AFTER HENRIK HAD dropped Josephine off, he went home, where he tossed and turned all night again. He was unable to get that kiss out of his mind. He wasn’t sure what had come over him in that moment.
Especially after they’d agreed to be platonic.
That had lasted all of—what?—five minutes?
He had watched her when he’d been playing music. Actually, he couldn’t take his eyes off her all night. She was enchanting, glowing as she smiled and laughed with George and the other locals as well as the other come from aways that had stopped in for the charity shed party.
He loved the way she laughed, the way her eyes lit up and her kindness shone for everyone around her to see. It was like she belonged here.
It was like she was a part of Fogo already, and she’d only been here for a little over a month.
It strengthened his resolve to convince her to stay, so the baby could be in his life on a regular basis. He didn’t relish being parted by a long distance from his child.
He was tired of everyone leaving him.
So when he’d found her outside because she needed some air, he couldn’t help himself, holding her so close she overwhelmed his senses, and he was pulled inexorably into kissing her again. He was very familiar with the taste of her kisses and the softness of her lips.
It was even better than he remembered.
When she pushed him away, he came to his senses. He didn’t want to fall in love. Having her remain on Fogo or in Newfoundland was one thing so he could see his child, but falling in love with Josephine was not acceptable.
His heart was in danger.
After giving up on sleep, he had a cold shower and headed out for his shift, and then he was going to see George at the hotel where those on the training course were staying. It was better that he didn’t see Josephine for the next couple of days.
Even driving past her clinic on the main road toward the hospital made his pulse kick up a notch and his palms sweaty.
Suddenly he felt like a young man with his first crush, and he didn’t like that feeling at all. He had worked so hard to protect his heart, he didn’t expect to feel this out of control.
He changed in the locker rooms into his paramedic uniform and met his partner outside.
“Should be a quiet day,” Hal said cheerily. “Although, it’s a bit mauzey out.”
“Oh, me nerves, b’y. You know you’ve just jinxed us,” Henrik teased.
Hal was fairly new, and he cocked an eyebrow. “How do you mean?”
“It’s foggy and you never, ever say it’s going to be a quiet day,” Henrik stated.
“G’wan with cha. This is the best kind of day!” Hal scoffed.
“How do you figure that?” Henrik asked.
“No one is going to be driving out in mauzey weather,” Hal insisted.
“And why do you assume that?”
“Think, man!” Hal tapped his head. “Would you be out sightseeing on a day like this?”
“No, I can’t say that I would.”
“See. Should be quiet,” Hal said, beaming.
Henrik just chuckled. “You better hope so.”
Henrik sat down on the bumper of the ambulance and sipped his strong coffee slowly. He was tired and felt groggy. This was not how he liked to start a day. He took his work very seriously. He usually ate healthily and went to bed early.
All that had changed since he’d got back and had found that the new doctor in town was the most tempting woman he’d seen in a long time.
Henrik shook his head, trying not to groan out loud.
“Hey!”
Henrik looked up to see George heading over to him, grinning.
“What’re you doing here?” Henrik asked.
“Training got canceled for the day. The instructor is stuck in Farewell. Too foggy out for a ferry run. So I thought I’d come and lend a hand with you today. I got the okay from Health Services.”
“You mean it’s too mauzey out,” Hal corrected, winking.
George laughed, and Henrik just sighed. “Ignore him. Well, I’ll be glad to have your help, but it’s not all that exciting.”
“It’s more exciting than walking around town. Which I have done,” George said. “Twice.”
“I wouldn’t count on excitement,” Henrik said, and the moment he said that, Hal got a call on the radio.
“Accident near Tilting. Multiple cars. Lots of casualties,” Hal stated, grimly.
Henrik looked at George. “Let’s go.”
George nodded, and they climbed into the rig. Hal hopped into the driver’s seat and flicked on the siren and flashing lights.
They crossed the island in record time, not that it took too long to cross it normally. The closer they got to Tilting, the foggier it was, and soon he could see the caution lights from the RCMP on the road and emergency crew.
The RCMP directed the ambulance through the road-closure signs to where there were about six cars that had collided with a truck.
“The most wounded is with the doctor who was on call. Most of the other injuries are superficial, according to the doctor,” the police officer said.
Hal pulled the ambulance over to where the doctor was kneeling on the ground by a patient. A totaled car was nearby.
