Page 76 of Under the Northern Lights
“I agree,” he said with a smile that carried unspoken words. Gage moved to stand behind her, watching as she captured the mesmerizing light display.
When she was through, she placed her camera back into its bag.
Gage stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her.
Aurora leaned her head back against his broad chest, staring up into the sky above as they stood together in wondrous silence, just taking it all in.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
As soon as Emmy spotted Aurora standing just inside the doorway of her art gallery, she hurried over to greet her. “I wasn’t certain you’d be able to swing by before driving back to Oregon this morning, but I’m so glad you did.” Leaning in, she gave Aurora a quick hug and then a kiss on the cheek.
“How could I not support my best friend when she’s unveiling her newest pottery creations?” One Emmy had kept secreted away, even from her, until its grand reveal.
Her friend beamed with pride as her attention shifted to the acrylic display table, which held a half dozen handmade glazed pottery plates, each one depicting her friend’s artistic envisioning of a stick moose in various settings. Along the water. In a flower-dotted meadow. On a mountainside. And so on.
Aurora was taken back to those special moments she’d had on Conley Island. To the memories she’d created there with Gage. How could it have already been almost two months since she’d returned to her life in Seattle?
Her gaze lowered to the art label in front of the display, a white card with black lettering. She laughed out loud. “Never Hug a Moose Clay Imaginings?”
Emmy shrugged with a grin. “My trip to Alaska for the conference, along with the pictures you took of the moose there, helped inspire me.”
Shaking her head, Aurora said, “I think your moose needs to eat more. Those are far scrawnier than the ones I saw.”
Emmy laughed. “Art is subjective. For this collection, the backgrounds are the focal point. Thus, the minimalized abstract moose.”
“It’s bound to be the hit of your art show,” Aurora told her, and then frowned. “I hate to pop in and run, but I have to get on my way to Mom and Dad’s.” It was a good thing they were having early Thanksgiving, sinceWorld Adventures Magazinewas sending Aurora to Madagascar a few days before Thanksgiving for an article they planned to run in an upcoming publication.
“Tell everyone I said Happy Thanksgiving.”
“I will do that.”
“And be sure to give your sister a huge hug for me.”
“If I can get my arms around her,” Aurora said with a grin. “Dad said Jade is really showing already. I told her I’m hoping for twins, after which Jade threatened to sew my lips shut.”
Emmy snorted. “Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. You won’t be able to have your bi-weekly phone conversation with Gage.”
“True,” Aurora said happily. “I definitely need to remember to stay on my sister’s good side.”
“And don’t forget,” Emmy said, “you’re going to be showing your fabulous photo displayInto the Alaskan Wildshere next Saturday.”
Aurora laughed. “How could I forget? You remind me every time we talk.”
“Only because I’m so excited to have my best friend display her incredible photos at my art gallery before she heads off to exotic wildlife shoots all over the world. Getting back to thoseprints you’re going to be showing at my art show,” Emmy said, “you have to know they’re your best work yet.”
“I love mySunsets of the Worldphotograph collection,” Aurora said, and then nodded. “But I have to agree, the ones I took in Alaska are truly special.”
“And we both know why those pictures turned out as incredible as they did. Do we not?” Emmy asked with a challenging grin.
“I’m just that good?” Aurora replied, trying to avoid a conversation that included her feelings for Gage. Emmy had certainly changed her tune where he was concerned. To her, he was no longer a crazed kidnapper of stranded travelers. He was the man who had rescued her friend’s struggling heart. A heart she’d left behind in Alaska with Gage. Even if he didn’t know it.
“You are, but I think it’s more due to the fact that you were the happiest I’ve ever known you to be when you were on that island. I heard it in your voice every time we talked. When you filled me in on where Gage had taken you that day to get pictures. When you talked about flying over those glaciers. About picnicking in the rain. Seeing a pod of whales in person for the first time ever. Even playing games at the lodge. And what do all those activities have in common?”
“I had fun?”
“Yes, with Gage,” Emmy pointed out. “So I credit him with the extra bit of sparkle I see in the pictures you took while you were there. Clearly,World Adventures Magazinesaw it, too, because they hired you after only seeing a handful of them. Now get going before I get in trouble for delaying your arrival for Early-Thanksgiving dinner.”
Aurora smiled and then leaned in to give her friend a quick hug. “Good luck today. I’ll see you when I get back.”
