Steady gravity.
Sage had noticed it a long time ago.
Law Steel looked like he belonged in a place like this.
Then Sage’s attention drifted past him.
The house rose out of the Tennessee hillside like it had been there longer than the road leading up to it. Wide porch stretching the length of the front, tall white columns holding the roofline steady against the heavy summer sky. The place carried the quiet weight of age—high windows, deep shadows tucked under the eaves, wood darkened by decades of sun and rain.
Not flashy.
Just solid.
The kind of house that didn’t get built anymore.
Gravel crunched under his boots as he took a few slow steps forward, gaze lifting across the property. The yard spread out wide and green, acres of it rolling gently away from the house. Old trees framed the edges of the land, their branches stirring lazily in the humid July air.
A weathered swing set stood off to one side of the yard, the chains creaking in the breeze. Farther back, tucked into the branches of a massive oak, a rough-built tree house leaned against the trunk like it had been there since someone’s childhood.
Buckshot trotted over to a nearby bush and lifted his leg, tail wagging like he’d just claimed the whole place.
Somewhere around the side of the house, people were moving—voices drifting through the trees, a door shutting, someone laughing.
Family noise.
The kind that never really stopped.
The SUV doors opened behind him.
Micah climbed out first, stretching his arms over his head like the drive had personally offended him. He took one look at the house and let out a laugh.
“Man grew up in a mansion and never mentioned it.”
Black followed, shutting his door with a click before stepping around the vehicle. Winter came out last, tall and silent, his gaze sweeping across the property once before settling on the house.
The front door suddenly burst open.
Two kids came tearing out onto the porch like they’d been launched from inside, sneakers pounding across the boards.
“Uncle Law!”
The shout carried across the yard.
A smaller one barreled after them a second later, nearly tripping over the threshold before recovering and sprinting toward the steps.
“Uncle Law’s here!”
“A puppy!”
Buckshot bounced around the kids, his whole body wiggling.
More voices answered from inside the house.
Sage blinked once, watching the chaos unfold.
Yeah.
This was a big family house.
