Would Angus do the same for her? Walk away from a goal he held dear?
She shut her eyes as the answer came clearly. He’d promised everyone else he’d see the year through, do what it took to secure Base Camp for all of them. It would kill him to let everyone down. It would kill him to turn his back on her and their baby, too, though.
Could she make him make that impossible choice?
No. She’d never put him through something like that. She wasn’t like her parents.
“Win?”
She paced the small space. If she told Angus about the baby, he’d make their relationship a priority. If he did that, and she left Base Camp, he’d feel like he had to leave, too, which meant ruining the lives of at least eighteen other people and watching a local developer bulldoze their community, shatter their sustainable dreams and pave them over to build a condo complex.
And what about the millions of viewers the show had attracted? What would such an ending do to their commitment to changing the world? Her decision could deflate an entire movement.
Nausea struck her as she realized what she had to do.
“Princess?” her father prompted.
She had to break it off with Angus—end their relationship so completely that he wouldn’t follow her, wouldn’t discover her pregnancy until it was far too late, wouldn’t harbor any hopes of reconnecting with her. Only then would he do his duty and marry someone else when it was his turn.
He’d save Base Camp. Fulfill the obligations he took on when he came here. Keep his integrity intact.
And she’d give birth to their child in California, make sure he or she enjoyed the full protection of the Lisle fortune—
Alone.
“Win!”
“Yes.” She cleared her throat and tried again. “Yes, tell Mom I’m coming home. Soon. Tomorrow.” She clutched the counter, letting her tears silently fall.
This is what you did for a child. Gave up the things you held dear—
Even if that meant giving up the man you loved.
“Good.”
Chapter Two
‡
Present day
“There you are,” Boone Rudman said when he found Angus in one of the greenhouses.
“Where else would I be?” Angus oversaw the hydroponic systems that grew most of Base Camp’s vegetables during the winter. It was March, still months away from when they could plant most crops outside. Angus couldn’t wait for June first, when the show would end and so would its stringent rules. That would take some of the pressure off him. They’d lost their first crop of vegetables when someone had raided their root cellar. He’d been struggling to provide them with more ever since.
“Walker, get in here.” Boone waved the large Native American man inside, and all three of them faced one another.
“What’s up?” Angus said finally. “Is this about the wedding?”
In less than twenty-four hours, Greg Devon, his friend and fellow inhabitant of Base Camp, would wed Renata Ludlow, the woman directing the television show that was documenting the sustainable community’s progress. The ceremony and reception would take place at the manor, like usual.
“Not exactly,” Boone hedged. “You two are the only unmarried men left, though. This time tomorrow, one of you will pull the short straw and be on the hook to marry.”
In forty days, no less, Angus thought. So far they had met all of Fulsom’s stringent requirements to win Base Camp. In fact, they’d already accomplished what they’d thought would be the hardest obstacle. Three of the couples were supposed to be pregnant before their year was up. Right now six of the women of Base Camp were pregnant, and one baby had already been born; Jericho and Savannah’s son, Jacob Boone Cook. It felt like the tide was turning in their favor.
“I know both of you face big obstacles to getting the job done,” Boone went on. “Angus, you’re not over Win. Anyone can see that. And, Walker, I hoped you and Avery would have patched things up by now, but that doesn’t seem to have happened.” He waited a beat, as if hoping Walker would correct him, but the man just shook his head. He’d believed Avery had stolen a family heirloom when in fact she hadn’t. Avery hadn’t forgiven him yet.
“One of you has to marry next. And…” He hesitated. “There’s a twist this time. Just got the news from Fulsom.”
“What kind of twist?” Angus demanded. He hated these last-minute rule changes Fulsom kept throwing at them. The man seemed to relish making their lives harder.
“Whoever draws the short straw this time has to welcome one of the backup brides to Base Camp and date her for thirty of the forty days you get until your wedding.” Boone said it in a rush, as if that would make it more palatable somehow.
“What exactly does that mean?” Angus asked. “We pick one out of a lineup?”
“No.” Boone was firm. “As you know there was a bit of a brouhaha with the backup brides when Clem posted that article on our website.”
Angus didn’t know which was worse—the codirector Fulsom had sent to annoy Renata a couple of months back or the Base Camp website, which to his way of thinking existed solely to humiliate the participants of the reality show. It featured quizzes, personal information, outtakes and photos that made all of them look either like idiots or action heroes. When Clem had arrived, he’d made it his business to terrorize everyone involved with Base Camp, especially Renata.
To make life difficult for her, he’d posted an in-depth interview with a number of backup brides he’d sought out and riled up. It was true that each time one of the men of Base Camp faced his forty-day deadline to marry, Boone worked to find women online who were willing to meet—and marry—him, just in case he couldn’t find his own
