The Promise of Rain (12 page)

He ran toward them and grabbed Pippa, pulling her into a squeeze.

“Hey, little monkey,” he said, burying his face in her hair to mask the second he needed to gather himself. “I missed you.”

“I missed
you,
Daddy,” Pippa said, placing her palms against his cheeks and patting them. “I know where cotton comes from.”

“You do?” Jack looked at Anna. She stood there, biting her lip, frazzled and oh, so beautiful. She’d come. They were here. The reality of it was just sinking in.

“Hey, you,” he said. “Thank you for coming.”

He hesitated, then leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. Friends did that all the time. It didn’t mean anything and certainly wasn’t enough to spook her. He hoped. Pulling Anna into his arms the way his instincts screamed for him to do certainly would have.

She blushed and a tiny, tired smile relaxed her face. “Hey,” she said, then cocked her head toward Pippa. “Clouds.”

“Clouds? Oh,
clouds.
” Jack laughed and felt the tension leave his body.

“Cotton comes from up dehr,” Pippa said, pointing up.

“Does it, now?” He grinned. “Let’s get your luggage and head out. There are very special people waiting to meet you.”

“People?” Anna said. “Jack, it’s after midnight for us. We’re exhausted. I’m tired and...gross.” She motioned toward her body.

There was nothing gross about her. As far as Jack was concerned, she’d look wonderful even if she’d taken a mud bath with an elephant.

“Anna, I tried getting them to wait, but my sister, her kids and my parents are dying to meet Pippa and see you, too. We’ll stop by my place first and you can freshen up. I’ll make a pot of coffee, and we’ll leave her house early. Promise. Besides, pushing through it is the best way to get over jet lag. Trust me.”

“I thought I asked you to book a hotel room,” she said, pointing to a green suitcase with brown straps coming around the carousel.

“You did,” he said over his shoulder as he grabbed it, followed by another she pointed to.

“That’s all of them,” she said. They headed out. “Can we just stop at the hotel first?”

“I didn’t book one. Anna, there’s plenty of room at my place. It’s a two-bedroom apartment, and I’ve already fixed one room up for Pippa. You can have the other, or stay with her if you prefer, and I’ll take the couch. There’s no point in paying for a hotel. I want to spend every last minute with her, and that includes waffle breakfasts,” he said, directing the last words at Pippa.

“What’s a waffle?” she asked.

“What’s a waffle? That’s criminal,” he said, looking pointedly at Anna. She shrugged. He hoisted Pippa into the spare car seat his sister had loaned him and helped him secure in his car earlier in the week. “Well, it’s as sweet and delicious as you are, and you’ll get to try one tomorrow morning.”

He opened the front passenger door for Anna.

“Okay. First stop, home.”

* * *

F
IRST
STOP
,
HOME
?

Anna slipped the seat belt over her shoulder and snapped it in.
Home?
Pennsylvania would never be home again. Home was somewhere a person felt safe and loved. This place held nothing but disappointment in others and in herself. She was here to do what was right—to let Pippa have a relationship with her father and relatives. That was it.
Home?
They’d be back
home
in a week.

She twisted around to check on Pippa, who swung her legs as they dangled from the car seat and stared out the window with her mouth gaping. He’d brought a car seat. Anna closed her eyes briefly. Oh, no. He probably thought she was a terrible mother for taking Pippa around without one in Kenya. He’d hold it against her. Anna rubbed her face and smoothed her hair back. This...this...paranoia. She had to stop. It had to be fatigue. She’d barely been able to sleep during the flight.

“Thanks for bringing a car seat,” she said, focusing on the street signs they passed, rather than looking at Jack, no matter how much she wanted to. Some of the landmarks had changed since she’d last been here. It took a second to register that an entire block of trees was missing, replaced with a shopping center. But even the things that hadn’t changed brought her an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu, rather than comforting familiarity or nostalgia. And she’d forgotten how fall was her favorite season. Colors had yet to peak, but the change had begun. Still, the grass and pines were so...green. It almost seemed unfair, given how badly they needed rain back home.

“No problem. Zoe helped with that.”

Anna remembered Zoe. She’d always been kind. A sweet mom. Peppy.

“How is she?”

