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CHAPTER TWO

THE ROLLING OF the boat lasted all night and into the next morning, and when the storm finally subsided, Zeke drew a deep breath of relief. He had trouble sleeping no matter where he was, and figured that, between the deep, rocking waves and her poor, sore head, Jordan probably hadn’t gotten much, either.

When Captain John Stewart announced over the loudspeaker that everyone was now allowed out of their cabins for lunch before they docked, Zeke couldn’t wait to get some fresh air. Out in the hallway he paused, wondering if it would be too pushy to knock on Jordan’s door to see how she was doing. He decided that, since she’d had a head injury, it was perfectly acceptable for him to check on her.

He rapped on the door. “Jordan? Zeke. Wondering how you’re feeling.”

“I’m fine.” Her voice was muffled, but she sounded fine. Very fine, just like the rest of her. “Thanks again for your help last night.”

“You’re welcome.” He stuck his hands in his pockets, wondering if she’d invite him in. Waited for the door to open so he could see her pretty face and deep blue eyes. When it didn’t, he was surprised and annoyed at how disappointed he felt. Probably shouldn’t be, though, since thinking of her just one cabin over, and how she’d felt in his arms, had been part of the reason he’d been awake half the night. “So, I guess I’ll see you around.”

“’Kay.”

With that clear dismissal, he shook off the odd feeling and headed to the deck to breathe in the now-calmer wind and talk with people he knew. The main conversation was about last night and how it had been one of the worst Drake Passage storms they’d been through, which morphed into everyone trying to one-up each other with nightmare sea stories from their pasts.

Grinning at the good-natured arguments and obvious exaggerations, he decided to head to the bridge to find out how much longer they’d be until landfall.

“What’s with the roll of this tub?” he asked John as he stepped through the door. “Two days ago, you said it looked like smooth sailing. Pretty sure last night didn’t qualify.”

John laughed, but kept his eyes on the gently rolling swells in front of them. “Sorry. It was one of those times when the weather changed in the blink of an eye. But we’re at a steady twenty knots now, and I think it’ll stay there until we get to shore.”

“Says the man convinced it would be Lake Drake this whole trip, flat as a pancake.” He thought about Jordan getting hurt flying out of her bunk and pondered telling John about it, since, as captain, he’d want to know. But he had a feeling Jordan wouldn’t want a bunch of questions about it, and he’d look at her head when he had a chance. No need to have John check on her when Zeke could do it himself.

“Yeah, well, it takes a big man to admit that sometimes he’s wrong,” John said, “and I pride myself on being pretty big.”

Zeke chuckled, knowing he was referring to his girth as much as anything. “How long until we get there?”

“About…” He peered at the dials, then the horizon. “Forty-five minutes.”

“That soon? You told everyone they could come to the lounge for lunch, but there won’t be time for that.”

“We made better time than I expected. The plus side of the winds and currents we had last night. But we’ve got lunch all ready, so we’re still going to hand it out to those who want it.” John shrugged. “Just sandwiches, though. It was all the kitchen crew could put together with the weather we had, and I didn’t know when it would clear up. So I told them to go ahead and make a sandwich lunch. Trying to eat bacon and eggs from a plate isn’t easy when the ship’s all over the place, as you know.”

“Sandwich sounds good. Thanks. I’ll grab one before I get all my equipment pulled together. Appreciate the ride, such as it was.”

“Anytime.” John grinned as they shook hands. “See you the other way in…what? Six months?”

“That’s the plan, unless I have to leave earlier to make sure my next grant gets approved. See you then.”

Zeke headed to the lounge to make sure he got one of the sandwiches, since he suddenly realized he was hungry, not having had much for dinner. An empty stomach in stormy seas wasn’t a good thing, but neither was a full one, and he’d tried to find the right balance before he’d headed to bed.

Thinking of how he’d startled awake with a pounding heart when he’d heard Jordan slam against that wall, then cry out, had him wanting to check on her again. Except she’d made it clear she didn’t want that, so he planned to do the next best thing, which was to be a considerate guy and grab a sandwich for her, too. After getting sick last night, and everything else, she was probably starving.

The moment he walked into the lounge, his gaze went straight to the tall, slender woman with shiny dark hair to her shoulders. She was standing next to the rows of wrapped sandwiches, and his heart did a strange little pit-a-pat to see her there.

Apparently, he’d been right. Jordan was indeed hungry.

He moved to stand next to her, leaning down. “I’m a fan of the Reubens, but the turkey with bacon is good, too.”

“I thought about getting the veggie, but saw it has raw onions. Yuck.”

The way she cutely screwed up her face in obvious distaste made him smile. “I’m with you. Raw onions on a sandwich is a solid no for me.”

