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Bella's words made sudden tears fill Phoebe's eyes. You are for now. She'd been separated from her parents for so long. Been alone for so long. And now, suddenly, she had this temporary family. "I already don't want to leave him," she whispered. "When he kisses me, there's no other place I want to be."
A huge grin spread across Bella's face. "He's kissed you?"
"More than once, yes."
"Yay!" Bella clapped her hands, startling her horse, who danced sideways. "Holy cow, Phoebe, that is awesome."
"I'm scared," Phoebe admitted. It felt so good to admit it, to have someone to talk about it with. "It's been a long time. It's not what I was looking for. I don't know how it would work."
"You don't need to know. We never know the ending of anything," Bella said, moving her horse closer again. "Just take it one day at a time. All you need to know is that you can trust Jacob. He'll take care of you and Annie no matter what, and he doesn't mess around with women. If he's choosing to kiss you, it's because he means it."
Bella's words felt good, so crazy good. "Okay," Phoebe said with a smile.
"Okay indeed." Bella grinned. "The only way to find out what's going to happen and if it's going to work out, is if you go all in and see what happens. So, we're going to give you some space."
"What? No." Her heart started hammering. "I'm not ready—"
"No one ever is." Bella winked, then raised her voice. "Lucas! Let's take a loop and make sure we're not being followed!"
And with that, she kicked her horse into a gallop and headed toward the men. Lucas looked back over his shoulder, then nodded. He gave Annie a high five, carefully lowered Cupcake to the ground, where the puppy started racing around and barking with joy, then he kicked his horse into a canter, meeting up with Bella as she neared. The two Harts peeled off, circling back behind them.
Jacob looked back over his shoulder and slowed his mount so that Phoebe could catch up. "You doing all right?"
Damn. That smile. He was too freaking handsome. "Absolutely." After her conversation with Bella, Phoebe couldn't look at Jacob the same way. The walls she'd worked so hard to hold together had dissolved, and suddenly, all she could think about was that Jacob would never have kissed her if he didn't mean it.
Was he thinking he wanted them to stick around? Was she thinking that she wanted to?
It was too soon. Much too soon.
"Mama!" Annie held out her arms as she neared. "Can I get on with you?"
Jacob nodded. "Ghost is solid. He won't bolt. You guys will be okay. I'll make sure you stay safe."
"All right, then."
Jacob rode close, so close that his leg brushed against hers as they both came to a stop. He reached over and held onto Ghost with one hand, while he helped Annie scramble off Freedom and onto Phoebe's lap. He was so careful with Annie's safety that it made Phoebe's heart turn over.
Her little girl deserved to feel safe and secure, and she could tell that Jacob's huge bulk and energy gave Annie a feeling of safety that Phoebe had never been able to provide on her own. She was all about female empowering and energy, and they were fine without Jacob, truly fine, but he brought something to their lives that was unique to him.
Something that felt good to both her and Annie.
Annie settled back against Phoebe's chest, and she wrapped her arms around Annie, breathing in the warmth of her daughter. She kissed the top of her baby's head. "I love you, my little munchkin."
"I love you, Mama." Annie took a deep breath, sighing with contentment as she relaxed against Phoebe. "I love horses. I love being outside. Can we do this every day?"
Phoebe looked over at Jacob, and he nodded.
"Yes, we can, sweetie. Every day that we're here, we can go ride."
That we're here. The minute she put that limit on it, she met Jacob's gaze. He frowned, studying her. She could see him thinking, but his face was inscrutable. The conversation with Bella made her wonder if he was thinking about keeping them around, but she truly couldn't believe he was actually thinking that. Yes, maybe he liked having them around, but long term?
It was too soon. He wouldn't be thinking that. She couldn't be thinking that.
"I was thinking of lunch by a river up ahead," Jacob said. "There's a waterfall that's beautiful."
She nodded. "Sounds great."
"All right then." He fell silent as he rode beside them, but it was a comfortable, happy silence. She felt at peace in his presence. He didn't feel like an effort. He just felt like peace.
