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
