Page 27 of Under the Northern Lights
“She’s happiest in her element, which is anywhere she can find wildlife to photograph,” Gage explained.
“As you already know, she came to Alaska to take pictures for World Adventures Magazine. What you don’t know is that this was supposed to be Aurora’s honeymoon.
Unfortunate timing for her to be sent here on a photo assignment. ”
“What happened?” their father asked, his graying brows creased with worry. “Please tell me he didn’t b-break her heart like ...” He paused as if searching his memory and then said, “... Jess did yours.”
Gage shook his head. “Aurora called off the engagement.”
Surprise lit his father’s and brother’s faces.
“She’s a runner too?” Reed asked, disapproval in his tone.
“It wasn’t like mine and Jess’s situation,” Gage said, coming to her defense.
“Aurora was engaged to a man she’d known since childhood.
They were good friends who thought that would be enough to start a life together.
Six months ago, Aurora told him she couldn’t marry him because she wanted both of them to be able to find the kind of love her parents have. ”
“What if the kind of love she’s looking for doesn’t really exist?” Reed challenged.
“It exists,” their father said with a confirming nod.
“I’m just telling Gage to be careful,” his brother said with a frown. “I like Aurora a lot, but I see him getting his emotions tangled up in her.” He turned to Gage. “I never want you to have to go through what you did with Jess again.”
“Aurora isn’t Jess,” Gage said. Despite that, he understood his brother’s concern. Was he ready to invest his feelings, and possibly his heart, in another relationship? He wasn’t so certain. Reed was only trying to keep him grounded.
It didn’t matter how much he was drawn to Aurora.
Her career would have her off traveling the world while his was on Conley Island, where his family had long ago put down roots.
Even if she agreed to give a long-distance relationship a try and it moved toward them having a future together, Gage had no idea if he would have a steady source of income to support a wife.
The business was floundering, and there was no guarantee he would be able to turn things around.
But he was going to try his best to make it happen.
“Son,” his father said, clearly seeing Gage’s battling thoughts, “sometimes you just have to p-put your all into things, even knowing that might not be enough. If it doesn’t happen the way you’d hoped it w-would, then you will at least know you gave it your all.
No regrets. And if things do go in your f-favor, then you know they were meant to be. ”
“Thanks, Dad,” he said. While his father had made so much progress from those first few days following his stroke, he still dealt with some occasional trouble getting a word out here and there.
And there were also moments when he had to search hard to pull up a memory.
The doctors remained hopeful for even further recovery but had prepared the family for the possibility that he might not progress from where he was now.
Gage prayed for the best but was grateful his father was as good as he was.
The lodge’s main entrance door swung open, and three men in stockinged feet came in.
“I hope lunch is still on,” one of the men said with a smile.
Their guests knew to leave wet or muddied footwear out on the porch. Judging by the men’s mostly dry clothes, they had hung their jackets out on the porch as well.
“Like clockwork,” Gage’s father replied.
“And the post-lunch activity?” another man inquired.
“Will also be going on as planned,” Reed assured them. “Mom is like the U.S. Postal Service. Rain, snow, sleet, or shine.”
“Good to know.” The man still stood near the door, looking at that week’s information flyer that hung next to it.
“Quite a day,” one of the other two men stated as he moved farther into the room.
“Coming down like cats and dogs out there,” another man said as he followed his friend over to the warming fire.
“More like moose and bears,” Reed amended with a grin.
Gage looked at his father. “He just can’t help himself.”
Their father chuckled. “Nope. Not at all.”
“I need to get showered and change into some clean clothes. Wouldn’t want to hold up lunch.”
“Much appreciated,” said the man who had been reading the lodge flyer as he joined his friends in front of the hearth.
Gage turned and headed for the doorway to the section of the lodge where the rooms were, his father’s advice front and foremost in his mind. No regrets.
“Ah, you look much more comfortable,” Constance said as Aurora started down the stairs, carrying the canvas tote she’d been given to place her muddied clothes in.
Julia and her mother sat smiling up at her from the small sitting area adjacent to the base of the stairs.
The two barrel-shaped chairs were covered in a rustic cabin pattern that included fish, bears, and pine cones.
A few feet away, on the same side of the hallway, was the door that led to the lodge’s great room.
“You look great!” Julia said with delight as she got to her feet. “I knew that color would be perfect with your dark hair.”
Gage’s mother rose to her feet with a warm smile. “You do look pretty in pink.”
“It’s not a color I’ve really worn before,” Aurora admitted.
She usually went for warmer, more earthy tones with an occasional pop of color in plums or darker greens.
Definitely never hot pink. “My sister Jade, however, wears lots of bright colors. In fact, her closet is filled with a rainbow assortment of colorful clothing options.”
“You should borrow some from her every now and then,” Julia suggested. “That is what sisters do, isn’t it? Of course, I wouldn’t know as I have two big brothers who dress like lumberjacks.”
Aurora couldn’t help but laugh at Julia’s description of her brothers.
She’d never considered that comparison when she was with Gage.
He liked flannel shirts, and they seemed to like him because he always looked roguishly handsome in them.
She felt for Julia for never having had the chance to experience the joy of growing up with a sister.
It was definitely a special bond that Aurora wouldn’t trade for the world.
“I suppose it depends on the sisters and their relationship,” Aurora told her.
“My sister and I used to borrow each other’s shoes and purses.
But then I moved to Seattle for my career, and Jade still lives in Oregon, in the town we grew up in.
That tends to make borrowing from each other a little bit harder to do. ”
“I suppose it would. Do you miss living in Oregon?” Julia asked, her curiosity that Gage had spoken about clearly piqued. “I can’t imagine living that far away from my brothers. Even if they can be intentionally annoying at times,” she added with a grin.
