by Rula Sinara
“Fine, but at least think about it. For old time’s sake. I miss having you around and doing things like henna tattoos and...ditching Haki. Oh, yes. Right now. Don’t say no.”
“No. I want to go in and say hi to Auntie Niara and the boys, then run by the pens to see Auntie Anna.”
“Come on. Wearing a suit all day is really sucking the fun out of you. Leave your backpack on the porch steps. We won’t go far. Just far enough to get his attention.”
Haki’s attention. As if Pippa didn’t already get enough of it.
* * *
“WHAT DO YOU mean you haven’t seen them?”
It had been at least an hour since Haki had showered. He’d stayed in the house to help Noah and Huru with some homework problems they’d been assigned via their virtual classes and figured Maddie and Pip had gone to see the orphans and everyone at the clinic.
“We assumed they were here,” Anna said. “I just finished logging treatments and Kam just got back from rounds. They’re still restocking their jeep supplies for tomorrow. But none of us has seen them yet.” She pulled her walkie-talkie off her belt, then set it back and flung her hand toward the unit sitting on the console by the door. “That’s hers, isn’t it?”
Haki flattened his lips. It was hers, all right. She hadn’t taken it to Nairobi, naturally, but she also hadn’t come by the house to grab it today.
“I’ll go look for them. Huru, Noah, go check the old mess tent and the area behind it. Don’t wander off. Just see if they’re hanging out there. Tell them dinner is ready. Let me know if they’re there. I’ll check the lookout.” The old mess tent and adjacent framed tents were original to the camp and where Haki and Pippa had spent their toddler years. They were used mostly for storage now, but Pippa still liked to go back by the old water well and sit in the hammock under the mango tree. He had a gut feeling they weren’t there right now, but with the sun setting and Pippa’s recent carelessness, the more ground covered, the better.
“I’m sure they’re close,” Niara said, setting the last of the dishes on the long, wood dining table. His mother patted his back. “Pippa really knows how to push your buttons.” She nodded toward the massive floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the southwest side of camp and the valley beyond. Anna’s acacia tree sprawled like a black mushroom silhouetted against a watermelon sky. A flash of blue on the lookout platform beneath the canopy caught his attention.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” he said. He couldn’t help but wonder if wedding bands could be rigged with two-way mics or maybe even tracking devices. Not that he’d do that to Pippa, but what was up with her lately?
He made his way past the elephant pens and through the low-lying grasses that spanned the stretch to the tree.
“I see him coming. Took him longer than usual.”
Pippa’s voice drifted toward him. Always happy. Always energizing. His lips twisted into a smile. She made it impossible to stay upset or annoyed. He couldn’t quite make out Maddie’s response. Her voice had always been soft, even when she was younger. Especially when she was younger. But even now it had a mellow warmth to it, one that blended into the summer evening and disappeared before it could reach him. It made his mind spin with curiosity.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and slowed his approach.
“We really should get back. I feel like I’m being rude, not having said hello to everyone yet.”
“You’re so much like Haki. So concerned with what others think, always busy worrying and following rules. No one will care. I’ll take the blame if they say anything. Let yourself relax. I mean, look at that. A 360-degree view. Isn’t it amazing?”
He could see Maddie’s silhouette as she pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around them.
“A part of me could sit here and watch the sun rise every morning and set every night and never tire of it. I remember reading books up here a time or two. I do miss how peaceful it is. Out here you can actually feel the day end,” she said.
“I know what you mean. Whenever I stay in the city, I have trouble winding down. It’s kind of true when they say cities never sleep. All that nightlife.”
The idea of Pip never winding down was borderline scary. A chuckle escaped him. He was answered with soft laughter.
“Okay, you two. Game over.” He climbed the weathered, wooden ladder and crossed his arms on the edge of the platform. “You left your radio behind again, Pip.”
The last remnants of light reflected off her auburn curls, bringing out golden highlights. Every year, the sun seemed to make it lighter.
