Page 72 of Accidentally Perfect

“Yes, I know. I spend my time in the bowels of society when I should be leading the way as any Jacobs should.”

“You make it sound like it’s a chore to make the Jacobs’ name live on. It’s up to you, you know.”

“I haven’t been a Jacobs in a long time. I’m sorry I turned out to be a girl and can no longer carry on the Jacobs name.”

“Oh, Laney, really. Have I ever taught you to lean on a man?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“I always wanted you to see me as a strong independent woman; one who did not need a man to have power. A man should be an accessory, not a necessity.”

“Mother, do you hear yourself? It was my father who allowed you to live the life you've been living. And a man should be a partner. An equal. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“If he’s an equal then why isn’t the Jacobs’ name as important as the Whitmore name?”

“And why didn’t you have this conversation with me when I married Brad? Oh I know, because Jacobs-Whitmore sounds better than Jacobs-Richards, huh?”

“So what if it does?”

“Well, you would be happy to know the Jacobs name will be heard. I plan on helping with the foster system in some way. I think it’s time to give back to something I believe in. I want to work with Natalie in the Nathan Douglas Whitmore Foundation in some capacity.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Well, something big, I think. Something that’s going to require I get the approval of the Jacobs Cattle and Oil Board.”

“Don’t you think the Foundation is a little bit of a waste?”

“Not at all. You might want to remember where you came from. If it weren’t for my father, who knows where you might be today.”