by Rula Sinara
“He’s not in the house. Mugi was at the computer. He went to look around back.”
“Maybe he went into my tent,” Tessa suggested. “I’ll catch up.” She ducked into her tent as they passed it.
Mac sped into a jog.
“Nothing,” Mugi said, meeting them in front of the cottage. “I took him out in the jeep earlier, but stressed that he should never wander off on his own. I told him it’s dangerous.”
“I found a note,” Tessa called as she ran toward them. “He ripped a page out of my journal and left this on top. And everything from my backpack was dumped on my bed, but the bag was gone. He needed something to carry supplies in. He’s run away! Mac, we have to find him. This can’t be happening. I shouldn’t have let him out of my sight.”
Mac grabbed the note from her. He knew what Nick leaving a note meant. And it wasn’t good. Not out here. Especially not once it got dark. They had about an hour of light. The kid had no survival skills and was spooked by anything that moved. He scanned the bad penmanship before reading out loud.
I’m sorry. I took some food and the green thermos. I had no choice. I need to disappear and make all your wishes come true. If I end up dying out there, then good. Maybe I’ll get to be with my parents again. They were the only people who wanted me around. I’m gone now so, Uncle Mac and Aunt Tessa, you can get on with your lives. I won’t be a burden anymore. You don’t have to argue about whose life I’ll mess up. Don’t worry about me, not that you would, anyway. I’ll be fine. I’m not as stupid as you obviously think I am.
Damn.
Everyone was silent after Mac read Nick’s last words. The mere idea of him getting lost in the wild was a lot to digest, let alone running off on purpose because of something Mac or Tessa had said or done. Mac stuffed the note into his pocket and planted his hands on his hips. He’d screwed up. This was why he’d known right when Maria and Allan had given him partial custody that they’d made a mistake. He wasn’t father material.
“He must have overheard us last night,” Tessa said. “We thought he was sleeping,” she told Mugi and Kesi.
“We have to hurry. The sun will set soon,” Mugi said.
“Do we have any idea when he left the note?” Tessa was grinding the heel of her hand against her forehead. She took a shaky breath.
“When did you last see him?” Mac asked her and Kesi.
“We went to the riverside an hour ago,” Kesi said. “But he was with Mugi.” She looked to her husband.
“That’s about when we finished with the wood gathering. I went inside and he said he wanted to rest. We’ll find him. I’ll get my rifle and take the jeep. Maybe he went along the same route we took this morning.”
“I’ll go up in the chopper,” Mac said. “I can’t wait for the ground search given the daylight left. I need to start an aerial search now. Mugi, have your radio at hand. If I spot him and can’t land, I’ll contact you and vice versa. Kesi, stay here in case he has a change of heart—let’s pray he does. Mugi, let’s go. Tessa, you can stay here or go with Mugi.”
“No. I’m coming with you.”
“I know you’re worried. I am, too. But we don’t have time for you panicking up there or getting airsick,” Mac insisted. “I’m gone.”
He took off at a jog toward the chopper, running a mental checklist of emergency supplies he had on board.
“You’re not taking off without me. We’ll have a better chance of spotting him if I’m looking, too. I can do this, Mac. I can’t let anything happen to him.” Tessa passed him and was in the chopper before he could respond. She was right about an extra pair of eyes and Mac suspected the adrenaline rush and the obvious takeover of maternal instincts would negate any fears she had of flying. He got in without objecting and started his engine, completing a fast flight check. He glanced at Tessa, wanting to give her a last chance to get out, but the firm line of her lips and the fire in her eyes said it all. A silent understanding passed between them. They were in this together. On the same page and wanting the same thing. They both loved and cared about Nick. And for a fleeting moment, it was clear that they weren’t just acting as guardians...they were reacting like parents.
