“Sure, of course. And I’m not pushing for anything. But Demir sent this to my office yesterday.” He pulled something the size of a credit card out of his back pocket and handed it to Branson.
A gift card to one of the best-rated restaurants in Sansbury, in a dollar amount that surprised Branson. “Oh, wow.”
“It’s a housewarming gift, and it got me thinking about how Demir hyphenated his name when he committed to Brandt and Oliver. It was on my mind, so I brought it up.”
All the tumblers fell into place for Branson, and he smiled. “Gotcha. That’s a very generous gift from Demir, and you’re right. We should talk about our last names, and if either of us wants to change it.” Branson had nothing else to say. He’d never given the notion much thought, because he’d never seriously dated anyone until Tarius. And then marriage happened so fast… “Do you want to?”
“While I love the symbolism of taking your name, I’ve been a Higgs my entire life. It’s hard to think of giving it up after forty years.”
“I get that. I love my family name, too. It’s a symbol of something powerful that fights for what’s right and never gives up. Papa brought that name with him when he came here to save my omegin from first-degree murder charges. He gave that name to me when he adopted me. He gave it to Caden and Emory, and maybe Jeuel will never want to take the Cross name, but I’m pretty attached to it right now.”
Tarius nodded. “Then that’s our discussion. No name changes. It’s less common, but it doesn’t invalidate our marriage. We’ve marched to our own beat for our entire relationship, so why stop now?”
“Exactly.” Branson chuckled. “You know, I’m surprised none of our family members have brought it up, especially with Gaven helping today. When his parents got married, Dex was eagerto take Serge’s surname and become part of his family. But to be fair, Dex was estranged from his biological family, and that never changed.”
“And both of us love our families very much, so we want to keep our names. Maybe sometime down the road, when everything isn’t so new we could…maybe revisit hyphenating? Cross-Higgs has a nice ring to it.”
“Down the road, for sure.” Branson leaned over, and Tarius met him for a long, promising kiss that said so much without words. That despite a frantic few weeks, they were in this together, for the long haul. Their marriage wasn’t just about custody, but about genuine connection and emotional attraction. A commitment to building a life together.
“What do you say,” Tarius said after they ended the long, leisurely kiss, “we ask Jeuel if he wants to stop unpacking for a while, and we can all watch a movie?”
“I say that sounds like a good plan. I’d offer to make popcorn, but even if I wasn’t still full of pizza, I don’t know which box the air popper is in.”
“No worries, I’m stuffed, too. I’ll make sure the DVD player is hooked up. Why don’t you get Jeuel?”
“Sure.” Branson dropped another kiss onto Tarius’s lips, then stood and walked down the hall. Jeuel’s room was quiet, but the light still shone under the door, so Branson knocked. “Hey, Jeuel? You feel like relaxing with us? We’re going to watch a movie and veg out.”
Silence stretched for an eternity before Jeuel opened the door. His cheeks were blotchy, his eyes red, and Branson’s heart kicked. Had Jeuel been crying?
Jeuel nodded, head bobbing noncommittally. “Yeah, okay. What movie?”
“Not sure yet. Why don’t you come help us pick? I married into quite the DVD collection. Tarius has movies I’ve neverheard of. I swear, I saw one the other week that saidZombie Alphas from the Outer Realms.”
“What does that even mean?”
“No idea.” Branson winked at his brother. “Maybe we should watch it and find out.”
Jeuel held his gaze for a moment, and then he smiled. A genuine smile. “Yeah, okay. Give me a minute? I need to whizz.”
“Sure.”
“Cool.” Jeuel ducked into the bathroom across the hall.
Branson chuckled as he returned to the living room, unsure what kind of oddball movie he’d just committed to, and eager to go on this brand-new adventure.
With his family.
SIXTEEN
Three weeksof glorious peace passed in the new Higgs/Cross household, with no outbursts, drama, incidents, or even late-winter colds. Both Branson and Tarius had resumed their normal work schedules, with Branson adjusting his hours slightly and doing more work at home, now that he had a dedicated office. It allowed him to drop Jeuel off at Papa’s house every morning, where Jeuel spent his time studying for his GED, helping with the triplets, and being with his new family, rather than puttering around the apartment alone.
It also allowed Branson to leave the office by four-thirty to pick up Jeuel, and gave him time to cook dinner (or grab takeout on the way home) for their trio, since Tarius frequently worked until six-thirty, sometimes seven. It was the compromise they’d created, and it was working. Branson loved that Jeuel was comfortable with Branson’s parents and siblings, and he still got to see Trei multiple times a week.
Trei had settled into his new room at the Higgs house, and now that he was easing toward the end of his first trimester, his morning sickness had nearly disappeared. He still wanted a job, but he was nervous about a customer-facing position, like retailor food service, not only because of his past, but also as a single omega (mated scent or not).
No one was rushing him to find work, especially not with a baby coming in six months, but Trei had drive and enthusiasm for learning new skills. He’d even spent a few days at Perks, a small coffee and pastry shop opened by Miko’s parents, Brogan and Mikel Tovey, with his shifts starting at four a.m. when Symon Lee began baking. They didn’t have the money to hire Trei, but Trei looked at it like an internship. A learning experience to see what he might want to do in the future, to earn a living for himself and his son.
Branson admired his ambition.
