Her Valentine Family Read Online Free PDF Page B

said, giving him a crooked, squinting-in-the-sunlight smile.
    â€œYour grandparents have told me all about you,” Brother Henry said. “They’re very proud of you.”
    â€œYep, they are,” Nathan agreed, which caused a laugh from both Brother Henry and Jessica’s parents, following them up the steps.
    â€œSo, Nathan,” Brother Henry continued, “has anyone ever told you what your name means in Hebrew? From the Bible? Because there was a Nathan in the Bible, too.”
    â€œMom told me Nathan was in the Bible,” he said, and Jessica felt a surge of pride that she’d made an impression. “He told King David what was going to happen.” Nathan tilted his head toward his grandfather and said, “That must’ve been after David cut off that giant’s head, huh?”
    â€œDefinitely,” her father said, beaming and apparently quite proud that his grandson was so quickly putting his Bible facts together.
    â€œVery good,” Brother Henry said. “Nathan was a prophet, and he did tell King David the things that would happen in the future. Your mommy taught you well. And did she tell you what the name means?”
    â€œNo, she didn’t,” Jessica said with a grin, “because she didn’t know.” She’d merely selected the name because it was the only one in the books of baby names that seemedto be right for her son. Now she wondered exactly why it seemed so right.
    â€œWell, it means ‘God has given,’” Brother Henry said.
    Jessica’s throat tightened. God had given Nathan to her, and even his name was proof of the fact.
    â€œNeat!” Nathan said, then repeated, “God has given. That’s my name.”
    â€œThat’s right,” Brother Henry agreed, still smiling at him. He pulled a peppermint out of his suit pocket and handed it to Nathan. “This is to keep your tummy from growling in church,” he said, then winked. “I’d have one, too, but it’s hard for me to preach with candy in my mouth.”
    Nathan laughed at that. “Can I have another one for class?”
    â€œNathan.” Jessica gave Brother Henry an embarrassed shrug.
    But Brother Henry tousled his hair again and said, “Tell you what. After church, I’m going to ask you what I talked about. If you can tell me, I’ll give you another one.” He nodded toward Jessica’s parents. “Maybe I’ll have at least one person listening to the sermon that way.”
    â€œGive me a peppermint, and I’ll listen, too,” Jessica’s father said, which made them all laugh.
    They entered the foyer, and Jessica felt the first inkling of curiosity from the other side of the lobby. A couple of the older women were huddled, hands over their mouths and whispering as they glanced at Jessica—and more pointedly at Nathan.
    Jessica protectively put her arm around his little shoulders and steered him toward the classroom hall. She’dknown she wouldn’t get prodigal son treatment from everyone, but that was okay; even the prodigal son’s brother had a hard time with his return.
    Class was pretty much status quo for what she remembered, but Brother Henry’s church service was much different than the type she recalled from growing up. A lot less fire and brimstone, a lot more grace. Jessica commented on the change to her parents as they walked out of the auditorium.
    Her father agreed. “I was wondering if you’d notice. Brother Henry did a summer series on grace a couple of years back, said the more he studied on the subject, the more he thought we’d gone way too long leaving it out of the equation.”
    Jess turned to see what her mother thought of the change, but she was completely ignoring their conversation and scanning the congregation, pleasantly visiting in small huddles as they slowly moved toward the back of the building. “Mom, you looking for