Chapter Sixteen

Tess

The morning was still dark when Tess was handed her paperwork, and she walked out the door to find Levi and Mojo sitting exactly where the nurse had told her. “I can go home,” she said.

It was still cold out, and Levi handed her a wool blanket to wrap around herself.

She knew that Enrico and Goose had gone back to the vineyard, and Levi had stayed.

Tess wished he hadn’t. And she was immensely grateful that he had.

Dry bite.

All of that effort, all of the exertion was for not.

The long-ago face of her new friend in the new Ghanian village smiling down at Tess as she climbed the tree was vivid in her imagination.

Up the tree with laughter.

Back to the ground in agony.

And then dead.

No one knew whether Tess’s circumstances were life-threatening, inconvenient, or somewhere along the length of the spectrum. It was always best, she’d found, to err on the side of caution—to stand in the shade under a tree rather than sunbathe on a dune when water wasn’t available.

A crisis? Maybe or maybe not. In the end, it was not. That didn’t mean the chances of an emergency weren’t there.

Don’t tempt fate.

And wasn’t that an interesting phrase to run through her head, Tess thought, just as she opened the door to climb in next to Levi and head back to the vineyard?

Her lips quivered as she found her seat. So she rolled them in and greeted him with a nod. Pain oozed from her pores. She knew she reeked of distress and wondered if Levi could smell it, too.

Levi didn’t seem to mind her silence. In fact, he seemed relieved by it.

They were almost to the vineyard before he cleared his throat. “Look, I’m in a new job. I brought my boss and colleague halfway around the world to see a dog based on my belief in Enrico’s training methods. I have a lot at stake here. Picking the right K9 can mean mission success and lives saved down the line. I need to make sure I pick the right dog for a dedicated and trusting relationship.”

He wasn’t the kind of guy to hit below the belt. Hadn’t been. He seemed to realize what he’d just said.

“I didn’t mean that as a jab.”

“Right.” Her lips dragged into a deep frown, and she hid it by turning to look out the side window.

The vast emptiness of Namibia stretched out under the pre-dawn sky.

Tess felt like, after yesterday’s forced proximity, Levi was trying to gain a little space. She could respect that. It was probably best for both of them.

“Look, we're gonna be here together.” Levi’s voice was gruff. “I'm in a new professional capacity. How about we act like we get along and give everyone a break from the drama? I don’t want our past to be a thing here. Also, not a jab.”

“Agreed.”

“Sunrises at seven.”

She had nothing to say to that. She sat in the dark cab, and they drove in silence the rest of the way.

She could play-act in front of the Metz family and Levi’s team. It would only be a matter of days. He’d head back to the U.S., and she’d keep moving through her life, taking one day at a time.

“Good?” he asked as he turned off the highway onto the long stretch of the private road leading to the vineyard.

“Yes, thank you.”

The trees stood black against the brightening sky. Their leafless limbs tangled the trees together. It had an other-worldly feel to it.

“Eerie,” she said, then sucked in a gasp.

An enormous animal was sailing over their hood. With horns slicing backward like curving sabers, it turned its head toward them, peeling its eyelids back until the whole whites of its eyeballs were visible.

Levi came to a screeching halt as, mid-leap, the beast twisted its body all the way around and landed its feet at the side of their vehicle.

Tess’s hands pressed into her cheeks, then lowered to her chest.

With another bound, it was back out of sight.

They turned to each other with startled faces, then broke out in peals of laughter, a relief after the stress of sitting side by side for the last hour.

She gulped. “That was terrifying,”

“I know what can happen if you hit a deer, and they put their hoof through your windshield, but I have no idea what could have happened there. Nothing pretty,” Levi said, starting them back down the drive at a crawl, his head turning this way and that, probably looking for the next wild adventure. “Was that an oryx?”

“It was.” Tess’s heart was still thundering in her chest. “I had no idea they were so big. I've only seen pictures. Whew!”

“Paybacks are hell.” Levi turned to her and popped his brows. “I ate oryx for dinner last night. I thought it was delicious.”

As they finished driving up, that moment, that respite, that oryx-horned pop of a balloon, shifted the dynamic between them.

There was still tension. And Tess still felt deep shame. But this felt tolerable enough that Tess wouldn’t try to hide in her room for the rest of her vacation.

When they climbed from the vehicle, Craig and Iris were waiting for them on the front steps.

“There you are, Tess.” Iris ran forward and gathered her up in a deep hug and didn’t let go for a very long time as she rocked Tess back and forth. “We were so worried for you.” She painted a hand over Tess’s long curls. “But Levi let us know you were okay.” She held Tess out at arm’s length. “And here you are, probably starved.” Drawing Tess with her, Iris turned. “Perfect timing, we’re heading to the veranda for breakfast.”

Craig was next in line to grab Tess into a hug. “You’re good, Tess?”

“Good. And grateful.”

“That’s right.” As they passed into the reception area, Craig reached out and knocked on the wooden door jam. “In all the years we’ve been here, nothing that dramatic has happened to a human. The property? Yes. But up until now, our guests had always been safe.”