I turned to smile at Hayden and was surprised to see him watching me. Quickly, I turned away, suddenly feeling very conscious of his gaze.

“Do you want to hold her?” Hayden asked.

“Sure…I’ll try…” I said as I tried to take the cub into my arms from Hayden.

Carefully, Hayden transferred the cub that he was holding into my arms. The cub weighed more than I initially thought but her fur was so soft that I didn’t mind bearing the weight at all. Fortunately, she seemed well behaved and didn’t wriggle around as I held her. Looking down at her in my arms, I was reminded of how precious...