IT HAD BEEN two weeks since Henrik had taken Jo to L’Anse aux Meadows, and she hadn’t seen much of him since they got back to Nubbin’s Harbor. The trip back to catch the ferry had been quiet. He hadn’t said much, and she hadn’t known how to draw him into a conversation.
She was feeling a bit awkward about their night together.
She was worried that she’d done something or that he was bothered by the fact that she’d woken up plastered to his chest.
It was embarrassing.
She’d apologized for hogging the bed and snuggling with him all night.
If she’d been aware of it, she wouldn’t have done it. She was mad at herself for letting her guard down with him and sleeping so soundly practically on top of him. Henrik was her friend, not her lover.
It wouldn’t take much to make him your lover, though.
Jo ignored that voice and just tried to focus on her work, which wasn’t difficult to do. Or so she thought, because as hard as she tried, all she thought about was him. Something would remind her of the way he smiled, or she could almost feel the touch of his skin.
Throughout the day she would think of funny things and couldn’t wait to tell him. Except, he wasn’t there to talk to.
She missed him.
When they were apart, she worried so much about her feelings for him, but when she was with him, she didn’t let those little anxieties creep in.
It just felt so right.
“You seem distracted,” Jennifer said, interrupting her thoughts.
“What?”
Jennifer grinned, knowingly. “I’m heading for lunch. Marge called, and she’s on her way.”
Jo nodded. “Oh, good.”
“Want me to bring you a sandwich?” Jennifer asked.
“Sure, that would be great. Thanks, Jenn.”
The receptionist waved and left.
The bell over the door chimed, and Marge came in carrying a car seat with baby Jo and looking a little bit flustered.
“Hi, Dr. York,” Marge said, brightly and a bit out of breath. “Sorry I’m late. I got stopped by Lloyd, and he can chatter something fierce.”
“No worries,” Jo said. “What’s up with Lloyd?”
“Oh. Nothing,” Marge said nervously, flushing. She wasn’t looking her in the eye.
“What?” Jo pressed.
“Lloyd is such a gossip,” Marge stated, as she followed Jo into an exam room.
“So I’ve heard,” Jo answered dryly, as Marge lifted baby Jo out of her carrier and handed her over. Jo cradled her little namesake happily.
“Lloyd says you and Henrik are an item!” Marge blurted out.
Jo’s heart skipped a beat, and she tried to keep a straight face. “What?”
Marge chuckled. “I know. Lloyd sometimes sees things that aren’t always there.”
“What is he seeing?” Jo wondered out loud.
“Just that you’re spending a lot of time with Henrik.”
“We’re friends, and we work together.”
“I know that.”
“So why is Lloyd speculating?” Jo asked, rocking little Jo back and forth.
“No one spends time with Henrik. He’s kind of a loner... Been that way since his parents died. And then when his fiancée left him.”
“Melissa?” Josephine said, cursing herself for continuing this thread of discussion.
“Yes. He was crushed when she left him. We all thought Melissa would cure his grief of losing his parents, but she only made it worse, and he retreated into himself. But it’s like he’s been a different person lately.”
“Jenn calls him a rake,” Jo murmured.
Marge chuckled. “Perhaps. I can see that.”
Jo’s pulse was thundering in her ears, and she was sure that she was breaking out in a sweat. She didn’t want to hurt him, and she didn’t want to lead him on. He didn’t want to leave the island. Henrik had made that perfectly clear to her, but when Gary came back from Munich, she had to go back to Toronto. Fogo Island Hospital was much too small. They didn’t have openings for a trauma surgeon, and with a baby on the way there was no time for her to set up her own practice.
Why?
Jo ignored that annoying, pushy voice in her head again.
“Well—” she cleared her throat “—we’re friends.”
“That’s good. I’m glad Henrik has a friend, and you as well, Dr. York.” Marge grinned.
“Well, let’s check on this little gal, shall we?” Jo said brightly, even though her gut was churning and it felt like a big knot was trying to escape from there.
Maybe Henrik was keeping his distance because he’d heard the gossip about them too.
Jo finished her exam of baby Jo and sent Marge on her way.
