by Rula Sinara
“No internet. For real? Not even for an hour a day or dial-up or something?”
She was obviously desperate, but Nick, who’d just returned from using the facilities and overheard her...he seemed absolutely horrified.
“We could knock you out for the flight,” Mac said, scooping up a fist-size rock and bouncing it in his hand.
Tessa glared at him.
“You’re not even funny,” she said. “Why is it you think you’re so funny?”
He grinned and winked at her.
“Because I am.” He tossed the rock into a nearby bush and cranked his neck. “Come on, the Tessa I knew was a survivor. I’m betting you can suck it up and manage the trip. With puke bags in hand.”
“It’s not happening,” she said. “My head is still spinning.”
Mac whipped his cap off and put his hands on his hips. He needed to get back to work. This was ridiculous.
“Be reasonable.”
“I am being reasonable.”
“I’m not staying here all night, Aunt Tessa,” Nick warned. “I could get bitten by a venomous snake or something. Or get eaten alive. What happened to doing what was best for me?”
Mac had to hand it to the kid. He knew how to manipulate and guilt-trip like a pro.
“Yep, what he said,” Mac added.
“You two are ganging up on me?” Tessa asked. “I’m telling you, I’m not going back. I mean, not in that flying tin can. Nick is free to return to the lodge with you.”
“On second thought, nothing like a night out under the stars to make a man out of a boy. Camping here would be good for you, Nick. A new experience.” Mac smiled at his nephew.
Nick stormed back to the cottage. Mac was grateful that Mugi and Kesi were staying inside to give them some privacy. He’d given them a signal earlier when Nick had lost his composure. Not that Mac cared what anyone thought of him—sort of—but his friends meeting his nephew and Tessa for the first time was turning out to be a little embarrassing. Mac lifted his cap, scratched his head, then set it back in place.
“I tell you what,” he said, sitting back down next to Tessa. “Why don’t you go inside, chat with the Lagats and check on Nick. You have some explaining to do. At least out here he won’t run away. Maybe after a longer rest, you’ll be ready for the flight.”
She dropped her head into her hands.
“You don’t understand, Mac.”
“I could see if Kesi can brew up one of her concoctions to help with your stomach. She’s very skilled with herbs.”
“I need to get back,” she said, her hands muffling her voice.
Oh man. Was she crying? He hoped not. This was why he lived alone. He silently swore, then rubbed her back. It was instinct. An act of comfort. Brother-in-law to sister-in-law. But she shivered when he made contact and he quickly pulled back.
“That would be the point,” he agreed. “Get back and clear up the Nick situation. Clearly you can see this whole idea spells disaster.” If she wanted to go back, then why was she arguing about it? Why couldn’t women make sense?
“I’m messing up your scheduled flights. I’m so sorry,” she said, raising her head.
“My...oh, yes...my customers. The photographers. Right. Um, no worries. I’ll radio Sue and tell her to take care of things. They won’t mind rescheduling.”
“Mac, can I trust you?”
“I got you here in one piece, didn’t I?”
She turned and, this time, she wrapped one of her hands around his. The sight of her slender fingers braided with his wiped out his train of thought.
“What’s going on here, Tess? This isn’t just about Nick, is it?”
She shook her head and licked her lips. Too close for comfort. Was Tessa Henning coming on to him?
“I may be in trouble. Possibly even in danger. Not one word to anyone, Mac, until I have a chance to figure this out. Promise me.”
He nodded because how could he not. She wasn’t flirting. She was desperate again. It must be some pretty deep trouble for her to have brought Nick here. Tessa looked over her shoulder, then back at him.
“Mac, I think Brice may be involved in an ivory smuggling ring.”
Crap.
Mac pulled his hand out of hers. Ivory smuggling? He got up and she leaped after him.
“Not a word to anyone, Mac. Not yet at least.”
