Brody closed the door behind him, locking them inside. He took a deep breath. He’d left Tucker with Shane Landon, who’d promised not to murder the bloke. Riley Blade hadn’t been able to promise the same. He’d taken the first watch outside the house while Shane and Tucker sat in the kitchen, drinking endless rounds of coffee and watching the security monitors.

And Shane was answering Tucker’s rapid-fire questions. He hadn’t stopped talking all evening. Tucker had been fascinated by the suburbs. He’d finally seen one of the trains and then told the story to everyone about how he’d nearly gotten them murdered by one. He’d gone with Adam to a big box store that he’d described as magical but was really just a place to buy nappies for Nate and some clothes and toiletries Brody prayed would work for Steph. Adam had treated Tucker like a child he was babysitting, buying the bloke lollies and soda Brody was sure would get him hyped up on sugar.

The only person who’d asked more questions than Tucker had been Serena Dean-Miles.

“I was worried Serena would think we were imposing, but she seemed more than happy for us to be here,” Steph said, her voice quiet. The sound of a chair creaking rhythmically let him know she was sitting in the rocking chair. “Do you think she understands how dangerous it is to be around me?”

“I assure you she’s been informed,” he replied. Another deep breath. They were finally alone. After hours and hours of being surrounded by others. They’d gotten stuck in traffic for an hour. Then he’d spent the early evening making himself acquainted with the house and the grounds, walking the security wall to ensure there was no way in. Dinner had been a big affair, with Serena and Steph making spaghetti and meatballs with a big salad. He’d watched them when he could, loving the way Steph relaxed around the other woman, laughing for the first time in hours as Serena made her feel at home.

“Somehow, I think Serena is made of sterner stuff than you think,” he replied, finally turning around.

Fuck, but she was beautiful. In the low light of the bedroom, with her hair down, there was practically a halo around her pretty face. Nate was in her arms, looking up toward his mother, and there was no way to miss the utter adoration on the boy’s face. One pudgy hand reached up, trying to catch his mother’s hair.

“She’s a nice lady and incredibly talented.” Steph eased a lock of hair out of Nate’s grabby hand. “I like her books a lot. They got me through a few rough times. I think she’s looking to make you her next hero.”

Serena wrote romance novels. He’d never read one, but he’d heard she took heavily from McKay-Taggart missions. “Nah, she’s just trying to get a bit of the lingo down.”

“She asked you about a lot more than Aussie slang,” Steph continued. “You never told me you served in Afghanistan.”

At least she was talking. She wasn’t talking about what he wanted, but she wasn’t trying to throw him out of the room, either. “Yeah, I went into the Army right out of school. The minute I was allowed to sign up, I did. I joined up right before 9/11.”

“Right before the world changed,” she said quietly.

“Yeah. My brother was already a legend by then. When the war in Afghanistan came around, I was in one of the three combat units that went. Was there for a couple of years.” He stepped closer, well aware he was moving from the shadows into the light. He did better in shadows, but he couldn’t hide there any longer. “He’s so small.”

She chuckled. “You’re joking, right?”

He shook his head, staring down at the baby. His baby. Tiny and fragile.

“Brody, he came out of my body weighing ten pounds. Ten freaking pounds. You do understand that most babies come in at seven pounds, maybe seven and a half. I practically gave birth to a toddler.”

“He looks pretty small to me.”

“Do you want to hold him?” She asked the question with the cautious tone of a woman who wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

He was scared to. Nothing in his life had scared him quite like that tiny boy in her arms. He barely remembered his father, and most of those were ghostly visions of a monster who used his fists to do his talking. His father had been a drunk and an abusive arse who’d left his mum with two kids and piece of shit station that she’d had to make work.

“Brody, it’s okay.” She stood, easily moving with the baby in her arms. “Sit down to hold him at first. It’s fine. You’re not going to drop him.”

“What if I hold him too tight?” There were plenty of things he could do wrong. He was big and clumsy at times.

A smile curled her lips up as she offered him the chair. “Then Nate will let you know. He’s not one to suffer in silence.”

“He’s barely made a sound all night.” Brody worried about the chair. It looked somewhat delicate, too. He didn’t want to break it.

“The chair is solid, Brody,” she said with a shake of her head. “You know you’re always worried you’re too big for furniture. Get over yourself. Yes, you’re all big and muscley, but most furniture is still going to be able to handle you. If my crappy folding chairs in the mess hall could take you, I think you’re fine in a rocking chair.”

