Page 8 of What Remains

The plan settled between them, quiet and heavy as a stone.

The evening had shifted into the blue hour that arrives just before full dark, when Cara tugged on her coat and found Jay stacking the last of the firewood near the porch, his movements slowing as he noticed her approach.

"Would you... do you want to take a walk with me?" she asked, her voice shy but steady.

"Yeah. I'd like that."

They headed toward the trees, snow crunching under their boots in an easy rhythm. Watch trotted beside them for a stretch before Jay sent him back to the cabin with a quiet word and a gentle pat.

They walked in comfortable silence. Cara's cheeks were flushed from the cold—or nerves, he couldn't tell which. He kept glancing at her under his eyelashes; it was the same pull he'd felt since the day they met.

When they reached the ridge overlooking the frozen valley, he finally drew a deep breath and spoke.

"Cara... there's something I need to talk to you about."

She stiffened instantly, eyes wide. "Did I do something wrong?"

"What? No—no, sweetheart." He laughed, a small, surprised sound. "Nothing like that."

The endearment landed softly, and her cheeks deepened in color.

Jay shoved his hands into his pockets and looked out over the dark trees below, gathering himself. This part was harder to say aloud than he'd expected.

"It's about spring," he began.

Cara nodded, attentive, waiting.

"Seth and I... we've been talking with Sawyer. Ridgeview gave us a lot, but not enough to sustain us forever. Especially..." He hesitated, then softened his tone. "Especially with the baby coming. There are things we can't make out here, things we'll need long-term—diapers, seeds, tools, fuel, medicine. Stuff we can't afford to run out of when it matters most."

Cara's breath left her in a slow white cloud. "You're planning another trip."

"Yeah," Jay said. "A long one. Farther out, and potentially more dangerous. Weeks, maybe."

She stared down at the snow for so long he began to wonder if she'd heard him. Then, quietly: "Who's going?"

"Seth and I."

Her head jerked up. "Not Sawyer?"

Jay shook his head firmly. "No. Sawyer stays here. Addy needs him, the baby needs him, and none of us are willing to gamble with that. He agrees."

Cara blinked slowly, absorbing it—relief that Sawyer and Addy would remain safe tangled with a sharp new worry that Jay wouldn't.

Jay cleared his throat, and his voice dropped. "That's actually why I wanted to talk to you. About you coming with us."

She looked up at him, breath catching. "Me?"

"Yeah." He stepped closer, closing some of the cold space between them. "You move quieter than anyone I've ever known. You think fast under pressure. You kept us alive more than once at Ridgeview, and you're the best tracker we've got—by a mile. And..." His voice gentled into something more vulnerable. "...I trust you with my life, Cara."

The color rose to the tips of her ears.

"I won't lie to you," he added, his voice lowering. "This could get ugly. I don't want you walking into it blindsided."

Cara stared out over the valley, her hands still at her sides. "You want me to go with you?"

"Yeah." The answer came instantly, his eyes never leaving her. "I do. And not just because you're capable. Because..." He stepped closer, near enough that his warmth reached her through the frigid air. "...because the thought of being away from you for weeks straight seems like a nightmare I can't escape."

Cara sucked in a breath, the narrow space between them suddenly charged.