As Marge was leaving, Henrik entered the clinic and Jo gripped the counter, hoping that Marge didn’t say anything. His coming into the clinic was just a coincidence.
“Hey, Henrik,” Marge said, walking quickly past him.
“See you, Marge.” Henrik turned back to her. “Hey, Jo.”
“Hey, yourself. Are you my next appointment?” she asked, fumbling to pull up her appointments on her phone.
“Yep. Need a tetanus booster.” Henrik held up his hand, which was bandaged.
“What happened?” Jo asked anxiously.
“I was working on my house and caught my hand on a rusty nail.”
She winced, and her stomach turned slightly, which was odd. She’d seen worse stuff working in the trauma center in Toronto. “That sounds nasty.”
“It didn’t feel good, let me tell you,” Henrik said with a grimace.
“Well, come on in, and I’ll take a look at it.”
“I just need the shot,” he said.
Jo crossed her arms. “I’m sure, but I’m going to examine it, nonetheless.”
He followed her into an exam room. She got out the tetanus vaccine as Henrik removed the bandage.
Jo leaned over to inspect it and began to sweat, but ignored it. “You did a good job of cleaning it up.”
“Well, I do have some experience with wounds.” He grinned and winked.
She smiled at him and did a little more cleaning, replacing the bandage and trying to ignore the churning of her stomach.
“You have a light touch,” he remarked.
Her cheeks flushed with heat. “Careful how you compliment me.”
Henrik cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“The town is talking...or rather, Lloyd is talking to everyone.”
“Oh, aye?” he asked, carefully.
“He’s been telling everyone we’re an item, and I’m sure he’s been talking about our weekend away.”
She prepared the needle as Henrik rolled up the sleeve of his shirt. She wiped his arm with alcohol.
“Are you serious?” he said.
“About the needle or the gossip?” she teased.
“The gossip.”
“I’m afraid so.” She gave him the shot and applied pressure against his arm with the cotton ball. “Apply pressure.”
Henrik took over, their fingers brushing as she removed her hand. He was frowning, and she didn’t blame him. The whole thing was making her upset. All she wanted to do was lie down.
“Well, I suppose people will really start speculating about it when you begin to show, so we won’t have peace for much longer,” he groused.
“I’m aware,” she said, dryly.
She disposed of the used needle and bandages. As she put other items away, her stomach turned again and her head felt weird. She gripped the edge of the counter as the world around her started to sway.
“Jo?”
“Hm?” she asked, but she couldn’t turn around to face him. She wanted to throw up, and her head was becoming clouded. She heard him move toward her, the paper on the exam table crinkling as he got up. His hands were on her shoulder, steadying her, only it didn’t seem to work as the room tilted.
A sudden wave of dizziness was overtaking her. She tried to tell him that she was going to faint but couldn’t form the words. Her pulse was thundering between her ears.
“Jo?”
She let go of the counter, slipping into blackness.
Henrik called for the ambulance because after he’d caught her and safely laid her on the floor, he’d had a hard time bringing her out of her faint. It was terrifying him.
“Jo, come on,” he said, loudly as he cradled her. “Come on, sweetheart.”
“Where you at, b’y?” Lloyd called out.
Henrik groaned inwardly. “In the back. Jo’s fainted. Is the ambulance here?”
Lloyd came rushing back with a first-aid kit and knelt down. “Aye. Hal and Johanna are unloading the gurney. Why did she faint?”
“I don’t know.”
Henrik didn’t know for certain, and he was worried about all sorts of things at the moment. He’d dealt with others fainting, but never someone he really cared about. The impact of it hit him like a ton of bricks.
Try as he might, he was falling for Dr. Josephine York, and he was angry at himself.
And now they were the talk of Nubbin’s Harbor, apparently.
Still, when she fainted and wouldn’t rouse, he worried. What if something was wrong with the baby? Fate seemed determined to take away his family whenever he left his guard down.
First his parents, his grandad, Melissa and then his beloved gran. He couldn’t lose the baby as well. It would be too much for one heart to bear.
Johanna and Hal came into the room. Jo was moaning, but then her eyes would roll into the back of her head, and she’d faint again. It could be anything from low blood sugar to internal bleeding.
