March came in like a lion in New York, dumping a full foot of snow onto already saturated streets. The city was already efficient with its cleanup and did their usual best with what they had, but that didn’t change the fact that millions of people had to commute through a slushy mess to get to where they were going. Even though Ty only had to go a couple of blocks to get to or from the office, he wasn’t immune from the crankiness caused by wet feet or cold wind.

He couldn’t think of Carter down in Florida with anything like equanimity. He knew Carter was working hard, and doing arcane rituals to prepare himself for the baseball season instead of sitting around in the sand watching the waves. Still, he couldn’t help but imagine Carter in a pair of swim trunks, sitting on a towel and smelling of sun block. In his better moments he could even imagine himself beside Carter.

It had been too long since he’d taken a vacation, of any kind, with anyone. Carter wouldn’t be available for a vacation until November, of course. If Ty had any kind of luck at all, he would be pregnant by then. Unless he was sterile, of course, in which case he would just have to deal with it.

He’d been getting daily updates from Carter about Spring Training, updates that helped Ty to feel like he was part of whatever was going on down there. Sometimes he got a picture of the guys doing all kinds of weird exercises to strengthen themselves and get ready for the season. Sometimes he got pictures of individual ball players, being serious or goofing off. Once he got a picture of a grumpy looking Tracy Belmonte, arguing with something that had to be the other team’s mascot. At least, he hoped it was the other team’s mascot.

He responded, of course. Trying to think of ways to reply only reinforced all of the ways in which Keegan was right. Ty was boring, and his life was boring. He liked what he did, but he could hardly send a picture of himself reviewing laws about the estates of people under investigation.

Not that he expected to hold Carter’s interest for long anyway. Carter seemed interested now, and Ty appreciated that. He loved the way he felt when he was around Carter. He hated that he’d needed Keegan to fix him up with some guy, and to have what amounted to a fake relationship. When he was with Carter, it didn’t feel fake. It felt more real than anything he’d had with any of the jerks his dads had fixed him up with.

Maybe he just didn’t know how to tell the difference.

He pushed his doubts aside as he kept up his communications with Carter. He found things to text Carter about. Weird little law foibles that popped up during the day weren’t likely to be of much interest, he’d learned that much over the years, but he took pictures of funny scenes at the courthouse when he had to go. He took pictures of his cats, too. Carter seemed to have a special fondness for Amun, so he sent a few extra pictures of his most rascally cat.

He went out once with Keegan, because Keegan insisted he wasn’t going to let him be some kind of hermit. Ty sent pictures of that, too, even though he stuck to water because of the potential for pregnancy. That alone made Keegan roll his eyes. “You get that most people don’t know they’re pregnant for at least a month and they drink like fish, right? And the kid turns out fine?”

Ty made a face at his brother. It was juvenile and ridiculous, and it felt good. “It’s not like I get any do-overs. I want to do it right.”

“Suit yourself, Captain Buzzkill.” Keegan ordered two drinks anyway and informed their server he was Ty’s designated drinker. She just gave him an exasperated look and turned to Ty. “Is he driving anywhere?”

“Hell no, ma’am.”

“That’s fine, then.” And she left to bring them their orders.

“So,” Keegan said, sitting up a little straighter, “I got a visit from an old friend of yours.”

Ty let his head fall back until he was looking up at the ceiling. “Let me guess. The eternally charming Sebastian Britton.”

Keegan toyed with his fork. “Good God, that guy was always such a douche. Remind me why you were going to marry him again?”

“I’d tell you but I don’t know. I can’t think for the life of me why I thought that was a good idea.” Ty covered his face. “Did he turn into a bigger jerk while he was in London, or was I just too dumb to see it?”

“Both. And he was not complementary about Mr. Bowman, not even a little bit.” Keegan shuddered. “He’s totes jealous, bro.”

Ty tried to translate Keegan’s words. “No. He’s the one who left, remember? And he was never that into me. It’s our dads he liked, and their money.”

“Mmm-hmm. But now you’ve got money of your own, your trust fund, and the money you’ll get when they kick off. And my estate, because you know I’m never tying myself down.” He stretched his back out and scratched his belly, a proud smile splitting his face.

