Page 26 of Snowed In With the Maverick
“I think there is,” he said. “But that’s not why I brought you here.”
A man in a plaid work shirt exited the main building and waved them down.
Seth and Andrea exited the SUV as the man approached. “Seth Taylor?” he said.
“Yessir,” Seth said, extending his hand. “And this is Andrea Spence.”
“I’m Ken Fellows,” the man said, shaking both of their hands. “Welcome to Wonderstone Ridge. We’re proud of our aquarium, especially our new addition. Follow me.”
Ken led them down a gravel path away from the main building toward a white circular structure about fifty yards away.
“Okay, you have to tell me now,” Andrea whispered. “Where are we?”
“You’ll find out in a minute,” Seth said, admiring the twinkle of curiosity in her blue eyes.
Ken removed a set of keys from his pocket, then led them through the doorway into a small room dominated by a large telescope mounted on a solid tripod. The walls were lined with star charts, manuals and telescope accessories, and there was a workstation with a computer and controls for operating the telescope and capturing images.
“An observatory!” Andrea flashed a wide grin as she turned to look at Seth.
“With a Sky-Watcher Dobsonian Series telescope,” Ken said. “All thanks to a joint donation from the Abernathy families in Bronco and Rust Creek Falls. We’re running small-group workshops out of here in the new year. I’ll show you a couple of things, then you can feel free to play around with it for a while.”
Ken explained how to locate popular objects in the sky, like the moon and Jupiter, and what he called “star hopping,” or how to use the star charts or to locate a bright star and navigate to nearby celestial objects.
Seth watched as Andrea absorbed every word, her curiosity evident in the thoughtful questions she asked about the telescope’s operation. Her face practically glowed with excitement, and the small grin she’d worn since they’d entered the observatory hadn’t faded for a second.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” Ken said, stepping back with a satisfied smile. “Just make sure to pull the door shut when you’re done—it locks automatically.”
“Thanks, Ken,” Seth replied. Ken gave them a quick wave before disappearing into the cold night.
Seth turned to Andrea, a teasing smile on his face. “So, ready to give it a shot?”
“This is amazing,” she said softly, her voice tinged with wonder. “Thank you so much for bringing me here.”
“Happy to,” Seth said. It was an unfamiliar feeling, this deep desire to make someone happy. He’d always been generous with past girlfriends—gifts for birthdays, thoughtful gestures during the holidays, always quick to pick up the check—but this was different. With Andrea, it wasn’t about obligation or routine; it was about wanting to surprise her, to see her eyes light up in a way that made him feel like he’d done right by her.
For the next fifteen minutes, they lost themselves in the constellations, picking different ones from the chart and taking turns peering through the scope. Each time Andrea found something new, she’d glance up at Seth, her eyes sparkling, as if she couldn’t wait to share the sighting with him.
“What are you looking for now?” Seth asked. He joined her at the star chart, where she was running her hand over the laminated legend.
“Here,” she said, her finger coming to rest on a small cluster of stars. “The Pleiades star cluster. Located in the constellation Taurus.”
“Is that your star sign?”
Andrea smiled and shook her head. “I don’t believe in that stuff.”
“Hah. Me neither,” said Seth.
“It’s also called the Seven Sisters. But usually only six are visible to the naked eye. The missing seventh sister represents an unattainable love or an absent lover.”
The word ‘unattainable’ hung in the air. There had always been something about Andrea, a wall, a distance, that made her feel off-limits. She was guarded. Careful. But now, under the vastness of the night sky, something had shifted, and Seth found himself, for the first time ever, with a woman he yearned would let him in.
“Well, let’s have a look, shall we?” he said, but it wasn’t the stars he was focused on, it was the space between them.
Seth watched as Andrea fiddled with the telescope, then peered through the viewfinder, making slight adjustments as she scanned the sky overhead. “Okay, so if the moon is here, that means…” She looked back at the chart, then back into the viewfinder. “Downward toward the horizon, then just a little further up…” she murmured.
She adjusted the scope, guiding it carefully. “There!” she said. “I think that’s it! Come look.” Andrea moved her face away from the telescope, her face lit up in wonder.
He stood beside her, and peered into the scope, where a small cluster of stars was visible through the viewfinder, shimmering like fine jewels on velvet. It was a faint, distant glow, but as his eyes adjusted, the stars slowly took form. “They’re all there,” he said. “All seven.”
