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Cath smirked at him. "Wasn't trying to be," she said, chasing after Jacob.

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Jake glared at Tor, who was trying to look innocent but was still laughing. "She scares me."

"Elias is a fine man," Tor said, finally managing a straight face.

"Doesn't mean I want him with my sister," Jake muttered, getting Cath's bag from the trunk of her car.

"Can I tell him that?" Tor asked, grinning again.

"Hell, no."

"You're kind of hot when you pull this big brother stuff, you know."

Jake snorted. "When I do it to you, you bitch and call me bossy."

"It's not hot when you do it to me," Tor said patiently. "Just annoying."

"You're weird."

Tor smiled at him and pulled the door open, waiting for Jake to go in first. "In a good way," he said as Jake passed him. "I'll get lunch. If they're not out of the barn in ten minutes, you can go fetch

'em."

Jake nodded and went up the stairs, putting Cath's bag in the spare room. They'd redecorated it

again, using pastels and whitewashed furniture to make it as bright and warm as they could. It was-

n't the same as when they'd decorated what had become Jacob's room for 'Lissa and Cath and

Becky, but he hoped Cath would like it and feel welcome.

They had lunch, toured the house, and then Jake took Cath around part of the spread in a truck, af-

ter unsuccessfully trying to get her to ride with him on River.

"I haven't ridden in years," Cath protested. "Next time, I promise."

"It's easy," Jacob assured her. "Really. Okay, your thighs hurt a lot for the first while, but then it gets easier."

Cath raised an eyebrow at him and pointed to the truck. "That has drink holders and won't hurt my

thighs."

"Shouldn't have mentioned that part," Jacob said mildly. "Oh, well. See you when you get back--

I'm going out on Cobi."

"Don't be late for dinner," Tor and Jake said at the same time, sighing when Cath laughed at them.

Later that night, after the grilling and the evening chores, after Jacob had carried himself off to his room for the night, Jake sat out on the porch sipping his apple juice while Tor joined Cath in a cold

beer. He was vaguely surprised Elias wasn't there, and said so.

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"He'll be around," Cath said with a wink. "Just letting family visit for a bit first."

"Elias is family," Jake said, conceding to himself that if Cath and Elias did anything more than flirt just to tease him it wouldn't be the end of the world. As long as Elias didn't leave the spread, anyway. "I'll call him in a couple of minutes."

Tor nodded, settling deeper into his chair. "So what do you think, Cath?"

Cath smiled at them both, looking relaxed and rested and healthier than Jake had hoped to see her.

"It's a great place. You've done well here, guys. Jacob seems happy."

"He's getting there," Jake said softly. "He's got his moments--we all do. But he's busy and trying new things, and I think he's dealing with things okay. School's good, he's got friends, that horse… I

think he's doing okay."

Cath nodded and lifted her bottle. "He's grown damn near an inch and a half. Does he always eat

that much?"

"Yes," Tor laughed. "Eat and sleep and ride. That's Jacob."

Cath laughed. "Good. And you two? How're you doing?" She looked at them, her gaze growing

more speculative, searching their faces.

"Adjusting," Jake said with a shrug. "We're fine. Fitting things together. It's different than what we're used to, but it's working."

Tor nodded slowly. "It is. It's working fine."

Cath looked across the yard, then back at them. "It's… interesting, looking in on this. I mean, not what anyone would have figured--Jake being the one out of all of us to be settled like this. A home,

a piece of land, and married with a kid. Of the four of us, I don't think anyone would have picked

you for this." She smiled at him and reached for his hand. "I'm glad it's you. You've done good, Jake."

Tor smiled and nodded at him and Jake looked out over his ranch, his throat tightening. "Yeah," he said finally. "I guess I have."

He had it all. He'd never expected it, never dared to hope for it, but there it was. Family, a home,

and land to work on. More than he'd had any right to dream for, but it was his and he wasn't ever

going back to less than that.

He looked at Tor and smiled back at him. Luckily, he wouldn't have to. They had it all, and they

were keeping it.

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