“I never really left camp, did I?” She gave him a cheeky grin. “Besides, I knew you’d come and rescue us. I can’t climb down if you’re on the ladder.”
He backed down a few steps, then jumped to the ground. Pippa backed down fewer and jumped farther. He didn’t comment. Maddie turned onto her knees, carefully found her footing and looked down at the rungs each time to be sure she didn’t miss a step. He figured she wasn’t planning on any jumps. She was almost there. Her hips were level with his shoulders. Pippa had jumped from much higher than that. Maddie stopped altogether and began tugging at her waist.
“Something wrong?” Haki moved to the side of the ladder.
“Nope. I’m fine. My pants snagged on something. Just give me a second.” She sucked on her lower lip as she held on to the ladder with one hand and tried stretching and tugging at her waistband with the other. Her cheeks took on the colors of the sunset, but since the sky had darkened, he knew reflection had nothing to do with it.
He pulled a flashlight off the back of his belt and shone it at the rung in question. The wood had split and she’d managed to fishhook a thick shard through the empty belt loop of her khakis.
“What is it?” Pippa asked.
“These rungs need to be replaced as soon as possible,” he said. “Guess you’ll have to stay here all night, Maddie-girl.”
“I don’t think so. Besides, you’d never leave me here. Unless you plan to sleep under me.” Her face turned even redder. He kept a straight face. He knew what she meant. Her poor pride needed rescuing.
“I could cut you loose with my knife, but I don’t think we have to ruin your clothes. Stay still a minute and move your hand. Hold on to the ladder with both.”
The bottom of her shirt lifted just enough for the moonlight to touch her skin as she reached for the rung above her head and held on. He stepped behind her, put his hands around her waist and felt for the snag. Her shirt brushed against his cheek and the subtle scents of citrus and fresh soap filled his next breath. He closed his eyes just for a second. He needed to focus. He needed to visualize. He needed to be standing right where he was to keep her from falling backward.
“I’m going to break off the piece of wood at the base of where it splintered. I don’t want it to hurt you, so I’m going to put my hand against your waist to protect your skin. Okay?”
“Should I hold a flashlight for you?” Pippa asked.
“Nah, I’ve got this.” At Pippa’s height, she’d be flashing the light up in his face and his hands would block most of it anyway.
“Do whatever you need to do. If it’s too much work, just cut my pant loop,” Maddie said.
He slipped his fingertips barely below the waistline of her pants and pressed his palm against her, so that the belt loop and jagged end of the piece of wood were against the back of his left hand. With his right, he broke off the shard in one quick move.
“All done. I’ve got you. Let go of the ladder.” He held her by the waist, set her feet on the ground, then immediately let go and took several steps back.
“Thank you,” she breathed. Her long hair shielded her face as she looked down, unhooked the piece of wood from her loop and tossed it into the grass. Pippa hurried to her side and put her arm around her.
&
nbsp; “I told you he’s a hero around here. You okay?”
Maddie pushed her hair behind her ears and smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Of course. I’m totally fine. Thank you again, Haki.” She nodded one too many times.
“No big deal. Stuff like that happens pretty much every day around here,” he said. And by “around here” he meant somewhere in the vast wilds of Kenya. Not that he’d witnessed it, but surely she wasn’t the only woman in the region to hang from an observation platform by her belt loop. Maddie’s color seemed to fade back to normal in the moonlight and her shoulders relaxed. Good. “We should go eat before Huru and Noah clear the table. And I don’t mean the dishes. The appetite of teen boys—surpassed only by the appetite of teen elephant bulls.” He motioned for them to walk ahead of him; then he curled his fingers into his palm and pressed against the stinging abrasion on the back of his hand.
He could handle the sting. In fact, he needed it right now. He deserved it. Justice. Pain for punishment. You have a future, here, with Pippa. Where’s your sense of honor? He closed his eyes and took a grounding, cleansing breath of night air, and then another...but it failed to clear Maddie from his senses.
