Aurora let out a startled shriek.
“Wait’s over,” Gage said with a grin. “Time to reel your catch in.”
“Way to go, Aurora!” Reed cheered from where he had cast his line in.
“What do I do?” she asked, eyeing the holder.
Gage moved to stand behind her, instructing Aurora on how to reel her catch in, assisting her when needed. As the caught fish neared the boat, Gage took a large net and scooped it out of the water. Pulling it free, he removed the hook from its mouth and then held up the coho, or silver salmon, as it was also known, for Aurora to see.
Reed let out a low whistle. “That’s a beauty!”
“Hold on,” she said excitedly, pulling her camera from its bag. “I have to get a picture.”
“Oh no, you don’t,” he told her. “Your catch. Your picture.” He held the fish out.
Her eyes widened. “You want me to hold it?”
His brows lifted. “You have no fear of crossing paths with a bear in the woods, but you’re nervous about holding a fish up for a picture?”
“A very big fish,” she corrected him with a sheepish smile.
Reed snorted.
“Come on, Aurora,” Gage said, “you live your life on the edge with all your photographic adventures. You can do this. I’ll take a picture so you’ll have it to remember your first big catch in Alaska.”
After a long hesitation, she sighed. “Okay, I’ll hold it. But you had better take the picture quick.” She handed her camera over to Reed to hold until Gage made the transfer.
Gage made sure Aurora gripped the fish correctly before wiping his hands off and then taking the camera from his brother. Turning back to face her, he raised the camera and said, “Smile.” With a single click, he captured the image of Aurora beaming proudly with her prize catch. One he wouldn’t need a picture to remember. It was a memory that would be forever embedded in his mind.
Seeing how comfortable Aurora was while hiking through the woods, flying in his floatplane, even reeling in a fish for dinner, at least with the fish she’d caught after that first one, Gage found himself thinking about how well she would fit into his life if things were different.
Time was running out to sort through his feelings where Aurora was concerned. A part of him wanted to let her go to save himself the heartbreak of another relationship ending due to their two different worlds. But the other part of him already felt the gaping hole she was going to leave behind.
“Dinner was so delicious tonight,” Aurora said as Gage walked her back to her cabin.
“It tastes even better when it’s your catch,” he said as they stepped up onto the tiny rental cabin’s front porch.
They stood in silence for a long moment, before Gage said, “Aurora ...”
Her cell phone rang. She looked fretful. “I’m sorry,” she apologized.
“Answer it,” he told her.
She pulled her phone from her jacket pocket. Her face lit up. “It’s my editor,” she said excitedly.
Nodding, he stepped away to give her a bit of privacy.
“Hello ...? Yes, this is Aurora.”
Silence as her editor spoke on the other end of the line.
Gage suddenly felt as anxious as Aurora did, but for different reasons.
“You do?” she gasped. “Yes, I would be very interested.” Her gaze snapped up to meet Gage’s. “I see. Yes, we can talk more when I get back to Seattle.”
Gage couldn’t help but catch bits and pieces of her conversation. It sounded promising for Aurora’s career.
“That would be wonderful,” she replied. “Thank you for calling as soon as you’d made a decision. I know it’s fairly late there in New York. I’ll be in touch soon.”
