Julia and her mother sat smiling up at her from the small sitting area adjacent to the base of the stairs. The two barrel-shaped chairs were covered in a rustic cabin pattern that included fish, bears, and pine cones. A few feet away, on the same side of the hallway, was the door that led to the lodge’s great room.
“You look great!” Julia said with delight as she got to her feet. “I knew that color would be perfect with your dark hair.”
Gage’s mother rose to her feet with a warm smile. “You do look pretty in pink.”
“It’s not a color I’ve really worn before,” Aurora admitted. She usually went for warmer, more earthy tones with an occasional pop of color in plums or darker greens. Definitely never hot pink. “My sister Jade, however, wears lots of bright colors. In fact, her closet is filled with a rainbow assortment of colorful clothing options.”
“You should borrow some from her every now and then,” Julia suggested. “That is what sisters do, isn’t it? Of course, I wouldn’t know as I have two big brothers who dress like lumberjacks.”
Aurora couldn’t help but laugh at Julia’s description of her brothers. She’d never considered that comparison when she was with Gage. He liked flannel shirts, and they seemed to like him because he always looked roguishly handsome in them. She felt for Julia for never having had the chance to experience the joy of growing up with a sister. It was definitely a special bond that Aurora wouldn’t trade for the world.
“I suppose it depends on the sisters and their relationship,” Aurora told her. “My sister and I used to borrow each other’s shoes and purses. But then I moved to Seattle for my career, andJade still lives in Oregon, in the town we grew up in. That tends to make borrowing from each other a little bit harder to do.”
“I suppose it would. Do you miss living in Oregon?” Julia asked, her curiosity that Gage had spoken about clearly piqued. “I can’t imagine living that far away from my brothers. Even if they can be intentionally annoying at times,” she added with a grin.
“I don’t miss Oregon as much as I miss my family,” Aurora replied. “You know what they say about home being where the heart is.”
Gage’s mother nodded. “So true. Here, let me go throw those muddy clothes in our washer.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Aurora said with a shake of her head. “Gage said you have a guest laundry here. I can run them through myself.”
“I don’t mind,” Constance countered as she removed the bag of dirty clothes from Aurora’s grasp. “I’ll go throw them in our family washer right now, so we’ll have them all clean and dry before you go back to your cabin tonight.”
“Thank you, Constance.”
Julia held out the ceramic mug she’d been holding. Wisps of steam curled slowly upward from it. “Here’s some hot chocolate to warm you up.” A worried expression came over her face. “You do like hot chocolate, don’t you? I could make you some coffee if you don’t.”
“I love it,” Aurora replied with a grateful smile as she accepted the cup. Bringing it to her nose, she inhaled slowly. “Mmm ... this smells so yummy. Thank you so much. For this and for letting me borrow your clothes. I’ll bring them back to wash them tomorrow morning.”
“You’re more than welcome for the loan,” Julia replied. “There’s no rush getting them back to me. You’re here for a few more days.”
Only a few?How had the time passed by so quickly?
“How are you feeling?” Constance asked in concern.
Aurora smiled. “Much better. Thank you.”
“Are you sure you didn’t get hurt when you and Gage fell?”
“Your son made sure I didn’t,” Aurora assured her. “Gage did go down hard, though. Is he okay?”
“You can see for yourself,” Constance replied. “He just came downstairs from washing up about five or so minutes before you. He’s in the great room, talking to some of our guests who were determined enough to venture out into that miserable rain to have lunch and join in the activity afterward.”
“I know I’m looking forward to it.”
“I’ll go throw these in the washer and meet you girls in the great room.” That said, Constance headed off in the opposite direction than they were going.
Aurora followed Julia down the carpeted hallway to the door that led to the lodge’s main entertainment area. “I hope everyone will keep in mind that I’m not a painter of any sort. That would be my friend Emmy.”
“Neither are any of us, with the exception of Reed, of course,” Julia replied and then frowned in thought. “We certainly wouldn’t want any of our guests feeling intimidated by my brother’s artistic ability when it comes to painting. I’m going to suggest to Mom that Reed paint opposite-handed.”
Gage’s sister pushed open the door and stepped through. Aurora followed. Julia pointed across the room. “You can head on over to the hearth to warm up a bit more. I still don’t know what my brother was thinking, convincing you to come out in this weather. He could have delivered lunch to you after we had finished eating.”
“I’m glad he came to get me,” Aurora told her, drawing the younger woman’s gaze her way.So glad.But she wasn’t goingto admit aloud that it was one of the most fun and carefree moments she had ever had.
His family was already up to a little well-intended mischief where she and Gage were concerned, even if that tree wasn’t going to bear any fruit for their efforts. She lived in Washington and Gage in Alaska, for starters. Then there was the travel she did for her job. But it went beyond geographical issues. Gage was still working to put his past relationship behind him, and she had just come out of a broken engagement that never should have happened in the first place. Reminding herself of these things helped to keep Aurora’s heart from getting too caught up in all the reasons she and Gage could be good together.
They moved farther into the great room. For a room so large, it was wonderfully cozy with its large, glowing hearth and dimmable lighting. Aurora’s gaze drifted across the room to where Gage stood conversing with one of their guests next to the hearth.