He turned on her, bringing his face within an inch of hers and lowering his voice. He hadn’t noticed any campers, but one never knew and voices carried around here.
“Do you have any idea what you’re saying, Tess? The implication? This better not be about some marital spat or a ploy to justify uprooting Nick.”
“Is that how little you think of me? Why would you assume the worst? I came to you because I want Nick in a safe place if this turns into a legal fiasco and the media comes down on us. Or worse. And because I thought I could trust you with this. Allan used to brag about the work you’ve done with the Kenyan Wildlife Service, helping to catch poachers, and about how you’ve volunteered for animal rescues in the area. I thought maybe you’d know something. Or know who I can trust among the authorities, because don’t believe for a second that Brice can’t pay for silence.”
Mac pulled back a few inches. His pulse pounded in his temples. His brother had bragged about him? They were close, but Allan had always been so much like their father, critical to a fault. He played the role of big brother, but bragging about Mac was pushing it. The fact that he’d told anyone he was proud of Mac was an unexpected punch in the gut.
“You can trust me, Tessa. That’s not the point. You’re talking about murder here. Brutal poaching. Tessa, ivory smuggling is an illegal and deadly trade—and deaths aren’t always limited to elephants. I won’t lie. Brice isn’t my favorite person. He’s just not my type, but he’s a smart businessman. Too smart to get involved in shady dealings.”
Tessa closed her eyes and shook her head.
“I know. It all sounds surreal, and I assure you I didn’t come up with this overnight. I know it’s dangerous. Why do you think I’m here with Nick and not still back at our home?” She pulled her hair back into a ponytail like she meant business. “I stole some drives from his desk before leaving. I have no idea what’s on them, but I couldn’t take a chance. If he’s involved in something like this, I need to know.”
Yep, she meant business.
“You took his files?”
Damn it. Tessa’s suspicions could turn into a full-blown disaster. If she was right.
“He thinks I’m here visiting with Nick.”
“Until he discovers what else you brought with you.”
“He’s out of town for a few days. Which is why I need to find out if there’s anything important on the drives as soon as possible. I can always put them back if they’re clear and he’s not home yet. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe I misunderstood what I overheard. It’s a lot of maybes, I know. I need to find out the truth. He’s my husband, Mac. I could ruin his life. If I’m wrong, I don’t want him knowing that I doubted him.”
“If you find proof that backs up what you’re saying, then what’ll your next move be? Have you thought that far? What are you planning? To disappear? Turn him in and ask for official protection?”
She didn’t answer.
“Okay, then. We’re staying here tonight,” Mac said.
“What?”
“We’re staying. I need to hear details, whatever you can tell me, and we’re a lot less likely to be overheard by the wrong ears—and I don’t mean Nick—out here than back at my office. I’ll call Sue and tell her we’re...somewhere else...camping out.” He didn’t want Sue blurting anything to the wrong people. She was too trusting.
Mac pinched the bridge of his nose. Come to think of it, if things went south,
he couldn’t leave Sue at the mercy of anyone searching for them. She’d be safer visiting Anna and Jack at Busara for a while. Spending time with her grandkids. He was going to need to call Anna and Jack and make arrangements for getting her there, since he was not ready to leave Tessa and Nick alone. Not until he had a better grasp of the situation. Unfortunately, staying here also meant Air Walker Safaris would be losing business. Business he couldn’t afford to lose.
“I’ll ask Mugi and Kesi to keep quiet, too. If you need anything, you can trust them.”
“Mac. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. Just hope Brice doesn’t come home early.”
* * *
TESSA HAD TO admit Mac was right. Lying low at Camp Jamba was a smart idea. Brice knew they were traveling to see Nick’s uncle, but she had told him they were meeting Mac in Nairobi. The rest of the trip to Hodari Lodge she’d paid for in cash. Mac’s office would be the first place he’d come looking for her if there was incriminating information on those drives. Still, it bought her a little time. Camp Jamba was another step removed, which meant even more of a buffer between them and Brice. But she wouldn’t get any closer to confirming her suspicions out here.
