“It’s okay,” she replied. “I’m alright.”
He didn’t miss the slight shiver that ran through her. Not surprising. The rain left a bit of chill in the air. Combine that with damp pants and hair and you were going to be uncomfortable.
“I insist,” he countered. “It’s only a short walk back to town where you can pick up something dry to wear. And from the look of things, I’d say the rain will have passed through by the time we fly out if we take this little detour.”
“Is it better not to fly in a floatplane in the rain?” she asked.
He chuckled. “I’m not concerned about this light rain. I was thinking more about your being able to get better pictures while we’re up in the air if it’s not raining.”
“I hadn’t thought about that. I suppose I should at least try and find something in one of those shops we passed. I’d hate to get into your nice plane with dried mud on the back of my jeans.”
“I think you’d be more comfortable. But be forewarned,” he told her, “your shopping options will be limited to our local gift shops. The retail clothing stores here in the port area of Juneau tend to close earlier in the day, starting mid to late September.” Gage held out his hand. “Hand me the rest of your bags. I’ll lock them in the plane and then walk back with you.”
“I can find my way.”
“Considering how your day’s been going so far, I think I should probably insist on accompanying you,” he offered with a grin.
She laughed. “I appreciate you watching out for me.” Aurora handed her backpack and prized camera bag over to him. Surprisingly, she trusted him to make sure her things were safe. “That bag rarely leaves my side,” she confessed. “At least, during working hours. But then one never knows when the perfect photo op might come about.”
“I understand,” he said as he collected her things.
Aurora stood watching as he made his way up into the floatplane to store her belongings. The man certainly was agile.
When he came back out, he smiled and said, “Everything’s tucked safely away. Ready to go?”
“Ready.”
He joined her on the rain-dampened dock.
Aurora spun about to start back in the direction of town. As she did so, her boot slipped on the wet wood, arms flailing beneath the yellow poncho as she attempted to catch her balance. Her efforts proved futile and just when she prepared to go down, strong arms wrapped around her, thankfully stopping her imminent fall.
“You good?” he asked.
“I’m good,” she replied, and then he released his supportive hold on her. Aurora attempted to glance up behind her, but her view of Gage was completely blocked by the oversized beak of the rain slicker’s hood. It had dropped down over her panicked face during her futile windmilling, but at least it hid the blush that burned her cheeks. “Apparently, it’s a good thing you insisted on accompanying me.”
A grinning Gage pushed the hood back from her face. “First of all, I’m glad you didn’t fall. But I have to admit that itwas quite entertaining watching your efforts to remain upright before I got to you.”
She laughed. “I’m sure it was a sight to behold.”
“Kind of like a duck determined to take flight but never getting liftoff.”
“Talk about embarrassing,” she said with an abashed smile as she looked up into those humor-flecked blue eyes. Between Gage’s tilted grin and that strong jaw framed by a shadow of dark whiskers, the man was beyond attractive in a rugged, outdoorsman kind of way.
Aurora’s stomach quivered unexpectedly. What was wrong with her, reacting to this man like that? She promptly collected herself, needing to focus on something other than her rescuer’s far too handsome face. So she busied herself with straightening the bright yellow rain poncho. “I promise I’m not usually this accident-prone, or unlucky, for that matter. Today has definitely been an exception.”
“You’re definitely working hard to put the term ‘lucky duck’ to rest,” he said as he gave the hood of her duck poncho a playful tug.
Laughing, Aurora fell into step beside him as they started for the port’s shopping area. Glancing around, she took in the towering mountain range behind the well-kept storefronts with their old-time facades. Gift shops, sunglass shops, jewelry shops, and tour offices lined the busy street. A few restaurants with local favorites like salmon and clam chowder sat next to the port where the cruise ships docked. Ornate double-lamp streetlights lined the main street across from the tourist shops. Baskets of colorful flowers hung from the lamps, adding to the town’s charm.
“Look,” Gage said as he stopped to point out an eagle perched atop one of the towering pines that were part of Juneau’s natural backdrop.
Aurora let out a gasp. “It looks so majestic sitting there.”
He nodded. Then he pulled his cell phone from his jeans pocket and snapped a quick picture. “I’ll forward it to you when we get to the island.”
“Juneau is such a quaint little town,” she said as they continued. “I could’ve sworn I’d read that it was much more populated.”
“You read right,” he told her. “Juneau has a population of over thirty thousand.”
