“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.”
“Oh,” she said. “Okay.”
“Let’s go. I’ll walk you home.” He took her by the arm and practically dragged her from the beach. Someone really didn’t like water and she wondered why.
That’s not your concern.
She was out of breath by the time they reached her rental and he wouldn’t look her in the eye as he opened the gate into her yard.
“Thanks for taking me out. I’ll see you Thursday.”
He nodded curtly. “Thursday. Tomorrow.”
And before she could say anything else to him, he walked quickly to his SUV and left. Betty was too tired to figure out what had happened and it really wasn’t her problem. She was here to work, not make friends, and that was all there was to it.
BETTY SIPPED HER COFFEE, her body still not used to the time-zone change, even after having had a couple of days to adjust. She was glad that she’d got proper coffee before her first day of work. No matter what she tried she still couldn’t brew as good a cup of coffee as Axel had.
Axel.
That had been a good second day. He’d helped her get groceries, made her feel somewhat welcome, even if her suggestion to walk on the beach had gone a bit awry.
She took another sip of the coffee, wishing she could go back to bed so she could feel more rested for this important day.
It was currently midnight in New York City, usually the time when she’d be thinking about going to bed.
And the bed in the rental was comfortable. It had a thick, down duvet and two feather pillows.
Stop thinking about bed.
She set down her travel mug and picked up the parka she’d bought, pulling it on and glancing out of the window just in time to see Axel’s SUV pull up.
He’s punctual.
She didn’t know why in this moment that thought surprised her. He didn’t strike her as the kind of man who was usually late. Granted, he’d been late picking her up the other day at the airport, but he had been annoyed and grumpy, so being late had probably irked him.
Why are you dissecting this?
She shook her head. Man, she was tired.
Betty grabbed her bag, her travel mug and her keys. She was ready to face the day, meet the elder Dr. Sturlusson and discuss her lecture series for his surgical residents later in the week. Not only was she working in the emergency room as a trauma surgeon, but she’d been hired to teach the first-year surgical residents. She was terrified because she’d never done this before.
You’ve got this.
Though there was a part of her that wasn’t quite sure that she did, indeed, have this.
* * *
“You can’t go to Iceland,” Thomas had said as he’d followed her from the scrub room.
He hadn’t taken the hint that she wanted to be alone. She’d wanted to cry, to weep, because he was getting married to someone else. He had used her.
“I can and I am.”
Thomas had stood in front of her. “Where can I reach you, then?”
“For what?”
Thomas touched her cheek. “You’re my rock.”
“I’m going,” she’d said, her voice shaking.
“You’ll come back,” he’d snapped. “You can’t possibly handle it.”
* * *
She locked her door and headed down the steps toward Axel’s SUV. He got out and pulled open the gate for her.
“I’ve come to check that you’re wearing appropriate footwear.”
Betty stuck out her leg. “Happy? You saw these the other day.”
He looked her up and down, then nodded. “Yes. Quite. I won’t have to carry you into the hospital.”
Betty ground her teeth. “And I won’t have to slug you now.”
“Slug me?” he asked, as he shut and latched the gate behind her.
Betty held up her fist, but the effect was lost, buried under a thick, wool mitten.
Axel raised his eyebrows. “Oh, I see.”
And then he chuckled as he opened the passenger door.
“Why are you laughing?” she asked as she slid into the warmth of the SUV’s interior.
He shut the door and then walked around to the driver’s side, still chuckling as he buckled up.
“What is so funny?” she asked again.
“Slugging. I find it humorous that you think you can harm me.”
“I’m tougher than I look, partner. Or, I’ve been told I am.”
Truth be told, it had been a long time since anyone had told her that. She used to be a tougher woman and she hated herself for burying that part of her, for letting Thomas bury that part of her.
Let it go.
“I don’t doubt it,” Axel said, a hint of humor in his voice. She glanced at him and even in the dark of the car she could see a glint of a humorous twinkle in his eye.
She snorted and took a sip of her coffee.
Axel turned around at the end of the dead-end street where her rental was and sped toward the hospital a couple of blocks away. As they drove through the darkened streets, she could see a green hint in the distance, above the city.
“What is that?” she asked.
“What?” Axel asked.
“The green light on the horizon. What is that?” Something was gnawing away at her that she should know.
“It’s the Norðurljós, the northern lights. Have you never seen them?”
“No,” Betty said, excitedly craning her neck to look at them. “I live in New York City and there are so many lights there. You can barely see the stars. I also grew up in southern Tennessee. Not exactly close to the sixtieth parallel, but they’ve always been on my bucket list.”
She smiled as she watched the green lights just beyond the horizon. They flickered, but just barely and the light was fading.
“It’s hard to see them here. They’re stronger around midnight and you can see them much more clearly outside the city. They must be really strong tonight for us to see a glimpse of them here.”
“I