Page 13 of Under the Northern Lights

Aurora paused to glance around the welcoming porch.

Off to one side sat a row of six oversized rocking chairs that had been crafted from tree branches.

Between each was a polished tree stump large enough to hold a couple cups of coffee and maybe a cell phone or two.

A long, beige and black braided rug ran the length of the porch in front of them.

To her other side, a carved wooden sign hung above a row of wooden pegs.

It read: WELCOME TO LIVING THE GOOD LIFE FISHING RETREAT.

Rain suits hung from the pegs with tall rubber boots placed neatly on the floor beneath.

“Most people bring their own rain gear, but we keep spare gear on hand in case they didn’t know to bring it or forgot it when they were packing.

Weather here can be quite unpredictable.

Even in the summer months. Sunny one moment, windy and raining the next.

So rain gear is essential on fishing trips and handy for venturing about on rainy days. ”

Aurora pulled her camera from its bag and snapped a picture of the porch.

The door opened, and a young woman with long dark hair, just a hint lighter than Gage’s, came out in a flurry of smiles. “You must be Aurora!”

“I am,” Aurora replied with a smile as she hurried to return her camera to the bag at her hips.

“My sister, Julia,” Gage offered up with a chuckle.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Julia.” She guessed Gage’s sister to be close to her in age.

“Same,” she replied. “We’re so glad to have you here at the retreat. Reed said you’re a professional photographer.”

“I am,” Aurora answered again with a glance in Gage’s direction.

“Have you ever?—”

“How about we allow Aurora to get inside before bombarding her with all those questions I know are whirling about in your head?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Julia jumped aside. “Come on in.”

Laughing softly, Aurora stepped past her into the main lodge.

If she thought she’d been taken by the outside, she was even more charmed by the inside.

The room was open concept with a small check-in counter to the right.

Next to it was a rack of long-sleeved T-shirts in various colors and sizes.

Across the back of the shirts was the retreat’s logo, a bent fishing pole with the fishing line disappearing into rippling water, mountains in the background.

Below the almost lifelike drawing was the retreat’s name and location.

“Reed did the artwork for our shirts,” Julia said as she stepped up beside Aurora.

“About ten years ago,” another male voice joined in.

Aurora turned to find Gage’s younger brother had joined them. “Hello again.”

“Glad you could join us,” he replied. “And I should be clear that the shirts are new. The drawing, however, I did ten years ago for my dad for Father’s Day. Mom loved it so much it became our business logo. I promise I’ve gotten better since then.”

“He has,” Gage agreed.

“I don’t see anything wrong with this drawing, but I did see the artwork you did on Gage’s floatplane, and it’s beautiful.”

Reed’s chest puffed out ever so slightly.

“Nobody told me our guest had arrived.”

Aurora looked past Reed to see a tall, slender woman with salt-and-pepper hair. More pepper than salt. Gage had clearly inherited his mother’s big, bright, toothy smile.

“We just got here,” Gage said in his own defense. “Mom, this is Aurora Daniels. Aurora, this is our mother, Constance Weston.”

“It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Weston.”

“Constance,” his mother insisted. “And it’s a pleasure to have you here. Reed tells us you’re a famous photographer.”

Aurora looked at Gage’s younger brother, who shrugged with an innocent smile.

“I’m not sure famous is a word I would use to describe myself.

But I have won several awards.” Her gaze traveled about the room.

“Your place is so inviting.” Its open concept with the floor-to-ceiling fireplace and windows made the lodge feel warm and homey.

Gage’s mother smiled. “Thank you. We want our guests to feel at home here.”

Movement at the back of the room drew Aurora’s attention that way.

A man, not quite as tall as Gage and Reed, and with less bulk, came in, his gait slightly off as he moved toward them.

A slow smile spread across his face, lines etching the outer corners of his eyes.

The same marks Gage and Reed had when they grinned but with deeper lines etched into them. He had to be their father.

“Hello. Welcome to Living the Good Life F-Fishing Retreat,” the man offered in greeting as he moved to stand next to Gage’s mother.

Aurora returned his smile. “Hello, and thank you for the warm welcome.”

“Dad,” Gage said, “I’d like to introduce you to Aurora. Aurora, my dad.”

“Jim Weston,” Gage’s father said in introduction.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Aurora replied.

His father looked to Gage, his graying brows lifting upward. “Your mother didn’t tell me you were bringing s-someone special home to meet us.”

“What?” Gage replied in confusion.