There was something about the saucy way she teased him that got his motor running. Most women didn’t tease him, didn’t turn their tart tongues on the scarred bloke who looked like he’d killed many times. Women either saw him as a challenge or they were intimidated by him and stayed away. Only Steph had ever managed to get close to him, to show him she wasn’t going to take his shit, that she saw right through him.

He gave the chair his full weight and let himself rock gently. She was right. It wasn’t going to crumble under him. Another couple of pounds of baby boy wouldn’t change things. He nodded her way. “It’s solid. I think it’s safe.”

“Nate’s solid, too,” she promised him. “He’s not going to break. Have you never been around babies before?”

“Not until I met you. Not until I was in the clinic, and even then I tried to stay away from them,” he admitted.

She stood over him, though even standing while he sat, they were practically eye to eye. “I did notice that. I thought you didn’t like kids, but then you blew that all to hell by spending all your time letting the older kids treat you like a jungle gym.”

He smiled at the memory. He’d let the older ones climb him like a tree at times. One boy in particular. Ardu had a bum leg, the bones in his left leg shorter than his right, so he didn’t grow the way other kids did. They’d made fun of him for being short and one day Brody had lifted the kid up and settled him on his shoulders, letting him see the world from a different point of view. He’d walk for hours with Ardu hanging on, the boy’s wonder at the different view making any annoyance evaporate. “I like kids, Steph. Just never expected to have any of my own.”

“Well, sometimes plans change. Here’s your son, Brody Carter.” She eased the boy into his arms.

Whoa. The boy was staring up at him, his blue eyes wide, and for a second he was worried the kid was going to cry at the sight of his father’s face. He knew he wasn’t the prettiest man in the world. He had more than a few scars. He wore his hair too short. He thought he looked a bit cruel even when he wasn’t trying to.

And then the most heartbreakingly gorgeous toothless grin broke over the boy’s face.

Tears clouded his eyes. There was no way to hold them back. He reached down and touched that baby-soft skin. Nate’s cheeks were fat and precious. The baby reached up and gripped his father’s index finger in his hand, squeezing with surprising strength.

He was completely, utterly, madly in love.

“I think he likes me,” he managed to say.

Steph moved in behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Of course he does. He knows his father. I’m glad you’re here, Brody. I’ll go get his bottle. If he eats, he might sleep longer than a few hours.”

She moved away, and he felt the loss of that connection.

“Call Tucker. He’ll bring you one,” he said. He couldn’t, wouldn’t take his gaze off her.

She turned, both brows rising over her eyes like he’d said something truly ridiculous. “Seriously? That man barely knows how to open a can of soda, much less how to make a bottle.”

“Then I’ll come with you.” He was afraid of getting up and jostling Nate. The boy seemed perfectly comfy. He was wriggling, bouncing in Brody’s arms as he held on to his finger.

She was already in motion, reaching into her diaper bag and pulling out a smaller bag. “Do you think I’m not ready? I’ve raised that boy in a place where if I needed to go to the kitchen to get him a bottle in the middle of the night, I would have to walk a quarter of a mile and deal with a bunch of critters who hunt at night. I’ve learned how to use a cold bag and a bottle warmer.”

She plugged something in and settled the bottle inside the device.

“I’m sorry, but I think it’s best we stay together and in one place.” He rocked Nate, watching his every expression.

“So what does that mean for tonight?” Steph asked.

Damn it. He was kind of hoping she’d be so tired she wouldn’t fight him. He’d thought she might even let him in bed because the bed was pretty big. It wouldn’t be his fault if he rolled over and they ended up pressed side by side. If his arms wrapped around her, would that be such a bad thing? “Steph, I’m not leaving this room.”

She nodded his way. “I figured that’s what you would say. It’s all right.”

Excellent. “I’m glad you’re being reasonable.”

“Serena told me where the extra sheets and blankets are. There’s a linen closet in the bathroom. I’ll make up the sofa for myself.”

“You bloody well will not.”

She glanced down at the bottle. “You won’t fit on the couch. I will. Besides, I can be closer to Nate that way.”

“Nate’s crib is right across the room. You’ll be plenty close in the bed. And the bed is big enough for both of us,” he replied, cuddling closer to his son.

“You honestly believe I’m going to sleep with you?”

So much for her being reasonable. “Stephanie, we have a kid.”

