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“My mother became obsessed with getting the Jacobs' name as well known in New York as it was down south. While she did that, my father spent his time trying to be a dad to me and a rancher.”

“Let me guess, your mom didn’t care that your dad was gone, as long as she had the money at her disposal?”

“Yeah, she was more concerned with being known and looked up to than she was with being a wife or a mother.”

“Sounds familiar.” I look to him for further explanation, but he doesn’t give one.

“My dad knew that my mom and I didn’t get along. We never did. As a child he would have to physically remove her hands from around my arms. She loved to hold me captive while she yelled and told me what a miserable child I was. It didn't get any better as I grew up, I was just faster and she wasn't able to catch me as easily. When he was diagnosed with cancer, he didn’t tell anyone. I think that was the reason why he made sure my future was set, why he did the things he did.”

“What did he do?”

“He bought me my house when I turned eighteen. It was before my birthday, such an extravagant gift six months before my birthday. He told me he found an exceptional deal and it couldn't wait. He showed me the deed to the house with my name printed in bold lettering. It was the first thing that was mine. Growing up, my mother made it known that our home was her house, not mine. It was her room that she allowed me to live in. Of course, none of this was ever said in front of my dad. She mastered the verbal jabs when he wasn’t around. The deed was like a breath of fresh air. It was something that she wasn't able to take away from me. It was freedom. She wasn't happy, not at all.” I recall the look on my mother’s face when she realized what my father had done for me. The look on contempt was evident when she saw my name on that deed. I just wanted her to be happy for me, pull me into her arms and tell me that she was happy for me, for my first step into adulthood. It never happened. “She saw it as a slap in the face as he never went out of his way to do things for her. The houses he'd purchased for her over the years were expected. In her mind, she deserved the multiple houses because that's the way she expected to live.”

“I can see how she would think that. She's a self centered person, she'd think it was disrespectful not to have something like that done for her.”

“Him buying me the house was the first slap, but that didn't compare to what happened once he passed.”

"What happened?"

"He left me everything in his will. He gave my mother ten percent of the business, but he gave me the rest. She kept the Manhattan apartment but all the other properties, her houses were all left to me. That hit her pretty hard."

“I’m sure she thought being his wife, she would naturally get it.”

“Yes, pretty much. Since my father’s passing, she's accused me of manipulating him into leaving her with nothing. I had to sign off ten more percent, just to try to pacify her.”

“Has it worked?”

“Ha, not really. She’s a real piece of work.”

“Well, sweet girl, you haven’t met my piece of work yet. My father.”

“Just as bad?”

“Maybe worse.” He lets out a small laugh as he runs his hand through his hair. “And the girls?”

“A couple of years after he passed, I found Brad. I threw myself into that relationship. I had hoped that I would find the contentment with Brad that I'd been missing since my father's passing. We were both in college; he was going to get his teaching credentials; I was going to get my nursing degree. I was set on living my life for me. I lived in the beautiful home my father bought me, and I was finally living my life not under her thumb.”

I take a much needed breath. “When I found out that I was pregnant, I felt like my world had just ended.” I hate to admit this about my girls. “I was young, and I wasn’t in love with Brad. When we were first together I thought he was it, the one. But it didn't take me long to realize that he wasn't. Unfortunately, it was too late. Brad was always better as a friend. I never should have pursued the relationship, but I just felt lost. He did the right thing and proposed, took responsibility for me and the girls. My mother was livid that I'd tarnished the family name by getting knocked up.”

“Isn’t it funny how even as adult the selfishness of our parents never ceases to amaze us?”

He has no idea. I spend the rest of the flight telling him about the girls, my life since they’ve been born and how proud I am of being their mom. Nathan asks all the right questions and I give him all the honest answers that I can. There's no reason to be guarded with him, not any longer. He's open-minded, and at this moment he amazes me with his sense of understanding.

“You amaze me, love. I knew the moment I laid eyes on you that you were something else; something that I’ve never experienced. I felt your energy, I felt who you are, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought you were going to be one of the strongest women that I've ever met. I’m proud to be your husband.” He kisses me on the head and gives me a squeeze.