“Right. Right. But he can’t honestly think I’d take him back. He made his feelings about me pretty clear when he left.” Ty almost reached for one of the glasses the server delivered when she showed up, but he remembered himself just in time. The thought of Seb coming back for him would have been all he wanted seven years ago, or even six.

He was older now, and wiser.

“Well, it’s not like this thing with Carter’s a long-term deal. But, I wouldn’t if I were you.” Keegan shrugged. “It’s up to you, and obviously our dads would be thrilled. Beau has been jawing my ear off about it for three weeks now.”

“Ugh.” Ty slumped down. Maybe the baby—if there was a baby—would be okay if he had a drink after all. When did the fetal brain develop again? Better not chance it. “The great part about hanging up on him is that he won’t do that to me anymore.”

“You hung up on him? For reals? Sweet, bro, sweet.” Keegan clapped his hands loud enough for the whole bar to hear. “That explains why they want us over there for brunch on Sunday, but they made me be the one to tell you.”

Ty closed his eyes and counted to ten. “You’re choosing now to tell me this?”

“Well, yeah, dude. Anyway, we should be there at ten. Hangovers are optional, but it’s probably best to not have one. You know how Beau can be.”

“Oh, yes.” Ty managed a tight smile. “I do know just how much fun Beau can be.”

He mentioned the upcoming ordeal in his text to Carter that night. Carter called him up, concerned. “Are you going to be okay? I know you and your dads don’t have the greatest relationship.”

That was the amazing thing about Carter. He thought about things like that. “I’ll survive. Keegan will be there. He’s kind of an ass, but he’s never hesitated to go toe to toe with… well, anyone when he felt he needed to. He’s funny that way.” He licked his lips. “Do you think you’ll want to meet them?”

“I’m a little worried about mouthing off at them myself, but you know what? I’ve already got your approval. I don’t give a good goddamn about theirs.” He chuckled. “It’s funny. I know we’re doing everything backwards, but it’s kind of freeing in a weird way. We don’t have to worry about whether or not our parents like our choice, or anything like that. We’re already married.”

Ty laughed as the tension ebbed out of him. “It’s true. We are.” One of the cats pounced his finger, attracted by the ring. “You’ll have to forgive me if I’m looking forward to April, though.”

“Oh, me too, Ty. Me too.”

Sunday arrived. Ty took a Lyft to his parents’ place. He could have walked, but there was still enough snow and salt on the ground that he didn’t feel like it. He dressed up a little, even including a tie, because that was who his parents were.

He timed his arrival to happen five minutes late. Normally, Ty abhorred lateness. It was Sunday, and they hadn’t even bothered to tell him to come over on their own. He didn’t feel compelled to be all that punctual, and this way he was a little more likely to have his brother there to run interference for him. Just as he’d planned, Keegan was waiting for him when he walked in the door.

His alpha father, Ed, handed him a mimosa without preamble. Keegan was sprawled out on the couch, with a mimosa in hand and an empty glass on the table in front of him. Ah, good. It’s going to be one of those get-togethers, I see.

He tried to push the glass away. “Thanks, Dad, but I’m trying to avoid alcohol these days. It’s early to tell yet, but I don’t know if I’m pregnant or not, and I’d rather not risk it.”

Ed’s face darkened, and he pressed the glass into Ty’s hand. “Nonsense. Your father drank while he was pregnant with you, and you turned out just fine.”

Ty stopped resisting. Sure, if by “fine” you mean “has to pay someone to marry him” and “so boring his own brother thinks he is “hopeless.” Maybe it was for the best that Carter was safely in Florida. He shouldn’t have to see Ty like this.

“Now that we’re all here,” Beau drawled, “maybe we can finally eat our brunch before it all freezes over.” He stood up and swept off into the large formal dining room.

Keegan caught Ty’s eye and rolled his. Ty understood his brother without having to hear words. Apparently it had been a long morning already. If Beau’s behavior was any indication, those two mimosas were definitely necessary.