George helped Henrik get the stretcher down, and they wheeled it over to where the doctor was. As they got closer, he saw it was Josephine. She was in scrubs.
She glanced over her shoulder, and her eyes widened only for a moment when she saw him. “I suspect the patient has a broken clavicle and possibly a broken neck. We’re going to need a backboard and a halo.”
“A broken neck?” Henrik asked, in shock.
Josephine’s lips pressed together in a firm line. “The air ambulance can’t get through the fog, but if we can stabilize him and get him to the hospital, then hopefully it will give this fog time to clear.”
George nodded. “I’ll take a first-aid kit and tend to the other wounded.”
“Thanks, George,” Josephine said, turning back to the patient.
Hal retrieved a halo, and Henrik knelt down on the other side of the patient. He was surprised at how alert the man was.
“This is silly,” the man groaned. “I’m just here to see the icebergs.”
“What’s your name?” Henrik asked, trying to keep the man occupied as Josephine continued her examination of him.
“Saul,” the injured man replied. “I’m from Edmonton.”
“Edmonton is a distance,” Henrik commented as he got ready to set up an intravenous line so they could administer pain meds and antibiotics. Placing someone in a halo brace in the field wasn’t exactly the most pleasant thing in the world.
“Yeah, I lived there my whole life, and I never seen the ocean. Never traveled... This was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip.” Saul snorted. “Some trip.”
“Saul,” Josephine said, interrupting. “We’re going to be attaching a halo to keep your neck from moving so we can transport you. It’s very important you stay still.”
Saul looked nervous.
Josephine took the halo from Hal, who sat at Saul’s head. The three of them worked together to make sure that there was no undue movement to the patient. A broken neck could go bad fast, and they needed to make sure that everything was secure so they could get him to the hospital.
Henrik had placed halos before.
Usually, though, the patients weren’t this alert.
Saul seemed calm, and Henrik wondered if the patient could move at all or if the spinal cord been severed.
Josephine was calm as she got the halo on.
“Okay, we’re going to slowly get you on the backboard and then take you to the hospital,” she said.
An RCMP officer came over. “All air transport has been suspended, but the ferry is cleared.”
“This man needs to get to a trauma center,” she stated.
“We can take the ambulance,” Henrik said. “St. John’s is three hours going at the speed limit. So we’ll get there faster, especially with an escort.”
“I can escort you,” the officer said.
Josephine nodded. “And I’ll go, but I need someone to stay behind here to be with the wounded.”
“I’ll stay,” George said, coming over. “As long as one of these officers can take me back to Fogo proper later on. I can treat everyone else.”
The RCMP officer nodded. “No worries, someone will take care of you.”
“Then, that’s what we’ll do,” Josephine said, firmly. “Saul, were you alone or was someone traveling with you?”
“My wife is at the Fogo Island Inn,” Saul said.
“I’ll make sure she’s notified, and one of my officers will bring her to St. John’s,” the RCMP officer said before walking off to speak to the other Mounties.
They finished securing Saul, then Henrik and Hal raised the gurney and Josephine carried the IV bag as they made their way to the back of the ambulance. They loaded Saul in and secured him. Josephine secured the IV line and then sat down in the back.
Hal got into the driver’s seat, and Henrik climbed into the back to assist Josephine.
The RCMP officer that was escorting them got into his cruiser and turned on his lights, while others directed traffic. Hal flicked on his lights, not needing his siren until they were away from the accident.
The Mounties were calling ahead to hold the ferry, which had just docked after a delay in crossing, so that the ambulance would get priority boarding and be the first off the boat in Farewell.
“Hold on tight,” Henrik said.
Josephine smiled. “I’m used to it.”
She might have been used to it, but her knuckles looked white as she gripped the handle in the side of the wall. As they cleared the road closure and moved away from the accident, the Mountie and the ambulance both flicked on their sirens. They sped across the island to the ferry. Usually a good twenty-minute drive, they were there in a flash.
Josephine closed her eyes as the ambulance rocked back and forth around the winding roads, and Henrik hoped that the baby wasn’t giving her morning sickness. She kept her eyes closed, and he could tell her body was tense.
