Chapter 2
Two
Lamont
Nevaeh wants to know if you need a good dating app recommendation.
Chris Gamble stared at the text in the group chat with his two friends, searching for the right reply. Normally his brain had a comeback in a matter of seconds, but lately, all he could think about was how alone he felt. He couldn’t help but blame the reason on the fellas’ recent relationship status changes.
Lamont had fallen in love with the woman he’d fake dated to save his movie-star reputation, and Tuck had finally caved and admitted he loved his best friend. Now both couples were putting all their efforts into getting Chris to hop on the love train. Great, now the O’Jays will be singing in my head.
Only he wasn’t so sure jumping into the dating pool was the right thing to do.
Not because he liked being the fifth and oldest wheel—how he ended up friends with guys a decade younger than him was all God—but because he couldn’t forget what had happened the last time he’d been in a relationship. He didn’t want to be alone, but at the moment, those were the cards in his hand.
Even so, he couldn’t get the woman he’d met the week before out of his head. Something told him Dr. Erykah Kennedy was the type to cherish the coveted title and didn’t often introduce herself without first mentioning she was a surgeon. There had been a quiet steadiness about her that made him want to take the time to get to know her, but something sad also lurked in her dark brown eyes.
Or maybe he was simply projecting.
“Chris, production wants to know if you can get them access so they can film parts of the gray wolf reintroduction.”
Colorado citizens had voted for the reintroduction of the gray wolf to the Colorado ecosystems. The news was huge, and it was no wonder that PathLight wanted access to the monumental event come this December.
Chris glanced up from his phone. His project manager, Cameron, stared at him expectantly, foot tapping against the tile. Her sky-blue shirt with their company logo on it was tucked into her high-waisted jeans. He’d made the mistake once of calling them mom jeans and had been quickly corrected.
“Tell them it’s not as simple as a yes or no. I need to reach out to someone on the team to verify that’ll be okay.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Why had he agreed to a documentary, again?
When he’d first mulled over the idea of hosting a docuseries, yes had been the obvious response. A bigger platform to discuss wildlife conservation and the many ways the everyday person could care for God’s creation? Yes. Being filmed around Chris’s own schedule? Definite yes.
But that’s where the yeses stopped.
Chris had never thought of a camera in his face as annoy ing. Then again, maybe it was just PathLight’s director, whose constant demands made Chris question whether the docuseries would actually impact society for the greater good. Uploading YouTube videos and shorts to share what he knew about animals and simple ways to make sustainable changes in the home was easy, but this was a production of a whole different magnitude.
But he’d already signed on the dotted line—figuratively since he’d signed online with the suggested software signature—and filming had begun.
PathLight was calling the docuseries This Is Colorado , with Chris being the host. He was supposed to show the audience how great Colorado was and teach them how to be good stewards of the earth. If the series did well, PathLight would go on to create additional seasons, featuring each state and hosted by a different conservationist in each location.
They had started by shooting at Chris’s nonprofit—a combination of a nature center with educational outreach programs and an emergency rehab facility. His employees had all agreed to being filmed, jumping at a chance to get their fifteen minutes of fame.
Despite the help of his staff, his work efforts had doubled. YouTube and the docuseries both vied for his time, along with the other demands the nonprofit board required of him. Two weeks in, and Chris already wished the constant turn here , let’s do that again , and one more time would leave his vocabulary so he could work in peace.
It’s for a good cause, remember that. People won ’t completely understand the importance of being good stewards if no one ever shows them.
The verse “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” filtered through his thoughts. The same premise for faith fit conservation efforts. People wouldn’t know why they should change their ways if no one spoke the truth to listening ears.
So Chris would tough it out and get through the heavy demand of filming a docuseries. No wonder Lamont was always exhausted after making a movie. A YouTube video was nothing compared to that.
His phone chimed again, reminding him of the text he never responded to. Chris read the other texts that had come in.
Tuck
Don’t do it, man. I’ve heard horror stories.
Lamont
Same.
Tuck
If you want to meet a girl the old-fashioned way, go to the grocery store.
Lamont
What? The store?
Tuck
You can tell a lot about a woman by the way she shops.
Lamont
Don’t listen to him, Chris. Find a woman at church.
Tuck
Tuck
Yeah, because dropping a church pickup line will win major points.
Lamont
You might have a point. Plus, did they even have church pickup lines when Chris was young?
Okay, time for him to interject before his friends became even more ridiculous.
Chris
I won’t do an app, but I will definitely consider the old-fashioned way.
Once more his thoughts strayed toward Dr. Kennedy. An image of how her beautiful brown skin glowed came to mind. Her braids had been shoulder length and somehow looked different from regular braids, but how, he couldn’t put into words. All he knew was the full cheeks that had curved into a prominent chin made his heart soften a little. He wouldn’t mind getting to know her. Too bad she had left the restaurant before he could attempt to exchange numbers.
That was a foolish move. And an obvious reminder of how long he’d been out of the dating game.
Lamont
Good luck to you.
Tuck
I can always do some digging and try to find out that info on my surgeon.
Chris
Don’t bother. God’ll figure it all out.
At least, Chris assumed that God was on the same wavelength as he was. Chris had made it down the aisle before and faced the biggest humiliation of his life. He’d figured God was sparing him from a repeat embarrassment. Why else had no other woman sparked his interest?
Except Erykah Kennedy.
He sighed. Enough of that. He’d push past the distraction and start checking off items on his to-do list before he went for a hike.
He stood, left his office, and entered the hallway of his nonprofit.
