Page 40 of Meet Me at the Christmas Cottage
“What about you?” Bronte bumped his shoulder with hers. “Which one would you live in?”
“Are you kidding me? Hogwarts is on the table. I’m living at Hogwarts.”
Options made, they finished filling out their score cards and dropped them in the ballot box.
Deed done, Jonah clapped his hands together. “We have about an hour and a half before the snowman-building contest. Want to walk over to Martha’s for a snack?”
“That sounds amazing, and I could eat,” Bronte said, wrapping her arms around her middle.
Thankfully Martha’s was next door to the library. With all the people in the street, he wasn’t sure they’d have time to make it anywhere else before it was time to meet at the art center for the snowman contest.
Finding the only empty booth left, they tugged off their coats and slid into their seats. Jordi stopped by and took their order for an extra-large fry and two peppermint chocolate shakes. They sat in silence until Jordi returned with their order.
“It’s freezing outside, and we’re drinking ice cream.” Jonah shook his head in disbelief.
“It is never too cold for ice cream,” Bronte shot back, taking such a big gulp from her milkshake Jonah was afraid she’d have brain freeze.
“I’ll give you that one.”
Bronte chewed on her bottom lip, which distracted Jonah to no end. She opened her mouth to say something, but then snapped it closed. It happened twice more before Jonah decided to put her out of her misery. Either that or he’d start laughing, and he didn’t think Bronte would appreciate that.
“You might as well spit it out,” he told her before his curiosity killed him.
“Spit what out?” Bronte asked.
“Whatever it is you’re afraid to ask me.”
“I know this isn’t any of my business, but when you said you didn’t want to take over the family business, you never told me what it was that you wanted to do instead.”
Jonah thought for a moment, grabbing the ketchup bottle and squirting a glob onto their plate. “I haven’t admitted what I really want to do to anyone. I’m not even sure myself. Before I had the inheritance from my grandfather, I’d just accepted that I’d always be a doctor. I’d always be miserable. I know I sound crazy—giving up a medical practice for…”
“What is it you want?” Bronte gently urged.
“I want to open a bookstore on the island.” Jonah rushed on before he lost his nerve. “Grandfather wanted us todosomething with our inheritance money, and mine is just sitting there. Holland bought Mom and Dad’s house and remodeled it, my other sisters pooled their money and started a wedding and event-planning business, but I haven’t really known what to do with mine. And I got a text from my buddy not too long after I got here that the old island bookstore is up for sale.” Jonah dipped his head, afraid to see disbelief in Bronte’s eyes.
Who would give up being a doctor to own a brick-and-mortar bookstore? They were closing left and right thanks to sites like Amazon. He’d be crazy to give up something steady for uncertainty.
“It almost sounds like it’s meant to be.”
Jonah’s head snapped up. Wait. Brontedidn’tthink he was crazy?
“A bookstore would be a great way to spend your inheritance.” Bronte took a drink of her shake. “Look. I can’t tell you what to do, and I don’t know your family, but from what I’ve heard about them, I don’t think they’d want you to be miserable for the rest of your life. You still have a lot of life left, way more than what you spent in med school. I think your family would want you to be happy.”
“They may want me to be happy, but my sister Amy says if I decide not to take over the practice, my dad will be so disappointed it’ll break his heart. He took it over from his father, and his father did the same. My entire life, my dad has been drilling into me how much he wants me to take over the practice, and if I don’t, what will happen to it? Who will be left to run it? Jonathon Island can’t just not have a clinic.”
“I don’t have a lot of experience with families.” Bronte let out a bitter laugh. “Okay, I have no experience with family, but I think you have a good one, and I think that, yes, your dad might be disappointed for a little bit, but at the end of the day, doesn’t he just want you to be happy?”
Jonah took a deep breath. “I wish you were right, but the fact is, I’ve already put so much into becoming a doctor. I knew after my second year of med school that I didn’t want to do this long-term, but I stuck it out, not wanting to be a disappointment. And then when Amy told me I’d break my father’s heart…I’m just not sure I can take that chance.”
Bronte looked like she wanted to say more, but instead, she just took another sip of her milkshake. Jonah wanted to stop talking about this before it made him sicker than he already felt.
He grabbed a now-cold fry from the top of the plate and popped it in his mouth, more for something to do with his hands.
Everything Bronte had said made sense, and he hoped Amy was wrong and his dad’s heart didn’t get broken, but at the end of the day, he just didn’t know, and he couldn’t,wouldn’ttake that chance.
ChapterNine
Bronte squinted at the sun reflecting off the snow as she tried to pay attention to the snowman-building instructions Dani was shouting through her bullhorn.
