“Yeah. A good hike.”
I snorted. “Hiking isn’t fun.”
“Bet I can prove it is.”
“What if it snows again?” The last snowfall had only just melted away.
“Snow won’t kill us.”
“Hypothermia is a real thing. As is losing a limb to frostbite.”
“Okay, Dr. Doom. I’ll make sure I take you to an appropriate place and have you dressed in appropriate attire for the weather conditions.”
My lips twitched. “Sounds like a plan.”
“See you later, Erykah.”
The hairs on my neck stood up at the huskiness in his voice. How did he manage to say my name in such a way that my heart yearned? “Bye, Chris,” I rasped.
I hung up the phone before embarrassment at my own vulnerable tone could echo in my head. What I didn’t want to do was replay our conversation and analyze any undertones or hidden meaning in his words. Chris was a friend and would stay that way. I couldn’t let myself hope for anything more. Not with the girls now in my care. They needed my full attention. I didn’t need to distract myself with the little tiny crush that was developing.
No, I’d swat it away like a birdie in badminton. I just needed to get through this adjustment period.
And find a new place to live.
Maybe if I didn’t see Chris’s baby blues every day, I could keep him firmly in the friend zone. It was time to focus on a new place. Find something close to the hospital, in a good school district, and with a backyard for Charlie and the girls to play in.
Eighteen
Who said taking kids on an easy hiking trail was a good idea?
Chris thought the paved Perkins Central Garden Trail would be a nice, easy walk to get the girls out of the house. Change of scenery, so to speak. It didn’t hurt that the Garden of the Gods offered some seriously stunning views. Walking alongside the sandstone monuments always made Chris think of God, and more specifically, Psalm 19.“The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.”
Standing out in nature, Chris always felt like creation pointed to the Lord. He wanted the peace that came with that knowledge to fill Erykah and comfort the girls. Except Ashlynn apparently hated riding in the stroller and Cheyenne thought the rocks were boring.
“They’re brown.” Cheyenne folded her arms.
She looked just like Erykah doing that.
“I’d say more tan than brown. They’ve got that orange undertone.”
The glare on her face should scare Chris, but he was determined to get on Cheye’s good side. He’d thought they’d bonded over the past week with her coming with him to work. PathLight had done a photo shoot of Chris so they could promote the docuseries, and Cheye had been calling out poses with the photographer. Watching her had allowed Erykah to house shop during the day without the worry of the girls getting tired from going house to house.
Yet after a week of house hunting, she hadn’t found a place that fit her and the girls’ needs. Either the homes were too far away, not in a good school district, or too small. She’d found something wrong with each one.
“I think they’re pretty,” Erykah said. She reached out her hand, wiggling her fingers, as if to tell Cheyenne,Hold my hand.
The little girl slid her palm against her aunt’s. “But this is boring.”
“Charlie likes it.” Erykah pointed to the pup on the leash.
“Because he thinks this is the biggest bathroom.” Cheyenne spread her arms wide, then flopped them back to her sides with a groan.
The way she gave drama all day long, the girl could be an actress.
Erykah smirked, then met Chris’s gaze. For a moment, his heart stopped, and his gaze lasered onto hers. Looking at the gentle smile that softened her features made him want to tug her into his embrace. He felt like a dad out with his kids and adoring wife.
It’s an illusion. They’re not yours.