CHAPTER SIX
MADDIE WAS RELIEVED that she wasn’t seated close to Haki and Pippa at dinner. She couldn’t bring herself to look either of them in the eyes. God help her, she’d always been told she wore her emotions on her sleeve. One of her law professors had even warned her that she needed to work on a poker face if she ever hoped to catch a witness off guard on the stand. She projected with her face. She couldn’t help it. She didn’t do it consciously.
Her mom often reminded her that her facial expressions had been a key part of how she’d communicated back when she couldn’t speak as a child and that she thought it was a beautiful part of her. That it showed honesty. But Hope had a way of finding the positive side of everything. At the moment, the last thing Maddie needed was honesty plastered all over her face. If Haki or Pippa could see what she was honestly feeling or thinking...she’d die. Plain and simple. It would destroy them.
She put another bite of mango in her mouth. Dinner had been a delicious, savory stew with homemade flatbread, and dessert was an array of fruits—so much healthier than mandazi—but she was full. The only reason she kept eating was so she could listen instead of talking. Talking when she still felt confused and guilty and couldn’t focus...yeah, that wouldn’t be good.
The conversation rolled from Jack’s latest findings in his genetic research to the steady flow of donations coming in to help support the orphans, to how Huru and Noah were doing with their studies. Haki said something and his voice seemed to be the only one she keyed into.
She rubbed her hand along her arm where the rough stubble of his jaw and warmth of his breath had inadvertently caressed her skin earlier, at the tree. Even the vibration of his deep voice, when he’d gotten permission to touch her before unsnagging her, had made the hairs along her arms dance. And now...just listening to him... What was wrong with her? No guy had ever had this effect on her, and she wanted the feeling to go away. It was overpowering. It was dangerous. It betrayed Pippa.
She set down her fork and took a drink of water. Maybe she needed a shower or maybe she was still jet-lagged. That had to be it.
“I know what’s on your mind, Maddie,” Pippa called out from the far end of the table. Maddie’s stomach churned.
“You do?”
“Tomorrow? You probably want to sleep because I know you didn’t last night and we need to talk about what time you need to head out, who’s taking you. You know. All that,” she said.
“I’m sorry. You lost me. Out where? I thought you were just visiting,” Niara said.
“I am, but I also have some work to do. For my law firm’s sister office in Nairobi.”
“Cool,” Noah said. “Maybe I should go into law. You get paid for arguing.”
“Well, that’s not all there is to it.” Maddie grinned. She had to give him credit for his unique take on the profession.
“But you get to stand up in court and try to win a case before a judge, right?”
“A lot of work goes into cases before anyone ever shows up in court,” she said with a tactical maneuver her dad would appreciate.
“Do they really have artists drawing people in the courtroom?” Huru asked.
“Yes, sometimes.”
“Ben told me you’ll need to get out to some of the farms and villages. I promised him you’d be safe,” Jack said. He hesitated, glanced up at her, then pushed his plate away. She got the distinct impression her dad had told him about the specifics of the case. “Mac was going to help you tomorrow, but they got unexpected guests at the camp and Mugi and Kesi need his chopper services. So we’d better figure out new plans.”
Maddie frowned and sat up taller. He had her attention. Had Uncle Mac really backed out because of work, or because he didn’t want any part in helping her counter the KWS proposal? She knew Mugi and Kesi, and they were good people. They were an older couple who’d taken Mac under their wing when he’d first come to Kenya from South Africa as a young man. Then about fifteen years ago, they’d helped him and Tessa out after she had escaped to Kenya with their nephew and needed a place to lie low while trying to find out if her husband was involved in an ivory-smuggling ring. Mac had ended up going into business with Mugi and Kesi, expanding their ecotourist camp in the Masai Mara, about a half day’s drive north of Busara.
“I can take her,” Pippa said. Pippa would volunteer no matter what Maddie was doing because she was that loyal. Maddie’s chest pinched.