* * *
TESSA’S PULSE RICOCHETED at the base of her throat and heat seemed to course through her like fuel on fire. She didn’t care that she could feel every air pocket and altitude drop as Mac flew his search pattern, and the only thing that made her nauseous was the thought of Nick out there alone at night like sitting prey. She steadied herself and scoured the shrub-dotted savanna below. Mac’s voice came through her headset every few minutes in response to Mugi’s updates.
The older man hadn’t spotted Nick anywhere in a half-mile ground radius from the camp. Mac was now over a mile out. Mugi radioed in again not long after. He’d found track marks leading off the path they’d used earlier and down a steep and rocky incline to a valley below. He couldn’t take the jeep down, and it would take him too long to bypass the incline. Mac had taken the chopper there, but they still hadn’t seen any sign of the boy from the air.
Ribbons of saffron and amethyst streaked the horizon as the sun hit its mark. The expanse of grass below, shimmering with amber and gold, began fading hopelessly.
“We left so quickly I didn’t have a chance to refuel and don’t have a spare tank on board. We’ll need to either head back now, or keep the air search going as long as there’s light, then take her down...make camp until Mugi can bring fuel tomorrow. I say we keep looking. I don’t want him out there all night.”
“Keep going,” Tessa said. “Keep looking for as long as we can.”
“You’re smart, kid,” Mac muttered as if Nick could hear him. “Find a safe spot until we get there.”
* * *
TEARS POOLED IN Tessa’s eyes when she heard Mac. She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand and pressed her face to the window. On one hand, she knew Mac was making the right call. The safest one for all of them. Maria and Allan had died in a plane crash. Mac and Tessa needed to stay alive for Nick. But what if Nick didn’t make it? There were plenty of stealthy predators who loved the shield of dusk and dark. No doubt criminals like poachers did, too.
A group of hyenas raised their heads toward the sound of the chopper and began dancing nervously around the discarded remains of an antelope. Tessa gasped at the mental image of Nick being preyed upon. She felt Mac’s hand on her shoulder and her pulse slowed a few beats.
“He’ll be okay. No one could live twelve years with Maria and Allan and not pick up a few nature survival tips, and I’m betting Mugi taught him a thing or two, as well.”
Tessa nodded, but kept her eyes on the ground. Nick’s outing with Mugi had also made him overly confident. A little knowledge could be dangerous. She and Mac had been that age. Looking back, they thought they knew so much more than grown-ups when they were teens. But even if they had picked up a new fact or two at school, they didn’t realize, then, that experience counted for something. No matter how much they learned, their parents’ generation would always have a few decades of experience over them. She wondered if Nick had planned this. If, after he’d overheard them last night, he’d woken up with the intention of telling Mugi he wanted to go out and learn about the area, just so he could feel prepared to run away. She’d never forgive herself for arguing with Mac within earshot.
Something orange flicked through a small grove of acacia trees a few yards ahead of them. At first, she thought it was the sunset reflecting off an adjacent outcropping of rock and boulders, but then she spotted Nick climbing the rocks. There was no mistaking him when he looked up and began waving with both arms overhead.
“There! Oh, my God. It’s him.” She pointed frantically and slapped the window. She could hear Mac radioing Mugi with their status update. Mac immediately brought them down in the nearest clearing. She waited until it was sa
fe to open her door and ducked as she ran from the chopper.
“Nick!” Tessa headed toward the rocks where she’d spotted him. Where had he gone? “Nick,” she breathed as she bent over to catch her breath for a second. The ground seemed to move beneath her.
“Aunt Tessa, are you okay?” She straightened and saw Nick sliding down from the boulder above.
She leaned back against the rock, her brain finally registering that she’d been in the air and was now on solid ground.
“I am now. I was terrified when I found your note.” She forced a hug on him. He stiffened at first but then hugged her back.
Mac strode right up to Nick and pulled him into his arms.
