Surprise reunion...

...with her husband!

Dr. Ruby Cloutier agreed to a marriage with army doc Aran Atkinson in name only so she could continue working in Alaska. Aran’s military service has suitably kept them apart—and their attraction at bay—until he unexpectedly returns, more brooding and tempting than ever! Now working together on life-threatening cases, it’s getting harder to resist the burning chemistry between them. Suddenly Ruby finds herself inconveniently falling for her convenient husband!

Born and raised just outside Toronto, Ontario, AMY RUTTAN fled the big city to settle down with the country boy of her dreams. After the birth of her second child Amy was lucky enough to realise her lifelong dream of becoming a romance author. When she’s not furiously typing away at her computer she’s mum to three wonderful children, who use her as a personal taxi and chef.

Also by Amy Ruttan

Unwrapped by the Duke

Alejandro’s Sexy Secret

His Pregnant Royal Bride

Convenient Marriage, Surprise Twins

Navy Doc on Her Christmas List

The Surgeon King’s Secret Baby

A Mummy for His Daughter

A Date with Dr Moustakas

NY Doc Under the Northern Lights

Carrying the Surgeon’s Baby

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

The Surgeon’s Convenient Husband

Amy Ruttan

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08994-4

THE SURGEON’S CONVENIENT HUSBAND

© 2019 Amy Ruttan

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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For my mom.

My heart will never be the same.

I love you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE
Anchorage, Alaska

SLEEP. I NEED SLEEP.

Ruby was exhausted. She’d just flown to a bush camp at the DEW Line and then back again because of an injured tourist who had been mauled by a bear. They had managed to get the tourist out of the bush camp and to Wainwright, but there had been no surgeon there at the time.

So Ruby had done the surgery. She had stabilized the man and then, with a couple members of her team, she’d brought him back down after the surgery. The Air Ambulance wouldn’t have been able to handle it. The man had needed surgery before he could travel. He would have died on the trip in the Medevac.

This was why Ruby loved her job so much. This is what she lived for. Saving lives on the frontier.

Still, she was beat tired, and very thankful for the midnight sun of the summer. Her internal clock was a bit off, and all she wanted to do now was go home and have a rest. She thought it was morning, but she couldn’t be quite certain. And she was pretty sure there was something that she was supposed to do today.

Only she couldn’t remember what.

“Dr. Cloutier. I was just looking for you!”

Ruby groaned inwardly and turned around to see Jessica Atkinson, the hospital director at Seward Memorial, and her voice screeching through the fog of her exhaustion reminded her of what she’d forgotten.

Oh. Right.

It was not that she didn’t like her, but she was just so exhausted, and she’d completely forgotten about today. Today was the day her husband Aran, Jessica’s son, was coming to Anchorage after his honorable discharge.

How could I forget?

She hated herself for forgetting that piece of information. So she plastered on the best, most energetic smile that she could.

She and Aran had been residents together, and when Ruby had had to return to Canada, which had meant giving up all her plans to implement a wilderness trauma team based out of Anchorage, it had been a huge blow. That was when Aran had suggested they get married—so she could stay and finish her work while he enlisted in the Army.

At first Ruby had been against a fake marriage. She hadn’t wanted to endanger her plans or Aran’s career, but Aran had insisted.

So five years ago they’d got married, and a month ago she’d received word that he’d been injured while on a tour of duty and, after a period of recovery in Germany, would be honorably discharged to his home in San Diego.

She hadn’t gone down there because she’d been so busy with her rounds here up north, and she regretted not going. And, judging by the stern look on Jessica’s face now, she should really be regretting her choice. It had been five years since she’d seen Aran. He’d been her friend, or the closest thing she’d had to a friend, and he’d done her a huge favor.

“Jessica, I haven’t seen you in a while. How was your trip to San Diego?” Ruby avoided asking about Aran. She was worried that he was more injured than the initial reports had let on.

“Good, but hot. I much prefer the north.” Jessica hesitated, then said, “I’m hoping you can come to my office. I have to talk to you about something.”

A shudder ran down Ruby’s spine when she saw how uneasy Jessica was. It must be something bad that Jessica wanted to tell her. She had always been pretty good at reading people—it helped when she was dealing with patients, because not everyone told the truth, and helped especially when she was having to deal with people who lived in the bush and didn’t have much trust for people who lived in the city.

Or tourists who got drunk and baited a bear.

And, even though Ruby wanted to tell Jessica no, she couldn’t. Ruby still felt so guilty about not going down to San Diego to see Aran, even though Aran had sent her an email and told her it was okay that she didn’t come. That he didn’t mind and knew her work was important.

