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“You’re probably right about Molly,” she began. “She is headstrong. I had her in my Sunday school class for a while. Bridget used to bring her but not anymore.”
Jonas nodded. “No offense, but I think Molly would rather ride her horse on the weekends.”
“Well, I was the same way at her age,” Bunny said indulgently. “She’s a lovely child and very bright.”
“Yeah. She takes after her mother. Not that I knew her fath—the guy Bridget married,” he said hesitantly. “When I came back to Randolph last March, all I was thinking about was the time when Bridget and I were together. But that was ten years ago.”
“I heard about that,” Bunny replied. “But not the details. Just that you were very much in love with a Randolph girl.”
“I guess people talked.”
She considered her answer for a minute. “Not that much,” she said at last. “Do you want to tell me more?” Jonas took a calming breath before beginning again. “I think I do.”
“You know I won’t breathe a word of it, Jonas. You go right ahead and talk. I have a feeling there’s a lot on your mind.”
He looked into her warm blue eyes. Bunny had been the soul of discretion and kindness back then, almost like a mother to him. “I loved Bridget. I wanted to marry her.”
Bunny nodded thoughtfully. “But you didn’t.”
“I’m sure that Molly’s glad about that. I get the feeling she wouldn’t want me for a father. And she hasn’t exactly warmed up to me. She and Bridget are close—like the Gilmore Girls. Maybe I shouldn’t come between them.”
“I wouldn’t think of it that way. Now, I don’t know Bridget, but I would guess she’s being cautious. You shouldn’t take it that personally, Jonas,” Bunny said, “but I do think you’ve done right to go slowly. You have to think about what you want too. Are you ready for fatherhood?”
Jonas shrugged. “I might not be half bad at the job.”
“Glad to hear it. I personally think you would make a wonderful dad. I just wanted to know what you thought before I said so, though.”
Jonas gave a rueful chuckle. “You still believe in me, huh?”
“Yes,” Bunny said firmly. “I do.”
“Anyway,” he went on, “I really loved Bridget and as I was saying, I wanted to marry her. At the time she wanted to marry me. But she was young, barely eighteen, and I still had the rough years of medical school ahead of me.”
“I knew you could do it,” Bunny said with quiet pride.
“Well, it wasn’t easy. Not that anyone said it would be.” Jonas hesitated, considering his next words. “My family didn’t have much money, you know that. And my mom died less than a year after my dad, when I was seventeen. I always had to work for everything I wanted, including college. I’m still paying off my medical school loans.”
Bunny looked a little sad. She’d helped him fill out applications for the scholarships he’d won, and paperwork for supplementary financial aid.
By the time he’d graduated from college and applied to medical school, he’d done that for himself. Without rich parents, getting a degree meant going into debt. “So that’s another issue. Her parents are fairly wealthy. Bridget had always had just about everything she had ever wanted.”
Bunny’s voice was gentle when she replied. “Is that why you didn’t marry her?”
“It was a combination of reasons.” He tried to explain. “Bridget said she loved me, but I wasn’t sure what she felt was real and how much was simply romantic dreams because she was so young.”
“So were you, Jonas,” Bunny said gently.
“Yeah. Older than her, though.”
“Not by much.”
“Well, the money thing was a problem. It isn’t easy to watch every penny you spend when you’ve never done it in your life. Bridget had never had to do that and I doubted that she could.”
“Well, people change. Doesn’t she work at that wonderful yarn store?” Bunny asked.
“Actually, she owns it.” He explained Bridget’s business as best he could. He felt the warmth of Bunny’s approving look.
“Then she is doing well. Don’t underestimate her, Jonas. You have to remember that she’s ten years older now. She has been married, as much as you might not like that fact—”
