by Amy Ruttan
“I’ll get you a wheelchair and we’ll get you back to my place.”
“That sounds good.”
That sounds good?
“I’ll be right back.” Axel left the room and Betty let out the breath she’d been holding. She couldn’t go and live with him for a couple of days. That was absolute madness. How hard had she hit her head?
And when she thought back on it, she remembered being cradled in his strong arms. The warmth of his body making her feel safe. Axel had carried her into the emergency room. He might drive her nuts, he might keep throwing walls up, but there was a tender side to him.
It was a nice offer for him to take her in.
It would be better staying at a house than a noisy hospital and eating hospital food. This didn’t have to mean anything. They were friends. Besides, Eira would be there.
Nothing would happen.
And Betty would make damn sure of that.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“YOU REALLY NEED to stop carrying me around,” Betty protested as Axel lifted her from the car, but without much conviction. She had been dizzy on the drive over from the hospital to her house. She wasn’t sure that she would be able to walk up the steps of her place and then manage to rummage through her things to find what she needed to take over to Axel’s house.
“I’m getting used to carrying you around. I don’t mind it.” And there was a funny look on his face, which made her blood heat and told her, yeah, he probably really didn’t mind it at all. She really didn’t mind it either, but she should.
This was not keeping her distance or keeping things at a professional level.
She cleared her throat as they passed through her front door. “You can put me down now.”
“Right.” He set her down and looked around the cottage. It was small, but it was homey. So different from the minimalistic, cool, modern house he lived in.
“This is nice,” he said.
“It is. It’s cozy and I like hearing the water at night too.”
His spine straightened. “I forgot how close you are to the water.”
“I’m sorry.” She remembered how weird he’d got when she’d suggested going to the coffee hut on the pier and then the walk on the beach.
“For what?” he asked offhandedly, not looking at her. He was trying to brush it off, as if it didn’t bother him. She knew that stance all too well. How many times had she given the brush-off when it came to people questioning her about Thomas?
She knew not to push the subject with him.
“Nothing,” she said. She shuffled to the bedroom and could hear Axel trailing after her.
“Whoa,” he said.
“What?” she asked, although she knew what he was referring to. She was a bit of a slob and the small bedroom looked as if it had succumbed to a clothing bomb when she’d opened her suitcase.
“I know. I know.”
“Were you robbed?” he asked, humor in his voice as he looked around.
“Ha-ha.”
“No, seriously?”
“No. I wasn’t robbed. I just... I have a system. Disorganized chaos.”
“Well, I’m glad you have a system.”
“I promise I won’t employ my system at your place.”
He arched an eyebrow. “As long as you contain it to the guest bedroom, you can do what you like.”
“Thank you.”
“What do you want to pack?”
“I can pack.”
“You just had a head injury. I can pack. I was in the navy. I’m efficient.”
“Fine. I’ll toss you things and you pack.” She flung a shirt over her shoulder at him and he reached out and caught it in mid-air.
“Impressive.” She handed him her computer tablet.
It lit up in his hand. “Dr. Thomas Welling?”
Now it was her turn to freak out slightly. “What?”
“There’s a bunch of missed chats with this Dr. Welling. Is he someone from your hospital?”
“Yes.” She took the tablet back and powered it down. “It’s probably nothing.”
She didn’t want to talk about Thomas. She was here to forget Thomas.
“He’s just a surgeon in New York at the hospital I work at.”
“Oh, I see. Perhaps it’s important.”
“Doubtful. I’ll answer him later.” She shoved her tablet into her purse.
“Okay,” he said, giving her the same consideration that she had given him when he’d gotten testy about the water.
She appreciated it.
He continued to help her pack up in silence.
She was unnerved that Thomas had been constantly messaging her. She’d come to Iceland to put him behind her, but how could she do that when he was still contacting her?
“You ready?” Axel asked as he zipped up her luggage.
“I am.”
He nodded. “I’ll call another cab. You rest here. I’ll come back when we’re ready to go.”
“Okay.”
Axel left the room with the suitcase. Betty pulled out her tablet and powered it on.
The last message from Thomas popped up.
How can I reach you? I need you.
It made her stomach knot and she was angry at herself, but she couldn’t respond.
She didn’t want to respond.
So she powered off her tablet and slipped it back into her purse, hating herself for not being rid of him yet.
* * *
Betty got settled in at Axel’s home. Eira was thrilled that they had a house guest and was in high spirits, her infection starting to clear up. She’d gotten up and saw the note and was worried that Axel had been late getting home.
Even though Betty felt a bit sick to her stomach still, it was nice to sit and watch some television with two other people. She was lonelier than she’d originally thought.
“It’s getting late. How are you feeling?” Axel whispered and Betty looked over to see Eira had fallen asleep in the corner of the sectional couch.
