Page 18 of Under the Northern Lights

She lowered her camera. “I think I have enough river shots.”

“How about I take a few of you?” he asked, holding out a hand.

She blinked in surprise. “Of me?”

“If I had to be the subject of some of your pictures, I think it’s only fair you are too.”

“But I’m the photographer,” she countered.

“Whose pretty smile should be captured.” He wiggled his fingers. “I promise not to break your camera.”

“Well, I suppose since I trusted you with my life when you flew me here, I can trust you with my camera.” Aurora handed over her prized possession. “The settings should be good. Just click that button,” she said.

“I promise not to let you down. Now, let’s have you look out over the water.”

“I thought we were going with organic,” she said as she followed his instructions.

Gage stepped farther up along the riverbank to get just the right angle. “Tip your head slightly. That’s it.”

She glanced his way. “Have you done this before?”

“Focus on the water,” he reminded her as he adjusted the lens for the shot.

The camera was going to love her. He didn’t have to be a photographer to know that much.

“And yes, I have. About a year or so ago, we had a couple ask if they could get married on one of our fishing boats during their stay. Of course Mom said yes. She’s a diehard romantic. ”

“I could tell,” Aurora said, so quiet he almost didn’t hear her. “She and your father are so adorable together.”

“The couple hired me to fly their preacher in for their version of a perfectly romantic Alaskan wedding.” He snapped another shot.

“Only they didn’t have a photographer to capture their special moment, so I volunteered.

They wanted to exchange nuptials while the boat was moving, and Reed had to be at the wheel. ”

“That was nice of you,” she said, turning away to look out over the water.

Was that a quiver he’d heard in her voice when she’d responded?

“Their pictures came out really good, if I should say so myself,” he went on as he made his way back to where she stood. “Of course, how could they not when you’ve got a couple clearly in love and a backdrop of the water and the distant, snowcapped mountain peaks?”

A soft sniffle had Gage lowering the camera and closing the rest of the distance between them. “Hey,” he said gently, “everything okay?”

She shrugged. “I thought it was—I was—but now I’m not sure.” Another sniffle followed.

That didn’t sound like okay to him. With the camera held securely in one hand, he wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. “You can have your camera back. I certainly didn’t mean to upset you.”

Her hand trembled as she took the camera from his grasp and lowered it to her side. “It’s not about the camera. Honestly, it’s nothing you did at all.”

“Then what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well? We can head back to the lodge if you aren’t.”

She brushed a tear from her cheek. “Today was supposed to be my wedding day.”

“What?” he said in surprise. That was not anywhere on his list of possible reasons for this sudden change in her mood. She’d been so happy on the way there.

Aurora looked up, her teary-eyed gaze meeting his. “I was engaged, and Ben had agreed to bring me to Alaska for our honeymoon. I wanted to experience the place that brought my mom and dad together all those years ago. But, as you can see, there was no wedding.”

“Aurora,” he breathed, “I’m so sorry.” He drew her into the circle of his arms.

She nodded, accepting his comforting embrace.

“What happened?” he asked, immediately regretting it. His grimace was lost in her hair as he rested his chin lightly atop her head. What if her fiancé had passed away? He would feel awful for stirring up painful memories for her if that were the case.

Aurora lifted her head from his shoulder and took a step back as Gage released her. Looking up, she met his gaze. “Ben and I have been friends forever,” she began.

Have been. Not past tense. Relief for her swept through him.

“Since childhood,” she went on. “I think it was second grade. As adults, with no serious relationships for either of us, we decided to give dating a try. It was comfortable.”

“Comfortable?” Not exactly how he hoped to describe his connection with the person he’d someday be marrying.

She nodded. “Our parents are friends. We shared the same friends back home. We both moved to Seattle for work. It was easy enough. Ben and I dated for a little over a year before he proposed. We went through all the motions of planning our wedding, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I wanted the kind of marriage my parents have. My sister has. Your parents have.”

“A good thing to strive for. Especially when you are exchanging vows to be together for the rest of your life.”

“I realized, thankfully before it was too late, that Ben and I weren’t going to have that same special sparkle.

We were far better suited to be friends than the married couple we were making plans to become.