She should have ignored that and gone anyway.

“Sure.” Ruby stifled a yawn and fell into step beside Jessica.

“I know you’re tired, Ruby,” Jessica said sympathetically. “I heard that you just got back from Wainwright and brought in a bear attack patient?”

Ruby nodded. “A drunk tourist who thought it would be great to get a close-up selfie with a bear, and a bear who thought, Oh, here’s an easy meal.”

Jessica shook her head and then opened the door to her office. “When will people learn?”

“Never!” Ruby said as she followed Jessica into her office.

“Have a seat.”

Jessica walked around and sat down on the opposite side of the desk and Ruby’s stomach twisted into a knot. The last time she had been in this situation she had learned that her work visa was ending and that she was going to be sent back to Canada.

As much as she loved her home in the Northwest Territories, the government there didn’t have the money or the manpower to fund Ruby’s big aspirations to bring more medical care to the north. Her hope was to one day go back and have the territorial and federal government see what she had done in Alaska. She was getting closer now, but five years ago she hadn’t been ready.

Ruby was having an extreme sense of déjà-vu and she didn’t like it too much. “Jessica, you’re making me a little nervous,” she admitted.

“It’s nothing bad. Well, I don’t think it’s bad...” Jessica trailed off.

“But I’ll think it’s bad?”

“You might not be happy about it. I know how particular you are about your team.”

That wasn’t a good start.

Ruby was particular about her team. Working in extreme weather under difficult circumstances and in difficult terrain took a very special kind of person and Ruby was picky about that.

She stiffened her spine and crossed her arms, bracing herself for the worst. “Okay...”

“As you must know, Aran has been honorably discharged from the Armed Forces after he suffered a leg injury.”

It was a dig at her and Ruby knew that. She deserved it. “Yes. I do know.”

“Aran is your husband,” Jessica reminded her gently.

“I know, Jessica, and I’m sorry I didn’t go down to see him. My work... I had a lot of rounds to finish and...”

Jessica raised her hand. “I get it. I respect it. And Aran understands too. It’s just...this whole fake marriage thing...”

“Has Aran found someone else?”

Ruby knew it was possible. Aran was handsome and charming. If she was a different person she might have fallen for him. Every time he walked into a room she could see the dreamy expressions cross women’s faces.

She was pretty sure she’d had the same wide-eyed look a few times when she’d used to see him, but she’d kept him at a distance. They’d been work friends—nothing more.

And, since she’d been the only female resident he hadn’t slept with during their residency, she had often been paired up with him.

She’d thought his proposal for a fake marriage before he’d left a bad idea, but he’d convinced her it would be fine...

“You’re insane.” Ruby shook her head and tried to walk away from him.

Aran jogged up beside her and flashed her that bright smile that always melted so many hearts. Including hers, sometimes, but she’d never let him know that.

“So you’ve told me before,” he said. “I’m not wrong about this, though.”

Ruby stopped and crossed her arms. “A marriage of convenience? That’s something that’s only done in the movies or romantic fiction. In real life it’s fraud!”

“It’s not fraud.”

Aran took her hands in his and she tried to control the tremble of excitement he caused in her by his touch.

“We’re friends.”

“Work friends.”

He sighed. “We like each other, at least.”

“I’ll give you that.” She smiled. “What do you get out of doing me this huge favor right before you ship out?”

“I’m doing this for you. I believe in you and you’ll owe me one.”

“Okay. As long as you’re sure.”

“Positive. Will you marry me, Ruby Cloutier?”

Ruby shook the thoughts away. She had been attracted to him, but she didn’t want any kind of relationship. Her “marriage” to Aran had stopped a lot of friends from trying to set her up. Which had been great. Still, if Aran found someone else she couldn’t blame him. She couldn’t give him what he wanted.

Can’t you?

“Does he want a divorce? If that’s what this is about it’s no problem. Honestly, I’ve thought about getting it done and over with, but I’ve been so busy...”

Jessica shook her head “It’s not that—and anyway you still don’t have a Green Card. Immigration will want to interview the both of you now that Aran has been honorably discharged.”

“Then what is this about?” Ruby asked, hoping she didn’t come off sounding too testy. But she was exhausted and just wanted to get to the point.

“Aran is coming here to work and I want him on your trauma team.”

Ruby blinked a couple of times. She wasn’t certain that she heard Jessica clearly. “What?”

“He has military training and he’s a perfect fit.”

