeb said dryly. So Nathan was an idiot, too. How had he failed to notice the way Laney's face lit up whenever she spotted a baby?
"I told him I wanted a big family." The corners of her mouth trembled as she tried to smile. "And he said some nasty things about me wanting to marry him to get children rather than because I was in love."
Jeb's body went rigid. Who did that jerk think he was, talking to Laney that way? "And you said . . . ?"
"That he was right." She hung her head. "But honestly, Jeb, I didn't realize it until that moment. And now I feel just awful about the whole thing."
Jeb released the breath he'd been holding. At least the guy hadn't broken her heart.
"Laney, he wasn't the right man for you. It's good you found that out before it was too late."
"I know." She shoveled a large bite of ice cream into her mouth.
Nobody seeing her slumped over a tub of ice cream and mining greedily for cherries would ever guess she'd completed an online etiquette course and occasionally gave talks on table manners to women's groups and school kids. But then, she never showed this side of herself to anyone but Jeb. She took for granted that he'd keep this secret just as he'd kept all of the others—and she was right, he would. But a little judicious teasing might lighten her mood.
"Should an etiquette
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