if she didn’t admit she wished he was standing there next to her, talking to her in that beautiful bass voice and charming American accent of his about this amazing world she was about to enter.
She stared out at one of the incredible white mountains of ice in the water, one side gleaming with a blue so deeply iridescent it took her breath away. It seemed fairly close to the ship, but she suspected that was an illusion, that it was actually much farther away than it appeared. Other flat icebergs floated nearby with groups of seals lounging on them. She knew Antarctica was home to dozens of species, but had no idea what kind these were. Wouldn’t it be helpful if a certain marine biologist with warm eyes and an all-too-appealing smile was there to educate her about some of the wildlife she was seeing?
“Pretty, isn’t it?”
Her heart jolted, then sped up. As though she’d conjured him with her thoughts, Zeke Edwards stood next to her, his face tipped down toward hers, his mouth relaxed into a small smile. The cold air stung her lungs as she breathed in and smiled back, and suddenly the incredible images in front of her seemed even more staggeringly beautiful.
“Pretty? It’s incredible.”
“The icebergs are truly wonders. Some are so big, hundreds and even thousands of feet thick and miles wide, that they’re given names and tracked. Captain Stewart is giving this one a wide berth because sonar doesn’t show if there might be a lot of ice reaching horizontally under the water. Don’t want to end up like the Titanic.”
“An even bigger accident than my small one last night is not the way I want to go. Thrown into freezing water, fingers and toes quickly numbing from hypothermia. Then convulsions, mental disorientation, organ failure. Finally, death. I hope to get to see more of Antarctica before that would happen.”
A laugh rumbled from his chest as his amused eyes met hers. “Showing off your medical knowledge, Dr. Flynn?”
“Always do, whenever the opportunity arises.”
The way they were smiling at one another, taking her back to that intimate feeling last night, sent her heart into a silly pit-a-pat.
“Glad to hear that. Upping my education on all things medical is something I enjoy.” A strand of her hair insisted on flying into her eyes, and his finger reached to tuck it back inside her hat. “Good news is I think you’re safe from hypothermia at the moment. Ship has neoprene immersion suits on board, and lifeboats. We’re close enough to shore that we’d make it before the death phase.”
“Thank heavens I can stop worrying now.” Again, that chuckle rumbled from his chest, warming hers. “I’ve lived in a lot of places around the world, but usually in hot locations. Freezing to death is something I hope to avoid.”
“Why have you lived lots of places around the world?”
“My parents are both doctors who work for an international organization that took us all over. It was an interesting way to grow up, but I’m glad to be done with it. Never had the comfort of living in one place, having the same friends for years and being close to grandparents and extended family. So I’m happy to finally be putting down roots somewhere.”
Oddly, he didn’t respond after getting her answer, his expression strangely serious.
“So.” The awkward silence had her wanting to fill it with more chitchat. “Do you travel a lot for your work?”
“Yes. Various places, but for a marine biologist and climatologist, Antarctica holds the most interesting discoveries. I’ve been here thirteen times.”
“Thirteen times?” Wow, the man was nearly as rootless as her parents. “You come more than once a year?”
“Sometimes. What we’re learning here about the climate changes in the world is invaluable.”
“I’m embarrassed to admit I don’t know exactly what a marine biologist does. Other than study the ocean.”
“We study the ocean floor and gather samples. Collect data on how warming and acidification of the polar waters is affecting all kinds of life, from the smallest plankton to penguins.”
“And climatology?”
“Interconnected, but that involves gathering ice cores aboveground, among other things. I usually focus on either land or sea on each trip. The goal is to gather enough data to make private companies and governments see that significant changes need to happen to slow down the warming of our planet.”
The passion in his eyes was intense, and she wondered how he’d decided to do that kind of research. She opened her mouth to ask more questions when a young man came to stand behind her, and she turned to look at him.
“Excuse me, are you Dr. Flynn?”
“Yes.”
“Captain Stewart told me to load your equipment onto transport carts. Help you get it off the ship and onto the shuttle. It’s ready to go down in the cargo hold as soon as we land.”
She’d hoped there might be a few crew members in the cargo space that would be able to help her pull all the bulky equipment together, but hadn’t counted on it. To hear it was already loaded up was a big, but pleasant, surprise.
“Well, thank you. Should I meet you down there?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be at cargo door three.”
The young man left and she turned back to Zeke. “Wow, that’s a nice surprise. I wasn’t sure how much help I’d have, and there’s a lot of stuff to take. The amount of equipment and supplies they gave me to open up the medical center is crazy. I’ll have to thank Captain Stewart for thinking about it.”
“He’d appreciate that.”
Something about the expression in his eyes and the way he rocked back on his heels with his hands in his pockets struck her as slightly odd, and suddenly she knew why.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You’re the one who asked him to help me!”
“No. I asked Captain Stewart to see who might be able to give you a hand.”
“I don’t want to be treated differently from other people just because I’m a woman. It’s my job to—”
“Jordan. There are times to be independent, and times to let people help. And it has nothing to do with you being a woman.” His dark eyes met hers. “I already told you how many times I’ve been down here. If you don’t get your stuff off the boat on the first round, you’ll be waiting for it for another day or two. And since you wouldn’t know that, and you’ll be wanting to get the clinic and hospital set up as soon as possible, I figured I’d grease the wheels a bit so you’ll be ready in case of a medical emergency.”
A confusing mix of frustration and gratitude filled her chest. She did need to get everything set up as soon as possible, both because she had to begin doing baseline physicals on everyone who’d arrived in this first round, and also in case there was an emergency, as he’d said. But it sure seemed like the man was a little controlling.
She drew a deep breath. “I appreciate that, and admit I’ll be glad to have everything at the station. But I would have liked for you to have given me the heads-up so I could