They seated themselves at the ridiculously long dining table. No one needed a table this long in New York, not anymore. Ed had inherited it from his grandfather, who’d inherited it from his, and so on and so forth. They would keep the stupid table in the family until the end of time, or until some descendant finally wised up and shipped it out of the city. For now, Ed took his proper place at the head of the table. His husband sat at his right hand, his alpha son at his left, and Ty sat beside Keegan. His proper place was beside Beau, as the omega son. He knew it, but he made the choice to sit next to his brother.

Keegan didn’t react, other than to burp loudly. Beau’s eyes blazed, and Ed put his own mimosa down to stare at Ty from under his bushy eyebrows. “You’re out of place, Tyler.”

“Usually.” A servant, dressed in a gray dress, approached and filled his coffee cup. He picked it up and sipped from it, while his fathers sputtered.

“What’s gotten into you, Tyler? You’ve never been this openly defiant before. I mean yes, you defied us when you let Sebastian get away, but that was different. This is just you needling us to be petty. Why are you needling us, Tyler? You’ve already gotten what you wanted. You wrested control of the trust fund, against our better judgement.” Ed’s rumbling voice even made the servant nervous.

Ty just sat calmly and waited for someone to pass him the eggs. “It’s hardly needling to sit in a different space, Dad. I haven’t been here in two years. It doesn’t seem all that important to sit on one side of the table versus another. This way Keegan and I can pester each other without having to risk kicking Dad in the process.”

Keegan elbowed him, lightly, to help him prove his point. Then he passed the eggs.

“It’s disgraceful is what it is. We made a mistake sending you to college in the first place.” Beau narrowed his eyes at Ty. “What does an omega need with college anyway? It wasn’t like you were going to have to get a job. You could walk away from that foolish thing tomorrow and be perfectly fine for the rest of your life. It’s ruined you for a husband.”

“Now dad,” Keegan said, and slugged down the rest of his mimosa. The servant appeared from out of nowhere with another one as he continued. “You know Ty’s already got a husband.”

Ed waved a hand. “Poppycock. Everyone knows that isn’t a real marriage. They didn’t make an announcement, they didn’t go on a honeymoon. Tyler didn’t even take the next day off from work, and they’re still living in separate apartments.” He pointed at Ty. “That cornfed cretin is using you for your money.”

“Every guy you tried to set me up with was using me for your money.” Ty shrugged. “And who says poppycock anymore?”

Beau gasped, dropped his fork, and covered his mouth with both hands.

“Carter and I have an understanding. We know what to expect from each other. We have a prenup in place so that, in the event of a divorce, he knows exactly what he’ll receive in terms of compensation. He can’t be using me for any more than that, unlike—oh, Keegan, what was his name?”

“St. James.” Keegan grinned, wolfish and a little sloppy. “Who names their kid St. James?”

“Their family is a very old Connecticut family,” Beau informed them, standing up.

“Canonizing your child before they’ve figured out how to open their eyes seems a little silly to me.” Tyler sipped from his coffee again. He’d have to remember to send his brother a present. “Anyway, he wasn’t even shy about using me for your money. He wanted me to sign the trust fund over to him outright before he’d even kiss me. That’s why I dumped him, by the way.”

“Nonsense.” Ed scowled at him. “I know the boy well.”

“Apparently not, because he’s also got three illegitimate children to support and his parents won’t contribute a dime toward them.” Keegan yawned. “The guy’s a scumbag. He honestly thought Ty was just going to put up with it.”

“And why wouldn’t he? They’re a respectable family.” Beau crossed his arms over his chest. “All alphas have their foibles. I’ve raised you, Tyler, to be tolerant and understanding of your alpha. They have their needs, and they’re important men. You can’t expect them to devote themselves entirely to you.”

Ty held up a hand. “I don’t want to hear any more. It’s making me think very differently about you and Dad, and that’s just not someplace I want my brain to go right now.” Wow, talking back to his parents was feeling pretty darned good. “I’ve found an alpha I like, who likes me. We’ve agreed to what we expect from the other, and that’s all there needs to be to it. What’s done is done. Why don’t we just enjoy our brunch in peace and have a very pleasant day?”

