Page 62

He blinked, and she saw him summon his energy to wake up enough for the discussion.

"Never mind," she said. "Go back to sleep. We'll talk later."

"No. I want to talk now." He reached over Annie for his water bottle and took a drink. "All right," he said. "I'm ready. What's going on?"

She sighed. "I think I'm falling in love with you, but—"

"Hang on." He gently set Annie to the side, and then sat up. "You're falling in love with me?"

"I said I think I might be—"

"Falling in love with me."

She shifted restlessly. "Well, yes, but—"

"I'm already hook, line, and sinker for you, so that's great news."

Some of her tension faded, and she smiled. "Hook, line, and sinker?"

"Yeah. I think it's a fishing reference, but I don't fish, so I can't stake my life on that." He leaned forward, his eyes intense. "Look, Phoebe, I spent today really looking to see if I could do this with you, Annie, and Cupcake. I brought you guys all the way into my world, into the space that is wholly and solely mine. I needed to see if I could share that with you, or if your presence took away what I need to experience with it."

Her heart started to race. She hadn't thought about the fact that he was also testing to see if they fit. It wasn't only up to her. It was a team decision, obviously. "And?"

"And—" His phone beeped suddenly, and he held up his hand. "Hold that thought."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Safety first." He pulled out his phone and looked at the screen. His brow furrowed, and he swiped his phone. He touched the screen a few times, then his face drained of all color. "Holy fuck."

He bolted to his feet. "You and Annie and Cupcake get into the bathroom. Lock the door. There are no windows in there and the door is reinforced. It's built as a safe room."

"What?" Alarm shot through her. "What's going on?"

"Get Annie." He hit send on his phone. "Lucas. My security system just picked up a truck at my gate. It's my fucking father, and two men are with him." He paused. "Yeah, I'll get them in the bathroom. I'm not going outside until you guys are here. Come around and let yourself in the back door. Once you're here, I'll go out and meet him." He paused. "I have to face him. He won't ever stop. Yeah, call everyone."

He hung up. "Into the bathroom."

"Your dad?" Her heart broke for him. There was so much tension bleeding off Jacob that she felt like it was strangling him. There was even fear, born of a childhood that had never let him go. "Jacob—"

"He just got out of prison." He reached down and scooped up a sleepy Annie. "We're going to go camping in the bathroom," he whispered.

She didn't wake up. She just wrapped her arms around his neck and kept sleeping. "Grab the pillows off the couch," he said to Phoebe. "My driveway's not that long. They'll be here in a minute."

Alarm coursing through her, Phoebe grabbed a few cushions. "What do you think he's going to do?"

"Try to force me to give him money. Whatever it takes." He swore under his breath as his knee hit a coffee table. "Come on, Cupcake, let's go." The tension was coiled so tightly, but he kept his voice calm and reassuring for Annie and Cupcake.

The man was a master at controlling his emotions around vulnerable beings. No wonder he was magical with the horses and her daughter.

His urgency was evident to Phoebe, however, so she worked fast to set up a makeshift bed on the floor of the bathroom, bringing in blankets and pillows from the bedroom. Within moments, Annie and Cupcake were snoozing happily on the floor of the bathroom.

"Get inside," Jacob said as he strode across the room to his safe and put his palm on the security panel. "Don't come out until I tell you that Rosa let me touch her. That's our code."

He opened the safe and pulled out two handguns.

She stared at the guns. 'You think he's going to shoot you?"

"If he can't get my money, yeah. He'll do whatever it takes." Jacob looked over at her. "Including hurting you three. So get inside now."