Page 60 of Under the Northern Lights
“I feel the same.”
“She and I met when I flew to Anchorage to pick up some supplies and a couple of parts Dad had ordered for our fishing boats,” he explained. “We try and keep the boats, the UTVs, and my plane updated and properly running. That’s where we first crossed paths.”
“She worked there?”
“No,” he said with a tight chuckle that showed little emotion. “Her father owned the boating supply business. I was checking out when she came in from getting her nails done. Or maybe it was her hair. Whatever it was, she came to drop off lunch for her father, and we got to talking. That discussion led to us exchanging numbers. We would mostly talk on the phone, but I also traveled to Anchorage once a month to see her. My family wanted to meet her because they knew I was getting pretty serious. She suggested moving to Conley Island and helping at the lodge for a while so we would have more time to get to know each other. So I flew her here. I have no idea what she was expecting, but this place evidently was not it.” Gage shook his head. “I don’t know how I could have been so wrong about her.”
“You loved her,” Aurora stated. Gage didn’t seem like the type to bring a woman home to meet his family unless he was all in.
“I thought I did,” he admitted. “But I realize now that I read more into our relationship than was actually there. On the phone, and when we met in person, she said all the right things. Things she thought I wanted to hear. But that all changed shortly after she arrived here. She was disappointed in the man she chose and made no effort to hide it.”
“Disappointed? In you?” How could that ever be possible? Aurora wondered, feeling angry that this woman had made Gage feel unworthy of having her love.
“Me,” he answered. “And my life,” he went on with a troubled frown. “I think Jess was expecting something far more glamorous. Like the fishing resorts that are taking over the smaller businesses. The same ones I am fighting against taking over our small family-run business. The woman I had gotten to know over the phone and through brief visits to her place in Anchorage wasn’t the same one I brought here. After coming to Conley Island, Jess chose to spend hours on her phone in the great room instead of joining conversations or family gameplay. Meals were a challenge for my mom because Jess had an aversion to fish, which, as you know, we serve our guests often. Not that Mom had to worry over many meals. Jess’s stay lasted only a few days.”
“Oh my,” Aurora said. How awful that visit must have been for him. “She sounds ... not nice.” That was the kindest thing she could think to say about the woman who’d treated Gage so unfairly.
He laughed, some of the tension the conversation had stirred up leaving his handsome, moonlit face. “Not nice at all,” he agreed. “But the truth is she wanted a life in the city or one on afancy resort. That was not the life I had to offer her. In the end, I was not her person.”
“I’m so sorry she hurt you,” she said.
“It kept me from making the biggest mistake of my life.”
“You deserve someone who appreciates you for who you are. There are so many things in life that can make a person rich, and not all of them are connected to financial wealth. Like having a loving, caring family. Like having the ability to step outside and soak in the tranquility around you every day. Like the feeling you get when you do for others without having been asked to do so.”
“Going by that, I’m a very wealthy man,” he said with a smile.
“Filthy rich,” she agreed with a grin.
They turned their gazes back to the fire, sitting in companionable silence.
“Hot cocoa and s’mores, anyone?”
Aurora looked back over her shoulder to see Julia coming toward them carrying a large metal tray. “Yes, please.”
“Sounds good,” Gage agreed.
When Julia reached them, Aurora glanced over the tray and its contents. Next to the necessities for s’mores were two steaming mugs. “You’re not having a hot chocolate with us?”
“I already had some with Mom and Dad in by the fireplace,” his sister answered as they took the offered cups of hot cocoa. “These are for you two. And I brought out everything you need to make s’mores if you have room left for some dessert. I’ll set the tray over here.”
“I always have room,” Gage told her as he stood and walked over to join his sister, where she placed the tray on a long, narrow table that sat against the rear outer wall of the lodge. A few feet above it, a strip of wood with several hooks lined up across it held a fire poker and several stainless steel marshmallow roasting sticks.
“I suppose I could force a s’more down as well,” Aurora called over to Julia with a grateful smile. It was so sweet of Gage’s sister to think about them. “Maybe two.”
Julia returned the smile. “Enjoy,” she said before starting for the lodge’s rear door.
“You’re not going to have a s’more with us?” Aurora asked.
Gage’s sister paused and then turned to look at Aurora, surprise lighting her features. “You want me to join you?” She looked at Gage, who had returned with several roasting sticks, her expression now anxious.
“She’s not Jess,” he said, sounding confident in his words.
Aurora couldn’t help but smile. She’d been trying to get Gage to accept that for the truth it was. It seemed that he finally had. That meant a lot to her. Gage had somehow begun to mean a lot to her too, much to Aurora’s chagrin. For so long, she had been trying to get in withWorld Adventures Magazineand had finally been given that opportunity. A full-time job with the magazine was within her reach if the photos she took this trip wowed them enough. This was not the time to let her heart lead her down some other path.
“You are more than welcome to join us,” Aurora said. “Come on over and fix yourself a s’more.”
Julia smiled. “I do love a toasted marshmallow.”
