by Amy Ruttan
Axel was attracted to her but, with his past and the fact that Betty would only be in Iceland for a short time, there was no point acting on that attraction.
He relaxed, but only fractionally.
When he had been ordered by his father to take on the role of assisting the new American surgeon in her three-month placement he’d instantly been outraged.
“I don’t want to babysit some American surgeon.”
“You need to do this, Axel,” his father had said sharply. “I don’t have time to deal with her.”
Axel had been able to feel the pain in his father’s eyes even without looking directly at them. He’d become an expert at it since the accident two years ago. He still couldn’t look his father in the eye. Not really.
“I’m here to save lives, not babysit another surgeon who outranks me.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“I do my work. I save lives!”
“You’re not striving for anything better. You’re not publishing papers or doing anything innovative. There will be no more discussion about this. You’re doing it.”
Axel really hadn’t been able to say no. His father was the Chief of Surgery and was Axel’s boss now that he was no longer part of the tactical coast guard and worked as a surgeon in the hospital. He just wanted to save lives and go home. He didn’t want anything more. He didn’t deserve anything more.
He’d worked with Americans before and they hadn’t been pleasant to him. So when he’d gone to the airport to pick up Dr. Betty Jacinth, he hadn’t been expecting the woman he’d found waiting for him.
Her beauty stunned him. Sure, she had a feisty little temper, but there was a vulnerability beneath her surface and he wondered what had made her that way.
What had hurt her?
What made her feel as if she needed to prove herself in front of him? Prove that she was so strong, when really he could see that her confidence was shaken under the surface.
That he understood.
He could still hear the screams, smell the smoke and feel the icy cold water cut through his skin like daggers.
Get control of it.
Axel rolled his shoulders as he banished the thought away. It was hard, especially during the winter months when the thoughts of the helicopter crash crept closer. The botched rescue attempt.
His elder brother drowning beside him.
He was the only one who survived, when he should’ve been the one who died.
Now, Axel was guardian to his fourteen-year-old niece, Eira, and he had to deal with the fact that his father blamed him for Calder’s death. His niece certainly did.
Don’t think about it.
Betty stirred in her sleep and Axel glanced at her only briefly. Working with her was going to be harder than he’d originally thought.
Maybe his father would take pity on him and step in, especially if his father saw how working with her would be a struggle. He wasn’t completely sure how he was going to manage that, but he’d find a way. He couldn’t work with Betty. Her or anyone.
He was better on his own. Focused on saving lives and taking care of Eira. That was all he could handle in his life and that was all he really deserved.
His PTSD and Eira were baggage that women couldn’t handle and he was fine with that. Eira and his work were his priority. Too bad he was also failing at that. Lives he could save, but dealing with a fourteen-year-old girl was something else altogether.
Still, Eira had no one else and he’d promised his brother he would care for her as they’d clung to what was left of the helicopter in the stormy North Sea.
Betty woke with a start, jolting Axel from his musings.
“Are we there?” she asked drowsily.
“Nearly,” he said, gently.
“Good.” She sat up and stretched. “Sorry I dozed off there.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re tired and you need to get your sleep. You start in a couple of days and the shift starts at five in the morning. I’ll come and pick you up.”
“I can walk to the hospital.”
“It’s still dark at five in the morning. I will pick you up.”
“Fine. I guess that’s okay. I don’t want to get disoriented on my first day.”
“You will have obstacles. Language, for one.”
“I can speak a bit,” she responded in a bit of broken Icelandic. “And I believe most people here speak very good English.”
He laughed. “You are right. When did you learn Icelandic?”
“My father spoke Icelandic because he spent a few years working here before I was born. That’s how he and your father became friends. My father came here to work and met your father and then they corresponded for years. My father loved it here and taught me a few words of the language.
Axel shrugged. “I never thought to ask how my father knew yours, but I guess it makes sense. My father is not much of a traveler, so I couldn’t really picture him going to the US.”
Silence fell between them.
He pulled down a side street off the Hverfisgata that wasn’t far from the hospital. Her little rental was a small blue-green cottage that had a view of the water. It made his stomach twist in a knot as he looked out over that cruel, unforgiving stretch of sea.
He used to love that wide expanse of churning blue, now he hated it.
“Here you go. I’ll help you in.” Axel didn’t give her a chance to protest. There would be icy patches down by the sea and it was windy. As soon as he stepped out of the car he could feel salty mist spraying his face.
“Hold on, Calder. Help is coming.”
“I... I can’t.” There was a wound on Calder’s face; his eyes were closed. “Promise me.”
Axel knew what he was talking about. “I’ll look after her. Don’t worry, but just hold on.”
“I’m so cold.”
“You okay?” Betty asked as he opened her door and then he realized he was blocking the way.
