Page 25 of Under the Northern Lights

“Did you get the work done you needed to see to this morning?” Gage asked from beneath the lowered hood of his raincoat when Aurora opened the door of her cabin.

She laughed. “You’re starting to sound like me. Come on in out of that rain.” She opened the door wider and then moved aside.

Gage shoved back his hood and then stepped into the cabin, stopping just inside the threshold. Water from his wet raincoat and boots sluiced off onto the rubberized entrance mat. He looked down with a frown. “Probably not the best idea to have come inside. I should have stayed out on the porch.”

She followed his gaze downward, stopping at the misshapen bulge beneath the front of his raincoat. “What in the world ...?” Looking up into Gage’s mirth-filled eyes, she said, “Did you come across Little John on your way here and swallow him whole for lunch?”

“And miss having lunch with you? Not a chance.”

One arm still wrapped around the bottom side of the protruding lump, he unzipped his raincoat, revealing a tall pair of boots. “For you to wear up to the lodge,” he told her as he pulled them free.

“I have waterproof hiking boots.”

“No sense in you getting them all muddy. These take five seconds to hose off.” He handed them to her. “I guessed on the size. Hope they at least come close to fitting. If not, I’ll be carrying you to the lodge.”

She laughed. “I don’t think that will be necessary. Like I said, I have my own boots.”

“The trail to the main lodge gets pretty muddy when it pours like this. So humor me. Please.”

“Fine.” As she set the boots on the floor beside her to step into them, Aurora saw the forgotten pools of water surrounding his booted feet. “The floor,” she gasped.

“I’m sure it’s not the first time someone dragged water and a bit of mud into the cabin with them,” he said, his tone calm.

“There should be some utility towels stored in the cupboard underneath the kitchen sink. Would you mind grabbing one so I can clean this mess up? Then I’ll stand on it until you’re ready to go. ”

Nodding, she set the boots down and hurried to grab one of the neatly folded utility towels from the stack in the very back of the sink cupboard.

“It’s expected to be an all-nighter, and my family is looking forward to having you there for the rainy-day activity Mom has planned for this afternoon.

She always has a backup activity on days like this for our guests.

Certain conditions keep the boats from being able to safely take them out fishing.

Such as today’s inclement weather. Guests are welcome to join in if they want to, or if they prefer to just relax in their cabins, or take a walk in the rain, they have those options as well. ”

“That’s really thoughtful of her,” Aurora said as she hurried across the room to where Gage remained standing. “Let me guess what activity your mother has planned for us this afternoon,” Aurora said as she moved to dry up the water with the towel. “I’m thinking trivia.”

Gage shook his head as he knelt beside her.

Aurora looked up as he placed his large hand over hers, stilling her attempt to clean up the puddles of water.

“My mess,” he told her. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Okay,” was all she could muster as he gazed into her eyes for several long moments.

Gage cleared his throat, then redirected his attention to sopping up the puddles. “Would you like for me to tell you what we’re going to be doing today?”

“And take the fun out of trying to guess it?”

“Have at it,” he told her, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on the floor in front of him.

“I have to warn you, I’m pretty good at guessing games,” she said as she rose to her feet. “Jade and I used to play them all the time as kids.”

“Let’s see how good you are then,” he replied with a grin, finally glancing up at her. “If you guess right, I’ll take you to Juneau for lunch, weather permitting. Maybe we’ll even see about finding you some moose to photograph while we’re out.”

“Moose! Seriously?”

He chuckled. “Seriously.”

“And if I guess wrong?”

“ You’ll take me to lunch in Juneau instead.”

Her heart pounded with far more enthusiasm than usual. “I accept the challenge.” Spending time with Gage anywhere excited her to the point of being almost embarrassing. She was going to miss him when she returned to Seattle.

Gage took one last swipe across the mat and the floor around it with the towel and then spread it out, stepping onto it. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s have that guess.”

“Keep in mind that this is my warm-up. It doesn’t count if I get it wrong.”

“Noted,” he said with a refrained grin. “Was this how you and Jade used to play this game?”

“Maybe.”

He shook his head. “Okay, your rules.”

“Is it bingo?” Aurora asked hesitantly. Not that her answer really mattered.

They would be going to lunch either way.

Was this his way of asking her out on a real date?

Or was that just wishful thinking? That last thought took her by surprise.

Was she even ready for something like that?