“What happened?” Johanna asked, as she helped Hal and Henrik get the doctor onto the gurney.
“She fainted five minutes ago. She can’t seem to stay conscious,” Henrik stated. “She’ll need fluids.”
“Aye, she could be dehydrated,” Lloyd speculated. “She’s been sick with that stomach flu, I suspect.”
Henrik shook his head. “It’s not the flu.”
“How can you be sure?” Lloyd asked. “It’s been going around the harbor for nigh on a month now.”
“I’m certain.” Henrik took a deep breath. Jo would probably clobber him, but Hal and Johanna needed to know so they could inform the doctors at the hospital about her condition. And honestly, it was only a matter of time before the whole of Nubbin’s Harbor knew it all anyway.
She was here for ten more months. The baby would arrive before she left, and people would put two and two together.
“She’s pregnant,” Henrik stated.
“And how would you be knowing that?” Lloyd asked.
“Because I’m the father.”
“Lord almighty,” Lloyd exclaimed. “Well, let’s get her to the hospital.”
“I’ll follow in my truck.” Henrik wanted to go with her in the ambulance, but he knew once Jo was discharged she’d need a ride home and someone to take care of her, and that person was going to be him.
Hal nodded. “We’ll see you there.”
Lloyd still looked shocked as he left the clinic and started dispersing the small crowd that had gathered around outside.
Henrik made sure Jo was safely loaded. Jenn the receptionist had just arrived, and he let her know what was going on so she could send all urgent patients to Joe Batt’s Arm.
After everything was settled, he got into his truck.
He was driving so fast he was hoping there weren’t any RCMP on the road to give him a ticket for speeding. All he could think about was getting to her and making sure she was all right.
By the time he’d parked and made his way into the hospital, he found Jo conscious in an ER bed. She still looked pale and had an intravenous. At least she was alert now.
“Henrik?” she asked, as she poked his head around the curtain.
“Hey, I got here as fast as I could,” he said.
“What happened? The last thing I remember is getting your tetanus shot ready. Oh, no, I didn’t faint during the vaccination, did I?”
“No. I got it, and then you fainted,” Henrik said, gently.
“And you called an ambulance?” Jo asked, stunned.
“You wouldn’t rally. You were unconscious for a while. I was worried.”
She groaned. “Oh. Now I remember feeling off.”
He pulled up a chair and sat down beside her, taking her hand in his. “What has the doctor said? Is the baby okay?”
“The baby is fine,” Josephine said with a tiny smile. “They’re running tests.”
Relief washed through him. “I’m glad. You scared me.”
“Yeah, they knew I was...” Jo’s eyes widened as she realized that he’d told the paramedics. “Oh, no.”
“I had to tell Hal, Johanna...and Lloyd.”
She groaned again. “So I guess the cat is out of the bag for good now.”
“I’m afraid so. I just wanted to make sure that you and the baby were safe.”
“I get it.” Jo sighed. “I don’t know what happened.”
“You fainted, or have you forgotten?” he teased.
“I know that. It just came out of the blue.”
“Dr. York?”
Henrik turned as the emergency-room doctor, Dr. Cranbook, peeked his head around the curtain.
“Dr. Cranbook,” Henrik greeted him, standing up.
“Mr. Nielsen,” Dr. Cranbook said, surprised.
“He’s the baby’s father,” Jo offered. “You can tell him anything.”
Dr. Cranbook nodded. “Well, we ran your blood work, and you had a drop in blood sugar. I’m going to order a requisition to test you for a fasting glucose test tomorrow so we can test for gestational diabetes.”
“Okay, but the baby is all right?” Henrik asked, needing to hear it from another doctor who was not the mother.
“Yes,” Dr. Cranbook said. “The heartbeat is strong, but I would like you to rest for a couple of days, at the very least, until your results for the glucose test come in.”
“I can do that,” Jo said.
“I’ll get to work on your discharge.” Dr. Cranbook left.
Jo sighed again. “I’m going to have to make sure the doctor in Joe Batt’s Arm can handle my patients. So now they’ll all know.”