“I don’t think so,” Anna and Jack said almost simultaneously. Pippa gave them a look.
“Honey, I know you can get around here as well as anyone, but it’s not safe for the two of you to go that far alone,” Anna said. “In fact, depending on how much time you spend in the villages, if you’re headed toward the river, then looping up closer to Narok and back into the Mara, you might not make it in a day.” She turned to Maddie. “I saw your list of stops and am basing it on that. You’d better take some camping supplies just in case.”
“And second, Pippa,” Jack added, “Mugi and Kesi need you at their camp. They said you promised to teach a group of kids about some of the geological attractions in the area and why our soil is rich and red.”
Maddie had meant to ask her what she was doing with the undergraduate geology degree she’d gotten. Teaching at a camp once in a while didn’t seem like much of a use, though.
Oh, great. She was criticizing—judging—just like her dad. Who was she to say anything? At least Pippa seemed happy with her life. Despite looking irritated at the moment.
“I did tell them I’d do that. I just didn’t know it’d be tomorrow.”
Maddie noticed Haki hadn’t said anything. He sat there making tracks through the condensation on his glass with his fingertip. The muscle along his jaw twitched.
“I won’t know if I can help, until morning,” Kamau said. “If I’m needed for a rescue, I have to put that life first. You understand.”
“Absolutely,” Maddie said. Pippa had assured her she’d made arrangements. Maddie had been so tired that she hadn’t double-checked. She knew better. She’d learned early on as a junior lawyer to do her own work if she wanted it done right. Yet seniors delegated all the time. That’s why she was here in the first place. She suddenly understood why Mr. Levy had chosen her. What he’d meant when he’d said all those nice things. She was someone he could count on. But wasn’t Maddie supposed to be able to count on family? Her first day on the job and she was already going to look incompetent. She’d assured her law firm that she had a guide. After all, they were lawyers and too smart to risk sending her out in the field without safety measures. But regardless, traveling alone would be dangerous and not something she
was experienced enough to do. “It’s not an issue. I’ll call the office in Nairobi first thing in the morning and see if they can arrange for someone to take me around.”
“Actually, Maddie insisted that she could get a hire, but I told her with all of us here, why bother anyone else? I didn’t think it’d be a problem. I was personally hoping to tag along to spend more time with her,” Pippa confessed.
She really was a good person. She didn’t deserve to be hurt. They were supposed to have each other’s backs. At least one of them understood that. Maddie caught Pippa’s eye and cocked her head in a silent thank-you.
“I’d take you myself, but I need to be here for the baby that Kam brought in today. She’s still in critical condition,” Anna said. “Severely underweight and the snare wound was infected.”
Haki scowled when everyone turned to look at him.
“I’m off tomorrow, yes, but I feel like I’m being ambushed. Apparently, everyone at this table knows why Maddie is visiting the Masai homesteads except me, and my gut is telling me it’s not a social call. I get the feeling it’s something I don’t want to know. Now, why is that?” he asked.
Jack looked at her and splayed his palms. This was her deal. Her battle. Her case. The organized list of defenses Maddie had for why she’d signed on for it rolled through her mind. She’d rehearsed this in her head. It was game time. The lawyer in her geared up for an offense.
“Maddie’s law firm is trying to block the proposal you helped put together. They’re representing Native Watch Global. She’s here on an information-and-evidence-gathering trip,” Pippa said.
Maddie’s breathing hitched. Pippa? And Haki felt ambushed? Truth or not, Pippa sounded like she was ratting on her for doing something wrong. Defending human rights wasn’t wrong, but what did Maddie expect if Pippa and Haki were a couple? Pippa was protecting him. It was as it should be. Maddie couldn’t help but feel demoted. For all the times she’d come out first in school and at work, she seemed destined to come out second in her personal life. She closed her eyes and raked her long hair behind her ears to gather herself. She needed to focus on what was in reach. Her career. And on what she truly believed was right.
