LASTED NO more than ten minutes and the look on his face made Mac feel like scum, but the kid had gone over the top. No wonder Tessa was begging Mac to take over. Had Brice not been supporting her in raising him? Mac understood what Nick had to be going through. Around the same age, Mac’s mother had abandoned the family, and his father, left to raise his sons on his own, had always favored Allan as the son with potential. His parents may have been alive when he was a teenager, but his world had been turned upside down just the same. Mac had left the Cape long before his father, a South African air force veteran, passed away, and their last encounter had not been on the best of terms. He and Allan had become close brothers because they really could only count on each other. But as much as Mac had hated his father’s overly strict and emotionally removed parenting style at the time, he knew firsthand that what Nick needed were boundaries. Without them, the kid was going to be as lost as Mac had been.
Mac exchanged looks with Tessa as they listened to Nick’s fifty-percent-sincere apology—a percentage Mac figured was pretty good for a teenager.
“Apology accepted,” Tessa said...maybe a little too quickly. “Nick, you know I loved your mom. She was my sister and she trusted me to do what’s best for you. I had to make this call.”
Nick simply chewed the inside of his cheek and turned away, his nostrils still flaring.
“Well, clearly these aren’t the makings of a real holiday, so why don’t we abort the rest of today and head back to discuss this,” Mac suggested. A family discussion. The phrase hit him from out of the blue, and he almost laughed out loud at the notion. The three of them were like three stray puzzle pieces from different boxes that would never fit together, let alone form a picture of a family.
“Yeah. I want to go back,” Nick said. “First, tell me where a guy is supposed to pee around here without a lion biting his...”
“Hey!” Mac held up a warning finger and Nick chose not to finish his sentence. Something about Nick’s attitude made Mac want to keep the fact that the cottage actually had a flushable toilet to himself, but he resisted blurting the few ideas he had on where else to go pee. There were always bushes with lurking predators.
“If you ask politely, Mr. or Mrs. Lagat will show you a bathroom you can use,” Mac said.
Nick left a dust cloud in his wake. Tessa rubbed her arms.
“Can I get a ride back on wheels? I’ll pay for the service,” she said.
“I’m usually the service people use to get out here. The camp does have a jeep, but it’s typically used to take guests out on safari.”
“Well, I’ll tell you what. You go on. We’ll stay the night. But I really need to see if someone here has a charger I can borrow or a computer I can use. I have to check my emails and take care of a few things, and there’s no way I’m getting back in your helicopter. Someone can fetch me tomorrow in a jeep.”
“Hate to break it to you, darling, but there’s no internet out here, and do you have any idea how much longer it would take to get back by jeep?” Mac asked.
The Tessa he’d known hadn’t been quite so clueless. If anything, writing for their school paper had given her a smart—albeit nerdy—image. Living with money had spoiled her. She’d had a soft heart for animals in shelters back then and always posted articles about school fund-raisers and food drives to help support them. She’d even taken home one too many herself. She told him they kept her company. Maria had been more of a social, outgoing type than Tessa and spent much of her time at school events, and their parents were often away at sea. Maria had been a lot like them. Much like Mac’s brother had followed in his father’s footsteps. Tessa, not so much. He’d kind of felt sorry for her.
Mac had tried reaching out to Tessa since his brother hung around her sister all the time. He’d even attempted to draw Tessa into their crowd, but she hadn’t wanted anything to do with him. He made her nervous for some reason, so he’d backed off. He still was around a lot, though, because of Maria and Allan dating. He’d once overheard Tessa having an argument with her sister in her bedroom; she’d cried about wanting to be more than the latch-key daughter of adrenaline-driven parents. She was fed up with them prioritizing work over spending time at home with their daughters, and risking their lives at sea. She’d been royally ticked off at him when she opened her room door and found him lingering in the hall. Allan’s plans for hanging out in their backyard were cut short when Mac told him they’d better leave before Tessa killed him.
And then there was the time during Allan’s senior year when Mac had tagged along to visit Maria and fire up the grill. He’d gone inside to grab a drink and ran into Tessa freaking out. Her computer crashed before she had the chance to save her English paper that was due the next morning. He insisted she use his essay, which would have no doubt been worse than hers but was better than nothing. He ended up writing a second one and turning it in after the deadline. His father gave him a lot of flak for the late penalty, but Mac figured he’d have picked on something about his grade regardless. Seeing the relief and gratitude on Tessa’s face had been so worth it. And he’d obviously mistaken it for a truce. A friendship. Right now, Tessa was looking at him with the same wrenching expression as she had that night.
“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