Only he wasn’t. Aran was a fine surgeon, and military training was an asset, but she remembered how much he hated the north. How he’d complained bitterly during the winter and through the darkness. He wasn’t suited to living up here. He’d told her so enough times.

Maybe he’s changed.

Ruby bit her lip. “I vet my team very closely. We all have to work together seamlessly. Aran didn’t seem interested in what my team does when I first talked about it. He supported it, yes, but didn’t ever seem keen on being a part of it.”

It was a nice way of saying she’d thought Aran wouldn’t be able to hack it.

Jessica folded her hands across the desk. “It’s the only way I can get him to come home. He will be on your team. You have a spot...”

“No offense, Jessica, but I was going to interview someone else for that position.”

“Ruby, you can do this favor for me. I’ve been able to facilitate your stay in this country, and I’m the one who fights with the rest of the board about keeping your vital services. Like you, I think it’s important that your venture expands and that you’re able to teach your services across the north. Too many people die needlessly because there is no access to healthcare or mental healthcare.”

Ruby’s mind drifted for a second. Jessica was right. Too many people died because they couldn’t get help right away. Just like her father. Her father who had taught her everything about the north...

“Momma, what’s wrong?” Ruby asked, peering through the doorway from the kitchen to the front hall.

She could see her mother leaning against the door, her hand covering her face, her shoulders shaking. Beyond her stood two RCMP officers, their faces crestfallen.

“Momma?” Ruby asked again.

Lieutenant Alexander looked at her. He was her older brother’s best friend and his eyes were full of tears. He would tell her the truth. Ruby was a big girl of twelve.

“Ruby, it’s your papa. There was an accident at the mine...”

Ruby took a deep breath and tried to shake the memory away.

This was why she was doing what she was doing, but she was selective about who was on her team and who wasn’t. Part of her didn’t want to take on Aran because she knew how he hated the north, but another part of her realized he was a man with military training.

Although the leg injury worried her...

Sometimes her work took them out into the wilderness, and they had to hike from where they could land the plane. And then there were natural disasters. If he couldn’t keep up, then what would happen?

“Okay,” Ruby said cautiously. “But he knows that this is my team, right? He knows that I’m in charge? The Aran I remember from our resident days was very headstrong.”

Jessica nodded and smiled. Ruby could see the relief on her face.

“Yes, he knows that.”

“When does he arrive?”

“He’ll be here in five minutes. I know you’re tired...”

“It’s fine,” Ruby said, though really it wasn’t. She needed to sleep. She’d been up too long, But she had to stay and talk to her husband of five years.

That thought made her chuckle to herself.

She was really tired.

There was a knock, and then the door opened and Ruby turned in her chair, expecting to see the same man from all those years ago.

Instead it was a very different man from the one she’d last seen five years ago who walked through the door.

It was shocking what war could do to change a person. The jovial, confident and arrogant man she had known was gone.

Aran was thinner, and instead of the short, buzzed and clean military hair he’d had on their wedding day his dark brown hair was longer, and there were a few grays mixed in there. A scar ran down the side of his face—faint, but still somewhat fresh. The cleft in his chin was hidden by a short-cropped beard and his bearing was not so ramrod-straight as it had once been. He seemed to bear his weight on his left and favored the right leg.

It threw off warning bells. If he couldn’t physically handle working on her team he’d be useless to her. Still, Aran was handsome as ever—like on the first day she’d met him. In spite of herself, her heart skipped a beat...

“Dr. Cloutier, you will work with Dr. Atkinson on post-operatives.”

Ruby groaned and looked through the throng of residents. Figured that she would get the new guy. The son of the president of the board of directors. She’d heard he was cocky and privileged.

And then she saw him.

He was the most handsome man she’d ever seen. And when those blue eyes settled on her, her pulse kicked up a notch. She had to control herself. She wasn’t going to fall for his charms.

“Hi, Dr. Cloutier. I’m Dr. Atkinson.” He held out his hand.

She crossed her arms and looked him up and down, but she said nothing. Just grabbed the charts she’d been assigned and walked past him. She didn’t have time for any of the kind of games he had to play.

“Okay, then. You’re a bit of a hard nut to crack,” he said, keeping up with her pace.

She rolled her eyes and handed him a pile of charts. “Here are your cases.”

“Thanks,” he muttered, and then stood in front of her. “Look, I think the key to a good medical partnership is to at least be friends. We can be civil to each other, can’t we?”

Ruby felt guilty for being so cold to him. She was so used to pushing people away. “I suppose... I’m sorry.”

He smiled brightly at her. “There—that’s better.”

