Jax's eyes were anything but hopeful as he asked Brand to be his best friend, as if he expected to be disappointed. Carter was already reaching for him, and Brand knew he'd attempt to let him down gently so Brand wouldn't have to, but there was no way he was going to let that beautiful boy continue in the expectation that he wouldn't receive help when he clearly asked for it.

"Of course," Brand said, startling Carter. Father and son looked at him skeptically.

"You will?" Carter asked incredulously.

"You will?" Jax echoed with more enthusiasm.

"Yes. When?"

"It's next Wednesday. But it's not really necessary, you know. I know you have work, and there's a lot of people who depend on you—"

Brand watched the hope in Jax's eyes fade as his father added reason after reason. Brand laid his hand on Carter's arm, ignoring the strange frisson that shivered up his arm, stopping Carter mid-thought.

"Carter. I'm a grown man. I can arrange my schedule. As long as it's okay with the school, since I'm not a parent or a teacher."

"Mrs. Spatz won't mind!" Jax started jumping excitedly. "Will she, Dad?"

"I'll have to check with Mrs. Spatz and your principal, but I think they'll be okay with it. Now go ahead and finish your dinner."

Jax sat back at his seat but he barely ate another bite, he was so excited. He filled the air with his chatter, about which kinds of slides and pools he liked best and what order he thought we should try them in. Carter finally sent him to get ready for bed and Carter and Brand lingered to enjoy another glass of wine.

Carter opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He cleared his throat and tried again, but nothing came out. He shook his head with a grunt and Brand noticed he was tearing up.

"Thank you," he finally whispered. "I hadn't realized how bad it had gotten, if he doesn't have any friends."

"It might not be as bad as you think," Brand tried to reassure him. "If it hadn't been for Ty, I wouldn't have thought I had any friends either. He was just so damn persistent. I would be surprised if there aren't a few potential friends who are just as worried and shy about talking to Jax as he is about talking to them. I wasn't making things up when I said that once the other kids understood why my knee looked the way it does they stopped being so scared of me. Fear and uncertainty in children often turns into bullying."

"I know that in my head," Carter said. "But my heart just can't handle seeing my little boy hurting. I'm not sure which is worse, watching the physical pain or the emotional pain."

"From the inside, the emotional pain is definitely worse," Brand said. "Shit, I didn't mean to make you feel worse."

"You're just being real," Carter said. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

He took another sip and then stared into his wine glass. Brand took the opportunity to examine him in a way he hadn't been inclined to before Carter had approached him.

He was a few years younger than Brand, but stress had made the age difference look smaller. His temples were grey, and his tightly trimmed beard was still mostly pepper, but with a clear dash of salt.

"You're not what I expected," Brand said into the silence.

Carter looked up and smiled. "Oh? What did you expect?"

After that conversation about mates? "I'm not sure exactly, but something much stranger."

Carter laughed, a deep, full, belly laugh. "I can't say I blame you. And I won't push it, but you should know everything I said in that conversation was true."

Brand didn't feel uncomfortable now, either with the man or his comment, and he almost asked Carter to explain himself more, but Jax chose that moment to call down the stairs, "Dad, I'm all ready!"

"Be right there," Carter called back. "Are you finished?" He nodded to Brand's empty wine glass.

"Oh, yeah. You sure I can't do anything to help clean up?"

"No, no, I'll get it, it's not much. But can I walk you out?"

Brand was surprised to find he wasn't ready to leave yet. But it was clearly time for him to go nonetheless.

"Thank you for dinner," he said, stepping through the door.

"No, thank you," Carter returned. "For everything."

The moment hung awkwardly between them, and then Carter stuck his hand out to shake good bye. "I'll keep you updated on what the school says, but like I said earlier, I don't think it will be a problem."

"Perfect. Good night, Carter." Brand leaned down a little to see Jax waiting at the top of the stairs. "Good night, Jax!"

As he was driving home, he realized the only way Carter had to get a hold of him was his office phone, or stopping by. As soon as he pulled into his driveway, he pulled up his phone and sent Carter a text.

This is my number, by the way. Let me know about the school.

Even as early as a few hours ago, Brand couldn't have conceived of giving Carter his number. But he could tell now that Cater was a good guy. Still a little strange, maybe, but he was an amazing father, and that counted for a lot in Brand's book.

A little while later, as Brand was getting ready for bed, he received Carter's response.

Thank you, I will. And then, Good night, sleep tight.

Brand's fingers twitched to finish the rhyme, don't let the bed bugs bite, but he plugged his phone in and crawled into bed. No matter how much his opinion of Carter had changed, he still wasn't Brand's mate, and Brand had no interest in leading him on.