Chris’s steps faltered as he tore his gaze away. He’d been close to this before. He hated that Tracey had broken her word and left him with the fallout, but if she hadn’t, he wouldn’t be here for Erykah.
She needed a friend, and his thoughts were veering more and more away from that path. The best thing would be forher to find her own place. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about the feelings that arose in him every time he looked at her smooth brown skin or smelled her intoxicating scent that begged him to draw closer.
No, they should’ve gone house hunting instead of coming to one of Colorado Springs’ iconic landmarks.
They finished the trail and headed back to the parking lot. Maybe next time Chris would just take the kids to the zoo. Surely Cheyenne wouldn’t be annoyed by looking at animals. She seemed to like hanging out with Kimble and the other animals at Gamble on Nature.
“Dr. Kennedy!”
Erykah stiffened as someone yelled her name across the parking lot. They both turned to face the voice. An older man walked toward them with a younger woman at his side.
“I thought that was you.”
Erykah’s lips contorted into some weird smile ... or was that a grimace? Chris almost laughed at the discomfort covering her face. It reminded him of how she looked when Ashlynn blew out a diaper yesterday. However, the discomfort now came from these two people, which put him on edge.
“Dr. Cook. What are you doing here?”
“I enjoy a good leisurely stroll every now and then.” His gaze flicked to Chris’s, then back to Erykah. “I see you’re relaxing, as I suggested.”
Wait, this was the boss who gave her another week of leave?
“Attempting to.” She bounced Ashlynn up and down, which was the baby’s preferred method of being held. She hated being still.
“Who is...?” Dr. Cook’s voice trailed off.
Erykah’s eyes widened, and she looked so startled, so uncomfortable, Chris had to step in. He offered a hand. “Chris Gamble. I’m a friend of Erykah’s.”
“Oh, how nice to meet you.” Dr. Cook shook his hand enthusiastically. “Erykah is so quiet at work that it’s hard to imagine her with friends.”
Excuse me?
The man had the grace to look ashamed. “I’m sorry. That’s not at all what I meant to say.”
“Grandpa, stop talking,” the young woman said. She flashed a sympathetic look to Erykah. “He doesn’t know when to be quiet sometimes.”
Erykah let out a hesitant laugh. “He does talk often at work.”
Dr. Cook raised his hands in aWhat can I say?gesture. Obviously, he knew the comments were true.
“Are you guys just arriving?” Dr. Cook asked.
Erykah shook her head. “Leaving.”
“Sorry to have missed you.” He turned a curious gaze toward Chris. “Chris Gamble? You’re not the YouTuber, are you?”
Chris could feel his neck heating. “I do have a channel there.”
“He has a million subscribers now.” Erykah smiled at him. “I think he’s doing great things.”
She knew how many subs he had?
“I want to be in his next video,” Cheyenne spoke up.
Chris had almost forgotten she was there. He looked down at her. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” He was leery about the ramifications of minors on such a public platform. Then again, he could make one private, just for her to watch and know she was on YouTube.
“Charlie got to be in a video.”
“Because he’s a pup.” Erykah had agreed to let Chris put up a video about what to do when you spot an animal in the wild when out with your dog.
