Scattered Seeds

Chapter Thirty-One

Rick leveled out, and then put the plane on auto pilot. He dreaded landing in Dadaab and facing Louise.

What comfort could the big Aussie possibly offer her?

As Sy was dead.

They couldn’t even bury him.

How would Louise ever find closure?

Would she rush the Westerners back to London as Luke predicted?

And why did Michela call him last night, but leave no message?

Rick tugged at the black band holding his golden hair back. It fell loose around his shoulders as he scrubbed at his bearded jaw.

He ached to hold Micky again; to kiss her, and make love to her, and tell her how empty he was without her.

Rick lamented ever leaving Australia. It would have taken a long time, but he would have eventually saved up enough for them to buy a small place of their own.

The former foreman had more than enough to buy a large station now. He would be his own boss once and for all, and finally deliver on the promise he’d made to his father. Rick would take care of the men that worked for him, and their families. He was going to be a station owner that his father would have been proud of.

But what good was any of that without Michela?

Rick worked the memories of them in the hayloft of the barn over and over again. The sting in his chest prompted him to focus on something else, but Rick’s mind went back to the thunderstorm, the tree stand, and the first time he explored Michela’s body.

Did she even think of him anymore?

As Rick prepared to land the plane, he shoved away the single tear that ran over his cheekbone. Resolution, solid and demanding, overcame his melancholy.

He would find Louise and return her to Jowhar. Rick would say farewell to his friends in Somalia, and then go to Mogadishu to take the next flight back to Australia.

Samuel was checking Harry’s bandages when Tom walked in. Luke was asleep on the cot across the room. The doctor felt the tension coming from the actor, and he deliberately raised his own guard. Tom was moody and quiet lately, and Samuel was quite sure it was only a matter of time before he cracked.

Jess was not on birth control.

It had been three days since the attack and their coupling, and the possibility of her being pregnant loomed over the team like a giant hammer waiting to drop.

No one knew it, but Tom secretly wished that she was. The idea of Jess mothering his child gave Tom hope that they would eventually end up sharing a life and raising a family together.

Their baby: the single shard of evidence that they shared one glorious night together; proof that life found a way to press on after such devastation and loss.

Tom’s heart hurt. He couldn’t think of anyone he’d rather grow old with, and that line from The Tempest kept rolling through his mind. To her credit Jess overcame her awkwardness with him, and Tom clung to the idea that once they returned to London he could convince her to stay.

She had to love him.

He could see it when she looked at him; feel it every time they touched.

If Tom could get Jess to remain in London while he shot his next film in Madrid, he was sure he’d be able to win her trust when he got back. She just needed to see that it was not impossible for them to have a real relationship.