“Zoe’s great. I don’t know how she manages with Ben overseas, but she does. A downright Wonder Woman. She has two kids now. You probably remember Maddie? She’s really grown. Eight years old. Chad is three. Pippa will have a blast with them.”

Anna nodded and stayed quiet as Jack spoke excitedly to Pippa about everything she was seeing and everything they’d be doing.

Anna wouldn’t have a blast tonight. Jack’s entire family probably hated her for keeping Pippa from them...from Jack. Going to dinner would be like walking into the lions’ den. With her baby.
This is stupid. They’ll try to keep her.
No. She had to pull herself together. He’d left her with tickets. She had to keep reminding herself of that fact. He didn’t stay in Kenya long enough to leave with his daughter. He hadn’t fought her, but had trusted her to bring Pippa to see him. That had to count for something.

Anna could see her alma mater in the distance, but Jack took a left into a gated apartment community. This wasn’t anything like the student housing near campus he’d used to live in. The units here were brick-faced with white-trimmed balconies, many of which were decorated with hanging baskets of ferns and ivy. Rows of holly bushes with pansies in front of them grounded the building foundations. The sidewalks leading up to each cluster of apartments were separated by well-manicured—and fertilized—lawns. Anna had no doubt a place like this had a swimming pool tucked away for the residents. The monthly rent had to be steep.

Jack’s unit was halfway into the complex. Anna waited for him to lead the way. His apartment was masculine. Quite sparse, actually, save for floor-to-ceiling wooden bookshelves and a telescope on a stand near the balcony. A dark red afghan carpet anchored a leather sofa, an armchair with matching ottoman and a mission-style coffee table.

Anna wasn’t one for frills, so she didn’t mind at all. In fact, the couch looked so inviting she was tempted to take it over a bed. She did want privacy, though. It wasn’t until she’d reached the center of the room that she noticed the fireplace. On the mantel was a line of carved wooden elephants, arranged according to size. She’d seen similar carvings in shops in Nairobi. He’d bought the elephants there. Something pinched in her chest and she took a deep breath to gather herself. The table by the sofa had a framed picture on it. Anna stepped closer. It was of her carrying Pippa while reaching out to pet Bakhari’s trunk. They were all smiling. Even Bakhari. Anna had no idea Jack had taken that photo.

Pippa ran and jumped onto the sofa, distracting Anna. “No jumping, Pippa,” she said. She never had to worry about her breaking things at Busara. Everything was so meticulous here, she half expected Jack to say something about house rules. But instead, she turned and caught him standing in the doorway, staring at her.

He didn’t bother masking the fact that he was watching her. For a moment, Anna could have sworn she saw longing in his eyes, a tenderness she wanted to believe in. But that was nothing but the old her—the once misguidedly romantic her—surfacing for a last breath. He didn’t want her. He wanted her cooperation with Pippa, wanted to make things right. Nothing more. Which was just fine with Anna, because she no longer believed in more.

She motioned toward a pair of running shoes parked neatly by the door.

“You’ve taken up running?”

“And swimming. I’m not a total lab rat,” he said, quirking the corner of his mouth in a small, self-deprecating smile. “Pippa’s room is the first down the hall to the right,” he added. He shut the door and motioned for them to go ahead. Pippa beat them both. Jack carried their bags through a door at the end of the hall. Anna followed Pippa into her room.

Her pink room.

Very pink. Jack must have thought it was a required girl color, and that Pippa had been deprived.

Except for the gray stuffed elephants covering her bed, the walls were decorated with framed photographs he’d taken at Busara. Some were aerial views. Anna’s eyes stung. Pippa jumped onto the bed and started hugging the animals.

“Look, Mama! Can I name them?”

“Of course you can,” Jack said, coming up behind Anna.

“Of course,” she repeated, then cleared her throat. “You must like elephants,” she said to Jack, trying to laugh off her shock.

“They’re special to a certain someone I know, which makes them special to me,” he said softly, his breath touching her cheek. She could have stepped farther into the room, away from him, but she didn’t. They both watched silently as Pippa named each elephant. He was referring to Pippa, Anna kept telling herself. Pippa was the certain someone.

“There’s a bathroom in the other bedroom. I put your bags there so you can freshen up. Don’t worry about Pippa. I’ll fix her a snack or something and we’ll get her ready when you’re done.”