“Fine.” He reached down to pick her up, but she held up her hands.
“I’ve got it. Thanks.”
Axel didn’t fight her and stepped back. He grabbed her luggage from the back and followed her up the path and the few stairs as she punched in a code on the lock box and got the key. His pulse was thundering in his ears, because every fiber in his being was telling him to get away from the water.
Once they were inside, he set her luggage down.
“I’ll pick you up Thursday morning at five.”
“You don’t have to...”
“No, I’ll be outside. Waiting.” He didn’t want to argue with her. He just needed to put some distance between himself and her, the sea, from it all.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll see you Thursday, then.”
Axel nodded and left. He could hear her shut the door behind him. He should’ve offered to help her get groceries. Show her around a bit more.
His father had made it clear that she was his responsibility, but then Calder had been his responsibility too and look how that had turned out.
He’d show her the ropes of the surgical floor in Reykjavik, but that was all.
That was all he could give.
CHAPTER TWO
THERE WAS A knocking at Betty’s door early the next morning. An incessant pounding that permeated into her dreams and gave her a raging headache. She opened her eyes, rolling over and looking at the clock on the nightstand. It was nine in the morning Icelandic time, which meant that it was four in the morning in New York City.
Good Lord.
Betty rubbed her eyes and heard the pounding again. It startled her.
Who was at her door? She knew no one here, except Axel and his father and it wouldn’t be either of them. Would it?
She clambered out of bed, jammed her glasses on her face, threw a sweater
over her tank top, pulled on her heavy woolen socks and made her way downstairs, bumping into a wall as her eyes adjusted to the daylight.
She cursed under her breath and then peeked through the peephole and groaned when she saw a familiar six-foot Viking standing on her porch, looking just as good and put together as he had yesterday.
What does he want?
She opened the door a crack. “What?”
Axel’s gaze raked her up and down, just as it had when they’d first met. It was unnerving.
“You just open the door to strangers?” he asked, annoyed.
“You drove me home. You’re hardly a stranger.”
“You don’t know me.”
She ran her hand through her hair and tried to stifle a yawn. “So, you’ve come to my place, early in the morning, on my first full day in Iceland to give me a lecture on stranger danger?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Stranger danger? I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”
“It’s...” Betty trailed off. Clearly it was a language-barrier thing and she didn’t have the patience or brain power to explain the phrase’s meaning to him or argue about it with him. “What do you want, Axel?”
“Can I come in?” he asked.
“Sure.” She opened the door wider and he slipped inside. She closed the door and crossed her arms, leaning against the doorframe for support.
“You look terrible,” he said.
“It’s called jet lag and I was sleeping until I was rudely interrupted.”
“The only way to beat jet lag is to pretend it’s not real.”
“Really?”
“Yes, you should’ve got up a couple hours ago and started your day.”
“Look, have you just come to insult me or are you here for a reason?
Axel glanced over his shoulder. “Let’s have some coffee.”
And before she could argue he was striding into her small kitchen and rifling through her cupboards. What was with this guy?
Betty followed him, still a bit woozy from her lack of sleep. She tripped over a rug in the hall and Axel reached out to steady her, stopping her from doing a face-plant. His strong arms were around her once again and she was completely mortified.
“You’re not too nimble on your feet,” he said with a hint of humor in his voice.
She pushed out of his arms. “Axel, what’re you doing here? I know you didn’t just drive all the way over here to make me coffee.”
He turned back to the coffeemaker. “I’ve come to check on you and make sure you know your way around the city. Also to make sure you get food.”
She wanted to tell him that she was fine, but she wasn’t. She knew a few Icelandic words and phrases thanks to her father’s teaching, but last night when she’d been struggling with jet lag she’d tried looking up stores in Reykjavik and couldn’t make heads or tails of the names.
“That would be great,” she said. “I’ll go get dressed.”
Axel nodded. “Good. Don’t trip going up the stairs.”
Betty glared at him and took the stairs slowly, just so he wouldn’t keep remarking on her klutzy tendencies. She wasn’t such a klutz when it came to the operating room. When she was there she was in her element.
Was she?
She tried not to think about Thomas. About how he had always been in the operating room with her. Always the lead surgeon. At first, she’d loved having him there. It had been reaffirming. Thomas had been her teacher and he’d given her strength.
But since his betrayal his presence had annoyed her and shaken her confidence to the core, which was another reason why she was here. She was determined to prove to herself that she didn’t need anyone’s assistance when it came to surgery. That she was better than she thought she was.
She got dressed and made herself presentable. By the time she was done brushing her hair she could smell the coffee brewing downstairs.
When she came back down into the kitchen Axel handed her a cup. She took a sip and it was delicious. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had made her coffee. Thomas certainly never had when they were dating.