Maybe she should have told Mac what was going on last night in his office...where a computer was available. She drank the last sip of her soda. No. Her instincts had kept her from doing so. She needed to trust her gut. He wouldn’t have listened then. She wouldn’t have been able to dish the note-writing excuse to him. Just as he’d pointed out that more modern conveniences would have made running away easier for Nick, the same could have applied to Mac. He could have acted in defense before listening to anything she had to say about Nick or Brice. Maybe she needed to trust her gut more often.
The aroma of spices and the warm char of open-flamed cooking drifted past her, a solid reminder that she’d been too nervous to eat breakfast this morning—a saving grace considering how she reacted to not being on solid ground. She went inside to thank the Lagats for letting them stay, but soon realized she needed more fresh air.
The flaming Serengeti sun burned directly overhead and a chicken, of all things, ran past her, squawking like it was being chased by an invisible predator until it found the safety of its flock under a fig tree. Maybe her mind was also making up things to fear about Brice. Did she subconsciously want out of her marriage? Was she looking for reasons to leave?
There was no point in procrastinating any longer. She couldn’t let Nick hate her. She couldn’t let him think she didn’t want him around or that she had priorities greater than him. True, she had to make a decision to leave him with Mac, but not for the same reasons her parents had left her alone so often. They were so busy with their aquatic research that they couldn’t focus on their children, too. She finally understood how important their work was, but back then she’d been like Nick. Just needing someone to be around...a safety net to catch her as she muddled through her teens...a home and family like all the other kids had. As a child, she’d wanted to feel secure and not have to worry every night—especially during storms—that one or both of her parents might not come home.
She wanted to be that safety net for Nick, but right now, the only way to keep him safe was to pull that net out from under him. And hope Mac was there to catch his fall.
The air vibrated with the trumpeting of elephants in the distance, as if they’d heard her thoughts and were trying to share their wisdom about motherhood and the delicate cycle of life.
If only she spoke elephant.
As a child, she spoke to her adopted cats and sometimes believed they understood her. They’d give her a sign: a lazy blink or a sedating purr that rumbled deep against her chest.
She needed a sign now.
The roar of a lion had her turning quickly toward the path to the cottage. Mac stood on the front porch, leaning against the wooden log that supported the thatched overhang, watching her, the piercing blue of his eyes intense and knowing. Maybe it was the way the Kenyan sun had left its warmth on his skin or how stubble shadowed the hard lines of his jaw, but the way he looked at her sparked a smoldering ache in her chest. She swallowed hard to extinguish it. If only Mac hadn’t wanted to get away from home so badly. Maybe they would have eventually become friends. But he’d wanted to escape and explore and she’d wanted—needed—stability.
And now she didn’t even have that.
Was this her sign? That the one thing—the one person—who would make her and Nick’s life whole and balanced was the one man she’d turned away from years ago? The one man who knew how small, insecure and insignificant she used to be? She stared down at her feet as she walked up the path toward him.
Life could be so cruel.
CHAPTER FOUR
“HEY. DON’T TOUCH that yet.”
Mac gave Nick a warning look and didn’t break eye contact until his nephew pulled his hand away from the basket of fresh, warm chapati.
“What? It’s there to eat, isn’t it?” Nick said, eyeing the traditional flatbread like a hyena with its tongue lolling out. The boy was acting spoiled, like these were free-for-all breadsticks at an Italian restaurant, but this wasn’t a restaurant. They weren’t campers paying for a safari stay. Those meals were served outdoors. Come to think of it, Mac didn’t think he’d ever been just a guest here. They were dining in the Lagats’ home. Very dear friends who deserved respect.
“It’s there to eat after Mugi and Kesi join us and you thank them for the meal. It’s called manners,” Mac said, glancing at Tessa to read her reaction.
