“As a matter of fact,” Glady said, pinning Gage with her gaze, “I do. Let me introduce you to the handsome young man seated at the table next to yours. Gage,” she called out, giving him no choice but to look in their direction, “this is Aurora Daniels. Aurora, meet Gage Weston.”
He wasn’t sure “young” was a category he still fit into, considering he’d turned thirty-two on his last birthday. But he supposed to Glady he was still the young boy she’d known since he was born.
“It’s nice to meet you, Aurora,” Gage said with a polite nod and a friendly smile.
“Same here,” Aurora replied as their gazes met and held.
“As I’m sure you’re already aware,MissDaniels missed her flight back to Seattle. Do you think you might have room for her at your resort?”
“You have a resort?” she asked, hope lighting her eyes.
“It’s a family-owned fishing retreat on Conley Island, a short flight from Juneau.”
“Maybe she could fly with you back to the island.” Glady looked at Aurora. “Gage here is a pilot. Even has his own plane.”
Aurora looked his way, brown eyes wide. “You own a plane?”
“It’s a floatplane,” he explained. “We use it to shuttle guests to and from Juneau to Conley Island, where my family’s fishing retreat is. Ten passenger max capacity.”
Hope flickered to life in her eyes. “Would you happen to have a room available for tonight?”
“There should be a room open in the main lodge and a cabin or two open in the outer lodging areas.”
“A cabin sounds wonderful.”
“They’re not fancy,” he warned.
“Nonsense,” Glady said. “I’ve seen them, and they are as cute as a button.”
He put up his hands. “Any and all decorating credit goes to my mom and my sister.”
“And we’d have to fly to get there?” Aurora asked, sounding beyond excited by the idea of it.
“You should know up-front that a floatplane isn’t like a roomy jet airliner,” he said. “It’s a lot tighter quarters. And you’re going to feel a lot more movement when you’re in the air. You don’t get motion sickness, do you?”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve flown in small planes, even in helicopters. As long as you’re an experienced and licensed pilot, I’m good.”
“He’s more than experienced,” Glady said with a bright smile. “Gage is one of the best bush pilots in these parts, flying into remote areas where other types of transportation can’t get to as long as there’s water for him to land his plane on.”
Gage wanted to roll his eyes. Glady made him sound like some sort of superhero, which he was far from being. If he were, his taking over the running of his family’s lodge would have been the answer to everything. It hadn’t been.
The sound of a phone ringing on the other side of the partially open kitchen door drew Glady’s gaze in that direction. She cast a hurried glance at Gage and her stranded patron, and offered up an apologetic smile. “If you two will excuse me, I need to grab that.” Without waiting for a reply, she spun about and hurried back to the kitchen, her long, white apron strings swinging to and fro behind her as she went.
“Thank you for coming to my rescue in this unexpected situation,” Aurora said with a sweet smile.
Gage shifted his attention back to the woman, finding her expression desperately hopeful. Similar to the one his father had been wearing when he’d handed the running of the family fishing resort over to Gage. Like he had every faith that Gage could step in and make things right.
Not one to let his father down, Gage had done his best to bring in more business. Even though they’d experienced a small uptick in bookings, he’d be lying if he didn’t admit, if only to himself, that there were times it felt as though he were fighting a losing battle. Longtime clients were being lured away, little by little, to those newer fishing retreats that offered not only an Alaskan fishing experience, but all the bells and whistles of high-end resort living.
“I don’t want to be an imposition. I can hire a boat to take me to your family’s retreat if you have a cabin I could rent for the night.”
Her words pulled Gage from his warring thoughts and back to the predicament Glady’s overly enthusiastic boasting had gotten him into. Living the Good Life Fishing Retreat was very well-kept, but not the kind of resort women Aurora’s age expected to stay at. His polite refusal trailed off as he took in the sight of her sitting there. Cheeks still a deep pink from the chill outside. Damp strands of shoulder-length hair hanging limply around her face where the rain had worked its way under the loose edge of the duck poncho’s hood. And those eyes. Big brown eyes, rimmed in long, thick lashes, looking up at him with such hope it tugged hard at his heartstrings.
Gage knew at that moment that he was going to be the hero she was hoping for, because for him not to be that hero meant turning away someone in need. Something he would never do. With a resigned nod, he said, “No need. I’ll take you.”
Relief washed the worry away from her pretty face. Then those full pink lips drew upward. “Are you sure? I’ll pay you for flying me there.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m sure. And I’m not about to charge you when I was flying back to the island anyway.”