The ferry was waiting, and the ambulance was ushered onboard with the officer’s cruiser. They didn’t allow anyone else to board because it would take too long. Once the ambulance was secure, they closed the ferry to civilian traffic, and she slipped from her moorings, heading as fast as she could to Farewell.
Their main focus during the lightning-fast trip to St. John’s was to make sure that their patient was stable. Anything could cause the injury to shift and either paralyze or kill him. Henrik had done an emergency trip like this before, but it was rare. Usually, they could get the air ambulance into Fogo.
The hospital was prepared for them as the traffic in St. John’s seemed to work in their favor, and they rolled up to the trauma-bay doors with lights flashing. The trauma team was waiting as Henrik opened the doors, and Josephine helped him off-load the gurney with Hal.
“Patient was in a motor-vehicle collision. Blood pressure is seventy over sixty, and he was alert in the field. There is a broken clavicle and suspected fracture of the spine between C3 and T1. Halo was placed in the field.” Josephine rattled off data as the trauma doctor took notes, not quite keeping up with how fast she was giving information.
“Are you a trauma surgeon?” the emergency doctor asked, bewildered.
“I am,” Josephine stated. “And you’re a resident. You’ll learn, but right now we have to move.”
Henrik and Hal took him into the trauma pod, where Saul was carefully taken off their gurney and placed onto a hospital one.
The doctors cleared Henrik and Hal to leave, and Josephine signed off as the doctor who was on scene.
There was a part of her that wanted to go in after Saul. It didn’t feel right to just hand him off. She should be in there, in the emergency room. It’s what she was used to, and she was starting to miss the rush of the action.
They left the hospital, and Josephine kept looking over her shoulder with uncertainty as the two paramedics loaded their up gurney.
“Josephine?” Henrik asked as Hal climbed up into the ambulance.
“Huh?” she asked, distracted.
“Are you okay?”
“I am.” She laughed to herself softly. “This is the first time in my career where I just handed off a patient to another trauma team. Usually, I’m the one in there dealing with the incoming patient. It felt a bit weird to be rendered useless.”
“I would hardly say useless,” Henrik said, smiling. “It was a good thing you were so close to the accident and that you were able to help and assess his injuries so quickly. Your quick thinking most likely saved his life.”
“I know, it’s just...different. I’m so used to the rush and the urgency of an ER. It’s been an adjustment getting used to the slower-paced life of a small-town physician.”
Henrik helped her up into the ambulance front seat. “Hal, how about you rest, and I drive back to Fogo? I’m afraid we can’t use the lights, and we’ll have to wait for the ferry.”
Hal nodded. “Fine by me.”
Henrik took the driver’s seat, and Hal climbed into the back to sit on the bench and secured himself in as they pulled away from the hospital to head back to Fogo. Thank goodness they weren’t the only ambulance on Fogo.
It was going to take three hours to get back to the island from the main island of Newfoundland.
Josephine gazed out the window. “The fog is clearing up, and the sun is coming out. When I drove to Fogo it was raining, and I was so worried about my new job that I didn’t really get to appreciate the drive.”
“Well, now you can.” Henrik was pleased.
The more she fell in love with Newfoundland, the more likely she would stay, and that made him happy indeed.
“Where is L’Anse aux Meadows?” Josephine suddenly asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“The Viking site?” Henrik asked.
“Yes.”
“Past Farewell.”
“I figured it was past Farewell, but is it far to drive in a day?”
“Yes. It’s about eight hours one way, past Gros Morne National Park. Why? Do you want to go there?”
“I do. I might have to do just that on one of my weekends off. Like a mini vacation or something.”
“I’ll take you,” Henrik offered.
“Really?” she asked, surprised. “You don’t have to. I am a big girl, and I can get there myself.”
“It would be my pleasure. I’ve been there before, and I wouldn’t mind showing you around.”
“I don’t know if it’s wise...” she whispered.
“We said platonic and professional, but how about friends? We can be that.”
Josephine smiled, warmly. “Friends would be good.”
“So what do you say?”
She should turn him down. She didn’t want to take any more of his time, especially when this wasn’t going anywhere, but truth be told it might be nice to not be alone for a while. Not that she was completely alone.
Jenn had become a good friend, but she had a kid and a husband. It would be nice to go with someone to L’Anse aux Meadows. Still, it would be a whole weekend, not just a simple day trip.
“It’s a two-day trip,” she pointed out.
