Page 29 of Under the Northern Lights
“Mission accomplished.” He inclined his head toward the porch. “We’d better head in. And be prepared, I intend to defeat my brother soundly tonight.”
“Gage,” she called after him as he made his way up the porch steps.
Stopping, he glanced back questioningly.
Aurora stepped up to join him on the porch. “I just wanted to say,” she began as she looked up into his cobalt-blue eyes,“that you’re a very brave and selfless man. Thank you for putting yourself between the bear and Julia and me.”
“I did what was right,” he told her. “Fortunately for all involved, the bear was my joke-loving little brother.”
Aurora wasn’t so sure Ben would have reacted the same way if he had been in Gage’s position. And Ben and she were still very good friends. Maybe it was Gage having grown up in the wilds of Alaska that had prepared him to take on whatever nature sent his way. Whatever it was, and despite his attempt to play it down, Aurora found it very admirable and incredibly attractive.
“Fish looking out of a fishbowl!” Julia screamed, jumping to her feet.
“That’s it,” Aurora said with a beaming smile as she stepped forward to toss the scrap of paper she’d been holding onto the discard pile.
“Another point for the girls!” Constance hooted.
Gage’s father leaned over on the sofa to give his wife an affectionate kiss on the brow. “That’s my girl.”
“Hey! Whose team are you on?” Gage asked with an eye roll.
“Yours and Reed’s,” their father replied. “That doesn’t m-mean I can’t cheer my sweetheart on when she wins.”
“And your daughter,” Julia said with a grin.
“And my daughter,” he agreed.
Gage looked at Aurora. “Dad occasionally forgets that team competition means not rooting for the bad guys. Or girls, in your case.”
His father leaned over to whisper to Aurora, “Looks like I’m about to b-be benched.”
Her head tipped back in laughter. Happy, giddy laughter that felt so good.
Reed groaned. “I still can’t believe what just happened. How did Julia guess the answer from Aurora making a circle around her head and then puckering her lips?”
“Because I used to have a goldfish,” his sister replied. “That’s exactly what Bubbles looked like when I’d walk over to his fishbowl to feed him.”
Reed dragged his hand down over his face. “Oh, brother.”
“Okay, so how did they guess circus bear from Mom prancing around with her arms up in front of her like puppy paws?” Gage said, shaking his head.
“I gave up trying to understand the workings of women’s m-minds a very long time ago,” Jim admitted with a sigh. “It’s much easier to just accept that women know things and c-can share that information without ever speaking a word.”
Aurora couldn’t keep the smile from her face. Gage’s dad was adorable.
“No worry,” Julia announced. “Game’s over. Girls were the first to score five points.”
“Men zero,” Reed muttered.
“The ball’s in our court now,” Gage said determinedly. “The girls chose the last game. We get to choose the next.”
“That’s right.” His father nodded. “So, what do we want to play? C-cards? Maybe trivia?”
“I’m thinking Pictionary,” Reed suggested. He looked at Gage. “It’s a drawing game, and we know I can draw.”
Gage looked at their father. “Dad?”
“Reed does get his artistic ability f-from me. And you can draw a m-mean stick figure.”
