He grinned. "I guess I made a wrong turn."
"We've made a few of those ourselves," she said.
"I've missed you," he said. "I've been thinking a lot about family, and I want you to know that I'm proud of you, critter."
The waterworks kept coming. "Dad, you're making me cry," Lilly said.
He walked over to her and knelt to her level. Wiping the tears away from her eyes, he said, "Your mother would have been so proud of you."
Lilly broke down. "I just want her back."
I felt my heart twist inside my chest. I wanted to run and take her in my arms, but this was their much-needed moment.
"We can't turn back time," her father said.
"Time has been ripped from our hearts," she said. "It is the source of our darkness. I want to break the spell."
Aiden stood and set his rifle down. "Then we must leave the woods forever. We must find a way out."
"They'll come after us. There's a wall that surrounds this entire forest. We'll have to cross the swamps to get there," Lilly said.
"The barrier," he said. "That's our destination."
"What happens if they come after us?" she asked.
"I'm more than ready for a fight," he said.
Then, he saw me standing in the water. His smile faded slowly. "And you? Can you handle the fight?"
Against my family. My father, the man who’d caged me. Was he really asking me if I could handle taking him out?
I stepped out of the swamp and walked forward, saluting. "I'm always up to the challenge, sir."
"Sir?" He chuckled and met me halfway with his palm extended. "I don't remember you calling me sir near the Great Divide."
I shook his hand and inhaled confidently. "With all due respect, you had a gun pointed at my head."
"That I did." He grinned. Suddenly, I held him in high esteem.
"I probably should offer you the proper respect," I said. "If I'm going to ask for your daughter's hand, I need to get your approval."
He glanced back at Lilly and observed her reaction. She instantly turned red, and her smile was uncontrollable. A pang of electricity shot through my heart, and I waited anxiously for her father's response.
"I was under the impression that a marriage was out of the question. There are no churches for hundreds of miles. It is the apocalypse, after all," he said.
"Then, I guess I'll have to make one," I said, standing tall.
"Truthfully, it's not up to me. That's my daughter's decision to make," Aiden said, turning around to face her. "I've been too hard on her. Haven't given her the chance to make too many choices. It's only fair to ask her what she wants from this, right?"
Tears of joy fell from her eyes. She nodded faster than the speed of light. "Yes," she said.
Her father curled his lower lip into his mouth and stared at me like a man. "Well, champ. I think you have your answer."
Aiden pushed me in her direction. At that moment, the sun was shining right above her head. She was vulnerable yet invincible. Unadorned and honest. We were totally dirty from hiding out, but she had truly never looked more beautiful than she did standing in front of me.
I knelt and raised my chin. "Lilly. Will you do me this honor of marrying me? I know I'm not perfect. I know that we still have a ways to go until we find safety. But I want you, and I won't settle until I have you. Forever."
Lilly extended her hand. "Take me," she said. "I'm yours."