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Just do your job and do it well, then we won’t have a problem.”

“Aran, glad you could finally make it.”

Jessica got up and went to embrace her son. He hugged her back, but Ruby could tell that it was grudgingly. In fact, it looked as if her touch caused him pain.

Jessica moved away. “Have a seat, Aran. I was just talking to Ruby about you joining her trauma team.”

Ruby watched as he limped to the chair beside her and took a seat. He winced slightly as he sat, but didn’t look at her. He was obviously annoyed she hadn’t gone down to San Diego, despite what he’d told her. Still, it was the discomfort he was in that worried her. Military man or not, if he was this stiff, in this much pain, he couldn’t be on her trauma team. He wouldn’t be able to keep up.

“I’m sorry, Jessica,” Ruby said.

“For what?” Jessica asked, surprised.

“Aran, you’re an excellent surgeon, and your military training would be an asset, but clearly you’re not healed enough to be on my team.”

She glanced over at Aran and saw he was finally looking at her. His expression was that of a broken man who had seen too much violence. She felt bad, she truly did, but he had to be able to handle tough situations. Extreme weather...rough conditions... And she wasn’t certain that he could. She hated hurting him like this, but he just wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“I can move fine, Ruby. I was just on a very long flight from San Diego to Juneau, then a flight to Anchorage and a cab ride here. Once I start moving I’ll be able to perform my duties adequately,” Aran said stiffly.

“Ruby, the board of directors wants Aran on your team. It would be in your best interests—”

“I’m sorry, Jessica.” Ruby stood up. “He needs to be in better physical condition. I’m sorry.”

Ruby couldn’t look at Aran as she left the office. And she didn’t get very far before she felt a hand slip around her arm and turn her around. It was Aran and she was surprised.

“Is this fast enough for you?” he asked.

She could see the anger in his eyes. She shook out of his grasp. “So I misjudged your physical endurance...”

“Yes, I’m stiff. Yes, I’m still recovering from my injury. But I can keep up with the work on the trauma team. I can help your team if you just give me a chance.” He scrubbed his hand over his face and his expression softened. “Besides, you owe me this. You owe me a favor, remember?”

* * *

Aran held his breath as he looked down into the dark black eyes of his wife and now potentially his boss. When he’d been injured and honorably discharged, he’d been surprised when his mother had showed up in San Diego. She’d never left Alaska—not even when her marriage to his father had been at stake. His mother loved the north.

He’d been glad she’d come, but he’d been disappointed that Ruby hadn’t shown. Even though he’d told her she didn’t need to come, he’d thought they were friends as well as fake spouses.

He’d always cared for Ruby. Always had a soft spot for her, always desired her. But she’d never been interested. So he’d befriended her. The only woman he’d ever befriended who hadn’t turned into a short-lived romance.

Ruby was different from other women he knew. She always had a wall up. So when she hadn’t shown up he’d hidden his disappointment. Ruby reminded him of his mother. Always bound to the north and her work. That kind of woman was a kind that he didn’t want to get attached to. Yet, he had married Ruby anyway.

He was crazy.

So he hadn’t expected his mother to come down to San Diego. And he definitely hadn’t expected his mother to offer him a job.

When his mother had offered him a chance to work on an elite trauma team—like working on the front line, but without enemy fire—he’d felt a faint glimmer of hope again. It had crushed him completely when he’d been injured and unable to go back to the front line, and working in a military hospital was something he didn’t want to do. He liked to be out in the field, saving lives.

Of course when he’d heard that the leader of this team of trauma surgeons, paramedics and nurses was none other than his fake wife, he’d almost thought about backing down. He knew Ruby wouldn’t like it.

He didn’t know much about her, because she never let anyone in, but he admired her tenacity—which was why he’d proposed to her. He’d wanted her to make her dream become a reality and he’d valued their work friendship.

It hadn’t hurt, either, that Aran had always thought she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on, and for one brief moment in that time just after they were married—just before he shipped out—he’d wished that he could get to know her better. Wished he had more time to bring down those walls of hers.

He had been hoping that their years apart would have changed the attraction he felt for her. Only they hadn’t. She was just as beautiful and feisty as ever. With those dark eyes that seemed to pierce right through his soul, her pink full lips, and the black hair that was really a rich dark brown and shot through with hues of auburn.

But she was unobtainable to him, and he knew that a relationship with a woman so connected to her work and to the north would never work out for him.

Now he was really wishing he had said no to the offer of working up here in Anchorage. He should head back to San Diego.

You made your bed. Now lie in it.

