2. Basement Home & Sad Endings #2
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.
Jay took her hand, his calloused thumb tracing slow circles against her wrist. She became aware of her own pulse and curled her fingers around his, holding on.
"You don't owe me a yes," he whispered, his breath mingling with hers. "You don't owe me anything at all. But I had to ask."
Nothing beyond the snow, his eyes, and their intertwined hands registered for her.
"I'll go," she said, the words a vow.
Jay's gaze darkened, searching her face. "You're sure? This is... well, it's big, Cara."
She nodded once and stepped even closer. "You need a tracker, and I need to know you're safe." Her voice softened. "I'm not afraid of the run—or of us—anymore."
He let out the breath he had been holding, his free hand rising to cup her cheek, his rough palm gentle against her skin. "I didn't know what I was looking for until you," he murmured.
The words seeped inside her chest and stayed there, warm against everything the winter had frozen.
They stood together, snowflakes falling around them. Jay's thumb brushed slowly across her lower lip, his eyes following with an intensity that made her forget the cold completely.
"Let's head back," he murmured at last, his voice filled with promise. "We'll talk to the others tomorrow. Tonight is for us."
By late afternoon the next day, the cabin had grown warm and settled into its quiet monotony of routine.
Addy stood at the counter peeling potatoes, the kettle rattling softly beside her as it heated.
Sawyer sat at the table running his knife along a whetstone, the steel rasping in slow, steady strokes.
Seth lounged near the hearth with Watch sprawled contentedly across his boots, flipping through one of Jay's well-loved field guides without really reading it.
Jay and Cara stepped inside together, brushing snow from their coats and stamping their boots at the door. Addy glanced over her shoulder with a smile already forming—until she caught the tension threaded through their postures, the way they stood just a little too deliberately.
Jay stepped near the table, looking first at Sawyer, then at Seth. Both men met his eyes with understanding, their focus shifting to the impending conversation.
"Addy," Jay said, his tone gentle, "we need to talk to you about something important."
Addy set the potato down slowly, the peeler going still in her hand as she noted the change in the room.
"It's time to talk about a supply run—a big one we've been planning."
Addy went completely still.
"Farther than Ridgeview?" she asked.
"Much farther," Jay confirmed. "A bigger city. More stores, but that means more danger but also more opportunity. Enough to carry us through next winter and longer if we do it right."
Seth nodded from the hearth, his voice low. "We need things we can't get out here anymore. Long-term supplies, seeds, medical stock. Things for the baby."
Addy's hand drifted instinctively to the small curve of her belly, fingers spreading protectively. "How long will we be gone?"
"Two to three weeks," Jay answered honestly, ignoring the we. "Could be less. Could be more. We plan for the worst."
Silence filled the cabin.
Addy looked between all of them, confusion flickering across her face. "You... you already talked about this?"
Sawyer nodded slowly. "We did. We started hashing it out yesterday splitting wood, and Jay brought us the rest of the plan last night." His voice gentled. "We wanted to be sure the whole idea held together before worrying you over something that might not happen."
Addy pressed a hand to her chest, working to absorb it all. "So—so it's decided?"