“No, I don’t mind. I was transporting some wounded soldiers to a field hospital and there was an IED explosion.”
Cold sweat broke across his brow and he hoped she wouldn’t notice. He had thought he was over the initial trauma of talking about it, after he’d recounted what had happened countless times to his superiors and his counsellors during his recovery, but telling Ruby changed the game, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
He hoped that she wouldn’t pry further. He really didn’t want to talk about it, and just thinking about the incident was making him a bit dizzy.
“I’m sorry,” Ruby said, and didn’t ask anything further. “Well, keep up with the physiotherapy.”
Aran nodded curtly. “I will.”
“I don’t know what your mother has told you about the team I’ve put together...” She trailed off.
“I remember your ideas for it from back when you were first talking about it.”
The blush crept into her cheeks again. “You do?” she asked in amazement.
“I thought it was a good idea—which is why I offered to marry you so you could stay here. I still think it’s a good idea. You’ve done a great job.”
“Thanks,” she said.
He nodded curtly and looked away. He couldn’t let himself get sucked into her life. She was off-limits. Every relationship was off-limits. He didn’t have it in him to pursue one. Not until he got his life back on track.
“Look, I know that it’s physically taxing. You’ve said as much. But I won’t hold you back. I have a lot of expertise working in some of the roughest conditions and working with minimal resources to save lives. I would like to continue that work. It’s my passion.”
A smile tugged on the corner of her lips and made his pulse race. He liked it when she smiled. Since he’d met her all those years ago he hadn’t seen her smile genuinely once. Her smiles on their wedding day had been forced and for show.
This smile—it was genuine. It was as if she understood him.
“It’s mine as well.” She cleared her throat and looked away, the smile disappearing. She stopped, pointing at a door that led to another hall. “Physiotherapy is down the hall. Third door on the left.”
Aran nodded. “Thank you.”
“Sure.” She turned to leave.
“Ruby, maybe...” He couldn’t believe what he was about to say. “Can I take you to dinner tonight?”
“WHAT?” RUBY COULDN’T believe what she was hearing.
“I asked if I could take you, my wife, out to dinner?” His blue eyes were twinkling and he was smiling at her.
“Dinner?” she asked, a bit dumbfounded.
“You know—where people share a meal? We have had dinner together before, if you recall.”
“I hardly call a sandwich in the cafeteria after doing a round when we were residents a meal.”
“Well, then, it’s time to rectify that, don’t you think?”
“Do you think that’s wise?” she asked, stunned.
“You are my wife,” he teased.
She took a step closer and lowered her voice. “In name only. We’re friends, but...really that’s all.”
“Yeah, but you haven’t gained your citizenship yet, have you? Also, since you haven’t mentioned divorce...”
Ruby bit her lip. He was right. She had been granted a temporary stay in the country while Aran served, but soon they would have to be interviewed about their marriage before she could obtain citizenship. And then they would have to wait some more time before she could divorce him without it looking suspicious.
Once she got her citizenship she could go back to Canada and visit her relatives.
Do you really want to?
She tried not to think about going back. When she went back to her community it was great to see her mother and her brothers, but it always reminded her of her father’s death. How they hadn’t been able to get him the help he needed in time. He had died of such a simple thing. If he had been in a city, or had had quick access to a hospital, he would have lived.
She missed her home. She missed the summers spent on the McKenzie, or boating and swimming on Great Slave Lake. She missed flying her brother up to Great Bear Lake to fish and watching muskox across the tundra.
But Ruby didn’t want to go back until she was able to fulfill her dream. Completely. Everyone in the north—Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut—needed resources. More lives could be saved. And in order to do that she needed dual citizenship.
Aran had done her a huge favor. The least she could do was have dinner with him, she decided.
Big mistake.
All those old feelings she’d had for him—the ones that she’d thought locked away—came rushing back. He was still as charming as ever. Which was why he had been somewhat of a playboy when they were residents. She hadn’t been immune to him. She’d just kept him at a distance to protect herself.
Having dinner with him now wasn’t exactly keeping her distance from him, but... “Okay. Sure. I suppose we could,” she agreed grudgingly.
“Great. I’ll see you about six?”
She nodded. “I’ll meet you at the front entrance. Right now I have to check on a patient, and then I’m headed home to sleep.”
Aran nodded and then opened the door, disappearing down the hall toward Physiotherapy. Ruby breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed her temples, trying to will the stress headache that was building up to dissipate.
She didn’t like to date.
She didn’t want to settle down with anyone.
In her job, her life was on the line. She was put in perilous situations. That was no way to raise a family.
Aran was making her question her plans in a way she didn’t like. She had been attracted to him once but she’d hoped over their years apart those feelings would change.
They hadn’t.
And going out to dinner with him would probably be a big mistake.
She was not looking forward to it.
Not even a little?
There was a part of her, deep down, that was. Her job was the most important thing but, whether she liked to admit it or not, she was lonely. It was just a dinner out. What harm could that do?
* * *
Ruby looked at her watch. It was a quarter past six and still there was no sign of Aran. It was frustrating. She liked to be punctual. She liked things done a certain way. Aran was late.
So that hadn’t changed. Aran had always used to run late for rounds.
She glanced at her watch again.
“A watched pot never boils.” That was what her grandmother always said. Her grandmother also always said that Ruby was in a rush to do everything all at once and do it right away. Maybe she was right, but Ruby had learned that you didn’t get very far in life just by sitting around