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“Yes. You asked him why he didn’t have children if he wanted the population to grow.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“But what else happened today?”
“He...Craig. He came out to the brew shed and told me he was sorry. He offered me a concession.”
“A concession?”
“Yes. He said if I would have his baby he wouldn’t make me marry.”
He sucked in a breath. “He what?”
“He gave me until tomorrow to give him an answer.”
“No!” He stood and paced to the wall then came back to the table. His stomach twisted into a tight ball and threatened to bring up his dinner.
He sat next to her again, his breathing came in spurts and he tried to calm himself.
Elena reached for his hand. “I didn’t say yes.”
“What did you say?”
“He said I could think about it, and I didn’t say anything else.”
She laid the ice pack on the table with shaking fingers. He took her hands in his and squeezed. “You can’t go back up there.”
“I have to. My mom needs me. They’ll punish her and let her die.”
“Elena...You can’t. It’s not safe.” He swallowed several times to rein in his emotions. “What will you say tomorrow when he demands an answer?”
She looked down at their clasped hands. “Kent said he’d marry me. He doesn’t love me and I don’t love him but I thought I’d tell Craig I’ll marry Kent. It will buy me some time.”
Lara sat back in her seat and Elena turned to her.
Lara leaned forward. “Kent offered to marry you?”
“He said there wasn’t anyone else up there he wanted to marry and heard Craig was making trouble for me. He said we could maybe have a decent life.”
The thought of her marrying anyone else slammed into Aidyn’s gut like a sledgehammer. He struggled to get breath in his lungs.
Elena turned to him and took his hands in hers. “I’m not going to. Just buying time.”
“Why. Why do you need time?”
“I need to figure out how to get Mom down the mountain.”
Tate leaned forward. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out too, Elena. Adelaide, one of our teammates, is a medic. Her mother is a doctor. Aidyn shared your mom’s symptoms with Addy today and she wants to see your mom. We want to sneak her up the mountain and into your cabin so she can assess your mom’s condition.”
Elena stared at Tate for a long time. “It’s dangerous.”
“We know.”
“Why would you put yourself in danger for me?”
Tate’s eyes landed on his. “Because we love Aidyn, and he loves you.”
He closed his eyes. He hadn’t told her he loved her yet. She turned to face him.