Ruby shook out of his grasp. “Fine. I will give you a chance. But if you can’t keep up then I’m sorry but I can’t use you on my team.”

Aran nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Are you going to keep up with physiotherapy?” she asked.

“Yes. I’m about to head there now, and then on to Human Resources.”

“I’ll walk with you and explain a bit about what I’m doing.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

Ruby walked slowly. He appreciated that she was trying to be nice, but it was actually harder on his leg than walking quickly.

“We can speed it up, you know.”

“What?” she asked.

“It’s actually better for stretching out the muscles if we move a bit faster.”

“Sorry.” A blush tinged her warm tawny-colored cheeks.

“It’s okay. I’ve been adamant about getting back into fighting form. I didn’t want to lounge away in a hospital bed for long.”

She nodded. “Do you mind if I ask exactly how it happened? I was told it was an IED, but nothing else. They didn’t give me any more details.”

Yes, I do mind.

Only he didn’t say that out loud. He hated talking about it—but he didn’t have to talk about everything that had happened the night he was injured. He just had to talk about his leg wound. She didn’t need to know the rest and he wouldn’t tell her. That was his business and he wasn’t going to let it interfere with his work here. He was going to make damn sure of that.

“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?”

CHAPTER TWO

“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 or running late.

It was a bad habit of hers to watch the clock, but watching the clock was important when it came to surgery and saving lives.

A minute could mean life or death. It had been a matter of minutes that had cost her father his life. The delay of the Air Ambulance by that one minute had meant her father didn’t have a chance, so Ruby was slightly obsessed with timing.

It didn’t do her any good when she was waiting for other people, though. Like now, waiting on Aran to arrive...

“Sorry I’m late,” Aran said from behind her, causing her to jump because she hadn’t been expecting him to sneak up behind her. He cocked an eyebrow. “You’re a bit jumpy?”

“I didn’t see you coming.” She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. “Where did you come from, anyways?”

“My cab was late. I had to go back to my hotel room and change.”

“Your hotel room? Aren’t you staying with your mother?”

“No,” Aran said quickly. “I’ve learned that my mother and me should not live together. I haven’t lived with her since I was about eight.”

“You had your own place at eight years old?” Ruby teased.

“No.” He chuckled. “My parents divorced and I lived with my father. My mother would come down to see me, and when I came up to Anchorage to see her my dad would usually stay in town so that I could stay with him.”

“Wow!”

Ruby knew Jessica was divorced, but she’d assumed Aran had stayed with her. And then she remembered Aran had told her he was from San Diego when he was doing his residency, and said how much he loved Southern California.

They’d been friendly with each other, but she was realizing now she really didn’t know much about him—and that worried her.

Why had she ever agreed to this sham of a marriage? She shouldn’t have, but Aran had been so persuasive. So insistent.

“You okay?” Aran asked.

“Why?”

“You seem a bit tense.”

“I’m fine. Sorry, I forgot you said you were from San Diego. I forgot you didn’t grow up here.”

And it was mistakes like this that made her worry about what they’d done.

“Don’t get me wrong—I love my mom. It’s just she does certain things a certain way.”

“Oh... That’s not going to bode well for us, then,” Ruby teased.

Aran cocked an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

“I am a bit of a stickler when it comes to doing things a certain way—like being on time.” She pointed to her watch and hoped he’d get her joke. She was relieved when he smiled.

“I think it’ll be fine.” He shoved his hands in his jean pockets. “Where do you want to go?”

“There’s a little crab shack down by the water. Do you like crab?”

He nodded. “I do—and it’s been some time since I had Alaskan crab.”

“Good. I can drive—or we can walk? It’s not far from here.”

“A walk would be nice. Lead on, Macduff.”

She hadn’t heard anyone say that to her in a long time. Her father had used to say it all the time, and it brought a memory flooding back to her.

“And where did you see this footprint, Ruby?”

“In the woods. Just before the ice road.”

“The ice road is closed and that’s all muskeg.”

“I know, Papa. I didn’t go traveling through that. I was on my way back from the corner store and I saw the footprint. I want to show you.”

Her papa smiled. “Okay, show me. Lead on, Macduff.”

They walked the way she had taken back from the corner store. She always listened to her parents and kept to the paths she’d been taught to. She knew not to wander in the woods because of bears and other wild animals—not that many would be out in the middle of the day in the summer. Usually the heat and the bugs drove the animals further into the woods. Animals were most likely to come out during the early morning or when it briefly went to dusk.

