Scattered Seeds

Chapter Fifteen

Tom was quiet on the ride back to the UNICEF colony.

From his seat behind the wheel of the old pickup truck, As Sy spared the Englishman a few glances while he tried to think of some idle conversation to break the silence. When nothing clever came to him, As Sy bit the bullet and decided to say what was truly on his mind.

“She will be alright, Tom,” the Director encouraged. “That’s a determined woman, if I’ve ever seen one.”

Tom continued to stare out the window; his head and shoulders swaying slightly as the truck rumbled over the potholed dirt road. “I know,” was all he softly replied.

He absentmindedly stroked and rubbed at his neck and collarbone, lost in thought. A mix of emotions kept rising and falling inside of him, and Tom was trying his best to weigh them all out.

Jealousy ate at him over Jess spending so much time alone with another man, which led to shame and guilt because Tom knew he had no claim over her. Confusion over how Jess truly felt for him warred against Tom’s pride insisting that he did not care; that he should just forget about her. Worry for her safe return was a constant nag, but most of all Tom felt hurt; hurt that Jess could so quickly and easily leave him behind.

He was empty without her around.

Tom realized that this was exactly how he would feel when they returned to London and went their separate ways, and Luke’s advice in the workshop came back to him. Perhaps his friend was right; perhaps Tom really should rethink if pursuing something more with Jess really was a wise idea. If he already ached like this after just a few minutes of knowing she was far away, what would it be like when they went back to their old lives and Jess disappeared from his completely?

Little did Tom know that, as As Sy drove them back to headquarters, an American woman now high in the sky somewhere over Africa was struggling through the very same internal battle.

“We should be there in a few hours,” Rick informed Jess after a successful take-off.

He checked gauges on the instrument panel, set the autopilot, and then looked over at his sole passenger.

“Are you okay?” the pilot asked gently.

Summoned from her heavy thoughts of Tom, Jess’s eyelids fluttered and her brows twitched as she took a deep breath. She offered Rick a small smile, and then nodded.

“Yes,” Jess answered. She scanned back over her shoulder at the boxes of pumps secured in the cargo bay, and then looked back at Rick. “Thank you for loading those.”

Rick smiled amiably and nodded. “No worries,” his Aussie accent rolled.

The cockpit was quiet for a beat, and then both of them went to speak at once.

“So, how does an Aus…,” Jess asked.

“That man of…,” Rick spoke over her.

They both apologized and spent a moment politely arguing over who would proceed first.

“I insist,” Jess said firmly. “You were good enough to do this on the spur of the moment. You first.”

Rick chuckled and slightly bowed his blonde head in gracious acceptance.

“I said,” he began with a side glance at her and a smirk. “That man of yours sure is protective of you.”

Jess gave him a puzzled look. “What man?”

Rick’s brow furrowed slightly, and his head drew back in confusion.

“The tall tart Englishman who all but busted my balls back there,” he informed her with a point back in the direction they flew from.