“Don’t ever do that to us again. You scared the life out of me,” Mac said, rubbing his knuckles on top of Nick’s head. Nick let go of Tessa and hugged him back. It didn’t matter that Mac wasn’t Nick’s dad; watching them made Tessa think of a father and his son. If anyone understood that kids needed tangible, present love, support and a sense of security, she did. That’s what made a family. She righted herself. The fading light was blending everything into calm grays, which actually helped her head and stomach feel better. She wrapped her arms around both guys.
For as much as she loved her parents and sister, she’d missed out on a carefree, worry-free and secure childhood. But she had it now. Standing here in the middle of nowhere with Mac and Nick, she’d never felt so complete, empowered and full of love.
“I guess this means I really am stupid. I was so angry I didn’t care what was out here...until I saw you guys coming. I was kind of relieved.”
“Did you really think we wouldn’t come after you?” Tessa asked. “Nick, I don’t know what you think you heard, but you misunderstood. We love you. Life is about adjusting. Whatever it takes to figure out how we make this family work, it’ll be worth it. It’s not a sacrifice. Got it?”
He sniffed and wiped his face on his shoulder. “Yeah. Got it.”
“I take it you were seeking shelter on a high point,” Mac said, nodding toward the boulder.
“Yeah.”
“Not so stupid, if you ask me. Best choice you had, considering those trees are thorn-covered and not so climber-friendly. You were thinking on your feet,” Mac said.
Tessa wanted to kiss him for trying to save Nick’s dignity. He probably didn’t know he had it in him, but Mac made a perfect dad and uncle. He knew what a young man needed in terms of guidance and advice. She’d never heard Brice interact with Nick that way, but then again, she’d married a man who had never had any intention of having children. She didn’t, either, but only because she was afraid of failing to give them the stability she’d always craved. She didn’t want the burden of messing a child up. And here, she’d driven Nick to run away.
“I guess.” Nick drew his shoulders back. “I would have made it. I mean, sure I was a little nervous when it started getting dark, but I think I would have survived...like you did your first time around here, Uncle Mac.”
“I’m sure you would have, but why risk being a meal if you don’t have to be, right?”
“I agree,” Tessa said, not wanting Nick to carry his confidence too far. She couldn’t stand the idea of him becoming as reckless and fear-free as Mac had been when he graduated high school.
“How badly did I scare you, Uncle Mac?”
He certainly was getting cocky like his uncle.
“Badly enough,” Mac said.
“Enough to wet your pants?” Nick grinned. Tessa couldn’t hold back. The kid had a sense of humor and a great memory. She laughed and Mac just shook his head.
“Let’s hope you never find yourself in a situation like that. Did I mention that snakes hang around rocks for the heat?”
Nick looked behind him and stepped away from the outcropping.
“Uh...”
“That’s the thing out here. What might help you if a hyena is looking for dinner could be the same thing that makes you another predator’s meal. There’s a lot to learn about surviving in the wilderness, but stick around and you’ll learn.”
Tessa put her arm around Nick’s shoulders and kissed his temple. Mac had set him straight on running off. He’d done it like a parental pro.
“Come on, you two. We need to set up camp.”
“Camp?” Nick asked. Poor kid was probably hoping he’d get to go home.
Tessa so didn’t want to sleep out here, either, but no way was she going to become the joke of male egos. Time to suck it up.
“We got low on gas while searching for you,” Mac explained. “Mugi will be out with the jeep tomorrow with enough refill to get her back to camp.”
“Sorry about that,” Nick said.
“I’ll camp every night as long as you’re safe.” Tessa ruffled his hair. He didn’t even pull away.
“I’ll help set up,” Nick said, following Mac to the chopper for supplies. “I know how to build a fire.”
His latent Walker outdoorsman gene had definitely kicked in. She wasn’t so sure if that was a good thing.
* * *
MAC STOKED THE small fire he’d built. Nick had insisted on setting up the kindling and lighting it the way he’d read about in books or seen in the movies. It took a bit of finesse to hold back and let him figure out for himself that in real life stick rubbing didn’t spark as fast as it did in fiction. Mac blamed it on moisture in the evening air to help the boy save face. Humidity in one of their drier months was a stretch, but Nick went with it. Then Mac showed him how to use his flint rod. Thirteen was a tough step toward manhood. Quite exhausting, too. Nick was still shifting around in the one-man tent Mac had set up. No doubt the tent would make him feel more secure than sleeping out under the open sky.
