Redeeming Her Brooding Surgeon

Very good, emotional book. Chase Barrington runs a Medicine For All medical ship in the Mediterranean, rescuing and treating refugees. He had made this mission his life’s work, all in an attempt to assuage his guilt over not being able to save his best friend during an avalanche disaster when he was a teenager. The work is perfect for him – critical, but short-term contact with the patients, allowing him to keep his emotions tightly contained. All of that begins to change with the arrival of Dr. Kristina Morton. She stirs up feelings he’s kept buried for years.

Kristina has a mission of her own. After years of not having a place to call home, she’s ready to find a permanent position and put down some roots. The director of the previous medical center Kristina worked for suggested MFA as an interim while she looked for that position. Kristina also carries some guilt from an incident in the army when she was unable to save an injured soldier. She’s making progress, but the memories still jump up and bite her from time to time. She doesn’t expect the sparks that fly between herself and Chase, a man who has no intention of ever settling down.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Chase and Kristina. The sparks between them are immediate and intense, and not welcomed by either one, so they do their best to ignore them. In spite of that, they develop a tentative friendship, as each recognizes the pain that the other experiences. I enjoyed the banter between them as some of their walls begin to weaken. There are some terrific scenes between them, usually taking place in Chase’s retreat on the ship, where each of them opens up a little more about their pasts. I especially ached for Chase after the death of one of his patients and loved how Kristina was there for him. But the lowering of those walls also allowed other things to happen, not the least of which was the chemistry between them. Both found themselves thinking far too often about what could happen if they let it, but neither would allow it to gain traction. Kristina wants roots and knows that Chase will never give up his nomadic lifestyle. Meanwhile, Chase is determined not to let himself get that close to anyone ever again.

Things changed when Kristina went home with Chase for his mother’s birthday party. Suddenly Chase discovered that he missed home far more than he thought he would. It didn’t take him long to realize that it was mainly because of the effect that Kristina had on him. It didn’t seem like such an impossibility that he could have a future after all. For Kristina, this trip had multiple effects. First, being with Chase away from the ship made her realize how strong her feelings had grown. Second, having worked for Chase’s brother-in-law, Jerrod, at the medical center, had reinforced her vision of what she wanted. Visiting her former coworkers gave her further validation. And third, she was stunned to receive a job offer from Jerrod for after her time with MFA, with everything she could possibly want. I ached a bit for her because the only thing that could make it better would be if Chase came home, too. But even as they gave in to the passion between them, Chase panicked when he thought of letting go of his grief and guilt over Nick’s death. I ached for both of them as Chase pulled away from what had been the beginning of hope.

Having gotten to know Chase and his story somewhat in the previous book, Saved by Their One-Night Baby (Ethan and Claire’s story), I enjoyed seeing Chase’s newly repaired friendship with Ethan. When Ethan returned to the ship to finish his commitment, he noticed the strain between Chase and Kristina. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him poke at Chase and his stubborn refusal to admit that things had changed. I almost lost hope that Ethan would get through to Chase, but eventually, he did. I liked seeing it dawn on Chase that Ethan knew exactly what he was going through because he’d experienced the same roller-coaster of emotions. The ending was fantastic. Chase’s “conversation” with Nick was heart-wrenching, but also freed Chase in a way he hadn’t felt since he was sixteen. I loved his big moment with Kristina, as he opened his heart fully to her.