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Jacob looked at Annie, and then back at Phoebe, then swore.
"You can't be in two places at once," Lucas said. "And your horses need you, too."
All her bravado from earlier about her need to teach her class was gone, stripped away by the thought of leaving her daughter in danger. Nothing else mattered, except her baby. She needed to make sure she was safe, and ensure she wasn't scared. "Look," Phoebe said, "I'll skip my class—"
"No." Jacob interrupted her. "It's important." He paused. "I do trust Bella and Lucas. And they're right that you can't be alone."
"I'll do it in the gym—"
At that moment, Bella started blasting the new Little Mermaid soundtrack, and she and Annie started belting out the lyrics.
Pure joy and relaxation for Annie, who always had to be quiet when Mama taught a class. Why would Phoebe hold her back? She'd literally told Jacob again and again how important it was not to live in fear, to show Annie that she could embrace life and be strong and safe, but still free.
She had to do this. "Okay, Jacob. The barn it is."
Lucas met her gaze. "I promise you she'll be safe."
"I know. I know." She took a breath, her heart pounding. She felt like she was being torn apart right now. She needed so many things in this moment, and she had to prioritize.
She had to trust.
Oh, she wasn't good at that.
Jacob picked up her computer bag. "Do you need anything besides this?"
"No. Everything I need is in there." She gave Annie a quick hug, which her daughter barely even noticed, took reassurance from Bella and Lucas, and then followed Jacob out the front door.
She was tense as they walked, her stomach churning. "I don't think I can do this. I don't even know them. How can I trust her with them?"
Jacob stopped, took her hand, and turned her toward him. "Eliana has entrusted her women with our family on multiple occasions. Would she do that if there were any chance we weren't good enough to keep her clients safe?"
Phoebe tried to focus. To think logically. "No, but you never know—"
"Annie's happy and safe. If you go back in there in a panic and don't do your regularly scheduled call, how does that affect her?"
She swallowed. "It teaches her to be scared. To not trust anyone except me. To hide. I also lose integrity with my community, which could undermine our financial well-being."
He nodded.
"Damn you for listening to me earlier." She spun away and stalked toward the barn. "I'm freaking out here. How can I teach my class?"
"Because you're a professional." He reached past her and used his palm print to open the door. The door slid open, and she stepped inside, turning to look at his house. The door slid shut, cutting her daughter off from her view. Panic hit her hard. "I can't do this—"
Jacob held his phone out to her. "FaceTime is magical."
She looked and saw her daughter and Bella dancing in the kitchen. She unmuted it, and her heart seemed to inhale with relief when she heard her daughter's laughter. "Oh, God. Thank you. Can we keep this on?"
Lucas popped his head in the frame. "I'll keep it on them the whole time you're gone."
Bella and Annie waved at the camera. "Hi, Mama!"
"We'll move the phone if we leave the kitchen," Bella promised. "Have fun!"
Phoebe clutched the phone as Bella and Annie went back to baking. Lucas wandered into the frame, peering out the window behind them before moving on. Phoebe pressed mute on the phone and took a breath. "Okay," she said, her voice shaky. "Okay, it's all good."
"Check this out."
Phoebe turned and saw that across the wall were a number of screens. Each one showed a high-resolution video of his property, including each room in his house. "I have thirty-six cameras," he said. "I can see every inch of my property. No one could get close without me knowing."