It was a short walk along the well-worn path from her parents’ place, and they stopped when Ruby found the strange footprints she’d never seen before.

Her father knelt down. “Ah, this is a wolverine.”

“A wolverine?”

“Yep—and they’re nasty. You did good, showing this footprint to me.” Her father stood. “Let’s go inform the elders and make sure that the other kids keep away from this area. The wolverine has obviously found a food source and will come back, like a bear. A wolverine would attack a young child if it was hungry enough. Remember that, Ruby. Remember that sometimes in the north it’s a battle of survival. Eat or be eaten. But you must also respect the land.”

“Right, Papa.”

“What?” she asked quizzically now, trying to shake the memory away.

Her father had never learned a lot of stories, except what he had been taught when he had been forced to attend a school far from home. The residential school was something he didn’t like to talk much about to her. It had been an awful place where his culture and heritage had been forced out of him. Where his language had been stolen. All he had known was what the priests and nuns had taught him, but her father had liked Shakespeare.

“It’s ‘Lay on, Macduff’,” Aran remarked offhandedly as he held open the door for her. “‘Lead on’ is a popular misquote.”

“I know. It’s just... I haven’t heard someone say that in a long time. The way my father said it.” She cleared her throat and tried not to let emotion overtake her. She didn’t have time to deal with her grief or her sadness.

Aran didn’t say any more as they walked down the street from the hospital to the waterfront.

Because it was summer, it was nice to have sunlight so late. It made for pleasant evenings. And it was nice to have the sun because in the winter the sun wouldn’t be around long, and there would be a period of time where it just stayed dark, especially the further north you went.

“How long have you lived in Alaska now?” Aran asked.

“This is my sixth year.”

“Right!” He chuckled. “We got married five years ago—right after our residency finished. I’m sorry I forgot.”

“Well, now I’m going to have to hold it against you.”

“Hold what against me?”

“Forgetting our anniversary,” she teased.

He shook his head. “So, where in Canada are you from?”

“Behchokǫ̀.”

His eyes widened. “I have no idea where that is.”

Ruby laughed. “Well, it’s just outside of Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories.”

“I do know where that is. So you’re from the north? That makes a lot of sense of why you love it up here.”

She nodded. “I went to university and then medical school in London, Ontario. That was a hard transition. I much prefer the north over the city. Although Anchorage is a city, so it must be the north I love.”

She was rambling. She knew that. But she really didn’t know what else to say to ease the awkward tension that had fallen between them.

“I prefer the south,” he said.

“Then why did you come north?” she asked.

“My mother had an opening for a residency.”

“I know that. That’s how we met.”

“Right...”

“I mean now...besides our marriage, I guess.”

“It’s because of our marriage,” Aran stated, making her blush.

“Oh?”

“Also it’s an opening now I’ve been discharged from the army.”

“And your father? How does he feel about you moving near your mother?”

Aran’s expression hardened. “My father died just before I was deployed.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

And she truly was. She knew what it was like to lose a parent when you were young. It sucked. And she felt bad that she hadn’t known that, since they’d got married right before he’d deployed.

Of course. Now it made sense why he’d been so distant during their wedding...

“Look, if you don’t want to go through with this it’s okay,” Ruby offered. Aran was not his usual jovial self.

“No. It’s fine,” he said quickly.

But he didn’t offer a reason why he was so cold. So preoccupied.

“Is it something I did?”

“No,” he said tersely.

Before she could back out the court reporter came out into the hallway. “Dr. Cloutier and Dr. Atkinson?”

Aran took her hand and led her into the judge’s chambers.

He looked down at her. “Why are you smiling like that?”

“Like what?” Ruby asked. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

“Relax. It’s okay.”

Only it wasn’t okay. He’d married her when he’d been grieving. People made a lot of mistakes when they were grieving. Life was like a blur. And when you lost a parent it was as if a piece of your soul had been gouged out from you and you had to relearn the world without that vital piece there. Even twenty years later she was still mourning the loss of her father. She was still grieving him, even though she kept it to herself.

They didn’t say much else as they walked the rest of the way to the crab shack. When they got down to the docks the familiar scent of Old Bay seasoning, melted butter and salt water hit her and her stomach growled in response. It had been a long time since she’d come down here and had some Alaskan King Crab. She’d been so busy at work.

Aran held open the door for her and they took a seat in the screened porch that looked out over the Cook Inlet.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been here in all the times I’ve visited Anchorage,” Aran said, looking around.

“Your mom never brought you here? It’s an Anchorage institution, apparently.”

