Page 22 of Baby For The Billionaire Silver Fox

The day continued to be sunny, although without the strength of full-on summer sun. I sent home the leftover chips and sandwiches with the volunteers who wanted them and threw a couple of the bottled waters into my car. I was looking forward to the next part of my day.

“It’s so nice we might want to bring a couple of water bottles with us,” I said. “Did I mention it was all uphill?”

“Both ways?”

“Yep.”

“Then it better wow me. This is probably not a nice way to introduce me to hiking, you know.”

I put on a small, lightweight backpack and added the water bottles.

“What’s in that?” she asked me curiously, eyeing the backpack.

“Bear repellent and band-aids,” I deadpanned.

Her eyebrows lifted on her pretty face. “So repellent to incapacitate them, and then band-aids to fix them up? Seems like a great plan. I see nothing wrong with it.”

I just grinned. “This way. After you,” I said, motioning to the trailhead.

“Um, I think you should go first to scare away any critters. Wait, are there really bears here? I was assuming you were kidding. Wait, don’t tell me if you’re not.”

I smiled. “You just want me to go first, so I’ll take out any spider webs across the trail. That’s fine. I’ll sacrifice my face and my dignity because I will scream like a girl if I think there’s a spider in my hair.”

I shook my head back, imitating someone with long hair, and pretend-tied it in a bun. “Let’s get going so we can get back before dark.”

“Seriously? How far are we going? I think we have different ideas of what a hike is. I was thinking it would be more of a meandering, stopping to take numerous selfies in front of a majestic view, kind of activity.” She looked a little hesitant now.

“I’m just messing with you. Come on.”

The trail was beautiful, and it was freshly mulched and trimmed up. Hikers must have already gone through today and taken care of any spiderwebs. Thank God for small miracles.

The air had that smell of trees warmed by the sun. I loved being out here, in nature. The path was a little springy beneath our feet from layers of decomposed leaves.

Casual hiking was a good activity to do when trying to get to know someone better. And I found myself really wanting to get to know this funny, attractive woman a lot better.

“So, are you liking the hospital now that you’ve been there a little while?” I asked.

“Yes, everybody’s been so nice to work with. I’m still trying to figure out where they keep some things, but I’ve got a handle on most of it. Sometimes it’s irritating not remembering where certain supplies are. It’s like trying to find your silverware drawer when you’ve moved into a new apartment, and you’ve got ice cream to eat.”

“Eventually, it will all become second nature?”

“Yep, and then it’ll be time to leave,” she said drily.

“What do you find different about working at our hospital in Cooperstown compared to your last hospital?”

Nicole thought about it. “I think this being a smaller hospital, the staff gets to know each other better, not just on their own floor but everybody. I had friends at the old hospital, but it was limited to the people in my department.”

She continued. “I’m also finding that many of the staff have been here a long time. Not as much of a revolving door here as I’m used to. People live here, work here, stay here.”

“Cooperstown has that effect on some people. Watch out, you may be its next lifelong devotee,” I said. After a pause, I asked, “Could you stand to stay here permanently? Wait, don’t answer that. You haven’t been here long enough for Cooperstown to work all its magic on you yet.”

I stopped suddenly, and Nicole crashed into the back of me. I reached around behind me to keep her from falling backward. I held her tight against my back one-handed until she steadied.

“Whoa,” she yelped.

“Shhh, I heard something rustling in the bushes.”

“Oh Lord, is it a bear?” Nicole whispered as she bunched up the back of my shirt with her fists and peeked around the side of me.

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