“We don’t always have sit-down meals,” she explained. “Brice isn’t usually home for dinner because of work, and Nick is so hungry after school that he stuffs himself then. And then again about every hour after that,” she added, smiling at Nick. Her attempt to soften him up with good-natured teasing went right over his head.
Mac looked pointedly at both of them. He remembered well the consuming hunger that would hit him as a teenager during bouts of raging hormones or growth spurts. It had to be the closest a guy could get to understanding pregnancy cravings. It hadn’t been unusual for him to eat an entire roast down to the bone—by himself—and then get hungry again soon after. So he got it, but that didn’t excuse bad manners or lack of respect.
Nor, as far as he was concerned, did living on riches. He’d seen one too many kids come through Hodari Lodge with families who could afford the place and then some, acting careless and entitled. No nephew of his was going to act that way. Losing one’s parents wasn’t an excuse, either. Life wasn’t always fair, but a kid had to grow up understanding how to handle punches like a man—with morals, honor and dignity.
Wow. He was sounding like his own father.
There had to be some give and take, though. Mac leaned back in his chair and rested his palms on his khakis. Who was he to judge Nick’s behavior and attitude when he’d willingly left him with Tessa and Brice? In a convoluted way, he was just as guilty as Brice when it came to putting a lot of value on money. As a millionaire investor, Brice wasn’t around to be the quintessential family man because making money was his priority. And Mac wasn’t around because he needed to make money to live and help support his nephew. And given Air Walker Safaris’ financial state, Mac knew full well that money was important. However, some people didn’t have their priorities straight. Need and want were very different things.
But Mac’s ideals and values were essentially meaningless if he wasn’t around to instill them...to set an example. Even if staying in South Africa was best for Nick on so many levels, in the end, all Mac was doing was sending his nephew money. He wasn’t really in a position to judge Brice, or his own father, for that matter. Or Tessa.
He rubbed his jaw against his shoulder and stretched his neck.
“Yes, well, consider this a lesson in manners. The Lagats are like family to me. It doesn’t mat
ter that they just met you. You’ve been invited into their home because anyone I care about they care about, too. That’s the kind of people they are.”
Nick slumped back and looked away from both of them, arms folded and face flushed. The rims of his eyes turned pink. Poor guy was fighting for control. He’d never asked for any of this. Not losing his parents. Not being here in the middle of nowhere. And certainly not being juggled between the only two people in the world he had left.
The last time Mac had been in the same room with him, Nick had not quite hit thirteen yet and he’d retreated into himself. He’d changed a lot since the days after the funeral. It was like he was ready to discover himself...but he didn’t know how. And his safety net was full of holes. Apparently, so was Tessa’s. Good thing Mac didn’t need safety nets. Not having to rely on anyone had been his most liberating discovery as a young man. Maybe that’s what Nick had to learn.
Tessa was nibbling on the corner of her lip. She shook her head ever so slightly as she studied the back of Nick’s head. Everyone was feeling disappointed and frustrated. No one felt in control.
“Hey, man,” Mac offered. “Wait until you try Kesi’s cooking. Trust me. It’ll be worth the wait.”
“No more waiting,” Mugi said, coming in the back door with a large bowl of what appeared to be a vegetable curry. Mouthwatering aromas permeated the room and lingered, despite the soft breezes floating through the screened windows and doors. He set the plate on the old wooden table and smoothed the simple black-and-brown patterned dashiki shirt that Mac recognized as the one Kesi had recently made. She’d made him one, too, only she’d chosen a brighter yellow-and-orange pattern for Mac, saying it was because he liked to be in the sky with the sun. Kesi was right behind Mugi with several more dishes.
“Kesi makes the best chapati. She cooks it in an iron pan over an open flame out back. Please, help yourself,” Mugi said. “And this is vegetable and potato curry and this other dish is sukuma wiki. Fried onion, tomato and spinach.”