didnât need to know.
âIâm sorry about cutting our flight short. Obviously Iâve flown beforeânot in a helicopter and I avoid small planes, but big ones I can handleâand I didnât expect to react the way I did. I was never good at going out on boats with my parents, either. Not even when I was little. At first, it was the motion sickness. Later on it was the nightmares Iâd have about them out there on their own. I should have never, ever watched movies like Jaws or The Perfect Storm .â She took another sip. âThis mental image of Maria and Allan crashing flashed before me after we took off and I couldnât get rid of it.â
Mac etched the dry ground with the end of a stick.
âDonât worry about it. It happened to me a couple of times after the funeral. I had to work a little harder at putting it out of my head and getting in my pilotâs seat. When someone calls you and needs help, it makes putting your fears aside easier. The nerves and memories do hit you in random spurts, donât they?â
Tessa dug the heel of her sneaker into the ground and ran it back and forth forming a coffin-like trench. Any bigger and sheâd be saving Mac the trouble of figuring out where to hide her body once she spilled the truth. She pulled her ponytail loose and scratched her scalp.
âIâm leaving him with you, Mac,â she said, keeping her eyes on a herd wandering so far off in the distance that she couldnât identify them. âIâm so sorry, but I need to leave him with you. He doesnât know yet.â
She finally braved a glance at Mac. His jaw was popping like there was no tomorrow as he stared at the dirt just beyond his boots.
âAnd I had just started to think you were actually coming out of your glass cocoon to enjoy the world around you. That your maternal instincts had kicked in full throttle. Yet youâve planned all thisâthis tripâand failed to discuss your decision with either of us. Nice one, Tess.â
âTrust me on this,â she said.
Mac stood abruptly and turned on her.
âI do trust on a case-by-case basis.â
âBrice isnât father material. He doesnât have the patience and heâs so busy heâs never around. Nick deserves better than that. He needs a male role model. Heâs miserable with me, Mac. And I... I have work I need some time to focus on.â
Mac narrowed his eyes.
âAre you trying to tell me Brice is mistreating him or something? And that you have more important things to do than care for Nick?â
âNo! Brice is simply not present and I canât do this alone.â It was true that Brice hadnât exactly been an attentive husband or guardian lately, but that was a separate issue. âNick simply doesnât mix in well with our life. Our lifestyle is too...â
âSterile?â Mac offered. She glared.
âIf you care at all about Nick, youâll take him in. At least for a while,â she said, trying to soften the blow but knowing full well that âa whileâ would turn into âuntil heâs a legal adult.â
Mac sat back down and scrubbed at his face.
âIâm about to take on a lot more work, Tessa. Largely, so I can continue to provide for his expenses. Thereâs no way I can keep an eye on him and make sure heâs not freaking out at every turn when an animal shows up. They kind of tend to around here. Plus, you saw where I live. And school. He may be on holiday right now, but you canât rip him out of his school at this age. We agreed he needed to have his peers around him.â
âYes, we agreed, but things have changed, okay? I tried...â
âNo!â Nick appeared at the door to the cottage looking like an irate bull. Tessa and Mac both leaped off the log. âYou liars! You selfish, little...â The trail of cussing that ensued had Tessa covering her face while
Learning to Kill: Stories