Page 53 of Silver Fox's Surprise Baby

It’s nice to feel special every now and then.

As soon as we’re parked, Evan is out of the car and grabbing the bag from the back. He hauls it on as I get out and tighten my shoes.

We walk up the trail together, leaves rustling in the breeze and twigs crunching beneath our feet. Evan takes my hand and twirls me in a circle beneath his arm. I laugh and shake my head.

“You seem like you’re in a good mood.”

“Well,” he says, looping an arm around my waist and pulling me against his side. “I finally get to spend some time with you after all the shit that’s been going on lately. You don’t know how nice it is to finally relax.”

“I might have an idea. Now that school is done for the summer, it feels like I finally have a chance to breathe.”

“Only a few months until you go back. Are you ready for your second year?”

I bite my bottom lip and look away from him. “I don’t know how I’m going to go to school while we have a baby.”

Evan looks at me. “What are you talking about? I have more than enough money to hire a nanny if we need one. Or, I do own my own business. The baby could come to work with me.”

“You would really bring our child to work with you every single day? How would you get anything done?”

He shrugs and stoops to pick a flower, handing it to me. “I don’t think it really matters. I have people who do most of the work for me. I have more than enough time to take off to take care of the baby.”

“And then I’m going to be the pregnant girl at school. Do you know what a nightmare that is going to be?”

“It’ll only be a few months,” he says as he takes the flower from between my pinched fingers and tucks it behind my ear.

I sigh and run my hand over my stomach. “It’s a lot easier to be a man when you’re having a baby. Plus, you’re a lot older. Nobody is going to judge you for having a baby while you’re still in school.”

Evan kisses my forehead, sending shivers down my spine. “I know that it’s a lot to deal with, but you’re going to do great. If there’s anyone who can handle this, it’s you.”

“I wish I had that same level of confidence in myself.” I roll my shoulders, trying to loosen up. “I’m sorry. I’m ruining our day together.”

“Nope. You’re not. You’re telling me about your fears and what’s bothering you. That will never ruin my day, Kendall.”

I nod, taking a deep breath. “I’m going to meet with my mom tomorrow. I don’t really want to get into it more than that, but I thought you would want to know.”

His gaze locks onto mine for a moment but he doesn’t say anything. I’m glad that he doesn’t. I’ve been having enough of a struggle thinking about it since I sent her a message the other day and asked her to meet.

Instead of dwelling on my fear, I focus on Evan, laughing with him beneath the sun until it’s time to head home.

Evan looks at me sprawled across the bed a few hours after our hike and smiles. “I have something for you.”

I prop myself up on my forearms, one eyebrow raising. “Oh yeah?”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box wrapped in silver paper. I sit up fully and take the little present from him, careful as I pull away the paper.

When I lift the lid off the little box, there’s a key nestled against some tissue paper. I pull out the key and look at Evan.

“What is this?”

“Well, I know you’ve already moved back home, and you had your own key before, but this is a new key with your initial engraved in it. This house is yours as much as it is mine. I want you to feel like you can come and go whenever you want. I won’t hold you captive here.”

I put the key back in the box and set it on the bed before getting up and pulling him into a tight hug. “Thank you. This means a lot to me.”

“How are you feeling after the hike?” he asks as I pull away from him and take my hair down from its messy bun.

“A little sore. That was a lot longer than I’m used to.”

He chuckles. “Well then, you sit down and relax while I get us a bath ready.”

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