“Yes. A solid no.” Her mouth relaxed into a wide grin, and he realized it was the first full smile he’d seen from her. He liked the way it made her deep blue eyes twinkle, and a dimple poke into one cheek. “Any idea when we’ll be docking?”

“Captain Stewart said about forty-five minutes. Less than that now. So before we do, I want to take a look at your head. How’s it feel?”

“Honestly? It hurts. Way more than last night. But that’s to be expected of a gash and bruise like that.”

“Let’s go out on the deck so I can see it.”

“It’s fine.”

“You just said it hurts.”

“Like there’s something you can do about that? Just needs time to heal, that’s all.”

“So, when you have a patient that refuses to let you follow up after their treatment, you nod and are perfectly okay with that? I just want to look at the glue job, and see if it seems to be holding well.” He wasn’t sure why he felt so frustrated at her stubbornness. She was a surgeon, after all, and knew all about wounds and derma glue, and if she wanted to deal with it herself, what was it to him?

Maybe because the sound of her hitting that wall in the middle of the night had woken him from the terrifying dreams he sometimes endured, and he still felt a little unsettled by all of it. Wasn’t it normal to want to check on her now, to make sure she was really okay?

For long seconds, her gaze clashed with his, until she released an exaggerated sigh. “Okay, fine. But can we please find a place where not everyone on the ship is going to be coming up to us and asking what happened?”

So he’d been right that she wouldn’t want John, or anyone else, making too big a deal of her injury, and what happened last night.

“I know a good spot.”

He nearly reached for her hand, but was pretty sure she wouldn’t appreciate the familiarity, even though they’d shared an unusual closeness last night. He stuck his fist into his coat pocket instead. Most people were at the bow of the ship to see Antarctica in the distance, so Zeke led the way to the back of the boat and around a corner where they’d be alone.

Wind whipped her soft hair into her face and she reached back to gather it into a ponytail behind her head. He tried not to get distracted by the beautiful line of her jaw that he’d noticed in the low light of her cabin last night.

He drew in a breath and put his hands on either side of her head, tipping it slightly down. Moved her hair gently out of the way so he could see the wound. A raw, red line spanned the bruised lump that resembled a miniature purple eggplant just above her hairline. But the edges of the gash seemed firmly closed together, and it obviously hadn’t bled during the night, so it seemed the glue had done its job.

“Looks like it hurts like hell. But the good news is the wound is still nicely closed, so unless you whack it again, it should heal just fine.”

“I thought it felt secured, but couldn’t be sure.” She gave him a twisted smile that showed she knew her stubbornness a moment ago about her dealing with herself hadn’t made a lot of sense. “Thanks again for patching me up.”

Shocked by an urge to press a soft kiss to her head, he dropped his hands and stepped back. “I’m going to check with the captain, see when it would be okay to go below and start to gather my gear, which is going to take a while. If I see you, I’ll give you the heads-up on how close we are so you can pull yours together, too.”

“Thanks. Appreciate that.”

An awkward silence fell between them, and he gave her what he hoped was a relaxed smile before moving to the bridge to get the information he needed from John. He wished he had eyes in the back of his head to see if she was watching him go. Because he sure as hell knew if she’d been the one walking off, his attention would have been riveted until she was out of sight.

Jordan Flynn was a beauty, no doubt about it. But he hadn’t had any kind of real relationship since he’d broken it off with his last girlfriend after the worst week of his life, and didn’t plan to go there ever again.

John gave him the go-ahead, and he went below to the cargo area to search for the boxes of dive equipment and everything else he needed. Being one of the first to get his gear on the shuttle meant it wouldn’t have to follow him during the next round of supplies-toting when the shuttle got full, and he began stacking everything onto several carts.

A cardboard sign caught his eye as he moved his first cart to the huge exit doors so he’d be at the front of the pack. Large letters printed in orange noted the multiple boxes that held medical equipment for the clinic and hospital.

He hesitated. Should he help Jordan out by stacking it on some of the empty carts and getting it ready so her stuff would be on the first shuttles out, too? Being a newbie on these expeditions, she wouldn’t know that it could be another full day before the medical gear got delivered to the station if it didn’t go out on the first round.

He shook his head at himself. Being helpful when someone needed it was all well and good, but at what point did it border on being a busybody, or even a creep? No, his own stuff was plenty to deal with right now. The crew was there to help Jordan. If he ran into her while they were both still on the ship, he’d give her the heads-up about how things worked around here. Otherwise, he’d mind his own business, and concentrate on work, like he always did.

With the ship nearing shore, Jordan hurried to the bow with dozens of others wanting to admire the scenery before they disembarked, so excited to get her first glimpses of the place she’d be calling home for the next six months. She’d seen so many photographs of the shoreline, and the icebergs and sea creatures that could be sighted, and each one had seemed more incredible than the last. She nearly had to pinch herself that she was about to experience it for real.