On a daily basis, Chris’s team took care of various wildlife that’d been injured in the regional area until they could be turned over to a long-term rehab center. They also had a few animals that remained with them on a permanent basis for educational programs.
Right now, he needed to prepare the kit fox and the black-footed ferret for the second-grade class coming in for a field trip. The ferret had made his home at Gamble on Nature a couple of years after retiring from a breeding facility that was trying to prevent the species from becoming extinct. Students usually enjoyed meeting him. Maybe Chris could even see if their injured beaver would want to meet the kids. A temporary resident, the beaver would be picked up by a rehab facility on Friday. Surely the kids would love to get a look at him up close.
“How are we coming along for the field trip?” Chris asked Cameron.
She pulled out one of the many pencils keeping her bun on top of her head. “Zach put Nick into the small cage, so he’s ready. Kimble stills need to be prepared.”
“I’ll take care of him.” Chris headed down the hall to where the ferret’s cage was. Kimble was about as close to a pet as Chris could get. Not because he didn’t want a domesticated animal in his home. He did. In a perfect world, he’d have a Bernese mountain dog named Bernie. But the travel he did for educational outreaches, animal rescues, board events, and now the docuseries meant he wasn’t home much to give a dog attention. Then again, there was always the option of bringing the dog along as a travel companion.
In a different world. Not now. You’re too busy.
“Kimble, wanna play?” he murmured.
The ferret happily began dooking. The chuckling sound often happened when Kimble played. Just offering the invita tion had Kimble coming out of the cubby he liked to snuggle in. Chris put out a tray of food for the guy so he could eat before engaging with six- and seven-year-olds. He moved on to the beaver, checking on the little guy. He seemed content in the sleeping area, so Chris allowed him to rest.
When Kimble finished his snack, Chris brought him out into the instructional classroom. The kids filed in quietly, their teacher praising them for their good behavior.
“Mr. Gamble is going to talk to us now. Please give him your best Raven behavior.”
Chris held back a smirk as the kids immediately sat ramrod straight in the chairs. “Good morning, everyone.”
“Good morning,” they called back.
“I’m Mr. Gamble, and I run Gamble on Nature with my colleagues, Cameron”—he pointed to the project manager, who waved—“and Zach.” The intern waved.
“Sometimes we have a couple more people in-house, but right now, they’re out in the wild tracking animals.”
“Ohhh,” the kids chorused.
Chris clucked his tongue, and Kimble scurried from the little cat carrier to his shoulder. He instinctively slipped his arm through the short leash he’d fashioned for the ferret. Kids loved seeing animals, but ones that weren’t leashed always unnerved a few students. In fact, a couple of the girls’ eyes widened in horrified fascination.
“Does anyone know what kind of animal Kimble is?”
Hands shot up around the room. Chris pointed to a little boy with the straightest cowlick he’d ever seen.
“A cat!”
“No!” some of the others groaned.
Chris pointed to a little girl with pigtails in the front row. She motioned toward herself in question, so he nodded.
“Um, a ferret?” she said.
“That’s right. Kimble is a black-footed ferret. Does anyone know what he likes to eat?”
“Berries!” a kid shouted.
“Try again.”
Someone correctly guessed Kimble to be a carnivore, making the transition to how Kimble ate in the wild and how they fed him here. Once his introduction of the ferret was over, Chris asked the most popular question in the educational outreaches.
“Would anyone like to pet Kimble?”
Hands shot up, but not as many as when they were trying to answer the questions. Chris showed the students exactly how Kimble liked to be touched, making sure they understood him.
“Did everyone get that?” the teacher asked. She glanced around the room, waiting for the kids to make eye contact. “Kimble likes to be touched gently. If you do not obey Mr. Gamble’s rules, there will be consequences when we return to school.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the class acknowledged.
Chris let them touch the ferret, thankful for the teacher backing him up.
After the kids finished petting the ferret, Chris motioned for Zach to step to the front. The intern began teaching the kids about the fox. When he was done, Cameron came up to show off one of their birds. She was an excellent handler when she wasn’t busy ensuring their operation ran smoothly. Chris prayed she planned on staying long-term at Gamble on Nature. He couldn’t imagine finding anyone else so competent, but since she was engaged, it was always possible her plans would change with the I dos.
Finally, the class left, and the building quieted. Chris blew out a breath as he washed his hands in the mudroom.
“You heading to the governor’s dinner?” Cameron asked, coming to stand beside him.
Chris squinted his eyes in an attempt to visualize his calendar. “That’s today?”
“Yes, sir.”
He let out a low moan. Lord, I don’t wanna .
“Don’t whine. The ladies will fawn all over you in your tux, and you’ll get the funding we need to continue running efficiently.”
“I hate these dinners. They’re so pretentious.” Why did the board always make him attend? Oh, sure, some of them would go to make sure he played well with others, but that didn’t make networking any more tolerable. But you said you would go, so man up.
“Says the man who’s friends with a movie star and Derby winner. I feel so sorry for your plight.”
He snorted at Cameron’s dry tone. “You don’t know what it’s like having to schmooze.”
“Because I don’t talk to people.”
“You just talked to a bunch of second graders.”
“Kids don’t become people until they hit fifth grade and lose their lovely innocence.” She placed a hand on her hip. “Then they’re monsters until high school.”
Chris chuckled. “Tell me how you really feel.”
“I really feel that you should leave ASAP, so you have enough time to do something to that nest growing on your face. And maybe wash the animal stink off of you before you don the tux.”
“You nag so much, Cameron.” He headed for the exit.
“It’s what you pay me for!”