“I don’t miss Oregon as much as I miss my family,” Aurora replied. “You know what they say about home being where the heart is.”
Gage’s mother nodded. “So true. Here, let me go throw those muddy clothes in our washer.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Aurora said with a shake of her head. “Gage said you have a guest laundry here. I can run them through myself.”
“I don’t mind,” Constance countered as she removed the bag of dirty clothes from Aurora’s grasp. “I’ll go throw them in our family washer right now, so we’ll have them all clean and dry before you go back to your cabin tonight.”
“Thank you, Constance.”
Julia held out the ceramic mug she’d been holding. Wisps of steam curled slowly upward from it. “Here’s some hot chocolate to warm you up.” A worried expression came over her face. “You do like hot chocolate, don’t you? I could make you some coffee if you don’t.”
“I love it,” Aurora replied with a grateful smile as she accepted the cup. Bringing it to her nose, she inhaled slowly. “Mmm ... this smells so yummy. Thank you so much. For this and for letting me borrow your clothes. I’ll bring them back to wash them tomorrow morning.”
“You’re more than welcome for the loan,” Julia replied. “There’s no rush getting them back to me. You’re here for a few more days.”
Only a few? How had the time passed by so quickly?
“How are you feeling?” Constance asked in concern.
Aurora smiled. “Much better. Thank you.”
“Are you sure you didn’t get hurt when you and Gage fell?”
“Your son made sure I didn’t,” Aurora assured her. “Gage did go down hard, though. Is he okay?”
“You can see for yourself,” Constance replied. “He just came downstairs from washing up about five or so minutes before you. He’s in the great room, talking to some of our guests who were determined enough to venture out into that miserable rain to have lunch and join in the activity afterward.”
“I know I’m looking forward to it.”
“I’ll go throw these in the washer and meet you girls in the great room.” That said, Constance headed off in the opposite direction than they were going.
Aurora followed Julia down the carpeted hallway to the door that led to the lodge’s main entertainment area. “I hope everyone will keep in mind that I’m not a painter of any sort. That would be my friend Emmy.”
“Neither are any of us, with the exception of Reed, of course,” Julia replied and then frowned in thought. “We certainly wouldn’t want any of our guests feeling intimidated by my brother’s artistic ability when it comes to painting. I’m going to suggest to Mom that Reed paint opposite-handed.”
Gage’s sister pushed open the door and stepped through.
Aurora followed. Julia pointed across the room.
“You can head on over to the hearth to warm up a bit more. I still don’t know what my brother was thinking, convincing you to come out in this weather.
He could have delivered lunch to you after we had finished eating. ”
“I’m glad he came to get me,” Aurora told her, drawing the younger woman’s gaze her way. So glad. But she wasn’t going to admit aloud that it was one of the most fun and carefree moments she had ever had.
His family was already up to a little well-intended mischief where she and Gage were concerned, even if that tree wasn’t going to bear any fruit for their efforts.
She lived in Washington and Gage in Alaska, for starters.
Then there was the travel she did for her job.
But it went beyond geographical issues. Gage was still working to put his past relationship behind him, and she had just come out of a broken engagement that never should have happened in the first place.
Reminding herself of these things helped to keep Aurora’s heart from getting too caught up in all the reasons she and Gage could be good together.
They moved farther into the great room. For a room so large, it was wonderfully cozy with its large, glowing hearth and dimmable lighting. Aurora’s gaze drifted across the room to where Gage stood conversing with one of their guests next to the hearth.
As if sensing her arrival, he stopped talking and glanced her way. Then a slow smile spread across his face.
“Told you pink looks good on you,” Julia whispered near Aurora’s ear before stepping away.
Aurora turned her focus back to Gage, only to find him coming toward her.
“While I’ve never seen you awash in the vibrant hue of the setting sun, I can now say, without a doubt, it looks really good on you.”
Aurora blushed. Something he seemed to have her doing often. “Are you this flattering to all your guests?”
“Definitely not the ones with beards,” he replied with a grin. “Or the ones here with their significant others. I have found that I tend to throw out ridiculously flowery comments only to guests who get all giddy photographing something as simple as a dragonfly.”
She shook a finger. “Not just any dragonfly. A blue dasher. And I was able to actually get a decent shot of him before he flew off.”
He chuckled. “Now you’re beginning to sound like me. How did you know the name of that particular species of dragonfly?”
“You have inspired me to be more knowledgeable of the places I travel to for my job. So thank you for that.”
He laughed. “And you’ve taught me to be more appreciative of all the creatures, big and small, that inhabit this island. Even if I’m not chasing after them with a camera.”
“I don’t chase after my photographic subjects,” she said, her brows pinching together.
“Tell that to that blue dasher you stalked for that perfectly shot picture.”
Aurora laughed. “Okay, so maybe I went about it a little aggressively. But you of all people should know all about going about things aggressively, Mr. Mountain Goat .”
“Just be glad I didn’t try to impress you by taking on the persona of Mr. Orangutan . The landing would have been a lot more uncomfortable if we had fallen while I was swinging through the trees with you.”
Aurora let out a snort of laughter, drawing gazes her direction. She smiled and then looked at Gage. “Please stop,” she pleaded in a hushed whisper.
“Sorry.” He chuckled. “I’ll be good.”
“Lunch is almost ready,” Constance announced as she entered the room. “Please have a seat.”
Gage held out a hand, motioning for Aurora to go and he would follow.
“You’re more like your brother than you think,” she told him as she passed by.
He was the best combination of responsible and focused, and, like Reed, humorous and playful.
Jess was a fool to let this man go. Her loss was definitely going to be some other woman’s gain.
Was there any possibility that other woman could ever be her?
Despite Aurora’s head telling her that was a question she shouldn’t be asking at this time in her life, her heart wasn’t as easily convinced.