“Okay,” Anna said. She started for the other room. After that long flight, she needed a shower like the Serengeti needed rain.

“Anna,” Jack said. She looked back. “Take your time. It’s okay to relax.”

Okay for you, maybe. I have to face your family.

Anna closed the bedroom door and let out a long breath. The mere knowledge that she could have a real shower beating down on her stiff neck and muscles—not a bucket shower—felt like the ultimate luxury. She peeled off her stale travel clothes and turned on the bathroom light.

Have mercy a million times over.

A bathtub, and what looked like a brand-new canister of lavender bath salts. She was 100 percent certain lavender salts weren’t Jack’s style.

They were going to be very, very late to dinner.

* * *

S
OMEONE
REALLY
LOVED
GARDENING
.
The sun, slung low in the sky, gave a warm glow to the burgundy, orange and yellow mums in the garden beds that bordered the walkway leading to Jack’s sister’s house. The tart smell of fresh-burned leaf mulch filled the air. This place looked like a newer build, not the starter home Anna remembered them living in. So storybook perfect. So unlike Busara. It hit Anna what Jack’s first impressions of Busara must have been after being accustomed to this. The perfect place his sister was raising her kids. No wonder he’d freaked out about her raising Pippa there. But Anna knew from experience things could look perfect from the outside, and not be on the inside. Manicured lawns did not a happy family make.

She held her breath for the few seconds it took for Zoe to answer the door. Anna felt so much better after the bath, and the buildup of nerves was counteracting any time-difference issues. Still, she couldn’t help the apprehension.

How could Jack have agreed to this? As punishment? Some sort of modern-day scarlet letter hanging? She should have feigned travel sickness and stayed back, but then Pippa would have been on her own with so many new faces. Strangers. And Anna wouldn’t have known what the Harpers were saying about her. Plotting custody...

Anna’s heart hit a record pulse and her palms itched with sweat. She needed to stop before she had an all-out panic attack and appeared crazy. Then they’d really have a case.
Breathe. Just breathe.

The front door opened.

Zoe was just as pretty as Anna remembered, only instead of loose, she wore her dark, wavy hair up in a practical clip. A little boy clung to her jeans and an older version of the Maddie Anna had met a few times stood behind her, eyeing Pippa.

Zoe held her arms out. “Anna! It’s so good to see you. You look great. And this must be Pippa,” she said, giving Anna a surprisingly solid hug before kneeling down to greet her niece. “Hi, Pippa. I’m your aunt Zoe and these are your cousins, Chad and Maddie.”

Pippa slipped her thumb in her mouth and scooted behind Anna’s leg. So not the headstrong four-year-old who gave Haki a hard time. Good thing Anna hadn’t chickened out of coming. Pippa needed her.

“I’m sorry,” Anna said. “She’s really excited about being here, but I think she’s a bit tired and overwhelmed.”
Ditto for me.

“Totally understandable,” Zoe said, waving her hand dismissively.

“Are you letting us in, sis?” Jack said, with a twisted smile and a twinkle in his eye.

“Oh, my gosh, yes! Come in. I’m so happy you’re here, I’ve forgotten my manners. Out of the way, kids,” Zoe said, standing up and scooting her kids aside to make way. “Mom and Dad are in the living room.
They
had enough sense not to crowd the doorway.”

Much to Anna’s relief, Jack picked Pippa up, unlatching her fingers from Anna’s slacks. He seemed to catch on that Pippa would need a buffer to slow the well-intended barrage of hugs and kisses. He was definitely a protective parent, something she could appreciate and understand. Somehow, she wasn’t feeling so alone anymore. She wasn’t there by herself with Pippa, facing a firing squad. She was there with Jack.

“Mom, Dad, you remember Anna. And this here is Pippa. Give her a minute and you won’t be able to get her back in her shell,” Jack said, ruffling Pippa’s hair. Thumb still in her mouth, Pippa hid her face in his neck. Anna resisted the urge to take her from him and be her shield.

“Mr. and Mrs. Harper,” Anna said, extending her hand. Jack had taken their last name as a teenager, a decision that had helped him get over his past. He’d told her about the legal name change their senior year in high school, while they sat in the bleachers long after the game was over and all the other students had gone off to celebrate.