“I’m a little dizzy, but, with that coffee you made me, I think I’ll be up for a while. If you want to go to bed though, don’t worry about me. I can get up the stairs fine.”
“You’re dizzy and you’re my responsibility. And I’m not tired, but I’ll take Eira off to bed and make us some tea.”
She watched as Axel gingerly picked up Eira and carried her off to bed.
He wasn’t gone long. “Would you like some tea?” he asked when he returned.
“Sure.” She stood and followed him into the kitchen.
“Something is bothering you,” she said. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Axel sighed as he switched on the kettle. “The patient in the accident, the one I attended to, didn’t make it.”
Her heart sank. “I’m sorry.”
She knew the feeling of fighting so hard for a patient, and eventually losing that fight was hard. And she knew Axel had done everything he could to save that young man’s life.
“If he had been wearing a seat belt, he would’ve had a better shot.”
“The woman who hit him will be devastated. Her car went out of control on black ice. She had some lacerations, but she was fine and her baby was fine too.”
“That’s good. It’s not the weather that kills people, but the way the driver can’t adjust to the weather. Weather is finicky. One minute you’re in calm waters and the next...” He trailed off and then cleared his throat. “What a night.”
“I agree.” She thought about that opened message from Thomas and it ate away at her. “Dr. Welling is my former boyfriend.”
Axel cocked an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“We still work together,” she said with a sigh of resignation as he handed her a cup of freshly brewed tea. “We’re on the s
ame surgical team. Both general surgeons. He’s the head of our team.”
“And he didn’t want you coming to Iceland,” Axel said, as if reading her mind.
“You got it.” She set her tea down and leaned on the counter across from him. “He ‘needs’ me.”
“Maybe he’s still in love with you.” Axel’s gaze locked with hers, those brilliant blue eyes that took her breath away.
“No. He’s not.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he just got married to someone else.”
“And he still needs you? He tells you this?”
Betty nodded. “So I’m ignoring him.”
“Good for you. That at least explains why you came to work under my father’s iron fist.”
Betty laughed. “Oh, come on, your father isn’t that bad. He’s quite nice and harmless.”
Axel snorted derisively and shot her a look of disbelief as he stood back up and dumped the rest of his tea into the sink.
“To outsiders, he’s a positive kitten.” He pulled down a glass.
“Need something stronger?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yes. I would offer you some, but you’re recovering from a head injury and the alcohol will mess with your medication.”
“Yes, Doctor.” Betty sipped her tea as he poured himself a small tumbler of clear liquid. “What’s that?”
“Reyka. It’s vodka.” He drank it straight.
“I’m impressed.”
“By what?” he asked.
“I’ve never seen anyone shoot straight vodka back like that. Like it was smooth. Vodka is strong.”
He grinned lazily at her. “When you’re feeling better I’ll take you out to a bar and you can have a bottle of Viking Gold or another beer we’re famous for.”
“And I’m sure it’ll put me right under the table. I can’t hold my liquor.”
Axel chuckled. “Well, as soon as I know you’re not concussed and you’re not relying on painkillers for your laceration we’re going to go have a beer. You and I.”
The thought of going out with him thrilled her, but also scared her.
* * *
“You’re such a fun girl, Betty,” Thomas had said as they’d stood beside each other at the scrub sink.
“Thanks. I think you’re pretty cool too.” She hadn’t been sure what he was after.
“Want to get a drink after work tonight?”
“I’m not much of a drinker,” she’d said.
“Just a glass of wine. I know this great wine bar.”
“Okay. Sure.”
Thomas’s eyes had twinkled at her in that dreamy way that had caused so many women in the hospital to swoon.
“In case you’re not aware, I’m asking you out.”
“What?”
“I’m asking you out on a date.” He’d smiled at her, a dimple in his cheek.
“Oh!” A blush had tinged her cheeks...
And that had turned out well. She’d fallen into bed with Thomas that night and fallen deeply in love with a man who was two-timing her right from the very start. A man who held her back, but used her to move his own career forwards.
* * *
Betty cleared her throat. “Well, I’d better go to bed. Thanks for the tea.”
“Do you want me to carry you?” Axel asked.
“No!” Betty almost shouted, then she winced. She couldn’t look him in the eye. “I’m fine. Goodnight, Axel.”
She ran from the kitchen, as fast as she dared.
She couldn’t put herself in that kind of situation again. She wasn’t going to date another colleague. Ever.
She just couldn’t.
* * *
Axel had been the one who was tired, but here he was, standing in the dark staring out over Reykjavik. Or what he could see of Reykjavik thanks to the blowing snow. He took another sip of his vodka.
His mind was on that young man who had lost his life. And it was also on Calder. It had been a snowstorm like this that had crept up when they had been in the helicopter. It sent a chill down his spine as the wind shook the sides of the house. It was howling. It was unforgiving.
