Read Online The Promise of Rain by Rula Sinara - Free Book Online Page B

backs on it? The hot sun was nothing compared to the fury burning inside him. His shirt dried from the open-air ride and hot sun, causing it to stick against his chest. He would have ridden with Kamau and the calf, but he’d have been in the way, and there was room only for those who knew how to assist medically. That calf had to live. It had to.
    * * *
    A NNA WAS PREPARED for the arrival of the emergency team, but not for the sight of Jack covered in blood. For a split second, she feared that he’d been injured, but the logical side of her knew, from the focus of the team on the calf, that he hadn’t been. He didn’t need her—the baby elephant did.
    She hesitated, closing her mouth only when he glanced up and caught her staring. Jack looked right at her, his eyes softening, then he mouthed, “I’m sorry for this.” Sorry for the poor baby elephant or for everything else? Did he now understand why she was so passionate about her work? Why she couldn’t leave? That this was one of the many reasons she and Pippa couldn’t be a part of his life? Anna cocked her head, let their connection linger for one more wishful and nostalgic moment before turning away to help. Her future with Jack was beyond saving, but she’d do her wholehearted best to save this baby.
    Hours later, convinced the new elephant was stable and doing well in Ahron’s care, Anna went to change her shirt and check on the kids, who were hard at work coming up with a name. They were always in charge of naming the orphans. It made them feel they were contributing members of the camp, plus it preoccupied them when emergencies came in. Neither Niara nor Anna wanted them to see the gory condition the elephants were often in when they arrived. The children were still too young to witness so much blood.
    She walked through camp and toward her acacia tree. She didn’t typically head out there in the afternoon, but today she needed to decompress. To gather herself. She hoisted herself onto the platform and spotted Ambosi scrambling above her. Anna smiled and had no sooner settled on the edge when Ambosi’s defiant chatter jerked her forward, almost off-balance. Something flew through the air and landed with a puff right in front of Jack.
    She hadn’t heard him following her. That was scary, given how sharp her hearing was. If she continued to let herself be this distracted, she’d be risking something more dangerous creeping up on her. More dangerous than Jack?
    He’d shaved his face. She’d noticed, in spite of the mess he’d been earlier. He’d changed his clothes, too. Olive-green camper shorts and a plain white T-shirt. He looked so much like the Jack she remembered, only more filled in. His shoulders looked broader, straighter, but he still stood with his hands in his front pockets and his head cocked. Just like when he used to walk in on her trying to cram for anatomy in one of the classroom labs, and insist that she had to go get something to eat. As good as he looked, she doubted he had the same reasoning now. Whether she’d eaten or not wasn’t on his agenda.
    “Is that the only one of those around here?” Jack asked, lowering his chin suspiciously toward the primate.
    “You mean Ambosi? There are others, but he’s the one who sticks around the most. Sort of has to for survival,” Anna said. “Why?”
    “No reason, other than I don’t think he likes me very much,” Jack said.
    “He’s just overly protective of me. I’m the bearer of food,” Anna said, smiling up at her ally. Jack grinned and untucked his hands as he came closer.
    “So, if you tell him I’m safe, he’ll stop throwing things at my head?”
    Anna lifted a brow. “Who says you’re safe?” she asked.
    “Come on, Anna Banana.” He took another step nearer. Ambosi screeched and climbed closer to her.
    “He’ll attack like a Doberman on command,” she warned. Okay, an exaggeration, but Jack deserved it, walking up to her looking all charming and cocky like