A new sense of anticipation built in Carter's gut as he walked Brand to the door. Unlike Brand, his worries, though they were small, didn't center around his mom. She might be protective of him, but she'd always given him the space to make his own choices. She had little patience for uncertainties, but given that he and Brand were already mated, he was certain she would accept Brand with open arms.

Carter knew that Jax loved Brand, but how would he feel with him as a step-dad? Jax was generally quiet about Aaron. Carter's mom said that he would occasionally talk to her about him, but he would rarely talk to Carter about him, even when Carter started the conversation. The last thing Carter wanted was to make Jax feel like Brand was trying to replace Aaron. He was fairly certain it had been Jax they'd heard and who'd left the curtains swinging. He must have seen his dad and Brand kissing. What did he think of it?

Carter opened the door, calling out, "I'm home!" He peered into the living room, but it was empty now.

"In the kitchen," his mother called back.

Carter and Brand walked hand in hand to the kitchen. Carter's mother quickly sized up the situation, glancing between the two of them, then down at their joined hands, and said, "Well?"

"Mom, I'd like to officially introduce you to my mate, Brand."

She busted out one of her rare, full smiles that dazzled anyone lucky enough to witness it. She stepped forward to wrap Brand in a hug. "Welcome to the family. Call me Debra."

Jax stayed seated, drawing on a piece of paper, glancing up at the two of them from underneath his brow.

"Jax? What do you think?" Carter asked, trying to keep the nervousness from his voice.

"Does this mean Dr. Delaney is going to be my new dad?"

Brand and Carter shared a look, and Brand squeezed Carter's hand before stepping forward to lean on the island next to Jax. "It means I'm going to be part of this family, now. I'm going to come live here. But as far as me being your new dad, well, that's up to you. Do you want a new dad?"

Jax flicked his pencil across his paper, just making lines, and Carter held his breath.

"It's okay if you don't know right now," Brand said. "I really like being your friend. And I'm excited that we can become better friends because I'm your daddy's mate. Is it okay if I'm still your friend if I'm living here?"

Jax seemed to think about it. "Am I going to have to share my room?"

Brand held his chuckle in better than Carter, who jumped in to say, "No, Jax. I'll share my room with Brand."

Jax nodded. "That's okay, then. Do you and Dr. Delaney love each other?"

Brand and Carter shared a quiet smile. "Very much," Carter answered.

"Though if I'm going to be part of the family, you should probably call me Brand."

Jax made a funny face. "I thought I wasn't supposed to call adults by their first names."

"It's okay when it's family," Carter said.

"But it's okay if it takes you a while to get used to," Brand added. "I'll still know you mean me, no matter what name you call me by."

"Does this mean Dr. De—Brand will go with us to the waterpark more?"

Jax certainly seemed to be warming to the idea, though that hadn't been the direction Carter expected the conversation to take.

"Yep. And when we go on vacation, and when we go to the fair—all kinds of places."

"Do you like playing the racing games at the fair? Dr. De—" The name thing was definitely going to take a while. Jax abandoned the attempt to call Brand anything for the moment. "The ones where you shoot water guns at a target to make your horse go faster? I'm really good at those. I won a giant Winne-the-Pooh last year, but I gave it to Kelly."

Carter didn't want to take away from the moment to explain that Kelly was a little human girl who had been in the hospital at the same time as Jax right after the accident, but Brand seemed content to just fill in the blanks and move on with the conversation.

"I don't know how much competition I'll be, but that sounds fun."

After that, Jax fired question after question at them. Did Brand want to see his room? Would Brand help him practice piano? Were they going to give him a baby brother?

Carter jumped in to slow Jax down after that last one. With as hard as it had been with Aaron, Carter didn’t want to set any expectations that could lead to disappointment. "No one is having any babies yet."

Carter's mom stepped in to save them. She'd been tidying up from what looked like a baking project while they talked with Jax. "Jax, you've got your piano lesson in thirty minutes. Did you practice your scales?" She asked the question in the tone of an adult who knows a child hasn't done what they were supposed to.

"Not yet," Jax drawled, and both Carter and his grandma fixed him with a solid stare. "I'll go now." He dragged his feet on his way out, making it clear what he thought about ending his inquisition.

A timer beeped, and Debra pulled a tray of cookies from the oven, setting it on a cooling rack before turning to face Carter and Brand. "It's not my place, and I'll only say it this once and then I'm done. I fully expect more grandchildren. I was only able to have Carter, and so the full responsibility of producing pups for me to spoil falls on him. If you don't intend on having any more, then by all means, do not tell me and let me cling to the hope that one day I'll be surrounded by your little ones. I don't want to have my hopes dashed. But either way, it’s your choice."

Carter laughed, and with a sly nod from Brand, he said, "Don't worry, Mom. We're going to do our best to give you at least ten grandbabies."

"Ten?" Brand gasped, and punched him in the arm. "Can you at least wait and see about having one before you start painting a picture of me as a baby factory."

Debra was smiling. "That sounds wonderful. Now, I'm sure you two have some settling in to do. Why don't I go ahead and take Jax to his piano appointment while you do that?"

"Thanks, Mom. That would be amazing."

"I just have to run over to my house and turn the heat back up for tonight. I'll be back in just a few."

Once she was gone, Carter leaned against the island and pulled Brand close. "You don't want ten?"

Brand shook his head in dazed amusement. "I'm a little old to be popping out ten kids."

"We'll just have to get started soon, then. And focus on having multiples. Twins at least. Triplets if you can manage."

Brand shook his head. "You're insane."

"We can at least practice making ten kids," Carter said with a cartoonish eyebrow waggle.

Brand gave him a peck on the lips. "Now that I'm on board with."