Page 7 of Marrying Bonnie

He and Noel agreed to pray about it before ending their phone call.

That’s exactly what Jace planned to do, but he was already experiencing more peace about this possibility than he had anything in a long time.

“If this is truly what You want me to do, God, I’m going to need some help getting things lined up.” That included providing another nanny for Gunner or convincing Bonnie to move to the ranch with him.

Jace was definitely hoping for the latter.

Chapter Three

Bonnie stifled a yawn Monday morning as she retrieved her bag from the passenger seat of her car and got out. It was time to start a new week at the Echolls home, and while she could’ve used more sleep, she looked forward to seeing little Gunner.

Normally, she would knock on the door and wait for Jace to answer dressed in his usual slacks, newly-pressed shirt, and jacket. He’d usher her in, give her any instructions he might have for the day, and then promptly grab his briefcase before leaving for work.

It’d been like that nearly every day since she’d been hired.

Until today.

Jace opened the door, sans jacket, one hand holding his cell phone to his ear. He motioned for her to enter as he spoke to someone on the other end of the phone conversation. “Of course. Whatever we need to do to get the house on the market as soon as possible.”

Bonnie shouldn’t listen in on Jace’s conversation, but it was impossible not to given he was standing right in front of her.

They spoke about house inspections and furniture staging for showings. Which house was Jace talking about selling? Surely not this one, because that could mean—

Jace thanked the other person and ended the phone call. He offered Bonnie a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry about that. As you probably heard, I’m putting this house on the market.”

Bonnie’s heart fell to her feet. Jace and Gunner were moving? She’d contemplated a lot of situations over the years where she might lose her job as Gunner’s nanny. Most of the time, it was because she argued with Jace over something and got herself fired. She hadn’t considered they might move. The idea of not seeing Gunner regularly—much less at all—had her heart aching more than she’d thought possible.

Her mind tried to grasp what all of this meant.

She’d need another job and fast, especially with rent going up. She made a mental note to reach out to the nanny group she was a member of and peruse the job listings. What if she couldn’t find another position right away?

Jace said something else that had her thoughts crashing to a halt.

She blinked at him. “Wait, what?”

“I would like you to continue to be Gunner’s nanny. I know it would be a lot to ask you to drive to the new location every day, and I wouldn’t expect you to do that. Instead, there’s a furnished apartment above the garage that would be yours.” Jace was all business, down to the tone of his voice. He’d clearly thought everything through.

Which gave him an advantage. The last thing Bonnie expected when she arrived at his house on this Monday morning was to find her job was going to change. Was this no-nonsense approach how he handled his business meetings every day? Probably.

He wanted her to move into an apartment above the garage? How much would he charge for rent? She pictured rickety stairs leading up from a dirty garage to a place that always smelled of gas and motor oil. Where was this ranch located? If they were going to be secluded miles from civilization—just the three of them—Bonnie wasn’t sure that was such a good idea.

There would be no escaping Jace at the end of the day. At least not completely.

The myriad of doubts she entertained must have shown clearly on her face. Jace watched her closely. “I don’t expect you to accept without seeing the ranch or the apartment.” He glanced at his watch. “If your schedule permits, we could drive out there this morning and I could show you around. That way you can make an informed decision.”

Bonnie’s eyes widened. She couldn’t recall a time Jace had stayed home from work. Not even when he came down with a cold. Her mouth opened and closed again.

He was watching her with those gorgeous blue eyes, clearly waiting for her response. His poker face was firmly in place, making it impossible for her to decipher what he might be thinking. One thing was certain, though. He was right—she needed to see the ranch and apartment before she could possibly give Jace an answer.

It was barely seven in the morning. She thought of Gunner asleep upstairs. “Gunner should be waking soon. I need to make him some breakfast and pack a few things in his backpack. We should be able to leave after that.”

Jace gave a definitive nod, a flash of approval in his eyes. “That sounds good. I’ll be in my office. Let’s plan to leave by eight-thirty.”

“That will give me plenty of time,” Bonnie agreed. She watched him disappear down the hallway.

Normally, when she arrived for work, Jace was on his way out of the house. Other than providing a few requests or directions, they spoke very little. She was then left to care for Gunner and everything else on her own. Sometimes the days got long, but she was used to it. She knew where everything was and felt at home there.

Normally, anyway.

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