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NY Doc Under the Northern Lights
by Amy Ruttan
CHAPTER ONE
WHERE IS HE?
Dr. Betty Jacinth’s eyes burned. She’d forgotten to take out her contact lenses on the plane when she took the red-eye from Newark to Keflavik Airport, so she was squinting as she pulled her bag through the baggage claim, looking in vain for Dr. Sturlusson, who was supposed to be picking her up.
Dr. Sturlusson was an older physician and friend of her late father, whom he’d met when he’d traveled to Iceland to do a series of lectures before Betty was born. The two had stayed in touch, first through letters, then email, and Betty had only seen her father’s friend for the first time on a video call three months ago. When her father died Dr. Sturlusson had sent Betty a card, expressing his condolences and offering her the chance to work for three months in Reykjavik, whenever she wanted.
As her father had done before her.
She had put it off for a long time, but now she was glad to go.
Her ex, Thomas, had married the woman he had cheated on Betty with, and so Betty was definitely overdue for a change of scenery.
Out of sight and out of mind!
She should have left ages ago, but she didn’t want Thomas and his newfound bliss to drive her away from her work. The problem was, if she didn’t go, then he would always have a hold on her.
Thomas had been her Attending when she was a resident. He’d been there for her when her father died. He’d taught her everything she knew. And she’d thought he’d loved her.
Then she’d found out he’d been seeing someone else. She’d broken it off but Thomas had still been her boss, still overseeing all her surgeries. She’d been stuck in a destructive cycle, her heart broken, her father gone and just paralyzed by self-doubt.
Thomas had used her.
She was a fool.
Yet, as she searched the airport, not understanding a word over the PA system, she wondered if she was an idiot for dropping her work in New York at one of the most prestigious hospitals on the eastern seaboard, to come to Reykjavik.
No. This is good. Then you won’t have to face Thomas right after his marriage to Susan.
She glanced at the big windows and saw a vast, flat nothing and that nothing was covered with white. What had she gotten herself into? She wasn’t even sure what day it was. Was it Tuesday, yeah it must be Tuesday.
She could always turn around and go back to Manhattan. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. No, there was no way she could head back. There was no one to go back to. Her father was gone and he’d been her only family. There was nothing left for her there except her job.
A job under Thomas’s thumb.
She bit back the tears stinging her eyes. She could do this. She would just have to hire a car and figure out how to drive herself into Reykjavik and the small vacation home she’d rented. Dr. Sturlusson didn’t seem the type to leave her high and dry, but perhaps something unavoidable had happened and he hadn’t been able to contact her.
She should’ve told him not to bother picking her up and she should’ve gone with the car-rental plan in the first place.
Betty glanced up at the signs overhead, trying to figure out where to go to rent a car when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye.
She looked over her shoulder and her mouth hung open a little as an over-six-foot Viking of a man came marching toward her. Quickly.
His eyes were trained on her and her knees instinctively weakened, because even from a distance there was an air of command about him. His hair was a dark blond and he had an athletic build. She was pretty sure that he could easily pick her up and toss her a long distance, despite the fact that she was pretty tall herself at five feet nine.
He stopped a few feet from her, those piercing blue eyes settling on her as his gazed briefly raked over her form, assessing her. It sent a shiver down her spine, but not one of fear. His assessment of her was something else, something almost sensual. He didn’t smile, his lips pressed together firmly, his strong jaw clenched.
She knew from his posture that he wasn’t happy about being here and that got her back up a bit. Why was this stranger staring at her with annoyance? It wasn’t as if she were blocking his way, but then again maybe most people made more of an effort to get as far out of his way as possible.
Betty narrowed her eyes and stared back at him, holding her ground.
