Page 11 of Marrying Bonnie

Gunner, who had been content to explore the nearly-empty room that would be his bedroom, dashed out and toward the staircase. Jace caught him easily, but the motion snagged Bonnie’s attention. She turned and grabbed Gunner’s other little hand.

“Baby gates.”

Jace and Bonnie said the words at precisely the same time, eliciting smiles from both of them.

Jace nodded. “First on my list.” He had them at his house at the top and bottom of the stairs. With his adventurous son, they were more than necessary. “Are you ready to see the apartment?”

Bonnie’s dark lashes lifted, and her gaze met his. “Sure.” She hesitated. “Do you want me to take Gunner?” She glanced down at the boy. They were each still holding onto one of his hands.

Jace could understand her uncertainty since she was technically on the clock. At the same time, he rarely saw his son during the day. He lifted Gunner into his arms. “I’ve got the little rascal.”

Jace tickled Gunner until the boy was giggling before leading the way back downstairs.

They went out the back door, across a wooden porch, and followed the paved path to the garage. In addition to the main garage doors, there was a side entrance protected from the weather by a roof that bridged the gap between the house and the garage. Jace liked that, when the weather got bad, Bonnie wouldn’t have to be out in the elements to get from her apartment to the house to care for Gunner.

He noted the acre of land behind the house. Grandpa had kept the whole area mowed impeccably, and if the short grass were any indication, the men Grandpa hired were doing a good job of taking care of things in his absence. Soon, it would be his responsibility.

Jace pictured having play equipment installed for Gunner in the near future. His son would love that.

Bonnie pointed toward an old chicken coop. “Did your grandpa raise more than sheep?”

“He used to have chickens. He’s had a cow or two in the past, but not now. Mostly, he would rent a few acres out to someone who wanted to keep some cattle but had no land themselves.” Right now, the thought of caring for the sheep was more than enough for Jace. If things went well, maybe they could get a few chickens again in a year or so.

He pointed to the pasture on the right. “The sheep are probably at the stock tank-–but some of them are in that pasture there.”

“That’s neat that sometimes you can see them from the house.”

There was a hint of wonder mixed in with the interest in her voice. Enough to give Jace hope that maybe she would agree to move here with them. Especially since she appreciated the beauty of the ranch.

It was a shame his parents never had. He thought back to the conversation he had with them yesterday once he and Noel had officially decided to keep the ranch. Jace wasn’t sure which of his parents had yelled louder. Eventually, he’d set his phone on the table until they’d calmed down. When it was clear Jace wasn’t going to change his mind, his parents had hung up. He hadn’t talked to them since.

He wished Noel were here today. It’d be good for Bonnie to meet her. Plus, having another woman around might help ease any of Bonnie’s misgivings. “Do you have any questions for me?”

She appeared thoughtful as she fingered the hem of her blouse. There was something about the way one corner of her mouth tipped just a little as she thought that had him biting back a smile. She hesitated. “I do have one, and I’m just going to be blunt.”

He motioned for her to continue. He admired that about her, even if it meant they didn’t always agree. He’d much rather know how she felt and deal with a situation than all the speculation. Trying to guess what someone else does or doesn’t want and then getting dinged for it was one of his pet peeves.

Bonnie fiddled with the hem another moment or two before dropping her arms. “I know things come up, and I don’t mind working late occasionally, especially if it’s arranged ahead of time.” She cleared her throat. “Assuming we agreed to go forward with this, I would want to make sure we had a firm work schedule in place to prevent late evenings from happening too frequently.”

Her posture suggested that she wished she didn’t have to bring up the subject at all, but the intensity in her eyes told him she was quite serious.

He’d taken advantage of her willingness to stay late in the past and again regretted that. He raised a hand. “You are absolutely right. Noel won’t leave until eight in the morning, and she will be home by six. If something does come up and I need to work late, she can take over watching Gunner at that point.” He chuckled. “And yes, she and I have talked about this already. I’m fortunate that Gunner has such a devoted aunt.”

That brought a smile to Bonnie’s face. “It is great to have that support.”

Jace didn’t know what he would do without Noel. Or Bonnie. “If something does come up for either me or Noel that delays us, we’ll do our best to let you know in advance.”

Bonnie’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. Was she thinking about her boyfriend? Or was she embarrassed about their conversation on Friday night? He doubted the latter. He did hope her boyfriend had chosen to forgive her for canceling since it hadn’t been her fault. Jace thought about asking but stopped himself, figuring it wasn’t his business.

“That sounds fair,” she said. “That was my main concern outside of the cost of rent for the apartment.”

Jace stopped walking and turned to look at her. “Oh! I thought I’d mentioned before that it was included. Consider it a bonus.”

Her mouth opened and closed again. “That’s a huge bonus.”

He laughed. It wasn’t often that he found her at a loss for words. “The apartment is just sitting here empty. I’d rather have someone occupy the space and keep an eye on it. You would be doing me a favor.”

Gunner ran ahead of them to the garage door and tried to get it open. Jace unlocked the door, waited for his son to twist the knob, and then held the door for Bonnie. Just inside the garage and to the right was a staircase. Jace motioned for Bonnie to go ahead of him.

---