Home for Christmas by Maddie James

Author:Maddie James
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sand Dune Books

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Ben continued. “She loves you and her family. This shouldn’t be a choice between me and all of you. She shouldn’t have to choose. You are being unfair.”

“Unfair! You roll in here in the middle of the night, lure my daughter out of her bed, are prepared to take her off to the woods in some god-forsaken village in the country, and I’m unfair?”

He squared his shoulders. “Yes, I believe you are being unfair.”

“Then you are delusional.”

Ben stepped in reverse. I’m getting nowhere. “Mr. Anderson, I have a good, reliable job. I’m a respected member of our community. My family has lived there for generations. When Jenny and I get married, I can support her and our future family just fine. We won’t require any support from you, nor will we ask for it. All I ask is that you not alienate Jenny. She loves you and her family. She also loves me.”

After a moment of staring, tit-for-tat, Ben turned on his heel and headed for the truck. Seriously getting nowhere. He’d thought he was doing the right thing and honestly, he was, but this scenario hadn’t turned out as he had expected.

“Then go!”

“Craig, get back in the house.” He heard Jenny’s mother coaxing.

Ben made his way down the driveway. During the seconds it took him to walk to the truck, he tried to process the conversation with Jenny’s father. Perhaps he needed a minute before telling Jenny anything.

He got in and slammed the door.

“Ben?”

Downshifting into drive, he stared straight ahead, and drove slowly down the street . “That didn’t go quite as planned, but I did what I needed to do. It’s done.”

“Bad?”

“Let’s talk about it later. I need to think.”

“What did you do?”

He turned toward her. “I needed to ask for his blessing one more time. I had hoped he would have had time to think about things and reconsider. I was wrong. I’m sorry, Jenny.”

“Oh, Ben. Are you okay?”

He nodded. “I will be. Let’s get out of the city. Let me drive for a while and then I’ll probably feel more like talking.”

The look on her face made his stomach clench. He reached for her hand on the seat and slowed the truck a little. “It’s okay, Jenny. I’m okay. Just come over here and sit close to me.”

She scooted next to his side and cradled his hand in her lap. “Was he mean to you?”

“He was direct. But I expected that.”

“Ben.” Her lower lip quivered. “Do you still want to marry me?”

“Ah, hell.” He braked, stopping the truck, and reached for her. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her close for a moment. “I can’t wait to be your husband, Jenny Anderson. I love you so darn much.”

She pulled back, looking into his face, smiling broadly. “I can’t wait to be Jenny Mathews.”

“Are you sure? No doubts? No cold feet?”

“Absolutely not.”

He grinned. “I wasn’t going to tell you until we got closer to Dickens, but I got in touch with the judge. She’s able to marry us tonight if we want.

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