Standing on the open deck with the cold wind on her face thankfully much less ferocious than the day before, Jordan grasped the handrail and wondered if Zeke Edwards was somewhere within the crowd, too. Though why she couldn’t get her mind off the man, she had no idea. Whether she wanted to or not, though, she’d be lying to herself 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 be the one asking the crew for help. As the station’s doctor, people need to know I’m fully capable of dealing with whatever I have to deal with here.”

“My apologies for not talking to you first.” He reached out to shake her hand, and even through her glove she could swear she felt the warmth of his hand clear down to her toes. “Good luck with your clinic setup—that’s going to be a big job. Don’t let that independent streak of yours keep you from asking me or someone else for help, okay? See you around.”

She held her now-empty hand in her other one and watched his long legs jog down the metal stairs of the boat, probably going below to the cargo area to get his own things ready.

What was it about the man that had her feeling all wound up? Slightly irritated and ridiculously attracted?

She blew out a breath. There was zero point in being attracted to him. He lived the kind of life she’d left behind. This trip was about caring for patients and testing her parents’ device, right? When the time came that she wanted to become interested in a man, it was going to happen back home in London. Period.

CHAPTER THREE

SATISFIED THAT ALL the scuba gear and other diving equipment had been scrutinized, confirmed to be in good working order and organized, Zeke moved on to get the new aquarium room built and everything installed that he and the other marine biologists would need for their samples. He’d never had to do this in Antarctica before. Usually, all the science stations had everything set up already, needing only some adjusting and tweaking.

But Fletcher Station was brand-new, and while starting from scratch would be a lot of work, it gave him a chance to create something better than what someone else had built. He got to work, and hours passed as he carefully set the rock work in place, then got the salt water prepared. Assembled the various hoses, filters and everything else the aquarium needed to support the marine life he’d be bringing here to study. He paused to stretch, pleased to be making good progress on this big job.

“Glad to see you’re halfway done here, so you can’t drag me into doing your work, and mine, too.”

Zeke looked toward the door. Bob Shamansky, who worked for the same Southern California university he did, stood there holding a cardboard box in his arms.

“I’m pretty sure it’s usually the other way around,” Zeke said. “You asking me to bring up who knows what from the seafloor for you to study instead of learning how to dive so you can do it yourself?”

“Why should I learn to dive when I have people like you to do it for me?” Bob grinned as he set the box on one of the long tables lining the outer wall. “Besides, you don’t fool me. Diving is your favorite part of the job.”

“One of my favorites, I admit. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“I’ll stay in the lab and you macho types can go dive into dark ice-cold water—thanks, anyway.”

“Hey, I read about your latest breakthrough with a medicine you created through halogens in seawater. Treats neurological disorders, doesn’t it? Congratulations.”

“Thanks. Happy about it. Took me about five years from creation through the clinical trials to finally get it approved. Your samples helped make it happen, so congrats to you, too.”

Another reminder of why the work they all did here was so important, and Zeke’s fatigue slipped away as he turned back to the aquarium tasks. “What’s on your list of things for me to collect this time?”

“I’ll tell you about it after we get set up. This study is something totally new, and I’m pretty pumped about it.”

“Which I know means you’re giving me some tough jobs.” Zeke grinned. “You need help carrying anything in?”

“I’ve got a crew guy giving me a hand down in the storage hangar, then he’s going to help bring it here after the Ski-Doo training. Which I think I saw is in about an hour. Want to race?”

“We’d get in trouble with the station head for being a bad influence on the newbies.”

“Well, dang it. Since we’ll be at twenty-four hours of daylight in no time we won’t be able to race in the dark, so he can’t see us. Risking falling in a crevasse is such a thrill.”

“Says the man who won’t even go diving. You’re all talk, Shamansky.”

“True. I’m about as risk averse as they come.” He clapped Zeke on the back. “Going to grab my cart and bring it up. See you at the training.”

“You’ll be easy to spot, if you still wear that blue top hat over a balaclava.”

“I traded it in for an orange one this year. And something else, but you’ll have to come to the practice to find out what it is.”

Zeke shook his head and chuckled as Bob left the room, turning back to his work. Digging in the plastic containers he’d brought up here, he realized he didn’t have some of the tubing and filters he needed. A lot of his gear was still in the storage hangar, but several of the boxes were crammed beneath his bed.

He glanced at his watch. Since his cabin was about halfway between here and where they’d be conducting the Ski-Doo practice, he might as well see if what he needed was there to save time on his way back. He made his way through a covered, aboveground bridge that connected this building to Pod B where he’d be bunking. He moved down a hallway past rows of doors until he found his small cabin. With one single bed, a small table he used as a desk and built-in closet for clothes, it was comfortable enough. Good thing, since he’d be calling this place home for the next six months.