Six months ago, I asked Ben to come over so we could talk.

Before he left, I gave him his ring back, calling off our engagement. ”

“How did he take your ending things?”

“I didn’t want to hurt him, but I think when I sat him down to talk about my feelings, he was. Once it was done and he’d taken some time to think over my reasons, Ben realized I was right. We went back to being just really good friends.”

Gage’s brows drew together. “Then why did my talking about that couple getting married on one of our fishing boats make you emotional? Are you second-guessing your decision to call off the engagement?” He wasn’t so sure he wanted to hear her reply. Did Aurora want to get back together with her ex?

“No,” she said, sounding sincere in her response. “I don’t have any regrets about not marrying Ben.”

“Then why are you upset?”

She thought about the question for a long moment.

Just when Gage thought she might not respond to it, she said, “Mine was supposed to be the perfect Alaskan honeymoon with its breathtaking visual backdrop. I began planning it when I was a little girl, listening to my mom’s stories of how she met my dad and their time spent here.

I’ve been chasing a dream that isn’t ready to be caught, which makes me feel like life is passing me by.

My baby sister is happily married, complete with the white picket fence little girls dream about.

Only her fence is a bit more on the cream side than white, but it’s there all the same, wrapping around their cute little Cape Cod with their adorable little pup racing around their backyard. And where am I?”

“Standing by a river in Alaska,” he answered with a grin, trying to lighten the mood.

A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“Besides that,” she told him. “Sure, I’ve got a really good career and friends and family who care about me.

But I don’t have a family of my own. Or a dog to come home to after a long day of work.

” She paused. “I suppose I need to focus on the positive in this situation. My toilet seat is always down.”

Gage blinked. “Excuse me?”

She giggled. “My sister’s one pet peeve is her husband always leaving the toilet seat up. Believe me, I hear about it often.”

“And what do you tell her?”

“To glue the seat down.”

He threw his head back and gave a hearty chuckle. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

“I think you’re safe.”

“I’m sorry about how things turned out with Ben,” he told her. But was he really? If she had been on the verge of marrying, he might never have crossed paths with her.

“No, I apologize for taking our beautiful day and making it uncomfortable.”

He shook his head. “It wasn’t. I just don’t like seeing you upset. I know something, or maybe I should say somewhere, that might put that pretty smile back onto your face. Camera at the ready?” he asked, his tone teasing.

“Ready.”

“Here we are,” Gage announced as they stepped out from the covering of trees they had parked beneath.

Aurora gasped, unable to keep the smile from her face. “Oh my gosh!” she said as they moved toward another body of water. “They’re sooo cute!”

“I take it you’ve never seen beavers frolicking in the wild before,” he said, grinning.

She lifted her camera and began snapping away. “This is a first,” she replied. “I know these aren’t fishing-related pictures and have nothing to do with my assignment, but I can’t resist.”

“I didn’t think you’d be able to,” Gage said from behind her.

“I suppose a lot of the pictures I’ve taken this trip aren’t assignment-related. I just think Alaska is amazing.” Aurora zoomed in on her subjects. “Look at their flat tails.”

“Do you know they use them to warn their families about danger nearby?”

“I didn’t.”

“They slap the water with their tails, which sends a signal to the other beavers to hide when wolves, bears, or even coyotes, to name their most feared predators, are nearby. That urgent slapping sound sends a warning to the others to swim under the water and hide in their lodges. Their tail serves other purposes, too, like helping them to balance and swim.”

She lifted a brow. “You are like a walking Alaskan wilds encyclopedia.”

He grinned. “Hey, when you grow up on a fairly remote island in Alaska, you know these things. Not to mention, we need to be knowledgeable to keep our guests safe. For instance, we are watching those beavers from across the water. Some people might try and get an up-close look at them. But beavers can be territorial and have been known to attack by biting and scratching. They also pose a high risk for rabies.”

“I’ll keep my distance then,” Aurora replied, looking up at Gage. “And I won’t be hugging any moose either.”

“I’d say that’s a pretty good plan. More people are injured in Alaska by moose than bears each year.”

She lowered her camera. “They’re more dangerous than bears? I wouldn’t have thought that.”