“So, figured we should talk, son.”
I nod. “Okay.”
“But since you talk plenty, how about I go first.”
I nod again. “Works for me.”
He levels his eyes at me, and he sighs. “Do you love my daughter.”
I blink. Wait, what?
“Excuse me?”
“It ain’t a complex question, preacher.”
I frown. “Guess you can stop calling me that.”
He shrugs. “Except it appears you actually are one. Minister of The Universal Life Church, is it?”
I smile wryly. “It’s just this online thing.”
“But it’s an actual ordainment, right?”
“I guess?” I shrug. “Yeah, it is.”
“Jesus Christ never went to seminary school, you know,” he grunts. “Never had any certificate from any place that said he was what he was. He just… was. He preached the Word, and that made him a preacher, of sorts.”
I frown. “Think there was a fair amount of sway there, seeing who his daddy was.”
Jeb cracks a grin. “Fair enough.” He sighs. “So, you are a preacher, even if you don’t really hold God in your heart.”
I frown. “I don’t not, I just…” I shake my head. “Never mind.”
“Speak,” he grunts.
“I didn’t exactly come from a loving home, Mr. Somerset.”
“That your excuse for not knowing God?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
“You know, I didn’t come from Canaan myself, and I sure as heck didn’t come from a home filled with love. But I used that, and I remembered that when I decided to fill my own house with love, and goodness, and the Holy Spirit.”
He sighs again. “So, you’re a preacher.”
“Yup.”
“And a con man.”
“At times.”
He nods. “The world’s a tough place sometimes, I ain’t gonna dispute that with you. And a man needs to make money.”
I frown. “Mr. Somerset—”
“Jeb.”
“Okay, Jeb, I don’t think you heard me.”