“This is not my mom’s type of place. Brown paper tablecloths, crab and beer... Yeah, so not her thing.”

Ruby laughed. “Well, I’m not having any beer tonight. I have a patient to check on when we’re done.”

“Right—this is the patient who was brought in this morning from up near Wainwright?”

“Yes...” Ruby sighed looking at the menu.

“What can I get you folks today?” asked a waiter, coming up then and interrupting their discussion of the patient.

Which was fine. Ruby really didn’t want to talk about her patient at that moment. She was worried about him. He wasn’t doing well.

“I’ll have an order of crab legs and an iced tea.” She handed the menu to the waiter.

“Same,” Aran said and handed his menu back.

“Great! I’ll be back with your drinks in a moment.”

An awkward tension settled between them. She saw Aran was picking at his napkin. What had happened between the two of them? They’d used to be so comfortable around each other. They’d used to be able to work and converse easily.

Of course that had been when they were just friends and not husband and wife. And, really, they hadn’t talked much about anything besides work.

“He’s not doing well. My patient,” Ruby finally said, breaking the tension.

“Oh...?”

“I think an infection has set in. I started a round of rabies shots, obviously, but...”

“Go on,” he urged, interested.

“I’m not going to talk about the nature of a bear attack in a restaurant. It was pretty bad. I’m actually surprised that he made it to Anchorage.”

Aran nodded. “Yeah, it’s best not to talk too much about that when people are eating.”

“He’s in the ICU, but I have a feeling I’m going to have to open him up again and see if an abscess has formed.”

The waiter appeared again just then, with their drinks, and there was a slightly horrified look on his face at hearing the word “abscess.” She tried to stifle a laugh.

“Enjoy,” the waiter said quickly, before leaving.

Ruby chuckled and Aran smiled.

“See what I mean?” she said. “That waiter was grossed out.”

“He did look a bit green around the gills,” Aran said looking over his shoulder. “Remember that time when we had to take those first-year medical students on rounds?”

Ruby groaned. “Oh, don’t remind me. That was so awful.”

“I dragged one young man into the operating room and there was that infected bowel...”

“No, you really need to stop!” Ruby laughed. “That was awful.”

“Well, it helped him decide that surgery was not his cup of tea.”

Ruby nodded. “It did—and he looked just as green as that waiter.”

Aran nodded. “So, who pilots your plane while you’re saving lives?”

“Me. I do.”

“You’re a pilot?” Aran asked, stunned.

“Yes. You seem surprised.”

“I haven’t met many women pilots. Logically, I know they exist. I’ve just never met one.”

“Well, I grew up in a community where for a long time the only access in or out during different parts of the year was via plane.”

Aran cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Up until 2008 the side of Great Slave Lake I lived on could only be accessed in the summer if you drove your car onto a ferry or in the winter when the river froze and you drove your car across it.”

Aran’s eyes widened. “You mean people drive across ice?”

“Have you never heard of an ice road? They have them up here in Alaska.”

“No. I haven’t.”

Ruby chuckled. “You really are a southern boy.”

“So, now you have a bridge?” he asked.

“Yes, there’s a bridge crossing the river now, and those communities aren’t landlocked during certain seasons. See, when there was ice breaking up the ferry couldn’t run, and of course you couldn’t drive across it. And ice road seasons are becoming shorter. Still, there are many other places that rely on bush planes to service their communities. When I was old enough I started to take flying lessons. I wanted to be a pilot. My older brother is a bush pilot.”

“Is he a doctor too?”

“No!” Ruby smiled as she thought of the time her older brother had been fishing and got a splinter. He had passed out when she’d had to remove it. “He turns green much like the waiter.”

Aran laughed softly. “You’re pretty strong-willed. It’s one thing I’ve always liked about you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Do.”

His blue eyes twinkled and she could feel warmth flooding her cheeks. She looked away.

“Why don’t you tell me about your time in the Army? You never did say much about it the few times you emailed.”

His expression hardened and he went back to fiddling with his paper napkin. “We don’t need to talk about that.”

“I think we do,” Ruby said. “I’m very selective about my team. You know that I am. I need to know about your time overseas so that I can ease my anxiety about the nepotism your mother seems to have imposed on me. Also, if the Immigration people come... I mean...we’re married. We’ve been married for five years and I should know about what happened to you in those years.”

* * *

Ruby had a point, but it didn’t mean that Aran liked it. The military had been so important to him. His father had been in the military too, but he had been a doctor who worked on base and never served time overseas, like Aran had. It was another reason why his parents had split.