Home. He tried not to think about the home where he’d grown up. That it didn’t exist anymore, and neither did his parents. Or the other two people he’d loved and who’d raised him after his parents died. Home was San Diego now, or at least as much of a home as he ever wanted to have again.

But there was no point in going over all that again. He’d learned what he’d had to about himself from that horrible experience, and would never forget.

He rolled up the shade covering the small window so he could look out over the ice fields beyond. In the summer months of endless sun, the light-blocking shades were essential to a good night’s sleep, which he had trouble achieving even when it was dark. The shades took his mind back to Jordan Flynn and her eye mask, and he had to smile, thinking about her spunk and her shiny hair and deep blue eyes the color of the Pacific.

He turned and grabbed the things he needed from one of the boxes, put on the standard-issue red snowsuit the station had given everyone, then headed for the Ski-Doo practice. Pointless that it was, he couldn’t seem to help the sudden spring in his step, knowing he’d see Jordan there.

Jordan stood near the big snow machines, deciding they looked a lot like motorcycles, and if that was the case, she’d be okay riding one. Living in so many unusual situations and places, she was probably more experienced driving all kinds of vehicles than most people, and hopefully this wouldn’t be anything particularly new or different.

With her peripheral vision, she noted a tall form approaching. Despite wearing the same red snowsuit as everyone else out there, she knew without even looking that it was Ezekiel Edwards, and frowned at the way her heart beat a little faster. Couldn’t help feeling that, when his gaze met hers, a small smile on his lips, it all somehow seemed to warm the freezing air.

“Ready for the Ski-Doo instruction?” he asked. “Have you ridden one before?”

“Not exactly. Motorcycles and scooters and such, yes. I told you my life experiences have been mostly in hot places, except for England. I’m guessing they’re a lot like a Jet Ski?”

“Except without waves to hit and maneuver over. Here, you just have to make sure you don’t drive over a crevasse and disappear deep inside, or get too close to the edge of an ice shelf and have it crack off so you end up in frigid water. Experiencing that hypothermia and death you talked about.”

“You’re making that up.”

“Why do you think they have practice? There’s a lot involved in knowing the safest ways to get around the area, especially if you’re going out in the field.”

“Well, that makes me glad they’re doing this, to train newbies like me.”

“I’d offer you help, but I know how you react to that. Don’t want you annoyed with me again.” His eyes crinkled at the corners as his smile widened. “Good luck and have fun.”

She watched him move toward one of the Ski-Doos, and found herself still watching him as he slung one long leg over the saddle, got settled, then let it roar. She shook herself from the trance he seemed to send her into every darned time she was around him. When she was instructed to mount the machine and drive, she was more than glad to have something else to focus on besides how handsome and appealing the man was.

Relieved that she managed to get the machine started without any problems, she set out across the snow. Motor scooters and cycles were always fun, and riding the Ski-Doo was even better. Cold air tingling her face as she zoomed across the white world in front of her, maneuvering around the orange cones, had her deciding she’d definitely use this as transportation into the field whenever possible.

She brought hers to a stop to give someone else their turn to learn how to drive it, and her attention immediately slid to Zeke as he went through the obstacle course.

His obvious confidence as he operated the machine showed he was an expert driver, which wasn’t a surprise since he said he’d been to Antarctica thirteen times. An incredible number since the man couldn’t be more than thirty-five or so. He must have taken these trips sometimes twice in one year, unless he’d started doing this as an undergrad, and even then, it was impressive.

He pulled up next to her, sending that appealing smile her way. “Ready for the next lesson?”

“Yes. This is really fun.”

“Next part is less fun, and a lot trickier, but essential to know when you’re away from the base.”

Zeke’s gaze moved past her, and when he started laughing, she turned to see a man wearing an orange top hat that looked like something out of Alice in Wonderland, and a scarf with polar bears all over it wrapped around his neck.

“Good look for you, Bob!” Zeke called. “Though you know some of the newbies are going to expect to see polar bears here now.”

The man responded with a laugh and a thumbs-up before Zeke turned back to Jordan with a grin. “Bob Shamansky. Works for the same university I do.”

“That hat would be a good look on you, too,” she said. In truth, she found that impossible to picture, since Zeke Edwards simply oozed masculine sex appeal and sophistication. “But everyone who comes down here to work has to know polar bears only live around the north pole.”

“You’d be surprised.” He dismounted the machine and picked up a nearby pair of skis, leaning them against the snow machine. “Bob’s a chemical biologist who creates new medicines—you might be interested in talking to him about some of them, Dr. Flynn.”

“Really? I know marine life here can be used to create them. That’s so interesting.”