Mac and Tessa sat on the ground between the tent and the fire. They weren’t too far from the helicopter. Mac wasn’t about to light a fire close to it, although he did tell Tessa she could stay in it if she thought she could spend the entire night in a seated position. There wasn’t much space in the model he owned. If he ever had the funds to expand Air Walker Safaris, a bigger helicopter would be on the list. Tessa had refused to be in the chopper on her own. She said she needed to be near Nick, after the scare they’d had with his disappearance, but Mac knew she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of being alone out here, chopper walls or not. Night predators and poachers were enough to trigger bad dreams. As for Mac, he kind of liked the fact that she felt safer by his side. She seemed comfortable enough sitting here.
In the end, they were both adamant about being near Nick, who had initially insisted that camping needed to be “real” camping. As in, under the stars. He almost stayed outside with them, but then agreed with Mac and Tessa that real camping involved tents. Talk about growth spurts of the emotional and mental kind.
“All this adventure will either make him fall asleep instantly or make it so he can’t,” Tessa said.
Mac tried to ignore how beautiful she looked as she sat on the ground with her chin resting on her knees. She gazed into the fire and her big eyes had never been more soulful. He wanted to kiss her. He coughed and waved the air as if smoke from the fire had gotten to him.
“It’ll hit him sooner or later. I know the rations I had weren’t much for the three of us, but Mugi will get here soon after the sun’s up.” All he’d had were a few granola bars and instant coffee. He set his makeshift poker stick down and scooted a few feet back from the fire, next to Tessa. “You impressed me today.”
“Me? Why?” She lifted her head and studied him.
“You’re scared to death of flying, yet you didn’t hesitate to go up for Nick’s sake. And I had my doubts, but you handled the search like pro.”
“Nothing like a kid to make you face your fears, huh?”
“True. But you’re the one who did it and you were the one to f
ind him.” He wasn’t about to let her shrug it off, even if she did shrug, turning her attention back to the fire.
“I was terrified for him.”
“Me, too.”
“What are we going to do, Mac?”
The sound of cotton sliding against polyester came from the tent behind them. Nick was still awake, which meant he was probably eavesdropping. Mac motioned toward the tent with his head and the curve of Tessa’s mouth told him she understood his intention.
“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him,” she added, keeping her voice natural but just loud enough for Nick to overhear. “He’s a great kid. Smart, funny when he wants to be and talented. And he’s family. I couldn’t ask for a better kid to be a part of my life.”
“I was really impressed by him today, too. He’s going to grow up to be a man’s man. I really enjoyed sharing bits of my life out here with him. In fact, I’d like to have more time to hang around with him. Not sure if that’s what he wants, considering he ran off today.”
“You think he doesn’t like us? Maybe we were cool as aunt and uncle, but not so much as legal guardians. I have to admit, my house in South Africa is a bit...sterile. It isn’t all that fun for a teen. I don’t think I ever bothered to ask him what he’d like in his living space. Like a pool table or something.”
“Maybe he’d rather be around dart guns and camping tents,” Mac said. “I think he’s pretty comfortable in mine right now, getting a good night’s rest.”
More rustling came from behind them before everything went quiet. Tessa put a hand over her mouth to keep from chuckling. Mac smiled back. If Nick fell asleep knowing they thought the world of him, then today was worth it. She scooted a few inches closer to Mac and leaned in.
“Are we really safe enough out here?” Her whisper caressed his jaw and it took every bit of self-control not to turn his face toward her. Their lips might touch if he did, and he knew neither of them wanted that. Not with circumstances being what they were. He kept his eyes on the fire and the trees ahead.
“I’ll stay awake, and I’m armed.”