Then, welcome to a mostly male-dominated world. Some of them didn’t think women belonged here at all, and some certainly didn’t think Sydney should even be a doctor, let alone the doctor here. It’s not that she hadn’t faced prejudice before because she certainly had, but it felt different in this environment. Was she as comfortable here as she could be elsewhere? No, absolutely not.
She had thought that it would be a good experience, helpful for her own education, and for understanding the injuries and the types of lifestyle challenges that came from living and working up here. The realization that it would be a multinational and multiservice training center had also been exciting. She was always up for learning about new cultures and anyone from different parts of the world. She was not at all sure why people would have anything against that, but some had groused about it.
Cup in hand, she sat down at the far side of the dining room, her back against the wall, her boots up against the chair in front of her, and sipped her coffee, wondering what the day would bring.
A typical day would include minor cuts, an odd pain, ear infections, and of course the normal run of colds and flu. So far, nothing too taxing had happened here, outside of the two serious injuries. Still, she had this sense of waiting, the sense of something brewing underneath the surface, and she just didn’t know what that was about.
When Mountain walked in, the noise level dropped, as everybody turned to cast a glance at the huge man. She just smiled because she’d met Mountain before at a survival training exercise in the North Sea a few years back. So he had been the one she’d gone to, when she’d run into trouble here.
He hadn’t made it clear what he was doing here, but it didn’t take too much deduction to realize that, whatever it was, it had to do with the two missing people—his brother was one of them. She knew the chances were slim of either man still being alive, but she’d seen miracles before so wouldn’t assume anything at this stage.
Mountain also kept to himself, making it seem he was a complete stranger to everyone. And a man everyone should avoid.
When he stomped toward her, a big mug of coffee in hand, she dropped her feet from the chair and pushed it out toward him. “Grab a seat.”
“Don’t mind if I do.”
As he sat down with enough force that she winced, he looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. “I haven’t broken a chair since I was sixteen.”
She burst out laughing, the sound ringing through the small hall, and several other people turned to look at her. Despite the silence falling around them, Mountain just grinned at her, not paying any attention to anything in the background, then added, “Honest.”
“There’s always a second time,” she teased, with a smirk. “And, if you keep eating the way you eat now, … that’s just around the corner.”
He shook his head. “I’ve been this weight for the last ten years, so it won’t change now.”
“Glad you have that faith,” she replied. “I wouldn’t count on it though.”
He shook his head. “How come you haven’t got any food yet?”
“Chef was a little bit behind this morning, so I was giving him some space.”
“That’s a good way to miss out.”
“Are we that low on supplies?” she asked curiously.
“Not sure. The weather’s clearing out ever-so-slightly today. With any luck we could be getting more supplies soon enough anyway.”
“I’m surprised that, when they brought in so many extra people, they didn’t bring extra supplies. What is that all about?”
“They did bring supplies, just not enough for the extra people.” He laughed. “They were planning a second trip right away and got surprised by the weather.”
“Any secluded place should have at least a six-week supply as the standard up here,” she murmured, as she rested her eyes and leaned against the wall behind her.
“Did you get any sleep last night?”
“Not much,” she murmured.
“Anything new or different?”
“No, not that I know of,” she murmured, opening her eyes to look at him, knowing exactly what he was asking about and glad he was checking.
He nodded. “That’s good. In some ways, the dull, boring old routine is a good thing.”
“Especially here and now,” she muttered under her breath.
He shot her a glance and then nodded. “We’ve got enough new people right now to keep all of us busy too,” he noted. “They’ll resume some outdoor training today, and I know that the sled dogs are supposed to go out as well.”
“Even in this weather?” she asked.
“Depends if it clears. They won’t go while we’re in the middle of a blizzard obviously, but …” Then seeing her aversion, he grinned at her. “You’ve been outside to where the dogs are housed?”
She nodded. “Yes, it was a shock when I first got here to note several dogs were outside.”
“Oh, they have an indoor-outdoor section out there,” he corrected, “and you can bet it’s pretty-damn cold for them. But … you’ll find many outside by choice.”
“But they’re okay, aren’t they?” she asked hesitantly, hating the note of anxiety in her voice at the thought of the animals suffering.
He nodded immediately. “Absolutely. They’re fine, and no way anybody here will hurt the dogs.”
“Unless through negligence,” she added immediately.
“That won’t happen.” He glanced over at her and frowned. “I promise. It won’t happen. Joe, their handler and owner, won’t let it happen. Those dogs are his life.”
She nodded again. “Good. I’d just hate that.”
“I promise. If it comes to that, I’ll bring them inside myself.”
“You mean, in here, in the base, versus in their own quarters?”
“Exactly. But their own space is good for them. They’re all together, and it’s quite warm in there.”
“If you say so,” she muttered, hating even the thought of one dog suffering in this cold. “I mean, look at how much heat we have to produce here to stay warm.”
“Yeah, but we’re the idiots, and we don’t have fur coats anymore,” he quipped, with a half smile. He stood up just then. “Food’s coming out. I’ll go grab a plate. You coming?”
She grinned. “I’ll wait. Go on.”
He hesitated and added, “I’m really not sure where the supplies stand.”
“That’s fine,” she replied. “Go eat. I need a hell of a lot less food than you do.” He didn’t say anything, but his scrutiny was intense. She smiled at him. “Honest to God, … I’m fine. I’ll head to the line afterward.”
“Yeah, well, in that case you’d better go before me.” He grabbed her by the elbow, then gently hauled her to her feet.
She laughed at him. “You’re not really planning on cleaning them out, are you?”
“Not planning on it, but I’ll be outside for a while today, so I won’t chintz out on the grub.”
She followed him to the line, where, sure enough, he made certain that she was in front of him. Still, she took a normal-size serving on her plate, then looked behind her to see he had two plates. She shook her head in amazement, as he loaded up with carbs, protein, and lots of fats.