His dad had loved the military life and his mother had not. She’d loved Anchorage. She’d loved the hospital that she’d helped build from the ground up and she wouldn’t leave Alaska for anything. Not even for her child.

Aran understood her love for her career now. Especially since he’d been mustered into the Armed Forces and become a military surgeon. He’d loved serving his country. It had been the most important thing to him.

But now it was gone.

He couldn’t serve.

So, no, he really didn’t want to talk about it—but Ruby was right. They could get into a lot of trouble for what they’d done. A marriage of convenience so that Ruby could stay in the country and work...so that his mother wouldn’t lose Ruby’s contribution to what she’d sacrificed everything for. And that was Seward Memorial.

Aran had done it for Ruby, though. He’d agreed to the marriage because of Ruby and her passion for her work.

“I really can’t talk about where I was. It was a war zone. It is still a war zone.”

Ruby nodded, but persisted. “Tell me more about the IED blast?”

Sweat broke across his brow and he took a sip of his iced tea. He tried to stop the thundering in his ears as his pulse quickened. He closed his eyes and tried to drown out the sounds of the blast.

Pain.

Aran woke up lying in sand. He couldn’t move his leg. He cursed and tried to orient himself to his surroundings. The sun was bright against the sand and the air was filled with smoke and gasoline.

Oh, God.

He looked around to try and find members of his unit, but all he could see was the truck on its side, on fire, and bodies scattered around the dunes.

“Yuck!”

Aran’s eyes snapped open and he saw a look of horror on Ruby’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Pass the sugar.”

Aran slid the sugar shaker toward her and Ruby dumped some sugar in her iced tea.

He couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You have to ask for sweet tea,” he gently reminded her.

“I know and I always forget. In Canada, iced tea is sweet tea.” Ruby stirred her drink and took a sip. “Better.”

The waiter returned then, with their food, and he was eyeing Ruby with interest and fear. “Is everything okay, miss?”

“Fine,” Aran said. “She just wanted sweet tea. Canadians—what can you do?”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed and Aran tried not to laugh. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d really laughed and enjoyed himself. There had never been much time when he was at the front. There had been too many broken soldiers to mend. Wounded civilians too. It had all been just a big mess.

The waiter left.

“I don’t think he’s coming back to this table in a hurry,” Ruby teased as she cracked open a crab leg.

“I agree. We’ve scared him off.”

Ruby nodded.

“Do you know when Immigration will be wanting to interview us?” Aran asked in a hushed tone.

“No. I assume, though, now that you’re back in Alaska and honorably discharged, it will be sooner rather than later.”

Aran nodded. “I’m willing to make this work you know.”

“Our marriage?” she asked.

“Right. So that you can get your citizenship, I mean. I still believe in your work like I did five years ago.”

She blushed again. “Thank you. I appreciate that. It means a lot to me. I have a lot of big plans, and Seward Memorial is the first step in making them a reality. I really do appreciate the favor. The sacrifice you made.”

“Thank you,” he said. “And I really do admire the work you’ve done and the team you’ve set up.”

“You don’t need to patronize me,” she muttered.

“I’m not. It’s true. What you’re doing for people who are out there, away from a hospital... It’s important. You’re out there saving lives.”

She nodded, but didn’t say anything further, and he couldn’t help but wonder what had changed. Had he said something wrong?

Aran thought it best not to press it.

They ate in silence.

When they were finishing up Ruby’s pager went off. She wiped her hands and looked at it, frowning when she saw the message.

“Shoot,” she mumbled.

“What’s wrong?”

“My bear attack patient—he needs surgery. It’s just what I thought. I have to get back to the hospital.” Ruby motioned to the waiter.

“Can I help you, miss?” the waiter asked.

“The bill, please.”

“Separate or...?”

“Together,” Aran said.

The waiter nodded and disappeared.

“Aran, you don’t...”

“I asked you out to dinner. This is my treat. You go back to the hospital and I’ll meet you there. I’d like to help. I’d like to learn how you do things.”

Ruby’s expression softened. “Thank you—and, yes. Of course. Come to the operating floor and we’ll get you scrubbed in.”

“Okay. I’ll see you there.”

Ruby slid out of her chair and moved quickly through the busy restaurant.

It was not a long walk to the hospital, he thought. But his leg was a bit stiff. Yeah, it helped to move it, but he had been doing too much today to be able to show her that he could keep up. So he was going to take a cab back to the hospital.

Hopefully the pain would subside a bit so that he could be in the operating room with her, because that was the last thing he needed anyone to see.

He didn’t need anyone to see his pain.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

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