Beau sat down, blinking like he was starting to doubt his reality. Ed set his jaw, but forced a smile to his face. Tyler knew that look. His father might have lost the battle, but the war wasn’t over.

* * *

Ty called on Sunday night. Carter had been waiting on pins and needles for that call. He had a half-formed idea in his head that Ty’s parents, who bore some resemblance to aliens from Star Wars or something but also wore tuxedos to breakfast, might have eaten him. According to Ty, they hadn’t, and they probably wouldn’t have. “They hate me too much for that,” he said bluntly. “They were pissed because I sat in the wrong seat at brunch, never mind the rest of it. Apparently at thirty-one I can still be ‘defiant.’”

Carter leaned back against the painted cinderblock walls of his assigned room. “Yeah, well, at this late date you’re not likely to change them. Thankfully it’s only three weeks until opening day. Can you hold out that long?”

Ty sighed. “I don’t know, Carter. I might just need to run away from home. You know, at thirty-one. Leave the cats, leave my job, and come pout on the beach until you come find me.”

“Why do I get the impression that you wouldn’t make it easy for me, either?” Carter chuckled.

“Are you kidding me? I haven’t been on a beach since, um, hoo boy. Junior year of undergrad? Must be. Yeah, I mean I did an externship with a firm in San Juan the summer between first and second year of law school, but there wasn’t a lot of time to go to the beach then.”

Carter gaped for a moment. “And that’s why you speak Spanish.”

“Actually, I double majored. But yeah, I speak it. I’m not holding a grudge against your coach or anything.” He took a deep breath. “Anyway, when I get to that beach you can bring me a daiquiri or something, because I took another pregnancy test and I failed it.”

Carter licked his lips. He could hear the frayed sound of Ty’s voice, even though he was doing his best to sound strong. If he was in New York, he could just get a cab over to Ty’s place and hold him for a while. He could try to show his support without trying to come up with words when no words could ever really do the trick. Instead he was all the way in Florida, where he could be about as useful as a frog on the Space Shuttle.

“Okay. Okay, first of all, sweetheart, you didn’t fail. It feels like it, especially to a genius like you who’s never actually failed a test, but that’s not how it works. No one has worked out the timing on omega fertility. We just don’t know. But we haven’t been trying for very long, and it’s okay if we have to keep trying for a while. At least, it’s okay with me.” He made himself smile. He didn’t have to work very hard, because he wasn’t lying here. “I’ll be the first to admit to how much I enjoy the trying.”

Ty scoffed, but when he spoke he sounded more shy than scornful. “You can’t really mean that.”

“Oh, but I do. I’m not a kinky guy, Ty. I don’t need a lot of bells and whistles and weird accessories and all that. I like being with you. I have fun with you in bed, and I have fun with you out of bed. I’m looking forward to seeing you. Not fulfilling my side of the bargain, but seeing you and spending time with you. And yeah, I want to give you a baby because you want a baby, but I get it might not happen right away, and I don’t mind one bit.”

Ty took a deep breath. “I don’t want to make you do anything. I know there are plenty of younger guys out there, livelier guys or whatever—”

“So? Maybe I would have noticed them before we got married. I don’t now. I’m telling you, Ty, I like you. It’s silly to tell you to calm down about making a baby. It’s something you want, something you’ve wanted for years, and you’re pretty worried about it. But Ty, we’ll get there. We’ve got three years, and we have the option to revisit that agreement. Okay? I’m not in a rush to cut you loose.”

Part of Carter felt like he was talking to a frightened animal. The rest of him felt like he was standing in an airplane doorway. He had his chute on, and he was pretty sure it would work, but he wasn’t ready to jump. Not yet.

Ty was silent for a good thirty seconds on the other end of the line. Carter knew he hadn’t hung up, because he could hear the cats mewling. When Ty did speak, he sounded a little more solid, a little less on the edge of a breakdown. “I don’t want you to feel pressured, Carter.”

“I don’t. I’m good. I’ll let you know if that changes, I promise.”

