Through The Storm. Rula Sinara

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.