Henrik rubbed her shoulder. “Lloyd will have already told them.”
She chuckled. “So then, all of Fogo knows by now.”
“Yes, b’y.” Henrik grinned. “As soon as you’re discharged I’ll take you home and look after you. I’m off work because of my hand.”
“You don’t have to take—”
“I do,” he said, firmly cutting her off. “I don’t want you fainting and being alone. So until we’re sure you’re going to be okay, I’ll be your roommate.”
“I guess I can’t really argue with that.”
“No. You can’t.”
“I’m sorry the whole town knows this soon,” Jo said. “That was not my intention.”
“I know. It’s fine. Let’s just focus on you getting stabilized.”
“Thank you,” Jo said, softly.
“It’s the least I could do for you since you took such good care of me when I nearly succumbed to hypothermia.”
She smiled at his exaggeration. “I’m a doctor. It’s my job.”
“And I’m a paramedic. It’s also my job.”
She grinned, her eyes sparkling. “I guess we have no choice, then.”
It was another hour before Jo was discharged. Henrik pulled his truck to the front entrance of the hospital, and once she was loaded in, drove her straight back to her apartment over the clinic.
“I guess I get to see your place,” he said.
“You mean Gary’s place.” She flicked on the light, and he followed her in. There was nothing cozy about it. It was white, modern and minimalistic. The furniture was sparse and didn’t look comfortable at all. It just didn’t seem like Jo belonged there. When he first met her, he would’ve pictured her as a modernist; now, not so much.
The couch was white leather and narrow. He was already regretting his decision. That couch would be like sleeping on rocks. Actually, rocks would probably be more comfortable.
Jo curled up on the couch, tucking her feet under her and hugging a white shaggy pillow that looked like a puppet had been murdered.
“I’m going to grab my stuff. I’ll be back. You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Really, you don’t need to stay with me.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” he asked.
“No. I wouldn’t mind the company, but this couch sucks.”
He chuckled. “I’m staying.”
“You don’t need—”
“Yes. I do. I won’t take no for answer,” he said, firmly.
“Fine.” She threw up her hands. “No more argument from me.”
She leaned back, her face pale. Henrik’s heart skipped a beat, and he sat down next to her.
“I thought you were going to get your stuff?” she asked.
“Later,” he said, softly. “I think you need to go to bed.”
“I’m not that tired.”
Henrik shook his head. “You’re going to bed.”
He helped her up and led her to the large king bed that was covered with quilts and got her settled. He sat next to her.
“Is there anything I can get for you?”
“No. Maybe just keep me company for a bit.”
“Of course. What should we talk about? Maybe you can tell me what Marge said about me, or Jenn for that matter!”
Her eyes widened. “Who said Marge said anything about you?”
“I figure she’s the one who told you about Lloyd.”
Jo laughed. “All she said was that you’re a loner.”
“It’s easier that way.”
“I understand.”
“And what did Jenn say?” he asked.
Jo smiled. “She called you a rake.”
He chuckled. “Hardly.”
“I agree. More of a rogue than a rake.”
Their gazes met, and his heart skipped a beat as he looked into her eyes. What was happening to him? His loneliness had never bothered him before, but when he’d kept his distance from her since they returned from L’Anse aux Meadows, he had missed her so much.
He was lonely.
“What do your parents think of you moving here to Newfoundland...even for just a short time?” he asked.
“They think I should move to Arizona.”
Henrik smiled wryly. “I’m sure it’s warmer in the winter.”
“Tell me about your parents,” she said, softly.
“They were wonderful, loving. We had happiness and laughter.”
“I’m sorry you lost them.”
“I’m sorry you lost your husband,” he said quietly.
Josephine squeezed his hand. “I think I’ll try to sleep.”
“Okay. I’ll go and get my things. You rest.”
Jo nodded and rolled over. Henrik slipped out of her apartment. He knew he really shouldn’t stay with her. It was too much temptation.
The trouble was, he wanted to.
The problem was, he was falling for her.
Jo still felt exhausted, but she couldn’t sleep. The apartment was silent, and she could hear the waves rolling outside her open window. Usually that sound calmed her, but she was on edge because Henrik was sleeping on the couch.