He could hear the little smile in Ty’s voice. He could almost see it, if he closed his eyes and relaxed enough. “Thanks, Carter. I sometimes wonder how it’s possible for you to be real. You’re amazing, you know that?”

Carter snorted. “I booted the ball like six times today in our split squad game.”

“I know. I recorded it and watched it to cheer myself up.”

Carter smiled so hard his face hurt. “Was that the first baseball game you ever watched?”

“Maybe…okay, yes. But it won’t be the last. I promise.”

“That’s probably the sweetest thing anyone’s said to me.” Carter wondered if he could explode from pride.

They finished their call with some basic small talk and hung up. It was late, and Carter was tired. Working out in the off season wasn’t the same thing as playing a game, even an early split-squad game when he got pulled in the sixth inning so Tracy could see what an eighteen year old kid could do.

He heard from Ty a few more times that week, which wasn’t unexpected. He also heard from Keegan on Wednesday, which was less expected. “Dude. We gotta talk.” Keegan sounded like he was hiding in a bar bathroom or something, which considering that it was Keegan might actually be the case.

Carter closed his eyes. Whatever it was that had Keegan calling him was probably important. “Hey, Keegan. What’s going on?”

“Well, I guess my first question needs to be, ‘what are your intentions with my brother?’ Because I’m not really sure right now. I thought I knew, but I can’t say I do now, and as his big brother I kind of do need to have the answer.”

“Are you drunk right now?”

“I’ve had like three martinis. I’m fine.”

Carter looked up at the ceiling. He’d had nothing but water since he got here. “Okay,” he said, and tried to keep his temper in check. “I like him more than I thought I would. I like him a lot, actually. It’s a little ass-backwards considering that we’re already married, but I’d say we’re still in the getting-to-know-you stage. That said, I’m not seeing anyone else, I’m not looking to see anyone else, I’m faithful—”

“Yeah, whatever. I didn’t ask about that. I asked about your intentions.”

Carter touched his lucky jersey, which was hanging out of his laundry hamper. Maybe it would give him strength. “Spend more time with him? Back him up when he needs it? Give him what he wants—the baby, whatever? Be a decent husband?”

Keegan let out a little sigh. Carter couldn’t tell if it was a sigh of relief or frustration. “So Seb’s been coming around. A lot.”

Carter fought down a wave of jealousy. If he punched the wall he’d have to explain his broken hand to the media, then he’d die of shame, and that would just be bad all around. “He’s pestering Ty?”

“Not for the most part. He stopped by Ty’s office once, Ty chased him off, that was the end of it. He tried to get friendly with me, like, three or four times.”

“Dude, no, he hates you.” Carter covered his mouth. “I’m sorry, it’s been a long day—”

“Don’t apologize, bro. It’s demeaning. Besides, it’s true. The dude’s looked down his nose at me for decades, just because I never wore an ascot and didn’t prance around with my nose in the air. He can take his decorum and his protocol and shove them up his—”

“Anyway, you said he’s been coming around?” Carter had to wonder just where Keegan was going with all of this, if he had to down three martinis just to bring it up.

“Right. He’s been getting all buddy-buddy with me. I send him packing, so he goes and hangs around with my dads. And let me tell you, he’s finding a much more receptive audience with them.” Keegan sniffed, loudly. “You know what he wants.”

“He wants Ty back.” Carter scratched his head. “Why? Don’t get me wrong, I think Ty’s pretty much perfect, but Seb there showed loud and clear that he does not share my opinion.”

“Exactly. And come on, bro. Perfect? He’s my brother, and even I wouldn’t go that far. But, anyway. I was wondering to myself, ‘Self? Why would your little brother’s asshole ex, who broke his heart into a million pieces, start sniffing around again? Is he just a sadist or does he have a deeper motive?’”

Maybe Keegan wasn’t as drunk as Carter thought. “I’m back from Spring Training on April second. My game should be done at around five. I can get away with bringing a bat home. Tell me where he lives, and I’ll go take care of the problem.”