And if he wasn’t afraid of flying or the water he would seriously think about relocating to a warmer climate, inland and away from the sea. But he had Eira.
Eira had friends in Iceland and he couldn’t take Eira away from his father. He was the only family they both had left. Eira’s late mother had had no family.
Not that his father bothered much with Eira since Calder died.
Still, he couldn’t take her away from the only country she knew, and there was something else. There was this irrational fear that left him anchored in this life. He just couldn’t go forward. It was as if he were still drowning.
Axel cursed under his breath and set the empty glass down on a side table and wandered away from the snow storm. He glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was two in the morning. Not unusual for him.
He had a hard time sleeping most nights.
Nightmares haunted him.
Calder, unconscious in the water. Frozen and slipping from his grasp. He should’ve been the one who died. Not Calder.
He was single. He had no children.
It should’ve been him.
He crept up the stairs slowly and saw that Betty’s door was open a crack. A street lamp was reflecting light through the venetian blinds. His blood heated as he looked at her, sleeping on her back. One leg under the thick down duvet and one leg out, a sock slipping from her foot.
He smiled.
She made his heart skip a beat. She made him forget that he was drowning on dry land. And Eira perked up around Betty. It was the first time in a long time that he had been able to truly relax and enjoy just spending a night at home, watching a movie.
Not that he could particularly recall the movie they had been watching—it had been something that Eira had been bugging him to see—but it was nice just to sit there and feel completely at peace. And to have Eira smile again. It had been so long since she’d properly smiled.
And that was because of Betty.
Since she’d arrived he hadn’t thought so much about Calder. About the nightmare of losing him. The sound of an angry sea that was threatening to swallow them whole was just a dim memory. Betty was like this bright, albeit sometimes annoying, beam of light in his life.
Yeah, but she’s leaving in three months. She’s not here to stay.
And that realization sobered him up. He backed away from the door, shutting it quietly, and headed to his room at the far end of the hall.
He knew that he wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight. So instead he fired up his laptop and began to work on all the administrative tasks that fell to a doctor. And maybe, just maybe he would eventually tire himself out enough to fall into a dreamless sleep.
Otherwise he knew he would dream about Betty, a woman he didn’t deserve.
A woman he could never have.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“YOU SURE YOU feel well enough to go to school?” Axel asked as Eira sat at the island counter eating a bowl of porridge. “Do you have everything you need?”
“I’m fine, Uncle Axel. I need to get back to school. I don’t want to fall too behind.”
A small smile quirked on his lips. “Well, I can drive you.”
“I can take the bus.” Eira finished her breakfast. “How is Betty?”
“Sleeping still. I’ll check on her in a bit,” he said tightly, because he didn’t want to think about Betty at the moment. When he had finally fallen asleep he’d dreamed about her. He’d dreamed about her in his arms.
It was unnerving.
He took Eira’s bowl and washed it.
“If she’s up for it you should take her around Reykjavik an
d see the sights.”
“She’s supposed to be resting. That’s why we’re both off work.”
“She’s injured but you’re off work?”
“She has to be watched for concussion and your grandfather gave me to time off to watch you.”
“She watched television last night though,” Eira stated.
Axel cocked an eyebrow. “And?”
“Those with concussions shouldn’t watch television. They get headaches.”
Axel chuckled. “And how do you know?”
“I’ve spent my whole life around doctors. You pick stuff up. Besides, we covered it in health class recently,” Eira replied tartly.
“Still, if she doesn’t have a concussion we should get back to work.”
“No, Uncle. You should take her out and show her a good time.” There was a smug smile on her sweet little face. A mischievous playful smile that reminded Axel of Calder.
“What’re you implying?”
“Nothing. She’s American and she’s here only for a short time. I’m sure if Grandfather has his way, her time will be spent in the hospital and she won’t get to see any of Iceland. Now’s your chance. Go let loose. You’re wound way too tight.”
“What?” Axel asked, shocked.
“Wound too tight.” Eira grinned and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I have my keys. I’ll see you later.”
Axel shook his head as the door shut in the distance. Since when had Eira become so self-assured? He couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so bubbly and affectionate. This was the Eira he remembered.
The vivacious little girl with the red curls and her father’s devil-may-care attitude. His brother had always been full of life. Wanting to live it to the fullest. It was what Axel had always striven for, emulating his older brother, but he’d never been able to live as footloose and fancy-free as his brother had.
His brother, and even his father, had very tall shadows and Axel could never quite step out of the darkness and into the light.
Maybe that’s why you’re so drawn to Betty? She’s light.
“Good morning.”
He turned around, surprised to see her. Her hair was done and she was dressed for the day. Except for the paper sutures holding her gash together and some bruising, she looked well.