“This is good,” she said. “Thank you.”
“You say that in a shocked tone.”
“Well, you are a stranger. I don’t know how you make coffee. It could be complete doo-doo.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Doo-doo?”
“Garbage.”
“Ah, well, I suppose so. Are you ready to go?”
Betty finished her coffee and set the mug in the sink. “Yes, let’s get this over with.”
“I hope you have your better boots today. It’s quite icy being this close to the...to the water.” There was an edge to his voice as he mentioned the water, as if he hated it. Betty shook that thought off; perhaps he just didn’t like ice, and she couldn’t blame him. She wasn’t a huge fan of it herself.
“Yes. I have better boots.” She picked them up off the floor. “See?”
Axel nodded in approval. “Well, let’s go and I’ll drive you to the nearest store and make sure you get enough food to survive. I don’t want my father saying I let you starve.”
“I can find my way around.”
“Oh?” he asked as she locked her front door. “What street do you live on?”
“I live on Vatn...”
“I thought as much. You live on Vatnsstigur. That’s the correct pronunciation.”
“Thanks,” she said dryly.
They walked down to his SUV and he held open the door for her. She shouldn’t be going with him to get groceries, but she did need food and she was tired and didn’t know her way around Reykjavik. She would take his help for this and that was it.
No more.
She was here to make it on her own and not rely on someone else.
The drive to the grocery store was silent, but she really didn’t know what to say to him. Everything she said seemed to annoy him and vice versa. Thankfully it wasn’t a long ride and soon they were pulling up in front of a grocery store that advertised being open twenty-four hours a day.
“We’re here.”
“Good,” Betty said, stifling another yawn. “I’m going to need more coffee.”
“Well, after we get your groceries home I will take you for a proper coffee near your place. That will wake you up.”
“If the cold air doesn’t wake me up I doubt any coffee will,” she muttered.
“You haven’t had this coffee yet.” He got out of the car and Betty followed him. He walked well ahead of her in big, commanding steps making it hard to keep up with him.
“Hey!” she called out. “Wait up.”
Axel paused and turned around. “What? Did you fall?”
“No, I didn’t fall. Why are you always assuming I’m falling or tripping?”
“Because you keep doing it,” he stated in a matter-of-fact tone. And he had a point. She had been.
“I’m not falling this time. You’re just walking too fast. You’re a giant and I can’t keep up, not in these boots.”
There was a twinkle in his blue eyes. “Sorry.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll get a cart.” He grabbed a cart from the carrel. “You ready?”
“I didn’t make a list.”
“We’ll get you what you need.”
“Okay.” Betty followed him in a daze. He took her through the produce section and she picked out some apples and oranges. Then they moved over to the deli and bakery. Axel dutifully pushed the cart in silence but after a few aisles he made a “hmm” sound.
“What?” she asked as she held a box of pasta.
Axel reached into her cart and pulled out a can. “This is an interesting choice.”
“Isn’t it tuna?”
“No, it’s lutefisk. You know what that is?”<
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“Not tuna?”
“No, it’s an aged stock fish and lye. It’s sort of like gelatin.”
Betty made a face. “Oh.”
Axel chuckled. “You want me to put it back?”
“No, I’m going to try it.”
Now it was his turn to make a face. “You’re brave. I don’t like it much.”
Betty took the can and placed it back in the cart. “I’m going to try it. I’ll be brave. I like fish.”
Axel looked amused but didn’t say anything more. Satisfied that she had enough to last her for her first few days, she paid for her purchases and he helped her load them into the car. Returning to her rental, Axel helped her take the groceries inside and put them away. She was hoping he would leave when they were done, but he lingered.
“What?” she asked.
“Coffee, remember?”
“Oh, I thought you were just being polite.”
“No, I mean it. I’ll get you some good coffee. It’s not a far walk from here.”
“Okay. Isn’t it a little cold to be walking though?”
“You wanted to walk to the hospital on your first day and that’s farther than the coffee house.”
“You have a point,” she said. “Okay, let’s go, but then I have to get back and prepare for tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
Axel was right, it wasn’t far from her rental, but when they got to the coffee house it was packed and there was nowhere to sit, let alone move.
“Sorry about that,” Axel said as they left.
“It’s okay.”
“I promised you coffee for dragging you out.”
Betty looked around and down on the pier near the beach was a little coffee hut. “What about there? That looks like a coffee place!”
Axel looked to where she was pointing and his expression hardened. “Uh.”
“We can have coffee and go walk on the beach.”
“No,” Axel snapped. “No, that’s not a good place.”
“But it’s not crowded at all.”
“I said no!” Axel’s jaw was tightened and he wasn’t even looking in the direction of the beach. “You know what, I have to go.”