“Dude. No. You’d be the first suspect, and you don’t want to go out like that for a guy like him. Okay? We play this smart or we don’t play it at all. Besides, I want to know what’s really going on here. I don’t get the impression that he’s gotten any better with age. Not at all.”

“No.” Carter shook his head, even though Keegan couldn’t see him. “He was talking about a promotion at work and said his husband died.”

“That’s a perfect place for me to start, bro. And thanks. You told me all I needed to know about your intentions with my brother.”

“I did?” Carter scratched his stubbly chin.

“Yeah. When I suggested he might want to hurt Ty, you were ready to go beat him down almost as soon as you got off the plane. You’re a good man, Carter. A good alpha.” The line went dead.

Carter stared at his phone for a moment. Keegan was one weird guy.

And, of course, because the universe just worked that way, someone knocked on his door just then. “Lights out was twenty minutes ago, Bowman.” Great. It was Tracy, and he was in a mood.

Carter got up to answer the door. “Sorry, Coach. Family call.”

“Your actual family, or that pack of freaks you married into?” Tracy crossed his arms over his chest and scowled.

Carter opened his mouth to object. He shouldn’t let anyone talk about Ty’s family that way. The only problem was that Tracy was right. “Er, the latter. Come on in.”

“Look. I get that new marriages carry a lot of drama,” Tracy said, letting Carter pull him into the room. “I do. Especially the first, because everything’s so new and delicate, and you just don’t know all the rules yet. But if I let you sit there and talk to your honey man all night then I have to let Oscar talk to his wife all night, and then he winds up beaning six guys and it’s all on me. Okay?”

“Er, Oscar’s the catcher, Tracy. And it wasn’t Ty I was talking to.” Carter explained the situation with Seb, Keegan, Ty, and the parents as best he could without getting too wordy. Tracy couldn’t tolerate unnecessary words. He claimed they gave him heartburn.

“Oh. Okay. That’s…still not a reason for you to have your lights on. Holy crap, Carter, I don’t care. The guy’s got an ex who wants him back? Great! That means you don’t have to stay married to him!” Tracy threw his hands up into the air.

“Tracy, this guy’s bad news. For one thing, Ty doesn’t want to be married to this guy. For another, if his brother’s calling me up three sheets to the wind to make sure I’m ready to protect Ty from this guy, he’s probably not someone to whose tender mercies I should be abandoning Ty.”

“Ugh.” Tracy rolled his eyes back into his head. “Fine, okay. Do you really want to get into this crap? Because it sounds like drama. You’ve got enough to worry about during the season without having to worry about whether or not some creeper is trying to chat up the guy you don’t want anyway.”

Carter ground his teeth. “It’s not that I don’t want him, Tracy. I do. Okay? I like him. And I wouldn’t want to abandon anyone to this guy. Something about him is really making me uncomfortable. Ty’s parents were desperate for him to marry Seb all those years ago. They’ve barely spoken to each other since the breakup—him and his parents, I mean. Now that I’m here, Seb’s all buttering up the parents again. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

Tracy pouted. He actually pouted. Then he scowled. “Didn’t you say his husband died?”

“Yeah. Yeah, he said the guy died about a year ago.”

Tracy’s scowl deepened. “So, we’ve got these scouts. Some of them are a little bored right now—the guys we had them watching washed out. Note your lack of a roommate.”

“I’ve been noticing that, Tracy.”

“Well, part of what they do is look into a guy’s background. I can’t promise they’ll find anything. There probably isn’t anything to find. But if there is, they’ll find it for you, or at least they’ll give you a good starting point. They’re pretty good. They’re the ones who found out that pitcher was actually ten years older than he said he was.”

“I remember that. Okay.” Carter rolled his shoulders. “Thanks, Tracy. That’s a load off of my mind.”

Tracy grinned at him, and then he pretended to scowl. “Well, you know, we can’t have you thinking about that kind of thing when you’re supposed to be playing. It affects performance, you know. I don’t like this whole contract marriage thing, but we’re friends, and if you’re worried about it I’m going to help you.” He patted Carter’s shoulder. “Lights out, buddy. I’ll see you in the morning.”