Page 39 of Under the Northern Lights
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Are you sure you’re okay out here?” Gage asked with a nod toward the cabin behind Aurora. He’d been shocked when Aurora had told him she wanted to extend her time on Conley Island, making it a week’s stay instead. He was certain she would be ready to get back to her life in Seattle. To her friends and exciting gallery showings. But Aurora Daniels kept surprising him with her words, her actions, and her ability to make him look at the things in his life with renewed appreciation.
“The answer is the same as it was the first night.”
“Thought it might be,” he replied with a grin. “Ready for today’s adventure?”
“Are you done with your work?”
“Ever the taskmaster,” he replied with a grin. “You’ll be happy to know I took care of what needed doing first thing this morning. And I don’t fly guests back to Juneau until tomorrow morning. So I’m free to take you to see more of the island. Mom’s even insisted on packing us a picnic lunch to take so you won’t feel rushed to get back here.”
“That is so thoughtful of her,” Aurora replied.
“We might still find ourselves back here for lunch. There’s a forecast of rain for this afternoon. I tried to tell her that, but once Mom had her mind set on making up a picnic, that was it.”
“I appreciate that your mother’s a positive thinker.” Aurora glanced up at the sky through the treetops above them. “Looks like it’s already starting to cloud up a little. I’d hate for your mother to go to all that effort and us not be able to enjoy it. We might just have to eat an early lunch fast if the weather requires it while we’re out touring the island.”
He chuckled. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Oh, and speaking of possible rain, I had better run back in and grab my raincoat.” Aurora turned and hurried up onto the porch, disappearing into the cabin.
Gage made a mental note to grab his raincoat too when they went back to the lodge to pick up the feast his mother was preparing. Just in case.
The cabin door swung open again, and Aurora came out with light, springy steps, carrying her duck poncho and a happy smile. It was good to see the sadness she’d experienced the day before gone, replaced by that fervor for adventure he’d first seen in her.
A grin slid across his face at the sight of her. Yellow was definitely her color. Bright like the sunshine and her beautiful smile. Gage watched as Aurora made her way down the steps that fronted the cozy little cabin’s porch. Steps he and Reed had replaced just that past spring.
Theirs might be a small, family-run fishing retreat, but there was no slacking in the upkeep of it. Even after their father had fallen ill. If anything, it had made him, Reed, and Julia more appreciative of the legacy their father had built. One that all three of them had chosen to remain a part of as adults. A decision that, in the end, had played a big part in his relationship with Jess ending. But it was a choice he’d make again if he had itto do all over. Like Aurora, Gage and his ex had been better off parting ways, because Conley Island was and would always behometo him.
“Hello?”
Gage blinked, surprised to find Aurora standing right there in front of him, her expression one of concern. Talk about blanking out for a moment. Since her arrival, Aurora had sent his thoughts and contemplative moments into overdrive.
“You okay?”
He nodded. “Sorry, got a little lost in my thoughts.”
“For a moment there, I thought I might have to put this rain poncho on and start waddling around, quacking like a duck to pull you out of that daze you were in.”
His gaze dropped to the bundle of bright yellow polyester tucked securely in the crook of her arm. “I should have stayed lost in thought a little longer,” he said with a grin. “Your duck waddle imitation would have undoubtedly been a sight to see.”
“Too late,” she said, starting off down the trail toward the lodge.
For being nearly a foot shorter than his six feet one inches, he’d noticed the woman could cover a lot of ground in a very short amount of time. Gage lengthened his steps to catch up.
“Speedy little thing, aren’t you?” he said as they followed the trail through the woods and past the other studio-sized cabins.
“Remember that if we run into Little John or one of his cousins.”
“Ah, but it wouldn’t matter, because I would stop and use my big, strong muscles,” he said, flexing as he walked, “which you took pictures of yesterday, to save us.”
She burst into a fit of giggles. “Stop,” she pleaded. “I can’t breathe.”
“I like it when you laugh,” he said.
“I like it when you flex your muscles.”
This time it was Gage throwing his head back in laughter. She was quick and witty and made him feel good about who he was. Even if her words were only meant to be playful.