Her heart had certainly grown fond of Gage and seemed to be growing fonder by the minute.

“Cold.”

Gage’s response pulled Aurora from the tangled web of her post-engagement breakup thoughts. “Excuse me?”

“Cold,” he repeated. “Meaning your answer was nowhere near to being correct.”

Of course. Okay, she had to think. What did her mom like to play when entertaining? It came to her. “How about euchre?” A bit more confidently this time.

“Iceberg,” came Gage’s exaggerated response.

Aurora laughed. “Oh no. Can I try one more time?”

He shrugged. “It’s your rules, remember?”

In truth, there was no telling what Gage’s mother had planned for that afternoon. They played games every evening, and Aurora had enjoyed every one of them. “Hangman?”

“Antarctica,” he said, one side of his mouth pulling upward in humor. “You can’t get any colder than that. Looks like you’re taking me to lunch.”

She feigned a frustrated sigh. “If I have to.”

“A deal’s a deal,” he told her.

“So, what are we doing today?”

He smiled. “We’re going to be painting.”

She wouldn’t have guessed that as a possibility. “You know I’m a photographer, not an artist, right?”

He nodded. “You don’t have to worry about Reed making any of us look bad. I think he’s going to be instructing and giving help where help is needed.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I’d better grab my raincoat so we can get up to the lodge. I don’t want anyone having to wait because of me.”

“Before we go, you never did answer. Did you finish the work you needed to have done today?”

She couldn’t help but smile. Usually, it was her asking Gage that same question. “I did. I got up early and sent a few teaser shots to my editor.”

“I’ve seen your work,” Gage replied, “so there’s no need to ask if you’ve heard back and what his or her thoughts are on them.”

“His,” she clarified. “Eugene Watkins is the editorial manager at World Adventures Magazine , and my contact. He’s the one who hired me for this assignment.

” She slipped her rain poncho on. “I’ve been trying to get in with this magazine for years.

Thankfully, the stars finally aligned for me, and my dream has become a reality. ”

“You deserve it,” Gage said sincerely. “I’ve seen you in action, and you live and breathe for the moment you get that perfect shot. Which pretty much describes all the photos you take, from what I observed online.”

“They weren’t always that good,” she told him.

“And to answer your question, no, I haven’t heard back from Eugene yet.

But I’m sure he has his hands full making sure everything is falling into place for next month’s issue.

” Rain splattering harder against the cabin window drew her attention that way. “It’s a deluge out there,” she groaned.

“That’s September in Alaska for you,” Gage replied. “Pull on those boots I brought you. You’re going to be needing them for our walk up to the lodge.”

Aurora reached for the boots, which she hadn’t paid much attention to when Gage had pulled them from his coat.

She’d been too distracted by his playful smile to notice.

Lifting one of the very tall rubber boots, she held it up, dangling it in the air in front of her.

“Are you serious? You expect me to wear these?”

His smile sagged ever so slightly. “That’s up to you,” he told her. “I’m just trying to keep your jeans and your nice hiking boots from becoming a wet, muddied mess. But I know Jess hated them, so you might too.”

“Jess was out of her element here,” Aurora told him, trying to be understanding of Jess’s reasons for acting the way she had when she’d been there, yet be supportive for Gage, who had been hurt by those actions.

“I’m not.” Smiling, she grabbed the oversized boots and walked over to sit on the small sofa. “They just look so big.”

“Way off on the size?” he asked with a frown.

“No.” She stood with the boots on. “They actually don’t fit too bad where my foot is. They’re just really tall on me. They go up over my knees.”

“And half of your thighs,” he agreed with a nod. “I suppose that’s because they’re sized for men.”

She glanced up. “All those pairs of boots up at the lodge, and none of them are made specifically for women?”

“Uh . . . no,” he answered.

“But you have women come here to fish too?”

He shrugged. “We do. Not as often, but there have been women who have gone out on the fishing boats. Most of them bring their own boots.”

“Gage, your family might think about having better boot options for the women who come here. Even if it’s not as often as men come to your retreat for a fishing getaway.”

He nodded in agreement. “You’re probably right. Do you want to change into your own boots or?—”

“Have you carry me?” she cut in with a grin. “I do believe that was my other option if these didn’t work out.”

He threw his head back with a husky chuckle. “Aurora Daniels, you are truly a breath of fresh air.”