His mother looked up at her husband and then at her youngest son. “Reed, you didn’t tell me your brother was bringing someone ‘special’ when you told me to expect another guest that your brother had just flown in for dinner.”

Reed shrugged. “I just repeated what I was told.”

“Gage!” Julia gasped with a clap of her hands. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Now everyone hold on,” Gage said with a frown.

“I should’ve realized she wasn’t just another guest,” Constance said, smiling at Aurora. “We’ve never had a woman come stay at the retreat by herself before. And you’re wearing a floatplane sweatshirt.”

“He does look happier,” Jim noted with a nod.

Aurora’s eyes widened as the misinformation train picked up speed.

“Whoa!” Gage bellowed, throwing up his hands.

Everyone looked his way, the excited chatter in the room finally ceasing.

“Aurora is not special,” he told them and then groaned at how his words had come out. He looked Aurora’s way with an apologetic glance as he clarified, “To me.” Then his gaze shifted to his family. “She was in need of a place to stay, and we had availability. She’s our guest .”

Aurora could have sworn she saw the entire room deflate at Gage’s announcement.

“Sorry about that,” Jim apologized. “Gage usually doesn’t introduce m-me to our guests. My wife or Julia normally do that when the guests arrive for check-in. And you are wearing a f-floatplane sweatshirt, so I assumed ...”

“We should have known Gage wouldn’t bring anyone home with him,” Julia said, clearly disappointed that they’d been wrong about Aurora’s connection with Gage. “Not since?—”

“Well, I’m starving,” Reed blurted out, cutting his younger sister off.

Gage shifted uneasily. “Same.”

Sensing Gage’s discomfort with the direction her introduction had taken, Aurora explained, “Like we told Reed when we arrived, Gage came to my rescue in Juneau after I missed my flight back to Seattle and found myself a bit stranded in the rain. My things got wet, and clothing options in town were limited, so we stopped by a gift shop before flying to Conley Island. That’s why I’m not dressed nicer for dinner. ”

His mother immediately waved her words away. “First of all, we’re so sorry for any discomfort we caused by thinking you and Gage were together. And second, you look adorable. Our guests dress however makes them comfortable. We don’t have a dress code here.”

“Other than you have to wear clothes,” Reed chimed in.

His mother gave him a disapproving glance, then focused once again on Aurora.

“Most of our guests arrive by floatplane. It would be perfect to wear about as winter sets in. I might just need to have Reed draw us up a design for sweatshirts with a floatplane on them and the name of our lodge to add to our cozy little lodge boutique.”

“A.k.a., corner area by the check-in,” Reed said, garnering another glance from his mother.

“Children,” she said with a dramatic huff of feigned frustration, “you think you raised them right ...”

Her husband chuckled. “R-Reed loves to tease his mother,” he said, his words again taking a bit of effort to get out.

“And Mom can give as good as she gets,” Julia said. “She’s just refraining because you’re here.”

“True,” Reed and Gage echoed at the same time.

Aurora laughed. “You all remind me so much of my family.”

“We’ll take that as a compliment,” Constance replied. “And while you’re here, consider yourself a part of ours. We want our guests to feel right at home during their stay here.”

“Thus the lodge’s motto,” her husband said, pointing to a large wooden sign above the stone fireplace. Carved out of the plank and painted in a dark umber brown were the words, OUR FAMILY IS YOUR FAMILY.

“I’m so thankful your family had a vacant cabin I could stay in for the night.”

“Well, we’re happy to have you staying here with us,” Gage’s father replied with a smile, his arm curled lovingly around his wife’s waist. “I hope you’ll be joining us for dinner.”

“She is,” Gage’s mother told him. “And maybe we’ll even be able to coax her into staying and joining us for game night.”

“Game night?” Aurora replied, her interest piqued.

“It’s where any guest who wants to participate—and my family—spend time playing games. Sometimes by the fireplace. Sometimes right here at the table. Depending on what game we’re playing.”

“I’ll warn you right now,” Reed said, “everyone starts out playing with high hopes of winning only to have my big brother here crush those hopes to smithereens.”

“It’s true,” Julia agreed with a nod. “Gage rarely loses at any of the games he joins in.”

“I don’t always win,” Gage countered. “I just get really lucky.”

“Don’t let him fool you,” Jim said. “My son is good with anything that involves memory recall and numbers.”

“How about we try not to scare Aurora away from game night before she even accepts your invite to join in?” Gage suggested with a shake of his head.