“Yes, and I was on birth control at the time which proves that your sperm are dangerous and they’re not coming anywhere near my ovaries again. I’m worried that simply being in the same room with you might be too close for comfort.”

“I know it’s soon, but do you want him to be an only child?”

Her eyes went wide. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means a boy needs siblings.” He could be stubborn, too. “I know you didn’t have any, but you have to understand that brothers and sisters are important to a kid. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t had Harry in my life.”

She held a hand up. “No. You’re not going to distract me. Brody, what do you think is happening between the two of us?”

“I think it already happened.”

Nate started to frown as though he’d realized something terrible. His little mouth opened on a low moan.

Brody stared down at him, his heart starting to race. “Did I hurt him?”

Steph took the bottle out, testing the liquid against her wrist. “Nope, that is the calm before the storm.”

Another moan, this one starting to have an edge of anger to it. Nate’s mouth screwed up and then his whole body seemed to tighten, his skin turning red before a wrathful squall seemed to shake the walls.

Steph shoved a bottle in Nate’s mouth and he started to suck furiously.

“He’s a drama queen,” she said with a shake of her head. “And he goes from perfectly content to oops, there’s a small place in my stomach where food could go, and then he’s like a starving demon. There’s only one thing to do and that’s shove food in his mouth. See, back to being a perfect angel. You have to hold the bottle at the right angle or he gets frustrated.”

What the hell had happened? Nate was back to staring up at him like he was completely fascinated and now content to relax and get to know his dad since Mum had been smart enough to know how to soothe the tiny beast.

“Brody, we need to talk.”

He knew that tone of voice. This was the part when she told him he’d fucked up and wouldn’t get another chance. He knew that was what she was thinking. He had to get her thinking something else. Anything else. He said the first thing to come to mind. “He’s my mum’s first grandbaby, you know.”

He watched her struggle between continuing the conversation she knew she should have and asking the questions she’d always wanted. All those months they’d spent together, he’d dodged all questions about his past and his family. When she would ask, he would turn the conversation back to her.

“You never talked about your mom. I wondered if she was still alive.”

Win. “My mum is alive and kicking. Strongest woman I know. She still lives back on Wanga Woo.”

“Excuse me?”

He felt himself flush a bit. “Wanga Woo. Hey, it’s not the worst name in Australia. We’ve got towns like Humpty Doo, Mount Buggery, Dismal Swamp. Quite descriptive if you ask me. Wanga Woo was founded by a couple of brothers who got themselves transported over from England for stealing. Then they got kicked out of Sydney for the same reason and finally found a bit of fortune in Western Australia. What you would call the Outback. They named their station after a particularly punchy kangaroo. And yes, those brothers were Carters. I’m directly descended from them and no, we don’t fight kangaroos anymore. Well, at least we don’t go looking for it. Some of the buggers will find you though.”

She sat down on the edge of the bed. “Your ancestors fought kangaroos?”

“Some people think that’s what went wrong with our brains,” he said.

Nate giggled around the nipple in his mouth.

“That’s right, little fella. Your nanna put a right stop to that. She told me and your uncle that she wasn’t going to stand for none of that kind of roughhousing. She’s a lady, she is.” At least she’d always seemed that way to him. He looked up at Steph. “Not that anyone else would think that. My mum ain’t the kind to wear nice dresses and stuff. She had a station to run, but she always made sure that our bellies got fed and that we went to church every Sunday all clean like. So she’s always a lady in my mind.”

“She sounds like a lovely lady,” Steph replied. “I’d like to meet her someday. Well, as long as the kangaroos won’t attack.”

“Nah, they’re all right. For the most part you leave them alone and they’ll let you alone. And the snakes and spiders are way overblown. Again, you leave them alone and you’ll be fine.”

“And the crocs?”

He snorted. “I’m talking the Outback, luv. Two kinds of crocs in Australia. The saltwater crocs are the dangerous ones and they’re not in the Outback. We’ve got a couple of freshies in what little water you can find, but they’re small and shy. One brushes up against you in the billabong and you give that old boy a good punch on the snout and he’ll slink away. Hell, my brother and I named the one in the river that ran through the back acreage of our station.”

“That is disappointing. I thought Australia was super deadly.”

“The sun’ll get you,” he said, turning his attention back to his son. “So will the quiet sometimes. Being isolated like that, well, it works for some, makes others mean. The heat can make a man crazy. One of the best things I’ve done since joining up with McKay-Taggart is being able to buy my mum a reliable air conditioner. Had to talk her into it though. She was sure it would make her soft.”

