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"Yeah. All organic fertilizer. It's safe for Annie." Safe for Annie. For horses. For birds. For rabbits. For whatever living creature decided to make use of his grass.

Phoebe beamed at him, her arms stretched above her head. The position made her shirt bunch up, revealing a few inches of her belly, including the cutest damned belly button he'd ever seen. A little gold stud was nestled in her belly button, making him grin.

He wouldn't have figured Phoebe for a belly piercing, but he liked it. It was hot as hell, actually.

Phoebe smiled. "Wow. You have a nice smile. I love that."

His smile immediately faded. "Don't get used to it. I never smile."

Her smile widened, undaunted. "I'll keep that in mind."

Annie got up and ran across the grass with Cupcake, laughing and shrieking as she dove and began to log roll across the lawn.

Jacob frowned. "Is she okay?"

Phoebe sat up, draping her arms across her knees. "Oh, yes. This is amazing for her." Her face was pure love as she watched her daughter, making something inside him turn over. The way she looked at her daughter was the way every kid deserved to have someone look at them. "Annie thinks grass is magical. She grew up in an apartment. It was a rough situation. Sometimes she doesn’t want to be inside. I don't think she was outside much, and definitely didn't have grass or flowers or anything like that."

"I get that." He fucking loved that Phoebe clearly didn't give a shit that Annie wasn't her biological daughter. She loved that little girl with all-in mama bear fierceness. He didn't believe that family was based on blood, and the fact that Phoebe lived that truth put this little family right at the top of his priority list.

Phoebe sighed with contentment. "I think the grass makes her feel free to be able to enjoy the soft blades under her feet. We have a lot of shade at our house, so the lawn isn't great. Plus, honestly, I don't have time to spend trying to grow a stubborn lawn. Your lawn is heaven for her. She'll be out here a lot, I suspect." She smiled at him. "Thanks for bringing us here, Jacob. This is exactly what she needed."

"The rest of the place isn't so great," he muttered.

Phoebe looked past him to his little house. "It's an adorable log cabin with a wraparound porch, big windows, and a beautiful pasture. The barn looks like a castle for horses. Even the rose bushes under the windows are in bloom with the most beautiful pink blossoms. What on earth isn’t great about your home?"

He stared at her.

She looked back at him. "What?"

"It's small. It's plain. It's sparse." He repeated what everyone always said when they came by, urging him to upgrade.

Phoebe smiled up at him. "Well, it seems to me that you need to start singing a different tune about your home. It's a treasure." Then she hopped to her feet, patted his arm, and then ran off after her daughter and dog.

He looked down at his arm where she'd touched him. Her touch had felt good. Amazing. Incredible. He was so confused. Why didn't this group feel like an invasion? Because they didn't. They felt good.

But they also made him want to be more, and he didn't like that.

He wanted to stay exactly as he was. It had gotten him this far in life, and his life was pretty damned good. "I'll get the bags."

He was pretty sure neither of them even heard him.

Now, that, he understood. He tuned people out as much as he could.

But he couldn't tune out Annie's shrieks of joy. The dog's barking. Phoebe's laughter.

And he couldn't stop checking the perimeter to make sure no one had followed them.

As he looked, his brother's truck emerged from the woods that concealed his long driveway. Lucas was driving leisurely, which made Jacob relax slightly. If there was an issue, Lucas would be driving differently.

Lucas pulled up behind Jacob's truck and got out. He paused to watch the gallivanting trio on the lawn, his jaw dropping open when he heard the barking and laughing. He swore under his breath and walked over to Jacob. "Look. I know Dylan wants them with you, but none of us want you to shut down again. If they're pushing you over the edge, I'll take them."

Possessiveness flooded Jacob, surprising him. "Nah. They're good." He wasn't giving them up. Dylan had asked him to keep them safe, and he was going to do it.

"They're good?" Lucas frowned. "There's a kid, a dog, and a woman, screaming and running around your lawn. How is that good?"

"I don't know." That was the truth.

Lucas looked over at him. "You're serious."