He shrugged. “I could use a break too. Let me take you. I don’t mind. I’ll drive, you book the hotel rooms.”
Jo did enjoy his company, and they were having a baby together. Maybe this would be a good way for them to bond.
They could be friends. Even if they had shared that illicit kiss that neither of them had been expecting.
That kiss was anything but friendly.
And just thinking about it now made her skin heat, and she hoped she wasn’t blushing too brightly, but Henrik’s eyes were on the road so she was safe. At least he did mention that they should get two hotel rooms and not share, which was a slight disappointment on one hand, but a big relief on the other.
“You don’t have to come,” she said again.
“No. I’ll take you,” Henrik said, firmly. “It’s a done deal. No more arguments.”
“Fine. It sounds great.”
And it did.
Since David had died, she’d isolated herself from a lot of people, and it was nice to have someone to spend time with. It was nice to talk to someone. She wanted Henrik to be her friend and nothing more.
Really?
Jo shook that thought away.
It didn’t matter that the night after their kiss she hadn’t got a wink of restful sleep, that every time she closed her eyes all she could feel was his arms around her. The way his gentle touch had made her body quiver and her heart race.
And when he kissed her, she had melted.
Just like that first time he had kissed her. Of course, a month ago she’d thought it was a harmless one-night stand. She had been so wrong about that.
It would be just easier to keep her distance from him, push him away, but she couldn’t do that. For the sake of her child, their child, she had to try and make an effort to have Henrik in her life, and being friends was the easiest way.
Even though that way was risky for her heart.
They hadn’t said much more on their trip back to Fogo. It was kind of hard to talk about the baby when Hal was in the back. Even though Jo was only a new Fogo Island resident, she knew very well that Hal and Lloyd were hardly discreet. If there was any mention about the baby, then the whole island—and maybe beyond—would know Doc Jo was pregnant.
And she didn’t want that.
It would become apparent soon enough: by then she would be out of the dangerous first trimester and could deal with the questions.
Can you?
Henrik dropped her back off at the clinic.
She’d lost a whole day to that accident, but she didn’t have many appointments that were urgent and all the urgent patients had gone to the hospital for the day.
Jenn had left her messages and a note inviting her to dinner, but Jo was too tired. She would have to make it up to Jenn and take her out to lunch at Cherry’s Kitchen.
Right now, she just needed to decompress, so she headed back to her apartment to make some dinner and veg out in front of the television.
What she had to do was avoid Henrik for a couple of days to get a hold of her erratic emotions, so they could deal with this baby situation as platonically as possible.
At least she would be off emergency duty this coming week.
Which meant that she wouldn’t have nearly as many run-ins with Henrik, and that was fine by her. She could get her bearings.
There was a knock at the clinic door, and she groaned inwardly. She made her way to the door and glanced out the window. It was George. She unlocked the door.
“George!” She stepped aside and let him into the clinic. “Come in.”
George grinned as she shut the door behind him. “I thought I would come say goodbye. I’m flying back to Nunavut tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you for all your help today.”
George shrugged. “It’s what I do.”
“Still, you were here for training, and you didn’t have to come.”
“I was with Henrik when the call came in, and I didn’t have anything else to do.”
“Well, I’m glad we got to meet. It’s not often I meet air paramedics from Nunavut.”
George grinned. “I’m glad we met too. You know, Henrik is a good guy.”
Josephine’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh?”
“I see the way he looks at you, but he’s too stubborn to tell you, and I know all about being too stubborn to see what’s right in front of you sometimes.”
“Well, we’re friends. I’m only here for a year, and Henrik doesn’t seem to want to leave Fogo. But I have to go back to Toronto.”
“Okay, just thought I’d put it out there. Don’t let his prickly outer shell put you off.” George turned and opened the door. “I better see if I can track him down.”
“He had to take the ambulance and Hal back to the hospital,” Jo said.
“Have you heard the status of the tourist?” George asked.
“Not yet. I hope I do. I want Saul to make a full recovery.”
George nodded. “I hope to see you again, Dr. York—Doc Jo.”
He stepped out into the night and headed off toward Henrik’s.
Jo locked her door and headed for bed. Henrik wasn’t the only with a prickly outer shell to protect himself. She had one in her own way, and even though she liked Henrik a lot, she had to be careful of her heart.
And his.