“Why did you leave? You didn’t want to work on a station?”

“By then she’d sold off most of the land. She doesn’t make her money that way anymore. She married a man who worked with a mineral company. He had stock in the damn thing and made a mint when they hit natural gas. She’d been working to feed and clothe us all by herself since I was six or seven.” That was when his mum had enough. He wasn’t sure why she’d done it, what had broken her resolve to keep them together despite the fact that his dad had been a piece of shit. He suspected that dear old dad had threatened something Mum had loved far more than her husband. He wasn’t sure, but one day his father had been gone and a year and a half later, the police had shown up to inform his mum that Dad had been killed in a bar fight in Coober Pedy. “My biological dad was a worthless bum who beat the shit out of me and Harry but saved the best for my mum. My stepdad is a vast improvement. He’s a really good man.”

His mother had wept when his dad had left, but he rather thought they’d been tears of relief.

It’ll be all right, Mum. I can help.

Oh, we’ll be all right, my lovie. Don’t you doubt that and don’t think we need him for a moment. You’ll be a better man without him around.

Did Steph feel the same way about him?

“I’m sorry about your dad, but it’s good your mom found someone new. I wish mine had. I was close to mine for a long time and then we kind of drifted apart,” she admitted. “My mom died a few years back. I don’t talk to my dad anymore.”

“Why is that?”

“I made a mistake back in high school,” she said, her eyes on the ground.

He knew her story. He’d been given background on her and her association with Avery and Liam O’Donnell. “That was an accident. No father should drop his baby girl because she makes a mistake.”

“It was a big mistake.”

“Ain’t no mistake that big. You tell me if there is anything this boy could do that would make you turn from him. I just met him and I can tell you I’ll stand by him for the rest of his life. He might disappoint me, but he’s my boy. He’s mine and that means I will be at his side even if the worst happens.”

She looked up finally, tears in her eyes. “I won’t leave him either. Not for any reason.”

“Yeah, I think you and my mum will get on just fine.” He rocked and Nate’s eyes were starting to close.

“I’m tired, Brody. I think I’ll get dressed and go to bed. I’ll be out in a minute to put him down.”

“I can handle it. You take a nice long shower. I’ve got the boy. And I’ll take the couch.”

She stood up. “It’s fine. It’s a king-size bed. I’m sure we’ll survive one night. And thanks for telling me about your mom. I know you don’t like to talk about the past.”

“All that’s changed now,” he told her. “Anything you want to know, I’ll talk.”

“Brody,” she began.

“No. No matter what happens between us, we have to be friends, and I didn’t treat you like a friend back then.”

“It felt like friendship.”

“It was more but I was too stupid to see it. No more talk. Go and relax. We’ll get a good night’s sleep and things will look up in the morning. That’s what Mum used to say. I’m not calling her now because they could be monitoring us, but I hope you’ll let me send her pictures when this is over.”

“Of course.” She glanced at the bathroom. “If you’re okay taking care of him, maybe I could take a bath. It’s been a long time since I had access to a tub, much less one the size of a small pool. I wish I was married to Serena.”

He smiled at that. And got hot at the idea of her in that tub. “Go on then, luv. Take as long as you like. We’ll be fine out here.”

She leaned over and kissed Nate’s head then disappeared into the bathroom.

A sense of peace came over Brody, unlike anything he’d felt before. It was settled. He was a dad and now he knew he had work to do. Why had he avoided this all his life? This boy in his arms gave him purpose and meaning he hadn’t found before.

There was only one thing wrong now.

“Your mother thinks we’re going to be friends, but I’ve got a secret for you, son.” He gently pulled the bottle out of Nate’s mouth since his whole body had gone slack with sleep. “We’re going to be a family. She’s going to marry me, and I finally know what to do with my life. Make her happy. Some people, they have great callings. Like your mum. She’s a special person and I thought that meant she needed another special person to be with her. But I can see that was wrong. Two people with great callings have to focus on their callings, on their careers or work. But with me, well, she’ll be the reason I’m special and I’ll make sure she has everything she needs. What she needs is a dumb grunt who loves her so much he’s willing to give everything to her and their family. I promise you, Nathan. By the end of this, we’re all going to be together.”

Or he would die trying.

He thought briefly about putting the baby in his crib and trying to get a bit of work done, but it felt better to sit, to rock with his son in his arms.

For the first time in forever, he knew what peace meant.