Harlequin Heartwarming May 2016 Box Set by Rula Sinara Read Free Book Online Page B

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.
    â€œIf 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.
    â€œCan I get a ride back on wheels? I’ll pay for the service,” she said.
    â€œI’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.”
    â€œWell, 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.”
    â€œHate 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.
    â€œNo 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.
    â€œWe 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.
    â€œYou’re