She could hear him tossing and turning and she knew that couch wasn’t very comfortable.
She got up and made her way into the living room.
“Jo?” Henrik asked, sitting up.
“You can’t sleep on the couch,” she stated.
“Neither can you, if you’re thinking of switching.”
She crossed her arms. “We shared a bed at that motel.”
“Yes. I remember. The heart-shaped one.”
Jo chuckled. “It was smaller than my bed here. I think we can share for a couple of nights.”
“I would argue, but Gary’s couch is ridiculously awful.”
“I know.” She turned back and climbed into bed.
Henrik came into the room, stepping into a pool of moonlight. He was only wearing a pair of athletic shorts, and the shadows and moonlight illuminated the broad expanse of his bare chest.
Her blood heated, and she tried not to stare at him. He pulled back the covers and slid next to her.
“This is better,” he murmured, closing his eyes.
He was so warm, and she liked being snuggled up against him with his arm around her. She just wanted to be held, and it was hard to sleep knowing he was so close. So instead she watched him.
Then he opened one eye and stared at her. “You’re watching me. Why?”
“I can’t sleep.”
Which was true. What she didn’t tell him was that she couldn’t sleep because she was aroused by him.
That she wanted him.
“Try,” he said, closing his eyes again.
“Sorry, I’m wide awake,” she said.
Henrik rolled over and propped himself up on one elbow. “Would you like a bedtime story?”
“Only if it’s a spooky one,” she teased.
“This isn’t a glorified slumber party,” he muttered.
“Oh, come on. You’re telling me there are no ghost stories about Fogo, or even Newfoundland for that matter?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Oh, me nerves! Ye got me drove! Fine. I can tell you about the forlorn widow who walks the beach howling.”
She grinned. “That sounds creepy.”
“Aye, it is.”
“I’m all ears.”
His eyes twinkled in the dark. “You sound way too excited for this. Somehow, I don’t think it will put you to sleep.”
“Just tell it,” Jo said, curling up on her side, watching him in the moonlight.
“Fine. Well, there’s this beautiful widow, right?”
“Right.”
“And she’s dead,” Henrik said with emphasis.
“Okay.”
“And she walks along the beach. She’s howling,” he whispered in her ear, sending a shiver of delight through her.
“And?”
“And what? She walks along the beach howling. Now, go to sleep.”
He rolled over on his side.
“That sucked,” Jo huffed.
Henrik was laughing silently. “You asked for a story. I didn’t say I was any good at storytelling.”
“Well, that’s a disappointment. I guess I’m going to have to tell the stories to our kid.”
“You’re not telling our kid ghost stories at night,” Henrik said, flatly.
“No, but I’m a better storyteller than you. If they asked you for a fairy tale you’d be like, There’s a giant and a knight with a sword. And they’re dead. The end.”
Henrik chuckled. “Yeah, it’s probably for the best that you tell the stories.”
Jo sighed. “This is not how I pictured my life.”
“Well, at least you’re not walking along the beach howling,” he said jokingly.
She grabbed a pillow and whacked him with it before jamming it back behind her head. “You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I do. This is not how I pictured my life either.”
“And how did you picture it? I mean, when you were young and innocent.”
Henrik sighed in the darkness. “I thought I’d be a fisherman, if I’m honest. Have a wife and kids by now.”
“Why aren’t you a fisherman?”
“Because of the moratorium on cod fishing.”
“You could harvest sea cucumbers!”
“I suppose, but after the sea took my parents, I just... I wanted to help others. I wanted to save lives. And what about you? How did you picture your life before, when you were young and undamaged?”
“I wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember. I thought by now I would have kids and own a nice house...next to my late grandparents because I loved that area of Toronto, but now...”
“Now?” he asked, gently.
She didn’t know.
Jo hadn’t been here long, but Fogo was starting to feel like home. The way that Goderich used to feel and the way that Toronto had never seemed to.
Henrik was starting to feel like home.
“I guess I could move out to the suburbs to raise a family now, instead of a place in the city.” It wasn’t a lie, but it was a deflection. She didn’t want to give him false hope when she was uncertain what tomorrow would hold.